Bravery!

Hanumān continued telling Bharata details of Rām’s journey in forest during exile period & said-Rāvan abducted Sitā & killed vulture king Jatāyu, who sought to save her. Some Vānaras who were staying at mount Risyamukha, saw with astonishment as Rāvan passed by the aerial route taking away Sitā. Rāvan then entered Lankā on Pushpaka Vimāna & kept Sitā in a large, beautiful mansion & cajoled her with gentle words, to accept him. But Sitā would not listen a word & stayed at Ashoka Garden

Having killed the golden deer, Rām while returning to his hermitage, saw Jatāyu in the forest & was greatly disturbed, as he was dearer to him as his own father. The brothers searched Sitā along the bank of Godavari river. They met demon Kabandha in the forest & according to his advice, met Sugriva at mount Risyamukha. Even before they met, a meeting of hearts thro’ affinity had taken place between them. Sugriva was banished by his brother Vāli in the past. As a result of mutual talks, deep affection developed between Rām & Sugriva

Rām with huge strength of his arms, killed mighty Vāli & restored Kishkindha kingdom to Sugriva, who in turn pledged to search Sitā. 10 crore Vānaras were commanded by Sugriva & sent to all 4 quarters. Having lost our way in Vindhya mountains, long time passed & we felt struck with sorrow. Meanwhile, Jatāyu’s brother Sampātti precisely told us that Sitā was in Lankā

To remove grief of my kinsfolk, who were seized with sorrow, I crossed 100 yojanas across the sea to Lankā. There I saw Sitā living alone in Ashoka grove, clad in soiled saree, looking cheerless but unflinching in her vow of chastity. After meeting her, I gave a ring bearing Rām’s name as a token. Receiving in return a jewel from her, I came back to the northern shore successfully. I handed over the token to Rām, who then regained hope to survive

Excited as he was to put forth a war-effort, Rām set his mind on the destruction of Lankā as fire god intends to destroy 3 worlds at the end of the universe. On reaching the shore, he got a bridge constructed by Nala, riding which the Vānara army crossed over to Lankā. This all looked impossible at one stage

Bravery is not to be free from fear but to driven by a purpose, which is bigger than fear itself. As Hanumān is telling these pastimes, we can perceive that contribution of all is inspired by the bigger cause, overcoming all challenges, however big they were

Real fearlessness comes when we come out of the consciousness of the material body & identify ourselves as spirit soul, which is part & parcel of the Supreme Lord. Krsna says

abhayaṁ sattva-saṁśuddhir jñāna-yoga-vyavasthitiḥ

dānaṁ damaś ca yajñaś ca svādhyāyas tapa ārjavam

Fearlessness; purification of one’s existence; cultivation of spiritual knowledge; charity; self-control, performance of sacrifice; study of the Vedas; austerity; simplicity…these qualities belong to godly men with divine qualities

Thoughts? #gameoflife