The significance of Rama Vijayotsav – How goodness punishes wickedness and forgives weakness

Hello, Krishna. Hey, Krishna. Do I think this mic needs to be fixed? This mic is too humble. So that’s it.

Yeah. Thank you. To give it some satisfaction. So one of the oldest themes in literature across the world is the conflict between good and evil, and especially the triumph of good over evil, of virtue over wise. Now I’ll talk about one such ancient story which addresses this theme in very vivid dramatic terms, the Ramayana’s book that has think.

The Ramayana is a book that has actually captivated millions of people for millennia. And I’ll talk about this primarily in 3 parts. 1 is I’ll talk about the what do we mean by good and evil or virtue and wise? And then we’ll, what does the Ramayana talk about this? How does the Ramayan story tell?

And then eventually we’ll talk about how this applies in our life. So let’s start with the question. How many of you feel that people are basically good? Okay. How many of you feel that people are basically bad?

Some of us. Yeah. Okay. Let me do you answer the question? Do you feel that some people are basically bad?

Some people actually, it’s too thank you. We would deeply like to believe that people are basically good. But when we conduct ourselves in life, we do see that people sometimes act in terrible things. They sometimes hurt us, they sometimes betray us. And if we are too naive thinking that everyone is good, we will be shattered.

We’ll be exploited. We’ll be abused. But at the same time, if we become cynical, thinking that everyone is bad, then we will end up with loneliness. I saw Garabakar. He said, the more I get to know people, the more I love my dog.

So when we have bad experience with people, we might start thinking people all people are bad. Now the the direct traditions of India say that actually when you want to talk about people’s basic nature, we are complex religions, and our existence is multidimensional. Multidimensional means we have our physical shell, that’s our body, then we have our mind. And beyond that is our spiritual essence, our soul. That’s what we are at our core.

So in this three level, body, mind, and soul. At the level of body, all of us are human beings. At the level of the mind, each one of us has different desires, impressions, conceptions, stored. And we as spiritual beings are on a multilife journey. So therefore, we often get impressions from previous lives into this life.

Many of you may be parents and you have children. Each child, even if both children have and you have 2, 3 children, all children have come on the same parents, but each child is individual. Different. Even if the children are twins and even if they are identical twins, still they’re individually different. Their personality is different.

So we are the impressions in our mind are shaped by what they come from our previous lives. They’re also shaped by our upbringing. They’re also shaped by our association. So, basically, these three factors, past life, upbringing, and association, they broadly affect the kind of impressions we have in our mind. And if somebody has repeatedly done bad things, then they get habituated to doing bad.

And then after some time, they may even deny it in doing bad. So suppose we are going on a crowded road and we accidentally step on someone’s foot. If you realize it, it’s, oh, I’m sorry. You’ll have to change. But imagine somebody steps on somebody’s foot and I notice they have stepped and then they deliberately left lift their shoe and bang it on their face.

What cruelty is that? So, when we talk about evil, evil essentially means to cause suffering for the sake of causing suffering. Sometimes, just the way, like, things are in the world, suffering is unavoidable. If I’m going on a crowded road, I might just step on someone’s foot because it’s so crowded, I can’t avoid it. That’s unavoidable.

Sometimes, suffering is essential. As when a doctor use injection, a doctor does surgery. Sometimes it is essential. But it serves some purpose. But when suffering is caused simply for the sake of causing suffering, That is evil.

So that’s a very broad definition of evil. But evil does exist. Some people who are sadistic just delight in causing pain to others. So now why are some people like this? Because the impressions within them are like that.

They have very dark impression, which impel them to do dark things. And not only they impel them, they give it to those impulses and they keep doing dark things. So it can be because of anger, it can be because of greed, it can be because of lust. I had a friend in Russia. He told me that during the communist days, there was, like, a a a satanical cartoon which was propagated and and, yes, he said that the news says that the price of vodka has risen.

So then a child asks his father, dad, now will you drink less? Because the price has gone up. And the father says, no. You will eat less. So now somebody can get so hooked on to something that just to gratify their craving for an automated private children of food.

