Oh Rama! Forgive him for he knows not what he says.

One more month has passed the attack on Rama does not seem to have been stopped. The theme continues. For this Rajaji, Valmiki now even Tulsidas is brought for support. The product is a mix of half-truth with half-baked truth. What is the product? TOTAL LIE. Mr. Karunanidhi may not have gone to any spiritual or moral science school to understand the simple equation: Half Truth + Half Baked Truth = Total Lie. It becomes incumbent upon the believers to counter this however painful to even think of the epithet hurled at Rama that he was a drunkard. Through this column we had implored Mr. Karunanidhi and his cohorts to search for Rama within oneself after removing the veil of hypocrisy but alas! they do not seem to listen. They have gone in search of Rama to Alcholics anonymous. Before we get into that a look at a recent event which would give us an insight into the character of Rama which we had not discussed here before.

Mr. Krishnaswamy, President of TNCC was recently attacked by some miscreants and he was grievously injured. He is recovering in a hospital ruminating over the way he providentially escaped the murderous attack to live to tell the story. He did tell his story to Mr. Karunanidhi. It is reported that he has recounted his thrilling experience of the locket of Rama Pattabhisheka worn by him saving his life. This trait of Rama of protecting of all those who believe in him is declared expressly by him in Ramayana at the time of the episode of Vibhishana Saranagati. He calls up the vanaras to bring Vibhishana seeking refuge for granting asylum thus:

सकृदेव प्रपन्नाय तव अस्मि इति च याचते।
अभयम् सर्व भूतेभ्यो ददामि एतद् व्रतम् मम॥
आनय एनम् हरि श्रेष्ठ दत्तम् अस्य अभयम् मया।
विभीषणो वा सुग्रीव यदि वा रावणः स्वयम्॥

“He who seeks refuge in the spirit of ‘I am yours’, I shall give him assurance of safety amongst all beings. This is my solemn pledge. Hence O great among monkeys, Sugriva, bring Vibhishina or even if it is Ravana himself since I have granted refuge”
For reaching this conclusion Rama displays one of his many sterling qualities of practising good traits with conviction based on ratiocination. He brings to bear many arguments to be benevolent to all those who seek refuge in him without even looking at their motives etc. Mr. Krishnaswamy's political compulsions may prevent him from speaking out openly on the side of Rama but Rama has no such compulsions not to save him since Mr. Krishnaswamy believes in him and has sought refuge in him. There are lessons for the Indian nation-state on how to handle the Dalai Lama and Taslima Nasreen issues. Rama in this episode starts by displaying extraordinary confidence in his prowess or in the prowess of Dharma of which he is the embodiment by telling him that nobody can harm him (Rama) whether he is good or bad and that he (Rama) can destroy “devilish beings, demons, supernatural beings and ogres living on earth with just a tip” of his finger. But then why should he grant refuge to Vibhishana. He recalls the episode of a dove giving protection to a fowler which killed its wife and after giving protection gave its body as feast for the fowler and quips “How much more a man like me can do?” He quotes Kandu son of the great sage Kanva to press his point of granting asylum: “An enemy who comes for protection against others, even if the aforesaid enemy is oppressed or arrogant, is to be protected by one who has a disciplined mind, even by abandoning one’s life.”“If he does not protect rightly through his strength, by fear or by ignorance or by desire, it is a sin to be reproached by the world.”“If having not been protected, a refugee dies before the eyes of a man who is able to protect him, the former takes along all his moral merit and goes.”“In not protecting thus the persons who take refuge, there is a great blemish involved in it. It does not bestow heaven. It destroys reputation. It devastates strength and valor”. These prove the words of Mareecha's advice to Ravana where he called upon him to make friendship with Rama and we once again implore Mr. Karunanidhi to ask for the indulgence of Rama who is oath-bound to protect all those who seek refuge in him.

