We often get to hear that India is a nation of Gods. According to some theories there are approximately 36 Crore Gods and Goddesses that reside in the soul of India. Every state, every city, every town, every village in India has their own God or Goddess. Most of these Gods are revered and worshipped because of one or multiple miraculous deeds that they performed when they appeared on earth. Krishna, Shiva, Durga, Vishnu, Hanuman, Kali, Ganesh, Lakshmi and even minor Gods like, Indra, Varun, Vayu have numerous miraculous acts associated with them. Now, whether these are just stories or real miracles or if there are some other clarifications which can be given for them, we will discuss at some other time.
Today I want to explore and understand a God who is not associated with any miracle throughout his appearance on earth, he couldn't fly, couldn't shift shapes and on top of that even though he is considered to be an incarnation of all powerful Vishnu, he had to depend upon an army consisting of Monkeys and Bears to defeat his enemy. By now you would have guessed which God I am referring to here. Yes, I am talking about Lord Ram, King of Ayodhaya. He is the God with simplest personality but with most people questioning his status as a God.
I have read and heard from a lot of people that they do not consider Ram as a God. There have been various reasons given for this like, he left his wife who was utterly loyal to him just because a washerman raised a finger at her character. It has also been said that he did not have anything divine associated with him. Moreover, there are some who believe that Ravana's character was more virtuous than that of Ram because he avenged his sister's insult, he did not try to force himself upon Sita even after abducting her etc. These are some very valid points and in order to find the truth behind them, we will have to look at the life story of Ram in an objective way and then decide whether he deserves to be treated like a God or should be forgotten like a king that once lived here.
In order to critically observe life of Ram, and to understand him better, let's divide his life into 3 phases:
1. His life before he went on Exile for 14 years.
2. His life during the Exile and his war with Ravan
3. His life after the Exile and his days as King of Ayodhaya
I will be discussing the instances where he was supposed to take a decision or some action which would help us to critically analyze his life. Let's explore these phases one by one.
First of all, it needs to be understood that Ram's life has to be looked at in context with Hindu mythology. Although we will be critically examine Rams life as an ordinary man but the timeline he lived in cannot be taken according to history that we know of. Therefore, we need to depend upon the Hindu scriptures regarding the period he lived in and thereby relating his actions to the particular time.
According to Hindu mythology Ram was born in Treta Yuga, it was a Yuga preceded by Sat Yuga and followed by Dwapar Yuga. With the passing of each Yuga human race moved towards materialistic lifestyle from a Spiritual lifestyle. Sat Yuga was a time of absolute consciousness and self awareness. People were free from selfish desires, lust, anger, pride, greed and envy. They adhered to Dharma. Sat Yuga was followed by Treta Yuga. It was an age of Virtue and Wisdom. But this Yuga brought with it some of the evils like selfishness, egoism and loss of discretion. It was also the time when Varna System was initialized in the society. It was a system designed to ensure that everyone is assigned the job according to his/her ability. This was the world Ram was born into.
There isn't much that we can discuss about Ram's childhood which was more or less uneventful. However, the personality of Ram can be assessed from the time he along with his younger brother Lakshman went with Rishi Vishvamitra to his ashram to protect his yagna from the demon queen Tadka. Even though he was just a young boy, he never hesitated or questioned his father, King Dashrath's decision to send him to fight demons (who may be a vicious tribe living in the jungle). He gave the glimpse of his prowess when he defeated the entire army of Tadka and killed her. Then he followed Vishvamitra to Mithila, kingdom of King Janak, and on the way got Ahiliya, wife of Rishi Gautama, rid of a curse that turned her into a stone for indulging in infidelity. Now this can also be symbolic. It may be possible that Ahiliya may have been banished by her husband because he believed that she cheated on him with Indra, who had in fact duped her by taking the form of her husband. Upon her repeated pleas for forgiveness, the Rishi may have laid down a condition that if the Prince or King from the royal family of Ayodhaya forgives her, he will take her back. It is important to note here that Ayodhaya was supposed to be the biggest kingdom in India and a pardon from its royal family could not be challenged by anyone in the entire country. So when the Rishi takes his wife back in his life, no one can raise a finger at him. Ram did not hesitate to relieve Ahiliya of the curse because even at that young age he understood and knew that as a prince it was his Dharma to relieve his subjects of all sufferings.
