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Every human being, regardless of profession and lifestyle, has an internal voice that occasionally taps the heart, suggesting there is something more. What exactly is that “something”? Nobody knows. It’s a mystical feeling —a longing for exploration, to scale insurmountable heights. This mysterious urge to uncover the unknown is at the foundation of all human achievement.
Paraphrasing Einstein, this all-pervading mystical sensation underlies humanity’s literary, religious, and scientific pursuits. It is indeed remarkable that an animal whose original duty was to hunt and survive has been imbued by nature with a certain knack for looking beyond the mundane. It is this ability to not just think about our immediate survival but to reflect upon our choices that has enabled humans to dream of the stars, even while grappling with the urge to “covet thy neighbor.”
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Our literary epics, myths, and poetry have arisen from this collective desire to understand the human condition in the larger scheme of things. Beyond the historicity of such literature, there is another level of truth in our epics: that of the collective dream. As Rajagopalachari said, the epics set forth the dreams, ideals, and, most importantly, the character of a nation. They are intimate, while also being operatic; emotional, while also emphasizing restraint.
If aliens were to understand humans properly, they would need to look no further than our epics, as these texts cover themes ranging from the pit of man’s fears to the summit of his bravery. By covering a wide gamut of themes, these sagas easily embed themselves in the imagination of a society. From a toddler who loses himself in the adventures of Lord Hanuman to a veteran reading the Mahabharata or the Iliad, trying to make sense of life’s chaos, the epics offer something for everyone.
“Dreams are messages from the deep.”
This line from the science fiction film Dune echoes the ideology of Joseph Campbell, a stalwart of comparative mythology. He believed that myths are “public dreams.” In psychology, dreams signify the thoughts of an individual’s unconscious. Similarly, the mythologies and epics of the world are the aspirations of society as a whole. It is within this context that I would like to talk about our country’s foundational epic: the Ramayana.
Prince Rama was on the verge of being crowned, with all the pomp fit for an emperor. Overnight, his life took a turn for the worse: he was banished from Ayodhya to roam the forests for 14 years. Rama remained unmoved. In the forests of Dandakaranya, demons of an ancient world—creatures enslaved by fear itself—attacked him. He stayed calm.
He subdued inner rage through patience and penance. And true to the nature of a noble warrior, he expressed himself through his deeds. That’s why it is said that only his enemies on the battlefield can witness Lord Rama’s wrath, while everyone else can feel his warmth. This quality—calming the inner storm to unleash hell on the enemy, and using one’s knowledge to distinguish friend from foe even in the darkest times—makes Lord Rama an ideal to aspire to.
With Sita Devi’s abduction by Ravana, Rama had no choice but to venture deep into the forests in search of help. Throughout this ordeal, he remained calm. His composure helped him gain new allies in the jungle. Maintaining composure when the walls start to close doesn’t necessarily mean that a person is emotionally passive.
Lord Rama might have struggled with a thousand worries during his quest (sage Valmiki beautifully mentions a few episodes of his breakdowns), but the quality we recognize in him is the ability to set aside distractions and immediately shift focus on the matter at hand. This is a quality that human society aspires to attain—it’s our collective dream.
Through Rama, the bards of our land invested in a promise: that a time will come when individuals like us will strengthen our minds so that any external trouble will pale before
our willpower. That promise is the cornerstone of our nation’s hopes and the capstone of our potential.
Context:
Police cadets at several training facilities throughout Madhya Pradesh are being taught about the character of Shri Rama in order to instill a strong moral compass and discipline. This initiative by the police department to incorporate our epics in their syllabus deserves praise. As these age-old tales and myths provide some of the earliest portrayals of poetic justice, it is commendable to see them included in the curriculum of our custodians of law and order. With constant challenges to confront, let us hope that these timeless tales will help the police better serve our society.
Note : The western idea of mythology won’t strictly apply to our Indian Epics as they are called “ithihasas” which translates to “an event as it was ”, in order to introduce the Ramayana as one of the great tales of our world , free license has been taken at places to call Ramayana as mythology. Apologies for the usage.
-Sujay Pamidikalva
sujaypamidikalva@gmail.com
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