Ramayana Masam -2

"ആയുസ്സ് പോകുന്നതേതുമറിഞ്ഞീ ല  മായാസമുദ്രത്തിൽ  മുങ്ങിക്കിടക്കയാൽ "

Life is deeply immersed in the ocean of 'maya'. No one realises how the days are passing bye ...Raman tells Lakshmanan on one occassion in the Ramayanam. True. One month has gone just like a few hours. Another Karkadakom became history. Almost one year passed bye since I started a new job in the Gulf. How fast the time flew! The magic web of 'maya' made everything look hunky dory. Fly at 35000 feet several times, dollars ringing, and then abundance of time to do nothing..I do not know when will I realise that all were just maya!

This time too, we could complete reading the Holy Book by the end of the month. The interesting thing in the Kilippatu version of Ramayanam is that, there is no mention of the Lakshmana Rekha . Lakshman had not drawn the powerful line in front of Sita when he went to search Raman.

Ramayanam is always an exciting experience. It rejuvenates the minds. As the "scary" Karkidakom confines people to thier homes, the abundance of spirituality flourishes in souls. It prompts people to know how close we are to God and how important it is to follow the idelas Lord Ram represented.

അ ദ് ധ്യാ ത്മ രാ മാ യ ണ മി ദ മെ ത്ര യു-

 മ ത്യു ത്ത മോ ത്ത മം മൃ ത്യു ഞ്ജയ പ്രോ ക് തം

അ ദ് ധ്യ യ നം  ചെയ്കിൽ മർത്യനജ്ജന്മന

മുക്തി  സിദ്ധി ക്കു മതിനില്ല  സംശ യം
.

That is how the Ramayanam concludes. It is great reading it. This time I read with a tune. I could do that. More interestingly, this time, I made lesser mistakes while reading. Even the Sudarakandam looked easier this time. It is easy if we read it with dedication. There were much less mistakes this time while reading. That is heartening. The beautiful young Malayalam will live a little more years through people like me - hopefully

Whenever I stumbled upon hard stanzas of Sundarakandam, I profoundly remembered our Grandpa. He had been so restless when we enter Sundarakandam. It was tough those days. It was impossible to complete one verse without tripping on the tongue twisters several times. It was at times so annoying to hear his angry voice. But now I understand his feelings. We did make mistakes and it was not acceptable to read the God's story so badly. Remembering grandpa, I should assert one thing: grandpas are the pillars of a society. They play very important role in shaping up sensible young generations rooted in cultural ethos. Long live grandpas.

Raman is the embodiment of all virtues. He was a caring son, a loving husband, responsible leader, honest ruler and an affectionate brother. He protected the good people. He walked the extra mile to eliminate Bali the nemesis of Sugreevan. Bali who banished his younger brother Sugreevan to jungle and married his wife. Bali while breathing his last was made to realise his sins and the soul finds moksha there. Raman tells Bali   "ധർമത്തെ  രക്ഷിപ്പതിന്നായുധാവുമായ്  നിർമൽസരം  നടക്കുന്നിതു  നീളെ  ഞാൻ" -  With arms in hands I walk on the earth untiringly to save Dharma. Bhagavan was great. He was all powerful. The universe revolved around Him. He could punish the sinners ruthlessly.

That was the old story. In the present world, as the population increased beyond any control by God, He has left everything to the human beings. It became so difficult for Him to maintain records of omissions and commssions of each and every individual. Meanwhile, human beings developed computers that have started acting much faster than the brains. These computers could store volumes of data. God was left far behind in data recording and dispense with justice. In civilised societies, judges started handing down punishments and in uncivilised societies, those who got weapons determined rights and wrongs.

 

As I read out in my own tune "ithyadhyathma ramayanam,
                                                        uma maheswara samvade
                                                       yudhakandam samaptam", I felt a little sad. A highly nostalgic journey comes to an end. Another month in life has passed by. But of course, grandpa's soul would have felt so happy at hearing me reading the Sacred Book flawlessly...that made the entire process so blissful