Embrace the Higher Duty
When Lord Ram was banished to 14 years of exile by His stepmother Kaikeyi, a pall of gloom fell over the kingdom. Their father, King Dashrath and Lord Ram’s mother Kaushalya were grief stricken and inconsolable. King Dashrath fell terribly sick such that no medicine could help him. Despite this serious situation at home His younger brother Lakshman insisted on accompanying Him to the forest. Lord Ram tried His best to convince Lakshman to stay back to take care of father King Dashrath and His subjects.
Lord Ram said to Lakshman, “Father is extremely sick and Bharat and Shatrughan are visiting our maternal grandparents. Who will look after the kingdom in such a precarious situation? Our scriptures tell us that the king whose subjects are not happy is bound to undergo the atrocities of narak. So, for the sake of father’s welfare, you must stay back in Ayodhya.”
Lakshman refuted the argument with
मोरे सबइ एक तुम स्वामि, दीनबंधु उर अंतरयामी ।
mōrē sabi ēka tuma svāmi, dīnabandhu ura antarayāmī .
“O my respectable brother! These teachings are good for those who wish to attain fame, wealth and bode in celestial abodes. I depend only on your love. I don’t consider king Dashrath as my father. To me You are my Guru, father, mother and everything”. I cannot even bear the thought of staying away from You, being unable to serve You.
Lord Ram was rendered speechless with this answer as Lakshman was talking about the spiritual dharma of a jiva. God gives human form [1] so that the soul can attain the ultimate aim of life . There is no bigger aim than attaining God realization.
Moral
Every living being is made up of two components - gross material body and divine soul (Jiva) [2]. The path of material dharma leads to material achievements, which are temporary in nature and eventually lead to pain. The path of spiritual dharma leads to spiritual achievement of everlasting, unlimited divine bliss. A wise person focuses on following the spiritual dharma as Lakshman did to attain eternal bliss.
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