The Ramayana .... for me!

My experiences with life,recently, had been taking such a beating that I had started losing hope on a better future, till one day when my father came down to meet me and gave me his piece of advice, that took me out of my depression.

Without any bias and being impartial to the situation I was in, he told me just one thing that fate can never be challenged. What is destined will happen, immaterial of we being right or wrong. Being the 21st century girl, I argued. I argued because I thought it is ridiculous to blame it on fate. To put his point through he gave me numerous examples from his life, but all were in vain, coz I was really not ready to reconcile with the mess in my life. It was only when we both started unfolding the incidents that eventually put me in the uncomfortable situation I was in, that I started understanding what he meant by fate and destiny.

After our small talk,my father, a firm believer in god and his existence,bought me the Ramayana. Now, Ramayana is something we have been reading and listening to since childhood. Be it the serial or the course books in school, we have read and seen Ramayana in all possible ways. Yet, reading Ramayana at this juncture of my life meant a lot. It is painful to see how Rama was unjustly asked to leave for his vanavas, but at the same time, it was heartening to read how Rama meets only good people and people who wish him success in life and pray for his welfare all through the time he spends in the forest. Even when Sita is kidnapped, he is helped by unknown people to rescue her from the clutches of Ravana. It is heartening to read how Sita, when surrounded by demons, lives on a single hope that she will be rescued... somehow but surely will be rescued.

I have been always taught that Ramayana is a story of the victory of Good over Evil, true and I agree. But today, at the juncture where I stand in life, I believe in this great epic for more than just that. It has taught me that destiny can never be overturned, but immaterial of what turn fate takes, taking the situation in your stride is the best way to deal with a situation. I am sure Rama would have started his journey with the fear of living his life in a dense forest like Dandaka, but he would have never thought of all the noble people he met during his Vanavas? If he had not taken to the vanavas, he would have never met his oldest and purest bhakt... Hanuman..! If not for him Ahalya and Shabri would have never got Moksha, if not for him Sugreev would have never found justice.

Connecting to god is spirituality, and connecting to Ramayana all over again has given me fresh meaning to spirituality, A Hope that all the uncomfortable situations I am faced with will bring me closer to many good things that is in store for me.. At least,like my father, I am sure that I will imbibe these thoughts of Ramayana in my children when they grow up, probably these are a few things that I can do as a good parent.

Thank you Appa...