CONTENTS:
- POWERFUL LORD RAMACHANDRA
- SRILA PRABHUPADA'S APPRECIATION
- GURU MAHARAJA’S INSTRUCTIONS
1. POWERFUL LORD RAMACHANDRA
When Ramchandra was of age, just finished His adolescence and about to enter His youth at that time Dasarath decided to get Him married to a suitable girl and he was consulting with his kula guru, family priest Vasistha and his minister Sumantha. At that time Visvamitra a very 
powerful sage appeared there. This is how the culture used to be in those days. The saintly personalities were so respected that even a king used to feel fortunate that he got a personality like him to come to his house. This is the different between present day and those days.
Nowadays the saintly personalities although they are the most exalted personalities with their spiritual understanding but people don’t even want to give any recognition to them. They think that these are the characters who couldn’t do anything so that’s why they became devotees. As a matter of fact, what the devotees have, that is what Srila Prabhupada gave is much higher than what those sages used to have. The sages were at most in santa rasa, many of the sages were in Brahma jnana, in neutrality not Mayavadi, positive impersonalists.
The devotees, those who are following Srila Prabhupada’s teachings they have the understanding way beyond the way of neutrality, they have the knowledge of dasya rasa, sakya rasa, vatsalya rasa and Madhur rasa. Anyway, there is no need to feel proud of that but at least we should be aware of that, we have some understanding that is far superior to the knowledge that these sages used to have those days. Of course they were more austere, spiritually more powerful but when it comes to spiritual knowledge by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s mercy what we got is the highest spiritual understanding. What to speak of these sages, this Krishna Prema that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu distributed is rare even for Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva so that is the gift of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and that is the gift of Srila Prabhupada.
When Visvamitra came to the palace of King Dasarath, he was very excited, greeted him, offered him a seat and fell at his feet.
King Dasarath: Please tell me what can I do for you? It’s such a good fortune that you came to my house.
Sage Visvamitra: When I am performing yagna and when the yagna is about to be completed then two terrible demons Maricha and Subahu, they come and spoil the yagna by throwing bones, blood, pus, urine and stool. So, I want your son to come and deal with these demons.
Dasarath was so fond of his son and when he heard that his fifteen-year-old son now has to deal with these demons who are so powerful even the demi-gods are afraid to deal with them. Dasarath just fainted and when he came back to his senses he appealed.
King Dasarath: Please Rama is so inexperienced; He never fought a battle how is He going to deal with these demons? Rather I will go and fight to kill those demons.
But Visvamitra got very upset.
Sage Visvamitra: If I wanted you to come, I would have told you that. I don’t want you to come. I don’t want you to come even with your entire army. I want just Rama to come.
When Dasarath heard that he fainted again. When he came back to his senses he again appealed and Visvamitra became extremely upset and very angry. He became so angry that the whole earth started to shake as if there was an earthquake all over the world. So, Vasistha became quite concerned and advised Dasarath.
Sage Vasistha: When Visvamitra is asking there must be some reason. 
Visvamitra himself could have killed those demons but because he has accepted the life of a Brahmana in the mode of goodness he doesn’t want to resort to violence. Since he is asking for Rama, there must be some reason and you can rest assured Visvamitra will protect Rama. Rama will succeed and Visvamitra will give Rama all the celestial weapons that he has.
Being advised by his Guru in this way Dasarath agreed and Visvamitra took Rama. Laksman was inseparable from Rama so he also came along. They stopped at night and one terrible demoness Taraka raksasi came to attack them. Visvamitra just told Rama to kill her and with just one arrow Rama killed that demoness. Then they came to Visvamitra’s ashram and he arranged to perform the yagna and it became so ominous it became dark; the wind started to blow and there were all kinds of inauspicious signs and everyone could understand that these demons are coming.
Rama took his stand and took his bow and arrow and as soon as the demons appeared (they were flying in the sky), Rama hit Maricha and his body went flying eight thousand miles and landed in the ocean and with another arrow He killed Subahu. Visvamitra performed and completed the yagna and was very pleased and blessed Rama with so many benedictions. Of course, Rama is the Supreme Personality of Godhead but the Lord is performing these pastimes to make it appear very exciting and relishable.
Visvamitra decided to take Rama to the palace of King Janak in Mithila. Janak actually had a daughter Sita who was exceedingly and extremely 
beautiful endowed with all kinds of divine qualities. Janak recognised that this girl is not an ordinary girl, she needed an appropriate husband and Janak made a condition. In his custody there was a bow of Lord Shiva haradanu, hara means Lord Shiva and danu means bow, the bow of Lord Shiva so he made a condition if someone can string that bow then he only can marry Sita. So many people came hearing about Her beauty but not a single one could string the bow.
After all who can string the bow of Lord Shiva? However, when this bow was brought to Rama with His left hand very easily, He lifted the bow and then bending the bow He strung the bow and as He pulled it the bow broke in the middle. So, this is how Rama became the appropriate match for Sita. Who is Sita? Sita is the eternal consort of Ramchandra. Who is Ramchandra? He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vishnu. Vishnu came as Lord Ramchandra and Laksmidevi came as Sita.
2. SRILA PRABHUPADA’S APPRECIATION
Of course they were more austere, spiritually more powerful but when it comes to spiritual knowledge by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s mercy what we got is the highest spiritual understanding. What to speak of these sages, this Krishna Prema that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu distributed is rare even for Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva so that is the gift of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and that is the gift of Srila Prabhupada.
3. GURU MAHARAJA’S INSTRUCTIONS
As a matter of fact, what the devotees have, that is what Srila Prabhupada gave is much higher than what those sages used to have.
(The content of this E-magazine was based on a lecture given by His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami in ISKCON Ujjain on 2 April 2020)
(Compiled and Edited by Hemavati Radhika Devi Dasi)