Sometimes our vices within us might take so much control. I mean, dominantly does so much that we become desensitized to those around us. So now within, vice. There’s virtue. Verbal and within vice, we can have 2 distinct categories.

So I thought about a difference between virtue and vice. So is there something like this? Yes. You could say that if somebody is causing pain to others, that’s vice. But within vice also, we could have 2 distinct categories.

1 is weakness and the other is wickedness. Weakness is where someone sometimes succumbs to lust, succumbs to anger, succumbs to greed, and they end up doing something which is which is hurtful to others, which is unethical. But then, afterwards they regret it. Say, I want to give this up. I will not do this, sir.

They may not succeed immediately in stopping it, but they do try to do it. There’s at least some remorse. I should not have done this. But in wickedness, there’s no remorse. When somebody is wicked, they not only do bad, but they don’t even feel bad on doing bad.

Prabhu, you think, let’s see how clever I am. I can do this and I can get up with it. So in in people who are with weakness, their conscience is still there. And their conscience makes them come back to the right path. Or at least makes them aware you are on the wrong path.

But in wickedness, the consciousness has been numbed and down. Collisions are consciousness. Conscience has been numbed and down. Our conscience is like our inner compass. So now, in general, whenever somebody succumbs to weakness, they need to be helped.

Weakness needs to be forgiven. Weakness is reciprocate with kindness, with forgiveness, and gradually, weakness can rise to good weakness can be overcome and the person can rise to goodness. But when somebody has a weakness, then forgiveness for wickedness is foolish. Because that person has no desire to change. So if they do something wrong and it sometimes the the the sometimes somebody does something wrong and we protect them from the consequences of their actions.

Because we feel they’re not happy. But sometimes the consequences are the only way somebody can learn. So when there is wickedness, there has to be not forgiveness, but justice. Not revenge, but justice. So when we talk about wise, virtue and vice, vice can either be weakness or it can be wickedness.

And we will look at this with this broad framework that if you consider as goodness, weakness, wickedness. And above them is the supreme embodiment of goodness that is god. So if weakness associates with goodness, then the those with weakness, if they associate with those who are devoted to god, those they connect with god, then they can overcome their weakness and come toward goodness. But if weakness associates with wickedness, then they will be dragged down. So with this background, let’s look at so this is the the the conceptual background.

After that, let’s look at the story of the Ramayana. The Ramayana is a ancient epic, which is not just ancient but also timeless. It demonstrates timeless principles through its characters. So the the Bhagavad Gita, which is the ancient yogic text explains that there are multiple levels of existence. We look currently at the material level.

And beyond this is the spiritual level of reality. And sometimes from that spiritual level, the divine descends to this level of reality. And that descent is called as avatar. Now of course, in today’s world, because of the Mohia avatar and because of online, people have a different idea. This is my avatar on this particular site, on this particular video game or whatever.

The avatar had the idea of but still there’s a there’s a similarity that avatar has the idea of crossing gold. But I’m in the physical realm and the digital realm, this is my avatar. So this is so so our concept of Octa is crossing over from the spiritual level of reality to the material level of reality. So when millennia ago, Ram, who is a manifestation of the divine, descended to the world. And he descended because at that time, there are many demoniac forces who were exploiting, abusing, murdering, and making the earth into hell.

And at that time, Ram was a very virtuous and powerful ruler. He protected the Earth from the demons. But that one particular point, the most powerful among the demons was named Rawar. Now the word Rawar itself signifies wickedness. Because Rawar means one who makes others cry.

There are some there are 2 kinds of people. Some people bring happiness wherever they go, and some people bring happiness whenever they go. So Ravana was like that in the second category. Wherever you’d go, people would start crying. You’re such a horrible person.

And then you would be you would go away. People would he was a high of relief. Of course, because he was a high of relief, if he kept him alive. Very brutal. And eventually, he he was also generally, whenever somebody has power, a power very easily goes to the head.