Coming to the epithet 'Rama was a drunkard', Ram-bhakts were waiting for a reference on the basis of which such charge was made. Initially the minions of Mr. Karunanidhi such as Ponmudi and Kanimozhi said that the reference to somapana and surapana taken by the Kings in those days. Rummaging Valmiki and Kamba Ramayana no reference could be found. Ultimately in a recent interview Mr. Karunanidhi, himself has given reference to the following sloka in Sundara Kanda

न मांसं राघवो भुंक्ते न चापि मधु सेवते।
वन्यं सुविहितम् नित्यं भक्तमश्नाति पञ्चमम्॥

Let us look at the textual meaning of this sloka. "Rama is not eating meat, nor indulging even in Madhu. Everyday, in the evening, he is eating the food existing in the forest, well arranged for him." What does Madhu mean: Madhu in Sanskrit is used in different contexts with different meanings – ranging from honey, to a mere sweet, sugar to the spiritious liquor. If we look at Kamba Ramayanam the following two poems give a clue:

'இருத்தி ஈண்டு' என்னலோடும்
இருந்திலன்; எல்லை நீத்த
அருத்தியன், தேனும் மீனும்
அமுதினுக்கு அமைவது ஆகத்
திருஉளம்? என்ன வீரன்
விருத்த மாதவரை நோக்கி முறுவலன்,
விளம்பலுற்றான்.

தவத்தோர் உண்ணத்தகாத தேனையும் மீனையும் அன்போடு குகன் கொடுக்கின்றான். அருகே முனிவர்கள் இராமன் என் செய்வானோ என்று கருதும் அக்குறிப்பு உடையவராக ஆயினமை கன்டு, அவர்களுக்கும் குகனது அன்பின் பெருக்கை உணர்ந்துமுகத்தான்.

Guhan gave honey and fish, which the ascestic do not eat. When all the rishis were looking at Rama to know what he would do Rama understood the love of Guha and took the present and smelt the offering.

அரிய, தாம் உவப்ப, உள்ளத்து
அன்பினால் அமைந்த காதல்
தெரிதரக் கொணர்ந்த என்றால்
அமிழ்தினும் சீர்த்த அன்றே?
பரிவினின் தழீஇய என்னின்
பவித்ரம்; எம்மனோர்க்கும்
உரியன; இனிதின் நாமும்
உண்டனெம் அன்றோ என்றான்.

கையுறை பொருள்கள் யாதாயினும் கிடைத்தற்கரியதாக கொண்ர்வார்தம் மகிழ்ச்சிக்குரியதாக இருப்பினும் அன்பின் முதிர்வால் பக்தி புலப்பட அளிக்க பெறுமானால் அவை அமுதினும் மேலானவை. தூய்மையும் தூய்மையின்மையும் அன்பினைப் பொறுத்ததே ஆகும். அன்தினால் குகன் கொடுத்த பொருள்கள் தவத்தோர்க்காகாத தேனுமீனும் ஆயினும் அன்பு கலத்தாலால் தூய்மையுடையதாய் ஏற்றுக்கொளற்பாலவேயாகும் - என்றான் இராமன். முனிவர்களையும் நிறைவு செய்து குகனையும் முழுமையான மனநிறைவுக்கு உரியவனாக ஆகும் வகையில் இராமனது உரை அமைந்தது அறிந்து இன்புறுதற்குரியது. வாயால் உண்பதைவிட மனத்தால் ஏற்றுகோடல் அன்புடையாரிடத்து உயர்ந்துவிடுகிறது.

Whatever the offerings, if it is made with love the offerings become greater than nectar. Purity and impurity is related to love alone. Honey and fish given by Guha are mixed with love and hence these have become pure and they are to be accepted.
This episode gives hint of two things – one there was a custom of taking honey with non-vegetarian food. Hence it could be premised that the मधु in this sloka could only be honey. The second interpretation is that it was the custom of all those who met Rama to offer their staple food out of affection. It is abundantly written at various places that vanaras had a taste for liquor and hence the refusal of Rama to even accept them as he did in the case of Guha in view of his sorrow mental state was narrated by Hanuman at this place.

Much more preposterous is the claim of Rama being a drunkard based on a sloka where his refusal to take (even for argument) liquor is highlighted. How does this fit in? Let us take a hypothetical conversation between a foreign correspondent and an industrialist belonging to Tamilnadu.