Upon reaching Mithila, where King Janak had arranged for a Swyamvar for his daughter Sita, Ram never questioned his Guru Vishvamitra when asked to take part in the contest. As a prince, he could have refused to take part in the contest as Mithila was a very small kingdom as compared to Ayodhaya. Moreover, he could have refused on the grounds that his family was not aware of this arrangement and he did not have the consent of his parents. But again he knew that as a student it was his Dharma to follow the instructions of his Guru without questioning him.
Now we move to the time when Dashrath decided to coronate Ram as the King but his queen Kakayi, reminded him of his two promises and asked for the throne for Bharat and 14 years of exile for Ram so that the public cannot revolt against the decision. Ram could have easily refused on the grounds that the promises were given by his father and his is not liable to fulfill them. He was immensely popular as the prince and could have easily started a coup to dethrone Dashrath and take the throne that was rightfully his. But being a follower of Dharma, he believed strongly that it is a son's duty to fulfill the promise given by his father. Therefore, following the Dharma of a Son, without a single question he denounced the throne and decided to go into exile for 14 years.
This completes the first phase of Ram's life. It is clear from the above mentioned instances that as a son, as a student, as a prince Ram was a firm believer in the following of Dharma. He never cared about his comfort, his life or his future when it came to Dharma.
Let's move on to the second phase of Ram's life. Ram along with his wife Sita and brother Lakshman, headed into jungle for 14 years of exile. We all know how the events unfolded which lead to abduction of Sita by Ravan. So I am not going into details here. What is worth discussing in this phase is the comparison some of us make between the characters of Ram and Ravan. Ram's questionable decision to ask Sita to go through a Trail by Fire after killing Ravan was one action everyone objects to. I will not get into discussion about whethe it was an actual trial by fire or a figurative term, because we all know that Sita successfully completed it and returned to Ayodhaya with Ram. What I intend to explore here is the reason behind Ram's demand for Trail by Fire in the first place. Having fought and won against Rakshas, Ram knew that this tribe did not fight fair and could have made false stories about Sita's time in Lanka which would have lead to her character assassination. Moreover, since his own army also consisted of local tribes like Vaanaras, he needed to assure them as well that they fought for the just cause.
Now let's deviate from the life of Ram and have a look at the character of Ravan. It is important because some of us believe that Ravan's character was stronger that that of Ram. Ravan was a man of great intellect, very knowledgable and he was also immensely powerful. But when he got to know that his sister has been wronged by two men living in the jungle, he did not choose his intellect knowledge or power to take revenge by challenging them to a fight, after all he was never afraid of Ram as he considered him just a random human being who was no match for all powerful King of Lanka. He instead, choose deceit and cowardice and abducted Ram's wife. Is that justified even by the low standards of today's world?
Another feather on cap of Ravan's character is that he never tried to touch Sita, while she was his prisoner. Agreed. But when we talk about character, we forget that Ravan had every intention to take Sita forcibly but somehow he could never muster the courage to do so. There is another story related to this. It goes like this, "Kumbhkarna once asked Ravan, why doesn't he take form of Ram and then approach Sita, as he is a master of Tantrik art. To this Ravan replied that he tried it many times but as soon as he takes the form of Ram, he just cannot look at any woman with wrong intentions." That speaks about the characters of both Ram and Ravan.
That Ravan decided to abduct someone else's wife, leaves no space for any justification about his character. According to Dharma, he could have taken his army and marched on Ram but that he chose the way of a coward makes him a villain. And on top of that a man who thinks about marrying someone else's wife when his own wife is present and very loyal to him speaks volumes of his character.
On the other hand we have Ram, who refused the sexual advances of Shrupnakha and stayed loyal to his wife. And when a demon abducted his wife, he fought him and killed him in a fair fight to protect the chastity of his wife and to secure her freedom.
This concludes the second phase of Ram's life.
Now comes the most important phase of life of Ram, for which he is actually remembered by devotees and for which he is criticized the most, both at the same time. Upon his return to Ayodhaya after killing Ravan and completion of his exile, Ram was coronated as the King. It is believed that in the absence of a real King after the death of Dashrath, indiscipline, greed and immorality had crept into the lives of people of Ayodhaya. People had stopped paying taxes and Royal treasury was almost empty. Lakshman and Hanuman had to devise a strategy to get people to pay up the pending taxes to fill up the treasury. But that story is for another time. At this time when Ram assumed the role of a King, he was required to get discipline and Dharma back into the life of his subjects. And the only way to do so was to become an example for them.