And once the power goes to the head, one starts thinking that everything should dance to my tune. That everything is for my pleasure, for my enjoyment. So Ram had a had a beautiful queen, a consort, Sita. And Rama, through a vicious controversy, abducted Sita. And then, Ram had to make a great effort to recover.

At that time, Ram had no army. He was in the he was for a period of few years living in the forest at that time as a mendicant. Although he was a powerful prince, so he had no army. And he has formed a army of of a species called Vanara. Vanara means Narara is human.

Vanara is are they human? The idea is they were they were these were ape like beings, but they were they had some simian and some human characteristics. And then they decided to march to the kingdom of Lanka, which is the kingdom of Rawan. And Ram tried his best to resolve things and kill me. Nowadays, we are very apprehensive whenever somebody talks about whenever violence is associated with religion, because we have the specter of terrorism.

And now if we look at the ancient epics, the war was always fought according to serious war codes, which were considered to be violent. And the basic principle of war code was that no civilians are to be attacked. Broadly, we can say that even in the Ramayana, although Raul the demon we see that the war was fought, he was demoniac. The war was fought according to war bonds. What are they basically?

No attacking siblings. One warrior will only attack another warrior. And even the other warrior is to be attacked only when that warrior is equipped. And that warrior is alert. So it is like, let’s let’s have a test of our skills.

Let’s have a test of our strength. Now if you see, today, what is done in the name of religion, terrorism is exactly the opposite. All three characteristics. They attack only civil institution. And those who are having no weapons and those who are having they’re not alert.

These cock catch people are unaware. So this is brutal. This is wicked. But the point is that there are times when strong action is required. And Ram tried his best.

He said, I don’t want a war with you, Ravan. You just return, Sita. And Ravan, he not only had war, he had lust, he had great arrogance. And he said, Ravan will return. And he was very insolent.

Very arrogant, very insolent. Even his own tenders advised him. But he never listened to them. Now he had kept Sita in confinement. He had he had received a curse because he had violated many women in the past.

He had been cursed that if he ever took a woman against her will, he would die. And so he had not, violated Sita. He kept and Sita, she had refused to even end Sita as the consort of Ram. She said, I will not even enter into your palace. So he had kept her in a forest.

She said, Sita was so devoted to her, to Ram. She said that as long as Ram is living in the forest, I will also live in the forest. So he kept her in a garden. And now he couldn’t have his way with her. But that didn’t stop him from using demonic means.

And that was He surrounded Sita with hideous demonesses. And they would constantly threaten her, taunt her, and scare her. And she’s all alone. If we’re all alone, that’s that’s difficult. But if we’re alone in trying to live in a particular way and everyone else is discouraging us, everyone else is criticizing us, everyone else is threatening us, It becomes very difficult to continue, to do what we are doing.

I suppose see, right now I’m speaking. And if I speak something, say, every one of you start glaring at me. Not just staring, but glaring at me. And I’ll start thinking, did I speak something wrong? What’s happening?

Isn’t it? So we are very social creatures. And if the people around us discipline to us, in some way, then it affects us. I travel across the world. Almost 8, 7, 8 months I’m traveling.

But there’s one city where I go, whenever a few talks, there is one person who comes and sits right in the front like you’re sitting. And sitting in the front, just glares at me throughout the class. Now the only way I can give a talk is not look at that person. So the point I’m making is if everybody is disapproving us, everybody is criticizing us, it is very difficult to stick to our principle, stick to our course of action. For that, if we are to stick, we need to do one thing.

We shouldn’t overvalue those who devalue us. If one person is just glaring at me, I can’t overvalue that one person. And we should value those who value us. That way we can maintain our stability even among people who are critical to us. So although Sita was surrounded by all these Dionysus, and they were scaring her, threatening her, she remained firm.

How she didn’t overvalue their opinions. And she, in her heart, she remembered her lord, ma’am. She remembered her family there. She remembered her friends. And she was thinking, what will please them?

