| Discourses On Gita By Acharya Vinoba Bhave |
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| Discourses On Gita |
| BHAKTI : SAGUNA AND NIRGUNA |
| Like the staff that sustains the flag, Lakshmana upholds Rama's fame. He stands straight and never bows or
bends. The fame is Rama's, and it fills the eyes of the world; but who observes the staff? The dome is conspicuous, but the foundation catches no eye. Rama's glory fills the world, but few think of Lakshmana. For fourteen years, this staff stood straight and strong, did not bend. He stayed in the background and spread Rama's greatness. Rama used Lakshmana to achieve some of his most difficult deeds. In the end, he entrusted to Lakshmana even the task of taking Sita and leaving her in the forest. Poor Lakshmana did this too. Lakshmana was left with no separate existence of his own. He had become Rama's eyes, Rama's hands and feet, Rama's mind. As the river becomes one with the sea, Lakshmana's service had become one with Rama. He had become Rama's shadow. This devotion of Lakshmana was saguna bhakti. 21. But Bharata practices nirguna bhakti. And this too, Tulsidas has pictured beautifully. When Rama left for the forest, Bharata was not in Ayodhya. When Bharata returned home, Dasharatha had already died. Vashishtha, the guru, advised Bharata to assume the rule of the state. But Bharata answered, "I must see Rama." He was anxious to see Rama; at the same time, he also made arrangements for looking after the kingdom. His bhavana was, "The kingdom is Rama's. To arrange for its administration is to do Rama's work. |
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