Let Wealth Burn If It Hinders the Rush to Ram
Ayodhya Kanda, Doha 185
Doha 185 · Movement 2 of 2
Keep this contemplation
Preserve, print, or share
Citizens look upon wealth, house, comfort, friends, parents, and brothers, all the ties by which ordinary life is secured.
If any of these prevents a person from rushing forward when Ram's feet can be approached, let it burn. A thousand forms of assistance should arise instead, carrying the devotee toward the meeting.
The verse does not despise relationship or shelter. It tests their direction. Whatever supports movement toward the sacred becomes aid; whatever blocks it becomes bondage, however cherished. Ayodhya's household order is briefly measured against the forest path and found valuable only when it helps love go forward.
Before the chance to meet Ram, every possession is judged by whether it becomes a thousand helping hands or one locked door.
Read the passage from the Manas
जरउ सो संपति सदन सुखु सुहद मातु पितु भाइ। सनमुख होत जो राम पद करै न सहस सहाइ।।185।।
Let that wealth burn, that house and comfort, those friends, mother, father and brothers, who, when the chance to face Rama's feet arises, do not rush forward with a thousand helps.