Rama

“ His head at Rama's feet he laid.
Like a mad elephant he sighed:
And Rama, gazed and thus replied:
'How, brother, Can a man of worth,
True to his vows, of noble birth-
A man like me, commit a sin
The lordship of the land to win? ”

“ Also, the Rama story is so moving that a mere allusion to it stirs like a sentimental memory of childhood. It has the usual qualities of a good epic story: abundance of travel and fighting and adventure and magic interweaving of human with superhuman, but it has more than this. In both hero and heroine there is real development of character. Odysseus and Æneas do not grow; they go through adventures. But King Rama, torn between love for his wife and duty to his subjects, is almost a different person from the handsome, light-hearted prince who won his bride by breaking Shiva's bow. ”

“ O thou of great glory, thy fourteen years (of exile) have been completed." Thus addressed by Dasaratha, Rama bowed to the gods, and saluted by his friends he was united with his wife, like the Lord of the celestials with the daughter of Puloman. And that chastiser of foes then gave a boon to Avindhya. And he also bestowed both riches and honours on the Rakshasa woman named Trijata. And when Brahma with all the celestials having Indra at their head, said unto Rama, "O thou that ownest Kausalya for thy mother, what boons after thy heart shall we grant thee?" ”

“ I realized, "are part of the Earth. The Earth is sacred." I did not realize, as I continued to astonish myself with my own profundity, that I had finally entered a world similar to the ones described in the Castaneda books.
Suddenly Rama raised his arms and made a whistling sound. The disciples looked at him as if he were a god. I felt detached from the scene, as if I were observing myself observe the disciples observe the man acting like a sorcerer. ”

“ Still may be seen the gap that no strength, human or divine, could pass, where the mighty host was stayed, until a little tree squirrel, for love of Rama, laid his small body in the hollow, and because love is the bridge eternal between the two worlds, the rescuing host passed triumphant over it. But Rama, stooping from his Godhead, Incarnation as he was in human flesh of Vishnu the Preserver, lifted the crushed body tenderly and touched the dead fur, and to this day, the tree squirrels bear the marks of the divine fingers upon their coats of grey. ”

“ It is a tale from the Ramayana—one of the Sacred Books of the Hindu religion!
"You are—or were—the prototype of a hero worshipped by a quarter of a billion humans in our day ... the third greatest religion in the world. You, Ramey, are the god Rama!" ”

“ And hearing about thee from me soon shall Rāghava come assisted by a large army of monkeys and bears. And impeding the course of the unagitated deep and building, by means of his terrible shafts, a bridge across it, Kākuthstha, shall divest the city Lankā of all the Rākshasas. And forsooth shall Rāma destroy them, even if the celestials, or Death himself stand in his way. O worshipful dame, stricken with grief in thy absence, Rāma is restless like unto an elephant smitten by a lion. ”

“ But the bloom moved not, and Lakshmana led away his grief-distracted brother.
“Mayhap she hath returned to the hut now,” Rama cried. Then the brethren hastened to the hermitage, but found it empty as before.... Rama wailed in the moonlight and cried to the orb of night: “O moon! mankind welcome thy coolness, but thou dost bring to me naught but sorrow and tears.... Thou lookest over the whole world, beholding all living beings. Where, O tell me, where is my beloved one, my lost Sita?” ”

“ After this successful combat, the ascetic, Vishwamitra, conferred on Rama a gift of strange weapons, which even the celestials were incapable of wielding. How very different the magic weapons received by Rama were from those familiar to the sons of men, will be apparent from the poet’s statement that the weapons themselves made their appearance spontaneously before Rama, “and with clasped hands, they, well-pleased, addressed Rama thus: These, O highly generous one, are thy servants, O Raghava. Whatever thou wishest, good betide thee, shall by all means be accomplished by us.” ”

“ Rama then establishes his brothers, sons, and nephews in different cities of the kingdom, buries the three queens of his father, and awaits death. He has not long to wait; Death comes, wearing a hermit's garb, asks for a private interview, and threatens any who shall disturb their conference. ”

