Ramayana, Valmiki

Part one: the prince of Ayodhya

• Brahma, the God of Gods, humbly admits “What can I do? I can never lie, and I do not know every answer.”
• Narayana, or Lord Vishnu, is the Soul of the Universe.
• So, Indra the lord of earthly gods (fire, wind, earth, etc.) gets destroyed by the demon king Ravana, who can’t be killed by gods. He complains to Brahma, Brahma says go talk to Vishnu, and Vishnu splits into four and is reincarnated into a king’s four sons. The first son is Rama, second Bharata, and two twins
• When the architect of heaven, Viswskarma, is asked whether he needs helpers to make a temple on Lanka for some Rakshasas, he replied “when the master carpenter no longer goes out into the forests to choose his own tree, when he no longer cuts it down himself and saws his own boards then say farewell to the arts!”
  • Risks of using technology to do all your doing and thinking for you
• “Greet the days like new friends”
• The Rakshasas, who were made a temple of Lanka by Viswakarman, eventually overflow the island, and spill out to the mainland and start eating humans. Narayana (Vishnu) comes down and destroys them, so they flee to underneath the ocean floor.
• The God of treasure gets placed on Lanka now. Envious Rakshasas see this from below, and out of envy a daughter is sent to get pregnant with the Treasure God’s father. The daughter has Ravana, and three others, as children
• Ravana the demon, has ten heads. He sacrifices one head every thousand years while in deep contemplation. At the ten thousandth year Brahma stops him from cutting off his last head, saying, “your will is dreadful, too strong to be neglected; like a bad disease I must treat it. Your pains make me hurt. Ask!” Ravana is then granted to be unslayable by gods or demons
• Ravana and the Rakshasas take back the island. Ravana weds the Daughter of Illusion, and has a son Meghanada who burns like fire and changes form and appearance at will.
• “In ignorance he drinks poison, in confusion he refuses the antidote.”
• Ravana visits the luxurious Naga underworlds, filled with gems and minerals that shine brighter than heaven. Perhaps a symbolic representation of the distance that materialism has from a higher and more meaningful way of being. Our shiny toys seem heavenly on the surface, but they’re located in depths lacking in meaning
• The king of Naga is Vasuki, the king of serpents. When confronting Ravana he is human waist up, and snake waist down. Similar to the monster Fraud in Dante’s Inferno who has a bearded human face that appears wise but with a serpentine lower half. Trustworthy on the surface, conniving below.
• When Ravana comes knocking on the door of the Kingdom of Heaven to conquer it, Indra says, “I don’t care what anybody says, never will I take orders from that overbearing monster Ravana!” Pride was Indra’s downfall.
• Ravana’s son captures Indra. Brahma comes to set Indra free, names the son Indrajit (conqueror of Indra), and grants him a wish. Indrajit first asks for immortality, but Brahma declines, claiming he is unable to provide that gift. Brahma is saving naive Indrajit from an eternal curse.
• “Brahmana keep your temper; King, keep your word. Observe the defects of this world and do not add to them.”
• “Desire and Wrath whom the gods cannot tame come bowing to me and gladly rub my feet.”
• Describing Ahalya, the most beautiful woman: “Like the sun she could not be looked at too closely or for too long.”
• Use Dharma as your shield, and Truth as your sword
• “The opinions of disinterested men are different from the beliefs of a father, and the Truth may sometimes come out like Fire from friction between the two.”
• “Dasaratha, you follow the Dharma-path walked by your ancestors, and thoughtless of your own happiness you protect us.”
  • Prudence. This is how we should treat our future selves, our future families, our future nations, the future of mankind, and the future of life on earth
• The council states that the one reason they support Rama becoming king “is that if Rama says something to me I can believe it.”
  • Again, honesty reigning supreme.
• When Kaikeyi, Bharata’s mother, asks Rama to leave and whether she has done right, Rama responds, “If you say you have, you have; I will believe you.”
  • Rama is very much like Alyosha in Brothers Karamazov here
• “A wrong thrown at Rama seems to bring out no anger in him; it is like a seed thrown on stone.”
• “Men must have laws, sometimes hard to follow, but harder to find once lost.”
