Bits of life

J-12 Words-1700

listening to the sweet voice of Rama, Sabari leaves the world with a smile of contentment on her face. As her spirit left the world the brothers paid their obeisance to one of the greatest devotees of Lord Rama, Sabari.
On the way to Rishyamuka, the princes of Ayodhya came across the beautiful lake of Pampa. The surroundings were delightful and at once Rama remembered his wife Sita who loved such scenic beauty.

He talked of her to Lakshmana and the way she used to appreciate things of beauty. Lakshmana said,
“My brother, wherever she is, mother Sita must be thinking of you. Just as you are reminded of her, she too must be reminded of you at every juncture. I beg you not to lose heart. My sister-in-law Sita is a princess. She is a brave woman.”

Now let us look at what happened to Sita.
She was being carried away by Ravana to Lanka. He took her straight to one of his most beautiful of gardens called, Ashokavana. The garden of Asoka was supposed to keep people from tears and sorrow. It had many kinds of wonderful trees and flowers. It was always spring time in Ashokavana. Birds kept singing and wind blew gently. It was always guarded by hundreds of rakshasa soldiers.

Sita sat under a wide spreading Asoka tree and started crying bitterly. Ravana asked the rakshasis or demon women guarding the garden to keep strict vigilance of Sita. He said he would punish them with capital punishment if she ever went missing from the garden. He also asked them to use various methods to persuade her to marry him, to surrender to him. So saying he threatened Sita he would kill her if she did not agree to become his mistress in the near future. He also assured her that her husband Rama and brother Lakshmana would never be able to find her because no one knew the where Lanka was. With these words Ravana left Sita’s presence.

The moment he went away, the demon women started pestering Sita. They said she should consider herself lucky to have a king like Ravana craving her. They also tempted her that as Ravana’s eldest wife she would enjoy heavenly pleasures. They threatened her they would kill her if she did not agree for what they suggested. They started talking among themselves as to what they would do if she did not agree to become their king’s woman. They took fierce looking swords and lances and frightened her with them. They created darkness and assumed fierce forms of animals with long nails and ugly faces. Sita was very much frightened and cried pitifully.
Sita cried silently. She repented her uncalled desire for the golden skinned doe in the forest. She realized desire was the reason for her fall. Trouble started the moment she wanted to possess it. By her act of unforgivable sin she made Rama and Lakshmana also suffer along with her. She thought of Rama again and again missed him as bitterly as Rama missed her. But it was too late for grieving. Things would not return to the past. Thus Sita was thrown into a slough of deep depression.

The brothers, Rama and Lakshmana reached a tall mountain and started crossing it. Beyond the mountain lay the kingdom of Kishkinda, the country of apes.

King Sugriva’s guards were keeping vigil on the peak of the mountain. They spotted the two prince like sanyasis advancing to the mountain. They at once reported to their chief Sugriva about the two persons coming inside their territory. Sugriva wondered if they were his bad brother Vaali’s spies and that he might be planning to drive him away from Rishymuka mountain too. He asked them how they appeared. The guard said,
“Sire, they look very handsome. They are tall and dressed in ascetic clothes of orange hue. Yet they carried bows and arrows.”

Sugriva asked again,
“So what do you think they are? Hermits or ascetics?”
The guard replied without hesitation,
“Sir, both.”

Sugriva wondered how this could be possible. So he discussed the matter with Jambavanta and concluded that they should first confirm whether they were genuine strangers or Vaali’s secret vigilantes.
For this work they needed someone with great intelligence and who possessed the skill of speech and language. Jambavanta suggested Hanuman best suited the purpose. They knew that Hanuman must be meditating somewhere in a remote place. Sugriva and his assistants at once went in search of Hanuman. As they guessed, Hanuman was meditating among the peaceful surrounds of nature. They went to him and told him of the two human beings wandering on the hillside and that their king Sugriva wanted Hanuman to go inquire who they were and what their purpose was in coming to the mountain, Rishymuka.

