July 23, Vasishtha
Parent Link:
Yoga Vasishtha
Discourse on Yoga Vasishtha
Day 10, July 23
Jaya Guru Datta
Sri Ganesaya Namaha
Sri Saraswatyai Namaha
Sripada Vallabha
Narasimha Saraswati
Sri Guru Dattatreyaya Namaha
Sri Ganapati Sachchidananda Sadgurubhyo Namaha
asato ma sadgamaya
tamaso ma jyotirgamaya
mrityor ma amrtam gamaya
Om Santissantissantihi
Yoga Vasishtha Dhyana Slokas:
yatassarvāṇi bhūtāni pratibhānti sthitāni ca
yatraivōpaśamaṁ yānti tasmai satyātmanē namaḥ || 1
jñātā jñānaṁ tathā jñēyaṁ draṣṭādarśana dr̥śyabhūḥ
kartā hētuḥ kriyā yasmāt tasmai jñaptyātmanē namaḥ || 2
sphuranti sīkarā yasmāt ānanandasyāṁbarē vanau
sarvēṣām jīvanam tasmai brahmānandātmanē namaḥ || 3
We spoke yesterday about Rama’s pilgrimage as described in the 3rd sarga. Rama climbed all the mountains, bathed in all the rivers and oceans, and he worshiped at all the shrines. This was Sri Rama’s first pilgrimage in his life.
Rama had not gone on any fun excursions before. He had never been on such a long tour as this any time before. This was his first outing of this kind.
These days many who go on a pilgrimage do not return home due to avoidable or unavoidable calamities. Many youngsters behave with misjudgment, lose their lives and give great grief to their parents and elders. Many callously spoil the places they visit by polluting the atmosphere physically and with negative mental vibrations.
They deface the natural beauty. They engage in unholy activities while at holy places. Such things should be shunned. Either engage in appropriate activities such as worship or meditation, or return home. Do not expect to find frivolous entertainment is ashrams and temples.
Do not travel during dangerous hours. Do not put the blame on God for the accidents you have met with due to your own poor judgment and negligence. Many times the needs of the taxi drivers are not met, while long tours are taken. After having darshan at a temple, the driver who has not had proper rest or nourishment is woken up at midnight and asked to drive. He perhaps had only tea to drink and nothing to eat. He had no proper bed to sleep. He was not protected from mosquitoes. Your payment of money does not compensate for all this negligent treatment of an individual. You insist that you have to reach your destination by early morning because you have to be at work. You force him to drive over the speed limit, since the new highways are smooth. The driver is feeling groggy, tired, and hungry. All the passengers happily go to sleep in the car, snoring and falling over the driver, preventing the driver from even playing some music to keep himself awake. It is psychology that when you see a sleeping person, you also feel sleepy. If one yawns, another also yawns. At 3 or 4 AM you meet with an accident because no traffic rules are followed. You blame God. You incur more sin. Without going into such detail, Yoga Vasishtha is telling us that we have to be careful, and we have to follow rules when we go on a pilgrimage because travel is always inherent with dangers.
Ayodhya and Varanasi are family names because in the olden days if a person went on a pilgrimage to those places, he bid good bye to the whole town before departure because his return was uncertain. The persons had to go by foot, crossing mountains and wild jungles. When they made a safe return and distributed the holy water from Ganga to all the townsfolk, the family proudly took the name of the pilgrimage center as their family name.
Here Rama’s return to Ayodhya was cause for great celebration by the entire city.
Swamiji has inaugurated the Shuka Vana here. It gives us pleasure and enchantment and at the same time teaches us to care for and protect other living species. It is a nice sacred place to visit.
Rama returned to Ayodhya after faithfully completing his Yatra as per rules. He appeared like Siva returning to Kailasa. In the 4th short sarga Rama’s daily routine is described. This was Rama’s first venture into the outside world. Before this he was in Guru Kula/boarding school pursuing his studies, concentrating only on his life as a student. Now, with total sincerity he completed his pilgrimage. He offered his obeisance to Gurus, elders, and friends. All were happy to see him return. There was celebration for 8 days to rejoice in his safe return after visiting several mighty oceans, forest regions, and majestic mountains.
In a pilgrimage one has to conduct oneself with caution and not become overly adventurous and daring. It is not wise. Ganga is a holy river. It provides water for irrigation of crops and for cleansing purposes. It washes away sins. It should not be misused. The youth of today need to keep in mind that holy places have to be properly utilized for their true purpose and not treated as arenas for sport and recreation.
