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--- sadagopaniyengar <sadagopaniyengar@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Looking at the anger displayed by the Lord on all these and a few
> other> occasions, one might wonder whether it sits well with His
> reputation as the> repository of solely auspicious
attributes(kalyAna guNAs).> Further, He> Himself declares in the GitA
that anger is theproduct of the> inferior RajO> guNa ("KAma Esha
krOdha Eva rajO guNasamudbhava:"). How do we> resolve this> apparent
contradiction?
> The answer appears to lie in Swami Desikan's assertion that all
> such> emotions displayed by the Lord in His avatArAs are
merelyassumed,> put on,> so to say ("abhinaya mAtram"). In
Hisportrayal of the ideal human> being,> the Lord enacts various
emotions, as the script warrants. And for a> Kshatriya belonging to
the line ofIkshvAku, display of anger on> the> battlefield or in the
face of subjects'disobedience is but> natural,and> failure to show
wrath would be remiss of Him.-dasan, sadagopan.


Dear Sriman Sadagopan Iyengar,

It was delightful to read your very thought-provoking write-up on
Sri.Rama and Anger. Please permit me to share with you a few stray
thoughts that ran through my mind as I read your piece.

Although it is true Sri.Rama's "wrath" was a human emotion that was
"put on" on by him to mirror to us the frailty and infirm nature of
Man, we should not fall into the trap of believing that the
"make-believe" of Rama (i.e. everything that he did that is
reminiscent of errant human behaviour) was mere drama. God's
"play-acting" on Man's stage-world is no doubt sheer histrionics but
it is purposeful histrionics. In God's affectation actually lurks
Man's instruction ...

In the incidents of Rama's "Wrath" you have recounted -- viz. the
Lord's ire against the "silence" of River Godavari and Samudra-raja
-- there is a clear but subtle lesson to be learnt.

Silence is not always golden. When it is 'dharma' to speak up, there
is no virtue in holding one's tongue or counsel. To remain silent in
the face of 'a-dharma' may sometimes seem the most prudent course of
action; but in such "prudence" there might be more moral cowardice
than wisdom. 

The sole cause of Lord Rama's wrath was the 'silence' of Godavari and
Samudraraja when Rama actually expected them to be more forthcoming
in offering clues/information about the whereabouts of the abducted
Vaidehi. The River and the Ocean were silent because of moral
'bheeti' -- of Fear. The might of the terrible Ravana was so
overwhelming that mere thought of him was enough to petrify and
silence the Forces of Nature even, like rivers and oceans. 

In remaining mute and uncooperative, Godavari and Samudra-raja
actually behaved like frightened human-beings rather than as the
powerful agents of Nature they were. Fearing superior forces of Evil,
conveniently "looking the other way" while evil prevails and
maintaining "silence" when it is moral imperative to speak up ---
these are all peculiar but unmistakable hallmarks of moral frailty
distinguishing the species 'homo sapiens' from all others on earth.
It did not behove the mighty Godavari nor the great Samudraraja to
behave like mere mortals. The wrathful Rama was thus in effect asking
them, "Why do you behave like human wimps when you, as great natural
forces, ought to be displaying the courage of the great and awesome
elements?"

It was a great lesson in moral instruction the Godavari and
Samudra-raja learned that day from God incarnate appearing as the
wrathful Rama. They learned that in the face of 'a-dharma', when
un-virtue and evil raise their ugly heads in the world, God expects
the powerful forces of Nature to "speak up" and raise their voices of
protest -- and not remain mute like terrified men! God expects them
to rise and speak the language of God Himself! If the rivers and
oceans chose then to remain quiet and acquiescent, then God would
regard them too as accomplices of evil or 'a-dharmic' forces on
earth. 

Since that day when the Godavari and Samudra-raja learnt their lesson
from Lord Rama, the rivers and oceans of this world fear the evil of
Man no more. They no more remain "silent". ANd we know this to be
true everytime the rivers of the world rise and flood our lands: They
do so only to remind Man of his 'a-dhArmic' ways. When the oceans
rise up in fierce tornadoes or hurricanes and cause havoc to human
homes and lives, we know that there must be a Ravana, or several
Ravanas amongst us! Even today, the wisest ones amongst men
everywhere tell us, do they not, that a river in spate and an ocean
in rage are merely signs of the displeasure and wrath of God?

******* ******** *********

One other noteworthy incident in the Ramayana when the "wrath" of
Rama knew no bounds was in the "ayodhyA-kAnda". Sage jAbAli bore the
full brunt of Rama's boiling rage when the 'rshi' made bold to decry
and trivialize all the 'sAstrA-s' and moral compunctions which Rama
took pains to explain to Bharatha were preventing him from going back
upon the word he'd given to Dasaratha re: renouncing the crown of
Ayodhya and exile from the kingdom. There is a great lesson there too
in Rama's wrath: Never 'pooh-pooh' age-old 'sAstrA-s' laid down by
the ancient ancestors in their wisdom. 

Thanks once again, and regards,

dAsan,
Sudarshan





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