Book of RAM: By Devdutt Pattanaik
- "Eka-vachani", a king who always keeps his word;
- "Eka-bani", an archer who strikes his target with the first arrow;
Devdutt Pattanaik explores the relevance of Ram in modern times. I also like the way he explains and provides an insight missing till now in Ramayana that I have read.
here are some extracts:
Ram is educated by two rishis: first Vasishth and Vishwamitra...
..Vasishth is born a rishi, Vishwamitra by contrast is born a warrior who becomes a rishi later.
..Vishwamitra's approach to life is radically different from that of Vasishth. It is Vishwamitra's arrival that marks the end of Ram's childhood and the beginning of his journey as a man.
..Vasishth introduces Ram to the nature of the world and advises him on what his relationship should be with the world. The dialogue reveals how to engage with the world without being attached to it. The education is complete with a dialogue that is considered today the most sophisticated document on Yoga known as Yoga Vasishth.
Ram's education under Vasishth is barely complete when Vishwamitra storms into Dashrath's court and demands Ram's services..
..Being a Rakshasa is reason enough for Tadaka to be killed by Ram. But Tadaka is a woman, hence Ram, a student of Vasishth, hesitates. Women create life within their bodies. To kill a woman is to kill life. It is worst crime in the Vedic world. Vishwamitra disagrees: Gender does not matter, behaviour does. Tadaka must be killed because she is voilently hostile to the way of dharma, an act that cannot be excused on account of her womanhood and so Ram raises his bow and strikes her dead.
In the Ramayan, Rakshasas represent a way of life where all behaviour is instinctual and self indulgent, governed by fear and insecurity. Rishis represent the opposite way of life, where all insticts be they sexual or violent, are regulated for the benefit of the world. Ram's conquest of the Rakshasas is thus the symbolic subjugation of man's primal insticts by more evolved values based on sharing and caring.
..When Indra touches Ahalya, she is polluted, when Rishi Gautam touches her , she is punished, but when Ram touches Ahalya, she is liberated.
Guided by Vishwamitra, Ram forgives her lapse for Ram recognizes and makes room for human frailty, something that Vasishth perhaps would not allow...
Vishwamitra believes that Ram's experience with Tadaka and Ahalya has initiated Ram into adulthood, made him see the contextual nature of things. While one woman deserves death in one set of ciscumstances, another deserved compassion in another set of circumstances. With this understanding of the relative nature of things, Vishwamitra believes, Ram is ready to become a householder.
The marriage of Ram to Sita marks the end of Ram's education under Vishwamitra. the prince who left Ayodhya a boy returns as a man.
Vasisth's Ram was a wise sage, well versed in the scriptures and in knowledge of the spirit. But Vishwamitra's Ram has experienced the world, people in fear and out of desire, will hurt and betray each other. A king has to resolve such situations, not with high-handedness, but with empathy and compassion.
But the Ram who returns to Ayodya is also the one who broke the Shiva's bow when he was asked to string it... if the bow is a symbol of poise and balance, by breaking it, did not Ram display a moment of excessiveness? The bow belongs to Shiva, the supreme ascetic, the embodiment of detachment. By breaking it, has Ram displayed, under Vishwamitra's influence perhaps, an excess of passion? Perhaps that is why Ram is not yet ready to be king. That is why, perhaps Vasishth does not intervene when the eldest son of Dashrath is forced to live in the forest as a hermit for fourteen years. That is where Ram shall tame his excessive passions, learn the limitations of all things material, observe the folly of desire and return ready to be a great king.
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