Rama spent time with everyone giving them a detailed report of his visits to temples, the sights that he saw, his experiences of the world, and the habits and customs of the different regions that he had traveled to.
Rama was rising early in the morning well before dawn and performing his daily rituals, exercises, and yoga, and taking lessons with gurus. He was assisting his father in his royal responsibilities of inquiring after the welfare of the citizens and solving any problems they may be facing. In the evening he was going out to hunt wild animals that were crossing their boundaries and causing harm to the people of the kingdom. Sri Rama was against hunting as a sport. He did not believe in causing harm to living beings for the sake of recreation. Those days, forest areas were preserved as the natural habitat of wild animals.
Nrpati …
Sri Rama’s manner of speech was described next. He had perfect control over his tongue. He weighed every word that he uttered. His words gave pleasure to his father and to all listeners. To those who possessed a good heart and a noble disposition, Rama’s words were as enchanting and refreshing as the light of the full moon. His utterances were as sweet as nectar. His face was beautiful as the moon. His smiles were as pleasing as moonlight. Rama thus spent some time. He realized the transience of this world and the permanence of divinity alone.
In this short sarga, spirituality was barely touched upon. It is mostly just a simple narration of the story.
In the 5th sarga Karshya Nivedanam – the emaciation of Sri Rama is spoken about.
Slowly, within a matter of months Rama’s appearance changed drastically. He began losing weight and looking pale. His bones began to stick out. He lost his radiance.
What is the ultimate benefit gained from a successful pilgrimage? It is the acquisition of dispassion. When a pilgrimage is thoroughly enjoyed, then, upon return, the mind still lingers at the holy places. It feels as if only the physical body has returned home. The mind is still elsewhere wishing that the trip had extended longer. Those who visit the ashram feel the same way when they return home.
Why does this happen to the mind? While on a pilgrimage, the mind gives up thinking of worldly affairs. It becomes occupied with thoughts of Guru, the deities, the holiness of the place, the rituals being performed, the sanctity of the surroundings, the beauty of nature, and so on. Out of this disassociation from earthly cares, dispassion develops. Such a sense of detachment was experienced by Sri Rama, who had not yet completed 16 years of age.
Rama was in the company of Lakshmana and Satrughna. Bharata was away spending time in his maternal grandfather’s kingdom. Talks commenced between the king and guru Vasishtha about getting Rama married and about finding him a suitable bride.
Rama was lacking the brightness of a youth who is ready for marriage. He preferred to be left alone. He did not wish to speak with anyone. He remained aloof and disinterested. He showed the least bit of interest in what was going on around him. He did not care to participate in any recreational activities. His large, beautiful eyes lacked luster. He simply sat for hours resting his cheek in his palm looking distanced from this world. This slowing down and the seeking for quiet and isolation were symptoms of Chitta Suddhi/cleansing of the mind as a consequence of the pilgrimage.
When our minds become cleansed it should show in our behavior and mood, as calmness, self-control, and a reserved attitude. Hasty actions and loud speech are not signs of composure.
Those who are in deep grief, keep their hands on their heads. One is not supposed to that. That posture shuts down the brain. No thoughts will get processed. It seals all functioning of the brain. It is okay to rest the cheek or the chin on the palm in a thoughtful pose.
Elders scold children when they hold their heads in their hands, especially with both hands. It is absolutely forbidden. Some disrespectful children defy the elders when they are told thus. One should heed the words of elders. If the children disobey, the elders will simply leave them to their fate.
Only Yatis/ascetics have permission to cover their heads. It is a science. There is a specific reason for it. Such scientific injunctions have to be respected because they are meant for our benefit. We cannot demand scientific explanations for every small instruction we receive from our elders. They are not obliged to give us explanations. They will simply say: Take it or leave it, and suffer the consequences. Such are the words of those in authority. You may read the Puranas to delve deeper into the meanings of the rules that are prescribed for us to follow. The Vedas simply give instructions on what to do and what not to do. They do not give explanations.
Rama did not hold his head. He rested his cheek in his hand. He was lost in thought sitting in Padmasana, trying to find answers to his internal queries. He was in dhyana, contemplating on different issues, not engaging in any external activity.
He was not sitting slackening his limbs, legs outstretched, shaking a leg and smoking a cigarette, displaying dejection and hopelessness. If one looks up into the sky thirsting for pleasures, and claims it to be dispassion, it will only cause him ill health and nothing else.
Rama was losing weight. His mind was preoccupied. He was not responding to anyone’s approach or greeting. He sat there still like a painting on a wall completely absorbed in silence.
