CENTARAL THEME OF THE RAMAYANA

He meaning of ‘Ramayana’

The simple meaning of the word ’Ramayana’ is ‘the story of Ramayana’. The Sanskrit word is split as rama + ayanam.  Ayanam means the way, the path or the road. So Ramayana means “Rama’s way” opr the way Rama lived his life- ramasya ayanam. In Yoga Vasishtha, Bharardadwaja, the disciple of Valmiki Rishi asked: “How did Rama conduct himself when faced with the problems of life?”  The story of Ramayana exdplains how Sri Rama lived in the world.

            Another meaning of Ramayana is : rama eva ayanam yatra- where Sri Ramachandra himself is the ayana, the goal. The word ’ayana’ means ‘walk’. When you walk the path, it is to reach a destination. Bhagavan Sri Rama is our goal. And the path that Lord Rama walked is also worth of being followed by us.

Rama and Krishna

It is very difficult to live like Rama. Sometimes it is said, “Do what Rama did, but follow what Krishna taught.”  Sometimes people misunderstand it to mean that Sri Krishna did something wrong and that there is a discrepancy between his teaching and the way he lived. Unlike Sri Rama who was eka-vakya and lived according to his teachings, Sri Krishna did not live up to his teachings. This wrong understanding has to be cleared.

Though both Sri Rama and Sri Krishna took a human incarnation, there was a difference – Sri Krishna was a lila purusottama, while Sri Rama was a maryada purusottama. ‘Lila’ means sport. Sri Krishna’s life here was a divine sport; he lived here as God – krsnastu bhagavan svayam. So his actions were according to isvara dharma, and not manava dharma or the code of conduct of human beings. He performed divine deeds. He killed demons with ease even as a child.

He married 16,000 women and lived happily, making them also happy. Human beings find it difficult even with one wife! And Krishna was [present at the same time with each wife, which is not humanly possible.

Both Sri Rama and Sri Krishna followed the dharma marga. Both of them took avatara to establish dharma - dharma samsthapanarthaya. While Sri Krishna followed isvara dharma during his avatara, Sri Ramachandra set an example to  human beings to teach them the dharma they had to follow in life – martya siksanarthah. So he is called maryada purusottama. Maryada means limit, bounds, norms of conduct, or righteousness. These are norms accepted by human beings and hence called maryada – martyaih  adiyateitri maryada.

Raising the standards of Dharma

There are standard norms of behavior appropriate to various situations. Any cultured person follows the appropriate manners, social etiquette, family standards and office rules. For example, you cannot wear shoes inside a temple. Smoking is not allowed in public places, flights etc. One may take liberties with a learned person or an elderly person, but is has to be within limits, maintaining the maryada, the boundaries. A child is taught how to behave in the school and at home. Sri Rama’s life showed the standard of behaviors expected from human beings in different situations.

Every  one of us should follow the path of dharma to the best of our understanding and ability. What Rama did, we  have to follow. Krishna followed the dharma of Isvara; we must follow our dharma alone. We cannot become like Rama;  we a can only follow him.

Sri Ramachandra married only once and thus set the example for us. His father Dasaratha married many, and we know the problems he has to face. Sri Rama did not say anything about it, but he showed it in action by marrying only once. Ramo vigrahavan dharmah – Sri Rama was an embodiment of dharma. He did not merely follow the rules of dharma in a mechanical fashion. His greatness was that he raised the standards of dharma to very high levels, It is not enough if our life follows the routine standards; we shine when we live up to more that is expected of us.

Bharata couldd have accepted the kingdom easily; it would have been according to the standards of dharma. But by not accepting it, by sacrificing it, he raised the standards of dharma to much higher levels,. He did what Dasaratha maharaj really wanted; he did not merely follow the letter, the words, but the spirit behind it. Sri Rama could also have said that the majority of people wanted him to be the king and so stayed on in Ayodhya. Through sacrifice both of them raised the standard of dharma maryada.

Lakshmana was not expected to go; it was not necessary that he should follow Rama,. No one asked him to go, nut he was clear about his course of action and he went. So also Sitaji. The common factor in all the noble characters of the Ramayana is this tyaga or sacrifice. It needs a lot of courage to sacrifice like this. Many kinds of courage have been  listed - daya virah, buddi virah, vidya virah, dana virah, rana virah. Among them, the tyaga vira comes first. Only a tyaga vira can be a dharma vira.

Triveni Sangam

                In the Ramayana, we have a triveni sangam, a confluence of three streams. It is a dharma satra,  bhakti sastra and also an adhyuatma sastra. As a dharma sasta, it teaches us how to perform our karrma. As an adhyatma sastra, it teaches us jnana. Sri Rama was verily Brahman, which is the  goal of our life- rama eva ayanam. That Saccidananda Brahman has to be realized as or own Self. As a bhakti sastra, it teaches us devotion to Sri Rama who is Isvara, the very altar of our worship.

            Ramayana is a dharma katha and it gives great happiness to the listener. If one listens to it with a pure mind, it confers enlightenment – jnana. And bhakti is the beauty and ornament of enlightenment. Bhakti is a  sadhana when it serves as the means to attain jnana, but it is a sadhya also, and jnana uttara bhakti, the devotion after gaining knowledge, is of the nature of supreme joy. It is no wonder that bhakti is called the pancama purusartha ( the fifth aim of human life) or the parama purusartha (the highest goal of life).