• “Many men are all talk and no deeds, all words and no wisdom, and what they don’t know of they think does not exist.”
• Guha, king of the forest, recounts a story where a Shiva statue was gifted to him. He prayed to the tree god, and therefore kicked the statue everyday without fail, while Brahmanas from the city would come every so often to lay flowers. On the brink of death, Shiva saves him from Yama due to this devotion. Good or bad, his resilient faith still had him coming back to the statue, and outshined the more mildly devoted Brahmanas
  • Actions over words
• “As a man’s deeds are good or evil so are the events which follow them, and which the man must face in their time. …Excited, mindlessly lured by pretty flowers on the branches, I came to expect a good yield. I looked forward to happiness but all the while I coveted delusion.”

  Part 2: Sita’s rescue

• “Behold Man, ignorant of his own ways in the world—now merrily drinking and dance, now blindly weeping all in tears.”
• “Dharma leads to happiness, but happiness cannot lead to Dharma.”
• The Valakhilyas were benign little deities that floated around the air like motes of dust. Despite their small size, they hold great power. They spawned the King of Birds Garuda, who is the mount of Narayana (Vishnu, the soul of the universe). He carries Lord Narayana on his back and never tires.
  • The sum of the small gives rise to the large.
• Garuda’s father to him, “My boy, eat a little something before you try to fly to heaven and steal Amrita (nectar of immortality) from Indra. But never eat a man. Remember that.”
  • Strive for greatness, especially for those you love (he’s stealing amitra to free his mother). But do not tear down others down along the way.
• “A real deer made of precious stones and gold Never yet lived in this world. Such a things cannot be; But Rama followed a golden deer And lost Sita.”
  • We lose those we love when we recklessly pursue illusions and idols (like jealous fantasies or social media ideals)
• Hanuman the monkey is born from a woman and the god of Wind, Vayu. The mother leaves Hanuman, and he sits hungry and alone. When the sun rises, glowing orange like a mango, he flies up to eat it. Despite warning, he endures the fire of the sun and keeps trying to eat it. Finally, he’s thrown back down to earth by Indra, and breaks his jaw (why the jaw?).
• Vayu is upset that his son is hurt, and the wind ceases to blow. All life stops, for without air life cannot flow. “Wind, you are breath. Having no heavy body you pass through all beings,” Brahma says to him. Brahma thus grants Hanuman a gift: “Hanuman…you will live as long as you wish to live; you cannot be killed.”
• While Sugriva and Vali are fighting, despite Vali thinking Rama be fair and would not interfere, Rama hides and sends an arrow through Vali’s heart. His rationale is “when a weakling has been abused and has at last the chance to get even, he is allowed to leave the True.”
• “The Truth upholds the fragrant Earth and makes the living water wet. Truth makes fire burn and the air move, makes the sun shine and all life grow. A hidden truth supports everything. Find it and win.”
• When Rama ruminates about his loss of Sita, Lakshmana reminds him, “Better to act than wonder and dream,” and gets to work.
• On their way to save Sita, Hanuman and the monkey and bear armies exhaustingly find themselves falling into a cave. It is a glorious cave filled with wine and wonders. “Once anyone enters this cave of illusions, especially by mistake, he can never return alive to Earth by his own power.”
• They’re thankfully sent out, but upon exiting they realize much time has been lost, “through ignorance we entered Maya’s treeful cave underground and lost all the time…”
  • An example of hedonic pleasure being illusory and meaningless, and how it devours time without us even being aware of it.
• “Oh, gold and silver found in the wild Are better than coins tamely won; Treasures found on a hunt are as good As the pleasures of fancy in heaven.”
• “Like a storm Hanuman drove away low spirits, like a light he brought courage.”
• Mainaka, the son of the Mountain King and brother to the River Goddess Ganga, recounts a story of how all mountains once had wings. They would fly around recklessly, causing much damage, so Indra cut off all their wings, and their wings became clouds.
• Hanuman arrives to Lanka, and at midnight creeps around in search of Sita. What would normally be quiet time for human couples begins “the night-life of every enjoyment” for the Rakshasas.
• Hanuman heard the “sounds of every enjoyment,” saw some who were “unbelievably handsome, others were maimed and deformed, repulsive and frightful even in their splendid clothes.”