Initially Rama was repeatedly requested by others to come and engage in his daily activities such as rituals, dining, interaction with others, and so on. He refused to respond or budge from his stance. After persistent pestering he would make a semblance of performing the requested activities and return to his posture of deep inner contemplation. He began to look like a faded lotus.
We become like the company we keep. Remaining in Rama’s company for long durations, Lakshmana and Satrughna also became inactive and disinterested.
When Swamiji sits in meditation, we also feel like meditating. We enjoy it for the first few minutes. Thereafter we become impatient for Swamiji to open his eyes. We keep looking at the clock. After half an hour, we wonder if we may leave his presence, since he is still not opening his eyes. We ask for permission from the assistants and slowly get up to leave. This causes some noise and disturbance. Suddenly our cell phone rings loudly. Swamiji’s contemplation gets disturbed. He opens his eyes. It is not good. It is a bad omen. It should not happen. There is no need for us to pretend to be interested in meditation if we are not inclined towards it. At such times, instead of lingering, we should simply leave quietly causing no disturbance.
Lakshmana and Satrughna gave company to Rama for some time, trying to be like him. But they did not really share his state of mind. Rama was able to go without food for days, while they were still suffering from pangs of hunger. Rama was asked by them how long he planned to remain in this state of deep thought. He did not give them an answer. Whenever they insisted, Rama got up and performed the necessary duties and at once returned to his posture of deep thought once again.
Lakshmana and Satrughna, feeling helpless at having failed in their attempts to bring Rama back to normal activities, reported the matter to their father, the king, that Rama, who is known to be an ocean of virtues is now drowned in an ocean of sorrow.
Dasaratha came himself to inquire from Sri Rama what it was that was troubling him. Was it mental illness? Was it physical illness? Was it some kind of grief? Was it a broken heart from unrequited love?
Rama softly said: Father, there is absolutely nothing wrong. Saying so, he went and sat on his father’s lap to comfort his father and assure him that there is nothing to be concerned about.
Was Rama telling a lie? Rama further told his father: You do not have the remedy for whatever is troubling me.
Rama was yearning for Self-realization. He was thirsting for spiritual enlightenment.
What was it that the father could do? What remedies did he have in his power to offer? He could send him on vacation. He could buy him a new vehicle. He could speak sweet words. He could get him married, not just to one, but several beautiful maidens.
Rama was not intending it as an insult to his father. Rama knew that his father was not an enlightened soul and was not in a position to help him. That being the case, Dasaratha was not in a position to offer any help to Rama.
If two ignorant people interact with one another, no gain comes out of it. To benefit from the association, we must seek the company of those who are better informed than ourselves. One, who blames another that he is lacking dispassion, has no right to criticize, because his attitude shows that he lacks dispassion in the first place.
Each should pursue his own spiritual growth without trying to shape others into detachment and renunciation. Only Sadguru is qualified to teach us about dispassion. Sri Rama is teaching us this. We have no right to lecture to even family members. We must listen to discourses by Sadguru. We must try to learn. It is the duty of Sadguru to serve spiritual knowledge to us again and again, coaxing us to listen and learn.
Therefore, it is not justified to say that Rama has told a lie. In Vedanta truth is most important.
Like-minded persons develop friendships in the world for pleasure, convenience, and benefit. But in the spiritual field, unless one seeks the company of a nobler soul, nothing will be gained.
Dasaratha comforted Rama, cajoled him and went directly to seek the counsel of Sage Vasishtha, his guru. He told him: “Since his return from the pilgrimage, Rama is neither interacting with others nor engaging in any activities. He refuses to be entertained. He neglects caring for his body. What is the solution to this problem?”
Vasishtha remained in deep contemplation for some time, trying to look into the future. He opened his eyes and said: There is a good reason for this. This bodes well for you, for him, and the entire kingdom. There is no need for any concern. Whenever a great soul expresses anger, grief, or excessive joy, there is bound to be a very definite and strong reason for it. I will give you an example. Anytime a great natural disturbance occurs in any of the five elements, it is a foreboding of some significant occurrence, either some calamity or a happening of great good fortune. Similarly, this extraordinary depressed behavior of Rama is a precursor to some great change that is going to take place in him. Something (ignorance) is going to get destroyed not just in him but in the world. Something (the flower of enlightenment) is going to blossom not just in him but in everyone. That is the reason for this unnatural behavior of Sri Rama.
With this the 5th sarga concludes.
