Is Ramayana an mere epic on Lord Ram or a lesson for all of us. I think, it is a lesson for me. Why? How? When I read for first time I learnt many things I will be telling 4 of them

Honour Your Word

One of the basic but strong messages given by Ramayana and the life of Lord Rama is rendering value to your own word. No matter what price you need to pay, but honouring your word is equivalent to worshipping the God within you. In Ramayana, King Dasharatha sent his eldest son, Lord Rama on exile to honour the promise he gave to his wife Kaikeyi without knowing that she would make such a demand in a bid to pronounce her son Bharath as the next King of Ayodhya. But a man of principles like Lord Rama didn’t question his father and without any second thought, he left the empire and his princely life to live life like an ordinary man for the next 14 years in forests. We learnt that it is not only our word but are parents too that we need to respect,no mater what hardship we need to suffer.

Pertinence of righteousness

Following the path of dharma, Maryada Purushottam Lord Rama took every step in his life to be truthful and righteous. He left the kingdom of Ayodhya when he was the true successor to the throne just to honour his father’s word. On the quest one of his subjects, he even asked Sita to go through Agni Pariksha (an ordeal of fire) to prove her sanctity. It is said that Lord Rama was in grief to have asked Sita to undergo this terrible test but to protect her respect and to prove her purity in front of his whole kingdom, he had to take this action, which he thought ,was right. We learn that no matter what you need to do always be truthful and righteouss .

Adhere To Your Dharma

The Survanshi dynasty of which Lord Rama belonged was known to give birth to kings of great valour. The event when his subjects objected on Sita’s purity, Lord Rama asked her to leave the kingdom while being disheartened, shows that Lord Rama believed in following his dharma of keeping his subjects happy. He sacrificed his marital life for the sake of his subjects. Though many people won’t consider this right but no matter what, we must train our minds to follow good principles that is advantageous for everyone concerned. We must stop letting our mind dwindle and be biased to situations .

Always follow dharm Be A Gentle and compassionate human being

Being in the mortal form, Lord Rama lived a princely life till he grew up but this king of Suryavanshi clan did not hesitate while eating fruits (ber), which were already tasted by a poor old woman named Shabri. In another instance, when his whole Vanarsena was busy building a bridge towards Lanka, he saw a squirrel putting in his best efforts too. To recognise his immense contribution in finding Sita, Lord Rama picked the tiny being from his hands and gently patted it with compassion. In our life, we too must never discriminate between people or judge them by their looks. Also the cruelty we show towards animals is far away from act of compassion. To conclude.

I would say that ramayan is a manual for human life. It teaches us the way to live and is applicable to everyone whether be a king or a commoner . As it teaches the concept of service leadership. I recommend everyone, to not only read ramayan but to study it, analysed it and understand it.

HAPPY READING