“ Ráma, my brother, is no mortal king, but the sovereign of the universe, the Fate of Fate itself, the Supreme Spirit, the imperishable and uncreated God, the benefactor of cows and of Bráhmans, of the earth and of the gods: who in his infinite mercy has assumed the form of humanity, to rejoice his votaries and to break the ranks of the impious; the champion of the Veda and true religion, the saviour of the immortals. ”

“ Then by prowess Rama slew those Rakshasas in battle, and also Ravana, the oppressor of the worlds together with his Rakshasa followers. And having slain the king of the Rakshasas, with his brother, and sons and kindred, he installed in the kingdom in Lanka the Rakshasa chief, Vibhishana, pious, and reverent, and kind to devoted dependants. Then Rama recovered his wife even like the lost Vaidic revelation. Then Raghu's son, Rama, with his devoted wife, returned to his own city, Ayodhya, inaccessible to enemies; and that lord of men began to dwell there. ”

“ All creatures feel the sweet control
Of Ráma's pure and gentle soul.
The pride of Manu's race he binds
To him the people's grateful minds.
He wins the subjects with his truth,
The poor with gifts and gentle ruth,
His teachers with his docile will,
The foemen with his archer skill. ”

“ But Rama, stupefied, stood stock still where he was stricken, and stared, till his eyelids stiffened, at the desolate hut, at the desolate hearth.
Then all the angels in heaven, who had witnessed the crime of Rawunna, and his flight, passed into the forms of monkeys; and a million of them made a monkey chain, that the rest of the celestial host might descend into the banian-groves of Ayodhya. The tails glide swiftly through each glowing hand, and quick as lightning on the trees they stand. And Hoonamunta, their chief, prostrated himself before Rama, and said, "Behold, my Lord, we are here! ”

“ But Rama will have none of his royalty. Was it for bored kings and mischief-making mothers-in-law, he asks, speaking with the ante-natal memories of Vishnu, that he came among the sons of men? Not at all! he has a mission, and he bides his time. For the present he will take his wife Seeta, whose will is his, and go out into the wilderness, there to build him a hut of bamboos and banian-boughs and palmyra-leaves, and be—Seeta and he—two jolly yogees, that is, religious gypsies,—living on grass-roots, wild rice, and white ants, and being dirty and devout to their heart's content. ”

“ Aud immediately on entering his father's residence, the graceful Rāghava seeing his father from a distance, bent low with clasped hands. Thereupon raising Rāma as he was bending down, and embracing him, and pointing out a seat, the protector of the earth again spake unto him,— "O Rāma, enjoying at my will the good things of life, I have grown old; and have attained great age. I have worshipped the deities by celebrating hundreds of sacrifices with numerous Dakshinas and gifts of boiled rice; and incomparable on earth, thou hast been born unto me for a son after my heart. ”

“ And Kaikeyi and Sumitrā and the highly famous Kauçalyā rejoicing at the prospect of the bringing of Rāma, went in an effulgent car. And the honorable persons (belonging to all the three orders) went with the object of beholding Rāma in company with Lakshmana. And they with glad hearts variously conversed with each other, "When shall we see the mighty armed Rāma sable like unto a cloud, of steady strength, firm in vows, the remover of the world's grief? As soon as we shall see him, Rāghava will remove our sorrow; even as the Sun arising dispells the darkness of the entire world." ”

“ And presenting him with many a charming fountain, trees will delight Rāma at the tops of mountains.146 Where Rāma is, there is not fear or failure. That mighty- armed son of Daçarātha is heroic. Let us while he is yet ahead within a short distance of us, follow Rāghava. Even the shadow of the feet of our master, so high-souled, would, bring us happiness. He is the lord of all these—he is the refuge—he is the accomplishment of our religious duties. ”

“ You invent a name like Rama, repeat it endlessly, and hope to get some benefit. First of all you have invented Rama. Rama doesn't exist except as an historical figure. Having created the monster, you worship and then say you can't get out of it. ”

