Ramcharitmanas – Life Lessons

Introduction

Tulsi Das’s Ramcharitmanas is the story of Lord Rama. However, in my opinion it is more than just a story of Lord Rama. The deeper I dig into it the more I discover that it is not story of Lord Rama but it is a story about us that teaches us how to live our life with dignity and honesty.

The purpose of this book is to illustrate how it conveys this message. The explanation and description provided in this book are mine only. I have not consulted any person or literature in presenting my ideas.

In this book I will only cover the most important messages that in my mind, Tulsidas is trying to convey in the Ramcharitmanas. In the subsequent books I will cover the secondary messages.

This book is divided into following chapters:

• Ramcharitmanas Creation
• Ramcharitmanas Characters
• Ramcharitmanas Key Message
• Baal Kanda
• Ayodhya Kanda
• Arnanya Kanda
• Kishkindha Kanda
• Surya Kanda
• Lanka Kanda
• Uttar Kanda
• Myths
• Conclusion

Ramcharitmanas Creation

How Ramcharitmanas was created is well known. However, I have interpreted it in a very different manner. My interpretation has a very important message.

Background of creation

We all know that Acharya Tulsi Das was madly in love with his wife Ratna. Once, Ratna went to her parent’s place, without taking Tulsi Das. Tulsi Das cannot bear this separation. Therefore, he decided to visit his wife. Since he wanted to surprise his wife therefore, he waited till the late hours of the night. Tulsi Das knew that his wife is on the 2nd floor room. He had no means to go up there. He started to look for a rope but instead he found a dead snake. Using the snake as a rope he climbed to the room occupied by his wife. Ratna was surprised and asked Tulsi Das how he managed to come up. Tulsi Das showed the rope which in fact was a dead snake. Seeing this devotion Ratna said to Tulsi Das that if you show the same devotion to God you can change your life for better. Tulsi Das took this comment to heart and left the room immediately. After this it is all history.

Message

This incident has a very important message for all of us, which in fact is related to the Newton’s Law of Motion – Every Action has a Reaction.

To me this incident conveys the message that it is the reaction that provides a window of opportunity. One has to do an action to get a reaction but the people who are knowledgeable can analyze the reaction and use it to their advantage. This is a very powerful message that can be summarized as follows:

Do an action but do not over-react to the reaction. Analyze it and you may find an opportunity that can lead you to achieve greatness and success.

Ramcharitmanas Characters

There are number of characters in the Ramcharitmanas, starting with Lord rama. I believe all the characters play a very significant role not only in the epic but in shaping our lives. To me Tulsi Das had a very far vision of the future and that is why he chose all the characters very shrewdly.

Let us analyze all the main characters and their significance in our lives.

Lord Rama

We all know that Lord Rama has been perceived as a God. However, I feel Tulsi Das depicts him as Maryada Purushotam. This means that he was a human being with qualities that put him above the ordinary human being. There were 2 incidents where Tulsi Das has clearly shown the fault in Rama’s character. One is when Raja Dashrath proclaimed him to be Yuvraj. Bharat was away and Rama did show his unhappiness but did not go to Dashrath and asked him to wait till Bharath returns. Second fault is shown when Soopnakha tried to entice him and he asked her to approach Laxman as he already has a wife. Rama knew Laxman is married but still asked her to flirt with Laxman. To me it means that we all can make mistakes but can also raise ourselves by acquiring knowledge, truth, honesty, love and respect for others. In the Uttarkand there is a message that God is within oneself. We can be the God if we want to be just like Lord Rama.

Bharat, Lakshaman and Satrugan.

These are the brothers of Lord Rama. However, we fail to understand that all 4 were born at the same time, may be within a difference of seconds. Certainly this may make Lord Rama as the eldest, followed by Bharat, Lakshaman and Satrugan. However, I feel Tulsi Das has a very important message. We all know that in every family there are elders. However, it is not the age that makes one to be respected. It is the behavior and knowledge that makes one elder. This is the reason why Rama was considered to be the eldest and that may be the reason why he was depicted to be God as he was worshipped by his brothers and everyone who came in his contact.

King Dashrath and his queens, Kaushalya, Kakayee and Sumitra.

This is the main family of Ramacharitmanas. Again, in my opinion Tulsi Das is representing through this family a real situation that exists in every house. Think this is the context of joint family or extended family living under one roof. In this situation the peace and harmony within the family can exist only if one has love and respect for each other. The egos have to be suppressed in a joint family environment. There are no seniors and juniors. Each one is equal and each one has a role to play based on age and experience.

Guru Vasista and other gurus.

Ramacharitmanas has number of gurus starting with Guru Vasista. Each Guru provided Lord Rama knowledge. However, if one pays close attention then they will realize that all these gurus including Vasista asked Lord Rama for his blessings at some point in some form. Why? Again, to me Tulsi Das has a strong but hidden message. All these gurus were very knowledgeable persons. They had in depth knowledge about the Vedas etc. However, none of them had the knowledge of being a family person. One or two who had family but decided to live like a Bramachari. This means that a Family man once he acquires all the knowledge then he becomes guru of all guru. It is the family man who has the capability to be the ‘Complete’ guru. There is another message which makes more sense in today’s environment. The message is Gurus/Saints should confine themselves in giving knowledge but should not preach how one should behave in a family set up because they do not have such experience. Life changes very rapidly therefore, it is hard for someone without a family to understand the real family environment.

