The Great Highway Robber Sage
We have two very popular epics or historical tales. The first one is the Holy Rāmāyana. The other one is Mahābhārata. The Bhagavad-Gita is a part of the Mahābhārata. It was written about 3,100 years B.C.E. Originally, the Holy Rāmāyana may have been written about 1.75 million years ago, according to latest findings of NASA. The original writer of Rāmāyana was a sage named Vālmiki. After Vālmiki, many other saints such as Tulasidas have written Rāmāyana, the story of Lord Rāma that all children should read.
The legend is that Vālmiki was given the power by sage Nārada to write the entire episode before the event actually happened. In the early part of his life, Vālmiki was a great highway robber. He made a living by robbing travelers. One day, the great celestial saint Nārada was passing by when Vālmiki attacked him and tried to rob him. Nārada asked Vālmiki why he was doing that. Vālmiki said that this is how he supported his family. The sage told Vālmiki: “When you rob a person, you commit sin. Do your family members want to share that sin also?” The robber replied: “Why not? I am sure they do.” The sage said: “All right, go home and ask everyone if they will share your sins along with the money you are bringing home.” The robber agreed.
He tied the sage against a tree and went home and asked each member of his family, saying: “I bring you money and plenty of food by robbing people. A sage told me that it is sinful to rob people. Will you share my sins?” No one in his family was willing to share his sin. They all said: “It is your duty to support us. We can’t share your sin.” Vālmiki realized his mistakes and asked the sage what to do to atone for his sins. The sage gave Vālmiki the most powerful and the simplest “Rāma” mantra to chant and taught him how to worship and meditate. The highway robber gave up his sinful activity and soon became a great sage and writer by the grace of guru Nārada, the power of mantra, and his sincere spiritual practice.