Rama’s lessons to remember

The legend goes that Diwali is celebrated to mark Lord Rama’s return to Ayodhya after slaying Ravana. We have been celebrating Diwali for ages. But it is important is to remember that more than Rama’s victory, it is the values he stood for that needs to be recapitulated and imbibed. Lord Rama lives not only as an incarnation of God born to end evil prevailing in the world during those times. Lord Rama lives as Maryada Purushottam, the noblest among human beings who stood for certain values and principles, rather epitomised them. Let this Diwali remind us of those values and, may be, give us the will and the ability to practise those. Rama and Ramayana need to be the source of strength and sustenance for us to practise righteousness. Thinking of those principles that Rama stood for may then be a timely reminder to help us reinvent ourselves. The sum and substance of Rama’s character lie in this one story that has been narrated and recounted time and again. The story goes that when Rama returned to Ayodhya after killing the mighty demon king, who was the most powerful of the kings on the globe in those days, people were dismayed. So the citizens of Ayodhya asked out of disbelief how Rama could kill someone as invincible as Ravana. The reply that the Lord gave is worth pondering over. Lord Rama very humbly said that I did not kill Ravana. It is the ‘I’ that killed Ravana. I, the bloated ego doused in arrogance. It was the ego of Ravana that proved his undoing. In fact, one big difference between Rama and Ravana was humility. Rama was humility incarnate whereas Ravana was all pride and haughtiness. In the present times, what we are seeing all around us is that humility as a value  has become almost extinct, and arrogance and pride are driving human behaviour. Even the corona impact has not done much to dampen the human ego, though it did show man his place. Rama’s principles were driven by ethics. This, however, was also shown by all his kinsmen, but Rama still stood apart. He not only chose to keep his father’s promise even though he could have avoided it, given the ground swell of opinion that was in his favour. Look how people conduct themselves to retain power today. What happened in the US Presidential election is a pointer. Prudence and ethical wisdom are two entirely different things. Prudence is about knowing which side of the bread is buttered while ethical wisdom is knowing when to say no to the buttered side. Even when Rama was in exile, his brother, Bharat, and people of Ayodhya pleaded to him to reconsider his decision. But that did not deter him from his principled resolve. Rama’s commitment to carry out his father’s promise even after the latter’s demise is a lesson in values. Rama’s pursuit of dharma was above everything. And the entire Ramayana reflects this. Rama knew the essence of dharma and he also had the will to uphold it. He was an ideal representation of man who combined values, virtues and vision. Rama’s victory over Ravana is certainly to be rejoiced. But his principled conduct offers more valuable lessons.

As we enter the last lap

Living with Coronavirus has been a part of our life for months now and despite many proposed solutions, the question how to deal with the pandemic still remains unanswered. But one thing that we all must realise is that this is certainly going to come to an end. And probably in the next few months. It is this hope that has to be nursed even if reports suggest that there is a second surge or a third surge or whatever. Yes, we have all reached the end of the tether and this is a worrisome trend. Already we are witnessing desperate steps being taken by many as anxieties are taking their toll on reason. Even the slightest trigger leads to explosion in many cases. What we need to remember is that though our patience is wearing out, that is the one thing we need today to survive in these difficult times. Even if our mind is getting wayward, there is need to exercise maximum patience. Mind is the issue and we have to tame the mind. Our predicament is like that of a long distance runner into his last lap. It is this last lap that creates maximum anxiety and coping with this anxiety is the most important requirement in order to win. If we let our patience wear out in the last lap and commit blunder out of sheer frustration, we stand to lose. This is what is happening. Out of sheer desperation, people are throwing all caution to winds. It has to be understood that maximum caution is needed in this last lap. The lifestyle disruption that stretched rather long has now reached the brink. While the festive season tempts us to venture out, the last round calls for extreme caution. The mantra, then should be to celebrate with care in the present times. As roads and streets are getting overcrowded, social distancing has gone for a toss. People are coming out in droves and masks seem to be a forgotten habit. This may prove dear. The protocols that we were following in the earlier days of the pandemic still need to be followed, rather, more so. Complacence may be dangerous. It is going to be a test of human patience. This patience comes from faith. Faith that we shall survive. It seems as if people are losing faith and embracing recklessness. It is not just a question of one’s own life. It is putting life of others to jeopardy. The fight against coronavirus is a war of attrition and more than strategy, the resilience is needed. The battle can be won by default, that is to hang around doggedly. True, the present generation did not experience a situation like this, but that is no reason for not acquiring mental toughness. Our lifestyle changed drastically in the last few decades. As we outsourced everything, our metamorphosis from human beings to couch potatoes of television era to mouse potatoes of computer era and then to slouch potatoes of the social media is complete. A large section of humanity has forgotten the basic problem solving skills, the thinking mind has become a vestige. Even small problems appear big. It is time to reinvent, rather rediscover human potential and practice the art of hanging around in crisis. Patience in the wake of adversity is the best solution. Staying on the wicket was what good cricketers adopted when chips were down. Life, after all, is a test match, not a T-20. So play defensively, on the backfoot.