What will displease them? What is the right thing to do? And eventually, although the Ravana tried various means to try to threaten and scare Sita, Sita was unaffected. And the war eventually unfolded. When the war unfolded, it was a terrible war.

But one after another after another, Ravan and his forces were destroyed. And Ravan tried to use many, nefarious, tricky means to try to bring down Ram’s forces. But somehow, Ram’s forces survive all of them. And here also, sometimes a great person’s greatness is seen not just in the great things that they do, but also in how they do small things. So now the the the war was caught according to war codes.

And the idea was that during the day, they would fight, and during the night, they would resist. So Raul gave orders to his soldiers that now this Raul’s kingdom was an island surrounded by an ocean. So he said, all my soldiers, all the demons in my side who die, at night, you should go and toss their bodies into the ocean as far away as possible. Why? He said the next morning, when the enemy soldiers come, they will see there are no corpses here.

And they will become discouraged, thinking that we did not cause any casualties with others. So he had, truly, an attitude of use and throw. So that’s now some we have some people have we have used and throw commodities now. That’s sometimes very detrimental to the environment. Because if it’s for just one time use, it just pollutes the environment.

In the oceans, there is a great garbage patch. It’s like mails and mails of garbage. It’s just there in the is it Atlantic or Pacific Ocean? It’s just a great. Pacific Ocean.

Yeah. The great great. Great. Pacific. You can throw things at now we may do it with things, but Rava would do it with people.

Get them to fight for him and throw them away physically. Inhumane attitude. On the other hand, every night, Ram would stay awake late in the night, and personally offer perform the last rites of all those who had been martyred for his cause. And eventually, as the war went on, slowly but surely, Ram started giving the upper hand. And then the final war began.

Now Rawan is described that he is he’s a historical character who existed long ago, but it’s also described that he represents wise, especially the wise of lust. Lust is not just sexual desire. Lust is generally any desire that goes to a self destructive degree. The desire is a natural willingness. We all want to grow.

We all want to grow. We all were in this at one time, but we’ve grown now. 1,000,000,000 and 1,000,000 of cells in our world. That’s growth is natural. So similarly, we all want to grow socially, we want to grow financially, we want to grow intellectually.

We all want to grow. That growth is natural. But cancer is also growth. However, cancer is growth that is destructive because it is disproportionate. One set of cells start growing so much that they their growth starts destroying the whole body.

Similarly for us, we all have desires and to be conscious is to be desirous. But sometimes desires can start growing disproportionately and they become destructive. Desires become like cancer. So Ravan represents a cancerous overgrowth of lust where he had he knew no secret boundaries. And he wanted whatever he wanted, however he wanted, whenever he wanted.

That was the idea. So when the final war took place, at that time, Ram and Ram were fighting. So Ram shot many arrows. Now arrows can be shot at biggest part of the at at the body. So Ram Rama would shoot Ram would shoot arrows in the head of Ram.

But Rama had some mythical mystical powers by which he would not be killed by the arrow that would hit his head. And it went on and on and on. Even if a head would fall off, it would come back again. Head would fall off, it would come back again. Head would fall off, it would come back again.

And then finally, Ram was told by one of his wise associates, that you shoot not at the head, but at the heart. At the heart. And then Ram shot hair which is straight into the heart. And it went into the heart, it just peels round through the heart and he fell. Life leaving his body.

When he left When his soul left his body, he gave a roar that shook the earth. And that day, when Ram won that great war over Ram, that day, historically, the anniversary of that is tomorrow. That is called Ram Vijayurta. The victory the celebration on the victory of Ram. It’s called also Dasara.

Now in India, on this occasion, there are giant effigies of this Raman maid. And then there are there are people who come together and they there’s a big bow from which the arrow is shot. And his fly flaming arrow goes and hits the effigy of robot and then the whole effigy can just fire. And what it symbolizes is that we pray for purity. And this symbolizes that just as the vicious Ravana was overcome by Ram, Similarly, whatever vices are there in our heart, they may also be overcome by the potency of Raama.

