Ramakatha Rasavahini - Part 1 (Sl #24)

May 12, 2006

SaiRam

Chapter 5

The Guru and the Pupils (Continued..)

Rama stayed mostly indoors. He did not bathe at fixed hours as he was doing so far. He had a dislike to wear royal robes; he desisted from delicacies; he never sat on the golden throne; he appeared as if he was immersed in the contemplation of the Absolute, of something beyond the senses and the mind. Since their brother appeared so morose and was ostensibly sulking, the three younger brothers always kept near him. They never left his presence, for games or for any other reason.

The four used to gather in a room and holt themselves in. The mothers had to tap the door at intervals to bring in their food! However hard they tried to discover why they behaved so, they never revealed the reason! Rama alone deigned to answer their queries thus: "This is my nature; why seek to know the reason for my being so?"

The mothers soon felt that this state of things could no longer be kept away from gaze; they informed Dasaratha; he sent word that the boys be brought to his apartments. But, finding that the sons, who previously would have rushed in, took a long time to come, he was filled with wonder and worry. He made ready to proceed to their room himself. Just then, the attendant announced that the princes were approaching! The father was overwhelmed with bliss; he embraced them and held them tight to his breast; he sat, with the sons on both sides; he enquired from them about things, light and serious. Formerly, if he asked just one question, the boys used to reply to ten: but, that day, when he asked ten, they scarce replied to one.

Dasaratha drew Rama on to his lap, and pleaded fondly with him, "Son! Why this refusal to talk? Why this silence! What is it that you desire? What else have I than you in the world? Tell me what you need? I shall fulfil it immediately, without fail. Since you do not mix with the brothers and play with them as formerly, they too are unhappy." Though the King lovingly stroked the chin and looked at the face of Rama, Rama did not say anything more than that he was quite content and needed nothing! Watching this strange behaviour, Dasaratha grew anxious and agitated; tears welled up in his eyes. The boys remained unaffected by his grief. The father spoke some soft words to them about how sons should conduct themselves and sent them to their apartments in the Palace.

He called Sumanthra so that he might confer with him; he asked him whether anything had happened during the pilgrimage to put the boys out of gear or whether he had brought them back too soon when they were themselves eager to visit a few more places of interest to them. Dasaratha plied him with so many questions that Sumanthra was filled with surprise and apprehension. His lips quivered as he replied: "Nothing happened during the journey to displease the Princes, no difficulty was encountered. Every wish of theirs was honoured and carried through. I gave away in charity as much as they wanted; I got built, wherever they suggested, houses for pilgrims; there was no hesitation or delay. They never told me about any happening which they did not like. Nor did I notice any such. The pilgrimage was one long journey of joy and adoration".

Dasaratha knew his minister well. He said at last, "Sumanthra! You are a great good man. I know full well that you are incapable of neglect or error. But, for some inexplicable reason, I find the boys have undergone a transformation after the pilgrimage; they have developed distaste for food and fun.

"However much the people around persuaded him, Rama did not answer, nor did he indicate the reason for his strange behaviour. He was immersed in his own awareness of the falsity of things. I am surprised at this. The queens, too, have taken this so much to heart that they are being consumed by anxiety". When Dasaratha spoke thus to Sumanthra, the loyal Minister replied, "If permitted, I shall meet the children and try to diagnose the ailment." Dasaratha said, "Quite right! Proceed at once. Once we find the cause, the remedy isn't difficult, the cure isn't far".

Sumanthra hurried to the children's apartment, heavy with a load of anxiety in his heart. He found the doors bolted from inside, the guards standing outside them. When Sumanthra tapped, Lakshmana opened the door and let him in. He closed the door behind him and conversed with the boys for long on various matters, in order to draw out from them the reason for their malady. But, he could not delve into the mystery. He noticed the difference between the confiding spirit of camaraderie which he enjoyed during the months of pilgrimage, and the distance that had grown in recent months. He pleaded with Rama with tears in his eyes, for revealing to him the reasons for his melancholy. Rama smiled and said, "Sumanthra! What reason can be given for something which is my very nature? I have no wants; I have no desire. You need have no anxiety on that score".

Unable to do anything else, Sumanthra came to where Dasaratha was and sat beside him. "I feel it will be good to invite the Guru tomorrow and consider which measures are proper", he said and departed from the presence, after taking the King's permission to leave.

The King was sad; he neglected everything else; he ignored the demands of empire and spun many theories in his mind to account for the behaviour of the children. They are entering the years of adolescence and so, such temperamental revolutions are natural, he surmised. He shared this opinion with the Queens and set his mind at rest, for a little while.

(Chapter 5 - To be continued..)

SaiRam.