Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 52: Rāma Crosses the Gaṅgā on Guha’s Boat
Text 2.52.17
न मन्ये ब्रह्मचर्येऽस्ति स्वधीते वा फलोदयः।
मार्दवार्जवयोर्वापि त्वां चेद्यसनमागतम्॥
na manye brahmacarye ’sti svadhīte vā phalodayaḥ
mārdavārjavayor vāpi tvāṁ ced vyasanam āgatam
na = no; manye = I think that; brahmacarye = in brahmacarya; asti = there is; svadhīte vā = faithful study of the Vedas; phala-udayaḥ = benefit; mārdava-ārjavayoḥ vā api = gentle behavior or lack of duplicity; tvām = You; cet = if; vyasanam = a calamity; āgatam = has come upon.
If a calamity has come upon You, I think that there is no benefit in brahmacarya, faithful study of the Vedas, gentle behavior or lack of duplicity.
1 Which explains why he said something so wrong. This is to show us that when we become filled with extreme distress, we lose sight of reality.
Sumantra considered that Rāma was endowed with brahmacarya which involves sleeping on the floor and so on, with faithful study of the Vedas during His period of Vedic studies, with gentle behavior in the form of compassion in His dealings and lack of duplicity. He thought that if brahmacarya and so on were to be factually beneficial, such benefits would be visible in the personality of Rāma. But such benefits are not seen in Him; rather, it is noticed that He is subjected to residence in a forest! Therefore, Sumantra thought that Rāma’s engagement in brahmacarya and so on were useless. He spoke this out of extreme sorrow.1
NOTE. Sumantra was wrong here for two reasons:
(1) The results of dharma (or adharma) are normally manifest after the end of one’s current life (pretya-phalodaye) as noted in text 2.44.4 and the commentary to text 2.62.3. This life is meant to prepare us for our next life. So brahmacarya and other pious activities within Vedic dharma will yield their fruits—in the next life. Sumantra has forgotten this basic fact.
(2) When one progresses in spiritual life, he becomes spontaneously indifferent to the calamities caused by one’s previous karma. Though there is absolutely no question of a previous karma for the supremely independent Lord Rāmacandra, He demonstrates the Vedāntic teaching of becoming indifferent to one’s material calamities in life here and He does so very effectively in a manner understandable to all who accept Vedic authority.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead has Himself pointed out the value of such indifference in the Bhagavad-gītā in this manner:
jñāna-vijñāna-tṛptātmā kūṭa-stho vijitendriyaḥ
yukta ity ucyate yogī sama-loṣṭrāśma-kāñcanaḥ
“A person is said to be established in self-realization and is called a yogī [or mystic] when he is fully satisfied by virtue of acquired knowledge and realization. Such a person is situated in transcendence and is self-controlled. He sees everything – whether it be pebbles, stones or gold – as the same.” (Bhagavad-gītā 6.8)