Be the master of yourself first....

भूयो विनयमास्थाय भव नित्यम् जितेन्द्रियः।

कामक्रोधसमुत्थानि त्यजेथा व्यसनानि च॥ ३-४२

श्रीमद्वाल्मीकीये रामायणे अयोध्याकाण्डे

bhūyo vinayamāsthāya bhava nityam jitendriyaḥ|

kāmakrodhasamutthāni tyajethā vyasanāni ca|| 3-42

śrīmadvālmīkīye rāmāyaṇe ayodhyākāṇḍe

This is from Ayodhyaakandam, of Ramamyanam.

We hardly find any words of wisdom when there is gala celebrations around.. That is true even in epics.

I tried to cull out couplets from Valmikiramayanam for my posts,, couplets conveying wisdom and conveying messages to be followed for us as beacon lights in our daily lives..

But such advises usually occur on occasions which are somewhat sad and tense..

We hardly find philosophical messages when Rama's birthday, marriage or coronation is celebrated..

But a lost of nuggets do appear when Rama grieves, plans a fight or Hanuman is desperately running around in search of missing Sita.

Perhaps this is true with our lives also.

We tend to be lighthearted to the extent of frivolity when we are happy and celebrating and serious thoughts flood into our mind when the chips are down.

Of course the context of the quote is supposed to be the planning for a very happy occasion..

But as luck would have it the even got disrupted, proving once again the contrasts that do occur in life.

Rama and the other princes are now grown up, and married too. Dasaratha started to think in terms of paving way for his next generation to succeed him in the throne..

In time, he expresses in open court, his desire to bring in Rama to the realm of administration.. The people, citizen and members of the court, are all overjoyed,,

Rama is summoned to the Royal court, and Dasaratha is formally conveying his decision to coronate Rama as the Yuvaraja..

Even here, while addressing Rama, Dasaratha tends to be very philosophic for once..

God knows whether it is a foreboding..

But his advice to Rama on the occasion is worth its weight in gold.

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" Rama, my child, you be humble ever and have complete control over your mind and physical organs.

You must abandon and drive away all your sorrows and also your earthly yearnings caused by lust and control your reactions arising out of rage.."

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The advice is really sound..

But for a divine soul like Rama, it would appear superfluous..

Rama is always an embodiment of impeccable character and self control..

And of course, plans to appoint Rama as the second in command of the state was derailed through the interference of Kaikeyi the queen,,

Rama had to live in forest for fourteen years, undergo a lot of challenging situations in life.. like the demise of his father, the loss and recapture of Sita and so on..

In fact Rama, when He became the Emperor had seen all that a human being could see in life before he took up the reigns of the State..

And that maybe one reason why he succeeded so well in his administration..

There is nothing in this world to substitute first hand experience..