Putra

“Since a son delivers his father from the hell named Put, a son is called putra; he who protects his ancestors in every way.” (Lord Rama, Valmiki Ramayana, Ayodhya Kand, Sec 107)

This statement was part of a series of teachings given by Lord Rama to His younger brother Bharata. According to Vedic tradition, the son is the deliverer of the father, thus Rama wanted Bharata and the rest of His brothers to act in such a way that their father, Maharaja Dashratha, would be saved from going to hell.

Lord Rama was an incarnation of Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Krishna is not a Hindu god, as some dictionaries define it. God can never be the exclusive property of any group or sect. He is for everyone. Though He has many different forms, expansions, and avataras, there is still only one God. In the Vedic definition, only Krishna or His Vishnu expansions equate to God in His original form. Rama was one such expansion, so He is worshiped by millions throughout India and the world as God Himself. Many thousands of years ago, Maharaja Dashratha was presiding over the kingdom of Ayodhya. He had no sons to pass his kingdom down to, so he performed a great yajna, or sacrifice. Being pleased with him, God decided to take birth as his eldest. Simultaneously, God also expanded Himself into three other forms, thus Dashratha was blessed with four sons who took birth in the wombs of his three different wives. Dashratha’s youngest wife Kaikeyi was the mother of Bharata. On a previous occasion, the king was very pleased with Kaikeyi, so he offered her any two boons of her choosing. Waiting for just the right moment, Kaikeyi decided to ask for the installation of Bharata as king and the banishment of Rama to the forest for fourteen years.

Rama was the eldest son, so protocol dictated that He would succeed His father as king. Nevertheless, Rama was more than willing to oblige Kaikeyi’s two requests. During those times, the kshatriyas, the warrior class of men, served as the government leaders. Among their many duties was the requirement that they keep their word under all circumstances. It is customary for politicians to lie quite often today, but kshatriya kings would never engage in dishonesty. If they did lie, it was considered a grievous sin. For this reason, Rama agreed to go to the forest. Being ever dedicated to the welfare of His sire, Rama didn’t want Dashratha to commit any sins due to the affection he held for Rama. Bharata was away on business when these events went down. Upon returning to Ayodhya, Bharata found that Dashratha had quit his body due to the pain of separation from Rama. Quickly heading out to the forest in search of his elder brother, Bharata eventually found Rama and begged Him to come back to the kingdom and take over as king. Rama then informed Bharata that it was their duty as the sons of Dashratha to make sure that their father didn’t go to hell. Rama already did His part by going to the forest. Now it was Bharata’s turn to make good on Dashratha’s other promise by ascending the throne. If these two events didn’t occur, Dashratha would be considered a liar and also a sinner, subject to punishment in the afterlife. Sanskrit is the oldest language in the world, and its word for son is putra, meaning one who delivers his ancestors from the hell known as Put. Since time immemorial it has been the tradition for sons and grandsons to annually visit the holy site of Gaya and offer a pinda (rice ball) to their departed ancestors.

“Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu went to Gaya to offer respectful oblations to His forefathers. This process is called pinda-dana. In Vedic society, after the death of a relative, especially one’s father or mother, one must go to Gaya and there offer oblations to the lotus feet of Lord Vishnu. Therefore hundreds and thousands of men gather in Gaya daily to offer such oblations, or shraddha.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Chaitanya Charitamrita, Adi 17.8, Purport)

Our souls are eternal, while our gross material bodies are not. If we are pious we go to heaven, and if we are sinful we go to hell. Residence in either heaven or hell isn’t permanent and we eventually take birth again after an allotted period of time. The really sinful however, don’t go to heaven or hell, nor do they accept a new material body. They remain in a ghost state consisting of just the subtle elements of mind, intelligence, and false ego. The pinda is really intended for these people since they are in such dire straits. Having a son is just an insurance policy which saves one from being stuck in a horrible state in the afterlife. We commit so many pious and sinful deeds throughout our lifetime that it’s difficult to tell what the future holds for us after death. That is the nature of karma, or fruitive activity. Therefore, to eliminate all doubts relating to the afterlife, it is important to rise above the platform of karmic activity.