That the potency of Raama also manifest as his names. So we are following the kirtan of the Hare Krishna mantra, in which also we have the name of Ram. So when we chant these mantras, it’s like arrows are going into our heart. And the vices that are there within, they’re getting weakened. They’re getting destroyed.

It’s it’s significant that as long as the arrows were hitting the head, they were just the heads were regrowing. But if the arrow pierced the heart, it was over. So what that signifies is that we cannot overcome desire simply by removing the visible manifestations of the desire. Visible manifestations means if I just say, okay. I have something, some bad habit, I don’t want to do it, I keep doing it.

And I resolve, I will not do it ever again. Then that intention is good. But desires keep surfacing. Keep surfacing again and again and again. It’s desires seem to be incredibly just like we have the HIV virus.

No matter how many times we try to destroy it, it somehow resurface. So many of our lower desires are like that. So there many of us make new year resolutions. So I was once invited for a talk show, a radio talk show on, new year resolutions. I had done some research.

So it seems almost 80% of the new year’s resolutions that people make. The the resolutions they make on new year are not new. You made the resolution the previous year, it stayed for some time and then it went off. So what happens is that when we try to attack desire, it doesn’t work. Because the desires are too resilient.

They just keep coming back in and again. So when Ram hit the arrow at the heart, what that signifies is that we don’t just try to change or control our desires. We change our heart. Change our heart means change our conception of what is desirable. That comes by spiritual education.

That comes by spiritual purification. So as so when we’re trying to control desire, that means what? Yeah. This is good, but I’m not meant to do this. Now we say, yeah.

I know it’s not good but we may say it as harmful for me. We might verbally say it but inside us, we don’t believe it. So the real way to deal with desires is not simply to try to control the next story. Yes. Sometimes someone wanna control the essential, but the cure is not just control.

The cure is change of heart. And changing our conception, changing our definition of happiness, that is what is done by the spiritual practice of the yoga. So when Ram shot an arrow at the heart of Rahmah, what it signifies is that that similar arrow when it goes to the heart, our heart can become pure. See, if you all I always talk about impressions in our mind. We all have different impressions.

So suppose we have a a robot which is programmed that if you show it red light and it says it is blue light. Now no matter how many times we show we tell it is a red light, and it it will always call it as blue. Just showing it more red light again and again is not going to change. We’ll change the programming. So similarly for us, if if we see, we have all been programmed in certain way that we have certain programmed definitions of habits.

And one as long as we have those definitions, this is enjoyable. And then somebody said, don’t do it. Okay. I’ll not do it. But then, because our definition is still enjoyable, but I should not do it.

Why should I not do it? And sometimes some opportunity will come and we’ll succumb. So what we need to do is change the programming. All of us can look back in our lives. We all have certain definitions of happiness.

Now we may have achieved some of those things. We’ve not achieved some of those things. But did that really make us happy? So the whole process of Bhakti Yoga is about changing the programming which makes us function. Now in the case of Ravan, there are some people who are just not ready to change their programming.

We can say everybody is changeable, but maybe not in this life. So Ravan was in that sense incorrigible. And that’s why he had to be punished. But even amid this punishment, generally, if one army wins over the other army, then often there is brutal vandalization of the reputed children. All the wealth is plundered.

Everybody who can be victimized and violated and enslaved. All kinds of war crimes happen. But in this case, absolutely nothing happened. And eventually, Ram had a faithful and devoted assistant, Hanuma. Ram said Hanuma to Sita.

Sita has still been captivated. And as I said, no civilians were attacked, so she was away. And Hanuma was sent with a message that Ram has won and see Ram would like to see you soon. He started to send a message. Now Hanuman had come earlier there once to meet Sita, and he has seen how all the evilnesses around were threatening and tormenting.

So at that time, when Ram when Anwar told Sita that Ram has won. Raman is out of the Ravan is now eliminated, and he will soon be reunited with Ram. Sita was jubilant. And then, at that time, Hanuman was Arvan was happy to see her happiness. But then he said, you know, all these demonesses, they threatened and tormented you for so long.