Ravan

Ravan is the second main character in the Ramcharitmanas. As king of demons he is projected as the most devil human being. However, let us closely look at his character as described by Tulsi Das. He was related to Pulatasya Muni thereby making him a Brahmin and a knowledgeable person. He also was projected as a king in his earlier birth who was cursed by holy men because unknowingly he served meat. This makes his lineage great. It is also described that after becoming danav he worshipped Lord Siva and asked for the wish that he will not be defeated by humans and animals. After this is he sets out to conquer all the kings including Devata king Indra. After acquiring wealth and power by conquering the world he decided to rule from little know place called Lanka which also happened to be an island surrounded by sea.

Let us review the hidden message.

As explained earlier Ravana had all the wealth and power but he decided to make Lanka his kingdom. Why? The simple explanation according to me is when a person acquires enormous wealth and power then the person becomes insecure and fearful of death. Also, wealth can stay with the person only if wisdom and knowledge stays too. That is why I believe that Goddess Laxmi (wealth) is always surrounded by Lord Ganesha (wisdom) on one side and Goddess Saraswasti (knowledge) on the other. Therefore, when wisdom or knowledge starts to leave then wealth starts to leave as well. When wisdom and knowledge both leave then wealth leaves too. Also, the loss of wisdom or knowledge starts to make person who has wealth and power insecure and fearful. This is what started to happen to Ravana. He became ignorant by thinking that he is immortal and started to behave like a dictator/tyrant thereby wisdom and knowledge started to slowly go away from him. Therefore, message is when one acquires wealth and power then the person should remain humble, respectful of others and use the wealth and power to assist others rather than become arrogant, disrespectful and abusive.

Sumitra and Urmila

Sumitra was the mother of Laxman and Shatrughan. Urmila was the wife of Laxman but also younger sister of Sita. When Laxman came to know about Rama and Sita going to Vanvash then he asked Rama to take him along. Rama asked him to get Sumitra’s permission. Laxman came to Sumitra and told her everything and Sumitra after hearing everything asked Laxman to go with Rama. She even went further by saying that he has no business to stay in Ayodhya. There is no description about Urmila’s reaction but my guess is she was present went Laxman and Sumitra were talking and like Sumitra gave her permission too. Message according to me is, in a joint family environment one must watch out for the other. Sumitra could have said no or Urmila could have said no for their own interest but they decided to sacrifice their needs and desires in the interest of the family.

Hanuman

In Hanuman, Tulsi Das has represented the ideal picture of a devotee or in other words of a sewak. Message here is very straight forward. When you are a sewak you must not back stab your master. You must serve your master with complete devotion, honesty and trust. Let us just change it to suit today’s environment. Sewak is an employee and master is employer. Therefore, the message is employee must serve the employer with trust and honesty. Do not cheat your employer and do not back stab your employer. If you want to become an employer then do it with honesty. Do not plot the downfall of your employer. This is very real situation. Once a person gets a job then they start complaining about the job conditions and in turn do not do the justice with the job. This is not right because employer was approached by the person and person took the job knowing all the conditions. Therefore, one must serve properly and quit properly. On the other hand for employer the message is treat the employee with respect. Protect the employee, guide them and assist them in the time of need.

Laxman

Rama’s younger brother Laxman was son of Sumitra but he has been associated with Lord Rama very closely. His character has been described primarily as a follower of Rama and protector of Rama. This role leads to an important lesson that we all can incorporate in our lives even today which will help us achieve our desired goals. The lesson is whatever task has been assigned to you perform it with full dedication and sincerity. Question the task provider or the master if you disagree, as Laxman did, but do not argue. Understand what is expected of you and what your role is and continue to give your best.

Bharat

Rama’s younger brother Bharat was son of Kaikayee. Rama’s vanvas was result of Kaikayee asking throne for her son when Raja Dasrath decided to give to Rama. Like Laxman, Bharat’s character too provides the similar lesson, dedication to task. However, I feel there is another message or lesson that is far more important than dedication to task. First lesson is do not ask for something or take something that is not rightfully yours. The throne of Ayodhya belonged to Rama according to the legality. Only issue was that it was not done properly. Therefore, Bharat visited Rama to convince him to accept it as it was rightfully belonged to him. Second message or lesson is if you are given something that is not yours then protect it with honesty and dedication. After coming back from Chitrakoot Bharat put Rama’s sandals on the throne and protected the kingdom of Ayodhya with dedication and sincerity. He returned it to Rama as soon as he was back.

Kaikayee

Kaikayee was Raja Dasrath’s third wife and mother of Bharat. His character has been associated with evilness as she is considered to be the reason why Rama has to go on vanvas. However, we closely analyze the events then a strong lesson comes out of this character which in my opinion is very important in today’s environment. We all can be benefitted. As we know Raja Dasrath decided to give the throne to Rama while Bharat was away. Had Raja Dasrath did this in Bharat’s presence nothing would have happened and Tulsi Das would not have been able to give us the important lesson for our lives. Like every mother Kaikayee too loved her son very much and wanted the best for him. She just got swayed over after she was made to realize that Bharat may have to live the life of a servant and possibly in the prison. Considering the circumstances she had no one to contact to get another opinion. Raja Dasrath tried but it was too late and he understood his mistake as well. Bharat on return too understood the fact that she did the wrongful thing not because she disliked Rama but because of mother’s love. Lesson for all of us is that we all must understand mother’s love for the child. Father can have different type of love for his children but for mother all children are the same. Mother’s love is pure and same for every child. We all know that father’s identity can be questioned but mother’s identity can not be questioned. We all must learn to love and respect our mothers and if we all do that then I think society can be benefitted a lot as every woman may be a mother of someone.

