By VIJAY PHANSHIKAR :
Honesty of purpose has nothing religious about it; transparency of thought and action has nothing religious about it; unwavering loyalty to one’s spouse has nothing religious about it; complete dedication to truth and its consonant thought-process has nothing religious about it; resolve to go any distance to keep one’s word has nothing religious about it; extra-ordinary, unmatched warfaring skill has nothing religious about it; a deep engagement with the process of learning and acquiring knowledge on every possible subject under the sun has nothing religious about it; tremendous ability to use fine diplomacy as a tool of constructive human action has nothing religious about it; being an obedient son and caring husband and loving brother has nothing religious about it; being a truly great ruler who cares for everybody in his kingdom has nothing religious about it ...! Seen from this multi-dimensional perspective, how can we dub Shri Ram Prabhu only as a religious deity
THERE, those many countless thousands of
years ago, across the field loomed a massive, war-ready chariot on which stood
King Ravan -- armed with weapons and
sheaths and shields -- followed by a wellequipped army eager to unleash its demonic power.
On other side of the field stood two young and
fearless men -- Ram, and Laxman -- backed by a
strange army of soldiers whose identity could shock
anyone out of wits. Though he was confident of his
own warfaring skills, Laxman asked his brother
Ram, in effect, how he planned to put up the fight
standing on the ground with only the bow-andarrows as weapons.
‘He is coming on menacingly on
that astoundingly big and high chariot, and you --
and all of us -- are here down on the ground. How
will you protect yourself and all of us?’
Shri Ram smiled and said, in effect, ‘My dear
brother, worry not. I also have a chariot -- invisible
to others -- of Dharma, driven by Dhairya and regulated by Charitra. Vivek, the ability to choose between
right and wrong, is my main weapon, and a steadfast belief in my Dhyeyya is my strongest armour.
Laxman, our weapons of war are only supplements.’
This conversation, well-recorded in countless texts
in multiple languages, explains best the essence of
the metaphor of Shri Ram -- Prabhu Shriram,
Maryada Purushottam Shriramchandra.
That conversation over, Shri Ram and Laxman got
embroiled in a terrible war that saw the end of not
just Ravan who displayed demonic qualities, but also
the collapse of his so-called invincible empire of
Lanka.
The rest is history -- as everybody knows.
As the country -- and the world -- prepares to celebrate the Pran-Pratishtha of the idols of Ram Lalla
in the brand new, under-construction temple at
Ayodhya, the iconic character of Shri Ram (Lord
Ram, Bhagwan Ram, Ram, Kausalya-nandan,
Dhashrath-tanay, Sita-pati, Bharatagraj ...) needs to
be seen not just as a religious deity, but also as a
national hero of all times, thanks to the attributes
he is known for.
Though it may be inappropriate to drag the word
‘secular’ in this discourse, let us pick up courage to
say that the ideals and ideas and qualities that
Prabhu Ramchandra stood for are totally beyond
any frame of faith, above considerations of sectarian
thought. Shri Ram is beyond all those limiting factors and stands above everything else as an embodiment of human virtue that is fully practicable, fully
within the realm of living even of the common
people.
This is, in short, the actual description of what
Shri Ram stands for -- even in Kaliyug in which core
human values and virtues have little relevance. He is
one symbolism of a national hero which he eventually proved to be -- by leading a life of an ascetic
even when he was a royal Prince, by following the
ideals of sages even though he was about to be
crowned the King of the great empire of Ayodhya,
by presenting a practicable road-map of truly altruistic living far beyond selfishness. And as he left
behind this mark of his avtar, Shri Prabhu
Ramchandra became a hero of not just India, but
also of many, many other countries around the
globe.
THIS brings us to realise how futile it is to bind
the personage of Shri Ram in narrow confines
of what is wrongly described as religion, and
petty politics whose spread is terribly limiting not
just human thought but also human potential to live
a life of harmony and togetherness. It is time, therefore, for us to start leaving behind narrow thinking
that seeks to restrict the idea of Shri Ram as a sectarian deity. Naturally, then, it is time for us to start
looking at Lord Ram’s life of eternal virtue as an
embodiment our country -- and also the world --
needs at this juncture and in the future.
It is certainly time for us to understand the details
of how the young Prince of Ayodhya cast himself in
a mould of an altogether unique nature. As a
teenage Prince, he had the wisdom to ask Guru
Vashishtha serious questions and urge him for
enlightenment.
That conversation -- recorded in
detail in the iconic book Yog Vashishtha -- subsequently became a guiding treatise for human good
in all future times. In his youth, Shri Ram had the
courage to accept with tremendous equanimity the
decision of his father to send him to the forest
instead of allowing his coronation to take place.
