Re: Question on Etula Brothuvo/ekAnta rAmA

From the Bhakti List Archives

• August 28, 2002


/Om namO/nArAyanAya |

/namskAram. One meaning of the phrase /ekAnta rAmA means lityerally "rAmA, having a single goal or aim". It is an extremely apt phrase to describe Lord rAmA, because His divine incarnation had only a single goal, that of putting an end to rAvaNA, who was matchless in so many ways. He was even a very good composer of music, and there is at least one known composition of his in praise of Shri civA. As you know civA is not so thoughtful as mahA/vishNu as ciVA is easily carried away by the bhaktAs. Lord vishNu, Who has the burden of running this complex world, is ever thoughtful and extremely clever. In many ways, rAvaNa's power and his many atrocities derive from the /varam (gift) he got from Lord civA. 

In spite of His /ekAntA, winning rAvaNa was no mean task for the Lord. Finally, He had to invoke Lord Sun and assume His true potency. This /manthram or stOtram was given to Lord rAmA by the sage agastyA as /Aditya hrudayam. 

Of course, we use the word /ekAntam as being alone. That meaning is an application of the expression "having a single goal". If we are single-minded in our purpose, we, ordinary mortals, have to seek a lonely place to think, plan and devise a means of implementation. What we call today research and self-evaluation. I do not think there are many of us who can do research or devise strategies without spending sometime on our own. Seminars help, but finally /ekAntam is necessary to put it into a workable form. 

/nalam/tarum collai nAn kaNTu/koNTEn

/nArAyanA ennum nAmam.

[ Though the discussion has been very interesting, I request members
  to wind this topic down as it has to do with a Tyagaraja kirtana 
  and is not directly within the focus of this group. I should point
  out that some Sri Vaishnava scholars are of the opinion that the
  Aditya Hridayam, though a fine piece of poetry within nothing bad
  per se in it, is an interpolation in Valmiki's Ramayana for contextual
  reasons. -- Moderator ]



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