Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
A Stiff Upper Lip
We hold Sri Rama to be the Model Man, one who was the repository of all
virtues, one who was the ideal son, brother, friend, husband and monarch,
portraying model behaviour and setting an example in all that He did or omitted
to do. Try as they might, detractors have been unable to find even a speck of
blemish on this august personage, which might tarnish His unsullied image as
the role model for all humanity for all time to come. Biased critics may cry
themselves hoarse over the episode of VAli vadham, but those who go through the
relevant verses of VAlmIki would need no convincing that what Rama did was
indeed correct, as the aggrieved party (VAli) himself admits in the end. Thus,
if a person's life itself could be a shining model for all to emulate, it was
indeed Sri Rama's. When you come to think of it, Sri Raghava did not do much by
way of upadEsam or advice, though He did say a word or two to those who were
around, as the occasion warranted. All the unspoken homilies and sermons were
contained in His conduct and character, which shone through in all His actions.
Considering the propensity of people who are adept at preaching but not so
particular about practicing, here is a shining example of a person who did not
preach much, but let His flawless conduct speak for itself and to remain a role
model for all to follow.
Among the innumerable virtues of this Model Monarch is one, which is specially
worthy of emulation-Equanimity. The normal human reaction is to be joyous in
the face of glad tidings and to put on a long face when greeted by sad news.
There is possibly none who doesn't feel overjoyed when told of laurels in the
examination, of the birth of a bonny baby boy, of an advancement in his career
through a coveted promotion or posting and so on. On such occasions, our faces
beam and are wreathed in smiles, our hearts thump with joy, we feel like
hugging the nearest person and sharing the glad tidings with him (even if he is
a total stranger)-in short, the uncontainable happiness and joy we feel in our
hearts is displayed vividly on our faces.
If we take the other range of emotions, they too affect us considerably. When
he hear about the demise of a loved one, when something we expect eagerly
doesn't come about, when the promised rewards of hard work do not materialise,
we are crestfallen, our hearts beat feebly and in sorrow, tears well up in our
eyes, we feel unable to go about normally with our routine-in general, sadness
and sorrow make us beside ourselves with grief. Our long and lugubrious faces
tell the world plainly that some mishap has befallen us. Similarly, at the
slightest of provocations and at the merest of insults, actual or perceived,
our faces become suffused with anger, our eyes blaze, lips tremble with
unformed words and we become temporarily crazy with anger. Words, which we
would never dream of uttering normally, flow freely from our enraged lips,
often inflicting unhealable wounds. Even the severest of burn wounds would
heal, but not those caused by searing words, says Tiruvalluvar, depicting the
extent to which anger clouds our reasoning intellect and correct conduct.
These are the normal ways in which we react, when confronted by joy, sorrow or
insult. It is impossible for us to ignore these feelings, which rise up in our
minds automatically and involuntarily, in response to the aforesaid stimuli.
However, Shastras tell us that we should neither go overboard with happiness at
glad tidings, nor fall down in the dumps at sad ones. Our reaction should be
measured and appropriate, with reward and its absence taken in our stride. Once
we learn not to be affected by extremes of emotions, then life is one
continuous saga of peace and tranquillity. This is evident from the following
Gita sloka, which prescribes such equanimity as an essential prerequisite for
God-realisation and defines the virtue as being unaffected by happiness and
distress, heat and cold or honour and dishonour-
"JitAtmana: prashAntasya ParamAtmA samAhita:
seetOshNa sukha du:khEshu tathA mAna apamAnayO:"
It is such equanimity that we find in Chakravartthi Tirumagan.
Eloquent display of this virtue is provided in the Prince's reaction to His
stepmother's instruction, on the eve of His Coronation, that He leave
immediately for the forest, relinquishing all claim to the throne of Ayodhya
for 14 long years.
What would be the normal reaction of a Prince, whose coronation is imminent,
when told that the event is being cancelled and that he is not to be Crown
Prince, but is to leave forthwith for the jungle? How would anyone feel, when
the promised post of heir-apparent to the throne is substituted by that of a
landless nomad? How do you expect a Prince to react, when he is told that
instead of the regal splendour and palatial comforts that he is used to, he
would have to assume the garb of a mendicant and roam the forests for 14 years?
Those who have read Tennyson's poem would recall how blissful the small girl
is, on being selected to play "Queen of May" in a school event. However, here
is an instance of a person who is to be the Crown Prince of the vast and
powerful kingdom of Ayodhya and has the coveted honour denied to Him at the
very last moment, when all preparations therefor are complete.
Is this not enough provocation for the most mild-mannered of persons to react
with violence? Not only is the promised Crown of Ayodhya denied, to add insult
to injury, Sri Rama's junior is chosen as the Prince-in-waiting. In what way
could Bharata be better than Rama, the eldest-born and acknowledgedly the best
of the lot, according to all those whose opinions counted? On top of snatching
away the throne at the last minute, when the added punishment of an extradition
to the inhospitable jungle is inflicted on the unsuspecting Prince, would not
any Kshatriya worth his salt rise up in arms, destroy or at least incapacitate
those responsible for the dastardly machinations, and snatch the Crown that is
rightfully his?