Raja Janak

Raja Janak was the father of Sita and Laxman’s wife Urmila. He has a very small role in the entire episode but I believe his character conveys two very important lessons that we all can learn from and incorporate in our lives. These are opportunity and interference. Let us look at the opportunity first. Sita swayamber was held to marry Sita. When Rama broke Siva’s Dhanush then Sita should have been married as per plan. However, Raja Janak saw an opportunity and he decided to grab it rather than let it go. Once Raja Dasrath came to attend Rama’s marriage Raja Janak met Rama’s other brothers Bharat and Satrughan. He had already seen Laxman and also saw the qualities he demonstrated during the Sita Swayamber. Seeing Rama and Laxman he made up his mind that Bharat and Satrughan too would be having the similar qualities. Therefore, he asked Raja Dasrath whether he will like to get all his 4 sons married at the same time. Raja Dasrath agreed and we all know that all 4 brothers were married at the same. This resulted in lot of savings for both the parties. Lesson is when we see an opportunity we should act on it rather than sit and mull over it as the chances are we may not get it back. Opportunities usually do not repeat. The lesson about interference in my mind is far more important and applicable in present environment.

Raja Janak on hearing about Rama’s vanavs decided to visit him. Bharat was already there when Raja Janak came. He listened to Bharat and Rama but not even once offered his opinion. He decided to stay back and let the 2 brothers resolve the issue. This to my mind has a very powerful message and if we all can understand it I think our marriages can be benefitted a lot. The issue was related to the family matters that were relevant to Rama’s side of the family. Therefore, he had nothing to contribute except to watch and provide his opinion only when asked. It happened when Bharat returned to Ayodhya he stayed back and helped Bharat understand the role of a king as Raja Dasrath was not there. He was the fatherly figure and as such realized his obligations but never interfered.

Today the wife side of family interferes too much, which causes lot of grief and mostly results in sad marriages. It is true for husband’s side of family as well. Therefore, what we can learn is look at the problem and depending where it belong we should act accordingly but never interfere and give the opinion without being asked.

Rishi Vishawamitra

The role of Rishi Vihawamitra is very limited but a very important one too as such has good lessons for all of us. I will mention two which I think are very important.

Rishi Vishawamitra was troubled by Danavs and was stopped in performing his religious activities. He came to know about Rama and his brothers and realized that they are blessed with the exceptional powers therefore, can eliminate the Danav’s nuisance. He came to Ayodhya and told Raja Dasrath about the problems and asked for Rama and Laxman. At this time Raja Dasrath showed hesitation doubting the capabilities of his sons to eliminate the problems being faced by Vishwamitra. Here guru Vasistya along with Vishawamitra stepped in and calmed Raja Dasrath’s fears. Lesson is it is the job of guru to educate parents about the capabilities of their children. Today it is not happening. Parents job is to listen to the teachers and act accordingly. They should not doubt the gurus but gurus or teachers must do their job sincerely and honestly. The second lesson is provided in the form of request. Vishwamitra asked for Rama and Laxman. He could have asked for Rama and Bharat or all four or any too but he wanted Rama and Laxman. Why? He analyzed the situation and made the decision based on proper thinking ensuring that his request will not be turned down. Rama being the eldest therefore, he needs to set an example for his brothers and also being the eldest he could provide leadership and proper guidance to Laxman. With Bharat the situation could have been very different. Kaushalya and Kaikayee both had one son each therefore, if there was an unfortunate situation then both would have lost their only child and it could have resulted in very awkward situation. In case of Laxman he too was elder. Therefore, he was the right choice too. The lesson for us is we should know very clearly what we want before making a request. We must take all the factors into consideration and then decide what to ask for to increase our chances of success.

Vibhishan

Ravan’s younger brother is Vibhishan. He came to prominence as he decided to leave Ravan and side with Rama after Hanuman returned from Lanka after burning it down. People have different opinion about Vibhishan as they think he let his brother down. Whatever it is I am not getting into this kind of argument. However, I am going to focus on qualities that I believe we can learn and make our lives better. Once Hanuman left Lanka Vibhishan tried to talk to Ravan about returning Sita as he realized that time has come to take some corrective steps otherwise end is not very far. He used his wisdom and tried his best to convince Ravan to seek Rama’s forgiveness. He was assisted by Ravan’s own minister Malyavant, who Ravan use to respect like his father. Ravan got very upset and Malyavant left realizing Ravan has become very ignorant and wrongly proud of himself. Vibhishan continued his pleading as he genuinely believed in saving Ravan and his kingdom. Ravan became very agitated and in the process kicked Vibhishan. After getting kicked Vibhishan did not react by disrespecting Ravan but told him that he is leaving but told Ravan that he can only be saved by seeking Rama’s forgiveness. Lesson is one must have respect for himself. If we do not respect ourselves we can’t respect others. One must stand for himself. Be respectful to elders but once you understand that elder is not going to respect you then quit respectfully and find new life. Here Vibhishan decided to side with Rama to start the new life. My take is as Rama was on the right side because its Ravan who committed a sin and Rama was trying to convince Ravan to accept your sin and come out clean which is evident from Hanuman’s dialogues with Ravan. Therefore, siding with truth is not wrong. We must understand who is right and who is wrong and we must use our wisdom to always support the right side. As we know that siding with thief is wrong it does not matter whether one has committed the crime or not.

