The Story that REVEALS Shree Ram’s Diwali Wisdom – How Faith removes Darkness by Swmai Mukundanand
This video by Swami Mukundananda narrates a significant story from the Ramayana involving Lord Shiva, Sati, and Lord Ram to illustrate the spiritual lesson of faith versus material intellect and understanding the divine nature of God's actions, known as Lila (pastimes). [00:00] Once Lord Shiv desired to relish the Ram Katha ras (nectar of the story). So, accompanied by Sati, he went to the ashram of [00:11] Agastya Rishi. Agastya Rishi saw that the Lord has come, he welcomed Shiv and Sati. So Shiv was pleased with [00:23] the Rishi's devotion. However, Sati used her buddhi (intellect): "We are coming to listen to a Katha (story) from him, and he is [00:32] doing our puja (worship). What a bhondu bhatt (fraud) he is!" So Sati used her buddhi there. Now Shiv requested Agastya that [00:43] "I wish to hear the Ram Katha." So Agastya said, "Maharaj, if it is your wish, I will relate it [00:50] to you." So Agastya related the whole Katha to Shiv, and Sati was also sitting there, but Sati’s mentality had [01:01] got corrupted. In her mind was the doubt, "Look, what Katha will he tell us? What does he know? He [01:09] was doing our puja a little while ago." So she did not listen with faith. At the end of the Katha [01:21] Shiv was pleased and he said, "Maharaj, what dakshina (offering) can we offer to you?" Agastya said, "Maharaj, what dakshina [01:32] can I take from you? If you so wish, you please explain Bhakti Tattva (the principle of devotion) to me." So Shiv explained Bhakti [01:42] Tattva to Agastya and blessed him with devotion. And then Shiv and Sati passed by in the forest. Now [01:54] this coincided with the time when Ram was in the forest. So Ram had gone for His vanvas (exile) and in [02:04] the vanvas the Sita Haran (abduction of Sita) had taken place. So subsequent to the Sita Haran, Ram and Lakshman were going, and [02:17] Ram was yearning, "Where has Sita gone?" Ram’s yearning was absolutely supernormal. Now if somebody’s family member gets lost [02:32] they go and report to the police, announce on television, but nobody goes and asks a tree, "Mr. Tree, have [02:39] you seen my child running from here?" But Ram is experiencing such pangs of separation from Sita. He is asking [02:50] the trees and the animals: Hey Khag Mrig Hey Madhukar Shreni, Tum Dekhi Sita Mrig-Naini. (O birds, beasts, and rows of bees, have you seen the doe-eyed Sita?) [Lord Ram's lamentation quoted]. [03:07] Lakshman man samjhaye bahuti, poochhat chale lata tarupati. E vidhi khojat vilapat swami, manahu maha virah ati kaami. (Lakshman tried to console him many times, but the Lord continued asking the creepers and trees. The Lord wandered and lamented, like a man intensely desirous for his beloved wife.) [Continuation of Lord Ram's lamentation]. [03:25] Like a very desirous man searches for his wife, Ram was in that situation. He seemed to have completely lost His senses. He is asking the trees and [03:33] He is asking the creepers, "Where is my Sita gone?" Lakshman tries to explain, but Ram doesn't understand. In this [03:44] situation, Shiv and Sati saw Ram. So Shiv offered his pranam and said, "He is Sat-chit-ananda Para-Brahma Prabhu. What a Lila [03:57] you are doing!" So Shiv understood, "My Lord is doing a Lila. When He hides His almightiness, that is the [04:06] Lila. So my Lord is doing a Lila." Now supposing your neighbor says that, "Look, I am participating in a [04:16] drama. You come and listen to it/see it." And you go there, and in the drama that person is [04:23] acting like a crook, so you will not stand up from the audience, "What kind of acting you are doing?" [04:29] You will just stand and watch. So Shiv is watching the Lila of my Prabhu, but Sati’s buddhi was already [04:37] corrupted. Sati started thinking, "What kind of Bhagwan (God) is he?" [04:44] So she said, Kabahu yog viyog na jaage, dekha prakat virah dukh taage. (God is He who never suffers union or separation, but here He is openly showing the distress of separation). [Sati's corrupted logic]. [04:59] ...because God is everywhere, how can you have viyog (separation) from God? But Tulsidas says you can't even have [05:12] yog (union). Why yog? Because [05:19] day happens when there was night, and if there was no night, there will be no day as well. So [05:26] in the sun it is nitya din (eternal day). In the same way, Bhagwan has nitya yog (eternal union) with all living entities. But [05:38] the same Ram is suffering viyog from his wife. So Sati said, "What kind of Bhagwan is he?" But then [05:48] she thought, "My husband has done pranam. Shambhu gira muni mrisha na hoi, Shiv sarvagya jaan sab koi. (Shambhu [Shiva] cannot lie, Shiva is all-knowing and knows everything)." So he [06:01] must be Bhagwan. But Bhagwan is not like this. Bhagwan is Sarvagya (all-knowing), and He doesn't even know where [06:11] His wife has gone. So Shiv said, "Look Sati, you do what you want, I am telling you He [06:19] is Bhagwan." Shiv left, thinking: Hoi hai soi jo Ram rach rakha, ko kari tark badhahi sakha. (Whatever Ram has ordained, that is what is going to happen. Who