Jaya Guru Datta
Sri Guru Datta
Om Santissantissantihi
Sri Ganesaya Namaha
Sri Saraswatyai Namaha
Sripada Vallabha
Narasimha Saraswati
Sri Guru Dattatreyaya Namaha
Sri Ganapati Sachchidananda Sadgurubhyo Namaha
asato ma sadgamaya
tamaso ma jyotirgamaya
mrityor ma amrtam gamaya
Om Santissantissantihi
Yoga Vasishtha Dhyana Slokas:
yatassarvāṇi bhūtāni pratibhānti sthitāni ca
yatraivōpaśamaṁ yānti tasmai satyātmanē namaḥ || 1
jñātā jñānaṁ tathā jñēyaṁ draṣṭādarśana dr̥śyabhūḥ
kartā hētuḥ kriyā yasmāt tasmai jñaptyātmanē namaḥ || 2
sphuranti sīkarā yasmāt ānanandasyāṁbarē vanau
sarvēṣām jīvanam tasmai brahmānandātmanē namaḥ || 3
We spoke yesterday about Rama’s pilgrimage as described in the 3rd sarga. Rama climbed all the mountains, bathed in all the rivers and oceans, and he worshiped at all the shrines. This was Sri Rama’s first pilgrimage in his life.
Rama had not gone on any fun excursions before. He had never been on such a long tour as this any time before. This was his first outing of this kind.
These days many who go on a pilgrimage do not return home due to avoidable or unavoidable calamities. Many youngsters behave with misjudgment, lose their lives and give great grief to their parents and elders. Many callously spoil the places they visit by polluting the atmosphere physically and with negative mental vibrations.
They deface the natural beauty. They engage in unholy activities while at holy places. Such things should be shunned. Either engage in appropriate activities such as worship or meditation, or return home. Do not expect to find frivolous entertainment is ashrams and temples.
Do not travel during dangerous hours. Do not put the blame on God for the accidents you have met with due to your own poor judgment and negligence. Many times the needs of the taxi drivers are not met, while long tours are taken. After having darshan at a temple, the driver who has not had proper rest or nourishment is woken up at midnight and asked to drive. He perhaps had only tea to drink and nothing to eat. He had no proper bed to sleep. He was not protected from mosquitoes. Your payment of money does not compensate for all this negligent treatment of an individual. You insist that you have to reach your destination by early morning because you have to be at work. You force him to drive over the speed limit, since the new highways are smooth. The driver is feeling groggy, tired, and hungry. All the passengers happily go to sleep in the car, snoring and falling over the driver, preventing the driver from even playing some music to keep himself awake. It is psychology that when you see a sleeping person, you also feel sleepy. If one yawns, another also yawns. At 3 or 4 AM you meet with an accident because no traffic rules are followed. You blame God. You incur more sin. Without going into such detail, Yoga Vasishtha is telling us that we have to be careful, and we have to follow rules when we go on a pilgrimage because travel is always inherent with dangers.
Ayodhya and Varanasi are family names because in the olden days if a person went on a pilgrimage to those places, he bid good bye to the whole town before departure because his return was uncertain. The persons had to go by foot, crossing mountains and wild jungles. When they made a safe return and distributed the holy water from Ganga to all the townsfolk, the family proudly took the name of the pilgrimage center as their family name.
Here Rama’s return to Ayodhya was cause for great celebration by the entire city.
Swamiji has inaugurated the Shuka Vana here. It gives us pleasure and enchantment and at the same time teaches us to care for and protect other living species. It is a nice sacred place to visit.
Rama returned to Ayodhya after faithfully completing his Yatra as per rules. He appeared like Siva returning to Kailasa. In the 4th short sarga Rama’s daily routine is described. This was Rama’s first venture into the outside world. Before this he was in Guru Kula/boarding school pursuing his studies, concentrating only on his life as a student. Now, with total sincerity he completed his pilgrimage. He offered his obeisance to Gurus, elders, and friends. All were happy to see him return. There was celebration for 8 days to rejoice in his safe return after visiting several mighty oceans, forest regions, and majestic mountains.
In a pilgrimage one has to conduct oneself with caution and not become overly adventurous and daring. It is not wise. Ganga is a holy river. It provides water for irrigation of crops and for cleansing purposes. It washes away sins. It should not be misused. The youth of today need to keep in mind that holy places have to be properly utilized for their true purpose and not treated as arenas for sport and recreation.
