Why is Ram ji relevant?

If we go by Pauranic records, Ram ji lived approx. 9 lakhs years ago. A more conservative astronomical estimate puts him atleast 12,000 years ago. This prince of Ayodhya has captured the hearts of people of Bharat since ages. His aura simply refuses to fade. Such was His glorious rule that people, when they want to describe ‘ideal governance’, call such a governance ‘Ram-Rajya’. How can this prince who lived so long ago be still relevant? How can He bind an entire nation by an invisible thread of devotion, not imposed from outside, but pervading the devotees from within?

A look at the life of this handsome, mild-mannered, just and valorous Prince of Ayodhya, who later rose to become the best-loved king of Ikshavaku clan, will reveal to you the secret of his never-dying and ever-increasing popularity.

Bharat was civilisationally, culturally, scientifically, a very advanced land. Its fame spread far and wide. It contributed to 1/3rd of world trade. It boasted of some of the finest educational institutions of the world, complete with world-class libraries. The visitors who flocked to Bharat as traders or seekers of knowledge, have written extensively about the beauty and opulence of Bharat, it's well-planned cities, well-laid and broad roads, granaries, irrigation & drainage systems, beautiful palaces, magnificent temples, humongous libraries, and well-structured Gurukuls. The same is borne out by archaeological excavations and findings along the Indus River. 

So it is established beyond doubt that Bharat was a super power. Why then Bharat does not carry the blemish of subjugating and enslaving other civilisations of its time, like how the ‘super powers’ of present times have done? Answer lies in one word- Ram. 

Ram was part of syllabus of every King that ever ruled this land. And Ram stood for righteousness. He is our Cultural Spine, our Moral Compass. 

He was probably in his early 20s when he gave up his kingdom and chose van-vasa. He must have been in his mid 20s when his wife was treacherously kidnapped by the then bully, Ravana. 

Ravana mistook Ram as some simple forest-dweller, who would sit in a corner and bemoan his loss. He could not have been more mistaken. Ram was a true blue Kshatriya, who had a deep sense of honour and who knew very well how to protect it. Ram consequently went all the way to Southern most tip of Bharat and along the way, built alliances with powerful kings. By the time he reached the Southern shores, a huge army stood behind him. If this isn't diplomacy, what is? Then too He sent his messengers to Ravana to see if the war and the consequent blood-shed could be avoided. When he saw that attempts to put sense in Ravana are futile, He went to Lanka, faught a Dharmic war and killed Ravana.

What does he do then? He just brings his beautiful, beloved wife, honourably back to Ayodhya. He DID NOT touch even a single paisa of Lanka nor he took their women and children as his slaves. In fact, he gave back the entire kingdom he had just won, to the defeated man's younger brother! 

But wait. History tells us that the conquerers ALWAYS destroy whatever is dear to the conquered, loot them off their wealth, kill them in most humiliating ways and take their women and children as slaves. Ram did nothing of the sorts- and he became an immortal, precisely through this conduct of his.

When Ram was asked to take Lanka, he refused, saying: “Janani janma-Bhumishchya, Swargadapi gariyasi.”- “My Motherland Ayodhya is more dearer to me than Heavans themselves.”

And there in lies the timelessness and relevance of this great King who once ruled these lands. Ram is our Cultural Spine. He taught us by example, to defend our honour and to protect what is rightfully ours. But He is also our Moral Compass. He taught us not to covet what belongs to someone else.

So rest assured, as long as Ram is our ideal, Bharat, even when it regains it's super power status, will never nurse the Asuri desire to subjugate and enslave others but at the same time, will have the grit and spine to defend it's honour. Sri Ram is our soul.

Jai Sri Ram