Rama as purest

The Ramayana is the story of a noble prince who was an ideal son, brother, disciple, husband and king. Generally we find that a person is perfect in only one or two relationships. To find someone who is ideal in all of his relationships, in all fields of activity, is nearly impossible. Yet, in the Ramayana, Sri Rama achieves what we consider “nearly impossible”.  Maryada PurushaSage Valmiki wrote the Ramayana and presented Sri Rama as the perfect person because every society always needs an ideal.

When people have a higher goal in their lives, they strive hard to improve and bring out the best in themselves. But if one’s ideal is low or there is no higher goal to aspire to, one only drifts along.  Some believe that the Ramayana is imaginary, not historical. This may be because we are unable to live up to even the simplest of noble principles in life, and conclude that a person as perfect as Sri Rama is not possible. The fact is that Sri Rama was a living person, and, even now, lives in our hearts.

The Ramayana is not a work of fiction.  Vishnu avatarSri Rama was not only an ideal man, he was an avatar of Mahavishnu. Because Sri Rama’s life was the embodiment of dharma, of righteousness, the Ramayana is also considered to be a dharma-shastra. Its method of teaching is different from shruti and smriti, as the latter teach by way of commandments or injunctions – prabhu vakya; they state directly what one ought to do and what one ought not to do; what is right and what is wrong. But another way of teaching is mitra vakya, by which we are given friendly advice about good and bad conduct.

As a dharma-shastra, the Ramayana is considered to be a mitra vakya.  Most of us need more than just commandments or advice. We need demonstrations in practical life, and our question is, “Has there ever been a person who has lived this life of perfection?” We want to see him, not far off somewhere, but right here in front of us, going through all the ups and downs of life! Life manualIf we study the Ramayana carefully, we will discover that not only are day-to-day duties demonstrated through Sri Rama’s example, but we are also taught how to deal with the greater conflicts in life, although the exact circumstances may be somewhat different.

For example, one day Sri Rama is told that he will be crowned king and the very next morning, he is told that he is to be exiled to the forest for 14 years. The whole population of Ayodhya as well as King Dasharatha begged him to stay and although there were many other arguments against his going, Sri Rama left for the forest, knowing it was his dharma to fulfil his father’s promised boon to Kaikeyi.  It is often difficult for people to determine dharma because, as it is said, “The mystery or the secret of dharma is hidden”.

The great importance of the Ramayana is that it teaches us to observe challenging situations and come to right decisions.  Swami Tejomayananda heads Chinmaya Mission World Wide.  .