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"Wherever
four Hindus live, Rama and Sita will be there"
so said Swami Vivekananda, one of the foremost harbingers
of modern national renaissance of Bharat. The reverse
also is equally true - wherever Rama and Sita live,
the people there will remain and live as Hindus.
Every
hill and rivulet of Bharat bears the imprint of the
holy feet of Rama and Sita. Sri Rama reigns supreme
to this day in the hearts of our people, cutting across
all barriers of province, language, caste or sect.
Even the tribes living in isolated valleys and jungles
have names like Mitti-Ram and Patthar-Ram. In some
other tribes, every name carries the proud suffix
of Ram, such as Lutthu Ram, Jagadev Ram, etc. In many
northern parts of Bharat mutual greetings take the
form of Jay Ramjee Ki.
Sri
Rama has become so much identified with all the good
and great and virile qualities of heroic manhood that
expressions such as 'Us me Ram nahi hai' (there is
no Rama in him) - meaning that a person has lost all
manliness and worth - have become common usage. And
when a Hindu quits the world stage, he is bid God-speed
in his onward journey with Ramanama satya hai or Raghupati
Raghava raja Ram, patita paavana Sita Ram. In fact,
the latter couplet has become the nation's bhajan
par excellence.
Sri
Rama's story, Ramayana, has been sung and resung in
all the languages and dialects of Bharat. The tradition
of writing epics centering round the saga of Rama's
achievements started by Valmiki in Sanskrit and was
continued by Tulsidas in Hindi, by Kamban in Tamil,
by Ramanujan in Malayalam, by Krittivasa in Bengali
and Madhav Kambali in Assamia and in fact, in almost
every Bharatiya language. The tradition is being continued
up to the present day. The Ramayana Darshanam of K.V.
Puttappa, the national literary award of Bharat by
the Jnana Peeth. The enchanting Geet Ramayana composed
in Marathi by G.D. Madgulkar and set to tune by Sudhir
Phadke is now thrilling the hearts of millions in
Maharashtra.
The
various tribal groups too have sung the story of Ramayana
in their dialects. Sri Rama, Lakshmana and Janaki
mirror the ideals for millions of tribal boys and
girls. The Khamati tribe in Arunachal Pradesh, which
is Buddhist, depicts Ramayana as the story narrated
by Buddha to his first disciple, Ananda, and carries
the universal message of Buddha. How deeply significant
that every group and sect even in distant and far-flung
parts of Bharatavarsha should have found a radiant
reflection of its own ideals in the form of Sri Rama!
The
comparison of Sri Rama's fortitude to Himalayas and
the grace and grandeur of his personality to the ocean
- 'Samudra iva gaambheerye, dhairye cha Himavaan iva'
- portrays how inseparably his personality has been
blended into the entire national entity of Bharat.
Where
in lay the secret of this unique greatness in Rama's
personality? He is called Maryaada-Purushottama -
the great one who never deviated from the norms set
by Dharma. In the eyes of the Hindu, the touchstone
of human excellence is Dharma. Devotion to Dharma
came first in Rama's life and considerations of his
personal joys and sorrows came last. It was his supreme
commitment to putra-dharma (duty of a son) that made
Rama smilingly depart to the forest for fourteen years
at the bidding of his father. And this he did on the
very day he was to be anointed as the future emperor
of Bharat. He would not budge from the path of Dharma
- righteousness - even when his own preceptor, his
parents, his brothers and the whole body of his subjects
tried to dissuade him. He upheld the supremacy of
Dharma in every one of his human relationships and
hence became an ideal son, an ideal brother, an ideal
husband, an ideal disciple, an ideal friend, an ideal
kind and even an ideal foe.
The
one and supreme concern of Sri Rama's life was the
welfare of his subjects. He would forsake everything
else to uphold his kingly duties - the Rajadharma.
The night previous to his scheduled coronation, when
Rama and Sita were alone in a happy mood in view of
the next day's joyous occasion, Sita asked Rama, "What
is that thing which hold dearest to your heart?"