History is often made by only such people who
have the courage and character to do something
that ordinary mortals would have no courage even
to think about. Right from the moment, he was
born, the little Prince of Ayodhya charted an altogether different course of life -- which he enriched
with his virtues and values as well as his vision (not
for himself, but for the whole of humanity).
In the process, he became an all-time hero for
mankind, an ideal for everybody to emulate, a rolemodel especially for young people who feel fascinated by his multi-dimensional skills and scholarship
and wisdom. Very easily, even a street urchin
describes him as an ideal to be followed by all -- a
great son, a tremendous husband, a divine brother,
an efficient and model leader, a skilled warrior, a
diplomat of rare merit.
There is no doubt that an unholy web of dirty politics is being woven around the divine name of Shri
Ram. But this is not the time at all to dwell on all
that filth.
Time it is for all of us -- beyond politics and
beyond sectarian discourse -- to understand Shri
Ram as a human ideal in which narrow confines
and defines of ‘religion’ -- which is not Dharma --
just has no place and space; and that politics played
on petty lines has little relevance. We must, therefore, look at Maryada Purushottam Prabhu
Ramchandra as a practicable human ideal that
needs emulation at all levels and in all segments of
human community.
For, a strong and clean and transparent human
character cannot be bound in the narrow confines
of religion. Likewise, an absolute sense of proportion
and thoughtful restraint, complete equanimity and
autonomy of thought and action as per the definition of Dharma (right conduct in all situations) cannot also be treated as factors stuffed into a small
space of narrow considerations. For, when a person
is endowed with such qualities of unwavering
nature, then he cannot be treated within the narrow
confines of faith and politics.
Such a person needs to be treated with a divine
devotion to the idea and concept of genuine, core
goodness. Prabhu Shri Ramchandra stands for all
these virtues and values -- far beyond dirty politics
and filthily uninformed propaganda.
When the world is going to see establishment of
Shri Ram Mandir at Ayodhya in which the sacred
idol of Ram Lalla will be placed, time it is for us to
look at Shri Ram as a national and global hero.
THERE is no need to discuss or recall the details
of the 500-odd years of struggle to get back
Shri Ramjanmabhoomi at Ayodhya -- since
that would be an uncalled for exercise about something that the world knows. The need, in contrast, is
to realise that the appeal of Shri Ram and his timeless name and boundless fame is universal and cuts
across narrow barriers of faith and politics. Time it
is for all of us to realise the power of the human
virtues Shri Ram Prabhu embodies. Time also it is
for us to tell ourselves that Shri Ram is not history.
Much to the contrary, he is a symbolism of eternality of certain virtues that are completely ‘secular’ in
nature -- and therefore capable of inducing immense
respect in the heads and hearts of people across
barriers of faith.
In other words, honesty of purpose has nothing
religious about it; transparency of thought and
action has nothing religious about it; unwavering
loyalty to one’s spouse has nothing religious about
it; complete dedication to truth and its consonant
thought-process has nothing religious about it;
resolve to go any distance to keep one’s word has
nothing religious about it; extra-ordinary,
unmatched warfaring skill has nothing religious
about it; a deep engagement with the process of
learning and acquiring knowledge on every possible
subject under the sun has nothing religious about it;
tremendous ability to use fine diplomacy as a tool of
constructive human action has nothing religious
about it; being an obedient son and caring husband
and loving brother has nothing religious about it;
being a truly great ruler who cares for everybody in
his kingdom has nothing religious about it ...!
Seen from this multi-dimensional perspective, how
can we dub Shri Ram Prabhu only as a religious
deity? For, well beyond all the narrowness of
thought, Shri Ram Prabhu appears to us as a hero of
all time. In Sanskrit, the very name ‘Ram’ denotes
something that is rammya -- charming, attractive,
supreme, one who gives joy, one who spreads joy,
one who is loved by one and all ... !
Can such a personality be confined to narrow field
of religious faith or petty politics?
Certainly not.
Hence the need now to understand what Shri Ram
stands for -- not as a sectarian hero of the past, but
as an eternal icon of human excellence in the most
secular manner, in the most cultural manner, in the
most civilisational manner.
O
F COURSE, this thought is already cutting
across social segments and narrow domestic
barriers. That is the reason we see countless
people from all religious faiths (other than Hindu)
are joining hands in celebrating the Pran Pratishtha
festival in Ayodhya. This inclusiveness was achieved
because the sane elements in the larger Indian society the world over have begun understanding the
sanity and sanctity of ‘secular’ virtues that Shri
Ram Prabhu embodies.
The Indian nation -- and also the world -- needs
such an ideal to follow, such an example to emulate,
irrespective of religious faith, unmindful of the
politically-driven divisions sought by senseless
elements among us.