We must learn to chant the sweet name of Rama with a pure, unsullied heart, in a spirit of selfless devotion. In the mind of man dwell the deities representing the moon and the sun. Intelligence is endowed by the sun. However two kinds of birds have got into the mind. One bird fosters the sense of ‘I’ and ‘Mine’ and fills the mind with ego. This is a destructive force. The second bird fosters the feeling of freedom from attachment and hatred. It signifies the power of the sun in the mind. Rama who belongs to the solar race, adhered to the latter path.

There is a significant connection between the Rama principle and the Vasanta Ritu (season of spring). In the spring, the trees put forth new leaves and flowers and fill the world with gladness. When the sun’s rays fall on the fresh leaves, they acquire a golden hue. The whole world puts on a glorious new look in spring. The beginning of the new year is celebrated in various regions by preparation of special edibles from a mixture of flowers and fruits of the neem and mango trees. In consuming these edibles, people are reminded that life is a mixture of pleasure and pain, profit and loss and both are to be treated with equal-mindedness.

In the Spring season, the air is redolent with the fragrance of the mango blossoms and the song of the Kokila (cuckoo). There is joy in the air you breathe. The cuckoo calls are never so sweet as in the Vasanta (Spring). The Kokila’s song is sweet to the ears. If a crow sits on our roof, we wish to drive it away, but we welcome the Kokila’s song. Why this difference? The crow seeks nothing from us. The Kokila has not given us a crown. The difference lies in their voice. The crow’s cawing jars on the ears. The Kokila’s song is music to the ears. When the speech is sweet, the speaker becomes endearing.

Hence men should learn to speak sweetly and pleasingly. Sweet speech confers peace. It is the means to Self-realisation. It is in the heart of the man who is sweet-spoken that Shri Rama loves to dwell. (SSS Vol.22, pp.69-70)