V.K.Beeharry
Member Arya Veer
Mauritius is a rainbow nation where various cultural and religious festivals are celebrated throughout the year. ‘Ram Navmi’ is one of the most popular Hindu festivals. It is celebrated on the ninth day of the bright half of the Hindu lunar calendar in the month of Chaitra. Ram was born on that auspicious day hence; the festival is called Ram Navmi.
Ramayana is a Sanskrit word, where ‘Ram’ is the character and ‘ayan’ stands for travel. Hence, Ramayana comprises of Ram’s journey. Some people do not differentiate between the Ramayana and the Ramcharitmanas. Ramayana is a Sanskrit epic composed by Sage Valmiki portraying Ram as a noble person whereas Ramcharitmanas is an epic written by Tulsidas in the Awadhi dialect portraying Ram as God. In Mauritius, very often we talk of Ramayana when in fact we mean the Ramcharitmanas.
Ramayana was written between 500 BCE and 100 BCE. It contains over 24,000 verses. The epic begins with the sage Valmiki asking Narad if there is, still on this earth, a righteous person to which Narad replies that such person is Rama. Valmiki was a contemporary of Rama.
Seers believed that Sri Ram exhibited the principles codified in the Vedas through his conduct and behaviour. The Vedas are sources of Dharma (righteousness) and Sri Ram is the upholder and embodiment of Dharma. Valmiki presents Ram as a normal human being packed with virtues. He is honoured as Purushotam (a perfect man). The Ramayana serves as a guide to living a life of righteousness while the characters, Ram and Sita serve as models. The most important moral influence is the importance of virtue in the life of one and all.
The Ramcharitmanas is the story of Lord Rama retold from original Ramayana. Tulsidas wrote the Ramcharitmanas in the Kali Yug in 1633.The work is in the Awadhi dialect easily understandable by the mass. The word ‘Ramcharitmanas’ is made of Ram (Lord Rama), Charit (good deeds) and Manas (lake). Hence, ‘Ramcharitmanas’ means the lake of deeds of Rama. Tulsidas portrays Ram as an obedient son, loving husband and an ideal brother. His life is full of life messages relevant to humanity at large.
The question is why Tulsidas projected Ram as God when Ramcharitmanas is a retold story of Ramayana where Ram is portrayed as a human being? It’s good to note that Tulsidas belonged to the era of Akbar. After the Mughal empire was fully established, the North Indians faced all sorts of persecutions, riots, destruction of idols and temples. That was a moment of great despair. In the absence of any support, people took refuge at the feet of God as their ultimate saviour. Very often, poets and writers derive inspirations from the situations prevailing in the society. Their messages or solutions to problems facing the society are interwoven in their writings. It was at that period that Tulsidas wrote the Ramcharitmanas portraying Ram as God. Tulsidas revived the withering Hindu life by watering it with the goodness of his devotion. The Ramcharitmanas is considered the Bible of the Hindus in Northern India and it brought a sigh of relief and some fresh air to the people.
My sincere wish is that the collective prayers during the nine nights bring peace, happiness and eliminate the evils affecting our country. Happy Ram Navmi to one and all.
V.K.Beeharry
Member Arya Veer