3 Life-Changing Diwali Lessons from Shree Ram that WILL Illumine Your Mind | Swami Mukundananda
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cuu5aZQseOs
This video, titled "3 Life-Changing Diwali Lessons from Shree Ram that WILL Illumine Your Mind," by Swami Mukundananda, focuses on drawing spiritual lessons from three key episodes in the life of Lord Ram and his associates. • The core messages revolve around the themes of fearlessness through faith, the nature of selfless love, and the value of simplicity in devotion. • The discourse presents three major lessons, using characters from the Ramayana: 1. The Lesson of Fearlessness and Faith (Angad) • The video narrates the episode where Lord Ram sends Angad, the son of Bali, as a messenger to Ravana to offer him one final chance for reconciliation and forgiveness [01:38]. • Fearlessness in Service: Angad is fearless walking into the enemy's golden city, Lanka, despite being surrounded by rakshasas, because he is a messenger of Ram and trusts in his Lord's protection [02:01]. • The Power of Devotion: When Angad enters Ravana's court, everyone automatically stands up, demonstrating that they are expressing reverence not for Angad himself, but for Angad as a servant of Ram (Ram Das) [03:08]. • Challenge to Ravana: Angad tells Ravana his only path to salvation is to fall at the feet of Ram, weep, and beg for forgiveness [04:49]. When Ravana criticizes Ram, Angad smashes his fist on the ground, causing the earth to tremble and Ravana's crowns to fall [05:44]. • Ultimate Test of Faith: Angad plants his foot on the ground and challenges Ravana or any of his courtiers to move it, proclaiming that if they succeed, they will win Sita. No one is able to move his foot. When Ravana finally bows to grab the foot, Angad screams, "If you have to grab anybody's feet, grab the feet of Ram" [08:06]. • The Takeaway: The speaker concludes that one's faith should be in the Lord to remain fearless [09:00]. Placing faith in material things like bank balances or insurance policies only results in fear because those things can be snatched away in a moment [08:36]. 2. The Lesson of Selfless Love and Sacrifice (Kaikeyi) The speaker defends Kaikeyi, suggesting she was actually a great devotee who made the ultimate sacrifice for Lord Ram's divine mission (Ram Leela) [09:34]. • Divine Request: Ram approached Kaikeyi and asked her to be the reason for his exile. He told her his request would be "disastrous" for her, causing her to lose her husband and separate from her son [10:35]. • The Purpose: Ram explained that he needed to go to the forest to meet devotees like Shabri, who had been waiting for him, and to defeat the rakshasas [10:53]. • The Sacrifice: Kaikeyi agreed, saying she was willing to get a bad name for Ram's sake if it made him happy [11:30]. To prepare for the lila (divine play), she started distancing herself from Ram [12:32]. • The Takeaway: The speaker emphasizes that love is about sacrifice, not self-seeking [12:22]. Kaikeyi's act of taking on the role of the villain, enduring the poison of blame for Ram's glory, is presented as an act of profound, selfless love [09:22]. 3. The Lesson of Simplicity (Hanuman) • The final lesson highlights the pure and simple nature of devotion, using the story of Hanuman and Sita. • Simple Devotion: Sita tells Hanuman that she applies sindur (vermilion) because it pleases Ram [13:39]. • Literal Application: Hanuman, in his simplicity, reasons that if a little sindur on the forehead makes Ram pleased, then covering his entire body must please him even more, so he decks himself completely in sindur [13:56]. • The Takeaway: Since then, the practice of decking the idol of Hanuman with sindur began, symbolizing the simplicity of his heart [14:26]. The Real Goal of Diwali – Bringing Shree Ram into Your Heart Time Transcript Lesson 1 – Power of Faith and Surrender (Angad’s Story) 0:43 Oh Lord, stay in the hearts of those 0:47 devotees who are full of reverence, and 0:51 in their hearts they depend only upon You 0:57 for their protection. 1:01 Take a look at Angad. 1:04 When the bridge was built over the ocean 1:09 from Rameshwaram to Lanka 1:13 and the army crossed over, 1:17 they resided there. It was nighttime. 1:20 Next morning, 1:22 Ram said, "Now what strategy should we 1:25 employ?" 1:28 So Jambawan suggested, "My Lord, You are 1:33 most proper in Your conduct and in 1:36 following Dharma. 1:38 You should give Ravana one chance." 