Rama’s Quest

Once upon a time, there was a child born with a great responsibility. They said he had to fight an evil born on earth. But how was a human supposed to fight someone so strong and knowledgeable? Did he know all along that he was destined to fight the greatest evil in the world? Born to a Suryavanshi King, who was the perfect ruler for his people, he was meant to rule. As the eldest, he was loved and respected by his siblings. Yes, you guessed it right, it’s Rama.

The universe knows that one gains the strength to fight the greatest evil of all time when they are in love. This love isn’t mere attraction; to cross an entire subcontinent, the love has to be with a soulmate. Maa Lakshmi, the soulmate to Lord Vishnu, whose avatar is Rama, was born to the King of Mithila. She was the epitome of beauty and grace.

Vishnu once deceived Shakti by pretending to be Shiva and was cursed to never end up with his true love in his lifetime as a human. While it might seem like a harsh punishment, it was the cycle of karma that even gods could not escape in their avatars. Rama, a simple human, felt the urge to marry Sita, as they had been soulmates in all his lifetimes on earth, unaware that he was the one running this world. Notable things about Rama included his title “Maryada Purushottam,” one who had principles too strong to be shaken by societal repercussions.

Ravana, one of the finest men of his era, could not stop the darkness in his soul; his ego overtook his wisdom. One might argue that there is a fine line between God and Devil, and that line is respect and ego. Lord Rama knew he had all the power needed to defeat the mighty King of Lanka, yet he lived like a mere human, eating berries from Shabari’s hand. Ravana had Shiva’s boon, the one and only Bholenath, who was kind to anyone who prayed to him. Yet, Ravana could not fight his inner demons, leading to the fall of his empire and the death of his brothers and son.

When Rama attacked the army of Bali, who was unfair to his brother Sugriva, his intention was to have a loyal and powerful “Vaanar Sena” to fight Ravana’s wrath. However, he attacked Bali to death by trickery, which was against the Suryavanshi’s principles. Rama could not escape his death by a man hidden behind trees in his avatar as Krishna in Dwapar Yuga. I wonder what makes humans in Kalyuga think they can escape the wrongdoings of their lives.

Sita was in love with Rama, and so was Urmila with Lakshmana. The best of love can be learned from our rich Indian history. Whether Ramayana actually happened or not, if it didn’t, Valmiki must have been incredibly intelligent to come up with a script that provides solutions to anxiety, answers to prayers, and many lessons to learn from.

How would the relationship between Maa Lakshmi and Lord Vishnu be when they meet on earth? It would be much like how a marriage should be today: simple yet romantic, respectful yet childish, patient yet loyal. Despite the numerous times people in India have watched Ramayana across various ages, they fail to emulate a marriage like Rama and Sita.
They forget to respect their wives, treating them like slaves and themselves as masters.
How does distance make couples cheat while appreciating Urmila’s wait for Lakshmana?
How can a country that considers Ravana a devil, who never made Sita uncomfortable because even his ego did not allow him to go against a girl’s wish, fail to have single newspaper without a rape case reported?
How can a country celebrate Sita-Ram Vivaah while having so many cases of honor killings when girls want to marry the men they love?

I would not disagree that Rama was born to fight evil, but we might need hundreds of Ramas to fight the devils we encounter daily. I would not compare them to Ravana, as that would be disrespectful to Ravana as well.
It’s fair to say that Rama fought for nothing if he ever did, and Valmiki wrote the greatest scripture of all time for nothing. We make shows every few months on Valmiki’s Ramayana for nothing.
We pray Rama yet failed to understand what his intention behind this saga of right and wrong taught us?