(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 26 April 2016, Radhadesh, Belgium, Vyasa Puja Address)
Very recently, we have celebrated various appearance days of the different incarnations of the Lord. Most recently, it was of Lord Ramachandra, the embodiment of dharma. Each of our main books has an overriding theme. In the Bhagavad-gita, we find the dilemma of Arjuna. Arjuna who is somehow or other having a personal agenda and Krsna wants him to act according to his will and it takes the entire Gita for Arjuna to finally say, “Yes, I will do as you say.”
In the Ramayana, we find this endless dharma in so many ways. All these things become impressed upon us. We are living in this culture of worship. It is said that nānāvatāram akarod bhuvaneṣu kintu (Brahma-saṁhitā 5.39), in so many incarnations the Lord appear and in each of these incarnations the Lord performs pastimes.
Each of these incarnations, we remember every year and each year again we contemplate. So each year, there is one day that I read the Ramayana from morning to night. On every Rama Navami, somehow or other, I just read the Ramayana the whole day. I start as early as possible and I just go on and on, through the whole thing and when you get to this huge battle at the end then so many things are occurring there…
In different pastimes, we recall simple things. Just like when Lord Ramachandra and Sita were leaving Ayodhya to enter into the forest, they crossed a river. The king of the Nisadas, Guha, who was friends with Dasaratha, brought them across and when they were making a camp for the night then they saw all these bees drinking honey from so many flowers. The bees had drunk so much honey that they could not fly straight anymore. Then one bee came who was not affected, who had not been drinking from the all these different flowers and was not intoxicated by the honey, it was this bee who was bringing back home all the other bees. By themselves, they could not do it, they could not go home. So Lord Ramachandra pointed out, he said, “Just see, this one bee is taking all the others home,” comparing it to guru. Anyway Sita thought it was funny – drunken bees and everything; some relief also from all the stress after having been banned to the forest.
So this is the system that one who is not intoxicated with all the different types of material enjoyment, one who is not indulging, is able to turn to Krsna without deviation and is able to then bring others out of that intoxicated state. This is our system!