1:42 Ram said, "Very correct." He called over 1:45 Angad, Bali-Putra (son of Bali), the nephew of Sugriva. He says, 1:51 "Angad, go as my messenger and try and 1:56 convince Ravana." 1:58 So Angad is going into the mouth of the 2:01 enemy. 2:03 Imagine 2:04 all the Rakshasa demons are there, but Angad 2:08 is fearless. "My Lord has sent me. He is 2:12 protecting me." 2:14 So he walked in. He jumped over the wall 2:18 of Lanka City. It was a golden city, and 2:22 he walked in. Now the Rakshasas 2:27 they all see a monkey is coming, and they 2:30 wonder, "Is he the same monkey?" They're 2:33 referring to Hanuman, who burned the 2:35 whole city. They start moving out. He 2:38 says, "Where is the palace of your king?" 2:40 " (scared, they told) There, there, there not here." 2:43 So, Angad, seeing the respect they are 2:46 offering to him, realizes it is not due 2:49 to him. It is all due to Hanuman. He 2:52 walks in. 2:54 When he reached the palace, Ravana's 2:57 servants informed, "One monkey has come. 3:00 He wishes to meet you." 3:03 Ravana said, "Call him in." 3:06 The moment Angad walked in, 3:10 everybody in that court of Ravana, they 3:12 all stood up. 3:15 So Ravana said, "Why are you standing up? 3:17 Sit down." 3:19 Ravana's rule was that even if a Devata 3:22 comes, 3:24 nobody should stand up. 3:27 So automatically they expressed their 3:30 reverence to Ram Das, the servant of 3:34 Ram. 3:36 So Ravana asked Angad, "Who are you?" 3:40 Angad said, "I am a messenger from Ram, and 3:45 I have come with a message for you." 3:49 Ravana said, "Really? Where are you from?" 3:53 Angad said, "I am actually a child of your 3:59 friend." Ravana said, "My friend? I don't 4:02 have any friends. Whom are you referring 4:04 to?" 4:06 Angad said, "Do you remember there was a 4:08 monkey in South India called Bali?" 4:12 Now that rang a bell in Ravana's head 4:15 because a fight had taken place between 4:18 Bali and Ravana, and Bali had kept Ravana's 4:22 head under his armpit for 6 months. So 4:26 Angad is reminding him, "Remember Bali?" 4:30 Ravana said, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. How is 4:32 he doing nowadays?" 4:34 Angad said, "Where he has gone, you are 4:37 going to go in 10 days if you don't 4:39 listen to me." 4:41 Ravana said, "What? He is dead?" 4:44 So Angad said, "Look, you have committed a 4:48 crime, 4:49 and the penalty for that is death. 4:53 But I have come to give you one chance. 4:56 You go and fall at the feet of Ram, 5:01 and cry, weep, and beg for forgiveness. 5:05 Ram is kind. He will condone all your 5:09 offenses and free you. That is your only 5:12 chance." 5:15 Ravana said, "You have the gumption (guts) to 5:18 speak to me like this? Nobody does in 5:21 the three worlds. 5:23 Tell me, if Ram is as good as you are 5:28 claiming he is, then why did his father 5:31 take him out of the city and send him to 5:33 the forest? 5:35 If he is so wonderful, why is he roaming 5:38 around in the forest in an ascetic way, 5:41 performing tapas?" By hearing Ram criticized 5:45 like that, Angad could not tolerate. 5:49 He took his fist and smashed it on the 5:51 ground. 5:53 "How dare you speak like that?" And the 5:56 earth started trembling. 5:59 The crowns on Ravana's head, they fell to 6:02 the ground. So Angad grabbed four and 6:06 tossed them. And Ravana quickly put the 6:09 others back on his head. Now, Ram 6:12 was sitting outside with his army when 6:15 some unidentified flying objects, UFOs, 6:18 came. People asked, "What are these?" Ram 6:22 said, "These are Ravana's crowns. They are 6:25 being sent as samples by Angad." 6:29 So Angad said, "You know, I just smashed 6:32 the ground, and you saw what happened. 6:35 Supposing I had smashed your head, what 6:37 would have happened?" The courtiers said, 6:40 "No, no, no, no, don't do anything like that." 6:43 Now Angad asked Ravana, "If you are so 6:47 infatuated by Mother Sita, 6:50 why did you not go for the Swayamvar?" 6:54 Ravana said, "I did go there, but then some 6:57 work came up, and I saw the bow is of my 7:00 Guru, Lord Shiva. How can I break it?" 7:04 Angad said, "In that case, I'll create a new Swayamvar 7:08 for you." Now this is his faith in the 7:12 Lord's heart. 7:14 He has full conviction 7:17 that he has been sent for the Lord's 7:19 work, and Ram will protect him. Angad 7:24 said, "I'll make a new Swayamvar for you." He 7:27 planted his foot on the ground and said, 7:31 "You lift my foot, anybody in this court, 7:34 and we will lose Sita." 7:38 Ravana said, "Wow." He asked some of them 7:41 go. Now one after the other they go and 7:44 catch Angad's feet, but they are unable 7:47 to move it. 7:50 Angad said, "Ravana, why are you sending 7:52 these intermediaries? Why don't you come 7:55 yourself?" 