The Hindu : Miscellaneous / Religion : Ideal for humanity

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Friday, Jun 03, 2005

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous - Religion

Ideal for humanity

CHENNAI: : The tradition of reciting the Ramayana and discoursing on it has been in vogue from the time of its composition. Its appeal never wanes even if one listens to it any number of times. Why is it so? It is due to its unique features like being the first poem and an Itihasa— a factual documentation of the life of the Lord in His incarnation as Rama.

According to tradition it is the Veda, which has been composed by Sage Valmiki as this epic. Hence it is accorded the same sanctity as the Vedas. When the Supreme Being took birth as the eldest son of Dasaratha, the celestials also were born in the world to aid Him in fulfilling the purpose of His descent.

In his discourse, Sengalipuram Sri B. Damodara Dikshitar said though Valmiki drew attention to the fact that the purpose of the Lord's manifestation as Rama was with the specific purpose of re-establishing Dharma in the world in all the important episodes, he emphasised His inimitable character and excellences so that mankind would have an ideal to look up to.

So a person who studies the epic slowly starts emulating the qualities of Rama and adheres to righteousness in his life. This is the intention of the sage because all human beings will not have a natural inclination to uphold Dharma. By reading the epic a person will develop devotion and spontaneously start leading a virtuous life. There is hope even for one who is unable after perusing the Ramayana to tread the path shown by the Lord if he is moved to tears by reading about the sorrows that the Divine couple faced in the world. This is a pointer to the Lord's compassion for His creation and that He would go to any extent to reform and redeem humanity.

Another important value that the epic highlights is sacrifice. A person who wants to achieve a goal in life has to be prepared to make sacrifices. The Lord showed this by example for He upheld Dharma at all costs. Even His act of allowing Sita to enter the fire must be seen from this standpoint. It was not as if He had any doubt about Her virtue but by His act proclaimed to the world that He would go to any extent to espouse Dharma. In another context Rama told Sita that He would even sacrifice Her and Lakshmana for the sake of Dharma. At the same time He was so compassionate that He was ready to pardon even the worst sinner.

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