Was Sri RAMA really a casteist
Shabari was a hunter's daughter and belong to the Nishadha tribal community.The night before her marriage, she saw that thousands of goats and sheep were brought by her father, which were going to be sacrificed for the marriage dinner. Moved by compassion, during the early hours of the morning, she renounced the world and ran away to meet a Master in Sage Matanga.
As years passed,everyday Shabari would go out of her ashram, with the help of a walking stick and pluck berry fruits for Lord Ram. She would pluck a fruit, first taste it, and if it was sweet she would put it in her basket and discard the bitter ones. She wanted to give the good and sweet fruits to Ram
In the forest,even though hundreds of other yogis were waiting to receive Rama in their ashrams, Rama went only to Shabari's ashram because of her sincere devotion.On seeing Rama, Shabari became ecstatic and said, "There were so many exalted yogis waiting for your darshan, but you came to this unworthy devotee .This clearly shows that you will neither see whether a devotee lives in a palace or humble hut, whether he is erudite or ignorant,neither see caste nor color. You will only see the true bhakti.I do not have anything to offer other than my heart, but here are some berry fruits. May it please you, my Lord." Saying so, Shabari offered him her meager fare: berries she had collected in the forest.
Lakshman who followed his brother was horrified to see Shabari taking a bite of each berry before passing them on to her brother. Sometimes, she did not even pass the berry; she just threw it away. “How dare you give leftover food to my brother?” Lakshman snarled. “Do you know who he is? He is Ram, king of Ayodhya!” An embarrased Shabari threw herself at Ram’s feet and apologized for her mistake. Ram, however, hugged the old lady affectionately and reprimanded Lakshman, “She acted in good faith.” He explained that Shabhari’s intention was not to give Ram leftover food. She was only taking a tiny bite of the berry to make sure she offered her guest only the sweetest and most succulent of berries. In her world, it was not considered inappropriate from giving tasted berries to guests. Her biting the berry was a mark of caring, not a sign of insult.
Lakshman had judged the situation from his point of view based on his past experience in the palace. He assumed Shabhari was insulting Ram. Ram, however, refused to be colored by his past experience. He looked at the situation from Shabhari’s point of view and deciphered what she was really up to
As years passed,everyday Shabari would go out of her ashram, with the help of a walking stick and pluck berry fruits for Lord Ram. She would pluck a fruit, first taste it, and if it was sweet she would put it in her basket and discard the bitter ones. She wanted to give the good and sweet fruits to Ram
In the forest,even though hundreds of other yogis were waiting to receive Rama in their ashrams, Rama went only to Shabari's ashram because of her sincere devotion.On seeing Rama, Shabari became ecstatic and said, "There were so many exalted yogis waiting for your darshan, but you came to this unworthy devotee .This clearly shows that you will neither see whether a devotee lives in a palace or humble hut, whether he is erudite or ignorant,neither see caste nor color. You will only see the true bhakti.I do not have anything to offer other than my heart, but here are some berry fruits. May it please you, my Lord." Saying so, Shabari offered him her meager fare: berries she had collected in the forest.
Lakshman who followed his brother was horrified to see Shabari taking a bite of each berry before passing them on to her brother. Sometimes, she did not even pass the berry; she just threw it away. “How dare you give leftover food to my brother?” Lakshman snarled. “Do you know who he is? He is Ram, king of Ayodhya!” An embarrased Shabari threw herself at Ram’s feet and apologized for her mistake. Ram, however, hugged the old lady affectionately and reprimanded Lakshman, “She acted in good faith.” He explained that Shabhari’s intention was not to give Ram leftover food. She was only taking a tiny bite of the berry to make sure she offered her guest only the sweetest and most succulent of berries. In her world, it was not considered inappropriate from giving tasted berries to guests. Her biting the berry was a mark of caring, not a sign of insult.
Lakshman had judged the situation from his point of view based on his past experience in the palace. He assumed Shabhari was insulting Ram. Ram, however, refused to be colored by his past experience. He looked at the situation from Shabhari’s point of view and deciphered what she was really up to