When Mother Sita was being abducted by demon king Ravana in his special plane called Pushpak, She cried for the help but none came forward to save her out of fear. Everyone was afraid of mighty Ravana’s power. When an old huge vulture, Jatayu, heard Sita’s pathetic cries, he came out of his nest built inside a cave, high up on the mountain, to save her. A fierce fight followed. At last Ravana cut Jatayu’s wings with his sharp sword, thus the wounded bird fell on the earth.
When Lord Sri Rama began to search for Mother Sita, on the way he found wounded Jatayu on the verge of death. On seeing his condition, the Lord was moved, he put the bird’s head in his lap & tears began to fall on Jatayu’s wounded body. His whole body became wet with the Lord’s tears. While caressing his head, Rama said, “Brother ! You knew that Ravana is invincible and much powerful, yet why did you fight with him ?
Tears were also flowing down from Jatayu’s eyes, he said in a proud tone “Lord ! I am not afraid of death. I would have been afraid only if I could not have mustered up courage to resist the evil. To this Lord Ram replied, “Brother ! Blessed are you ! The virtuous souls like you will ever show the path of service to the inhabitants of this world.”
Again, when Lord Ram, with the help of the monkey and bear-army, was constructing a bridge to attack Lanka, a tiny squirrel would bring few sand particles in her wet tail and jerk it off on the bridge being built on sea. The monkeys asked, “What difference does the sand from your tail will make to the bridge? “
Rama sat nearby listening to this conversation picked her in his lap and said “O monkeys ! Look at her spirit of drying one drop of water with few particles of sand. For time immemorial, this service of the squirrel will be remembered as a symbol of wise entity cooperating in a noble cause”
Those who remain asleep, can’t avail the opportunities, even when such opportune moments appear before them. Such people are more dead than alive, in comparison to the awakened souls.
Pragya Puran,
Part – I,
Page 19