ItihAsAs and purAnAs have underlying principles (tattvA) which will be understood as one scales up in the spiritual journey through a guru.
The tattvA behind Ramayana is explained by Sri Vedanta Desikar in Sankalpa Suryodayam using 1/n
the sloka darbO dagra dasEnindrIyAnana manO
nartanja ra diStithe”
Ravanan has 10 heads and is represented by 10 indriyas (senses). The mind is the 11th indriya.
Ravanan, Vibeeshanan & Kumbakarna refer to 3 gunas (modes of material nature) viz rajas, sattvam & tamas. 2/n
Surpanaka is represented as mAyA. Prakruthi is the manifestation of maaya and is responsible for the creation of maarisan which denotes the object of attraction in prakruthi. When a jIvan is tempted or attracted to this object, it stays away from paramatma. 3/n
Alternatively, when jIvan wants paramatma, then maya stays away from the jIvan. Here thayar (Sita) represents the jIvan & Rama, paramatma. Until she met maarisan, she always wanted paramatma and the moment she was attracted to worldly pleasures in the universe then 4/n
Rama, paramatma, stayed away.
The sea which raavanan crosses is the ocean of birth & death which the jIvan goes through when it stays away from paramatma. Asoka vanam represents the state of sorrow which jIvan is in.
Paramatma takes immense efforts to bring jIvan back 5/n
in His abode. This is reflected by Rama’s yearning in aranya kandam wherein he cries and asks every tree if it has seen Sita. More importantly, Paramatma’s yearning to take jIvan back to His abode is much higher than jeevan wanting to reach Paramatma. 6/n
Jivan and Paramatma is bridged by a guru and Hanuman is referred by ‘hanumath samena guruna’. An ideal guru should understand the both jIvan & Paramatma and what’s very important is to identify the right guru. The vAnarAs who said they will cross 10/15 miles, etc 7/n
represent gurus that can take the jIvan to some extent but cannot completely cross the ocean of birth & death. Such a guru is chosen by lord himself and He hands his angulyikam to the guru, in this case, Hanuman, who, brings both Rama and Sita together.
Journey of a jIvAtmA - I wrote this on last Guru pUrnimA which was essentially to extol Guru and how one's life changes. This is based on different pravachans of my guru and woven a story.
There are 4 stages in the life of jIvAtmA.
The first is jivatma’s desire to turn1/n
towards God. It revels in the worldly pleasures and does not want to come out of it and is incapable (asaktan as Sri Anna describes) of doing it. It is bhagawan who makes the sankalpa to uplift the jivatma according to upanishad statement ‘emaiVeSa vrunute tena laByaH’. 2/n
Once bhagawan does it, then jivatma realises that there’s a god and seeks ways to find and reach Him. Sri Anna explains this beautifully in Kishkinta Kanda of Srimad Ramayanam. Sugriva is in exile and does not know how to get his kingdom and wife and is wandering aimlessly. 3/n
VibIshana Saranagati - extolled by different acharyas for its completeness in Saranagati
sarva loka sharaNyaaya raaghavaaya mahaatmane
nivedeayata maam kshipram vibhiiShaNam upasthitam
Inform immediately to high soled Rama, the protector of all the worlds, that I,Vibhishana 1/n
सकृद् एव प्रपन्नाय तव अस्मि इति च याचते
अभयम् सर्व भूतेभ्यो ददामि एतद् व्रतम् मम
He who seeks refuge in me just once, telling me that I am yours', I shall give him assurance of safety against all types of beings. This is my solemn pledge. 2/n
This is the beauty of acceptance by Lord Rama and indicates his accessibility (saulabyA). Here, Sri Anna says that the word Rama need not be said seriously but even flippantly, Rama takes it seriously and makes immense efforts in uplifting the soul continuously by giving 3/n