The meaning of this shloka (verse) is that:-
There was a herculean task of conquering the mighty kingdom of Lanka, the ocean was to be crossed on foot, the opponent was the most powerful demon Ravana; and the only assistance available was that from monkeys. Despite this, Shree Ram alone killed all the demons. The moral is – the success of true heroes is attributable to their own valour and qualities; and does not depend on assistants and equipment.
In this series of a few articles, I intend to bring out the noteworthy aspects from Valmiki-Ramayana that are useful for all human beings at large and for professionals in particular. Shree Ram is believed to be an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. In that sense, he is worshipped as God. He had divine qualities, but never wielded divine powers. He never performed any Leela, Chamatkar, magic or super-human feats. He was and always acted as a human being. Valmiki is believed to be a contemporary of Shree Ram and Valmiki Ramayana which is believed to be the first and most ancient epic, is nothing but the narration of Shree Ram’s life-story. The sole objective of Shri Valmiki seems to be to project Shree Ram as an ideal, duty conscious king or ruler. Shree Ram demonstrates all emotions of a human mind but ultimately the duty consciousness prevails – duty as a king rather than in any other relation.
Many intellectuals criticize him for being too idealistic. They say it is not possible to emulate him in today’s practical life. They feel, Shri Krishna was more practical and that everyone should be like Shree Ram at home; but act as Shri Krishna outside. A few others blame him for abandoning his wife Seeta at the comment made by a dhobi. However, very few people know that after abandoning Seeta, Shree Ram lived as a Brahmachari.
I am not going to enter into any controversies as such. My aim is to tell the secret of Ramarajya –the state of most ‘ideal governance’, what made him a true leader. He is described as Maryada Purshottam. – i.e. the height or ultimate of any virtue. Be it honesty, be it bravery, be it modesty, be it leadership – whatever good qualities one can think of Shree Ram was the ‘Maryada’ or boundary. No one can surpass him in any quality. Ramayana is also popular in many countries outside India – such as Thailand, Indonesia, and Mauritius.
In the next few months, I will try to deal with this theme with practical relevance to today’s life.
