The Story of Ashok Vatika (Sarga 14)

Now let us try to understand the meaning of the Ashoka grove, because every one of us carries this Ashoka grove within ourselves. When we understand it practically in relation to our own life, its meaning becomes very easy to grasp.

Look carefully. At present, all of us are living in body-consciousness. Body-consciousness means that we consider ourselves to be merely the body. Along with that, all the roles we perform in life — mother, father, engineer, doctor, and many others — we begin to think that these roles themselves are our real identity. We become deeply attached to them. This attachment is called body-consciousness, symbolized in the Ramayana by Ravana.

At present, we have begun to understand that our true nature is the soul and that the body is merely an instrument to be used. This understanding has started settling within the mind, but it is still at a very initial stage. We are not yet fully established in the Self, though we are walking on that path. In reality, our personality is still mostly body-identified.

This body-conscious personality creates an Ashoka grove within itself. So first we should understand the word “Ashoka Vatika.” The word can be divided into “A,” “Shoka,” and “Vatika.” “A” means “without,” “Shoka” means sorrow or pain, and “Vatika” means a place, region, or garden. Therefore, “Ashoka Vatika” means a place where there is no sorrow.

Now we must think carefully. If Ravana represents body-consciousness, then what is this place within us where there seems to be no sorrow, no discomfort, and no disturbance? In simple English, we can call it our comfort zone.

When we live in body-consciousness, our thinking, speech, and actions are not fully pure. We think wrongly, speak wrongly, and act wrongly, but we constantly justify ourselves.

For example, suppose I insult someone. Clearly, insulting another person is not good. Yet I justify it by saying, “They spoke badly to me first,” or “They treated me wrongly, so I reacted like this.” In this way, I justify my behavior.

Or suppose I am busy studying and someone calls asking to visit my house. Instead of honestly saying, “I am studying and need some time alone,” I may say, “I am going outside,” simply because I do not want them to come. I speak falsely because I want comfort. By doing this, I remain comfortable and undisturbed.

Similarly, someone may ask me to explain something from the Ramayana, but I may not feel like doing it because I want rest. Instead of honestly admitting that, I may falsely say, “I am outside right now.” Then the other person does not disturb me, and I remain comfortable.

Such small situations occur constantly in life. We lie, justify ourselves, and continue living comfortably without guilt. This repeated tendency of protecting our comfort through dishonesty creates the Ashoka grove within us — our inner comfort zone.

Now what happens when we repeatedly lie? The truth within us becomes imprisoned.

Again and again, situations arise where we speak falsely in one form or another, yet we feel no regret. We never truly feel, “I have done something wrong.” There is no deep repentance for speaking falsely, acting wrongly, or behaving dishonestly.

As a result, our purity and honesty become trapped within this comfort zone we have created.

Sita represents purity, honesty, and inner cleanliness — purity in thought, speech, and action. Therefore, Sita symbolizes our inner purity. Ravana imprisoning Sita within the Ashoka grove means that because of body-consciousness, we imprison our own purity within this comfort zone.

For example, suppose I want admission for my child somewhere and cannot get it honestly, so I offer a bribe. By doing this, I sacrifice my honesty. Yet if someone asks me about it, I justify it by saying, “There is so much competition and corruption nowadays.” In this way, I feel no remorse even after compromising honesty.

This is exactly what it means for Sita to be imprisoned in the Ashoka grove.

Now the story says that Hanuman will enter the Ashoka grove, destroy it, and only then can Sita be freed. So we must understand who Hanuman is.

As explained earlier, when we become established in our true Self, our intellect no longer remains ordinary. It becomes a higher, awakened intelligence called wisdom or “Prajna.” That awakened wisdom is symbolized by Hanuman.

Only through this wisdom can we begin searching within ourselves and discover where our purity has become hidden. Then we realize that our purity has never gone anywhere outside — it has only become trapped within the comfort zone created by our own dishonesty and self-justification.

Once this understanding arises, we begin destroying that comfort zone.

For example, if someone calls saying they want to visit, instead of lying to protect my comfort, I honestly welcome them. This is what it means to destroy the Ashoka grove.

Destroying the Ashoka grove becomes possible only when our ordinary intellect transforms into awakened wisdom. When we become established in our true nature, both the mind and intellect become refined and elevated. This awakened wisdom is what the story calls Hanuman.

As long as we remain in body-consciousness, we continue creating comfort zones within ourselves. We keep lying, behaving wrongly, and justifying everything while feeling no guilt at all. We can easily observe this in daily life. We may sit comfortably at home while falsely telling someone, “I am outside,” yet we feel no remorse for it. This itself is the imprisonment of our purity within the Ashoka grove.

Why, then, is self-knowledge necessary? Self-knowledge is necessary because it develops wisdom within us. Once wisdom develops, we stop imprisoning our purity and begin living truthfully and purely.

So the Ashoka grove described in the story is actually a very simple and practical truth. When we apply it to ourselves, we realize that this Ashoka grove is not some external magical garden. It is the inner garden of falsehood we ourselves have created. And once this false garden is created within us, our purity naturally becomes trapped there.

That is why the Sundara Kanda repeatedly glorifies Hanuman — because we are being taught to develop wisdom. To develop wisdom, we must move beyond body-consciousness and realize our true identity as consciousness, not merely the body.

When we become established in that truth, wisdom develops within us. Then we begin destroying the false garden we have built inside ourselves, and our imprisoned purity becomes free again.

The story also describes many beautiful trees inside the Ashoka grove. What do those trees symbolize?

They symbolize the countless beliefs, assumptions, and mental patterns stored within the subconscious mind. These are not merely conscious thoughts. The entire discussion of the Ashoka grove relates to the subconscious mind because body-consciousness itself has become a deep subconscious impression.

Across many lifetimes, we have created numerous beliefs and assumptions. Using these beliefs, we constantly justify our actions, no matter how wrong they may be.

The story also mentions a magnificent palace inside the Ashoka grove called the “Chaitya Prasada.” Why is this palace mentioned?

In Sanskrit, “Prasada” means a palace or grand building. “Chaitya” comes from “Chitta,” meaning the deeper mind or subconscious. Thus, the “Chaitya Prasada” symbolizes the vast palace of impressions stored within our subconscious mind.

Through countless lifetimes of identifying with the body, we have accumulated layer upon layer of impressions within the subconscious. Among those impressions, body-consciousness is one of the strongest. Along with it exist selfishness, attachment, ego, and many other tendencies — both good and bad.

Within this vast palace of impressions, body-consciousness creates a comfort zone, and within that comfort zone our purity, symbolized by Sita, becomes imprisoned.

When wisdom develops, it destroys both the comfort zone and the palace of accumulated conditioning, thereby freeing Sita — our inner purity.

Thus, spiritually speaking, the Ashoka grove is the comfort zone created within us through dishonesty, corruption, impure conduct, and falsehood.

This truth becomes extremely clear when we observe our own life practically. We continuously lie and justify ourselves without feeling regret. We never think about the consequences of these actions. Only when suffering finally comes do we grieve.

But once we have entered the spiritual path, we must begin destroying this inner comfort zone.