SPOTLIGHTS ON THE RAMAYANAM : 3.Sri Swami Premananda

21/06/2019
3. Difference Due To Ages :

It is not just a facetious novel but contains within itself the novelty of human life, loftyideals and a record of the meritorious deeds of Raghuvamsa Rama, based on facts—as the
popular saying goes, “there is no smoke without fire.” The variance in the different Ramayanas seems due to Kalpa-bheda (difference of age-cycles) according to mystagogues and mythologists and religious pandits, and the varied approach by various authors at different times.

While concluding Sri Ramcharitmanas, Sant Tulsidas has warned;

his story however should not be repeated to a perverse knave, who does not listen attentively to the story of Hari, nor should it be recited to a greedy, or lustful man who worships not the Lord of all animals and inanimate creation.... They alone are qualified to hear Sri Rama’s narrative, who are extremely fond of communion with holy men. They alone are fit to hear it, who are devoted to the feet of their preceptor and are lovers of propriety and votaries of the Brahmans.....

So, generally, whenever I happen to talk on Sri Ramcharitmanas, I mostly touch upon the philosophy and teachings of Ramayana and the beauty and meaning of the words and phraseology rather than a narration of the mere story, events or exploits of Rama or other characters. I never thought of writing a commentary on the Ramayana but this book has come up suddenly on its own. Thus, my purpose of writing this “Spotlights On The Ramayana” is somewhat strange and may be construed as a new approach.

During my recent visit to the US and Canada, I was confronted with several peculiar types of queries and arguments not only by the American and Canadian brothers and sisters but also by the educated Indians who have settled there. It was an astonishing phenomenon. Of course such Hindus are in India also. My mind therefore started thinking, how to place the picture of the epic on a different footing without lessening the faith in Lord Rama, and naturally I prayed to Him and to Satgurudev. Consequently, I first wrote an article titled “Esotericism in the Ramayana” However it was later developed along the lines of a somewhat rational appreciative critique, which is now in the hands of the readers in form of “Spotlights On The Ramayana”. At the end of the book, a chapter on ‘Questions and Answers’ has been added, which are of general interest to seekers and sadhakas.

Here it would not be out of place to add a few words on the role of the epics in the literature of the world. The “Mahabharata”, the “Ramayana”, the “Illiad” , the “Odyssey”, the “Aeneid”, the “Divine Comedia”, the “Paradise Lost and Regained” the “Shahnama” of Firdaus may be mentioned as perhaps the greatest epics of the world. We may add the Iceland “Eddas” & the Silappadikaram in Tamil as masterly specimens in this category. Translations of the “Ramayana” such as that of Kamban stand, again, unparalleled in epic literature, and do they tell us only stories for our leisure hours?

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To be continued ...