Dreams

Maryada Purushottam

Sri Ram is an eternal figure in the consciousness of this great land called Bharat. He is said to have walked on this land about 7500 years ago, around 5500 BC. His biography, Ramayan, is the first poetry ever to have been composed by mankind. Hence it is called Adikavya. Its dacoit-turned-saint-turned -composer, Maharshi Valmiki, is called Adikavi. An avataar of Lord Vishnu, Sri Ram is also considered to be the ideal man - Maryada Purushottam.

Now, that is strange.

If I know my Ramayan properly, by no means is Ram's life an ideal life.

1. Though he was heir-apparent, he fell prey to palace politics and was driven out of his kingdom by his step-mother.

2. Along with his newly-wed-bride and his loyal brother, he lived in the forest for 14 years. This was no picnic. They lived in dire poverty, off the forest resources, fighting constant danger of wild animals and demons.

3. His wife was abducted by a thug from another country. And he had no clue where he had taken her.

4. He had to travel the length of this country, from UP to Tamil Nadu, taking direction from dying birds, forest beings and adivasis of much lower caste, to find allies and fight for his wife.

5. Who were his allies? Monkeys! An avataar of God could have summoned atleast demigods to fight for him. But no, monkeys and bears. And one squirrel too!

6. Once he had set up Ram Rajya on his return to Ayodhya, you would assume life was cool after all. No, sir. A gossip-mongering washerman made him abandon his pregnant wife!

7. He had to fight with his sons for a horse that would establish his supremacy as the foremost king on earth. Post a brief family re-union, his wife feels she has had enough of him and, for a change, leaves him.

Now, we can safely call such a life "a tragedy". How can the person who has lived that life be an ideal man? I wonder, if I had the opportunity to swap my life with his life, would I take it? No, I wouldn't. I wonder how many ladies out there would want a husband like him. None, I think. How then can he be God or his avataar?

Hmm... maybe I am making a mistake.

To understand Ram and his divinity, I should not look just at the circumstances or events in his life, but I should understand how Ram handled those circumstances.

When Kaikeyi contrived to exile him, did he get upset or bitter or angry with her? Did he cuss his father for being such a joru-ka-gulam and deprive him of his rightful inheritance, all for a promise made years back, in the absence of any witness? Did he take advantage of his immense popularity to stage a coup? Did he accuse Bharat of deliberately scheming to take control of his kingdom? That was what a smart, worldly-wise man would have ideally done. But no. Ram smilingly walked away saying he will honour his father's promise. "Raghukul reet sada chali aayi, pran jayi par vachan na jayi." Hmm. Maybe that's why he is the ideal son, the ideal prince!

I sometimes wonder why Janaki and Lakshman followed him to the forest. They didn't have to. Janaki could have gone back to her father's kingdom. She was a princess herself. Lakshman was newly-wed. Why stay away from his wife for 14 years? What kind of person can inspire such loyalty? These things happen just in stories, right? When Bharat comes to the forest to return his kingdom to Ram, even when a remorseful Kaikeyi tells Ram that she frees him of the burden of his father's promise, Ram declines and stays true to his promise to his father. Maybe that's why Bharat takes his Padukas and serves Ayodhya as Ram's regent for 14 years. Maybe that's the commitment Ram inspires in Janaki and may be that's why Lakshman can give his life for Ram. Maybe the ideal brother that Ram is inspires Lakshman's loyalty.

Ram belongs to an aristocratic family. He is allowed polygamy. But why does he stay loyal to one woman? When Janaki is abducted, Ram is torn with grief. But he controls himself and walks a couple of thousand kilometers, through hills and rivers, taking help from whoever can help him, determined to go to the end of world till he finds and rescues her. He fights none other than the reigning lord of the three worlds, in his golden capital. Wow! If this had happened today, a full scale movie could have been made and this guy would have been a hero! May be that's why he is the ideal husband.

Now this one is tricky! Ram Rajya has been established. At a time when kings were concerned more about their rights than their duties, Ram looks after his subjects as his family. Why does he have to worry about a drunk washerman's remark and abandon his wife. Because he is a king. His commitment to his kingdom comes first. That's why he risked generations of finger-pointing from moral-pygmies like me and took the call as a king and not as a husband. That's why he is the ideal king.

Sometimes, I wonder if such a man ever walked this earth! Or is he simply the product of the over-fertile imagination of a reformed bandit. Net-net, I don't think it matters.

Ram was the ideal man - Maryada Purushottam - not because of how his life turned out to be, but because of the way he handled whatever turned up in his life. Smiling, confident, equanimous, courageous, sensitive and responsible. Certainly worthy of being an avataar!

Something we can take a leaf out of in these Covid-infested days.