At this time, when a washerman raised question about the character of queen of Ayodhaya, as she had spent a long time as the prisoner of Ravan, in order to show the people that even the royal family is not not above dharma and the law and to ensure that no one takes advantage of this issue and indulges in immoral activities, Ram ordered Lakshman to take Sita to the Ashram of Rishi Valmiki, away from palace, away from him. Was he wrong in doing so? Let's try and explore this.
When Ram took the throne of Ayodhaya, his first and foremost duty was towards his subjects and his kingdom. This is called Raj Dharma. Family took a step back in his life as should be with every ruler. Let's compare this with an example from modern day history. When the daughter of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, then Home Minister of India, was kidnapped by terrorists, he had two choices. One, he could have observed his Raj Dharma and refused to negotiate with the terrorists. Two, he could have set aside dharma and secured the release of his daughter at any cost. We all know that he chose the second option. And because of that choice the nation is still bearing the burnt of terrorism. Therefore, it is always said and believed that for a ruler his duty and Dharma as a King or administrator should come first. Only then he or she can ensure an able and just model of kingdom.
What if Ram had ignored the washerman's accusation and not act as he did? Well, he could have continued to live happily with his wife and family. But after that no one in the entire kingdom could be punished for any immoral act citing example of Royal family. On top of that there would have always a question on the pious character of Sita. And no one in the kingdom would have respected her.
The other aspect of this situation is Ram's Dharma as a husband. Since Raj Dharma came first, he had to banish Sita from the Royal Palace. But at the same time Ram also followed his dharma as a husband and remained in love with her and remained loyal to Sita through out his life. Remember, this was a time when kings used to have many wives. Even his father has three wives. But Ram, an adherent follower of Dharma, knew that it was against the dharma to seek more than one wife. Even when he organized an Ashvamedh Yagna, where his wife was required to be seated beside him, he never thought of marrying again, but instead kept a Golden Statue of Sita besides him. He never banished Sita from his heart. If that's not love or loyalty, what is?
Ram came at a time when people had just started to shift away from dharma. Society was changing and there was uncertainty regarding right and wrong. Ram became the beacon of Dharma for everyone. He became the perfect son, perfect student, perfect brother, perfect friend, perfect enemy, perfect King and perfect husband. In short, he became the perfect man, an ideal man without any flaws. It is this perfection that is worshipped in the name of Ram. It is because of this perfection, that even today a well governed state is referred to as Ram Rajya. A happy couple is compared to Sita-Ram. A hero is always the image of Ram. It is not some divine power that is worshipped in a Ram temple. It is an idea of Dharma, of perfection that all human beings should strive to imbibe and achieve, that is worshipped. It is not a God that is worshipped in the name of Ram. It is the Man behind that God, that Myth, that is worshipped.
Today I want to explore and understand a God who is not associated with any miracle throughout his appearance on earth, he couldn't fly, couldn't shift shapes and on top of that even though he is considered to be an incarnation of all powerful Vishnu, he had to depend upon an army consisting of Monkeys and Bears to defeat his enemy. By now you would have guessed which God I am referring to here. Yes, I am talking about Lord Ram, King of Ayodhaya. He is the God with simplest personality but with most people questioning his status as a God.
I have read and heard from a lot of people that they do not consider Ram as a God. There have been various reasons given for this like, he left his wife who was utterly loyal to him just because a washerman raised a finger at her character. It has also been said that he did not have anything divine associated with him. Moreover, there are some who believe that Ravana's character was more virtuous than that of Ram because he avenged his sister's insult, he did not try to force himself upon Sita even after abducting her etc. These are some very valid points and in order to find the truth behind them, we will have to look at the life story of Ram in an objective way and then decide whether he deserves to be treated like a God or should be forgotten like a king that once lived here.
In order to critically observe life of Ram, and to understand him better, let's divide his life into 3 phases:
1. His life before he went on Exile for 14 years.
2. His life during the Exile and his war with Ravan
3. His life after the Exile and his days as King of Ayodhaya
I will be discussing the instances where he was supposed to take a decision or some action which would help us to critically analyze his life. Let's explore these phases one by one.
First of all, it needs to be understood that Ram's life has to be looked at in context with Hindu mythology. Although we will be critically examine Rams life as an ordinary man but the timeline he lived in cannot be taken according to history that we know of. Therefore, we need to depend upon the Hindu scriptures regarding the period he lived in and thereby relating his actions to the particular time.