Correspondent: How is governance in Tamil nadu, now that there is a minority government in Tamilnadu and one of its allies is bent on pillorying this government for anything and everything?

Industrialist: Here is a Chief Minister in Tamil Nadu bent on bringing back his party with full majority – is neither 'delaying projects' nor 'demanding anything' for that.
If 'delaying projects' is a simile for Non-Vegetarian stuff and 'demanding anything' is a simile for Liquor, Could this answer be interpreted as the Chief Minister being Corrupt? (Corruption is the simile for addiction to liquor).

Hey Ram! Where are you?

Ramayana as per the Hindu belief happened in Treta Yuga. As per Hindu calculation of time we are into about 5000 years in Kaliyuga which is preceded by Dvapara yuga of 8,64,000 and hence Ramayana should have happened some 8,69,000 years ago. It is said that a chaturyuga consists of 64,80,000 years. Now 50 such cycles have been completed till date. Now that is some millions of years of existence. Whenever Indian beliefs are expounded we get questions of scientific proof. Every Hindu should be happy with such questions because this is one religion where God proclaiming himself as god said that do not accept whatever I said just because it is said by god, assimilate all knowledge with a questioning mind though not with polemics but with intellect. “Tat viddhi pranipathena Pariprasnena sevaya ...” (Bhagavad Gita).
On the calculation of Time I quote Carl Sagan from his book Cosmos, “(Hindu) It is the only religion in which the time scales correspond, no doubt by accident (sic), to those of modern scientific cosmology.” The modern historians probably are nicely footnoted in the book under reference by Carl Sagan thus: “A millennium before Europeans were willing to divest themselves of the biblical idea that the world was a few thousand years old, the Mayans were thinking of Millions, and the Indians of billions.” He adds that the events memorialised may be mythical, but the time scales are prodigious. Mark the word “may be” here. What is the etymology of the word “Mythical”? It roughly means illusory truth and strikingly looks near to the Sanskrit word “Mithya” which means illusion.
There is a upanishadic belief 'Brahma Satyam Jagan Mithya' which means that life is an illusion but Consciousness is reality. The entire spiritual quest of a practising Hindu is to understand this reality. Spiritual gurus have evolved a three step process for this understanding. The three steps are: a) Sruti - what is heard, b) Yukti – Understanding through reason and c) Anubavam – Practical Experience. If we apply this to the unravelling of the Mythology, we may be able to find the truth behind 'Mythology'. The existence of Rama is documented in the Ramayana written in various languages and probably ranks as the world's only epic translated and adapted in so many languages and form. Most popular of them the original Valmiki Ramayanam, Tulsidas Ramcharitmanas, Kamba Ramayanam etc., have more or less maintained the same strand of Rama being the King exemplar of Ayodya who went before his coronation to the forest at his aunt's bidding to redeem his father's word, where his wife was abducted by Ravana who was killed to redeem sita before the return to Ayodya at the end of 14 years. This would take us to the next step of Yukti understanding through reason.
Yukti consists of deducing from what we have heard whether such a person could have lived. That could be done by looking at the character, behavioural pattern etc., of the characters stated in the epic with the current behavioural pattern of the society. For understanding this let us digress and look at the Father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi whose 138th birth anniversary was celebrated a few days ago.
What transformed Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi into Mahatma Gandhi. He not merely adhered to Truth and Non-violence, he insisted on as strict an adherence of these from his followers as he himself was doing. This adherence is the direct result of his constant chant of Ram Nama. At various points in time Gandhi has attributed his march towards purity of heart to Ram Nama. Some of his views on Ram nama are worth recalling. “THOUGH MY reason and heart long ago realized the highest attribute and name of God as Truth, I recognize Truth by the name of Rama. In the darkest hour of my trial, that one name has saved me and is still saving me.” “To me...Rama, described as the Lord of Sita, son of Dasharatha, is the all-powerful essence whose name, inscribed in the heart, removes all suffering-mental, moral and physical.” “It can be said with justice that possession of a pure heart should do equally well without Ramanama. Only, I know no other way of attaining purity. And it is the way trodden by the sages of old all over the world. They were men of God, not supersitious men or charlatans.” With all this thoughts Gandhi had attained a position on a pedestal which were several notches above the humans of that era. This made Einstein remark as a tribute: “Generations to come, it may be, will scarce believe that such one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth".
If this were the attributes of Rambhakta what were the qualities of his God. Though the entire Valmiki Ramayana is the message of Rama much like the quote of Mahatma Gandhi “My life is my message”, we shall look into two places where the qualities of Rama are expounded. In the very First sarga in Bala Kanda, Valmiki requests Narada to identify one person who possesses a set of 16 good qualities. The qualities enumerated are: a) Principled, b) Potent, c) Conscientious d)Redeemer, e)Truth teller, f) Self-determined, g) Blent with good conduct, h) Benign respect of all beings, i) Adept, j) Ablest, k) Good looking, l) Courageous, m) Control over anger, n) Brilliant, o) Non-covetous and p)Fearsome in a war. While naming Rama, the ruler of Ayodhya as the person possessing all these qualities Narada extolls the qualities of Rama thus:
DharmagnaH satya sandhaH ca prajaanaam ca hite rataH

