'Many Ramayanas, Many Lessons' book review
The author mentions there were three major versions of the Valmiki Ramayana. There is one that is popular in South India, another in East India, and the third is the North-Western version. After each story, he offers insightful commentary on the tale’s meanings, quoting the Ramayana’s sages and saints. There are profound truths sprinkled in many parts of the narrative. Here is King Janaka of Mithila telling a yogi who visited his kingdom: ‘Who isn’t going to die? Life is a game from which no one comes out alive, yet we all live as if we will live for eternity. The difference between you and me is that I know this truth. I can die at any moment. There is no guarantee of the future, yet I act by living completely in the moment. I do not worry about my past; I don’t think about the future. I choose to live and act in the moment without worrying about the consequences... I want you to reflect on the fact that the next day, one can die at the next moment. Yet a wise man will live the moment. The only truth is now. The past is fiction, the future a dream. The truth is now.’
The author also tackles the concept of maya (illusion) interestingly. He writes, ‘What you are seeing as stars may not exist at all because they are many light years away and the light reaching you now started millions of years ago. The star may have died, but you see it, so for you, it exists. Is that not an illusion? You see what does not exist, has already died.’
As a surprise, the folk version of the Ramayana deals with transgenders, too. When Rama was about to go into exile with Sita and Lakshmana, he turned to the people waiting on the banks of the Sarayu River and said, ‘Men and women of Ayodhya, please go back. I will return after 14 years.’ When Rama returns, he sees the transgenders living on the bank, outside the city. When he asked them why, they said, ‘You said, “men and women”, but you, whom we consider our God, failed to mention us. We are perhaps the unfortunate people who even God forgets.’ An apologetic Rama said, ‘You will always have a special place in my heart and in society. Your blessing will be equal to my blessing.’
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