Vaidya Sukenya

This is an interesting character but ignored by many as non-existent. In my opinion it has a very powerful message for us. Sukenya was Ravan’s physician. He stayed in Lanka with Ravan. When Laxman became unconscious after getting hit by shaktivan from Meganad, Hanuman went to Lanka and brought Sukenya to treat Laxman. Sukenya came and treated Laxman and Laxman recovered. The lesson is doctor’s job is to take care of patient or human life. It does not matter whether it is enemy or friend, rich or poor it is doctors responsibility to help person with honesty and sincerely. He must use all the skills in right manner rather than taking sides and harming the life of the person. Doctor’s foremost job is to help the human being.

Bali

Bali was Sugariv’s elder brother and king of Kishkinda. They both had good brotherly relationship but because of some misunderstanding Bali kicked Sugariv from the kingdom and also took his wife. Sugariv ran away without taking anything and made his home on a mountain which for some reason Bali can’t come. Sugariv made this mountain his kingdom and stayed with his friends like Hanuman, Jamwant, Nal and others. When Sugariv saw Rama and Laxman coming one day then he asked Hanuman to go and check to make sure they are not Bali’s friend. Hanuman came back with Rama and Laxman. When Sugariv saw Rama and Laxman then like Hanuman he too accepted him as his lord. Rama asked Sugariv the reason for hiding on the mountain. Sugariv told Rama the reason. On hearing the reason Rama asked Sugariv to challenge Bali for the fight and assured him that he will keep an eye on him and will ensure no harm comes to him. Sugariv went and challenged Bali for a fight and when Rama saw the right time then killed Bali by an arrow. When Bali lay dying at that time he saw Rama and asked for his forgiveness but also asked him why he killed him by hiding behind a tree instead of coming out in open thereby acting like a Kayar. At this Rama explained to him that killing someone like Kayar is fine if the person has committed a sin like taking one’s wife by force and making his own. This incident gives us 2 lessons. First, listen carefully without passing the judgment. Try to verify what the person is telling you using your wisdom and available proofs. If you do not do that then consequences could be very serious. Another lesson is it does not matter whether legal or illegal means have been adopted to teach someone lesson who has committed the sinful act by taking someone’s wife. Treat others wife with respect and as your sister. To me this is very powerful message as it is so common in today’s world. If we take a moment and think about this lesson I believe we will be able to accord the ladies of our society not only respect but safety as well. Lot of crime against women will drop down.

Parusrama

Parusrama was a saint and who also killed his mother on the order of his father. He visited Raja Janak quite often and as such commanded his respect. He had a Bow that was given to him by Lord Siva and he asked Raja Janak to keep it safe. One day Sita moved the bow (Dhanush) to a different place and this took Raja Janak by surprise as this bow can’t be lifted by anyone except someone having super natural qualities. On seeing this incident he made a vow that he will marry Sita to a person who can lift the bow and break it in two parts. He organized a swayambar and invited all the king and princess from all over the world. Rama and Laxman also attended this swayambar. As the events unfolded it was Rama who was able to break the bow in 2 parts and thus became eligible to marry Sita. When the bow broke it made a big noise that Parusram was able to listen and came to the swayamber. When he saw the bow in 2 parts he became extremely angry and told Raja Janka that he will kill the person who broke it and spoke about his achievements including killing his mother. On hearing this Rama stood up and told Parusram that he is the one who broke the bow. At this Parusram got more upset and started to insult Rama. Laxman got upset too as Parusram tried to insult Rama and made a comment that may be time has come for Parusram to pay the dues of the sin he has committed by killing his mother. I am not going to narrate the dialogue that Laxman had with Parusram but one must read it. It is full of humor and knowledge but there are 2 very important lessons that we all can incorporate in our lives. First is for a child, father and mother both are equally important. Child must love and respect both equally. It is not child’s responsibility to teach other person a lesson or kill the person because other parent asks. Even if child is asked to kill another parent the child must question the wisdom and disobey. Let the parent resolve the problem. Also, if the child sees other parent is in danger the child must do everything to protect the parent. Second lesson is about anger. Saints must do everything to control their anger. They have given up all worldly goods and devoted their lives to serve the mankind therefore, they must exercise restraint under all conditions, does not matter how severe they are. If they can’t control their anger then they can’t command respect. In anger one becomes abusive and can’t separate right from wrong. Anger also makes one loose the sight of right path and person can only see the thing in one way which his or her way. Therefore, we all should learn to control anger. Parusram and Laxman dialogue illustrates the problem of anger beautifully.

Narad Muni

Narad Muni has no significant role. However, he is credited with Vishnu’s avatar into Rama. I got interested into this character solely because of lesson it provides pertaining to problems associated with anger. Narad Muni is supposed to be a faithful devotee of Lord Vishnu. He gave up all the worldly things to be with Lord Vishnu at all the time. One day he visited a kingdom where swayambar of King’s daughter was taking place. He met the king and the king asked him to take a look at his daughter’s hand and tell what kind of husband she will get. Narad Muni took a look but at the same time fell in love with the daughter and decided to marry her. He was not too good looking so he went to Lord Vishnu and told him the whole thing and asked him to give him his looks so that he can marry the king’s daughter. Lord Vishnu laughed but said ok and gave him not his looks but the looks of a monkey. Narad Muni returned and attended the swayamber thinking that girl will definitely pick him. This did not happen and the person sitting next to him asked him to go and have a look at himself. Narad Muni did this and got very upset and went to Lord Vishnu. To his surprise he saw the girl sitting beside Lord Vishnu. This made him angrier and he cursed Lord Vishnu that one day he would suffer the misery of loosing his wife and only monkeys will help him. Lord Vishnu accepted his curse with grace. After a while when Narad Muni realized his mistake he asked for forgiveness and Lord Vishnu forgave him. When Lord Vishnu came as Rama and was wondering in the forest looking for Sita, Narad Muni approached Rama and again asked for his forgiveness but also asked Rama why he did not give him his looks but monkeys. This whole incident has 2 lessons that we all can learn from. First is about anger and second about role and timing.