Aside from fruitive activity, there is a higher discipline known as bhakti yoga, or devotional service. A pure devotee of God does everything for the satisfaction of the Lord, thus he isn’t subject to the laws of karma. Ajamila is a great example in this regard. A pious brahmana in his youth, Ajamila fell down from his exalted position through association with a prostitute. The couple then had a son who was named Narayana. Even though he was no longer abiding by brahminical principles, Ajamila still had a hint of devotion in him, thus he had the good sense to name his son after God’s four-handed form of Narayana. God is absolute in any form, so He has the same potency in His original form of Krishna as He does in His various Vishnu expansions. Aside from His physical expansions, the Lord also incarnates in the form of His holy name. Therefore there is no difference between the name Narayana and Narayana Himself. This fact would turn out to be very important at the time of Ajamila’s death. On his deathbed, Ajamila called out for his son Narayana out of affection. The agents of Yamaraja, the Yamadutas, immediately came for Ajamila’s soul. Many people believe in the concept of a judgment day where someone judges the activities performed during our lifetime and then makes a determination of whether we go to heaven or hell. The Vedas tell us that this judgment is performed by the god of death, Yamaraja. He is also known as the god of justice, Dharmaraja.

These agents were all set to bring Ajamila in front of Yamaraja for judgment. However, they were intercepted by the Vishnudutas, the agents of Lord Vishnu. They declared that since Ajamila had uttered the name of Narayana at the time of death, he was now to be taken to Lord Vishnu’s spiritual realm. This fact is validated by Lord Krishna Himself.

“…Those who worship the demigods go to the planets of the demigods, but My devotees ultimately reach My supreme planet.” (Bhagavad-gita, 7.23)

The Yamadutas, being very puzzled, then returned to Yamaraja and asked him what had happened. They thought the laws of karma were absolute, so they couldn’t understand why Ajamila wasn’t going to hell. He was a sinner after all. Not only was he not going to hell, but he was going to the eternal heaven only found in the spiritual realm belonging to Lord Krishna or one of His Vishnu expansions. How could this happen? Yamaraja explained to his agents that those who abide by bhagavata-dharma, devotional service, are not subject to the laws of karma. Loving service to the Lord elevates a person above any material designation. We see on the highways that there are certain areas where local police officers don’t have any jurisdiction. A person may be speeding, but only a state officer can pull over drivers on specific roads. In a similar manner, the path of devotional service means driving on the spiritual highway to the Vaikuntha planets. Yamaraja and his agents have no jurisdiction on this road.

Bhagavata-dharma should always be practiced. This was the real meaning behind Lord Rama’s statements and actions. “Do everything for Me and you will be happy.” This was exactly the path taken by Rama’s associates. They did everything for His benefit. In actuality, Dashratha didn’t require deliverance from hell since he died while uttering Rama’s name. Nevertheless, Rama set an example for all of us on how to behave properly.

A son or daughter can both deliver their parents from any hellish condition. If a son is purely God conscious, he can deliver not only his parents, but many generations of ancestors, as was done by the great sage Bhagiratha. Women can also serve their ancestors by helping their husbands and children to become God conscious, as was done by the great Savitri, the wife of Satyavana. God rewards parents who raise their children to become devotees. That is the primary duty of a parent. Children give great pleasure to their parents in their youth, but as they grow older, it is important that the children become first class people. There can be no better person in this world than a pure devotee of Lord Krishna. The example set by Lord Rama is the guideline that should be followed by all parents and children. Devotional service is very easy to practice. Simply worship the Lord’s deity in the morning and night, offer and eat prasadam, and invite others to chant the Lord’s glorious names: “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”.

The Holy Lake

“All of these subjects in the Ramayana seem very pitiable, and they may appear very distressing to the reciter, but actually they are not. Otherwise, why would Hanuman, the great devotee of Lord Ramachandra, read daily about the activities of Lord Ramachandra, as described in the Ramayana itself?” (Shrila Prabhupada, The Nectar of Devotion, Ch 34)

We are very fortunate to be living in the times that we do. Life expectancy is on the rise, technology is improving at an astounding rate, and there is such an abundance of food that most people are obsessed with trying to lose weight. The internet allows us to communicate with one other in an instant without ever having to pick up a phone or write a letter. Airplanes and cars let us travel around the world, visiting new places and meeting new people. We indeed have a lot to be thankful for.