yashasvii gnaana sampannaH shuciH vashyaH samaadhimaan
He is the knower of rectitude, bidden by the truth, always dwells in the welfare of subjects, Famous for his wisdom, clean in his conduct, self-controlled and a diligent one, thus he is glorious.
After extolling the qualities of Rama, Narada gave a brief summary of Ramayana and called upon Valmiki to pen the epic. If we read Ramayana there are various occasions in which Rama's qualities are extolled by various characters and in some places by Valmiki himself as a narrator. One such occasion is just before the Dasaratha's decision to coronate Rama, Valmiki narrates the character of Rama. Somes of the striking qualities displayed by Rama, according to Valmiki are:
sa cha nityaM prashaantaatmaa mR^idupuurvaM tu bhaashhate

uchyamaano.api parushhaM nottaraM pratipadyate 2-1-10
Rama was always peaceful in mind and spoke softly. He did not react to the hard words spoken by others. Valmiki adds that Rama had a firm devotion and steadfast mind. He was not stubborn nor did he speak evil words. He was never idle and was ever alert. He recognized his own errors and those of others. Rama knew the theory and practice of sciences. He identified good men and protected them. He knew the people worthy of reprimand. He knew the ways and means of getting income as well as the system of spending, as perceived by economic sciences.Rama could obtain great skill in the groups of sciences along with their subsidiaries. For those who demand his engineering credentials if this is not enough there are numerous other places in Ramayana where Valmiki talks about the mastery of all fields of sciences attained by Rama. He was interested in enjoying comforts only after understanding the economic realities. He never remained inactive. He understood the differences among men. He could judiciously discriminate whom to protect and whom to punish. Some of the excellant qualities he had which would put the greatest democrat of the modern era to shame was: - He used to be receptive and worshipful to the elders. People used to love him and he used to love the people. He had mercy towards the meek. People loved the virtuous prince Rama and treated him as their spirit moving outside.Rama, by his virtues, was a source of happiness to all the people and a spring of joy to his father. Valmiki ends this narration with a beautiful simile, as the sun shines with his rays, Rama was shining, thus, with his virtues.
Ramayana consists of numerous virtues of Rama narrated by various character apart from Valmiki but greater are the virtues played out by Rama. The first and foremost is his equanimous attitude towards situation good or bad particularly in relation to attainment of Power. From being praised by all and appointed as Crown-Prince to being asked to wear deer skin and tree barks and adorn the dense forests within a span of 24 hours, Rama showed exemplary equipoise. For him virtue mattered more than life itself. On one occasion he says he fears calumny more than death itself (Incidentally this expression was used by Mr. Vajpayee while demitting office in 1996). “Na Beetho Maranadasmi kevalam dushito Yasah”. Incidentally Rama had inspired his brothers by his behaviour that one wonders any of them in his character in that epic would have behaved exactly like Rama. Rama as we have seen belonged to Treta Yuga which is marked by rectitude of beings lesser as compared to krita or Satya Yuga. However Rama's behaviour was such that Vedanta Desika in his Mahavira Vaibavam says “Treta Yuga Pravartita Karta Yuga” - meaning a person born in Treta yuga with Krita yuga qualities.
The basic levels of rectitude as per Hindu belief deteriorates as compared to Krita yuga in Treta Yuga and as compared to Treta yuga in Dwapara yuga and so on and we are in Kali yuga. To borrow T.S.Elliot's words the lakhs of years of living after Rama has brought men in this country farther from Ram and nearer to Ravana. Hence as Einstein said of Gandhi it is difficult to believe in this present day world that a person described as Rama in Ramayana could have lived in this country.
Still there are certain behavioural pattern of this nation which could be experienced even now as Anubav, which could be traced to the ingraining of Rama in the consciousness of this nation. One such was quoted in my earlier blog Mareecha's advice to Karunanidhi. Yet another behaviour in this era of falling standards of politics is the relative smooth transfer of power in India through Democratic process as compared to the situation prevalent in neighbouring countries. Take the case of transfer of power in 1977 after a bitter emergency an election was called and Indira Gandhi who displayed all the qualities of dictator till the declaration of results handed over power to the newly formed Janatha Party without any hitch. There is no nation of natives in the world which has a surviving democratic governance for more than 50 years. UK is still a Constitutional monarchy. As far as US is concerned the nation is more a colony of immigrants since the natives are nowhere in the scheme of things of the nation. The fate that befell on the aborigines in American continent at the hands of the immigrants from Europe is well documented and a state built thereafter by the immigrants could not be considered as a nation of natives. The tenacity of the common man of leading a life against all odds in this country is another trait we have imbibed from Rama himself. Our Gross national Happiness has never been related to Gross National Product and our standard of life has always been high eventhough our standard of living may not have been high. To borrow the phrase used by the noted Jurist Nani Palkhiwala we endure inhuman conditions with 'feudalistic servility and fatalistic resignation'. In any other nation this would have caused revolution. The family values in India even in present day is several notches higher than what is there in the west. These are directly the result of Rama and his brothers.
Rama has existed and continues to exist in this nation and it is for all of us to experience him. Kabir shows us the way:
Goongat ka pat khol re
toko Ram milenge
Gat Gat vah sayee ramta
katuk vachan mat bola re
'Open the screen (remove hypocrisy) then Ram could be found. He resides in every body. Dont speak harsh words.'