7:57 Ravana now came, 8:00 approached Angad's leg. He bowed down and 8:05 grabbed his foot to shake it, and Angad 8:08 suddenly screamed, "If you have to grab 8:10 anybody's feet, don't grab my feet, grab 8:12 the feet of Ram." So Ravana became nistej 8:17 lusterless. 8:19 Embarrassed, he walked off. Angad said, 8:22 "We will now meet you in the 8:25 battleground. The matter is settled." 8:28 Saying that, he went back. 8:31 Valmiki Ji says, "Where is your faith? 8:35 Who is protecting you? 8:38 Your house 8:40 or your bank balance, or the insurance 8:44 policy? 8:46 All of these can be snatched away in a 8:50 moment. 8:52 If your faith is in these, then you will 8:56 always have fear. And if your faith is 9:00 in the Lord, you will be fearless." Lesson 2 – The Spirit of Sacrifice (Kaikeyi’s Story) 9:11 This Ram virah 9:15 is the thing that churned the Bharat’s love, 9:19 and the nectar that came out is what we 9:22 relish 9:24 that spread his glory throughout the 9:27 three worlds, 9:29 and the poison that came out was drunk 9:31 by Kaikeyi. 9:34 So Kaikeyi was also actually a great 9:36 devotee. Ram says, 9:47 "Mother, those people will blame you who 9:50 have not understood the meaning of Ram Leela 9:54 through Satsang." 9:57 Why? When Ram was little, Kaikeyi was so 10:01 fond of Ram. She would always be around 10:05 Ram. 10:07 And then one day when Ram was in 10:10 Ayodhya, 10:14 he said to Kaikeyi, 10:17 "Do you really love me?" Kaikeyi said, 10:21 "More than anything else." 10:24 Ram said, "I need to ask something from 10:26 you. Will you do it?" 10:29 Kaikeyi said, "Whatever you ask." 10:33 Ram said, "What I'm going to ask will be 10:36 disastrous for you. You will lose your 10:38 husband 10:40 and your son will separate himself from 10:43 you." 10:46 Kaikeyi said, "What is it You are going to ask?" 10:49 Ram said, "There are people in the forest 10:52 who are waiting for me. 10:55 There is Shabari who has been waiting for 10:58 so many years in the hope that I will 11:02 come to her hut. 11:04 I have to fulfill all those things. I 11:07 have to do the Vadh (slaying) of the Rakshasas. 11:11 So I need a reason to go into the forest, 11:15 and you will be the reason for it. When 11:18 the time comes, I will inspire you, and 11:21 you will create the problem." 11:25 Kaikeyi thought that this is most 11:28 terrible, but if it's what You want, if it's 11:32 what's making You happy, I am willing. 11:36 This is the selflessness of her love: "If 11:40 for Your sake I need to get a bad name, I 11:44 don't mind." 11:47 See, till today there is no second Kaikeyi; 11:52 nobody named their daughter as 11:55 Kaikeyi. There was one Kaikeyi in that Yuga. After 11:59 that, no mother ever named their daughter 12:02 As Kaikeyi 12:04 Ram says, 12:12 he says, "You are my dear mother, and 12:16 you're going to come along with me to my 12:18 Saket (abode)." 12:22 So Kaikeyi made that sacrifice. Sacrifice is 12:26 what love is all about. Love is not 12:29 about self-seeking. Love is about 12:32 sacrifice always. 12:35 Kaikeyi then decided, "If I need to do such 12:39 an atrocious thing, I need to start 12:42 distancing myself from Ram." And since 12:46 that day she would start maintaining her 12:48 distance. 12:50 So Ram knows the heart of Kaikeyi. He 12:55 went and offered his respects to her. He 12:58 offered his respects to Sumitra because 13:00 she has made the sacrifice of her son 13:02 who has come in seva and He offered 13:05 his respects to Kaushalya. Lesson 3 – The Beauty of Devotion (Hanuman’s Story) 13:17 Hanuman is such a great devotee with so 13:21 much of love. 13:23 But 13:28 once Sita Mata was doing her Shringar (adornment), 13:33 and Hanuman came and asked, "माते (Mother), why do 13:38 you put this Sindur (vermilion) in your forehead?" 13:42 Sita thought, "How to explain to this 13:44 Brahmachari?" 13:46 She said, "You know, when I put this, then 13:49 Ram is very pleased." 13:52 Hanuman thought, "Ram is pleased by the 13:54 putting of Sindur, then why just put it 13:56 on the forehead?" He went and put it all 13:59 over his body. 14:02 And when he came, he was fully red. 14:06 So Ram said, "What is this?" 14:10 He said, "Ma told me You are very pleased 14:13 when we put Sindur. So I have decked 14:15 myself up with Sindur." 14:18 And since then they started decking the 14:21 Murti (idol) of Hanuman with Sindur, a symbol 14:26 of the simplicity of his heart.