An ancient gaathaa in times of Coronavirus

In these times of global lockdown, economy woes, and total uncertainty, a verse of ancient wisdom comes to my mind. The verse appears more than once in Valmiki Ramayana, and in several other grantha-s as well. The first occurrence of the verse in Ramayana is in Sundara Kanda. The context is this… Hanuman has found Sita in Lanka. He has begun speaking to her and convinces her of his being the messenger of Rama. And then he tells her :

“O Divine Lady! Rama the son of Dasaratha, the greatest among the knowers of Veda; the knower of the greatest of weapons, the Brahmastra; that virtuous Rama has enquired about your welfare. Also the greatly splendourous Lakshmana, the favourite brother and the devotee of your Lord, himself tormented with grief, performed salutation to you by bowing his head.”

Sita, who has been in absolute despair, feels a sudden rush of happiness. At which time she speaks a verse. The verse begins by saying – Oh how blessed is this ancient Gaathaa…

कल्याणी बत गाथेयं लौकिकी प्रतिभाति मे ।
एति जीवन्तमानन्दो नरं वर्षशतादपि।।

A gaathaa refers to a saying of profound value, which is so ancient that no one knows who said it or when. Its been there in the air, and has been handed down from one generation to another, often through song that you may chance to hear your grandmother sing, or hear from the lips of wandering minstrel, some faqir singing in the streets….

She says – “Ah, how blessedly true seems to be the popular Gaathaa – that ‘ A man may attain happiness if he lives long enough, even if it means that he has to wait for a hundred years’.

A simple message that proclaims the virtue of patience; the value of holding on to life and hope. Even if one  is in utter despair, hold on to hope. For there will be happiness one day. The pain will not last for ever.  The gatthaa says – “Even if a man has to endure suffering for a hundred years, he should continue to live; because, one day, he will be blessed with happiness. This is indeed the timeless truth.”

That’s the gaathaa.

The same verse is put on the lips of Bharata later in the epic. When the 14 years period of Rama’s exile is just complete, and there is no sign of Rama, Bharata  is in utter despair. In Kamba Ramayana, he even prepares a pyre to immolate himself. And that’s when Hanuman comes, and breaks the news to him that Rama has killed Ravana, and is arriving to Ayodhya within an hour. And that he is coming with Sita and Lakshmana… Bharata, bursting with happiness, says this same verse

कल्याणी बत गाथेयं लौकिकी प्रतिभाति मे ।
एति जीवन्तमानन्दो नरं वर्षशतादपि।।

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Afterword:

I happened to speak to a friend in Brindavan, a naishtika-brahmachari who is on the ‘path’. And he was saying that all this is ‘samashti prarabdha’ – the ‘fate of the combined-world’. It is a bill that that’s been served to humanity for what we have been doing. We now have to pay.

And then my friend spoke of an incident related to a sadhu in braj, a man who was a total renunciate, eating only madhukari. This sadhu had to undergo a surgery and was in a stretcher outside the operation theater. He was just skin and bones, and his body was shivering in the cold. My friend was with him, and in his mind, he wondered how this Sadhu was going to survive the surgery, weak as he was. The Sadhu read my friends mind and smiled and said – “Look! This surgery is not my sankalpa. This is Ishwara sankalpa, God’s plan. And Ishwara Sankalpa cannot be ‘amangal’ (inauspicious). So do not worry about this’.

Indeed, all that is happening now is Ishwara Sankalpa, and cannot be amangal. On that note, take every precaution… Social distancing, self isolation, hand washing, wearing masks, ‘stay at home’ etc…  We are in this for the long haul….

As another old saying goes – ‘Jaan hai, thO jahaan hai’…