Mareecha's Advice to Karunanidhi

The month of September has been bad for the believers amongst the Tamils. As usual Mr. Karunanidhi started off the season with his usual tirade on Ganesa. He says that Ganesa came to Tamil Nadu from Vatapi. He neither seems to know the history of Tamils nor has any sense of history of the Tamils. The days of yore of Tamils are associated with Sangam period. The grand old lady of Tamil, Avvayyar who wrote the oldest poem on Ganesa viz., Vinayagar Agaval, belonged to this period which precedes the Christian era. Since the attack on the Hindu belief by a rationalist started with the attack on Ganesa the rebuttal also should start with Ganesa.
The next and the most venomous attack was on Rama venerated not just in the North, but all over the landscape of India. Rama is venerated according to scholars even in the Sangam literature Silappathikaram and Manimekalai. It all started with the Central Government committing a blunder in questioning the faith of Indian people on Ram. When the Central Government, without any remorse, beat a grudgy retreat due to public outcry, Mr. Karunanidhi the champion of rationalist or the self-styled champion rationalist, jumped into the fray, bad mouthed, Ram and Rambhakts. He blew hot and cold on Ram. He questioned the existence of Ram. He says Ram is a lie. He apparently contradicted this by saying Ram was an aryan and he was (as a believer I shudder to even repeat) a drunkard.
The silent majority of Tamil Nadu who believe in Ram are keeping quiet like the courtiers of Dhritharashtra when Draupadi was disrobed. The words of Bharathi in Panchali Sabatham are worth recalling to stir them up “'Enna Kodumai ithu' ena Pattai marangal ena ninru pulambinar pattai pulambal pirarku thunayamo”. Mr. Karunanidhi has thrown a challenge to the believers to have a debate about Ram on the basis of Valmiki Ramayana.
I feel before we have a debate, as a true Rama Devotee, it is incumbent upon me to warn the consequences of fighting Ram that may befall on the opponent. Mr. Karunanidhi will be happy if I quote from Valmiki who is a Scheduled Caste than Kamban who probably belongs to the forward Caste though not a Brahmin. Sargas from 36 to 40 deal with the conversation of Ravana with Mareecha. This is the apt episode to warn Mr. Karunanidhi. Moreover one believes whether Mr. Karunanidhi would have made all these noises if ever Mr. Maran his nephew were alive. One imagines Maran to have made similar advice not just because his name bears close resemblance to Mareechan, as he has been referred by Mr. Karunanidhi himself as his conscience keeper.. In the first Sarga 36 Ravana seeks Maareecha's help to abduct Seetha. He asks Maareecha to assume the shape of a golden-deer and lure Seetha. If Rama and Lakshmana are distracted from the hermitage, Ravana can safely abduct Seetha.
While unfolding this plan Ravana quite unnecessarily not germane to the plan started attacking the personality of Rama much like the current day ruler Mr. Karunanidhi, who instead of advocating the Sethusamudram project started attacking Rama. Rama, according to ravana was, “put to flight by his infuriated father, and who came to Dandaka forest along with his wife, that ignoble Kshatriya is the slaughterer of that demonic army of mine, as his lifespan is diminished. He is out of character, brutal, firestorm, senseless, selfish, one with his senses unconquered and righteousness discarded, and he is an unrighteous soul just delighting in the disservice of all beings.”
