Sairam,

Once the gods were so elated at some victory they won and became so proud and so forgetful that they forgot of the Divine Grace that helped them to foil their enemies. The Lord decided to prick the bubble of their conceit and created a strange phenomenon that presented itself before them. The strange phenomenon challenged them to prove their courage by using their powers on a blade of grass that is placed on the ground. The Agni, the god of wind tried his best to sweep it off but could not. The Vaayu, the god of wind tried his best to sweep it off but could not. Each god tried to prove his worth by all his skill on that tiny blade and finally it was proved that without the overall grace of God, all of them would have failed in the battle. Thus Humility was taught to the exultant gods by the all-merciful Lord. You must be humble but yet strong to resist temptation and do not yield like cowards to the sly insinuations of the senses. 

There was a man who was pestered by a host of relatives when he was dying. Parents, wife, children, brothers, sisters surrounded his bed during his last moments and asked him "What is to happen to us?". The dying man lifted his head a little from the pillow and asked in return, "I am interested in "What is to happen to me" than being worried about "what is to happen to you." It is better everone ask the questions "What am I for?", "What ought I to do?" and equips himself with the answer rather than wait until it is too late.

The lord sends the Avathars and Messengers when world tries to build itself up on the sandy foundation of the sensory world and when people do not place faith in the Self and pursue the senses. Do not be led into the wrong belief that the accumulation of material possessions will endow you with joy and calm. Divine Love (Prema) alone can give everlasting joy by removing anger, envy and hatred. This moment is the right time to fix one's mind on God and start on the course one has missed in the confusion of material pursuits so far.

Ravana craved for the possession of Prakrithi i.e., Sitha and discarded the Spirit i.e., Purusha-Raama inspite of his vast knowledge gained from spiritual texts (ten heads represents the learning that he had earned from the six shaasthras and the four vedhas). Wavering and indecision will affect in practicing Dharma when an individual is not stabilised in the knowledge of the Self.

You must determine to seek the real experience of God-realisation. You must also cultivate an ardent thirst for the knowing the truth of the world and of your own self. Your outlook must widen and your inward look must become deeper and more steady. You must realise the Omnipresence of God and the Oneness of Humanity. The spark of divine that dwells in the heart of everman is your real self and all else is illusion. You are declaring that you are only the shortlived, easily-destroyed bodies ignoring that your real nature is Sath, Chith and Aanandha (i.e., the attributes of the Aathma).

When the Name is pronounced by the tongue and the image is adored by the mind, the meaning and the content of the Form must inspire and illumine the Consciousness.

Source:

Bhadhraachalam, 28-2-1964

Bukkapatnam, 13-3-1964