The Ramcharitmanas 3
Page 24
Seeing their chance, Sanak and his three brothers, the mind-born sons of Brahma, also came,
Glowing with spiritual power, beautiful in their virtue and goodness,
Ever absorbed in the rapture of union with the divine,
And youthful in appearance despite being aeons old.
It was as though the four Vedas had assumed bodily form.
The sages, with only the sky for raiment, looked impartially upon all.
They had but one addiction—
To listen to the exploits of Raghupati wherever they were being recited.
Sanak and his brothers, Bhavani, had stayed
With the learned sage, Agastya.
The great muni had told them all of Ram’s story,
Which is the source of true wisdom, just as the fire-stick is of fire.
When Ram saw the munis approaching,
He joyfully prostrated himself before them.
After welcoming them and asking after their well-being,
The Lord spread his own yellow robes for them to sit upon.
(32)
His three brothers, together with the Wind’s son,
Also prostrated themselves before the sages, and everyone felt great joy.
The munis, seeing Raghupati’s incomparable beauty,
Became absorbed in its contemplation. They could not look away
Or close their eyes for an instant, but remained gazing
Upon the dark-hued form and lotus eyes of the Lord,
Shrine of beauty and destroyer of the cycle of rebirth.
Ram stood before them with folded hands and bowed head.
Seeing their state, Raghubir’s
Eyes, too, filled with tears and his body trembled.
Taking them by the hand, the Lord made the great munis sit,
And spoke to them most gracious words.
‘O great munis, today I am truly blessed,
For upon beholding you, all sins are destroyed.
It is only by the greatest good fortune that one attains the company of saints;
It is only through such communion that the cycle of rebirth is, without effort, broken.
The company of saints is the path to salvation,
While to consort with those given to worldly pleasures leads to endless rebirth—
So say the saints themselves, the poets, the learned,
The Vedas, the Puranas and all the holy books.’
(33)
The four munis rejoiced to hear the Lord’s words,
And, with quivering limbs, they began to sing a song of praise.
‘Hail to the Supreme God, the infinite, the immutable, the sinless,
Existing in every form, the one, the all-compassionate!
Glory to the unembodied! Glory, glory to the ocean of virtue,
The abode of bliss, the beautiful, the accomplished!
Glory to Indira’s beloved, glory to the supporter of the earth,
The incomparable, the uncreated, the one without beginning, and in whom resides beauty,
Treasure-house of wisdom, without pride, the bestower of honour upon others,
Whose purifying glory is sung in the Puranas and the Vedas,
The destroyer of ignorance, who knows the truth of all things, and is grateful to his devotees,
The one who transcends maya, whose names are many, and yet is nameless,
Who is manifest as all, pervades all and resides
Forever in every heart! Protect us,
And break the bonds of duality, adversity and rebirth that bind us!
Dwell in our hearts, O Ram, and destroy our lust and pride!
O Supreme Bliss embodied, O abode of mercy,
You who fulfil the heart’s every desire,
O divine Ram, grant us
Unceasing and loving devotion to your feet.
(34)
Grant us that all-sanctifying bhakti, O Raghupati,
That destroys the threefold afflictions and the power of transmigration.
Lord, you who fulfil the desires of the suppliant like the celestial Kamdhenu and Kalpataru,
Show us your favour and grant us this boon.
You are a veritable Rishi Kumbhaj to the ocean that is this existence, Raghunayak.4
Easily attainable to those who worship you, you bestow every joy upon them.
Destroy the intense suffering born of the mind, O friend of the humble,
And increase equanimity in us.
You prevent the longing for worldly pleasures, keep away fear and envy,
And intensify humility, discernment and detachment.
O jewel amongst earthly kings and the ornament of this earth,
Grant us devotion to you, the only boat in which to cross the ocean of this existence.
You are the swan that dwells eternally upon the Manas lake that is the minds of sages,
And Brahma and Shankar adore your lotus feet.
Banner of the Raghu clan, custodian of the Vedas,
Devourer of time, destiny, individual dispositions and the three gunas,
You are both the boatman and the boat to ferry your worshippers across the ocean of this existence.
Destroyer of all defects, jewel of the three worlds, you are Tulsidas’s own Lord.’
After thus praising the Lord again and again,
And lovingly bowing their heads,
Sanak and his brothers returned to Brahma’s abode
With the boon they had so deeply desired.
(35)
After Sanak and his brothers had left for Vidhi’s abode,
Ram’s brothers all bowed their heads at his feet,
But hesitant to ask the Lord their question,
They all looked at Hanuman,
Wishing to hear from the Lord’s own lips
Words that would remove all their misapprehensions.
