Valmiki Ramayana gives us the essence of Visishtadvaita, said M.A. Venkatakrishnan in a discourse. Merely explaining Vedantic doctrines will not help people understand the full import of concepts like Saranagati. But when they come across practical demonstrations of it in the Ramayana, they realise the significance of Saranagati. Rama too, through the way in which He lived his life, shows that the rules given in the scriptures are not so difficult to follow, if one is determined to follow them. So, we learn how to conduct ourselves in life, by observing Rama’s conduct. Rama becomes a role model for all of us.
The Rama-Sita relationship represents the Paramatma-Jivatma connection. Sita is representative of the Jivatma, and Rama is the Paramatma. Ideally, the jivatma should be close to the Paramatma, serving Him always. But because of the ten indriyas, the jivatma gets pushed into samsara and moves away from the Paramatma. Sita should have been with Rama, but the ten-headed demon Ravana abducts Her and separates Her from Rama. The ten heads are symbolic of the ten indriyas, which keep us from getting close to the Supreme One. Asoka Vana, where Ravana keeps Sita captive, is symbolic of this world, where we take birth repeatedly. In Asoka Vana, Sita is guarded by fierce demonesses. They are like relatives, who do not always wish us well, and from whom it is best to keep a distance. And yet, even among these demonesses is a good person, and that is Vibhishana’s daughter Trijata. She is symbolic of the devotees of the Lord, whose company is pleasing to us and beneficial to us.
The Lord sends Acharyas to guide jivatmas. In Sita’s case, the Acharya sent by Rama is Hanuman. He reassures Her that Rama will soon rescue Her, and his words are a comfort to Her.