I have covered the anger part under Parusram. Only thing I would like to add is sometimes the words spoken by one party causes other party to become angry. Sometimes the actions of one party makes other party upset as Narad Muni witnessed seeing the king’s daughter with Lord Vishnu or the laugh of the person sitting beside Narad Muni at the swayamber and the words spoken by them to Narad Muni. One has to show wisdom and respect all the time under all circumstances.

The 2nd lesson to me is extremely valid in today’s environment. This came out in the reply of Rama to Narad Muni’s question why he did not want him to marry the girl. Rama told Narad Muni that you are like my child therefore, I have to protect you. This reply has tremendous value in our lives. Let us analyze it. Narad Muni devoted his entire life to serve Lord Vishnu and as such acquired a status that was almost equal to Lord himself. He was tremendously respected by all Devas and was always sought by them to provide wisdom, knowledge and insight into their future. Even Lord Siva asked him to check Parvati whether her love for him is true or not. Also, this suggests that Narad Muni must be old. This leads to the lesson on career change and role definition. Our life is divided into 4 main stages. From child we grow into youth then family man and lastly a wise man. Narad Muni was in the wise man stage therefore, for him to go back into family man stage would have created unforeseeable problems. This Lord Vishnu was able to visualize as he was his mentor and father. It is the responsibility of the father to guide his child into taking right action. Sometimes a simple discussion can result into right action and sometimes drastic step may be required to stop the child from taking wrong path as Vishnu did by giving Narad the face of the monkey. He realized that simple talk will not help as Narad was bend upon marrying the girl. One must use wisdom, advice of elders and knowledge to ensure the right action. This incident also provides insight into career change. We all move from one career to another due to various circumstances. However, it is important to understand the implications of such action. Career change must be smooth and it should ensure the continuity of the past experience not other way round. One will not be comfortable into a career which is totally new and has no relevance to the past. As Lord Visnu realized that moving from wise man stage to almost beginning of the family man stage is not the right career change as the girl Narad Muni wanted to marry was very young. We see such incidents a lot in our society and results of such actions are almost disaster.

Sita

Sita was Rama’s wife. Her character is a lesson for every married woman. I will not go in details but the dialogue between her and Rama that took place when Rama was asked to go on Vanvash is worth reading. Wife’s first responsibility is towards husband. She is the only one who can provide comfort, peace and sanity when things are not going the right way. This is exactly what Sita said when Rama tried to scare her by mentioning problems one faces in the forests. On seeing the role being played by Sita and action taken by her Raja Janak also mentioned to her that you have made both the families very proud when he visited Rama at Chitrakoot. Sita’s role also become’s important as by taking care of Laxman she was protecting the suhaag of her younger sister. Sita’s character provides lesson for wife and sister. Elder sister must act like a mother to her younger sister and be a role model. I am going to mention one incident that number of people find very controversial and may be my analysis may not sit well with these people. I feel that the incident provides a very important lesson for preserving the marriage. Let us review the incident. When Rama defeated Ravan and made Vibhishan the king of Lanka then first act of Vibhishan was to bring Sita back to Rama after ensuring she was accorded all the protocols reserved for a queen. On seeing Sita Rama asked Sita to pass through the fire lit by Laxman. Few people like Hanuman and Laxman showed their resentment but rest not. They just prayed for the safety. I have heard number of adverse comment on this incident. My personal take is Rama did the right thing and Tulsi Das too gave all of us a lesson on keeping the marriage safe and healthy. Think for a moment. Everyone knew Rama’s action and love for Sita after she was kidnapped by Ravan. However, no one knew about Sita’s love for Rama during her captivity except Hanuman and Laxman. Laxman was associated with her from the beginning therefore, his resentment was understandable. By agreeing to Rama’s request Sita showed how true her love and devotion for Rama was. Lesson is when there are circumstances wife needs to prove her love towards her husband she should do it without hesitation and with honesty and sincerity. Such action will only make the marriage strong and lasting.

The Vanvas incident provides an excellent insight into the relationship between sisters. While one sister sacrifices for the safety of her sister’s husband the other sister reciprocates the favor by providing comfort to the sister’s husband during Vanvas.

Ramcharitmanas Key Message

There are number of key messages but I have decided to focus on the one that I think is very important for Indians. We all know that caste system is still quite prevalent in India and during Tulsi Das time it must have been quite serious. That may be the reason why I believe Tulsi Das might have decided to address it through Ramcharitmans. The message is indirect and very cleverly hidden. However, if one does the analysis of all the events it is not difficult to unwrap it. The message is about Integration of the society. Let us analyze it.

Lord Rama was a Chatriya, a caste lower than Brahmin. All gurus and saints were Brahmin the highest caste. All supporting characters belonged to lowest caste including one saint Valmiki.