We should remind that just because Valmiki is narrating Ramayan the words attributed to Ravana by the narrator could not be taken to be the words of Valmiki. Valmiki continues and gives details of the reaction of Mareecha to this move of Ravana. Mareecha who was hounded by Rama when he was a boy of 12 at Siddhashrama to protect the Yagya of Vishvamitra, on listening the very word “Rama”, began to tremble, his mouth was completely dried up, and he was fully frightened. Wetting dried up lips with his tongue he became goggle-eyed almost like an about-to-die animal, and he agonisingly looked up at Ravana with winkless eyes. Mareecha at this stage advises ravana with a nice upadesa which till this date is taken as an advice for the society at large.
sulabhaah purusha raajan satatam priyavaadinah
apriyasya ca patyayasya vaktaah srotasca durlabhaah.
"It will always be easy to get people who talk pleasantly, oh, king, but it is impossible to get them who talk judgementally and give suggestions that may be apparently insipid, but that are recuperative, more so, it is impossible to get listeners of such advises.” This particular advice seems to be apt to Mr. Karunanidhi that he should listen even within his camp more to Dr. Ramadoss than to his yes men such as Arcot Mr. Veeraswamy or Dr. Ponmudi. “So, listen to my words that may now be unsavoury, but will prove beneficial to you in long run, if you can foresee your future properly”, is the tone in which Mareecha pleads to Ravana in the same breath as the silent believing majority pleads with Mr. Karunanidhi.
He continues, “ Definitely you do not apperceive Rama who is decidedly dynamic and exaltedly adept, for you are impetuous and desultory... Any king of your like who is with a self-will, ill-will, ensorcelled by evil, and malicious in intent, that king alone ruins his own city-state, his own people, even himself, as a matter of actual fact.” Then Mareecha rebuts the wrong epithets against Rama categorically thus: “Rama the enhancer of his mother Kausalya's happiness is completely forsaken by his father - no, he is not; there is unseemliness in him - no, not in the least; he is out of character - no; he is selfish - no; he is an ignoble Kshatriya - no, not at all; and he is neither a debased one insofar as the merits of righteousness are concerned, nor he is atrocious towards living beings, for he takes delight in the welfare of all beings. On seeing his father who is a proponent of truth, and whom Kaikeyi has outwitted, that virtue-souled Rama neatly decamped from Ayodhya saying that 'I will prove my father to be a real proponent of truth.' Discarding the kingdom and even royal-comforts Rama entered Dandaka forest only to fulfil the cherish of Kaikeyi, viz., kingdom for her son Bharata, and even that of Dasharatha, viz., to remain loyal to his promise to Kaikeyi. Rama is ruthless - no; an unscholarly one - no; unconquered are his senses – no...” He goes on to say that what you spoke is not the truth. Here the look at the actual sloka and its different wordings by two different schools gives a beautiful insight into the episode. One school gives the following:
Na raamah karkashastaata naavidvannaajitendriyaH
anrutam na srutam caiva naiva tvam vaktumarhasi.
“Rama is ruthless - no; an unscholarly one - no; unconquered are his senses – no. It does not behove of you to talk untruth and that which is unheard of”. There is another version of the Sloka which uses “dusrutam ” instead of “nasrutam". This seems to be more apt. Here Mareecha is quoted as saying that what you speak is untruth or wrongly indoctrinated. The wrong indoctrination is there for all of us to see from the days of “Keemayanam” and “Ariya Mayai”.
Then comes the greatest praise of Rama ever heard. It is pertinent here to note this greatest praise of Rama comes from a demon who was hounded by Rama and the subsequent events would vouch the fact that Mareecha had no axe to grind to praise Rama, which would corroborate the truth in the acclaim for Rama .