According to Hindu mythology Ram was born in Treta Yuga, it was a Yuga preceded by Sat Yuga and followed by Dwapar Yuga. With the passing of each Yuga human race moved towards materialistic lifestyle from a Spiritual lifestyle. Sat Yuga was a time of absolute consciousness and self awareness. People were free from selfish desires, lust, anger, pride, greed and envy. They adhered to Dharma. Sat Yuga was followed by Treta Yuga. It was an age of Virtue and Wisdom. But this Yuga brought with it some of the evils like selfishness, egoism and loss of discretion. It was also the time when Varna System was initialized in the society. It was a system designed to ensure that everyone is assigned the job according to his/her ability. This was the world Ram was born into.
There isn't much that we can discuss about Ram's childhood which was more or less uneventful. However, the personality of Ram can be assessed from the time he along with his younger brother Lakshman went with Rishi Vishvamitra to his ashram to protect his yagna from the demon queen Tadka. Even though he was just a young boy, he never hesitated or questioned his father, King Dashrath's decision to send him to fight demons (who may be a vicious tribe living in the jungle). He gave the glimpse of his prowess when he defeated the entire army of Tadka and killed her. Then he followed Vishvamitra to Mithila, kingdom of King Janak, and on the way got Ahiliya, wife of Rishi Gautama, rid of a curse that turned her into a stone for indulging in infidelity. Now this can also be symbolic. It may be possible that Ahiliya may have been banished by her husband because he believed that she cheated on him with Indra, who had in fact duped her by taking the form of her husband. Upon her repeated pleas for forgiveness, the Rishi may have laid down a condition that if the Prince or King from the royal family of Ayodhaya forgives her, he will take her back. It is important to note here that Ayodhaya was supposed to be the biggest kingdom in India and a pardon from its royal family could not be challenged by anyone in the entire country. So when the Rishi takes his wife back in his life, no one can raise a finger at him. Ram did not hesitate to relieve Ahiliya of the curse because even at that young age he understood and knew that as a prince it was his Dharma to relieve his subjects of all sufferings.
Upon reaching Mithila, where King Janak had arranged for a Swyamvar for his daughter Sita, Ram never questioned his Guru Vishvamitra when asked to take part in the contest. As a prince, he could have refused to take part in the contest as Mithila was a very small kingdom as compared to Ayodhaya. Moreover, he could have refused on the grounds that his family was not aware of this arrangement and he did not have the consent of his parents. But again he knew that as a student it was his Dharma to follow the instructions of his Guru without questioning him.
Now we move to the time when Dashrath decided to coronate Ram as the King but his queen Kakayi, reminded him of his two promises and asked for the throne for Bharat and 14 years of exile for Ram so that the public cannot revolt against the decision. Ram could have easily refused on the grounds that the promises were given by his father and his is not liable to fulfill them. He was immensely popular as the prince and could have easily started a coup to dethrone Dashrath and take the throne that was rightfully his. But being a follower of Dharma, he believed strongly that it is a son's duty to fulfill the promise given by his father. Therefore, following the Dharma of a Son, without a single question he denounced the throne and decided to go into exile for 14 years.
This completes the first phase of Ram's life. It is clear from the above mentioned instances that as a son, as a student, as a prince Ram was a firm believer in the following of Dharma. He never cared about his comfort, his life or his future when it came to Dharma.
Let's move on to the second phase of Ram's life. Ram along with his wife Sita and brother Lakshman, headed into jungle for 14 years of exile. We all know how the events unfolded which lead to abduction of Sita by Ravan. So I am not going into details here. What is worth discussing in this phase is the comparison some of us make between the characters of Ram and Ravan. Ram's questionable decision to ask Sita to go through a Trail by Fire after killing Ravan was one action everyone objects to. I will not get into discussion about whethe it was an actual trial by fire or a figurative term, because we all know that Sita successfully completed it and returned to Ayodhaya with Ram. What I intend to explore here is the reason behind Ram's demand for Trail by Fire in the first place. Having fought and won against Rakshas, Ram knew that this tribe did not fight fair and could have made false stories about Sita's time in Lanka which would have lead to her character assassination. Moreover, since his own army also consisted of local tribes like Vaanaras, he needed to assure them as well that they fought for the just cause.
Now let's deviate from the life of Ram and have a look at the character of Ravan. It is important because some of us believe that Ravan's character was stronger that that of Ram. Ravan was a man of great intellect, very knowledgable and he was also immensely powerful. But when he got to know that his sister has been wronged by two men living in the jungle, he did not choose his intellect knowledge or power to take revenge by challenging them to a fight, after all he was never afraid of Ram as he considered him just a random human being who was no match for all powerful King of Lanka. He instead, choose deceit and cowardice and abducted Ram's wife. Is that justified even by the low standards of today's world?
