brother's reunion
In the loving embrace of many fig trees, jambu, mango and tamala stood a mega banyan tree that seemed to be the king of trees there. Amid these wonderful trees stood a leafy hut, which, though simple, had the elegance of a royal palace. From a distance, they could hear the Mandakini river’s soft gurgling dance over the mountainous rocks. This had to be the place where Bharadwaja muni had directed them.
As they strained their eyes, they could see a heap of dry wood chopped to be used for cooking and sacrifices. Close by lay heaps of dried deer and buffalo dung used for providing heat at night.
The four of The four of them began walking cautiously closer to the hut. The hut floor was covered with kusa grass. The front wall of the house displayed a heavy bow and two crisscrossed swords mounted on it. From a rafter nearby, hung a set of quivers with arrows.
As they edged closer, the sight transfixed them and they froze. Not even an eye blinked.
With a sacrificial fire blazing high, the room was splattered with a golden hue. Seated around the sacrificial fire were Sita, Rama and Lakshmana. Rama’s face was clearly visible to them. Eyes closed in rapt attention, lips moving in prayer, hands deftly moving the ladle offering various ingredients into the fire, an erect back and head held high, Rama appeared like a wise sage. The combination of matted hair with antelope skin and tree bark wrapping caused the four to wince. What misfortune! A prince had been forced to turn into a recluse.
Bharata ran into the hut and fell at the feet of the seated Rama. The sheer force with which he fell at Rama’s feet made everyone in the room flinch. He sobbed hysterically holding on to the feet of Rama, who stood up seeing his younger sibling. The next moment Shatrughna, too, fell at Rama’s feet and cried.
It took a few moments for Rama to decipher that these were his brothers. Though He was expecting them both, He had not imagined them to be dressed as ascetics in bark and deerskin. Of course, it had been 12 long years that they had been staying with their grandparents far away from Ayodhya and Rama. And not just that, the brothers looked so weak that Rama could not recognize them.
Amid sobs Bharata said: “One accustomed to being honored by a bench of sophisticated ministers now lives with crude animals! One draped in the softest of silks is now wrapped in bristly barks and skins. One whose body was anointed with the most fragrant sandalwood pulp is now smeared with dust.”
Rama’s sturdy arms reached down, picked up the crestfallen brothers and embraced them fondly, drawing them really close to His broad accommodating chest. He then pulled away and lovingly glanced at both of them, taking an inventory of their physical state. For Bharata and Shatrughna, this one glance was worth the whole effort of coming to Chitrakoot. They felt all their fatigue vanish and new energy infuse into their tired limbs. Rama sat them down and placed their heads on His lap and caressed them with His tender hands. As the brothers sat there, savoring their elder sibling’s love, Sumantra, Guha and the others filed into the hut. Witnessing the love between the brothers, all eyes in the room turned moist.
Suddenly Rama began unleashing a barrage of questions. All lips were sealed. Tears dried up in an instant from the fear of not wanting to answer these with untruths and displeasing the very symbol of truth.
“Where is Our father? Why have you left him alone and come here? Did he manage to handle the pain of separation from Us gracefully? I hope there are no shortcomings in your service to Our father. Are you handling the herculean affairs of the kingdom efficiently despite your youthful inexperience?” No one was equipped to answer Rama’s pointed questions at this point of time. They stood gaping at Him.
Almost as a much-needed breather, the natural king and leader in Rama began giving Bharata tips on effective management of the kingdom. By now, the ministers of Ayodhya had also gathered around.
management mantras
Knowing well that Ayodhya’s people were experiencing the pain of separation from Him, Rama chose not to begin the conversation on a negative note. Instead of discussing the problems in Ayodhya, He began offering solutions to many leadership problems of Ayodhya. He taught the world the most crucial lesson on leadership: Visionbased action.
Rama perceived that once the discussion began about the problems in Ayodhya, He would never be able to give Bharata tools to handle the kingdom; so before that discussion began, Rama handed over all the knowledge Bharata would need to rule for the next 14 years.
Rama revealed five management concepts a good leader has to adhere to. These five tenets form the most important limbs of a leader’s portfolio.
1. RESPECT MANAGEMENT
The foundation of any leadership rests on respect management. A leader who respects his superiors, allows the flow of energy to descend into his life. With that in mind, Rama’s questions to Bharata were:
a. Are you treating your preceptors respectfully?
b. Are you making sure mother Kaushalya and Sumitra are happy?
c. Is the venerable Keikeyi rejoicing?
d. Do you honor Sayujna, the son of Vasistha?
e. Are you respectful toward, brahmanas, teachers and ministers?
f. Are women respected and taken care of? Respect toward them is the root of all the good that happens in society and disrespect toward them is the root of all evil in society
Excerpted with permission from Jaico Publishing.
Book: Ramayana Game of Life series - Shattered Dreams
Author: Shubha Vilas
Pages: 404 pages