Among the various good virtues to be possessed by mankind, sacrifice for others is one of the most difficult one. In the relations of today’s materialistic world, life looks good when things sail smooth and when one takes and not gives. Yet, there are many people who make the world a better place to live by their quality of giving without any conditions and make the world a beautiful place and life, a gift. Such a gift was possessed by Shri Ram in the form of his dear brother Lakshman, who proved that offering himself to the service of Shri Ram is the best virtue he possessed.
Lakshman was the inner soul of Shri Ram. True to Shri Ram’s thoughts, Lakshman’s happiness lied in serving his brothers rather than enjoying the comforts of being a prince. Lakshman had nothing as his own personal space or life and the only thing which was personal and special to him was taking care of all the needs of Shri Ram and accompanies him everywhere as Shri Ram’s shadow.
When Lakshman offers himself to Shri Ram’s servitude, it was not just confined to the life in a palace, but wherever Shri Ram went and it included the walk behind Rishi Vishwamitr or the unending walks in the Dandak forest during exile. He gave up his own happiness and life with his devoted wife Urmila so that he could take care of Shri Ram and Mata Sita in the forest. It’s a rare virtue that not only a person, but his family too becomes an epitome of selfless sacrifice for the happiness of their elders.
Lakshman not only served Shri Ram as his caretaker, but also advised Shri Ram wisely in times of adversity. Shri Ram was stuck with grief when Mata Sita went missing, but Lakshman reminds him that a warrior only fights adversities, but never succumbs to them. He plays the role of guiding Shri Ram as a father and also taking care of him as a son, especially in hardships.
Lakshman ‘s selfless sacrifice does not just stop at only the service of Shri Ram, but goes to forsaking his life bound by the respect for Shri Ram’s command. Lakshman does not aim the Brahmastr on Indrajeet even though Indrajeet resorted to sorcery as Shri Ram had commanded him not to use it. But, when Lakshman falls unconscious, Shri Ram weeps bitterly like a person who has lost everything prepares to die lest anything happens to his dearest brother. But, sacrifice never goes wasted and Lakshman regains conscious with the help of Hanuman and gains victory by aiming the arrow of his faith in Shri Ram on Indrajeet which turns out to be even more powerful than the Brahmastr.
Selfless devotion is unconditional. Hence, Lakshman humbly refuses Shri Ram’s proposal of being crowned as the crown prince of Ayodhya, and requests to crown Bharat instead. This depicts that Lakshman was not only a selfless person, but a genuine brother who had the same affection as Shri Ram towards Bharat. How else could Shri Ram repay the servitude of Lakshman, but by becoming his younger brother as Shri Krishna and serving Lakshman who was his elder Balram in his next Lila Avatar, thus again enjoying the bliss of unconditional love and brotherhood again with his dear brother.