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An Ideal
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And I am come down to deliver them from the hand
of the Egyptians, and to bring them out of that
land to a good land and a large, to a land
flowing with milk and honey...
-Exodus 3:8
Sri Sathya Sai Baba sings:
"What is sweeter than sugarcane juice,
What is sweeter even than honey?
Sweeter than nectar itself is the Name of Rama.
To chant this Name with love is to taste in draughts
The nectar of immortality.
"Embodiments of The Divine Self,
"The sage Valmiki was pure, holy and utterly selfless. For the
benefit of all mankind he composed the Ramayana's crores of
stanzas. Realizing the supreme greatness of his work, the Devas
themselves, as well as the rishis attuned to divine wisdom, they
sought from Valmiki some share of Ramayana.
"In answer to their request, Valmiki distributed the slokas equally
among all the denizens of the three worlds. Yet after all this
there remained one sloka of thirty-two syllables. After the
distribution in equal measure two syllables remained. How to divide
this equally with all?
"These two syllables were RA and MA, and so he assigned these two
to all the worlds. These two can be shared equally with all even
now, for this is the nature of the divine. Thus today two-syllable
names for the Divine may be found in all places. Rama, Krishna,
Hari, Jesus, Allah, Saayee. In this way Valmiki offered the
residents of all the three worlds in equal measure the two syllable
Name of the Lord.
"Rama is closest to Manava. The Lord is closest to Mankind.
Wherever they may be, to whatever nation or creed they may belong,
all people everywhere strive to understand the Rama Principle. Rama
was an ideal son. Every family has need of an ideal son. On the
eve of his coronation, this prince-regent chose to go to the forest
in exile just to exhibit accord with the command of his royal
father. In carrying out the will of his father, Rama stands out as
the supreme example.
"Rama was also an ideal brother. He exemplifies harmony and love
among brothers. He treated all his brothers as his own life-breath,
showering his love equally on all of them. Thus Rama is an example
of fraternal love for every family.
"Rama was an ideal husband. His adherence to the principal of
monogamy needs to be considered. Valmiki understood it very well.
`One word, one arrow, one wife,"- this was the rule for Rama. What
is the reason for that, what is the inner meaning? In the body
there are many organs, yet all of them are nourished and sustained
by the one heart, all turn to the heart for sustenance. In the
same manner, the wife is the heart of the husband, and for the wife
the husband is the heart- only one heart in two bodies. To
demonstrate to the world the ideal of such monogamy, Rama set the
example.
"Rama was an ideal friend. In this world there cannot be a greater
friend than Rama. There are in the world fair-weather friends, they
give you their friendship when you are wealthy with power. But if
position or pelf go, they too go, with nary a wave good-bye. When
you are low and helpless, who will show his face? Rama, however,
was not such a friend. In good times or bad, in weal or woe, Rama
was equally loving, considerate, and affectionate- be it a time of
joy or a time of sorrow. Remember Guha! Guhu was a common
boatman. Rama hailed him as his fourth brother and showered on him
His love. In this way Rama treated in the same friendly spirit
everyone who came to Him for any help, or protection or rest. He
thus stood out to the world as an ideal friend.
"Rama was not only an ideal friend- He was an ideal enemy...
"In the world, it is common to see people resorting to all kinds of
deceit in order to foil their enemies. Rama never stooped to such
unworthy practices. He adhered to the noble path of the hero, even
in dealing with His enemies. A small example:
"When Rama was engaged in battle with Ravana, that king could not
stand up to Rama's arrows- all his weapons had been destroyed. With
a cool eye Rama deduced that Ravana was exhausted and weaponless,
unable to defend himself further. In such a situation, it was not
proper to slay an enemy. There is no heroism in killing a weak or
powerless person. The enemy should be destroyed when he is strong
and powerful- this is the way of heroes. Recognizing Ravana's
plight, Rama then laid down His own weapons, and said, `O, Ravana!
You are now too tired to fight, and have no weapons at hand.
Perhaps you are in no condition to continue this contest. You
please to go home, rest, refresh yourself and return to battle
tomorrow. Please, go; we can resume all this tomorrow.' By
displaying this kind of magnanimity to His vulnerable enemy, Rama
demonstrated that He was an ideal person in all situations.
"Rama was first and foremost an ideal son. In any country, anywhere
in the world, every family needs an ideal son. Hence the story of
Rama is not for Bharityas alone. Ramayana has a lesson for all
countries and for all Mankind.
-excerpts from a spontaneous discourse of Sri Sathya
Sai Baba, 4/20/94, at his home in Kodaikanal.
--
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