can debate or argue with that?) [Shiv's resolute faith]. [06:31] So Shiv went off and he said, "Be careful how you behave." [06:40] But Sati’s buddhi was affected. She said, "Alright, let me take a test and I will find out whether [06:48] He is Bhagwan or He is not Bhagwan." So Sati, by her maya (illusory power), she took on the form of Sita [06:59] herself and she sat down there. "That if He is God, He will come to know. And if He is [07:09] not God, He will say, 'Oh, this is where you—we were looking for you!' And Lakshman will say, 'Arey [07:18] Bhabhi Ji (sister-in-law), we found you!' So it will be a great find." So now Ram, He was saying, "Ha Seete, Ha [07:29] Seete," and He saw Sati in the form of Sita. So He just ignored her: "Ha Seete, Ha Seete." Sati [07:39] thought, "Maybe He did not see me." So again she went and sat down in front. Ram is coming: [07:46] "Ha Seete, Ha Seete." And then He sees Sati in the form of Sita. He became extremely serious: "Mother, you [07:55] are sitting here, where is my Father?" Sati kapatu janeu sur swami, sab darasi sab antaryami. (The Lord, the master of the gods, who is the all-seer and the indwelling soul of all, knew Sati's deceit). [Ram instantly recognized her]. [08:12] For Sarvagya (the All-knowing), what is the problem in knowing whether this is Sati or Sita? Sumirat jah mit agyana (Remembrance of whom destroys all ignorance). So Sarvagya [08:24] Ram Bhagwan—He is Sarvagya, He knows everything. So in His Lila, Ram worships Shiv as His Ishta Dev (worshipable deity); He worships [08:38] him in Rameswaram. So because Shiv is His Ishta Dev, Sati is His mother. So He is addressing Sati as "Mother": [08:47] "Mother, you are here, where is my Father?" Sati said, "Oh, He has recognized me!" She ran from there. And [08:57] when she ran, wherever she looked she saw Ram, Lakshman, and Sita. She looked here: there they are, and devatas [09:05] are doing the puja. And she looked there: there they are. She realized that He is Bhagwan. Remember in [09:14] the case of the Lord, it is always a Lila. Whenever your mind starts getting confused, like Sati’s mind got [09:26] confused, remind yourself, "These are divine pastimes." The goal is not to engage the intellect there, but to engage [09:39] the mind and thereby be purified. This video narrates a pivotal episode from the Ramayana where Lord Shiva’s wife, Sati, attempts to test Lord Ram, revealing a profound lesson on the difference between faith (Shraddha) and skeptical intellect (Buddhi) in spiritual matters. 1. The Corruption of Intellect The story begins with Lord Shiva and Sati visiting Agastya Rishi to hear the Ram Katha. Shiva was pleased by the Rishi's devotion. However, Sati allowed her material intellect to corrupt her judgment. When the Rishi, in his humility, performed their worship, Sati questioned his spiritual standing, thinking: "We came to learn from him, yet he is worshipping us. What authority does he have?" Due to this doubt, she listened to the sacred story without faith. 2. The Illusion of Suffering (Lila) Later, Shiva and Sati encountered Lord Ram in the forest during his exile, shortly after the abduction of Sita. Ram was experiencing intense, human-like grief and yearning (viyog), asking the trees and animals if they had seen his wife. • Shiva's Faith: Shiva, recognizing the Supreme Truth, immediately understood this suffering to be Lord Ram's Lila (divine pastime). He offered his obeisance, recognizing Ram as the Sachchidananda Parabrahma (Eternal, Blissful Absolute Truth) who was simply hiding His omnipotence as part of His divine play. • Sati's Doubt: Sati, however, could not reconcile this image of a grieving man with her concept of an all-knowing, omnipresent God who should never suffer separation. Her corrupted intellect compelled her to seek proof. 3. The Divine Test and Recognition Sati decided to test Ram by transforming herself into the exact image of Sita and sitting in Ram's path. Her plan was that if Ram was just a regular man, he would be fooled and embrace her as his wife. However, when Ram saw Sati in Sita's form, he stopped his lamentation. Instead of acknowledging her as Sita, he immediately addressed her with seriousness, saying, "Mother, you are sitting here, where is my Father?" Ram, the Sarvagya (All-knowing) and Antaryami (Indwelling Soul), instantly saw through the deceit. He called her "Mother" because, as Lord Shiva's wife, she was spiritually akin to his mother (Lord Shiva being Ram's chosen deity, or Ishta Dev). 4. The Final Conclusion Sati's trick failed. She realized she had been recognized. As she fled, she was granted a vision where she saw Ram, Lakshman, and Sita everywhere, along with the gods worshipping them. She finally realized the Truth: Ram is the Supreme Lord. The Spiritual Lesson: The Swami concludes that the Lord's actions are always a Lila (divine pastime). When our mind is confused by the apparent contradictions in God's actions, we must remember this truth. The goal of spiritual life is not to engage the limited, material intellect to critique or understand the divine, but to engage the mind with faith (Shraddha) to purify it. https://youtu.be/6rulwaWjt04