The glory of Rama Rajya

Class notes | December 9, 2018

If you do not know happiness, how would you live your life? When we do not know that the purpose of living is happiness, we give in to everyone and every idea. Our VIR course is a course on expecting more out of life, more from ourselves. We have reduced our internal expectations too much. We think that the purpose of living is only serving our families, but it is not. It is a means to serving the community, society, humanity and divinity. True living is when we expect more from ourselves and from opportunities that come our way.

Bhagavan Rama orders Lord Indra to come from heaven with amrita. Lord Indra spreads the amrita and all the monkeys, bears and other beings come back to life. Bhagavan Rama does not need Lord Indra to bring the animals back to life. He does this to honor Lord Indra. So much of Ramayana is Bhagavan Rama being quiet and honoring others. That’s a subtle message to us about how we should live — by being quiet and allowing others to be honored because when we depend on honor, there’s a lot of agitation and lack of quietude.

Uttara Kanda

Sri Bharata and all the people of Ayodhya tune into Bhagavan Rama and know Bhagavan is returning soon. When we have a cheerful mind, we feel Bhagavan’s home is in us. The Pushpaka vimana lands and Bhagavan Rama along with Mother Sita and Sri Lakshmana enter Ayodhya. Bhagavan Rama releases the vimana so it can return to its rightful owner, Kubera, not Ravana. This teaches us that even we should not hold on to something that does not belong to us.

Bhagavan Rama sees Rishi Vashistha and runs towards him, dropping his bow and arrows. This is the first time since leaving Ayodhya that He drops his bow and arrows. Sri Bharata drops at Bhagavan Rama’s feet, surrendering. Bhagavan Rama lifts him up to embrace him and it is indeed a beautiful sight.

All the monkeys and bears manifest as humans in Ayodhya. The citizens of Ayodhya greet Bhagavan Rama with arati thalis. They start throwing their wealth and valuables at others as they are no more dependent on these. This shows us that security and happiness is not outside; the joy is within us.

Rishi Vashistha says Bhagavan Rama should be made king now. The Vijaya Tilaka is put on Bhagavan Rama’s forehead and in that moment, He becomes the king of Ayodhya!

Six months pass. Bhagavan Rama reminds the monkeys and bears to return to their responsibilities and they do. They do not depend on Bhagavan’s physical presence, but on his omnipresence. Angada does not want to return, but Bhagavan explains to him that his responsibilities are to his people. Sugreeva tells Hanuman-ji to stay and serve Bhagavan. There is so much love and respect amongst all.

Bhagavan Rama takes his brothers to their palaces. He undoes their jatas and bathes them because He feels they had to suffer because of Him. He then undoes His jata but before He bathes himself, He goes to Mother Kaikeyi’s palace. His exile began here and ends here. Bhagavan Rama does not blame Mother Kaikeyi. He has prasadha buddhi; accepting everything as divine ordinance. Another reason Bhagavan bathes himself is because in the jungle, others served Him. Now, as King, He will serve others. He never once takes anything for granted. Until we get married, all samskaras, including marriage, are done for us by others. We should never forget the service others have done for us and we should be ready to give back.

Bhagavan Rama enters the courtroom. Rishi Vashistha creates a divine seat and Bhagavan Rama sits on it. Siyavara Ramachandra Ki Jai!

These divine details show a return to Advaita — feeling of oneness and enlightenment. We should internalize Bhagavan’s return to Ayodhya and feel God inside us.

Rama Rajya: The focus of this class is Rama Rajya. The period when Bhagavan Rama rules Ayodhya is called Rama Rajya. It is a glorious time. There is peace everywhere — far away, near, and inside. Even though it is Tretha yuga, everyone feels like it is Satya yuga. Rules are followed and there is no need to resort to punishment. Vedas manifest as bards, teaching everyone that one needs bhakti, the antidote to ego, to rise high in life. Otherwise one will fall.

Mother Sita is happy. She has no conceit or pride. She is ever devoted to Her Lord. Everyone is in Satsang and there is no fear. All three worlds are engaged in dharma. Where there is responsibility, there is prosperity and peace. Without Ravana in control, all three worlds shift back to dharma and there is oneness. Even animals are together and there is no sense of separation. This is what the world needs right now.

Everyone practices monogamy because Bhagavan Rama is an eka patni vrata. One is happy and appreciates what one has. There is no distraction and escapism.

The 4 pillars to Sanatana Dharma are strong in Rama Rajya. We should aim to practice these:

- tapa: going outside of our comfort zone, going from loving family to loving society, humanity and divinity

- shaucha — purity that starts with cleanliness

- daya — compassion and empathy. To listen, and to react less.

- dana — generosity. Dana should not be out of a sense of helping as that leads to separation, but out of a sense of fulfilment. The happier one is, the more generous one is. As we grow older, let us reflect on becoming more generous, otherwise one becomes insecure.

One of the best expressions of Rama Rajya is showing gratitude for the greatness of others. Bhagavan Rama always focuses on other people’s strengths, and we should do the same. Looking at others’ weaknesses and our own strengths is not a characteristic of Rama Rajya.

The last part of Uttara Kanda showcases an important dialogue between Kaka Bhusundi and Garuda that teaches us the following:

Each one of us has an ashrama dharma and varna dharma.

Ashrama dharma: There are four ashrams to follow in life -

• Brahmacharya — first 24 years when we focus on learning to love ourselves
• Grihasta: next 24 years when we share our love with family and community
• Vanaprasta: when we share our love with society and humanity — until age 60
• Sanyasa: when we live for divinity

We can only share what we have. If we have peace, we can share it. We have to unlearn the idea of dependency on the 3 Ps — pleasure, position, and possession, and become independent so that we can share the independence.

Varna dharma: When we think small, our varna is that of shudras (workers). When we think some more, we are vaishyas (traders), followed by kshatriyas (leaders) and finally, brahmanas (thinkers).

More important than ashrama dharma and varna dharma is Sanatana Dharma. As a noun, Sanatana Dharma represents infinite nature. As a verb, Sanatana Dharma means unchanging responsibility. Our only dharma is our unchanging responsibility to know our infinite nature and that supersedes being a parent or a minister or any other responsibility. Our only priority becomes Rama — joy. If we are clear about the end, we will be diligent with the means to that end.

As our VIR course is approaching the end, if we realize we are not happy, that means we are still externalizing happiness. Let us internalize these teachings and assess ourselves.