Lord Ram, the role model for a perfect human being. ~ My-Library

Ram darbar

After decades of dispute, the Supreme Court has finally enabled the building of a Ram temple at the assumed place of birth of the Lord. This is good news, since it not only ends the sterile communal acrimony on this matter, but because a befitting temple for Rama in Ayodhya would be an appropriate way to inspire Hindus to the compassionate, caring, loving and benevolent persona that one of India's most loved deities represents.

However, Ram has been in the news for all the wrong reasons too. Illiterate bigots have weaponized the slogan ‘Jai Shri Ram’ for wanton acts of violence, crime and hatred, which are anathema to what Ram actually stands for. These lumpen elements do not know that Ram is maryada purushottam, the epitome of rectitude, the touchstone of impeccable behaviour, the role model of the perfect human being, and the very incarnation of saumya rasa, harmonious equilibrium.

In the face of the deliberate distortion of the image of Lord Ram, it is particularly imperative now for ordinary people to understand who he is and what he really stands for. This has been brought out in the most lyrical and exemplary manner by Tulsidas in his remarkable epic Ramcharitmanas. Based on the much earlier Sanskrit epic Ramayana (dated variously between fifth century BCE and the first century BCE) by Valmiki, the Ramcharitmanas is a shorter version of the same story, but with the inimitable stamp of Tulsi’s loftiness of mind and sheer poetic genius. Although shorter, it is nevertheless an epic, consisting of 12,800 lines divided into 1,073 stanzas, and seven kands or sections.

Mahatma Gandhi regarded the Ramcharitmanas ‘as the greatest book in all devotional literature’. In north India, in particular, the Manas is equivalent to the Bible for most Hindus. The book also ranks among the greatest works of literature in the world. Given the great impact of the work, especially since it was consciously written not in Sanskrit but in Awadhi, the spoken and understood language of the masses,

'Ramavataram', 1828. A lithograph from L'Inde Français, 1828. From the collection of Jean Claude Carriere. ( Print Collector/Getty Images )

How does Tulsi profile Ram? For him, Rama is, in the words of the sage Valmiki, sab ke priya sab ke hitkari (beloved of all and loved by all). He is benevolence incarnate, chivalrous and valorous but always gentle and caring, compassionate towards the weak and the vulnerable, and magnanimous towards the enemy even when he chastises them for what is wrong. Countless examples can be given to illustrate this central message of Tulsi, but given the constraints of space I will mention only a few. In Tulsi’s famous stanza describing the birth of Rama, he writes in the very first line: ‘Bhaye pragata kripala, deen dayala….’. The birth of Rama, Tulsi says, heralded the one who is merciful, and who is eternally considerate to the weak and needy. Further on in this stanza, Tulsi describes Ram as ‘karuna sukh sagar, sab guna aagar’ — one who is the very reservoir of kindness and joy, and endowed with every auspicious attribute. He calls him also ‘jana anuragi’ — one for whom each member of the populace is beloved, and for whom he is equally so.

When Rama meets Kaikeyi, one of Dashrath’s queens, who has conspired to unfairly deprive him of his kingdom and banish him to the forest for 14 years, he is not angry or vengeful. On the contrary, he is forgiving, polite, affectionate and the very picture of equanimity. Completely in conformity with his essential character of maryada purushottam, for which he is venerated by millions, he says to Kaikeyi: Suna Janani soi suta badbhagi, jo pitu maat bachan anuragi (Listen mother, that son is blessed who has the opportunity to lovingly obey his mother and father).

...(mylibrarys01.blogspot.com)

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