Sai message for the day

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Vibhishana was a rakshasa, yet he was a devotee of Rama. Kindly tell

us about Vibhishana?

 

Vibhishana's case is one of unique devotion to Rama. God is

unconcerned with your position, property, scholarship, caste and

creed. What God expects and receives from you is only pure love. With

devotion, you can achieve anything in this world. Only this kind of

devotion transformed

 

A monkey known for unsteadiness intoHanuman, worthy of worship,

 

A bird known for flipping looks into a Garuda, vehicle of Vishnu,

A bull into Nandi, the vehicle of Siva,

 

A peacock into the vehicle of LordSubrahmanya, and

 

A lion into the vehicle of Goddess, Durga.

 

What is special here is that these animals and birds, by their sheer

devotion and love of God, could give up their innate qualities and

transform themselves into vehicles of Gods, and are now worshipped

along with Gods and Goddesses.

 

Similarly, Vibhishana, though a Rakshasa himself, was an ardent

devotee of Lord Rama, and hence, he deserved His grace. He repeatedly

advised his elder brother, king Ravana, not to abduct Mother Sita,

and later on, not to wage war against Rama. He also warned Ravana and

predicted dire consequences he would have to face if he persisted.

Yet, Ravana didn't pay heed to his words of devotion and wisdom and

the rest is the story you all know. Ultimately, Vibhishana forsook

his brother, Ravana, and sought refuge in Rama. This is an instance

when a devotee leaves his own brother if he stands in the way of the

onward journey to God. In my opinion, Vibhishana is greater than

Bhishma. Being a man possessed of wisdom, penance, devotion,

determination and expertise in warfare, Bhishma even after knowing

full well that the Kauravas were doing unlawful, unrighteous and mean

acts, still remained with them as chief of their army, during the

Kurukshetra War. He couldn't help the pious, righteous and noble

souls, the Pandavas.

 

Hanuman, in his search for Mother Sita entered Lanka, stepped into

the bedroom of Vibhishana, and saw him immersed in chanting the holy

name of Rama. He made Vibhishana aware of his presence by making loud

sounds. Vibhishana opened his eyes and saw Hanuman over there. After

they had acquainted themselves with each other as devotees of Rama,

Hanuman asked Vibhishana, " Oh King! You say you are a devotee of

Rama. You do japa, repeat His holy name. But it is not enough.

Besides, chanting His name, you should also participate in His karya,

His Divine mission. Have you ever visited Sita? Have you made any

attempt to set her free? In what way have you helped Rama in His

mission? Don't you know that chanting His name and contributing to

His mission are complementary to each other and should go together?

You have not informed Rama of the whereabouts of Sita! Have you made

any attempt to set her free? In what way have you helped Rama in his

mission? How do you call yourself a devotee of Rama then? " Since that

day, Vibhishana became a part of Rama's divine mission.