Lord Rama learned from these gurus and saints. He respected them. However, each one of these gurus and saints sought Lord Rama’s blessings at one point or the other. Let us now analyze the supporting characters. The key supporting characters were Kaybut, Sabri, Jatayu and his brother, monkeys like Hanuman, Sugriv, Angad, Nal and Neel. There are few others but these are the key ones. All these characters belonged to lower caste. During one interaction Hanuman had mentioned to Vibhishan that I belong to a lower caste. To me if we put all this information together it becomes very clear that Tulsi Das in his own way tried to eliminate the caste system. I have come to this conclusion by understanding the role played by the supporting characters in helping Lord Rama in achieving his objective. When Lord Rama left Ayodhya for Vanvas it was Kaybut who provided the help. Then it was the turn of Rishi Valmiki to tell Rama to go to Chitrakoot and stay with Rishi Atri and spend his Vanvas time. When Sita got kidnapped by Ravan it was Sabri that told Lord Rama to go to Rishimuk parvat in Kiskinda and meet Sugriv who will provide the help in getting Sita back. On the way to meet Sugariv Lord Rama met Jatayu who was a Giddha and he told Lord Rama about Ravan and where he took Sita. After this the monkey force of Sugariv who helped Lord Rama to defeat Ravan and destroy all Asurs and bring Sita back. If one carefully looks into these incidents one will realize that it was the lower caste members who helped Lord Rama whenever he needed a help. I have not come across a single event that shows an upper caste member helping Lord Rama. I think Tulsi Das was very far sighted. His single message was every human being is equal. All have very important role in creating and maintaining the society. The work they perform relates to their upbringing, knowledge and wisdom. Color and status has no role. This is one reason I think Tulsi Das through Lord Rama mentions being born as a human being is the biggest achievement and blessing. By showing that all gurus and saints sought Lord Rama’s blessings he emphasizes this point. Lord Rama belonged to lower caste but he had the qualities and wisdom that upper caste members did not have. Therefore, they asked him to bless them.

I think India can benefit a lot by understanding this message of integration. There is no caste we all are equal and as such we must treat everyone equally with proper love and respect.

Conclusion

I will conclude the book by presenting another important lesson that I believe is very relevant in today’s time.

I could have included this lesson in the Creation section but considering its importance I decided to put in the last section of this book.

The lesson has been derived from the following 3 incidents.

First incident happens when King Pratap Bhanu invited number of eminent priests to his palace for a religious ceremony followed by Bhoj. King Pratap Bhanu’s former enemy, who became a saint and saved his life later. King made his guru and invited him to perform the maha yagna. This guru had a grudge, therefore in the bhog he mixed the meat thus making it non-consumable by the priests who were all Brahmins. On knowing that bhoj contains meat the priests cursed the king to become a demon and it resulted in birth of Ravan.

Second incident I have already mentioned in detail but it pertains Narad Muni when in the fit of anger cursed Lord Vishnu which resulted in the birth of Lord Rama.

Third incident took place when Raja Dashrath mentioned to guru Vasista of making Rama the future king while Bharat was away. Guru Vasista gave his acceptance knowing that Bharat was away which ended up in the death of King Dashrath.

All these incidents have one thing in common. They have a person of great knowledge, wisdom and influence making a irrational decision. This irrational decision results in a disaster. Therefore, lesson is person who are knowledgeable, who command respect of society and who are wise men must think before they act. In all these 3 cases if wise people had taken time to think the output could have been very different. The difference between learned and wise people and ordinary people is power to think and rationalize. In my opinion most of bad deeds happen because the people with wisdom and knowledge fail to act rationally. Therefore, if the society has to function properly the learned people who have the power to influence the mass must act sensibly all the time. They should not make a rash decision.

It is really unfortunate that teaching of Ramcharitmanas has taken a back seat when compared to Gita. Our saints, acharyas and similar people are focusing on only promoting Gita, Vedas and Vedanta in the society ignoring almost completely the Ramacharitmans. To me it is sad and irrational. The way I think Ramacharitmanas was created when Tulsi Das had a self realization on his own. On the other hand in Gita, Arjun was made to self realize by Lord Krishna. Also, Gita is about understanding one’s duty whereas Ramcharitmans is about understanding one self. We need to take hold of ourselves first before understanding what is expected of us. In other words understanding Gita is like going to university and understanding Ramcharitmanas is going to college. One can’t go to university before going to college. Therefore, understanding Ramcharitmans is pre-requisite to understand Gita. This is my own view that our saints and similar learned people feel more comfortable with Gita as it is written in Sanskrit, a language that is not a common language. Therefore, I think it is because of personal pride teaching of Ramcharitmanas is ignored as it is written in commonly spoken language. People attend the lectures given by these people but no one adopts them in their lives because they do not have self realization.

Myths

Ramcharitmanas has number of things that in normal case does not appear realistic. They appear fantasies or simply pure imagination. However, when we closely look at them and think then we will realize that they may not be imagination or fantasies considering the time of Rama’s birth and subsequent change of events. In the following section of the book I will give my explanation to clarify the myths.