So for a whole Sita was almost for a year in the prison. In prison, in that in that garden park. She said that, I want to give all of them a sound thrashing. They threatened and tormented you so much. And Sita looked at Anuban, and she said that they meant no they had no malice in that.

They were simply doing what their master loved it. He said there’s no need. She said there’s no need to punish her. He said that now I’m just happy that nobody is stopping me from uniting with Ram again. And she gives quite a discourse on forgiveness over there.

And he says that those who are virtuous, they forgive the wrongdoings of others. Even if the wrongs have been done to them, still they forgive. Forgive. And human hears this and is amazed. Somebody who suffered so much, for her to forgive so so easily, he’s amazed that you’re a saintly lady.

So now here is a very significant point which will bring, like, my starting and the story to a circular conclusion. That see, Rawan couldn’t be given forgiveness. But the delinquencies were given forgiveness. Sometimes we ask is sometimes we we say forgiveness is good. Forgive people.

Yes. We should forgive. Definitely. But forgiveness is a virtue and beautifulness is also a virtue. Forgiveness is a virtue and dutifulness is also a virtue.

So a, if you want if society is to be made, social order is to be maintained, then everybody has to do their duty. And if somebody obstructs somebody else’s duty, then social order will crumble. So if, doctor misdiagnoses some disease and sometimes gives a wrong prescription. Then overall, if the doctor has always been treating patients well, carefully, then one incidental, oversight can be provoked. But if some doctors deliberately complicate the disease of the patient so that a doctor said that so that they can keep getting more and more bills from them.

And then they deliberately learn someone and that cannot be forgiven. So everybody has to do their deed. So Rawan was obstructing Sita in doing her duty to do now. Rawan was disrupting the citizens of the world from living life virtues. Well, the demonesses, they were simply opening up.

So when somebody is disrupting social order, strong actions will be denied. But there is no there is even under justice, there is difference between justice and vindictiveness. Justice is done not so much because you did this to me, so I’ll do this to you. Rather, you did this to me and if you do not get consequences, then you will keep doing this to others. And others will also start doing the same thing.

So for the sake of maintaining order in society, justice is required. It’s essential. But vindictiveness is that you did this to me and I do this to you. When people are vindictive, they when they are revengeful or vindictive, they basically become obsessed with the other person. And their whole sense of self existence and their purpose of their existence become centered on causing pain to those who have caused pain to them.

And that is a very negative way to live. So Ram as a virtuous king had to punish those who were vicious and he did that to Rav. But Sita, in her virtuous nature, she saw that they are no longer a threat to him. So she forgave. Let them go.

So we see this dynamism that apply that is demonstrated in the Ramayana. So the victory was not just that Ram defeated Raman. That that’s glorious. Good triumph over him. But the victory is also that Sita never became bitter.

Sita never became vindictive. That sometimes what happens is when good tries to overcome evil. Good may overcome evil but in the process, good itself becomes evil. Sometimes when we deal when we are dealing with bitter people, then we are dealing with bad people. And then just trying to deal with them also makes us hard hearted, makes us harsh, makes us, it contaminates us.

So ultimately, for all of us, the virtue of we all have, as I said, we have at our level of soul, every one of us is pure, every one of us is godly. Every one of us has a potential for virtue and godliness. But at the level of the mind, all of us have different impressions. And some impressions are good and some are not so good. So we need to rise from so that this potential for virtue has to overcome the propensity for vice.

That is there in us. It could be a propensity for weakness or it could be a propensity for weakness. This potential for virtue has to rise. So I asked, is everyone innately good? Yes.

At the level of soul, everyone is innately good. But at the level of the mind, everyone, what is their innate quality? It is seen through their actions. Now the process of bhakti yoga is a process by which the godliness, the soul becomes activated. The godliness starts to become manifested.

And whether it is weakness or wickedness, both can be overcome. Both can be beautified. So all the Ramayana is a book of great It’s a story of great drama, action, conspiracy, romance, everything that is there in a thriller movie or thriller novel is there in the drama. But beyond it all, it is a demonstration of the potency of potency of divinity to uplift humanity so that our divinity starts manifesting. Our godliness and our virtue starts manifesting.

