Hard to walk on the righteous path

The path of Dharma is so difficult, more often than not, one has to sacrifice oneself to achieve success. There are always a lot of distractions, obstacles, and deterrents. But one who can walk this harsh terrain is victorious at the end. That is why it's remarkably hard to walk the path of Spirituality in its absolute sense in mundane life. Let's see a beautiful story today, which is also one of the reasons why Durga pooja is celebrated in autumn.

During the initial days of the Lanka war between Ram's and Ravana's side, Ram's side was getting a lot of casualties. It seemed as if some divine power was with Ravana. Lord Ram, who was on the side of Dharma and morality, thought how could a divine power be on the wrong side. Then through Ravana's brother, Ram came to know that Ravana had a boon from Goddess Parvati ( one form of Goddess Durga) that no enemy of his could defeat him on the battlefield without the permission of Goddess Durga. Once Ram came to know about this boon, he decided to pray to Goddess and seek her blessing to win the war. Hence despite its autumn season, Ram initiated the worship of Goddess Durga. It is believed that earlier Goddess Durga was worshiped during the spring season.

One of the main requirements in Durga Pooja is the use of 108 blue lotuses as offerings. Since the blue lotuses are very rare, Ram sent Lord Hanuman to fetch them from a lake. Hanuman returned with 108 lotuses, and then Pooja began. When Lord Ram reached the end of his prayers, he realized there were only 107 blue lotuses. Nor there was time to fetch the lotuses, neither Ram could have left his prayers in between. He recalled that his beloved mother used to call him a person with Kamala Nayanam, meaning a person with blue lotus eyes. Ram felt his eyes could fulfill the need of the last lotus in the offerings of prayers, and thinking this, he took an arrow and was about to bring out his eyes. Happy with the devotion of Lord Ram, Goddess herself appeared and blessed Ram that now victory will be yours.

I feel this whole story has a very subtle message for all of us. The universe or supreme power even forced Lord Ram to sacrifice to achieve his mission. The universe took his test. Then we all are mere mortals. Most of the time, when we start going on the righteous path, the universe tests us. The more we walk down the righteous path, the test becomes harder. These tests come in the form of sacrifices, lures & attractions, obstacles, hurdles, etc. Once the universes have tested enough and perfected us on a topic, then only Karma finished related to that topic. The righteous path is harsh but rewarding and is the ultimate goal of our soul.

I hope you liked this article and the moral of the story. Keep walking the righteous path. Keep reading!

( Pic Credit : Image by Sirawich Rungsimanop from Pixabay)