Another feather on cap of Ravan's character is that he never tried to touch Sita, while she was his prisoner. Agreed. But when we talk about character, we forget that Ravan had every intention to take Sita forcibly but somehow he could never muster the courage to do so. There is another story related to this. It goes like this, "Kumbhkarna once asked Ravan, why doesn't he take form of Ram and then approach Sita, as he is a master of Tantrik art. To this Ravan replied that he tried it many times but as soon as he takes the form of Ram, he just cannot look at any woman with wrong intentions." That speaks about the characters of both Ram and Ravan.
That Ravan decided to abduct someone else's wife, leaves no space for any justification about his character. According to Dharma, he could have taken his army and marched on Ram but that he chose the way of a coward makes him a villain. And on top of that a man who thinks about marrying someone else's wife when his own wife is present and very loyal to him speaks volumes of his character.
On the other hand we have Ram, who refused the sexual advances of Shrupnakha and stayed loyal to his wife. And when a demon abducted his wife, he fought him and killed him in a fair fight to protect the chastity of his wife and to secure her freedom.
This concludes the second phase of Ram's life.
Now comes the most important phase of life of Ram, for which he is actually remembered by devotees and for which he is criticized the most, both at the same time. Upon his return to Ayodhaya after killing Ravan and completion of his exile, Ram was coronated as the King. It is believed that in the absence of a real King after the death of Dashrath, indiscipline, greed and immorality had crept into the lives of people of Ayodhaya. People had stopped paying taxes and Royal treasury was almost empty. Lakshman and Hanuman had to devise a strategy to get people to pay up the pending taxes to fill up the treasury. But that story is for another time. At this time when Ram assumed the role of a King, he was required to get discipline and Dharma back into the life of his subjects. And the only way to do so was to become an example for them.
At this time, when a washerman raised question about the character of queen of Ayodhaya, as she had spent a long time as the prisoner of Ravan, in order to show the people that even the royal family is not not above dharma and the law and to ensure that no one takes advantage of this issue and indulges in immoral activities, Ram ordered Lakshman to take Sita to the Ashram of Rishi Valmiki, away from palace, away from him. Was he wrong in doing so? Let's try and explore this.
When Ram took the throne of Ayodhaya, his first and foremost duty was towards his subjects and his kingdom. This is called Raj Dharma. Family took a step back in his life as should be with every ruler. Let's compare this with an example from modern day history. When the daughter of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, then Home Minister of India, was kidnapped by terrorists, he had two choices. One, he could have observed his Raj Dharma and refused to negotiate with the terrorists. Two, he could have set aside dharma and secured the release of his daughter at any cost. We all know that he chose the second option. And because of that choice the nation is still bearing the burnt of terrorism. Therefore, it is always said and believed that for a ruler his duty and Dharma as a King or administrator should come first. Only then he or she can ensure an able and just model of kingdom.
What if Ram had ignored the washerman's accusation and not act as he did? Well, he could have continued to live happily with his wife and family. But after that no one in the entire kingdom could be punished for any immoral act citing example of Royal family. On top of that there would have always a question on the pious character of Sita. And no one in the kingdom would have respected her.
The other aspect of this situation is Ram's Dharma as a husband. Since Raj Dharma came first, he had to banish Sita from the Royal Palace. But at the same time Ram also followed his dharma as a husband and remained in love with her and remained loyal to Sita through out his life. Remember, this was a time when kings used to have many wives. Even his father has three wives. But Ram, an adherent follower of Dharma, knew that it was against the dharma to seek more than one wife. Even when he organized an Ashvamedh Yagna, where his wife was required to be seated beside him, he never thought of marrying again, but instead kept a Golden Statue of Sita besides him. He never banished Sita from his heart. If that's not love or loyalty, what is?
Ram came at a time when people had just started to shift away from dharma. Society was changing and there was uncertainty regarding right and wrong. Ram became the beacon of Dharma for everyone. He became the perfect son, perfect student, perfect brother, perfect friend, perfect enemy, perfect King and perfect husband. In short, he became the perfect man, an ideal man without any flaws. It is this perfection that is worshipped in the name of Ram. It is because of this perfection, that even today a well governed state is referred to as Ram Rajya. A happy couple is compared to Sita-Ram. A hero is always the image of Ram. It is not some divine power that is worshipped in a Ram temple. It is an idea of Dharma, of perfection that all human beings should strive to imbibe and achieve, that is worshipped. It is not a God that is worshipped in the name of Ram. It is the Man behind that God, that Myth, that is worshipped.
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