The Lord, who pervades the inner hearts of all, understood this,
And asked, ‘Tell me, Hanuman, what is the matter?’
Folding his hands, Hanuman replied,
‘Listen, O all-merciful God—
Bharat, master, wishes to ask you something,
But is hesitant to put the question to you.’
‘You know how I feel, Hanuman.
There are no secrets between Bharat and me.’
Hearing the Lord’s words, Bharat clasped his feet, and said,
‘Hear me, my master, you who take away the suffering of those who seek refuge in you.
I have no doubts of any kind, sire,
Nor anxiety or any confusion even in my dreams—
And this is the result of your grace alone,
O Lord, sum of compassion and bliss.
(36)
But, abode of mercy, I dare presume to ask of you a question,
For I am your servant and you the benefactor of your devotees.
The Vedas and Puranas have sung in many ways
The greatness of the saints, Raghurai.
You, too, have praised them with your own gracious mouth,
And hold great affection for them, Lord.
I would like to know, my master, of their special qualities.
O ocean of mercy, you are clear-sighted and recognize virtue and wisdom.
So, protector of the suppliant, explain to me
The attributes that separate the good from the evil.’
‘Listen, brother, to the attributes of the good,
Innumerable and celebrated in the Vedas and Puranas.
The doings of the good and the wicked
Are like the behaviour of the axe and the sandalwood tree,
For, brother, the axe cuts down the sandalwood tree,
But the tree imparts its own virtue to the axe by infusing it with fragrance.
That is why sandalwood marks the forehead of the gods,
And is beloved of the world,
While the axe, for its punishment,
Is heated in fire and beaten into shape.
&n
bsp; (37)
Indifferent to worldly pleasures, good-natured and virtuous,
Sorrowful in the sorrow of others, joyful to see their joy,
Equable, without enemies, free of pride and desire,
Having relinquished greed, anger, joy and fear,
Tender-hearted, compassionate to the afflicted,
Sincerely devoted to me in thought, word and deed,
Paying honour to others, but taking none for themselves—
Bharat, such beings are as dear to me as life.
Free of all desire, and wholly devoted to my name,
They are happy abodes of tranquillity, restraint and humility.
Gentleness, simplicity, goodwill towards all,
Devotion to Brahmans, the source of all dharma—
He in whose heart all these qualities abide,
Always know him for a true saint, dear brother.
Their calm, self-restraint, piety and moral principles never waver,
And never do they speak harsh or unkind words.
They who regard criticism and praise both alike,
And are attached only to my lotus feet—
Such good men, in whom reside virtue and bliss,
Are as dear to me as life.
(38)
Listen now to the attributes of the wicked,
With whom no one should associate even by mistake.
Association with them always brings suffering,
Like a troublesome cow that ruins a kapila cow with her company.
The heart of the wicked is filled with terrible agony,
For it is ever consumed with envy at the sight of another’s prosperity.
Wherever they hear another reviled,
They are as delighted as though they have found a treasure lying in the road.
Completely possessed by lust, anger, pride and greed,
They are cruel, deceitful, crooked and impure.
They bear ill-will towards all without any reason,
And hurt even those who are good to them.
They are false in their giving, false in their taking,
False in every matter, great or small.
They speak sweet words but have hard hearts,
Like the peacock that eats venomous snakes.
They are hostile to their neighbours, covet the wives
And wealth of others and speak ill of everyone.
Such vile and sinful men
Are man-eating demons incarnate.
(39)
Greed is the sum total of their existence,
They are lecherous and gluttonous, but have no fear of hell.
If they ever hear anyone being praised,
They sigh as though they have caught a fever,
And when they see someone in trouble,
They are as happy as though they have been made kings of the world.
Steeped in self-interest, against their own families,
They are dissolute, avaricious and bad-tempered.
They respect neither their mother nor father, and have no regard for their guru or Brahmans.
Themselves ruined, they ruin others too.
Deluded and foolish, they are hostile to others,
And take no pleasure in the company of the good or in discourses about Hari.
Oceans of vice, dull-witted, degenerate,
They mock the Vedas, lay claim to the wealth of others,
And are especially hostile to Brahmans.
They pretend to be good, but hold trickery and deceit in their hearts.
Such vile and wicked men
Are not to be found in the Krityug or the Treta.
There will be some in the Dwapar age,
But hordes will appear in the Kaliyug.
(40)
There is no virtue like the good of others, brother,
And no wickedness like inflicting pain on others.
This is the conclusion of all the Puranas and Vedas,
Dear brother, which I have told you and which all the learned know.