Raamo vigrahavaan darmah sadhuh satyaparaakramah
raaja sarvasya lokasya devaanaamiva vaasavah.

“Rama” Mareecha says, “is the embodiment of righteousness, he is an equable person with truthfulness as his valour, and as with Indra to all gods he is the king of entire world.” “Rama's principles alone make him victorious, as he does not deviate from the path of righteousness. And by not deviating from the path of righteousness, he is truly valorous and the question of his defeat does not arise, because he will abide by his conscience.” Mark these words. These are the very characters that become the ideal of every Indian and this has sunk into our consciousness whether we believe in the Rama in human form or in a Mythical form. This nation (even when there were no State to govern the nation) has never ever tried to be a cause of disturbance of world peace. Take the case of Bangladesh War. India overran the Pakisthani Army and rightfully proclaimed victory. But the Indians did not occupy the country for a day more than the declaration of independence. This is unheard of in world history. The international law recognises the presence of occupying forces as recently as in Iraq war. We did not do it. It was not Mahatma Gandhi who was in the throne at that time. It was the sterner Gandhi viz., Indira Gandhi at that time. But this is how a nation steeped with the consciousness of Rama would behave. If Rama is taken away from our hearts and soul India would also create its own Iraqs and Vietnams disturbing world peace. So for the sake of peace please do not take away Ram from our heart and soul.
Mareecha continues with his advices, "If you cherish to take pleasure for a long time in your life, in your comforts and also thus in your kingdom, which kingdom is highly impossible to achieve, do not do anything unpleasant to Rama.”
"Such as you are, you should firstly deliberate with all of your ministers that have a righteous bearing, duly keeping your brother Vibheeshana at the helm of affairs, and then you take a decision on your own considering rights and wrongs of the case, and bearing in mind about your own strengths and weakness, and even on making sure of Raghava's capability in its reality, and then it will be apt of you to take up befitting action that will be conducive to your interests.” Alas not only Mr. Karunanidhi has lost Mr. Maran, he has lost the venerable Palanivelrajan for him to give proper advice.
"Oh, king of nightwalkers Ravana, I for myself deem that your confrontation with Rama, the prince of Kosala, in a war is improper, and a better, befitting, and a reasonable one is this advise of mine, to which you may listen further.”
Mareecha has some words for the believers who are maintaining an eerie silence "Even if with uncommitted sins, the sinless will get ruined owing to their interdependence with other sinners, like the fish in a lake with snakes. Bedaubed with divine sandal-paste, beautified with divine ornaments are the limbs of the demons now, perchance you will be seeing them trampled out on ground for the blunder of yours.”
Maareecha further advises Ravana to avoid confrontation with Rama for it would be ruinous to the entire demonic race. Narrating his experiences with Rama during Viswamitra's Yagna and at another time in Dandaka, he says, “I am indeed descrying Rama at this tree and at that tree, dressed in jute-cloths and black deerskin, and handling his bow like the Terminator handling a tether. Given to fright I even visualise thousands Rama-s, and whole this forest is reflecting to me as one entity of Rama. Even at a place void of people I am envisaging Rama alone, and oh, king of demons, even if he enters my dream, in fact, I am jolting up and swooning. Oh, Ravana, appalled of Rama the names starting with the alphabet 'ra' like ratna-s, ratha-s, viz., gemstones, chariots are appalling to me, including your name, that starts with a 'ra.'