• He saw “demons who looked wise and powerful even when drunk and asleep with wine, with women, or with their arms round their beloved bags of gold.”
• Hanuman follows his nose to find the Demon King. “Find the pleasures of the sense, and there find the Demon King.”
• He must pass through the Demon King’s bedroom, whose bed is littered with thousands of the most beautiful women and whose tables are covered with the most delicious foods and lays dormant the fearsome Demon King himself. Hanuman must resist fear and temptation to continue his search for Sita.
• The demonesses who console Sita become agitated and urge her to give in to Ravana. “Their eyes could see no more there than a prisoner unarmed, alone and powerless.” Sita refuses, and they retort with “We’ve put up with you so far just to help you! Our words to you are always well-meant, it’s for your own good, face reality…be happy! OR ELSE!”
  • A metaphor of well-meaning people who prioritize the happiness of others rather than the well-being of others. Seeing the strong as weak victims in need of saving. Weak, selfish, and cowardly. When someone shows them strength, as Sita does, it reminds them of their weakness, and they become enraged.
• “Before true Love, the maces of Death are frail stage-weapons, fragile and useless for combat. Death gives way to Love and has never dared to way with him.”
• “Her sadness had come and gone, as clouds will draw across the clear night sky, and cover the moonlight, and go again.”
• Hanuman is captured, and Ravana claims Hanuman has “lost [his] weak wits from seeing the beauties of my city.” Hanuman replies, “I am the son of the Wind, fast or slow, irresistible in my course…what you call beauty won’t turn my head. I crossed the ocean, as a person without attachment to worldly desires easily crosses the ocean of existence.”
• “Lanka is a celestial fortress, a joyful city of heavenly beauty taken by demons. She is artificial but looks natural…she is the jewel mirror of arts and inventions and the home of happiness in comfort.”
  • Hedonic illusion
• Ravana’s brother, Vibhishana, urges him to give back Sita, but Ravana fueled by pride is unable to do so. Vibhishana leaves and works with Rama. King Sugriva doesn’t trust Vibhishana, but Hanuman urges him that “withdrawing from Lanka proves his wisdom.”
  • Those who manage to part ways from a life of indulgence and towards the truth may be considered wise.
• “One must blame the blameworthy and favor the good wherever they appear. Lowly people who know everything may follow their suspicions, but when someone seeks my refuge he cannot be slain, he will be saved though it will cost my life.”
• Ravana first summons shapeshifting spies to gather information about the incoming army, and then directs his magicians, “by spells of deception and illusion make for me by magic the severed head of Rama.” He proceeds to lie to Sita about the defeat of the army.
  • Again, deception, illusion, and dishonesty being a commonly used sin of the cardinal sinner
• “Weapons are a sign of fear made visible, and we are afraid.”
• “The waking world of impermanence, of suffering, and unreality.”
• “The happiness of others is light for the spirit but you have darkened the worlds.”
• “You grew strong by following Dharma and by sacrifice…yet once on the throne of power you slighted Dharma, you had no courtesy towards life…Now your wrongs devour us.”
• Ravana to Time: “Be careful, turn and go, back away from Ravana who will fight and die for love—for Good Love never dies…” Time: “How’d you find that out!?”
• Rama kills Ravana, and Ravana’s messenger delivers Ravana’s final letter to Rama. Ravana claims that this was his final offering, “I offered you my life and you accepted it.” He also claims that Rama is all these things, “You are Narayana who moves on the waters and flows through us all…and Hanuman like the wind…And born as a man you forget this, you lose the memory, and take on man’s ignorance, as you will, every time.”
• “I don’t respect the floating borders of Earth, I travel where I will, I love everyone. My friend the Moon has known this for long lifetimes, I am the Sun, All the same. Ancient stories. Ancient Sunpoems.”
• Sun, “You reveal all things to me; you show me what they truly are…You feed us all; every garden grow by your light. All our energy is yours…If there are clouds you are always behind them…How can I be sad? Am I blind? The Sun shines on me. This very I stand have I won brilliance for my wealth.”
• “It is Truth, we think, that moves the Sun across the sky.”
• Valmiki’s song: “*Trust and be True: Serve Right as I serve You” —says the Sun
• “What can one count on, except that whatever one has, it will soon be gone? Better to do right.”