Rama spent time with everyone giving them a detailed report of his visits to temples, the sights that he saw, his experiences of the world, and the habits and customs of the different regions that he had traveled to.
Rama was rising early in the morning well before dawn and performing his daily rituals, exercises, and yoga, and taking lessons with gurus. He was assisting his father in his royal responsibilities of inquiring after the welfare of the citizens and solving any problems they may be facing. In the evening he was going out to hunt wild animals that were crossing their boundaries and causing harm to the people of the kingdom. Sri Rama was against hunting as a sport. He did not believe in causing harm to living beings for the sake of recreation. Those days, forest areas were preserved as the natural habitat of wild animals.
Nrpati …
Sri Rama’s manner of speech was described next. He had perfect control over his tongue. He weighed every word that he uttered. His words gave pleasure to his father and to all listeners. To those who possessed a good heart and a noble disposition, Rama’s words were as enchanting and refreshing as the light of the full moon. His utterances were as sweet as nectar. His face was beautiful as the moon. His smiles were as pleasing as moonlight. Rama thus spent some time. He realized the transience of this world and the permanence of divinity alone.
In this short sarga, spirituality was barely touched upon. It is mostly just a simple narration of the story.
In the 5th sarga Karshya Nivedanam – the emaciation of Sri Rama is spoken about.
Slowly, within a matter of months Rama’s appearance changed drastically. He began losing weight and looking pale. His bones began to stick out. He lost his radiance.
What is the ultimate benefit gained from a successful pilgrimage? It is the acquisition of dispassion. When a pilgrimage is thoroughly enjoyed, then, upon return, the mind still lingers at the holy places. It feels as if only the physical body has returned home. The mind is still elsewhere wishing that the trip had extended longer. Those who visit the ashram feel the same way when they return home.
Why does this happen to the mind? While on a pilgrimage, the mind gives up thinking of worldly affairs. It becomes occupied with thoughts of Guru, the deities, the holiness of the place, the rituals being performed, the sanctity of the surroundings, the beauty of nature, and so on. Out of this disassociation from earthly cares, dispassion develops. Such a sense of detachment was experienced by Sri Rama, who had not yet completed 16 years of age.
Rama was in the company of Lakshmana and Satrughna. Bharata was away spending time in his maternal grandfather’s kingdom. Talks commenced between the king and guru Vasishtha about getting Rama married and about finding him a suitable bride.
Rama was lacking the brightness of a youth who is ready for marriage. He preferred to be left alone. He did not wish to speak with anyone. He remained aloof and disinterested. He showed the least bit of interest in what was going on around him. He did not care to participate in any recreational activities. His large, beautiful eyes lacked luster. He simply sat for hours resting his cheek in his palm looking distanced from this world. This slowing down and the seeking for quiet and isolation were symptoms of Chitta Suddhi/cleansing of the mind as a consequence of the pilgrimage.
When our minds become cleansed it should show in our behavior and mood, as calmness, self-control, and a reserved attitude. Hasty actions and loud speech are not signs of composure.
Those who are in deep grief, keep their hands on their heads. One is not supposed to that. That posture shuts down the brain. No thoughts will get processed. It seals all functioning of the brain. It is okay to rest the cheek or the chin on the palm in a thoughtful pose.
Elders scold children when they hold their heads in their hands, especially with both hands. It is absolutely forbidden. Some disrespectful children defy the elders when they are told thus. One should heed the words of elders. If the children disobey, the elders will simply leave them to their fate.
Only Yatis/ascetics have permission to cover their heads. It is a science. There is a specific reason for it. Such scientific injunctions have to be respected because they are meant for our benefit. We cannot demand scientific explanations for every small instruction we receive from our elders. They are not obliged to give us explanations. They will simply say: Take it or leave it, and suffer the consequences. Such are the words of those in authority. You may read the Puranas to delve deeper into the meanings of the rules that are prescribed for us to follow. The Vedas simply give instructions on what to do and what not to do. They do not give explanations.
Rama did not hold his head. He rested his cheek in his hand. He was lost in thought sitting in Padmasana, trying to find answers to his internal queries. He was in dhyana, contemplating on different issues, not engaging in any external activity.
He was not sitting slackening his limbs, legs outstretched, shaking a leg and smoking a cigarette, displaying dejection and hopelessness. If one looks up into the sky thirsting for pleasures, and claims it to be dispassion, it will only cause him ill health and nothing else.
Rama was losing weight. His mind was preoccupied. He was not responding to anyone’s approach or greeting. He sat there still like a painting on a wall completely absorbed in silence.
