Understanding of Indian Culture

Hindus’ most religious and well-respected writing is “The Ramayana” by Valmiki. It shows insight into the Indian culture and still influences the art of India today. He based it on an epic called “Ramayana” and revived it for modern times. The actions and personalities that are portrayed through its characters provide the meaning of The Ramayana. For the Hindus, this work is sacred because it provides them with meaning in life. And how they should grow and learn from one’s own mistakes.

The logic of this story shows that the most powerful gods are not able to live up to their promises. Hindu promises are supposed to be unalterable, but they can fit an individual by being manipulated. This is a story that provides spiritual meaning and wisdom while following adventure and friendship. Valmiki portrays all of these aspects throughout the novel. The Ramayana discusses many ways Rama shows his morality.

Ramas shows a desire to only do good and make decisions that will only lead to good outcomes.

By being thoughtful and considerate he is showing the important qualities of a hero. Rama and Laksamana are very similar characters when it comes to their strength, but Rama has an even temper and thinks before he goes to do anything. He also shows that everyone can be similar if you can learn and teach from others. Rama has had his morality questioned a couple of times throughout. For example, when he questions Sita about her faithfulness to him. By the rules of dharma- Rama lived his entire life by these in an ideal manner.

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He was the perfect son, a great husband to his wife, Sita, and a ruler of Ayodhya. An example of respect by Rama is when he gets banished, by his parents, who told to him when he was about to get crowned. The way he handles the situation is wise, as he says to his stepmother, “I obey father’s command.” (1190) He accepts his fate with grace head-on. By not fighting, he shows devotion to obeying his parents and waiting to become a powerful and successful leader for his family. Rama and Sita are then banished into the forest leaving the Maya behind, which is considered to be the material world. In India leaving everything behind and becoming one with nature is becoming true to oneself. Rama is showing respect to his parents and this is very important to ward off evil and revive one’s faith. Loyalty and duty are worked into the story through the belief in destiny and fate. Rama demonstrates these tactics very well, being a model citizen and demonstrating to the readers one’s loyalty to his family. Also, when Ravana got rewarded with virtue from the gods because he was virtuous in the beginning. His power led him to defeat the gods who provided him with protection. He then gets cursed by the gods and he expects his downfall from a monkey. For Hindu society to function at different levels it is important to have the ideas of duty, honor, and loyalty. By working with these assumptions people can still have some control over their fate and lives. Suicide is looked down upon in the Hindu culture, it is considered to be one of the worst sins you can do. Sita was questioned by Rama after living with another man for over a year who was known for seducing.

She says “I will jump in this fire to prove my faith to you.” (1188) Rama still banishes his wife because of what people were saying about how she could have had an affair. When banishing Sita this is a way Rama can show his people what a model king is. He doesn’t let his passion for women get in the way of him listening to the voices of the people. Rama says “I apologize for what I have done,” (1189) Sita clearly shows that she does not forgive him. In Hindu culture Sita is a “nature wife,” they come from the forest and are focused only on their husbands, only to be broken by them in the end. Throughout the story, it projects a continuous pattern of the nature of good and evil. Rama slays Viradha and he later comes back in a different form to thank him for getting him out of the horrible state he was in. When he kills these people, he is returning them to their original state and allowing them to have a new existence. The cultural understanding of rebirth and death in Hinduism culture is shown when rakshasas are thankful for being killed. Being reincarnated in a different form is what happens to oneself after one dies, so their story doesn’t end. In conclusion, Rama and his brothers are considered to be great founders of the kingdom. The Hindu ideas of righteous death are true to the death of Rama and his brothers.

This story is continually being altered to appeal the new audiences, however, the original is the key piece, and is a part of the Hindu heritage functioning as a teaching tool. The book continuously presents that to become a hero you have to be able to listen, learn, and teach. The author wants the readers to be able to understand the Hindu beliefs of morality and spiritual ways. The Ramayana provides many examples of what responsibilities are required to live another life.