• “Rama, from the portion of gentleness in you, people call you a part of the Moon.”
• Gods keep referring to Rama as Narayana, but Rama questions why. They are all bewildered that he’s forgotten he’s Vishnu. They also reveal that Sita is Lakshmi, the God of good fortune (Vishnu’s wife)
• “Please yourself. Tell the truth and be tranquil.”
• Vibhishana to Hanuman: “You are faithful and very wise, when you stop to think. You put your whole heart into what you do; and you don’t think twice when you’ve made up your mind, nor seek for any gain, so I call you my friend.”

  Book 7

• After ten thousand year of rule, Rama asks his ministers what his kingdom thinks of him, for “people tread in their king’s footsteps, so I must avoid even the report of any wrong.” The ministers urge him to not “seek wisdom from coarse common people, but forget their talk; pity them their ignorance and trust in things to turn out right.”
• Rama replies with “Those who live uneventfully at home with their wives and families may along really know life.”
• The people doubt Sita’s faithfulness, and this tarnishes the reputation of the king, which tarnishes the quality of the kingdom. Rama cannot ignore this, despite him knowing that Sita was faithful.
• “Where there is growth there is decay; where there is prosperity there is ruin; and where there is birth there is death.”
• Rama orders Lakshmana to abandon Sita at river Ganga.
• Sumantea the charioteer tells the story of how Kaikeyi earned her two wishes. She rode the chariot for the King in their way against the Asuras of drought. Kaikeyi could “feel an enemy’s shortcoming; she felt when to draw near, when to stay and when to turn away.” She saves the King at some point and is granted the two wishes.
  • Did she sense deep down Ravana’s weakness and that Rama was capable of defeating him if he were to be banished?
• To finish of the Asura demons of draught, Narayana is called in. He demolishes them, and they run to cover in Ayodhya, in the house of a brahmana. The wife of the brahmana lets them in, and they surrender. Narayana flies by enraged, kills the innocent wife, and slices the heads off the demons.
• Vasistha the priest, enraged, curses Narayana “to be born on earth, in a royal family rich and wise, a family most honoured and kind, and once born to be parted from his wife as he had broken that brahmana’s marriage.”
• Brahmanas follow the rule to make things right in other worlds
  • Those other worlds are the past, to ensure our actions honour our ancestors, and the future, to ensure our actions build and do not break our offspring
• “He warred in the loss of love through unkindness and the fetters of wrong desire; he fought for freedom by blasting the chains of attachment; he killed deceptions with words that released the spirit.”
• “I give up owning the world’s gear. I give up thirst for things to find true love, that never fades.”
• “‘What are the limits of your realm?’ ‘Well, my kingdom is not these fields, it might be the city.’ ‘Where?’ ‘No, I see nothing of mine there. Surely then, my own body must be my kingdom, and I will look.’ ‘What do you find?’ …’Even this body is not mine, this I am not. It is no part of me. Or else—I rule all space, for I do not hold onto the sounds that enter these ears; I rule all land, for I desire no scents but let them come and go; I rule the waters for I do not grasp at any taste; my eye does not cling to light and colors and so I rule all fire; I care not for any touch, nor do I avoid it, and so I rule the air and winds…’”
  • When we cling we become slaves, bound in chains of attachment. Claiming special control over a kingdom, or your own body, is always false, for these boundaries blend with everything else. These boundaries are symptoms of attachment; we erect them as illusions and get frustrated when they topple over.
• “Dissolution is the end of all things compounded out of the elements and each man fares according to his deeds.”
• “You are forever older than I, and so I call you Father.”
  • Time to Rama. Implying the soul of the universe preceded time itself. Time was borne out of this ever-flowing energy
• Rama, before he passes, gifts Hanuman an invaluable and rare bracelet. Hanuman breaks it to bits and claims, “Lord, though this bracelet looked expensive it was really worthless, for nowhere on it did it bear your name.”
  • Metaphor for the emptiness of material wealth
• “Everything counts, and so be kind. Do not dare lie politely with casual unmeant promises, for Indrajit always believes that you will mean what you say to him.”
  • When we lie, we feed the demon of illusion.