Those who, attaining a human body, inflict pain on others,
Must endure the terrible torments of birth and rebirth.
Overcome by delusion and intent on their own selfish interests,
Men commit many sins and so ruin their prospects in the next world.
I am dreadful doom for them, dear brother,
And assign them the fruit of their deeds, good and evil.
Those who are truly clever realize this,
And knowing this existence to be a burden, worship only me.
They renounce action, giver of rewards good and bad,
And worship me, the king of gods, men and munis.
I have thus told you the attributes of the good and the wicked.
They who understand them will not be caught in the cycle of birth and rebirth.
Listen, dear brother, there are many
Virtues and faults, all the result of maya.
The greatest merit is to see neither,
To notice them is lack of understanding.’
(41)
The brothers all rejoiced to hear these words from the Lord’s gracious lips.
They could scarcely contain their love within their hearts,
As they reverently bowed before him again and again.
Hanuman’s heart, too, was filled with boundless love.
Then Raghupati returned to his own palace.
In this manner, he enacted some new deed every day.
Muni Narad visited Ayodhya time after time,
And sang of Ram’s pure acts.
Each time the muni would witness some new exploit,
And, returning to Brahma’s realm, recite the whole incident there.
Viranchi, delighted to hear of Ram’s acts, would say,
‘Sing of his virtues again and again, dear son.’
Sanak and his brothers praised Narad too.
Though the sages were immersed in their contemplation of the Absolute,
They would forget their samadhi upon hearing his song of praise,
And, supremely qualified to do so, listen to it with reverence.
Though free from this existence and absorbed in contemplation of the Absolute,
They interrupted their meditations to listen to the story of Ram’s deeds.
Those who take no joy in Hari’s story,
Must indeed have hearts of stone.
(42)
One day, upon being summoned by Raghunath,
Vasishtha, the Brahmans and the people of the city came together.
When his guru, the munis, the Brahmans and the nobles had taken their seats,
Ram, who ends the cycle of rebirth for his devotees, spoke these words.
‘Listen to my words, people of Ayodhya.
I do not speak out of attachment or any self-interest in my heart,
I do not ask you to do anything wrong, nor do I seek to assert my authority.
Hear what I say, and then do what pleases you.
He is my servant and most beloved to me
Who accepts my commands.
If I say anything wrong or unjust, brothers,
Stop me without fear.
It is by great good fortune that you have been born with a human body,
Which, as all the scriptures declare, is difficult even for gods to attain.
It provides the means to spiritual endeavours and the doorway to salvation.
He who receives this body and still cannot prepare for the next world by good deeds,
Receives only suffering in the next world,
And beats his head again and again in regret,
Wrongly blaming
Time and fate and God.
(43)
The reward of this body, brothers, is not the enjoyment of worldly pleasures,
For even the pleasures of heaven are brief and lead to suffering.
Those who, upon receiving a human body, become intent on sensual enjoyment,
&nbs
p; Are fools who exchange amrit for poison.
No one can ever speak well of him
Who throws away the philosopher’s stone and picks up a worthless gunj seed instead.
This immortal soul wanders forever
Between the four modes of birth and the eighty-four lakh forms of living beings.
Impelled by maya, and imprisoned
By time, fate, individual disposition and the three gunas, it drifts eternally.
At some time or another, the Supreme God, who loves without self-interest,
Takes pity on it and grants it a human body.
This human body is a boat to cross the ocean of existence.
My grace is the favourable wind to speed it on its way,
And a true guru the helmsman of this sturdy boat.
In this way, means that are otherwise difficult to obtain are made easily available to the soul.
The man who fails to cross the ocean of existence
Even upon receiving such means,
Is dull-witted and ungrateful, scorning what has been done for him,
And achieves self-destruction.
(44)
If you want happiness here and in the next world,
Listen to my words and hold them firmly in your heart.
The path of devotion to me, my brothers, is pleasant and easily accessed,
And has been praised by the Vedas and Puranas.
True knowledge is difficult to attain, and there are many obstacles in the way.
The means to it are hard, and there is nothing to fix the mind upon.
After much struggle, some do attain it,
But being bereft of bhakti, they do not win my love.
Bhakti is independent and the source of all bliss,
But beings cannot attain it without communion with the saints.
Without an accumulation of merit, saints are inaccessible,
And it is only their company that ends the cycle of birth and rebirth.
There is but one meritorious act in this world—
To worship Brahmans in thought, word and deed.
Munis and gods remain ever favourable to him
Who serves the twice-born without guile or deceit.
There is one more secret tenet
That I with folded hands impress upon you all—
Without the worship of Shankar,
No man can attain devotion to me.