These material comforts are all very nice, but the thing we should be most grateful for is the existence of the Vedas, and especially the Ramayana. The Vedas tell us that each person is born with three primary debts. Many of us accumulate debts in our day to day lives such as mortgages, auto and school loans. In a similar manner, just by taking birth, one automatically owes a debt to their parents and their forefathers, referred to as the pitrs. If it weren’t for our forefathers, we wouldn’t have the opportunity to take birth in the family that we do. The second debt we owe is to the demigods. Also known as the devatas, the demigods are in charge of managing the material world. Goddess Durga, Lord Indra, Ganesha, Shiva, etc. all bestow various material boons to those who please them. Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, sanctions all the gifts given by the demigods, so one should know that nothing in this world can come of its own volition. We all need to eat. The food that gives us energy can only grow as a result of the rain provided by the demigods. A smart person realizes that everything in this creation belongs to God.

“In charge of the various necessities of life, the demigods, being satisfied by the performance of yajna [sacrifice], supply all necessities to man. But he who enjoys these gifts, without offering them to the demigods in return, is certainly a thief.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 3.12)

The third debt we owe is to the great rishis, or sages of the past. Most people seek out the four rewards of material life: dharma (religiosity), artha (economic development), kama (sense gratification), and moksha (liberation). The great sages, however, seek a higher form of knowledge. They dedicate themselves to serving Lord Krishna, writing books about Him, and teaching others the science of self-realization. Lord Chaitanya, Krishna’s incarnation who appeared on earth some five hundred years ago, ordered two of His main disciples, Rupa and Sanatana Goswami, to write books about devotional service. Those who followed in their line have also written many books about Krishna and how to love Him. This is the mercy of the saints. They have no selfish motives. Their only business is to serve Krishna. They abandon all hopes of finding happiness in the material world. They have the gift of transcendental knowledge, and they are so unselfish that they are willing to share that information with others.

“Valmiki Muni meditated for fifty thousands of years, and then he wrote Ramayana. The Ramayana is not an ordinary book. You see? Therefore Ramayana is so much popular in India. Before the appearance of Rama, he wrote Ramayana, all the activities of Rama. So this Valmiki Muni… And what this Valmiki Muni was? This Valmiki Muni was a dacoit, a plunderer. He used to plunder, I mean to say, innocent men on the road, kill him and take everything. That was his business. But by chance, he was associated with Narada Muni, and he rectified him. This is the process. When a devotee meets even a dacoit like Valmiki Muni, he becomes… Narada Muni elevated so many fallen souls. This Valmiki Muni was also. So he was given this mantra, ‘Rama.’ He could not chant it. Then he was advised to just the opposite, mara. Mara means dead body. So mara mara mara. Three mara means one ‘Rama" is there. So in this way he was initiated and he became a great sage. For sixty thousands of years he meditated simply on ‘Rama, Rama, Rama, Rama, Rama, Rama.’ And when he was liberated, he wrote this Ramayana.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Lecture, New York, Dec 23, 1966)

Maharishi Valmiki wrote the original Ramayana, the historical account of the life and pastimes of God’s incarnation as Lord Rama. The story lives on to this very day. Set in the Treta Yuga, the Ramayana enlightens us on the true meaning of life; love and devotion to God. The Lord advented specifically to reinstitute religious principles and to give protection to His devotees.

“Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion-at that time I descend Myself. In order to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium.” (Bg 4.7-8)

By reading the Ramayana, we can follow along with the Lord’s every move. The work may seem long to some, but to devotees, it couldn’t be long enough. Material facilities may seem to improve our lives on the surface, but they actually cause us to be bound to them, which can lead to pain and misery. The Ramayana, along with other Vedic texts, is our escape valve.

“If you read Valmiki Ramayana, that is also as good as reading Bhagavad-gita.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Lecture, Durban, Oct 9, 1975)

We are greatly indebted to Maharishi Valmiki for writing this work and allowing us to lose ourselves in the holy lake of Rama’s acts. Goswami Tulsidas also wrote another wonderful book about Lord Rama called the Ramacharitamanasa.  The Lord may not be physically present before us, but reading about Him allows us to be directly connected to Him. It’s the greatest gift that we can receive.