A piece by Narasimhan, which i thought should be in the blog.
I had labored as I always do to type out an appropriate opening to my response to your posting in Jignyaasaa. In one moment it all vanished from the screen. Am in no mood to rewrite all of that again and not certainly on that comment space on the blog. Generally I had said that I was battling the last few days as to how to respond to Vichu's recent reflections, some picked from earlier postings and some new. I saw Anand's response, ooncha as usual and now yours in the form of thoroughly relevant excerpts from Swami Chinmayananda's commentary on Atma Bodha. May we all regain our lost "peace" some time soon, not "bahoonaam janmanaam anthay". May our present janma be the last one.
Swamiji's metaphysical interpretation of Seeta's abduction and the subsequent rescue by Rama is strikingly different from the common interpretation of this most heart rending episode in the epic which depicts Seeta as having brought about their separation from each other and undergoing insufferable travails thereafter, all as a result of falling into a momentary delusion, caused by Maricha(Mirage), of yearning for fulfillment outside of Her Rama,Her eternal abode of peace. The delusion was short lived but she still had to go thru the 'purificatory' process that would start with her being abducted by Ravana,the ten headed monster by deceit when in fact She was upholding the dharma of giving Daanam to a sanyasi, then held captive , cajoled relentlessly to yield to its temptations by the monster and subsequently threatened with death. She had all along known that the monster was just a phantom and would disappear when it encountered Rama. She was sure besides, without any assailing doubts, that Rama will come and rescue Her from Her tormentor and that they will be re united in eternal peace. Yet the ordeal was real and pushed Her trust to a point where even after Shri Hanuman's reassurance She could not hold back from telling him that She would give up Her struggle and Her body should Rama not fulfill His promise within two months.
Troubled yet trusting seekers commonly identify their plight with the distressed Sita, put their hearts into their Rama and wait for Him to appear and deliver them out of their bondage of samsara. They despair that their Rama chooses to remain in their imagination and gives no hint whatever that He is really around somewhere and is rushing to their rescue so that He could regain His peace The odd Hanumans that show up in their lives counsel patient submission to their prarabdha and His Will. They do not carry reassuring messages from God much less His promises The merciful Lord is ever ready to end their misery they say, only their contrition must be complete and their rejection of the ten headed monster beyond doubt. The troubled souls find Sita's agnj pravesh to prove that She had met these requirements daunting. Bedevilled thus by doubts if God would even consider them worthy of His intervention in their lives, today's Sitas (the outspoken Vichus) echo Adi Shankaracharya's cry in his bhujangam, "kim karomi, kva yaami?" ( what do I do, where do I go?).
Here is where Swamiji's commentary comes with a rejuvenating interpretation that it is Rama who will fight the negative energies that are arrayed against Him to regain His peace, Sita.The onus to purify a deluded mind shifts to Rama as the dissolution of separation is His need. As Vichu keeps repeating, all that the Sitas can do and need to do is surrender. Rama will end the separation. I am reminded of Rumi's line:
Whoever brought me here will have to take me home.
God bless us all.
Narasimhan
PS: "Deluded mind " in the commentary seems to be attaching to Rama. I would rather it stays attached to Sita, the determination to free Her of the delusion however being attached to Rama. If I have got this wrong I would like to be corrected. ALN
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