Ram Navami was this past Friday, and for that reason, Swami Tyagananda spoke of “The Story of Rama” this weekend during the Sunday service in the Vedanta Society. During his lecture, he brought up an interesting point — there are many ways to view the Ramayana (and Mahabharata). Ravi mentioned a few of these in his first post — based on Swamiji’s lecture, here are three potential classifications:
1. History: There seems to be evidence supporting the fact that Rama did in fact exist. I remember hearing a long time ago that a bridge was found underwater, connecting India and Sri Lanka — this may have been the famed bridge talked of in the Ramayana! Ayodhya exists, and there seem to be records that King Rama was real. Of course, this brings obvious mistrust when thinking of certain aspects of the story — if the Ramayana is an accurate depiction of history, how could Ravana have ten heads? Is it really logical to believe that an army of monkeys helped Rama in his struggle? As Swami Tyagananda mentioned during his lecture, these may be exaggerations of history — for example, Ravana’s “ten heads” may be symbolism for his bloated ego, that was accidentally turned into a literal interpretation over the centuries. The army of monkeys may have been representative of a tribe of natives that helped Rama to victory, etc.
2. Literature: It is possible to view the Ramayana as simply a work of literature, and a tribute to the creativity of the human mind. In this sense, we don’t need to worry about the potential historical inaccuracies, and there is no need to worry about the lessons we should be learning from the story. Thinking of the Ramayana as literature eliminates the problem that Ravi mentioned in his post — since there is no scriptural value to the text, we need not worry about whether Rama was right or wrong for certain actions, and we can selectively incorporate what aspects we like into our lives.
3. Scripture: Viewing the Ramayana as a source of spiritual inspiration is a third way of looking at the text. By doing so, we are required to examine the validity of the moral decisions made by Rama and the other characters, and confirming (or disagreeing) with these values can provide the cornerstone for our own moral judgements. As Swamiji said, this approach brings the Ramayana into modern times, as something applicable to us even today — instead of viewing it as (irrelevant) past history or a mere creative work, viewing it as a spirtual source gives it a certain legitimacy that allows us to apply it even today.
That being said, it is important to question whether the values are still applicable today – do you agree with the values represented in the Ramayana and Mahabharata?
How do you view the Hindu epics? Are they historical sources, literature, scripture, or something different for you?
And depending on what you view them as, do these epics have any effect on the way you live your life? What role, if any, do the epics play in your life?
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3 Comments
First off, I really like this post. It’s very organized and easy to read. I wish I was less scatter-brained (is that one word?!)
Okay, so responses:
1. I think it’s a little difficult to say whether you agree or disagree with the values presented by the epics absolutely. That said, it’s also a little harder to dispute the Ramayana’s values than those of the Mahabharat, with the exception of the sending Sita back into the Earth thing, which I question. I also wonder if maybe he was too loyal; can you have blind loyalty like blind faith? On the subject of the Mahabharat, I have many problems with Krishna’s ethics. I don’t think the ends justify the means, nor do I agree that being God gives you the right to do whatever you want (though that sounds silly). But given all this, I think everyone can find at least some values in each epic that they really treasure.
2. I personally find it hard to believe that these things really happened, but there’s nothing wrong with the view, I think. In any case, I don’t know that considering them as historical, mythological, or spiritual works directly impacts our understanding of them or their application into our daily lives.
3. I think the most tangible effect of the epics on my life is in what I think shouldn’t be done, namely Krishna’s actions. As I said, the things he did that I don’t agree with generally fall into the category of “ends justifying the means.” I don’t agree with this, and so when I make decisions, I try to act based on what I feel is right in general as opposed to what will be made acceptable based on the outcome. I suppose this works, in sort of a neti-neti approach in which I decide the final moral goal? Maybe?
I don’t think you can separate those three classifications. The Ramayana is definitely touches on important spiritual issues, so I would consider it part scripture. But for young children growing up, it can be just a story about Rama. And as you mentioned, there is a historic aspect as well.
For me, different aspects come to the fore in different situations. When I was a young child, the Ramayana was merely a story to me, and I think that is how I primarily think of it. Sometimes I try to gather lessons from Rama’s actions, and at those times the epic takes on a more spiritual role for me.
When we were discussing this topic during our launch event, many said that the classification of epics would have some effect of whether or not we can draw ethical values from it. I feel, however, that the classification of the epic doesn’t really matter; ethical code can be drawn from it either way. Though we shouldn’t follow exactly what Rama or Krishna did, we can understand the motivation and meaning of their actions. While no one would ever throw a pregnant woman out of the house, from Rama’s actions we can understand that we must do our duty, no matter how painful it is. It seems like these epics are much more a presentation of the types of situations that arise in life rather than being a message from God.
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