ANGAD Part 2

In order to understand how this confidence in Sri Ram came about and how his suspicion of Sugriv’s intentions remained in Angad’s mind, we must review some of the events in Angad’s life. He must have been sorely aggrieved by his father’s death. The circumstances as well as the manner in which his father died must have heightened his indignation. Ordinarily, he ought to be angry with Sri Ram for his unjustified intervention in the conflict of the two brothers. To make matters worse, Sri Ram struck Bali with the fatal arrow from behind whilst Bali was engaged in direct combat with Sugriv. In such circumstances, it would not have been unnatural for Angad to challenge Sri Ram’s moral and ethical position. But his acquaintance with his father’s mental state in his dying moments had put him into a great dilemma. He had witnessed how Sri Ram had offered to restore Bali’s life and how his father had refused this offer. He had also listened very carefully to the discussion between his father and Sri Ram before that. He knew both of his father’s accusation as well as Sri Ram’s resounding reply. At that time it was not easy for him to decide what was proper and what was improper. It was natural for him to support his father’s accusation. But Sri Ram’s answer too was so appropriate that he could not deny the truth of it. In such a situation it was difficult for him to determine whether Sri Ram was merciful or unjust. At the same time, the slayer of his father also appeared as the bestower of life, who, in a tender voice was offering to restore his father back to life. But the very next moment he was even more astonished when his father refused the boon with humility. Furthermore, his dying father took his hand and surrendered it to Sri Ram asking the Lord to accept the service of his child. As stated before, this was indeed a very extraordinary type of dedication where the one being dedicated does not do so on his own free will but by another and that too being his own father for whom he had great love and respect. Then too, he was being surrendered to someone who appeared to him to possess such contradictory attributes as justice and injustice, tenderness and harshness, as well as human and divine. He could neither deny this dedication which was his father’s last wish nor could he fully accept it, uncertain as he was about the one to whom he was being dedicated. In the end acceptance must have prevailed since nothing to the contrary has been indicated.

It cannot be said that Angad was truly happy after receiving the position of crown price. He was not strong enough to decline the position nor did he find any joy in accepting it. He was unsure whether this position was offered to him by Sri Ram out of generosity or political shrewdness. If he had become fully convinced of Sri Ram’s divinity then his inner conflict would have fully subsided. At that stage, he had no evidence born of his own experience but was only going along on his father’s word. Even though he had tremendous respect for his father, he was unsure about accepting his words as the gospel. That is why he accepted the position of crown prince with mixed feelings. In accepting the position of crown prince he must have at some time been tormented with the thought that in the eyes of the world it would seem that he had overlooked his father’s death for the sake of this position. In any event, he could not have any gentle feelings towards Sugriv. In his view Sugriv was the person who was the cause of his father’s death. Sugriv’s conduct too, after being crowned king, was such that it could not generate any reverence towards him in Angad’s mind. His life was not the life of an ideal king since it had degenerated into one of lust and sensuality. When Lakshman angrily entered the city to punish Sugriv, Angad thought only of his own safety and security and rushed out to meet Lakshman. But when Lakshman reassured him, he did nothing further to ensure the protection of Sugriv. Perhaps he would have been happier if Lakshman had proceeded to punish Sugriv. However, Sugriv took refuge in Hanumanji who ensured his protection and well being.

Angad was made the leader of the party that was sent to the south to find Mother Sita. In this group there were such valiant, experienced and wise personalities as Jambavan and Hanumanji. To be made leader of that group was to bestow on Angad a great honour. But even in this, Angad perceived a plot to eliminate him. In the beginning, because of the possibility of success in the mission, the idea did not clearly dawn on him, but later when failure stared them in the face, he explicitly gave expression to this thought.

The search for Mother Sita proved to be an arduous task. The enthusiasm of the group gradually diminished as their search failed to yield results. Eventually, they began to despair when oppressed by fatigue and thirst they lost their way in the dense forest. When Hanumanji saw that the leader Angad was at wits end, he took the initiative and scrambled alone up a high mountain and began to survey from that advantageous point the countryside around them. By his keen sense of observation, he noticed some birds flying in and out of a cavity in the ground. He guessed that there may be water there and after coming down the hill, he took all his companions to the spot and showed them the cave. But Angad, being the leader, did not have the courage to lead them inside. Perhaps, there was in his mind a psychological fear of caves because he felt that his father’s downfall was due to him entering a cave in order to vanquish the demon Mayavi. It resulted in the misunderstanding between his father and Sugriv and that eventually led to his father being killed by Sri Ram. Hanumanji perceived Angad’s apprehension and again quietly took the initiative and he himself led the group into the cave without further loss of time.

