The Hindu : Rama's trials, tribulations

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Apr 02, 2004

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous - Religion

Rama's trials, tribulations

CHENNAI, APRIL 2. Human life is an admixture of joys and sorrows, and the biggest challenge for anyone is to remain poised in the midst of the vagaries of life. Our elders have pronounced that no single person on earth can enjoy unalloyed pleasure or continuous sorrow. Nor is anyone likely to escape the vicissitudes of fortune, determined largely by the good and bad deeds indulged in one's earlier births. It is for this reason that wise men state that we should repose faith in God and pray to Him so that He may bless us with the frame of mind that is capable of absorbing both happy occurrences and depressing turn for the worse in our fortunes, without either going overboard or plunging into depression. It is easier to console others with the statement, "It's all for the best," rather than apply the same to ourselves, but if we master that ability, then equanimity is achieved.

In his discourse, Sri M.R. Nagasubramaniam said the life of Rama serves to teach us this important lesson. Lord Rama's trials and tribulations are like what all of us have faced at one time or another in life. The coronation is announced and before Rama could get to really grasp and enjoy the happy declaration, He is summoned and informed of the reversal of fortunes. How many of us have not experienced the same, the near reach of promotion or honour slipping away to another, despite being qualified? By His behaviour, wherein the concern was more for upholding the promise of the father, rather than personal worries, He instructs mankind to accept adversity not only superficially with a smiling face but also with the right temperament. That we are all susceptible to devious minds, which convincingly portray a wrong as though it were right is exemplified by Kaikeyi's change of mind with regard to Rama's coronation. The hunchback Mantra's attempts at character assassination (of Rama) might have swayed a lesser mind, but Kaikeyi was incapable of doubting her intentions. The mischief maker like many of the ilk who are adept at seemingly convincing arguments, changed her tactic stating, "If Bharata should get his ancestral kingdom by lawful means, that would advance your own kin.. if Rama is exiled for 14 years, your son will remain king for the rest of his life, having in that time firmly established his rule and got into his hands the instruments of power". One may wonder at the sanctity of the timeframe of exile — 14 years. In that Yuga, the legal limitation was for 14 years, and if Rama had returned before that timeframe, the laws of the land could have been invoked against Him.

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