Ramayana Simplified: A Few Insights from the Bala Kanda: Part 2
- The story of Bhageertha teaches us many things:
- Bhageeratha was able to achieve something which the others could not. This shows us that even though we take up something which others could not achieve, confidence and perseverance can make us achieve it.
- In the first step, when Ganga Devi appeared before him and said that if she flowed through Earth, the whole Earth could get destroyed, Bhageeratha asked for a solution, he didn’t give up there. We all face problems in our life, often, many fail to find solutions and take the path of suicide, but Bhageeratha’s story teaches us that there is nothing in the world without a solution. According to Hinduism, suicide is not considered a solution. It is considered a papa (sin) as well because we are given a human life that has got enormous talent and intelligence to solve problems, we see how our rishis did a lot of things through their tapashakthi which shows the potential inherent in us. So we are supposed to use our intelligence to solve problems. We also find that Bhageeratha never gave up at any stage in spite of the barriers he had to face.
- Bhageeratha took a lot of effort for his ancestors to attain moksha which was a part of one of the Panchmahayajnas called Pitru yajna which involved offering oblations to our forefathers. (https://megharamesh.medium.com/ramayana-simplified-part-13-the-story-of-bhageeratha-d4f820065aea)
2. The importance given to women can be read out from some stories where the thrimoorthys sought the help of ordinary women like Anasooya in solving a problem. We also come across stories where the devas seek the help of Parvathy Devi, Lakshmi Devi, and/or Saraswathy Devi which shows the extent to which their opinions were respected. Ramayana also introduces us to powerful characters like Sheelavathy who was known for her ‘Pathivrithya’ (love/respect towards husband). Her power is attributed to the quality of Pathivrithya. (https://megharamesh.medium.com/ramayana-simplified-part-14-the-story-behind-the-birth-of-maharishi-durvasa-6cd78969426a)
3. Maharishi Durvasa is regarded as a very short-tempered person. We come across the troubles which the entire devas had to suffer because of the anger that the maharishi had towards Lord Indra. In the same way, when we become short-tempered, we must always keep in mind that it is not helping in any manner and that it makes the life of people around us miserable. The peace in a family is shaken if just one person becomes short-tempered. It is thus important to understand the dangers of being short-tempered from these kinds of stories and prioritize the happiness of the people around you or your family first. (https://megharamesh.medium.com/ramayana-simplified-part-14-the-story-behind-the-birth-of-maharishi-durvasa-6cd78969426a)
4. During the churning of the Palazhi ocean, we see several challenges that the devas had to face. The way they find solutions for their problems is also notable. Unfortunately, many of us think of God as a magical person who is there to solve problems for us and thus we pray or go to the temple expecting to get our problems solved. But the story of the churning of Palazhi shows that we are gifted with a powerful brain that is capable of solving challenges. Ramayana all throughout shows the troubles which Lord Rama the incarnation of Lord Vishnu himself had to tackle. (https://megharamesh.medium.com/ramayana-simplified-part-15-the-churning-of-the-palazhi-ocean-463c37d29704)
5. The importance of maintaining mutual trust between a husband and wife can be read out from the story of Ahalya. The story also compares Lord Indra to our Indriyas (senses). Lord Indra in spite of the presence of several celestial beauties in the swargaloka came in search of Ahalya. Some people are not satisfied with the things which they already have. They can never be satisfied with anything in the world. (https://megharamesh.medium.com/ramayana-simplified-part-14-shapamoksha-for-ahalya-1b83ae2de4fa)
6. The story of Satyavrata shows us the way in which we can use our minds to elevate ourselves. Satyavrata was leading a completely aimless life. He did some kind of work till the evening and used to spent that money on buying alcohol. Even in the present world, we find people like this who can only create problems in their families and societies through this kind of lifestyle. Satyavrata underwent a drastic change when he started helping Maharishi Vishwamitra’s family at the time of famine. The initiative taken to do a small service helped the entire family. He was also able to transform himself through that initiative thereby attaining moksha. Similarly, we don’t have to depend on any external entities to bring transformation in us. When we take initiative to do good things, our minds will naturally go to higher positions, throwing the negative qualities aside.
7. The story of Ambarisha directly shows us how even the devas were against the killing of an innocent boy for the sake of making the gods happy. Sadly, even now we find several incidents which involve the killing of animals or children in the name of sacrifice. The Isavasya Upanishad makes it very clear that the essence of Ishvara (the supreme) is there in all living beings, so it may be pointless to kill a human being or an animal for the purpose of making the gods/devas happy. (https://megharamesh.medium.com/ramayana-simplified-part-19-the-story-of-ambarisha-3398fcc4f646)
