One ferocious man with ten heads falls in love with a pretty woman. It wouldn't have been much of a trouble, but the pretty woman happens to be married. And married to a heroic man! But the heroism couldn't quite stand its mettle, and the ferocious man manages to steal the lady in concern to his palace, very neatly.
As the story unfolds, some very interesting characters of all shapes, sizes, cast, creed and breed reveal themselves. And this motley of varied living creatures eventually come to the rescue of the beleaguered husband. Amongst others, there are two who play a very significant role in this epic drama. First, there is the step brother of the heroic man, and the second is a great monkey man. The step brother is actually an incarnation of the Shesh Naaga - the thousand headed lord of the snakes, and the monkey man is somehow the son of - none other than - the Wind!
A series of twists and turns, that would put to shame a drama concoction of twenty one Bollywood films put together, follow next. And finally with the help of his men, monkeys, bears and gods; the heroic man wins over the ferocious man and gets his wife back!
This is a story from the Iti-haasa (it happened thus) and a really intriguing one at that. But then, why hold it sacred ?
For thousands of years, the story has been passed on from one generation to another and revered by most in each generation. Some have accepted the reverence with faith and without question. And for these people, the story and its people have been staunch pillars of their lives. These have been the innocent people who have inhabited the planet. Some have questioned the story and its sacredness, but without a spirit of enquiry, and without an effort to know. These are the foolish people who have inhabited the planet. Some have taken a path of quest but have found nothing that could satiate their desire to know. These have been the unlucky people who have inhabited the planet. And then there have been some who have simply known the mystique behind the story, these are the enlightened beings who have inhabited the planet. Lastly, there are some who have found a Satguru who has unravelled the mystery to them. These are the lucky people who have inhabited the planet. And I happen to be one of them!!
So, from what Guruji has revealed to us, we reach to an english word - Radiance. And the word Radiance finds its roots in the Sanskrit word Ra. Ra means Radiance. And Ma means Me. Rama means the radiance within me. Rama is our heroic man. Sita - his wife, represents the mind. The ferocious man - Ravana is the ego. Sita has a silly desire to get hold of a certain deer, and Ravana exploits this to trap her and take her away from Rama. The desires coupled with ego take the mind away from the radiance within. A mind not in touch with the self - the radiance within, can be nothing but miserable.
Now step in Lakshman - the step brother and Hanuman - the great monkey man. And together with Rama, they defeat Ravana and get Sita back. A snake symbolizes awareness. Shesha Naga's re-incarnation - Lakshman represents awareness. The son of the wind - Hanuman represents the breath. Breath, coupled with awareness brings the mind back to its source - to the radiance within. And they live happily every after! (well, not really, but I guess this is long enough already and we can leave the rest for a possible sequel ;) )
jai gurudeva
