RAMA GITA

Contents

. Introduction

. Teachings of the Rama Gita

. Conclusion

Introduction

Rama Gita or Shri Rama Gita forms the fifth chapter of the Uttara Khanda of Adhyatma Ramayana said to be authored by Veda Vyasa. It is in the form of a dialogue between Lord Rama and his younger brother Lakshmana presented by Lord Shiva himself. It consists of 62 verses condensing the entire Upanishads giving the essence of Vedanta. It is also referred to as ‘Sruti Sara Sangraha’ which means a brief summary of the very essence of all the Vedas. These teachings are deep, subtle and rich in meaning and are intended for the seeker who is slightly familiar with the complex messages given in the Upanishads. As the teachings are from the very Lord of the Universe Shri Rama the depth, eloquence, thoroughness and sublimity of the text is said to be brilliant and profound.

The Rama Gita is Pauranic in nature which means philosophical truths are related through the vehicle of stories. In Sri Rama Gita, Goddess Parvati requests Lord Shiva to tell her what happened after Lord Rama banished a pregnant and innocent queen Sita to the forest. Thus we hear this discourse through the words of Lord Shiva as he tells his consort Parvati and not directly as a Rama- Lakshmana discussion which is similar to the technique of Vyasa in the Bhagavad Gita where we hear the Krishna -Arjuna discussion through the words of Sanjaya who was the advisor to the blind King Dhrithrashtra and had the gift of seeing events at a distance and hence narrated the Kurukshetra battle to the blind King.

The 62 verses are broadly classified into six portions for convenience of study and in each portion one specific topic is discussed.

Verses 1-6 –Introduction

Verses 7-10 –Essence of Vedanta

Verses 11-23 –A highly technical portion that negates the view propagated by some schools of philosophy that knowledge and action are both to be combined as a means of liberation.

Verses 24-51 –Thorough analysis of Vedanta

Verses 52-63 – Methods to achieve liberation

Teachings of the Rama Gita

To Parvati’s query as to how Shri Rama’s life was after banishing Mother Sita to the forest in her enceinte state, Lord Shiva replied that outwardly he behaved in the same manner as if nothing had happened, taking care of the administrative duties of his kingdom and continuing to live in his luxurious palace but in actual fact even in the midst of all opulence Lord Rama lived in total penance (tapas).

One day Lakshmana approaches Lord Rama with great humility and reverence as a great disciple and not as a brother and tells him that he has surrendered at his Lotus feet and he wanted the lord to teach him the quickest way to cross the ocean of samsara and achieve liberation.                          Hearing him Lord Rama, the destroyer of ignorance, the Supreme Lord of the Universe replies that first we have to perform our duties as befits our station in life and then with a pure mind we must surrender to the feet of the teacher to gain knowledge of the self. Attachment to the body and desires of the mind lead to bondage and results in the cycle of birth and death. Work or karma cannot end ignorance unless done without an eye on the fruits of the action. Lord Rama gives several explanations of the Karma path versus the Jnana path and emphasises that the Karma path undertaken with ignorance is useless and only with Jnana or the path of contemplation and knowledge can the ego be curbed. Only when the knowledge of the self arises in man, can maya be destroyed.

Contemplation on the great Upanishad statement ‘That Thou Art’ with a pure mind and faith and the grace of the guru leads to realisation of the Supreme self and bliss. Such a self realised soul becomes like Mount Meru unperturbed and standing tall under all circumstances. ’That’ indicates Paramatma, ’thou’ indicates Jivatma and ‘art’ indicates the identity between the two entities. The instruments of the Jiva are the mind, the intellect, the ten organs of action and perception, the five pranas these seventeen elements constitute the subtle body which gathers the experiences of joy and sorrow from the world outside. Just as a crystal glass appears to be red when in contact with a red rose, the Self when in contact with the five sheaths or Koshas appears to take on its characteristic nature. It is only through discrimination that one realises that the self is unborn since it is non dual. In the supreme, non dual Brahman the Gunas cannot hold sway as they are conditions of the intellect. Thus in the three states of consciousness the Self remains unaffected and pure.

Once the man of wisdom has experienced the state of awakening, he can never be in ignorance again and will be ever abiding in Brahman. The self is eternal, is never born, will never die, will never decay, is ever effulgent and all pervading. It is ignorance that superimposes the idea of mistaking a rope for a snake. At the time of deep sleep we experience the self hence we are at bliss. Just as medicine taken regularly removes the disease and itself gets eliminated, ignorance and its consequences gets removed if we continuously expose the mind to the thought ’I am Brahman’.

Sitting in one place at a particular time, stilling the senses from getting disturbed by the various sense objects, holding the body steady and unmoving and calming the mind steadily contemplate on the Divine. Akara, Ukara and makara of the ‘AUM” symbol should be meditated and contemplated upon. Lord Rama then says that those who withdraw themselves from the outer world, gain victory over the inner enemies and regularly practice yoga of meditation and contemplation, to him alone will the Supreme Lord be directly available. As the river merges into the ocean and becomes one with it, similarly once the light of knowledge shines on the seeker, he becomes one with the Lord, The Parabrahman, the effulgent, eternal self. As long as the seeker is unable to experience Brahman, Lord Rama says that he should worship his form with all devotion and slowly with faith, purity and steadfastness, he will achieve the Supreme goal.

Conclusion

This was the discourse given by the Lord to his brother Lakshmana which he said was the very essence of the Upanishads and this great secret method of liberation could only be achieved with the help of a Satguru and through sincere and rigorous efforts on the part of the seeker. He then blesses his brother to be ever blissful and happy, free of sorrows by renouncing all sense identification and turning to the Lord alone. He then stated that anyone who read the Rama Gita regularly with a pure heart and contemplated and practised the methods given therein would always be protected by the Lord and reach His Divine Lotus feet.