“ A long stream of Hindus moves towards this celebrated temple; men and women, shining with rings on their fingers and toes, with bracelets from their wrists up to their elbows, clad in bright turbans and snow white muslins, with foreheads freshly painted with red, yellow, and white, holy sectarian signs.
The legend says that Rama spent here a night on his way from Ayodhya (Oudh) to Lanka (Ceylon) to fetch his wife Sita who had been stolen by the wicked King Ravana. Rama's brother Lakshman, whose duty it was to send him daily a new lingam from Benares, was late in doing so one evening. ”

“ Six days he sate, and mourned and pined for Rama all that weary time. At midnight on his wandering mind rose up his old forgotten crime. His queen, Kausalya, the divine, addressed he, as she rested near: "Kausalya, if thou wakest, incline to thy lord's speech thy ready ear. Whatever deed, or good or ill, by man, O blessed queen, is wrought. Its proper fruit he gathers still, by time to slow perfection brought. He who the opposing counsel's weight compares not in his judgment cool, Or misery or bliss his fate, among the sage is deemed a fool. ”

“ Rama, who usually arrived about forty minutes late, might begin with a discourse on the teachings of Lao Tzu, Castaneda's Don Juan, or Christ. Then, couching parables in modern terms, he might proclaim: "Short is the path of the fast lane on the freeway to enlightenment." Or he might say: "As the coyote tries to catch the road runner, so too tries the seeker to comprehend the life of a fully enlightened teacher through rational means." ”

“ Rama said, ‘The blame is mine, O father, that like a stag in the wood, thou hast been shot dead with arrows, by those mean and stupid wretches—the sons of Kartavirya. And O father, virtuous and unswerving from the path of righteousness and inoffensive to all animated beings as thou wert, how came it to be permitted by Fate that thou shouldst die in this way? What an awful sin must have been committed by them, who have killed thee with hundreds of sharpened shafts, although thou wert an aged man, and engaged in penances at the time and absolutely averse to fighting with them. ”

“ Indeed, Rama in governing his kingdom always acted like his father Dasaratha. The clouds, yielding showers seasonably, caused the crops to grow abundantly. During the period of his rule, food was always abundant in his kingdom. No death occurred by drowning or by fire. As long as Rama governed it, there was no fear in his kingdom of any disease. Every man lived for a thousand years, and every man was blessed with a thousand children. During the period of Rama's sway, all men were whole and all men attained the fruition of their wishes. ”

“ And the brothers, having first exchanged words with Hanuman, approached Sugriva. And then, O king, Rama made friends with Sugriva. And when Rama informed Sugriva of the object he had in view, Sugriva showed him the piece of cloth that Sita had dropped among the monkeys, while being carried away by Ravana. And having obtained from him those credentials, Rama himself installed Sugriva—that foremost of monkeys—in sovereignty of all the monkeys of Earth. And Rama also pledged himself to slay Vali in battle. ”

“ But Raghu's son, whose watchful eye
Beheld the demon rushing nigh,
From the great bow he raised and bent
A shower of shafts to meet him sent.
Wild grew the fight and wilder yet
As fiend and man in combat met,
As when in some dark wood's retreat
An elephant and a lion meet.
The giant bent his bow, and true
To Ráma's brow three arrows flew.
Then, raging as he felt the stroke,
These words in anger Ráma spoke:
“Heroic chief! is such the power
Of fiends who rove at midnight hour?
Soft as the touch of flowers I feel
The gentle blows thine arrows deal. ”

“ Dasharatha—The great king of the Solar race, father of Rama. He had to banish Rama, quite unexpectedly, on the very day the latter was to be installed as the Crown Prince of Oudh, to redeem the promise the old king had long before made to his second queen, Rama's step-mother, to grant, whenever she might desire, any two boons of her choice—the two boons which the malicious queen demanded being Rama's banishment and her own son's installation instead. ”

“ He, already touched by the hand of death, was overpowered by Rama, his foe. Then the kinsmen of Arjuna, their wrath excited against Rama, rushed at Jamadagni in his hermitage, while Rama was away. And they slew him there; for although his strength was great, yet being at the time engaged in penances, he would not fight. And while thus attacked by his foes, he repeatedly shouted the name of Rama in a helpless and piteous way. And, O Yudhishthira, the sons of Kartavirya shot Jamadagni, with their arrows, and having thus chastised their foe, went their way. ”