Viewing Ramayana a balm to corona pains

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Viewing Ramayana a balm to corona pains

Wednesday, 01 April 2020 | C SHARMA

I watched the first episode of the re-televised ‘Ramayana’. Not because I am a religious bigot or that the threat of COVID-19 compelled me to seek divine refuge in self-quarantined habitat but more so because of academic interest.

I had watched a few episodes in the 1980s; but on my childish mind, a hazy imprint of the essence of the Ramayana could take place. But it did leave within me an uneasy quest to churn the ancient tales to know myself, my role in the society and the very purpose of my existence.

To my satisfaction, I did follow the instructions that King Dasharatha gave to his sons to follow in the ashram. But what about the respect we showed to our gurus? Did I have the same devotion for my teachers as the students in ancient India had? I admit the immensity was far too less. I drew solace that even after more than 2,500 years since the days of Ramayana, I was carrying the legacy of my ancient culture.

When all the four brothers went to their mothers to seek alms, after the Upnayana ceremony, tears rolled down mother Kaushalaya’s eyes to see her prince beg. I was touched by the humility, which the act of begging would develop in the students.  Ego, the biggest huddle in the process of acquiring knowledge, would never be left to raise its head in a student besides teaching them the indebtedness to the society.ss

Today students beg at the altar of the multinationals for lucrative packages or more precisely sell themselves to the corporate giants, so why won’t they be faithful to them? What role has the society played in their upbringing? They think their knowledge has earned them a good percentage of marks, their parents’ money has helped them to get admission in a good coaching center and their perseverance has enabled them to crack competitive examinations and provided them a seat in premier colleges and the degree from there earns them a highly-paid job. Where does society figure? Then why should they think about it? Or to be more precise, their mind has never been trained to think about the society.

If ever away from their books, during Durga Puja or Holi or Diwali, it was just like an entertaining game of India-Pakistan cricket match or a fun time. Unless their mind is emptied of their syllabus, examinations, competitions, these students cannot grow in the society. They will grow in their classrooms and study rooms with their focus fixed on the eyes of Arjuna’s fish. Isn’t the ancient culture of those who invented SARS-COV-2 virus, to mint money, as philanthropic as ours?

While these thoughts raced in my mind, Guru Vashista appeared on my TV screen leading his four new disciples to his ashram. Now, I can never dare to compare myself with him, though we both are in the same profession. I started searching in me the lacunae which stopped me from comparing myself with the ideal teacher in the Ramayana. Guruji had explained to the ‘Dashratputras’ that first they are the disciples of Brahma.  It means students might consider their teacher as God but it is indelibly written in the mind of the guru that the Almighty is the greatest guru.

He is a tool to make the students realise His omnipotent presence. There was a sense of adoption of the students and a sincere feeling to treat them as His own children. The love, care and concern of the guru and the ‘gurumata’ was reflected by the students with the same sincerity, intensity and immensity as they received. Somehow in the present time of professionalism, the words are deftly chosen, voice is pleasantly mellowed down, smile is also presented in a warm and welcoming way, but the soul is missing.  

The society is facing the repercussion. Human, the only beings on this earth with wisdom and emotions: the last creation of the Almighty, who might have been sent on this earth by the Creator, to make this place a blissful one, where all the species would live happily together, is helpless. The Creator would have thought that man will find a solution to any problem which might emerge due to interaction of the lower- order species and keep the earth intact, has deeply pained Him. It’s high time we looked into our collars if we are thoughtful about ourselves and our posterity. We have to urgently and immensely overhaul the system in which our young ones are being raised. Too much emphasis on material gains and too quick a success will threaten our very existence on this planet. The sanitiser needs to be applied in our classrooms and a complete hand wash to our existing syllabus and the education system. 

(The writer is PGT, Kendriya Vidyalaya No. 1 Bhubaneswar)

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