Rama fell serious for a moment and said, "Dear
Sita, you know I love you most dearly, but I love
the subjects of Ayodhya more and if their welfare
demands, I would not hesitate to sacrifice even you!"
The following couplet conveying this idea is cited
often:
Sneham
dayaam cha soukhyam cha yadi vaa Jaanakimapi|
Aaraadhanaaya lokasya munchate naasti me vyathaa||
And
Sri Rama did live up to his words. When he felt that
the call of his royal duties - Rajadharma - demanded
the forsaking of Sita, he wavered not in carrying
it out. The most crucial test came when Lakshmana
violated the orders of Rama and admitted Durvasa to
Rama's presence with a view to averting the destruction
of Ayodhya by Durvasa's curse. Rama stuck to the law
of the land and awarded death penalty to Lakshmana
- one whom he loved dearer than his own life. It was
with such a fiery faith that Rama followed the dictates
of Dharma.
To
such a one, how could power and pelf hold any fascination?
When Bharata came to him in the forest and implored
him to return to Ayodhya and become the emperor, Sri
Rama firmly refused. Here was enacted a scene unparalleled
in the annals of world history - each of the two brothers
trying to out-argue the other to make him accept the
emperorship of a great and mighty kingdom.
Sri
Rama's role as one of the first and foremost national
unifiers of Bharat is also unique and extraordinary.
He embraced Guha, the forest King and ate in his house
without the least hesitation. No sense of high or
low ever touched his all-embracing love of his people.
He even enjoyed a fruit tasted and offered with devotion
by Shabari, a tribal lady in the far south.
The
Vanaras or the forest-dwellers too felt that Rama
was their own. He endeared himself to them so intimately
that they became, in fact, his chief allies against
Ravana. All over Bharatavarsha, the dear, little squirrel
with its three brown stripes bespeaks the devotion
to Sri Rama even among the animal world. Along with
the Vanaras, a solitary squirrel had played his humble
part in carrying sand for the construction of bridge
to Lanka and Sri Rama's caressing of the little one
on the back had left those indelible stripes for all
future generations.
Sri
Rama's intense adoration for the motherland has been
immortalized by a legendary couplet which is playing
on the lips of millions even to this day: Janani janmabhoomischa
swargaadapi garreyasi (the mother and the motherland
are to me greater than the heavens themselves).
The
story of Rama is not that of a single towering personality
dwarfing all others. The other characters like Sita,
Lakshmana, Bharata and Hanuman too shine in their
own greatness. All of them are so closely interwoven
with Sri Rama's life and achievements that it is well-nigh
impossible to think of any one without the other.
In fact, the most popular picture of Sri Rama, i.e.,
of Sri Rama Pattabhisheka includes Sita, Hanuman and
all his brothers. And in the bringing out of the greatness
of all these partners of his life-drama, Rama's instinctive
recognition of their merit and virtues played no mean
part. He would always be the first to openly appreciate
the unique and noble traits in others' character.
Even for Kaikeyi, who was responsible for his banishment
to forest, Rama had only words of kindness. And as
for Ravana, the abductor of his wife, Rama's unstinted
praise of his erudition and prowess at once lifts
the story of Ramayana to heights unsurpassed in the
annals of human history.
No
wonder, the story of Sri Rama has crossed the boundaries
of Bharat and inspired by many a distant people, their
culture and literature. Indonesia - with Muslims forming
80% of her population - continues to adore Rama and
Sita as her great cultural standard-bearers, and Ramayana
as her national epic par excellence. Indonesia also
prides herself in having the biggest drama stage in
the world - with Ramayana as its chief attraction.
And the credit goes to that country for celebrating
the very first grand World Ramayana Festival some
years ago.
The
birthday of Sri Rama, indeed, signifies an event worth
of remembrance by every one, whatever his country
or race or religion, who cherishes the time honored
sublime values of human culture and civilization.
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