Are we ready to ride our Dharmaratha?
Class notes | October 28, 2018
We read in the Bhagavad Gita how sad Bhagavan Krishna is when someone is suffering, and we see in the Ramayana how sad Bhagavan Rama is when King Dasharatha passses away or when Mother Sita is kidnapped. But how can Bhagavan, who is the source of joy, be sad or cry? Why this sadness, when He is Joy Himself? It is because Bhagavan is showing us how maya feels so that we can relate to it more. But how come Bhagavan is never stuck in the maya? We have the same nature as Bhagavan, but we often become sad, stressed, anxious, and depressed because of maya. Our Vedanta in Ramayana course is helping us to understand that this is maya, helping us to see through this maya so that we can feel the joy again and not remain sad, as sadness is temporary.
Vibhishana is concerned that Bhagavan Rama does not have a chariot or the weaponry of Ravana. It is then that Bhagavan Rama delivers the Vibhishana Gita asking Vibhishana to see His Dharmaratha through his vision, not sight, as this ratha is not visible.
Bhagavan Rama describes His chariot as follows -
The two wheels represent Courage & Determination.
The two flags stand for Honesty & Character.
The four horses represent Health (Physical & mental), Insight, Calmness or Self-Control, & Care.
The 3 horse reins stand for Forgiveness, Kindness or Compassion, & Balance.
The charioteer himself represents Bhakti or dependence on Bhagavan.
Then Bhagavan Rama describes the weapons he possesses. He says His shield represents Independence. His sword is Contentment, His axe is Generosity, His lance is Reason, His bow stands for Understanding, and His quiver represents Purity. His three arrows represent Quietude, Abstinence and Observation. Bhagavan who wears just a dhoti is actually wearing the armor of Reverence for those who are wise, for the Guru.
Courage is needed to face exterior threats and we also need to guard against temptations from within us. When we are trying to be responsible, society comes back at you to weaken you — Hey! Why don’t you sleep in? We need determination not to give in to temptations. We have to be vigilant about threats and temptations forever. Our character should be to never complain. Honesty and a strong character will help us survive within negativity and corruption. We should be generous and remove greed as greed is the cause for sins. Bhagavan Rama, through the Vibhishana Gita, is preparing Vibhishana to be Lankeshwara, freeing him of his fears. This fight is happening in our hearts, inside us and only a Dharmaratha will help us fight this war.
In the war between Bhagavan Rama and Ravana, Ravana is an icon for Avidya, Kumbhakarna an icon for ego and Meghanada, an icon for desire. Avidya creates ego, Asmita, and ego creates desires, Raga. A tremendous amount of preparation is needed to kill Ravana. Only when Bhagavan Rama rides the Dharmaratha, is He able to kill Ravana. In the same way, we have to first work on Raga, then Asmita to dispel Avidya. Ravana’s heads that kept multiplying every time they were cut off represent our desires. As one desire is curbed, another is born. These desires can be cut only by riding our Dharmaratha. Each one of us can ride a Dharmaratha and be vice-free. It is for us to make the choice.
There is a lot of detail described in the Vibhishana Gita and in the entire Ramayana so that we can start to feel the divinity, the love and the virtues inside us and feel closer to Bhagavan Rama and know that our true nature is Ananda.
Discussion Question — How to deal with uncertainty in life? Share one strategy or technique
Vivek-ji’s response —Vivek-ji’s response — Focus on that which is certain, as that helps you face uncertainty, and also inhibits all negativity from arising — just as the vanaras and all the beings in the war, including Mother Sita, always focused on Bhagavan Rama in spite of all the uncertainties they faced fighting against Ravana.