Initially Rama was repeatedly requested by others to come and engage in his daily activities such as rituals, dining, interaction with others, and so on. He refused to respond or budge from his stance. After persistent pestering he would make a semblance of performing the requested activities and return to his posture of deep inner contemplation. He began to look like a faded lotus.
We become like the company we keep. Remaining in Rama’s company for long durations, Lakshmana and Satrughna also became inactive and disinterested.
When Swamiji sits in meditation, we also feel like meditating. We enjoy it for the first few minutes. Thereafter we become impatient for Swamiji to open his eyes. We keep looking at the clock. After half an hour, we wonder if we may leave his presence, since he is still not opening his eyes. We ask for permission from the assistants and slowly get up to leave. This causes some noise and disturbance. Suddenly our cell phone rings loudly. Swamiji’s contemplation gets disturbed. He opens his eyes. It is not good. It is a bad omen. It should not happen. There is no need for us to pretend to be interested in meditation if we are not inclined towards it. At such times, instead of lingering, we should simply leave quietly causing no disturbance.
Lakshmana and Satrughna gave company to Rama for some time, trying to be like him. But they did not really share his state of mind. Rama was able to go without food for days, while they were still suffering from pangs of hunger. Rama was asked by them how long he planned to remain in this state of deep thought. He did not give them an answer. Whenever they insisted, Rama got up and performed the necessary duties and at once returned to his posture of deep thought once again.
Lakshmana and Satrughna, feeling helpless at having failed in their attempts to bring Rama back to normal activities, reported the matter to their father, the king, that Rama, who is known to be an ocean of virtues is now drowned in an ocean of sorrow.
Dasaratha came himself to inquire from Sri Rama what it was that was troubling him. Was it mental illness? Was it physical illness? Was it some kind of grief? Was it a broken heart from unrequited love?
Rama softly said: Father, there is absolutely nothing wrong. Saying so, he went and sat on his father’s lap to comfort his father and assure him that there is nothing to be concerned about.
Was Rama telling a lie? Rama further told his father: You do not have the remedy for whatever is troubling me.
Rama was yearning for Self-realization. He was thirsting for spiritual enlightenment.
What was it that the father could do? What remedies did he have in his power to offer? He could send him on vacation. He could buy him a new vehicle. He could speak sweet words. He could get him married, not just to one, but several beautiful maidens.
Rama was not intending it as an insult to his father. Rama knew that his father was not an enlightened soul and was not in a position to help him. That being the case, Dasaratha was not in a position to offer any help to Rama.
If two ignorant people interact with one another, no gain comes out of it. To benefit from the association, we must seek the company of those who are better informed than ourselves. One, who blames another that he is lacking dispassion, has no right to criticize, because his attitude shows that he lacks dispassion in the first place.
Each should pursue his own spiritual growth without trying to shape others into detachment and renunciation. Only Sadguru is qualified to teach us about dispassion. Sri Rama is teaching us this. We have no right to lecture to even family members. We must listen to discourses by Sadguru. We must try to learn. It is the duty of Sadguru to serve spiritual knowledge to us again and again, coaxing us to listen and learn.
Therefore, it is not justified to say that Rama has told a lie. In Vedanta truth is most important.
Like-minded persons develop friendships in the world for pleasure, convenience, and benefit. But in the spiritual field, unless one seeks the company of a nobler soul, nothing will be gained.
Dasaratha comforted Rama, cajoled him and went directly to seek the counsel of Sage Vasishtha, his guru. He told him: “Since his return from the pilgrimage, Rama is neither interacting with others nor engaging in any activities. He refuses to be entertained. He neglects caring for his body. What is the solution to this problem?”
Vasishtha remained in deep contemplation for some time, trying to look into the future. He opened his eyes and said: There is a good reason for this. This bodes well for you, for him, and the entire kingdom. There is no need for any concern. Whenever a great soul expresses anger, grief, or excessive joy, there is bound to be a very definite and strong reason for it. I will give you an example. Anytime a great natural disturbance occurs in any of the five elements, it is a foreboding of some significant occurrence, either some calamity or a happening of great good fortune. Similarly, this extraordinary depressed behavior of Rama is a precursor to some great change that is going to take place in him. Something (ignorance) is going to get destroyed not just in him but in the world. Something (the flower of enlightenment) is going to blossom not just in him but in everyone. That is the reason for this unnatural behavior of Sri Rama.
With this the 5th sarga concludes.
Jaya Guru Datta
Sri Guru Datta
Om Santissantissantihi