Rama for the uprooted and deracinated

In my earlier blog, I equated the Ramayana with the Bible and the Quran. But there is a big difference that I need to elaborate on. Unlike the Bible or Quran, Ramayana's core is not an ideology but a narration of the life of Rama.

The immediate response from the deracinated would be - "How can you believe it really happened? There are unbelievable events narrated in it." There is no point in explaining to them that it is an Itihasa - 'It happened thus.'

So, my answer is - the core of Ramayana could have happened. What is this core?

There was this Prince Rama, son of Dasaratha. His step-brothers were Bharata, Lakshmana, and Shatrugna. He was exiled because his father had to honor the promise he made to one of the queens - Kaikeyi. Rama, with his wife Seetha and step-brother Lakshmana, left for the forest. They lived a life of a wanderer with no comforts. Seetha was kidnapped by Ravana, a powerful king of Lanka. Rama earned the trust and friendship of Sugreeva by killing Sugreeva's brother Vali. With the help of Sugreeva's army and a brilliant and strong minister Hanuman, Rama approached Lanka. Ravana's brother Vibhishana left him and joined Rama's side. The army reached Lanka and fought with Ravana's army. Finally, Rama killed Ravana, made Vibhishana, the king of Lanka, and got Seetha back. 

I have trimmed the beautiful embellishments of Ramayana to give just the core. What makes Rama the Hero or God to be worshipped for millennia and Ramayana an epic narrated for millennia?

• Rama was already the darling of the king and the citizenry. Dasaratha or Rama could have ordered the killing or the arrest of Kaikeyi. That would have removed the only block between Rama and the kingdom. They both chose to honor the promise made by Dasaratha to his wife. Even in these days and times, I have seen individuals making extraordinary efforts to honor promises made - not just by them but also by their family members.
• Rama sacrificed his kingdom to honor the promise made by his father. Seetha and Lakshmana were no less Heroic. They chose to sacrifice the comforts of the palace to follow Rama and exhibited their commitment and loyalty to Rama. Bharata equally exhibited his highest values by sacrificing the position of the king but undertook the administration as his duty. 
• In the fourteen years in the forest and the battlefield, Rama and Lakshmana exhibited the courage of true warriors. However, their courage is evident in their decision to leave the comforts and live a life of hardship.
• Rama killed Vali and won the friendship of Sugreeva. But Vali was more powerful. He could have been a better help than Sugreeva. That's where we see Rama's sense of justice. Again, after the killing of Ravana, Rama could have held the prosperous Lanka for himself. But he chose to serve justice by anointing Vibhishana as the king of Lanka.  

Rama and other characters held themselves to such a high standard. Their values are still relevant and hold families, communities, and countries together. That is why Rama is still a Hero and Ramayana is still read and listened to.

If the values highlighted by Ramayana are so inspirational, if it has contributed to the welfare of families, societies, and countries, does it matter if Ramayana really happened or not?  

RJM - Now, Dharma can take on the Abrahamic Faiths

 “Rama was born in the Nakshatra Punarvasu - पुनर्वसु implies "the two restorers of goods".  Rama lost his kingdom and his wife.  His story is all about their restoration.” said the Upanyasaka. This time, He got his temple restored with the help of his Sainiks through righteous methods for this day and age.

As a Hindu, it was not easy to explain Hinduism as a religion or way of life to a Westerner.  An average Westerner could understand religion only through the prism of Abrahamic faiths.  It needs a God (Jehovah or Allah), a Prophet (Jesus, Mohammad), a holy book, and of course an organization (Church, Caliphate, and its offshoots).  The dilemma for a Hindu, especially a reasonably knowledgeable Hindu is - how can you summarize various philosophies, deities, practices, and the Hindu community into a simple template!

I guess this was the reason for the continuous spread of Abrahamic faiths into pagan communities.  (Let’s set aside the conversion by sword for the sake of this article.)  Even in impoverished, isolated Hindu communities that had lost touch with their deities, a simple message of a God through a preacher was sufficient to convert them to Christianity.  (Let’s set aside the conversion by coaxing with incentives.)  

I see the events of January 2024 as the restoration of a dharmic order to counter the Adharmic Abrahamic faiths.  If we can present a simple religion along the lines of Abrahamic faiths, the fight will be more or less on equal terms.  A nimble horse is to be countered with another nimble horse - not an army of elephants.

We have the God - Rama, the holy book - Ramayana.  We had many prophets and saints.  None was as successful as Sri Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada who built a reasonably successful organization and took Rama and Krishna to the Westerners and intellectual Hindus.  Swami and the saints before him used Bhakti.  Rama wasn't a saint, but a warrior.  We need more practical aspects of life to spread the message of Rama.  Rama’s honor, sacrifice, courage, justice, and duty are relevant to a practical man even today.

Then who would be the Prophet of Rama who can spread the message of honor, sacrifice, courage, justice, and duty?  Who else but Shri Narendra Modiji. With his dedicated service to the nation, he lives the life of a true Rama Bhakt.

For Mohammed and Jesus, the organizations were created a few decades after them.  But, Modiji grew with the Sangh Parivar.  BJP - the election fighting machine is the modern version of an army of new converts of Islam in 7th century Arabia. VHP and RSS form the religious, and social arms of the organization.

With the Prana Pratishtapana of Shri Ram Lallaa, Hindus have recorded their first success against Abrahamic forces. The simple messages of Rama can clear the ghettos filled with negativity, anger, and victimhood.  The day is not far off when the Sangh Parivar does a massive Ghar Wapsi.  It has everything that is required to achieve it.