God’s will

When Ravana faces the prospect of war with Rama, he seeks advice as to what he should do. But Ravana sets the agenda for the meeting. He says that every possibility of defeating the enemy must be explored and suitable suggestions made. But one suggestion is unacceptable — that he should return Sita. That is something he will never do, and so no one is to suggest it. Thus Ravana seals his

fate.

Returning Sita is the one thing that could save his life and the lives of those loyal to him. But he is adamant. He wakes up his sleeping brother Kumbhakarna and asks him for advice. Kumbhakarna

tells Ravana that he is ill-advised in holding on to Sita. He warns of the danger of paying heed to those who offer wrong advice to a king. A king who has not arrived at a proper estimate of the enemy’s strength, and fails to protect himself, is bound to be defeated.

He will also end up losing his throne. Kumbhakarna says that the advice offered by Vibhishana had been the right advice, and that Ravana should have paid attention to Vibhishana’s wise words. But Ravana is in no mood to listen. So he finally meets his fate at the hands of Rama. The Lord’s power is not to be underestimated,

said V.S. Karunakarachariar, in a discourse. Nor should the power of a mere mortal be overestimated. With Him everything is possible. But if He wills something, no one can thwart it. No one can pit his wits against the Lord and succeed.

Kamsa seeks to kill Devaki’s child which is supposed to be his

killer. But when the Lord is born as Krishna, He tells Vasudeva to

take Him to safety. He makes sure that the guards are asleep.

The chains that bind Vasudeva drop off, and Vasudeva is now

free to move. It is a dark night, and it’s raining. The Yamuna has

to be crossed. How could Vasudeva cross the river would be the

foremost thought on anyone’s mind. But Vasudeva does cross

the river, because the Lord wills that he should. The waters of the

Yamuna part to make way for Vasudeva carrying the Supreme

One to Gokula. The sleeping guards continue to sleep, until

Vasudeva leaves behind Krishna in Gokula, and returns.