Thus, by all accounts, we would expect Sri Rama to react with 1) anger at the
palace intrigue, 2) frustration and disappointment at the denial of the
distinction, especially at the last minute 3) distress at His stepmother (whom
He had regarded with greater love and affection than His own mother) being
responsible for His banishment, 4) humiliation at His younger brother Bharata
being chosen in His stead, for no apparent reason than that he was born to the
scheming KaikEyI 5) determination to retain what was rightfully His, by virtue
of His being the eldest son of the Emperor and to destroy all those who dared
to oppose His claim.
However, Sri Rama displays none of these emotions. In fact, He receives the
revised instructions as calmly as if He were being told the time. There was
absolutely no sign of sorrow, distress or anger in the Prince, says Sri
Valmiki, even after these words of Kaikeyi, dipped in poison, as it were, fell
on His unsuspecting ears-
"itIva tasyAm parusham vadantyAm na chaiva Rama: pravivEsa shOkam"
"tat apriyam amitraghna: vachanam maraNOpamam
shrutvA tu na vivyathE Rama: Kaikeyim cha idam abraveet"
KaikEyI was after all a step mother, whose words Sri Raghava could have
disregarded: and even if the instructions had indeed emanated from His father,
Sri Rama could have very well ignored those too, as they were in contravention
of the earlier, considered decision to crown Him, taken with the full consent
of the RAjaguru, the erudite Council of Ministers and above all, the citizenry
of Ayodhya. As such, Sri Rama would have been on safe ground, had He chosen to
display anger, rebel against the patently unjust instruction for abdication of
the Crown in favour of His younger brother and assumed the mantle Himself as
per original plans.
However, He did none of this. He displayed no emotion at all on receiving the
tormenting tidings, least of all disappointment or distress. He hastened to
assure KaikEyi of immediate and implicit compliance, should she entertain any
doubts of her unholy efforts bearing fruit. Sri Rama's words bring tears to our
eyes, when He tells His stepmother, in all sincerity and without a tinge of
sarcasm or irony, that He would leave for the forest immediately and that she
need have no worry on that count, as He had groomed Himself to put up with
adversity and was more than a Rishi in practicing renunciation-
"nAham arttha parO dEvi! lOkam Avastum utsahE
viddhi mAm rishibhi: tulyam kEvalam Dharmam Astthitham"
The only words of chiding from Sri Rama were at KaikEyI professing to convey
the message from the Emperor. Raghava tells her, "Would I not obey implicitly,
if you yourself were to tell me so? Do you need to tell me that these are
instructions from father? To me, you are as venerable as father". Here are the
glorious words of KambanAttAzhwar, describing Rama's model response-" Mannavan
paNi endrAgil num paNi maruppEnO, iLayanan pettra selvam adiyEn pettradu
andrO?"
This episode also displays another glorious trait in the Prince of Ayodhya,
viz., Tolerance or "Porumai" or "KshamA". Sri Ramanuja, in his GitAbhAshya,
defines Tolerance as remaining stoic and unaffected even in the face of the
grossest of provocations-"manO vikAra hEtou satyapi avikrita manastvam". It is
not enough if one were to preserve a stoic and stony countenance , a stiff
upper lip and a poker face, when confronted by adversity and distress. If the
control stops with the physical features, with the inner feelings raging
rampantly, it would only result in bottling up of the true emotions, which
would burst out some time or the other, to the detriment of all. However, if
one is able to remain unmoved at the emotional level, having groomed oneself to
accept good and bad with dispassion, that then is the true test of Tolerance or
"KshamA".
It is this magnificent trait that Sri Raghunandana displayed in His aforesaid
interaction with KaikEyI. In doing so, He only lived up to the tribute paid to
Him by Sri Narada, comparing Him to Mother Earth in Tolerance-"kshamayA
prithivI sama:" Just as Mother Earth puts up with the innumerable
transgressions Her children commit against Her, Sri Rama too preserved His
poise and received the sentence of banishment from KaikEyI with extreme lack of
concern and unmoved at what it entailed.
Each and every word, gesture and action of Sri Rama stand eloquent testimony to
His absolute espousal of Dharma, in all its forms and facets.
We are told that it is often difficult to define Righteousness, with
circumstances determining what is correct and what is not ("Dharmasya tatvam
nihitam guhAyAm") While in absolute terms, Dharma might be constant and
unchanging, yet in tricky daily life situations where we find it difficult to
determine the right course of action, it is to role models like Sri DAsarathi
that we look up to, for providing us the requisite inspiration, guidance and
strength of character, for adopting the straight, narrow and often thorn-strewn
path of Dharma-
"MahA janA: yEna gata: sa panthA:"
Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana
Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
dasan, sadagopan
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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