The Vedic Period (VI)

 Bangalore: Sunday, January 1, 1989. 3:45pm

____________________________________

 

 

Ramayana (I & II)

This time I have decided to cover the two episodes of Ramayana that were shown in the serial “Bharat Ek Khoj”; the first part which was telecast on the 28^th of Dec 1988, and the second of which was telecast today, the 1^st of January, 1989.

Preceding the Ramayana, the theme selected – Mahabharata – had a violent pulse beating to it. The entire story was full of action and every moment, the audience could feel the soul of it. Ramayana, on the other hand, has a sense of total sobriety in it. The air is filled with calmness and a sense of peacefulness seems to pervade it. In spite of all the action involved in it, one cannot fail to fell that gradual flow of life that occurs in it.

Ramayana is not the story of one era or that of an avatar of Lord Vishnu, but it is the story of the heart – a heart in which the pure blood purity and truthfulness flows, and a heart where the pulse of love and obedience beats. In this great epic, we can read clearly the minds and feel the heart of the perfect man – Rama, the ever obedient wife Sita, the love of siblings and of course one cannot ignore the vibrant character of Ravana.

In the depiction of the Ramayana, in Nehru’s Discovery of India, we do not feel as if the characters are divine and are on earth to fulfil a character role. The character of Rama and Sita are portrayed in a very practical manner. They are shown to be totally human. In the first episode the relationship between Lord Rama and his better half is presented very effectively. Their conversations through mere glances and gestures conveyed so much. It was as if their minds were linked by their chain of thoughts.

However, it is in the depiction of the character of Ravana that Nehru has emerged victorious. We see the king of Lanka in a very different light here. His greatness is highlighted in the concluding part of the episode where the lord sends his brother Lakshmana to Ravana in order to learn the principles of administration from him. In his final moments on the earth, Ravana presents to us a very practical and but sensible philosophy.

He believes in avoiding the negative qualities of anger, jealousy, and pride to permeate into anyone’s nature. The greatness of Ravana’s character lies in the action of accepting his negative qualities and taking the entire responsibility of his action. Having realised where he has flawed, he advises the two brothers to avoid the mistakes that he made. “Never give in to anger, false pride and jealousy. Learn to appreciate beauty and never curb such feelings as love and affection” he says.

Where can we find such a man?

“A lovable rogue”... is what we can term him as.