By Bal Ram Singh, PhD
Nothing happens for no reason, so does the appearance of great personalities on Earth. Appearance means what appears to us through our sense organs or ‘Gyanendriyan’ which are functionally connected to ‘Karmendriyas’ or the organs of actions. These both are linked at the deeper origin levels to the five Tanmatras that are the projections of the Panchabhutas created by the Pranic energy.
The material world being the Maya keeps an equilibrium between energy and matter to be felt and acted upon. However, there is a part of the remaining universe that is not visible and can be represented by Sheshnag.
The remaining universe is considered dark matter or dark energy and accounts for over 95% of the universe. In the Baikunth Dham Bhagvan Vishnu is always lying on the black Sheshnag in Yoga Nidra. His consort Shri Lakshmi at his feet, not as servant but as the fortune or Bhagya (भाग्य).
Many scholars wrongly attribute Lakshmi as wealth of coins or material. In fact, Lakshmi means the one who sets one’s target or goal (Laksha, लक्ष). The lLaksha is where one gets enlightened or full of ‘bha’, meaning the light as in Bhaskar or Bharat. ‘Ga’ or ग means to go, suggesting to go where one finds light. Therefore, she controls the appearance of Bhagvan Vishnu, thus his feet the instrument of his travel symbolically.
For example, Lakshman was the incarnation of Sheshnag, Bharat was the incarnation of Panchajanya, the conch of Bhagvan Vishnu, and Shatrughna was the incarnation of Sudarshan Chakra. All other associates in the story had their own journey to be present together to play their roles. Without them Ram will not be the Ram we know as Raghuveer, Raghukul nayak, Raghuvansh Shiromani, etc.
Raghukula had many prominently kings of the Ikshvaaku clan of solar dynasty, such as Harishchandra, Bhagirath, Sagar, etc., but Raghu was the most outgoing king in that dynasty who traveled far flung places, to not expand his empire but to dharma for human welfare and freedom. No one was beyond his sphere of influence when it came to getting help. Kaushal raj was relatively tiny in terms of the landmass on earth but unlimited in outreach for Dharma.
His expedition in establishing Dharma took him up the border of modern Russia, some even attribute the name Russia from Rishi. The Russian language seems to be closest to the Awadhi language of Ayodhya, as was recently described to me by Ms. Zeba Khan , daughter of a close friend Comrade Asrar Khan who hails from the same Avadh region as I do.
His major trait was to conduct a Yagya after every victory expedition , and give everything away to Rishis and Sages, leaving nothing for him or his future lineage.
Ram became the most ardent follower of Raghu by living the life of such a renunciate that he even left his parents despite his father King Dasaratha asking him not to go to the jungles despite his words to Queen Kaikeyi. Ram actually defied his father to preserve the principle so vividly established by King Raghu through his Yagyas, which literally means to leave one’s dear thing for expansion of knowledge through experience and expeditions.
In this context, it is interesting that many in public and even among scholars believe that Ram was an obedient son, who followed the order given by his father, King Dasaratha. In reality, Dasaratha actually explicitly asks Ram to not go to the forest.
अहम राघव केकेय्या वरदानेन मोहीतह।
अयोध्यायास्त्वमेवाद्य भव राजा निग्र्ह्य्य माम।।
(Valmiki Ramayan 28.22)
Meaning: I am attached to my boons to Kaikeyi, but you can arrest me and become the king of Ayodhya. This illustrates how Dasaratha was distraught that he asked his son to arrest him, so that the cause of his going to forest was removed. What he meant to say was that once he is arrested, he will cease to be a king, and thus devoid of kingdom to give to Bharat.
However, Ram did not heed to his suggestion, and left for the forest, along with Sita and Lakshman. In this act, Ram was ensuring that the family tradition of keeping their words does not get broken, rather he strengthened it by taking all the trouble to go live in the jungle. He did not return even after he learned that his father had passed away. And, he did not entertain the idea of returning back when Kaikeyi herself said that she was taking her demand for the boons back, and thus making Ram free to return to Ayodhya, as was being pleaded by Bharat for whom the kingdom was secured by his mother Kaikeyi.
By today’s standard, Ram would be considered uncaring and stubborn, who summarily dismissed pleas of father and mother. Was he really uncaring or was this part of his Yagya in life?
His accomplishments in setting an example of not only his Kulareeti but the standard for rest of the society is amply clear from his impact, worldwide, nay, universally!
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Balram Singh is a Professor and the President of the Institute of Advanced Sciences, Dartmouth, Massachusetts, researching Ayurveda, Yoga, Vedic education, and Vedic social and political traditions. He is also an adjunct faculty at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi.