Hanuman agreed to go to the two humans in a disguise. He changed himself into a shape of learned Brahmin, a priest. He approached Rama and Lakshmana who were wondering which direction to take to scale the mount Rishymuka. Looking at the priest coming their way, Rama asked him,
“Learned Sir, could you tell us the way to Sugriva’s habitat?”
Hanuman replied,
“Why do you want to meet him? I am his family priest. Without telling me or consulting me, Sugriva will not meet anyone.”

Lakshmana was angry with the nonchalant way in which the strange human being talked to them.
But Rama pacified him and told Hanuman that Mother Sabari said they should meet Sugriva and that he lived in this vicinity. Also, he further informed Hanuman that Sabari said it would benefit him in meeting Sugriva she said that the meeting would benefit him.

Rama further told Hanuman that if it was not possible to meet Sugriva, let them at least meet his minister, Hanuman. Hanuman felt happy and repeated the question whether Rama really wanted to meet Hanuman. Then he asked their identity and upon knowing that they were the sons of the king of Kosala, Dasaratha, and that they were Rama and Lakshmana, he realized he was actually waiting for Sree Ram. Hanuman’s joy came out as tears of joy. Hanuman felt an unspoken devotion to Rama and he felt the bond of attachment tightening on his spirit. He was overcome with the feeling that he had just seen God and that he realized his mission of life was to dedicate it for the service of Rama. There was instantaneous rapport between the two of them like it is between the master and the disciple, between a mother and a child, between the devotee and his god.

Both Rama and Lakshmana were felt as though they met another brother of theirs. Hanuman offered to take them straight to Sugriva. He transformed himself into a giant shaped ape and carried the brothers on his shoulders. Then he flew to Sugriva’s abode and let them alight from his and took them to Sugriva’s cave where the ape king was holding his court. Sugriva came out and took Rama and Lakshmana to the interior of his cave. They were introduced to one another by Hanuman. Sugriva invited Rama and his brother Lakshmana to his side and offered them seats and made them feel comforted. Then he asked his guards in waiting to fetch his guests some delicious offerings such as fruit, honey and wine.
Then Jambavanta talked about Rama’s problem of finding his wife Sita and releasing her from the clutches of demons who imprisoned her. Then Rama made a bond of friendship with Sugriva. When the ape king spoke of reciprocation of helping Rama by seeking his help in retrieving his lost kingdom and wife, Rama enunciated that there was no place for political alliance between friends. He told Sugriva that whether he helped him in finding Sita or not, he that was Rama was always ready to help a friend in need. He explained the value of friendship to Sugriva. He said that between friends there existed no differences of race and creed, fame or money. The friendship bond was much higher than the mundane considerations that ruled the world. Friendship could happen between a kind and beggar, between the more powerful and the weak. It was a sacred bond.

Then Hanuman intervened and further elaborated on the value of friendship. He praised Lord Sree Rama for his mercy to offer Sugriva his friendship unasked. A friend was ever ready to lay down his life for the sake of his friend. Rama pledged friendship with Sugriva with fire as witness and he vowed that he would defeat Vaali and help him get back his wife and the lost kingdom.
Hanuman once again praised the nobility of Rama who forgot his own sorrow and was ready to help Sugriva to wipe out his sorrow. With that, Sugriva embraced Rama and addressed him as his master. He assured Rama that he and his ape soldiers will have left no stone unturned in searching for Sita in all the three worlds. He promised he would definitely find her. Then Rama inquires whether Sugriva had any idea of where the demon king lived and how strong his forces were. Sugriva however confessed that he had no idea of the whereabouts of the demon king and his kingdom although he felt as though he had seen her. Startled by this new information, Rama asked when exactly he had seen her.

Sugriva now narrated the incident of how he encountered a strange scene on a day when he and his five ministers were on top of the mountain. At that time they saw a flying chariot in which a demon and woman were spotted. The woman was crying out loudly when she saw them,
“O forest beings! If you see Rama tell him that a cruel demon named Ravana abducted his wife and give his this bundle.”

Then she took out her ornaments and tied them in a piece of cloth torn from her sari and dropped them to ground on which Sugriva and his ministers were standing.
Sugriva said to Rama,
“I have these jewels with me Sire. Let me show them to you.”
Then Hanuman fetched the jewels