The War Begins

Rama called all the chief leaders and commissioned them to decide how best to lay siege to the four gates of the city. The Ruler of the Monkeys (Sugriva), the Ruler of the Bears (Jambavan) and the Ruler of the Rakshasas (Vibhishana) met together. They decided on the division of their forces into four under commanders and guides. Then, they fell at the feet of Rama and with his blessings, they gave orders for attack.

Gurus to explain the children about Lord Rama being an ideal role model for every team-leader. Although, He was an Avatar and omniscient and omnipotent, He did not belittle anyone in his team; rather he recognized every one of them and discussed the battle plan with them, seeking their opinions.

He patiently heard each of their views, identified the innate talents of his team members without looking down upon them as mere vanaras and bears and delegated crucial tasks for each of them based on their capabilities.

Values to be imbibed: Every being on this earth, is endowed with potentialities and hence we must treat all creations of nature with respect.

[Gurus to use their discretion while discussing this point with the children – if the students are too young to understand this, age-appropriate examples can be used]

The Vanaras carried boulders and trees. They made their way through Lanka with ‘Ram-Ram’ in their hearts and on their tongues. The Eastern Gate was stormed by the forces under Nala; the Southern Gate was under the command of Angada and the Western Gate fell to the onslaught of the army led by Hanuman. The Northern City was guarded by Ravana himself and Rama fought with him there. The Vanaras fought tooth and nail and always proved victorious. When night fell, the strength and fury of Rakshasas increased manifold as they were nocturnal beings. Then Rama pulled out the Agniastra, the Fire-arrow, from his sheath and shot it into the darkness and filled the area with illumination. The Vanaras and the Bears set about their task of overwhelming and destroying the enemy with redoubled energy and enthusiasm.

Gurus to tell children that, although the vanaras were weak creatures compared to the mighty asuras, they were able to destroy their enemies purely, through prayer/ Namasmarana and surrender.

We too can win any challenge in life when we have full faith in ourselves and faith in God. However, we must put our best efforts, to achieve success.

Values to be imbibed: Dil me Raam – Haath me Kaam.

(Taking the name of the Lord, we must carry on with all our assigned duties on earth)

Full effort is full victory.

Narration: Smt. Priya Sujith
[Sri Sathya Sai Balvikas Guru]