Countless attributes of Lord Rama

Countless attributes of Lord Rama (An Article from the Religious Section of
The Hindu taken with permission: "Copyrights 2000 The Hindu & Tribeca
Internet Initiatives Inc.")

As against a human being's very few good qualities but numerous deficiencies,
God possesses auspicious traits only and hence He is blemishless. He is pure
and is full of compassion even for those who err. When the holy texts describe
God's excellences and merits, the purpose is to make men try to emulate His
example as how He behaved when He visited the world and thereby acquire at
least a few of these qualities. Among the countless noble, admirable and
exemplary attributes, some may be sorted out as inimitable. One is His
generous gesture to totally ignore the defects in others.

In general, man will never admit the wrong he has committed but will try to
shift the blame on others. If someone does him wrong, he will go all out to
punish him and will carry the enmity throughout his life. But to excuse
another's mistake is a rare trait and further to completely forgive and forget
it and behave friendly without entertaining even a tinge of animosity is
indeed Divine. The outstanding features of God's incarnation as Rama are
repeated in the Ramayana to make us adopt His methods in our lives. Rama
demonstrated how the demands and desires are to be reconciled with
righteousness. All the four princes were alike for the king though Rama was
loved more. Lakshmana had no existence apart from Rama. Bharata was ever at
Rama's service while Satrughna was deeply attached to Bharata.

When the two (Bharata and Satrughna) left for their uncle's house, the king
wanted to implement his proposal to crown Rama. The unanimous acclaim of this
act by everyone in his assembly made Dasaratha wonder whether this reaction of
the public was a reflection on his own government. No, said all, adding that
it was only an admiration of Rama and application of His virtues, explained
Sri Krishna Premi, in a discourse. It was then citizens extolled His traits.
Rama took no account of any harm done to Him but remained deeply grateful even
for trivial acts of service. It was His habit to greet the person He came
across, whatever be his status and to speak comforting words. He was the
universal favorite.

Summoning Rama, the king expressed his intention to make Him his
heir-apparent. Without getting unduly elated by this announcement, Rama went
to His mother's chamber to tell her about the sudden decision of His father.
There was, however, a tinge of grief in His face and He told His mother about
the absence of Bharata (and Satrughna) because all the four grew together.
``Your father's decision should be correct,'' Kausalya said.

Namaste

In fact, I spent the last three weeks reading the Ramayana translated by
Kamala Subramaniam. I can summarise the whole Ramayana in one word and that
is 'Dharma'. Lord Rama was an embodiment of Dharma. Regards.

Kathi

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ram Chandran [SMTP:chandran@...]
> Sent: Tuesday, February 29, 2000 9:28 AM
> To: Advaitin List
> Subject: [advaitin] Countless attributes of Lord Rama
>
> From: Ram Chandran
>
> Countless attributes of Lord Rama (An Article from the Religious
> Section of
> The Hindu taken with permission: "Copyrights 2000 The Hindu & Tribeca
> Internet Initiatives Inc.")
>
> As against a human being's very few good qualities but numerous
> deficiencies,
> God possesses auspicious traits only and hence He is blemishless. He is
> pure
> and is full of compassion even for those who err. When the holy texts
> describe
> God's excellences and merits, the purpose is to make men try to emulate
> His
> example as how He behaved when He visited the world and thereby acquire at
> least a few of these qualities. Among the countless noble, admirable and
> exemplary attributes, some may be sorted out as inimitable. One is His
> generous gesture to totally ignore the defects in others.
>
> In general, man will never admit the wrong he has committed but will try
> to
> shift the blame on others. If someone does him wrong, he will go all out
> to
> punish him and will carry the enmity throughout his life. But to excuse
> another's mistake is a rare trait and further to completely forgive and
> forget
> it and behave friendly without entertaining even a tinge of animosity is
> indeed Divine. The outstanding features of God's incarnation as Rama are
> repeated in the Ramayana to make us adopt His methods in our lives. Rama
> demonstrated how the demands and desires are to be reconciled with
> righteousness. All the four princes were alike for the king though Rama
> was
> loved more. Lakshmana had no existence apart from Rama. Bharata was ever
> at
> Rama's service while Satrughna was deeply attached to Bharata.
>
> When the two (Bharata and Satrughna) left for their uncle's house, the
> king
> wanted to implement his proposal to crown Rama. The unanimous acclaim of
> this
> act by everyone in his assembly made Dasaratha wonder whether this
> reaction of
> the public was a reflection on his own government. No, said all, adding
> that
> it was only an admiration of Rama and application of His virtues,
> explained
> Sri Krishna Premi, in a discourse. It was then citizens extolled His
> traits.
> Rama took no account of any harm done to Him but remained deeply grateful
> even
> for trivial acts of service. It was His habit to greet the person He came
> across, whatever be his status and to speak comforting words. He was the
> universal favorite.
>
> Summoning Rama, the king expressed his intention to make Him his
> heir-apparent. Without getting unduly elated by this announcement, Rama
> went
> to His mother's chamber to tell her about the sudden decision of His
> father.
> There was, however, a tinge of grief in His face and He told His mother
> about
> the absence of Bharata (and Satrughna) because all the four grew together.
> ``Your father's decision should be correct,'' Kausalya said.
>
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