Sundarakanda begins with the sloka “tatO raa-va-Na neetaayaa”. The syllable “va” is the twelfth syllable in the Gayatri mantra, which denotes surrender and devotion. Please find the sloka is given below:
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After that, Hanuma, the destroyer of foes, desired to travel in the sky where celestials like chaaranas tread, to search for Seetha, who was taken away by Ravana.
Gayatri
is the most powerful mantra among
all mantras! Ramayana contains all
24 syllables of Gayatri. Even though it is widely known as Gayatri – originally this
mantra was known as “savitri” mantra, because
the blessings of The Sun God (savitur) were (and are still presently) invoked
through this mantra. The meter in
which it is written is called “Gayatri”.
Please note that I will be
offering the complete Gayatri Ramayana at the end of this book.
Ramayana
is the codebook of morals. Our
elders have advised us to refer to Ramayana when in doubt in order to learn how
to handle any situation! Lord Rama
is said to have ruled so superbly that Modern day Mahatma Gandhi aspired for
India to become “Ramarajya” – a model kingdom such as the one ruled by
Lord Rama.
It
is the responsibility of the intellect to decide between good and bad!
With out a good intellect man can achieve nothing!
People who act upon their mind’s whims and fancies will ultimately
drive themselves towards their destruction.
People who exercise control over their senses by diligently utilizing
their mind, with the help of the intellect, will gain the ultimate joy!
For example, once a
person begins drinking alcohol, it
leaves an impression which is stored
in the memory. The thought of alcohol is in the mind. However, it is
the intellect, which advises restraint. Either you can listen to your mind
and get addicted to alcohol, or you can listen to your intellect and live
happily by not indulging in alcohol!
Society (mutual understanding of people) sets
rules on what is good and what is bad. Sometimes it is the
innermost heart, intuition, which suggests something different. First
listen to yourself, using your intellectual power; debate
whether what you want for yourself is best for the common good of society or
not. When in doubt refers to the moral books, and men who are wise!
(Gita).
Ramayana
is a battle that has taken place between people of good intellect (maharshis,
ordinary mortals, simians etc) and people
who are completely ruled by mind listening to its troublesome desires (murderers
who murder innocent people just because they feel like doing it!), the demons of
Lanka.
Because
Gayatri mantra invokes the Sun God to guide our intellects in the
right decision-making process, Maharshi Valmiki has placed a syllable of Gayatri
Mantra in the beginning of each 1,000 slokas, total 24 syllables, in the 24,000
verses of Ramayana. It is also
because Lord Rama belongs to Suryavamsa the dynasty which has its origins from
Sun God.
It
was devised in this manner so that whoever read Ramayana would develop a great
intellect which would in turn help
him/her make the right decisions in life. A
life which is surrendered to the higher aspect is worth living!
Maharshi Valmiki was a visionary.
He knew that Srimad Ramayana, composed in Tretayuga
(the
second age of the world), would be read
even in Kaliyuga (the fourth and the most destructive age of the world),
consisting mostly of people living to satisfy their minds!
Sundarakanda
begins with the sloka “tatO raa-va-Na neetaayaa”. Here as you can see, the syllable “va” is the twelfth
syllable in the Gayatri mantra, which denotes surrender and devotion. Number 12 by itself is greatly significant.
Number 1 signifies Paramatman and number 2, Jivatman.
Number 2 is devotedly facing number 1 in surrender.
Once
you surrender and begin recognizing the higher aspect within you (number 1) then
that becomes Bhakti Yoga. That is why in Bhagawad Gita, the
12th Chapter is entitled ‘Bhakti Yoga’ (the Yoga of devotion).
Also
you will find this sloka exactly in
the middle of the entire Srimad Ramayana! From
a total of 24,000 verses, the
12,000th verse is “tatO raavaNa neeta..”.
The 12th syllable of Gayatri Mantra, ‘va’,
is hidden in the 12,000th verse of Srimad Ramayana.
As
you will see, Hanumanji is likened
to the middle pearl of a necklace
called Ramayana! As you read
Ramayana till the 12,000th sloka, the
story commences and descends to the
lowest level. Lord Rama and his brothers are born and brought up happily. Rama gets married and slowly the difficulties set in.
If you can imagine the story of Ramayana like pearls of a necklace
adorning beautiful mother
Sita, you will see the pearls slowly
descending to the troublesome level.
In Sundarakanda Hanumanji visits Mother Sita and makes her feel happy!
From there onwards the pearls ascend
back to the joyous levels up to the throne ceremony of Lord Rama!
That
is why Sundarakanda is said to have the
hidden power of removing the miseries of the devotee.
It also cultivates feelings of surrender towards Lord!