Paths - by Radha Madhav Dham's Vyasar

[Radha Madhav Dham Group]

http://swaminikhilanand.com/blog/2012/05/paths-by-vyasar.html

(Vyasar Ganesan was born in Derry, New Hampshire, and raised in
Austin. His mother is from near Delhi, and his father comes from
southern India. He currently is an arts graduate of Allegheny College,
having just finished a senior project in creative nonfiction. Vyasar
is a blogger for Radha Madhav Dham, the main US ashram of Jagadguru
Shree Kripaluji Maharaj.)

5/14/12 Chicago, IL 8:21 PM

As of last Saturday, I have become a college graduate. I have been
granted a Bachelor of Arts degree from an institution of higher
learning. In America, most people think of this as a benchmark of
success, an achievement of academia in a mundane world. Sitting in the
Chicago airport, waiting for a flight home, I am thinking about Lord
Ram.

Exiled from Ayodhya at the tender age of eighteen, Ram had no choice
but to wander and settle in the jungle for what must have seemed, at
its outset, an unknowable span of time. Maharshi Valmiki paints such
an intense portrait of His figure in exile, Ram's image is not hard to
call to mind. The crown prince, supreme God, sent away from comfort
and friends at the peak of his adolescence, making a premature
pilgrimage in the wilderness. Ram was someone brought up to rule a
kingdom, and was undeniably worthy of the throne at the height of his
education. To have come so far and accomplished so much, only to be
sent into exile, be attacked by demons, and suffer the perils of the
unknown, must have seemed a far fall from grace to some.

But the lesson is not so simple as that. The paths that we follow are
not always necessitated by any evil will, nor any past actions come
back to deliver their sentence. Sometimes God puts us on unexpected
journeys to help us grow. Krishn and Balram went to Mathura and freed
His parents from Kans. Vaman covered the three worlds with three
strides and brought a proud king to his knees. Our scriptures are full
of adventures, journeys, wild rides into the unknown to broaden
spiritual understanding and increase devotional wealth. The very name
of our religion, Sanatan Dharm, is a message about following the
eternal path.

So, to go back to Lord Ram. He and Lakchman had many adventures trying
to rescue Sita. After meeting many devotional personalities, building
a bridge to Lanka with the help of an army of monkeys, and killing
Ravan and his hundreds of millions of demons, Ram returned to Ayodhya
at the end of his exile and was crowned king. His younger brother, who
sat on the throne in Ram's honor, gladly stepped down to the older,
and now more-experienced, king. The great leela of the Ramayan takes
place from Ram Bhagwan's birth to ascension, and teaches us a great
many things about proper conduct, honor and how to live devotionally.
But most importantly, it teaches us to walk the eternal path, to honor
God and to understand that our lives are being guided by Him for our
betterment.

Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat (JKP) was founded by Jagadguru Shree
Kripaluji Maharaj, our beloved Shree Maharajji, the fifth prime
Jagadguru in the last 5000 years.

Founded in 1990, Radha Madhav Dham Temple and ashram serves as the
national center of Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat in the United States and
is one of the largest Hindu Temples in North America.

JKP Radha Madhav Dham Official Website: http://www.RadhaMadhavDham.org
Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat Worldwide Mission: http://www.JKP.org.in
Swami Nikhilanandji's Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/SwamiNikhilanand
Official Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/RadhaMadhavDham