The God Rama is not
a God in the strictest sense of the word. He is an Avatar or human incarnation
of Lord Vishnu. Widely worshipped all across the Indian subcontinent, Rama is
known by the epithet “Maryada Purushottam” which loosely translated in English
stands for the Man who is the emblem of “Maryada” or social values. Featured in
the great Indian epic “The Ramayana”, he is supposed to be the ideal man in
every sense of the word. He is the son of King Dasharatha the ruler of Ayodhya,
an ancient kingdom that still has a city in its name in contemporary India.
Rama had left
all the comforts of palace life to fulfil the promise made by his father to one
of his wives, Kaikeya. Kaikeya had asked Dasharatha to send Rama to exile in
the forest for fourteen years, so that her son Bharata could rule over
Dasharatha’s kingdom instead of the rightful heir Rama- Dasharatha’s eldest
son. Rama was accompanied by his loyal brother Lakshmana and his loving wife
Sita even though the terms of Dasharatha’s promise to Kaikeya did not extend to
them.
The God Rama
came to be addressed thus due to his heroic feats against the Demon King of
Lanka Ravan and his formidable army. Rama was forced to launch an all out
offensive against Ravana’s Lanka in order to reclaim his kidnapped wife Sati.
Ravana had kept Sati hostage after having abducted her from her dwelling in the
forest. In his campaign, Rama was aided by the King of Monkeys Sugriva and the
great monkey warrior Shri Hanuman. Hanuman’s devotion to Rama is a substance of
legend and need to be addressed separately in order to do it justice.
Rama amassed a
giant army with the help of Sugriva after helping the latter win a fight
against his tyrannical brother Baali. Together they built a bridge of floating
rocks over the ocean and attacked Lanka. They managed to defeat all of Ravan’s
generals with the able assistance of Demon prince Vibhishan, who had defected
to Rama’s side and gave the insiders information to counteract all of Ravan’s
forces. Finally Rama and Ravana faced off in the battlefield. Rama slew Ravan
who recognised Rama as the avatar of Lord Vishnu and considered himself blessed
for having met death at the hands of Rama, as that meant the direct attainment
of Moksha- freedom from the eternal cycles of births and rebirths.
Now, let us explore
the reasons that have managed to keep Rama an enduring figure of interest in
the hearts and minds of millions over millennia on end. Is it possible that
people are so very taken by the myth that they never felt like critiquing it?
Quite to the contrary! Recent archaeological studies have shown there is every
possibility that there is historical credence behind the story of Ramayan. In
India, the supernatural and the natural exist on the same plane, alongside each
other with shadow lines demarcating the two. Historians and sociologists argue
that there must have been an Aryan King by the name of Rama who had fought with
a Dravidian King called Ravana who may’ve had his Kingdom in the contemporary
Island nation of Sri Lanka. The bridge of floating rocks has also been found by
archaeologists, submerged slightly, due to the global rise in water levels.
Myth and history
coalesce in the image of the God Rama. He continues to be the obedient son who
faced untold miseries just to keep his father’s promise, then went on to fight
a war of a gargantuan proportion to reclaim his wife. A wife he had to subject
to the test of fire because his people doubted her chastity having been a
prisoner of Ravana.
Feminist
critiques take strong offence to Rama’s role in the matter of his treatment of
Sita after the war with Ravana. Their critique sound strongest when they
question Rama asking Sita to undergo the Agnipareeksha, (or the test of fire) a
second time, having passed which, Sita, out of intense shame, evoked Mother Earth
to consume her whole and save her the bile of critique Rama’s constant doubts
about her fidelity made her subject to.
In the regions
of South India where temples are dedicated to Ravana, people wonder how Rama
would’ve ever won against Ravana had it not been for the betrayal of
Vibhishana? In fact, quite a few actions taken by the forces on Rama’s side,
including the treacherous murder of Indrajit- Ravan’s son, by Lakshmana, while
the former sat unarmed in meditation, raises serious questions about the title
of “Maryada Purushottam” that Rama is offered. One becomes painfully aware of
the fact that in a clash of civilizations, history is always written by the
victors.
However, despite
considering these inconsistencies one must make a relative assessment of Rama
and see whether or not he deserves worship or admiration. True, he may not have
been the most moral of beings, but one must remember, real politik by
definition is amoral. We do not have the facts before us to make a value
judgement, and that in any case would be counter-productive. We must see the
purpose the image of Rama serves today in the lives of countless people. Every
Dussehra when the effigies of Ravan, Indrajit and Kumbhakarna are burnt, it
symbolizes the victory of good over evil and the continuation of the cycle of
life. At this point our focus ought to go back to the purpose of Lord Vishnu-
Preservation of Creation. The moment we make the connection, the larger
objective comes to light. Social integration in a variegated country like India
where, geopolitical and linguistic divides abound, a tale like the Ramayana
manages to bring cohesion. That is not to condone the error committed by Rama
the human, but to cherish the ideals represented by The God Rama.
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