And that is what inspired the millions for millennia. The purifying potency of the Ramayana is what has attracted throughout history, especially in the Dalvik Traditions. In India as well as the Indian subcontinent. Now that that core message that we all have the potential for the for virtue, for godliness, for goodness within us, And we all can bring out that virtue. And we all can become better human beings, and we all can light the world.

The light of divinity wants to shine through each one of us. And to the extent we let the propensity for wise within us control us, then we don’t let that light of divinity come through. And to that extent, our heart and our life remains darker. And not just our heart and our life, but our world remains darker. But if we connect with the divine through the practice of bhakti yoga, and then those impurities start getting removed.

And then the light of divinity starts manifesting through us, through each one of us. Now, if we can pull our act together, if we can overcome our propensities toward weakness and wickedness, then each one of us can do so much more good. Each one of us can become so much better. And how much good we can do? That, even we don’t know because God can manifest through us.

God can use us as instruments for doing good in the world. And discover it just by pulling our act together, discovering how much good we can do. That is life’s ultimate adventure. Not just climbing up some mountains or going skiing or going, any kind of adventure sports. It’s fine.

But discovering how much good we can do. If we bring out the goodness within us, that is life’s ultimate adventure. And the triumph of good over evil which the Ramayana and the Ram Vijayana also demonstrates is a call for such an adventure for every one of us. To discover how good we can become and how much good we can manifest in the world by manifesting our godliness from within. So I’ll summarize what I spoke.

I spoke the other theme of the significance of the Ram Vijay also. I started by first talking about a common motive throughout history has been that the battle between good and evil. And we talk about good and evil in somewhat subtler terms that every one of us at a at the level of soul is good. At the level of mind, we have different impressions. And the impressions can be of some goodness or can be of vice.

Wise has 2 categories, weakness and wickedness. Now weakness is where a person does wrong but their conscience tells them it’s wrong and they try to overcome it. Wickedness is their conscience is dead. So wickedness deserves forgiveness. Wickedness deserves consequences.

Deserves justice. So then this theme, I should talk about how it’s demonstrated in the Ramayana. Now Ram is why his queen was abducted by Raman. And Ram died by every possible peaceful way to resolve but Raman was arrogant adamant And eventually a confrontation was unavoidable. But even that confrontation, Ram did not lose his compassion.

Ravan had a used a true attitude toward his soldiers, throwing them, tossing them into the ocean so that the enemies would notice how wouldn’t be angry by thinking how many casualties there on the opposite side. But Ram personally prayed every night for his, for his soldiers for to perform their last reigns. And eventually, in the final battle between Ram and Ravan, Ram Ravan was not killed by the attack on his heads. That was why? The attack on his heart.

So his Ravan’s head represents our various desires, our ungodly desires, our lower desires. Because by trying to control those desires, I will not do this. That doesn’t work. We need to go to the heart. Change the heart means change our conception of what is pleasure.

And that change of conception happens through spiritual education and spiritual purification. It is done through Bhakti Yoga. So Ram Ram’s arrow is going to Ram’s heart is similar to the names of Ram going to our heart. And they will remove the wise, the weakness and wickedness within our heart. Now the triumph of Ram over Ram is not just sold.

When Hanuman wanted to punish those who have tormented Sita, Ram said Sita said no. And she did not become vindictive. Although she lived amongst evil and she underwent great suffering, she did not become vindictive. And that was also a triumph of good over evil. The association with evil did not make good evil.

So for all of us, wherever we are in life, if we can bring out the potential for virtue within us And we can overcome the propensity for wise that is there within us. We all can become much better than what we are. The light of divinity can shine to us and leave the world a brighter. And discovering how much good we can do in the world if we connect with God. That discovery is life’s ultimate adventure.

And the Ram Ram’s trial over our end invites us all to join in that ultimate adventure of life. Thank you very much.