Gold-spotted deer – based on an episode from the epic Ramayana

The great philosopher Socrates taught his disciples never to accept anything without question. The question of why has to be answered honestly and without blinking and requires great moral courage and an indomitable spirit of adventure to bring things to a logical conclusion, which can be unpleasant and invite a backlash from the uninformed public, especially if religion is involved. Grant me toughness! I seek sincere apologies, in advance. The subject involves Sita, whom I respect the most, Ram, the maryada purushottam, revered throughout India, and Lakshman, the faithful brother, who sacrificed his family life, to protect his brother and sister-in-law, on their long and tortuous journey. across the subcontinent, ignoring the threat of wild animals and asuras that ruled the desert. Let’s be extremely cautious!

Everything went well, until the fourteenth year of his picnic excursion, enjoying the splendor of virgin forests and emerald green hills. Then the tragedy hit like in a Hollywood movie.

A beautiful golden deer appeared near the cabin, where the princely trio were camping. Her beauty and innocent eyes captivated the Princess. She just wanted to have it! They told him it was not an ordinary animal; he was an evil being, with ulterior motives, sent to harm them. They expected trouble.

But Sita won’t listen. I wanted the golden deer. In the end, her husband relented. Entrusting the safety of his wife to his faithful brother, Ram went after the animal.

Ay, help me Lakshman: I am in immediate danger. When Sita heard these cries, she urged Lakshman to go help Ram. When told that Ram is capable of defending himself and that this is a trick of the evil spirit who came disguised as the animal, Sita was enraged, turned savage, and accused Lakshman of having dirty motives to possess her after Ram fell dead. That was the last straw! Lakshman left instantly, leaving Sita defenseless. A sanyasi (a hermit) enters asking for alms. Every Hindu respects and welcomes such people. Sita unsuspecting leaves the hut and is kidnapped by Ravana, to avenge the mistreatment of her sister Shoorpanaka. The seed is sown for the epic Ram vs. Ravana’s War.

In this unique episode, the poet Valmiki exhibits his superlative qualities regarding plot, characterization, and human psychology! We are interested in certain fundamental questions that arise from the whole sequence of events.

1) The first question is: why did Sita behave like a nine year old girl crying over a Barbie doll?

Sita is not an ordinary woman. She left the pleasures of life in the palace and went with her husband naked to the forest. This shows her high moral standards and extreme devotion to her beloved husband. During their stay in the forest, they must have come across hundreds of deer and petted them. Therefore, the sight of the golden deer shouldn’t have thrilled her. When told that it was not an ordinary deer but an evil spirit disguised as a deer with definite motives for revenge, Sita should have been convinced. In fact, any obedient wife with some sense of responsibility would agree with her husband and forget about the deer. Why did Sita, of such a high level and integrity of character, completely devoted to her husband, insist on her demand for the pet?

2) As a responsible husband, Ram should have convinced his wife of the futility of trying to capture the delusional deer. Why didn’t you do this? When he was fully convinced that the deer is a mirage, he should have refused to budge. Why did it fail? He could have hit his wife for being so stupid and inflexible, why didn’t he?

3) When Lakshman left his wife and accompanied the princely couple, he had only one thing in mind: the protection of his beloved brother and sister-in-law. He should have clearly told Sita that Ram is quite safe and there is nothing to worry about. If he hadn’t been able to tolerate Sita’s vulgar innuendo, he might have pretended to go, but he actually hid in a nearby bush. Why didn’t you do this?

4) Ravan was a very powerful and brave fighter. When his sister Soorpanaka was insulted and had her breasts and nose cut off (did they have to do this to a woman?), He should have challenged the princes to a fight and not sneaked into the cabin like a thief.

and robbed Sita. His wife Mandodari had advised Ravan against this heinous crime. Did he have more delicate feelings for the lovely princess and was just waiting for an excuse?

The principle of unpredictability

Every human being is subject to irrational and mysterious reactions at some point or another. It is difficult to cite examples from my own life. I recently started writing and I feel a little nervous. We were not bad when my father separated from our ancestral home and wandered from one place to another. When she finally built a house and settled in, she called him. Mother, a young widow, and us four children, all under the age of sixteen, we were left in the lurch with practically no income. Why was it separated in the first instance? Napoleon Buonaparte was a great statesman. He has written a lot during his last days in prison on the island of Saint Helena. It is worth reading even today. Why did he want to conquer the world? Hitler could have remained undefeated if he had not attacked the USSR. Why didn’t Kamsa put Vasudeva and Devaki in separate cells in the jail?

Every human being carries an invisible load, which I call the spiritual baggage, which consists of the things he has seen and experienced, which is stored in his computer called the brain. It works even when you sleep. Poets and writers try to dissect it. Scientists are far from even guessing what happens there. We always blame something or another without understanding anything. This baggage vitiates our judgment at critical moments.

I am a firm believer in him. My reason tells me that He is everywhere. But I enjoy the trip to any temple. It is very comforting. My Christian friend might like it, if it is a church. A Malayalam Muslim poet has written a beautiful hymn in praise of Sree Guruvayoorappan (there is a temple of the deity -Krishna in Delhi) ending with the supplication that, at least in Next January, you may have a chance to receive a darshan from the temple deity. (If I have the power, I will allow all devotees free access to the temple as in the gurudwaras)

To return to Sita.

You will have to answer a series of uncomfortable questions. Why didn’t he resist as soon as he realized that he was not a sannyasi? Ravan had a curse. If he touched a woman against her wishes, she would perish. Without touching her, how could he drag her into the helicopter? (Pushpaka viman) Why didn’t she jump up and kill herself like any chaste schoolgirl could now? Why didn’t he continue fasting until death as Medhaji would now? Ultimately, she ended her life when a repentant Ram asked her to return to Ayodhya from the forest where she was unceremoniously and in hiding turned away, simply because a worthless washerwoman made some disparaging remarks about her stay in Ravan’s custody. Why didn’t he show the same spirit at that time?

RAM:

He never behaved like a gentleman. He hid and killed Bali when the latter was fighting Sugriv, his own brother. (What a curse on humanity! Siblings are rarely still friends: Ambani vs Ambani). When the dying Bali confronted him with the question: why did you kill me like a coward, Ram, instead of expressing sympathy for the dying hero (Bali was a remarkable fighter. He once humiliated Ravan by holding him down with his tail and submerging Ravan over and over again at sea!) abused him left and right: “Who are you to question me? Do you know that I belong to the Ikshuki race? You are just a monkey. You illegally took away your brother’s wife. you deserve to die “. A gentleman should be more courteous to a dying hero. Will George Bush use such words for a dying Bin Laden?

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