Judging Without Understanding: The Recipe for Ruining Relationships

Judging Without Understanding: The Recipe for Ruining Relationships: By%20Chaitanya%20Charana%20Dasa%0A%0AThe%20final%20stage%20of%20the%20relationship%20between%20Vali%20and%20Sugriva%2C%20important%20characters%20in%20the%20Ramayana%2C%20provide%20important%20ethical%20lessons.%0A%0AA%20poignant%20subplot%20in%20the%20Ramayana%20is%20the%20fratricidal%20confrontation%20between%20the%20two%20monkey%20brothers%20Vali%20and%20Sugriva.%20In%20the%20Mahabharata%2C%20fraternal%20animosity%20between%20the%20virtuous%20Pandavas%20and%20the%20evil%20Kauravas%20continues%20till%20the%20death%20of%20the%20Kauravas.%20In%20contrast%2C%20the%20Ramayana%20features%20a%20deathbed%20reconciliation%20between%20the%20simian%20siblings%20that%20is%20as%20emotionally%20riveting%20as%20it%20is%20ethically%20illuminating.%20In%20the%20tradition%2C%20the%20pastimes%20of%20the%20Lord%20and%20His%20devotees%20are%20primarily%20celebrated%20and%20cherished%20for%20their%20spiritual%20potency%20%u2013%20hearing%20them%20evokes%20divine%20emotions%20within%20us%2C%20purifies%20our%20heart%20of%20ungodly%20attachments%2C%20and%20redirects%20our%20desires%20from%20the%20world%20to%20Him.%20Additionally%2C%20the%20tradition%20sometimes%20sees%20in%20those%20pastimes%20ethical%20guidelines%20that%20can%20help%20us%20lead%20more%20harmonious%20lives%20during%20our%20stay%20in%20this%20world%20as%20we%20purify%20ourselves%20by%20practicing%20bhakti.%20Thus%2C%20for%20example%2C%20in%20the%20Ramayana%2C%20Lakshmana%20and%20Bharata%20are%20seen%20as%20inspirations%20for%20fraternal%20selflessness%2C%20and%20Sita%20is%20seen%20as%20an%20inspiration%20for%20wifely%20sacrifice.%20In%20this%20article%20I%20will%20focus%20on%20the%20ethical%20import%20of%20the%20denouement%20of%20the%20Vali-Sugriva%20relationship.

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