Letter from Sant Keshavadas
TEMPLE OF COSMIC RELIGION
Oakland, CA 94601
Sadguru Sant Keshavadas, Founder and President
November 29, 1991
Dear Sister Aikya Param handed over to me her beautiful writing on the ancient Indian epic Ramayana in the form of a play called The Promise of a King. This drama, written mostly in poetry with rhyme and rhythm is very attractive....
In The Promise of a King Aikya has brought the essence of Ramayana. Some conversations are true to the original Valmiki Ramayana. For example, the love of Lakshmana for Sri Rama: "Nothing shall befall our Lord Rama. All my archery, my art to his defense and service! No enemy shall touch him. Neither will cold, wind, chill, not sun overheat him while I live..."
Look at the reflections of Mantara, the hunch-backed one, when she speaks to herself: "If Rama is crowned, I am refuse fit for the heap; my mistress, an extra on the royal stage, a nuisance, an aging useless hanger-on..." Thus each character represents the psyche of humanity so beautifully depicted in the drama.
The innocent queen, Kaikeyi, the mother of Bharata talks to Mantara who was upset with the news of Rama's coronation. The drama reads, "Rama loves me just as much or more than Kausalya the Queen, his mother. To me he comes for words of wisdom."
Look at the sacrifice of Rama's younger brother, Bharata. The author really enters into the spirit of Ramayana. Bharat says, "Make me a bed of straw and twigs, Queen Mothers. The reigns of royalty belong to Rama. Here I stay on this bed of twigs, no food, no water, until death if need be, until Rama returns to rule our fair Ayodhya."
The conversation between Sita and Rama in Lanka is the beautiful fabric that is woven in the web of the great song. It is written in a Western style and I can imagine the pains that Aikya has taken in writing this holy play. I wish her grand success in this effort and I sincerely recommend this drama...to reveal the oriental philosophy of life to the pragmatic occidental.
OM shantih Shantih Shantih
Sant Keshavadas.
Sant Keshavadas.
The playwright would like to express her gratitiude to Sant Keshavadas for taking the time to so thoroughly read Promise and to write such an appreciative letter. He himself told Rama's story and embellished it in song with his resounding singing voice all over the world. He is the author of Ramayana at a Glance. Now deceased, he is survived by his wife who has taken on the mantle of spiritual leadership for his devotees. The Temple of Cosmic Religion subsequently moved to the foot of the mountains in Northern California.
On April 4, 1999 I received the following message from a swami at the new center:
"Satguru Sant Keshavadas and Temple of Cosmic Religion have relocated from Oakland, California, to the wooded beauty of Mount Shasta, a 14,162 foot volcanic peak a few hundred miles to the North. Shasta, called a sister to the Himalayas, is sacred to Native Californian Indians. A 16-foot Panduranga Vittala murti carved in Bangalore will be installed at the site. The new property will become home for the continuing work of Sanatana Vishwa Dharma. Contact: 310 E. Lake Street, Mt. Shasta, California, 96067, USA."The address for the India center is Vishwa Ashanti Asharam, 24KM Tumkur Road, Viswashantinagar, Bangalore, 562-123 India. Guru Rama Mataji is Sant Keshavadas's widow and spiritual successor. She can be reached at the above address.