As they entered the cave, an amazing sight greeted their eyes. They saw a lovely garden with a lake containing many full blown lotuses. There was a beautiful temple there in which sat a woman who was austerity incarnate. She gave them permission to refresh themselves with the limpid water of the lake and partake of the luscious fruit from the garden. When she learned of their despair at not succeeding in their mission of locating Mother Sita, she reassured them of future success and asked them to momentarily close their eyes. When they opened their eyes again, they were amazed to find themselves standing on the sea shore in the southern tip of the land. This miracle performed by the lady, Swayamprabha by name, was considered by them to be a revelation of God’s grace and it was the first indication to Angad of Divine intervention and help in their endeavor to carry out the Lord’s work. It instilled some self-confidence in him and somewhat strengthened his faith in Sri Ram. His enthusiasm was however, short-lived when he realized that the time-limit of one month imposed by Sugriv had expired and the vast ocean stretching out in front of them rendered impossible any further search for Mother Sita. Then for the first time in the Ramcharitmanas we hear the direct speech of Angad. Even though his words held out no hope of them sustaining their lives, they contained a message of preference to death for a worthy cause than attempt to live longer by abandoning that cause and thereby die dishonorably when death inevitably comes. We therefore see in these words of Angad a quantum leap in his spiritual sadhana and a growing confidence in working out the Divine will.

To be continued…

ANGAD Part 1

The inspiration for this article came from revered Swami Vimokshanandaji Maharaj, President of the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa in his blog post titled “Adorable Angad”. I am grateful to Maharaj for his loving encouragement which has helped me shake off some of my tamas.

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The awesome power and spiritual greatness of the leading characters of the Sri Ramcharitmanas leave us spellbound when we read about them. Amongst them the role of Angad is a comparatively small one yet, when studied very closely, he presents a most fascinating picture to a spiritual seeker. A sadhaka is able to easily identify with him and can derive much inspiration from his example.

Most of the leading characters of the Ramcharitmanas present themselves as perfected beings from the moment they are introduced in the epic. The unique feature of Angad’s personality is that he is seen to undergo a progressive transformation from the time he is introduced to the end of the narrative. The growth, development and final emancipation of this great devotee of the Lord is a shining example of sadhana in progress.

In the Sri Ramcharitmanas, Angad is first introduced in the Kishkindakand through the words of his dying father, Bali, who said to Sri Rama, “This son of mine, Angad by name, is my equal in training and strength. O Bestower of Blessedness; therefore, accept him, my master; and holding him by the arm, O Lord of gods and men, treat him as Your servant.” (Ramcharitmanas 4/chanda2) Bali’s words indicate that Angad was present there when his father had consecrated him to the service of the Lord. It is generally accepted that the act of surrendering to the service of the Lord is a matter of personal choice for the devotee. It is highly unusual for someone else to decide this on the devotee’s behalf, even if it is the devotee’s own father. Furthermore, the sequence of events preceding this act of consecration indicate that it was unlikely that Angad was consulted on the matter or even showed a preference for it. But it does indicate how confident Bali must have been of his son’s unquestioning obedience to his wishes and Angad’s subsequent conduct vindicates that confidence of Bali. Consequently, Angad accepted his position as a servant of the Lord, but only in deference to his father’s wishes. As we shall see, it would be much later that he would do so with passion and commitment. After the death of Bali, Sri Ram instructed Lakshman to crown Sugriv as the king and install Angad as the Crown Prince.

The group sent out by Sugriv in the southerly direction to search for Mother Sita constituted of stalwarts like Hanumanji, Jambhavan, Nal and Neel; yet, the young and inexperienced Angad was made the leader of this group. This choice was possibly made on account of Angad’s position of seniority as Crown Prince of the kingdom or perhaps it was suggested to Sugriv by Sri Ram who may have wanted to instill self-confidence and a sense of responsibility in His young ward and prepare him for his future position as king of Kishkinda. But Angad evidently viewed this as a ruse by Sugriv to get rid of him. This feeling of Angad was strengthened by Sugriv’s decree of punishing them with death if they returned after one month without finding Mother Sita. Angad openly aired this feeling later when they had determined to fast unto death rather than go back and face execution. He said, “It is death for us both ways. Here we have failed to get tidings of Sita and if we go home King Sugriv will behead us. He would have finished me immediately my father was killed, had not Sri Ram protected me; hence I owe no gratitude to him.” (Ramcharitmanas 4/24/2-3). These words indicate that even though it was Sri Ram who had killed Bali, Angad was by now satisfied that Sri Ram had borne no personal malice towards him or his father but he was still apprehensive about the intensions of his uncle Sugriv.

To be continued...