|
Continued from yesterday’s instalment
 Rama is overjoyed on seeing Lakshmana. He embraces him and washes him with his tears. Tears of relief. Tears of joy. Tears of peace returning. And tears of unbounded love. When Lakshmana narrated the Ayomukhi incident, her lustful advances, her lechery and lasciviousness and how she carried him away and how Lakshmana had to sever her limbs - earlobes and nose once again - now to defend himself unlike in the case of Surpanakha, Rama is filled with joy as well as sorrow, says the Poet.
‘ennai angu eydhiyadhu iyambuvaai
ena,’ Tell me what happened there, asked Rama. ‘annavan ahdhu elaam aRiyak
kUralum,’ As Lakshmana recounted what happened, ‘innalum uvagayum iraNdum eydhinaan’ Rama was overwhelmed with sorrow as well as with joy at the same time. The Poet remembers to add ‘than alaadhu oru poruL thanakku mEl
ilaan,’ referring to Rama. He who is the very core of anything and everything and He who is the Ultimate who has none above Him.
One who is above all guNas, one who is known as the
nir-guNa Brahmam, so willingly subjected himself to all human feelings, human emotions and human ways of living, in a grand drama, living in this world as we do and at the same time setting an example of how to rise ourselves above all these seemingly unscalable and insurmountable difficulties that we encounter in our everyday life. He plays his role very convincingly as an ordinary human being. That’s the grandest design of the epic. When we realise that even Rama is faced with such difficulties, hardship and goes through all ups and downs, all our travails and turmoil of our mundane existence would not trouble us any more and we will gain the strength to face all of them and even more.
Now, we are moving away from our immediate subject. Let’s get back to the business at hand. And listen to Lakshmana, who comforting Rama, actually comforts all the troubled hearts. ‘aayvuru perum kadal agaththuL
aayinaar,’ We have an ocean (the mind) within us ‘paai thirai varudhorum paridhaR
paalarO?’ and it is not at all right for us to (let our emotions run wild sink deeper and deeper into this ocean within) with the upcoming of every little wave. When it is in the nature of the ocean to wave close to the land, and when we know it is so silent when it runs deep, are we to give up with the onslaught of every wave?
 And more. ‘thee vinaip piravi vem sirayil patta
yaam,’ We who are bound in this prison of ‘births and deaths’ ‘ooyvu aRu thuyar vara utkal
nOnmayO?’ are we to buckle under, in the face of incessant adversity and trouble?
We are born in this world. It is but natural that problems keep cropping up all the way. It is part of the game. The right thing to do is to take up the challenge and surge ahead rather than throw our hands up in utter desolation. If there is a problem, there is a solution as well!
Now, is Lakshmana talking to Rama or addressing all of us?ip is extremely beautiful, which the Mahabaratha and the Bagavatha Purana speak elaborately.
More follows...
Published on 26th March 2002
Hari Krishnan
Previous
Articles
|
