It happens that when spiritual seekers come to the ashram ashram 1) Stage of life. There are four ãshrams in total, each with their duties and responsibilities – brahm-chãrya, grahastha, vãnprasth, and sannyãs. 2) Hermitage. Place where tyãgis live. Tap to open in glossary → and if someone helps them, they become devoted to that person for their entire life. So, that is their mistake. Now, this is considered a very big obstacle in the path of God. Ravana had done a favor for Vibhishana. In the city of Lanka, Ravana used to allow Vibhishana to chant. Otherwise, he would not let anyone do it. And Ravana had built a special temple for him. He must have made it of gold because Lanka was made of gold. So, he had built a temple for him. And in his house, no one would disturb him. And then Ravana would take his advice. Now, such an incident occurred in his mind. His affection for Ravana was not breaking in any way. His affection for Ravana was not breaking in any way. He felt that, 'Even though Ram is my Ishtadev, Ravana is my brother and he has only helped me. He has never disturbed me. He has helped me in the bhajan bhajan Worship. Tap to open in glossary → What? His help in Ram's bhajan bhajan Worship. Tap to open in glossary → Ravana has helped me in Ram's bhajan bhajan Worship. Tap to open in glossary → So, they would do it that way. Just like that. So, his affection was not breaking in any way. His affection was not breaking. Hanumanji went and broke it. Hanumanji went and broke it. And it broke when Hanumanji used a trick. So, many times, someone might have helped us spiritually, but now, he might be someone who ruins our liberation. He might ruin our liberation because he might not lead us to the ultimate end. And he might keep us stopped in between, so should we break ties with him or not? What? We must break it. So, Vibhishana broke it. It is very complex. What? It is very complex to understand. Very much, meaning it is extremely complex. To Bali Raja, as Maharaj said in the Vachanamrut, 'Vibhishana abandoned his brother, Prahlad abandoned his father,' and all of them were highly beneficial to them. Bali Raja abandoned his guru guru A teacher. He will guide you on the path of kalyãn. Tap to open in glossary → Among them, Vibhishana was benefited in Ram's bhajan bhajan Worship. Tap to open in glossary → Those others are fine, as they were worldly favors. Vibhishana was benefited in Ram's bhajan bhajan Worship. Tap to open in glossary → bhajan bhajan Worship. Tap to open in glossary → So, should he have affection for Ram or for Ravana? He already had it for Ravana. Should he break it or not? Should he break it from Ravana and then have it for Ram, or what should he do? Now, that is a decision he has to make for himself: 'If I want to achieve the liberation of my jiva, I must break ties with Ravana.' Otherwise, I will not reach the ultimate end. I will not reach the ultimate end. The war between Ram and Ravana took place, so the war took place, and Ram and Ravana came face to face. Ram and Ravana came face to face. And in that, Vibhishana is in the front, to protect Ram. He is His devotee. So, he is in the very front. So, Ravana saw Vibhishana. Ravana lost his temper. And he threw such a powerful weapon (shakti), thinking, 'Let me finish him off right here in the front.' To Vibhishana. And if it had hit Vibhishana, he would have been finished. So, God held his arm, and pulled him aside. And Ram took it on His own chest. And Maharaj said that Ram fainted. Then, Hanumanji revived Him from the faint. So, after that, Vibhishana's ties with Ravana were completely broken. 'Oh, he strikes my Ishtadev like this?' 'Destroy him completely.' 'Destroy him completely,' like that. Then, he gave Ram the secret, that 'You strike him like this.' 'You shoot 31 arrows at once.' 'Twenty for his arms, ten for his heads, and shoot one arrow into his navel.' 'Only then will he die; otherwise, he won't die.' So, Ram then... Ram, of course, would know, but still, to break Vibhishana's ties... in Vibhishana's mind, there was still a connection with Ravana, firstly, a blood relation. He was his own brother. And he had done him favors. And he had done him favors in Ram's bhajan bhajan Worship. Tap to open in glossary → Now, how to break ties with him? Only Ram can make him break it. No one else can make him break it. Hanuman can make him break it. So, half of it was broken by Hanuman, and half of it was broken by Ram. Should we break ties with him or not? Like that. So, such a question arises. One's own liberation is more important than anything else. One's own liberation is more important than anything else. For Bharatji, Kaikeyi had, at least, worked in his interest. She had only done good for him. She had worked in his interest, yet he did not keep her side. 'I do not want the benefit of this world.' But the relationship between Vibhishana and Ravana is very divine (alaukik). It is divine. And yet he, yet he broke it. Yet he broke it. So, whether to break it or not, Maharaj said to take the counsel of others. We should not pass too much judgment. Vibhishana's was right, wasn't it? What Vibhishana did. What Vibhishana did, when Vibhishana was in such a situation, he did this. Like that. That is all we have to say. Vibhishana faced such a situation, then Vibhishana did this, and it turned out well for him. It did not turn out badly. If this, if this affection was as before, then generally, one would not even see that their liberation is being ruined. Yes, they wouldn't see it at all. But still, if there is spiritual seeking (mumukshuta), then it is seen. That is called Vibhishana's mumukshuta. That 'I ultimately with Ram...' He had both options: to keep Ravana's side and also to keep Ram's side. To keep Ravana's side and also to keep Ram's side. But he felt in his mind that 'The connection with Ram should not be broken, it must not break.' The connection with Ram must not break. Then, gradually, he realized, that 'I should not keep Ravana's side.' Otherwise, initially, he had both thoughts: 'I should also keep Ravana's side.' Can one be ungrateful? And Vibhishana was a devotee of God, so he was not like, what do you call it, ungrateful? He was not ungrateful, was he? He was loyal, wasn't he? He was of noble character, like that. Even if Ravana was not noble, Vibhishana was noble. So, in his mind, his nobility would interfere, right? That 'He has helped me once, at least I should not cause his head to be cut off.' Cause his head to be cut off. That 'Now, I have to cause his head to be cut off.' And yet, Vibhishana's nobility was not lost. No one has said in the scriptures that Vibhishana was disloyal. Modern writers might say that he committed treason. And betrayed his brother. And betrayed his clan. Modern writers might say so, contemporary writers. AI translation of the Gujarati transcript above, produced in the same pass that transcribed the audio, one English segment per Gujarati segment. Devotional and technical terms with no precise English equivalent (kirtan, satsang, vasana, samskara, and similar) are kept as their plain transliteration rather than force-translated. Not human-proofread., AI-translated, unverified · Source details