RAMAYANA

The Way of Rama

Ramayana is known as the adi-kavya, the first poem ever to be composed in the world. It is also the first of the Indian Itihasas or historical records of our kings. The second Itihasa is the Mahabharata of the sage Vyasa.

The author of the Ramayana is the sage Valmiki, who is considered to be the first of all poets, the adi-kavi. The Ramayana is the story of the Lord’s descent to earth as Rama, the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu, scion of the race of Raghu, pinnacle of human perfection. It is a story that has enthralled the minds of all who have read it, not only in India, the land of its origin, but throughout the world.

The story of Rama has spread everywhere, including such places as Tibet, Turkey, Myanmar, and Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. In Bali and Thailand, as in India, Sri Rama is worshipped as God incarnate.

This flow of the Ramayana outside India has been in four directions. One stream went north, as proven by Tibetan and Turkish manuscripts. Its presence in China can be seen from the Chinese translation of two Buddhist works, Anamakam Jatakam and Dasarath Kathanakam.

The second direction was to Indonesia. Stone carvings in two of the ancient fourteenth-century Shiva temples in Jogjakarta and one in East Java at Pantaran depict scenes from the epic. Later, both in Indonesia and Malaysia, extensive literature on the Ramayana theme was composed.

The third flow of the epic was to Indochina, Thailand, and Myanmar. Inscriptions dated from the seventh century show that the Valmiki Ramayana was very popular in those regions. The story of Rama that is widely read in Thailand is known as Rama Kiyn. The Burmese version, one of the most important poetic compositions of the country, is based on this and is known as Rama Yagan.

The fourth stream of the Rama story is found in the writings of western travellers and missionaries who visited India from the fifteenth century onward. These writings are found in many European languages, including English, French, Spanish, and Dutch.

One may well marvel that this story, based on local history, has had worldwide appeal and continues to cast its spell through the ages. This is because the story is based on certain eternal verities that appeal to the best in human nature. Indeed, these values have such a universal appeal that the character of Sri Rama has risen above the limits of sect, religion, race, and country. Obviously, it is a tale that is capable of touching the human mind and heart.

The Ramayana may be an ancient chronicle, but it has had a deep impact on the human mind even in modern times. We live in an age that is at a loss to know the meaning of human existence and doubts the existence of God. We are perplexed as to how we can act with righteousness when the whole world seems to have gone mad, when the meaning of truth and love cannot be found, and when hate and self-interest seem to be the only rules of conduct, from the highest to the lowest.

Answers to these perplexing questions can be found in the Ramayana, for human nature, as such, has hardly changed through the years. Situations may change, avataras come and go, but human nature remains the same. However, the individual can and must change if society is to progress, and the characters found in this book are worthy of emulation. Our lives may well take a turn for the better when we read of the heroic way in which Rama and Sita faced the trials and tribulations of their lives. Herein lies the greatness of Rama.

When we read the life of Krishna, we find that it is the story of a god—a divine person who was always the master of every situation and never the victim. That is why he is known as the poornavatara – the supreme incarnation. In the case of Rama, however, there is a difference. In Rama, God took on a human form with all its frailties to show us how our aspirations for a dharmic life can be fulfilled. In him, we see how we can surmount our frailties and become divine, if we are prepared to completely subjugate the ego, live only for the good of the world, and act in consonance with the duties and obligations of our particular positions in society. Valmiki’s Rama is the portrait of a man who shakes off the limitations of mortality and becomes divine by strict adherence to truth and honour.

If Rama, like Krishna, had been above all human emotions, he would not have made such an impact on the Indian mind. However, Valmiki’s Rama has all the qualities of the average man—attachments, desire, anger and love, compassion and serenity. The greatness of his character lies in the fact that he surmounted the obstacles in his character, perfected himself and became superhuman, putting his duty above all personal considerations.

This type of perfection is available to all of us, however weak we may be. Hence the popularity of the Ramayana. Rama is an example to all men, as Sita is to all women, and each one of us in reading their story can identify with them and try to perfect our own character as they perfected theirs.

Another endearing feature of the Ramayana, which for centuries has enthralled all who have read it, is that it is, above all, a love story, and love as a theme never fails to touch a chord in even the hardest of hearts. But the Ramayana is a love story with a difference, because it deals with all facets of human love, both dharmic and adharmic: the love of a father for his son, of a son for his parents or siblings, the love of a husband, wife, or friend, and finally even the love that is condemned by dharma—the passion for another man’s wife. All these are depicted in the Ramayana in the highest and most exalted manner. Hence the life of this avatara has been extolled in this land from the time of his existence on this soil.

It is a well-known fact that Rama was the king of Ayodhya. Unfortunately for 500 years, the place of his birth has been questioned and defiled. Those Hindus who are alive today will understand what a wonderful thing is going to happen when the new Ram Mandir will be inaugurated in Ayodhya and once again Sri Rama will receive a glorious welcome into his own country, land of the Ikshvakus, the Surya Vamsa, that had ruled this country for thousands of years from Ayodhya.

The Ram Mandir in Ayodhya will be inaugurated on the 22nd of January by the Sri Modiji, the Prime Minister of Bharat. All of us should rejoice and welcome him by lighting lamps in our own homes on that day.

Jai Sri Rama!