            Tulasidadji says that saints are mobile places of pilgrimage and compares them to Prayag, the confluence of three rivers – the Ganga of Bhakti, the powerful flow of devotion for Sri Rama, the  Saraswathi of brahma- vidya, the knowledge of Brahman that flows in the hidden depths, and the Yamuna of karma-dharma that keeps the flow our actions within the banks of righteousness. The  confluence of all three is found in saints and sages.

            The only source for all this is satsang, and the Ramayana is full of satsang. In the Ramacharitamanas, there are the famous dialogues between Yajnavalkya and Bharadvaja who represent the saints and sages, Siva and Parvathy who represent the devatas, Garuda and Kakabhushundi who are birds and then Tulasidasji and other saints. In fact, the Ramayana proclaims the glory of satsang.

            The prime duty (karthavya) of a human being is to serve the Lord – karmapyekam tsya devasyua seva. One should serve the Lord with dasya bhava, the attitude of a servant. Sri Rama gave a chance to everyone to do seva, like a musician who gives time to the accompanists to exhibit their skills. Lakshmana, Sita, Bharata, Vibheeshana, Hanuman, Angada, Jambavan, Shabari- all served him. Even when the Lord called them ‘friends’, they remained sevakas. You cannot equate yourself with Isvara, you can only remain at His feet and serve. Ravana thought he could compete with Rama and met with a tragic end.

            The Ramayana is studied from many angles –social science (samaja sastra), behavioural science (vyavahara sastra), Political Science (rajaniti), the science of warfare (yudda sastra) and so on. These are all secondary themes. Some scholars even study fashion in the times of the Ramayana – the clothes and ornaments worn by people then.  Sakuna sastra, the study of good and bad omens is another area of research in the context of the Ramayana. Sahitya, chanda, rasa – many areas of study are possible. However we have already seen the main purpose of the Ramayana- the study of dharma, bhakti and jnana.

Many Versions of the Ramayana

            There are more than 300 versions of the Ramayana. In every  kalpa there is an incarnation of Sri Rama and hence there is a Ramayana also. Many people do not know that Lord Siva was the first to have written the Ramayana; the popular belief is that Valmiki (known as the adi-kavi) was the first to write a Ramayana. Tulasi Ramayana, Valmiki Ramayana, Agastya Ramayana, Bhushundi Ramayana, Ananda Ramayana and Ramayana Mahamala are among the well known versions.  Almost every region of India has its own version of the Ramayana, often in the local language – Tulasi Ramayana in Hindi, Kamba Ramayana in Tamil, Adhyatma Ramayana in Malayalam, Krittivasa Ramayana in Bengtali, Bhavartha Ramayana in Marathi by Eknath Maharaj- the list is endless.  Even Guru Govind Singh has written a short Ramayana. Other Asian countries like Burma, Indonesia and Cambodia also have their own Ramayana.

            Even Hamumanji is said to have written a Ramayana. Once Maharshi Valmiki met Hanumanji and when he came to know that he had also written a Ramayana, he wanted to read it. As he read Hanumaji’s Ramayana, Valmiki  Muni started weeping. Hanumanji thought that he was overwhelmed by devotion. But on asking, Valmiki Muni said, “Your Ramayana is so good that people will read only your Ramayana, not mine.” Promptly Hanumanji immersed his Ramayana in the river! His only wish was that Ramayana should always be sung everywhere by everybody – it did not matter whose Ramayana it was.

            Valmiki’s Ramayan is of a very high order. It has a special place because it is said that Brahma, the Creator, inspired him. He was also motivated by Narada Muni who narrated the story of Ramayana in brief and described the special qualities of Sri Rama.

            In Valmiki Ramayana the divine nature (Isvaratva) of Sri Rama is generally hidden and he is  depicted mainly  as a human being (manava avatara) who followed dharma though all the challenges of life. On the other hand, the Yoga Vasishtha is full of jnana.  Adhyatma Ramayana by Veda Vyasa is a part of Brahmanda purana, and spiritual advice (adhyatma jnanaupadesa) is more prominent in it. Tulasi Ramayana follows the pattern of Adhyatma Ramayana rather Valmiki Ramayana in that the divinity of Sri Rama is brought out more fully. However, the specialty of Tulasi Ramayana is that it is a devotional outpouring. The bhakti rasa is prominent all thought the poem. The stories of Sutikshana and Kevat (the boatman) have a moving beauty not found elsewhere. It is said that Valmiki was very sad even after writing the Ramayana because he could not reveal the isvaratva of Rama fully. So he was born again as Tulasidas and wrote Sri Ramacharitmanas.

            Among the many Ramayanas, there may be variations in the story because of the differences in time (kalpa-bheda) and place or the temperaments of the authors. Some are intellectual in their approach, while others stress the devotional aspect. Some episodes may be described in detail in one version, while others may merely touch upon them very briefly. However, one common factor in all of them is that Sri Rama is depicted as a incarnation of God (Issvara avatara)
            The Ramayana is a part and parcel of the Hindu culture and embodies its entire value system. Whichever version of the Ramayana we study, the message comes across clearly. It teaches us how to live life fully, performing out duties efficiently according to the rules of dharma. It also inculcates in us devotion and knowledge of the highest order.

* This article is by  Pujya Guruji Swami Tejomayananda