Miscellaneous - Religion   

Yoked to dharma

CHENNAI: Lord Rama's exemplary qualities have always been so attractive that not only His admirers but also His enemies have indulged in eulogies that spring from their inner experience. There is a perfect alignment in the thought, word and deed of Lord Rama that establishes a transparency in His character, and His life serves as a role model for mankind. As Lord Rama, the Supreme Being established high values of dharma, choosing to live the life of a human being without revealing His divine identity. Neither Lord Rama nor Sita wished to exercise their divine powers to tone down their sorrow or hardship, and the Ramayana illustrates that none can circumvent one's destiny, pointed out Sri M. V. Anantapadmanabhachariar in a lecture.

Lord Rama's integrity is reflected in His spontaneous acceptance of Kaikeyi's commands, proving that He regarded mother's word as binding as father's, and more importantly, he regarded Bharata's accession to the throne with the same joy as that of His own. But Lakshmana was enraged at the unfairness of the situation. When the law confirmed hereditary succession to the first born, was it proper for Dasaratha to bequeath it to another? Should not faults in him, be he one's preceptor or father, be pointed out? Lord Rama patiently counselled Lakshmana in favour of upholding one's father's words.

In the Mahabharata, great preceptors such as Bhishma, Drona and Kripa had failed to oppose the unrighteous conduct of Duryodhana, and when Arjuna hesitated to fight the same venerable elders, Lord Krishna advised him to get ahead with the war since the wheel of dharma had to run.

Later, Lord Rama's forbearance was tested beyond a limit when the ocean king did not respond to the severe penance undertaken by Him to invoke his help to enable the monkey army to build a bridge across it.

The arrogance of the ocean king was humbled when the Lord vowed to dry up the ocean with His powerful arrow. The ocean sought the Lord's protection since Lord Rama's arrow could not go in vain. He suggested that instead it could be aimed at the island Drumatulya.

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