1. Ravan had Ten heads and 20 armsWe all know that this is humanly impossible. However, if we try to understand what Tulsi Das is conveying through Ravan this description of Ravan makes perfect sense. Ravan is described by Tulsi Das as very learned and strong person. He belonged to Maharishi Pulastya and worshipped Lord Siva to acquire power. The knowledge and power that Ravan possessed were equivalent to 10 people. In my opinion Tulsi Das is saying that one can acquire knowledge and power equivalent to more than one person by following proper path. How one uses that power and knowledge is different thing. Ravan decided to misuse that power and knowledge. Also it points out that a person who misuses the power and knowledge thinks that he or she is invincible which ultimately brings that persons downfall. Therefore, in short Ravan did not had 10 heads and 20 arms but had the knowledge (represented by 10 head or brain) and power (represented by 20 arms) equivalent to 10 people.
2. Puspak VimanRamacharitmanas states that Lord Rama used Puspak Viman to return from Lanka to Ayodhya. Was there an airplane during Rama’s time? Answer is no. So how that was possible? According to me the answer is simple and very logical. We know our Vedas talk about objects that can fly. Also we know that during Rama’s time the birds, animals etc were very large and far more capable than today. We already know about creatures like Dinosaurs. We also know that Tulsi Das read all the Vedas, Gita and other available literature on Vedanta before writing Ramcharitmanas. If we put the knowledge of Vedas and existence of creatures like Dinosaurs together then it is possible that Rama might have used a large bird as an air plane from Lanka to Ayodhya. This raises another question how is it possible to tame such huge creature. Answer again is simple. Human being can do anything if they try sincerely. We all have seen in circus how the ring master can make beasts like Lion etc. behave like pet dogs. Therefore, it is possible that the owner of the bird (Indra and then Meganad) might have trained that bird to act like a pet animal.
3. How Hanuman went to Lanka?Ramacharitmanas does not give any clear idea about how Hanuman went to Lanka first time. Most of the people assume that Hanumanji had super powers and that allowed him to cross the sea and reach Lanka. This most of the time is questioned by the people and rightly so. We need to know about those super powers. I feel that answer is simple and that is why Tulsi Das has not put any emphasis on it. I have visited Rameshwaram. From Rameshwaram the Lanka is about 30km away. Also, I found out that behavior of sea is very unique. During the first 15 days of the month one half of the sea is calm whereas the other half is rough and then trend changes. If the sea is calm then swimming 30km is not a big deal. It has been proved by number of people. Therefore, Hanumanji might have been able to swim across to Lanka. Other explanation can be that we all know about Dolphins and their friendly nature. Therefore, it is possible Hanumanji might have gone to Lanka on the back of a friendly Dolphin or a Whale.
4. How Lanka was burned?Burning of Lanka also appears to be unrealistic. Tulsi Das has mentioned that when Ravan accepted Vibhishan’s suggestion to spare the life of Hanumanji as he was only a messegener then he decided to physically harm Hanumanji so that Rama understands his power. Ravan decided to burn the tail of Hanumanji as monkey’s love their tails. To do this Ravan’s people wrapped the tail with the cloth. Hanumanji increased his tail so long that there was no cloth left in Lanka. This appears unrealistic. In my opinion again the answer is simple. We all know about Ravan’s men. They were all demons or Asurs. This means that their main food was meat therefore, considering the time when this episode happened it is very likely that Ravan’s people were wearing clothes made out of animal skin. If we assume that then existence of cotton clothes will be non-existent or very limited. Therefore, to wrap the tail of monkey like Hanumanji will naturally exhaust the supply. In my own opinion the tail was wrapped in a material that can burn easily when ignited. Once Hanumanji saw his tail burning then he just jumped around from one place to the other as described and set fire to entire Lanka. We also have to remember that Lanka is an island. Therefore, it must be surrounded by lot of trees and other similar vegetation. Forest fires can be very dangerous. Hanumanji must have understood this fact (he was in Ashoka Bun) and by lighting trees he might have burned the Lanka easily.
5. Building Bridge To LankaTo answer this myth I will rely on the information that I have used earlier. This includes Tulsi Das’s knowledge and information of our Vedas. Also, I will use the unique characteristic of rocks that existed during that time. I have seen these rocks that can float in water. These rocks have perforation that can take air and make them float not sink in the water. If we put all this information together then it is very likely a man made bridge can be constructed from Rameshwaram to Lanka as the distance is not long (30km) and may be during that time sea was calm not rough. Also, we know that NASA has confirmed existence of bridge which they call Adam’s Bridge. There could be another explanation as well. Tulsi Das has mentioned that rocks were used. The God of Sea mentioned to Rama that Nal and Neal has unique power of making rocks float in the sea. Therefore, may be logs of big trees might have been used to go to Lanka. We know that logs will float and can stay without much movement if sea is not rough. It is worth mentioning that even today a train goes through the sea that connects Rameshwaram with India.
6. Sita’s Agni ParikchaSita’s Agni Parikcha is another controversial issue. I have already mentioned why Rama asked Sitaji to take Agni Parikcha. Therefore, here I am going to explain how it was done. Most people think that Sita sat on the mound of woods that was lit up and do not believe that one can come out alive. I have read this section in Lanka Kand number of times and Tulsi Das has not mentioned that Sita sat on the mound. We assume that this is the way it might have happened. The incident mentions that woods were collected and it was lit up by Laxman and Sita entered and came out. If we assume that this is the way she performed the parikcha then question about perishing in the fire does not arise. In India Haat Yogis can perform such feats. To me this suggests that by using Haat Yoga one can perform this exercise without any problem. People in India can inhale ball of fire without getting burned even today. People have walked on burning coal bare feet without getting burned. We also have witnessed and read about the cases when whole house got burned but people came out of the house without any injury.
7. Ravan’s Navel had NectorThis is another very controversial issue mentioned in the Lanka Kand. When Lord Rama was having hard time killing Ravan then Vibhishan told Rama that Ravan’s navel has nector hidden, which makes him invincible. In my opinion explanation is simple and very scientific. I have already mentioned that our Vedas are very big resource of knowledge including Medical Science. Tulsi Das must have read and understood these Vedas otherwise he will not make such remark. I will also mention that in 2013 I read an article in Globe and Mail (Canada’s National Newspaper) about the power of Navel over human mind. Still lot of research is going on this topic but we think logically then it does make sense. We all know that umbilical cord connects child’s through the navel of the mother’s body. The importance of umbibical cord is well known. Therefore, if we put this information and Tulsi Das’s knowledge of our Vedas then Vibhishan’s remark makes complete sense. I will add another simple explanation. We all know how powerful Ravan was. We also know how hard it is to get a bull’s eye on the dart board. Therefore, if Ravan’s navel was the centre of power then shooting an arrow in his navel will not be an extra ordinary task. May be that is why no one was able to defeat Ravan till Lord Rama arrived.
8. Lord Rama embracing every citizen of Ayodhya on his return from VanvasThis also appears a controversial issue but I believe explanation is simple. When Lord Rama’s Puspak Viman landed in Ayodyha then whole of Ayodhya came to receive him. Lord Rama realized that every person was expecting an embrace. This was humanly impossible. Tulsi Das mentions that Rama created multiple form of his self and solved the problem in no time. Lord Rama appearing in multiple forms seems unrealistic. Ramacharitmanas has mentioned number of time use of Maya. Maya is nothing but illusion. Magicians and illusionist even today create situation that appears to exist but in reality it does not. I think the answer to this situation is illusion that Lord Rama was able to create using his skills. We also know about the people who can hypetonize others and make them believe what they want. Lord Rama might have done that as people were just dazed or mesmerized when they saw Lord Rama after such a long time. In this situation creation of illusion makes sense.
9. Rama asks King of Gods to spray nector over dead monkeys to make them aliveThis is another very controversial issue mentioned in the Lanka Kand. When Lord Rama defeated Ravan then all Gods came to thank him. At this point they asked Lord Rama what he would like them to do for him. Lord Rama pointed them towards all the monkeys who were lying on the ground and asked them if they can spray nector on them so that they can become alive. King of Gods then sprayed the nector that brought all the monkeys back to life. Again this appears very unrealistic. I have done lot of analysis and have come up the following explanation to explain the event.