“If I hear the first letter 'ra' of any given name, I am scared at the ensuing second syllable presuming it to be 'ma' and if that second syllable of that word I am going to hear happens to be other than 'ma' then my fear ceases.I am well-acquainted with his efficacy, and a war with him will be an unfair thing for you, for that Raghu's descendant can in fact kill either Emperor Bali or Namuchi, the demon. Definitely Rama is the one with exceptional resplendence, exemplary courage and extraordinary power, and for sure, he becomes an eradicator of the world of demons.”
On further goading by Ravana Maareecha dissuades Ravana again and speaks thus: “Oh, night-walker, by which evildoer this thought, which is self-ruinous to you, along with your progeny, kingdom and ministers put together, is taught to you? "Who is that reprobate unhappy with such a happy one like you, and oh, king, by whom this door of demise is ingeniously shown to you?"It is very clear, oh, night-walker, that your rivals with skimpy might are aspiring that you should be completely ruined coming into conflict with more mighty Rama. He who wishes you to get ruined by your undertaking a self-made destruction is a scoundrel with a pernicious intent, as such, by whom you are counselled to do this? Your ministers are not curbing you anywise when you scramble on a high road to self-ruination, hence they are indeed to be sentenced to death, but they are not being executed for their dereliction.” Ministers who goad the King on the path of ruination is an expression very much applicable to the present dispensation which has goaded Mr. Karunanidhi to make blasphemous statement about Ram. “Veracious ministers have to restrain a self-willed king when he relies on a wrong-route, isn't it. But you are unrestrained by your ministers though you are self-willed and though you are taking a wrong-route,”says Mareecha.
Now getting into probity and behaviour of Kings and Ministers Mareecha says:"Oh, best conqueror Ravana, probity, prosperity and pleasures, and even the popularity of the ministers, oh, night-walker, are achieved at the beneficence of their master. Contrariwise, oh, Ravana, all that beneficence of the king to ministers becomes futile when the king behaves perversely, and even the others, namely the subjects of kingdom, will derive distress by the negative virtue of their master. The king alone is the root cause for probity and prosperity, isn't it. Therefore, oh, best prosperous one, in all situations the kings are to be safeguarded from the ill effects of influences. It is impossible to govern kingdom, oh, demon, the night-walker, for a king with acridity, with hostility, or with immorality. The ministers with drastic notions will indeed fall apart together with their king, like a chariot that gets ramshackled together with it charioteer on a rough road, though it is hieing with galloping horses but badly controlled by that slothful charioteer. In the world many saintly beings that are high-minded and pursuers of ethicality are completely ruined together with their kinsmen owing to the misdeeds of others.” How prophetic this words would turn out if amends are not made even at this late stage. “Oh, Ravana, the subjects do not flourish while a lord with contrariety and coerciveness safeguards them, just like goats guarded by a fox.” How nicely this expression sums up the current situation! Mareecha reiterates the catastrophe that is to befall on the demons thus: “All those demons will definitely ruin, oh, Ravana, to whom you are the acrimonious and malicious king with unconquered senses, though you have conquered the heaven.”
"As a desirer of your welfare I am dissuading you, oh, night-walker, but you may feel that this word of mine is unpleasant to you. People on diminishing lifetime will be similar to corpses and a corpse cannot take in the expedient spoken by considerate confidants, isn't so.” With these words Mareecha ends his advice to Ravana. Let us also warn those who have taken up cudgels against Ram that he is a warrior par excellance and he resides in the heart of this nation from time immemorial and anybody who attacks him attacks the nation's soul.