Stephen Knapp - The Power of the Ramayana

The Ramayana is so highly regarded that there have been plays, dramas, dances, movies, and television shows made that are all based on it. I even remember when I was traveling in south India in the early 1990s and was trying to check out of a hotel when the Sunday morning edition of the Ramayana came on the television. Everything stopped. All I could do was join in by sitting and watching the whole episode of the Ramayana . Once it was over, then everything went on as usual and I could check out. But that is how important it was to the people there.

In this introductory book we will give a summary of the Ramayana itself and show the nature of the story, and also include various kinds of knowledge it holds that can be practically applied in everyday life. This will help show that it is not a piece of history that otherwise has no place in todays world, but it can indeed be used effectively to work out various kinds of troubles we face today. Therefore, we include information from the Ramayana on things like the proper nature of a ruler, what the world is like without a qualified ruler, how to move forward with a country with proper consciousness, how the Ramayana can uplift everyone, and so on. Then we also show the sites within India and Sri Lanka that are still traditionally connected to various pastimes in the Ramayana that you can personally visit, which gives it more credibility. This is the power of the Ramayana .

The Ramayana is a spiritual epic that belongs to the Vedic literature known as the Itihasas or histories of the world, and even the universe. The Itihasas, or supplementary Vedic literature, helps explain the rituals of the Vedas and the highly compressed philosophy of the Vedanta-sutras by using historical events of the universe and factual stories of many great sages, demigods, and so forth. The Mahabharata and the Puranas also belong to this group of Vedic literature.

The Ramayana consists of 24,000 verses, and first written during the time of Lord Ramachandra by the great poet Valmiki, which describes the life of Lord Ramachandra, an incarnation or avatar of God, and His wife Sita. This is also a most touching and exciting adventure which explains how Lord Ramachandra lived in the forest and fought against and killed the great demon Ravana and his armies in order to rescue His wife, Sita, who had been kidnapped. Many other stories are included in this storehouse of wisdom that has been an inspiration for thousands of years to all people who have read it. In the incarnation of Lord Ramachandra, God appears as the perfect king and ruler, and inspires all His subjects with the greatest love for Him.

The Ramayana is not only known in India, but it and its variations have traveled to many other parts of the world, such as Nepal, Burma, and all over southeast Asia and farther. For example, Vedic festivals like Dusherra, the victory of Lord Rama over Ravana, are still observed in Thailand. They still hold honor for Lord Vishnu, Narayana, Mahadeva and other Vedic divinities. The Ramayana and Mahabharata and other Sanskrit texts have formed the basis of outstanding literature in Thailand. The Ramayana in Thailand is known as Rama-Akhyan or Ramakien , in which akhya is Sanskrit for rendition of the story. Knowledge of this was as essential for a cultured Siamese as Homer was for a European. The epics and Puranas of India were the basis of much inspiration for all of Southeast Asia, and the theme for classical theater, Shadow theater, and marionette shows. This influence can still be seen in Siamese dance, drama, and music. Some of the temples in Thailand still have exquisite paintings on the walls depicting scenes from the Ramayana .

In Vietnam, as another example, the place of Simhapura, now called Tra Kieu, was the first capital of the Cham kingdom, from the 4 th to the 8 th centuries. Only the ramparts of the ancient city remain. Many of the artifacts and fine carvings in the Museum of Cham Sculpture in Danang were found here. The four scenes carved around the base of the 7 th century Tra Kieu altar tell part of the Ramayana epic and are influenced by the Amaravati style of South India. Scene one shows Prince Rama breaking the bow of Videha to win the right to marry Princess Sita. Scene two shows King Dasaratha, Lord Ramas father, being visited by emissaries telling him of Lord Ramas activities. Scene three shows the royal wedding between Lord Rama and Sita. Scene four shows eleven apsaras dancing and presenting flowers to Lord Rama and Sita.

Even in Cambodia regarding Angkor Wat, which is a true wonder of the world, historian Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru wrote: Let it be said immediately that Angkor, as it stands, ranks as chief wonder of the world today. To explain a little about it, it occupies about 500 acres surrounded on all four sides by a wall and an enclosed water tank. The causeways, flanked by enormous naga and lion statues, represent rainbows. The temple is 65 meters tall, made up of three platforms, progressively smaller, with covered galleries defining the borders, and is a replica of the cosmos. The first level contains 1200 square meters of carved sandstone galleries illustrating scenes from the Ramayana , Mahabharata and Puranic stories. The Vedas were carefully studied. Daily recitations without interruption of the Ramayana , the Mahabharata and the Puranas are referred to in a 6 th century inscription.