   In my opinion the war lasted few days maximum a week because we need to keep in mind the unique characteristic of the sea as explained earlier. Also, Rama was very worried about Bharat and wanted to return to Ayodhya soon. Tulsi Das has mentioned that as well. There is no clear mention of monkeys dying like asurs being killed and thrown into the sea. We have also heard about people going into coma and coming back to life after few days or weeks. There have been cases where doctors have revived the heart and brought the person back to life. I have already mentioned about the knowledge contained in our Vedas and Tulsi Das’s deep knowledge about them. Also, we have to realize that nector can not be sprayed without any discretion since the bodies of monkeys and asurs were inter-mixed. We also know that Lord Rama did not want any asurs to come back to life and there is a good reason. I will cover it under Lanka Kand. If we put all this together then it is possible that Vaidyas among Gods might have created a potion that when given to person not dead completely to come back to life. Also, if monkeys were not completely dead then providing proper care would have been enough to give them back the life. Tulsi Das has mentioned that on hearing Lord Rama’s request Devatas let the nector come down as rain so that all monkeys can come back to life fast and together. In my opinion the use of word rain has different meaning. Once Devtas heard Rama’s request they knew the situation was serious and needed urgent action. Therefore, they acted together in unison to revive monkeys without delay so that they can regain consciousness. We also can think about Ayurvedic Medicine to explain this myth.

   I hope my explanation makes sense.

10. Lord Rama bringing Ahilya to lifeIn my opinion this is the most difficult controversy to explain. Rishi Gautam’s wife Ahilya was very beautiful lady. She was tricked into having illicit relationship by a king who disguised himself as Gautam Rishi. When Gautum rishi came to know about it he became very furious and cursed Ahilya to become a slab of stone. Ahilya explained the reason for her act and asked for his mercy. Gutum Rishi realized his mistake but told her that his curse is irreversible however, when Lord Vishnu will come to earth as Rama then he will restore her back to woman from stone.

    Lord Rama while going to Janakpuri to attend Sita Swayamber with Rishi Vishwamitra came across this slab of stone and asked Vishwamitra what it is. Rishi Vishwamitra narrated the entire incident. Lord Rama touched the slab of stone with his toe the slab of stone to make Ahilya alive.

    I do not have very good explanation but I think my explanation is very realistic considering the reason why I have written this book.

    I will explain this myth more realistically which to me makes sense. On hearing the reason Gautam Rishi might have asked her to atone for her act by doing Tapasya or meditation and pray to Lord Rama and seek his forgiveness. Once Lord Rama is satisfied he can free her from her sinful act. Ahilya agreed and went into deep meditation giving up everything including food and drink. As she was in deep prayers with eyes closed it is possible that over the time her body got covered with mud and dirt giving the impression of stone. It is possible that with time she might have been pushed to ground by wind from sitting posture to lying posture. This posture will appear as Shila or slab of stone. Since she was in deep sleep Lord Rama decided to push her gently using his feet rather than bending down and picking her up as it might appear a sinful act and she might get frightened. This is a normal practice to wake a person from deep sleep by nudging gently using toe’s pressure that can be applied at one place. Also, this is the right way to behave for a man when trying to wake up a woman.

    Ramcharitmans has numerous instances that appear unrealistic and it is not possible to cover them all in this book. A book can be written only on myths. I decided to cover the ten myths given above as they represent different situation and to me are major ones. I also think that all the myths in Ramcharitmanas can be explained using the logic I have used to explain the above 10 myths.