Ramayana

I read this great poem when I was 14 years over the course of a year, every night, before I fell asleep. Widely regarded as one of the most sacred of Hindu epics, the Ramayana, attributed to the poet Valmiki, was written down during the first century A.D., although it was based on oral traditions from six hundred years earlier. The Ramayana is a moving love story with moral and spiritual themes that has deep appeal in India to this day. The Ramayan traces the 14 years of exile of the crowned Prince of Ayodhya, Rama, because of a promise made by his Father, King Dasharat to one of his four wives, Kaykeyi. At Kayeki's behest, he must crown her son Bharat, a most virtuous Prince himself, as King and send Rama into the forest. Rama the most virtuous of all, decides to take upon this penance for his Father's sake, and spends these years as an ascetic, living and fullfilling his deontological ethics, as instructed by his sacred gurus and sages. While in exile he befriends Hanuman, and together they fight one of the greatest wars of Indian history eventually mineralizing the Rakshas and their demon king Ravana.

This book is a consice and fine translation. No doubt about it, however if you are a looking for the definitive and comprehensive translation, following book is highly recommended: ~ Ramayana: India's Immortal Tale of Adventure, Love and Wisdom - Krishna Dharma (If you have a taste for literature/reading, you will love this book)

The Ramayana had been a rather subterranean current in my life for years before I read this book. In the late 1980's I was living in Albuquerque, and shortly after I moved there I met a German woman who insisted I had to go visit the Hanuman Temple in Taos. So she took me there, because it's hard to find the way the first time. It is actually called the Neem Karoli Baba Ashram, but she called it the Hanuman Temple, and that's how I've always thought of it as well. I visited off and on over the years, often driving hours just to sit for a few minutes at the feet of the beautiful alabaster murti (sacred statue) of Hanuman that dominated the main room. Although my first introduction to the spiritual path was through Ram Dass' books, I felt little connection to him or to Neem Karoli Baba, and actually practiced a Shaivite path, but Hanuman just kept drawing me back again and again. Eventually I moved to Taos. And yet, despite my attraction to Hanuman, I could never get into the stories about him and Rama and Sita, nor the chants about them that were done there. There was even a large open volume of the Ramayana there at the feet of Hanuman, and I'm one who loves to read, but it just never attracted me or held my interest. I always thought this was most peculiar. Then I moved from Taos, and within a week in my new home I came across this book, newly published, in a bookstore. I started to read and I was immediately enchanted. What a truly marvelous tale! How much I'd been missing all those years! Seldom has a book brought me such joy on so many levels, from the simple suspense of the action, to the sweep of the romantic drama, to the spiritual teachings both overtly stated and woven into the fabric of the story. I've since looked at several other renditions of this classic, but found them wanting compared to this retelling by Ramesh Menon. The one by Kamala Subramaniam is also quite good, but Mr. Menon's language is just so vibrant, his story telling so well crafted, that I think it wins hands down. I hope that the religious underpinnings of this book will not turn off potential readers who either adhere strongly to a different religion or who resist any notion of religion altogether: this book can be read on many levels, and it deals with universal themes. I even imagine that young people fascinated by Tolkien and such things would especially love this stunning tale from another time and another place. Very highly recommended.

In this "retelling" of the Ramayana, Buck succeeds in shortening a lengthy epic into 432 pages. Buck's Ramayana is exciting, poetic, and inspiring, somehow maintaining the digressive narrative of the original without alienating its Western audience; Buck's version makes a good introduction to a work which has had immeasurable religious impact on various Asian cultures.

In King Lear, a promise given by a foolish old man brings catastrophic changes to the world around him. Likewise, a foolish promise by an elderly king launches the epic Ramayana. Both stories bring forth the depth and strength of the human spirit. King Lear is a tragedy. The Ramayana is also; the author places his noble characters in harm's way to demonstrate their greatness. The Ramayana's chief purpose is to demonstrate the proper exercise of Dharma, the Hindu principle that is often loosely translated as "Law". The protagonist, Rama, his wife, Sita, his brothers and the army of animals they enlist show through their actions how life is to be spent in the service of truth. Here's the plot (not to give away too much). Rama's father, King Dasratha promises two boons to his youngest wife Kaikeyi. Dasratha abdicates, intending to make Rama king, but Kaikeyi uses her boons on the eve of Rama's ascension to the throne, one to make her son Bharatha king in Rama's stead, the second to banish Rama for 15 years. The king wants to renege on his promises, but Rama refuses to let this happen. He leaves the kingdom willingly. Rama, Sita and Rama's brother Lakshmana live in the jungle for 15 years, in the course of this time, Sita is kidnapped by daemons bent on destroying the world. Rama enlists the help of the bear and monkey kings to recapture her and this is the heart of the story. Now, what makes this story is its characters and their courage. Rama will never break a promise, even when it may cost him his life. Sita and Lakshmana leave the palace for a life spent wearing the bark of trees. The animals, especially the immortal monkey, Hanuman, inspired by the love between Rama and Sita, fight ferociously against their much more powerful foes. They all obey Dharma and their difficult task is the moral lesson of this religious text. What's interesting about Hinduism and the Ramayana in particular is its existential nature. The daemons are masters of Maya, the illusion of the material world. Maya is the daemons' most powerful weapon, they create a disorienting world in which there is precious little grounding. Where does a person find roots in such a world? The Ramayana gives us the example of Rama and the adherence to whatever truth we can find. Practice truth, fight deception, join in the struggle of the world to be conscious of itself. So what is real? For me, the most dramatic incident is one in which the fierce, brave, Hanuman answers the question. Rama gives Hanuman a bracelet as a gift. Hanuman tears it to bits. Rama asks why. Hanuman says, "though this bracelet looks expensive, it was really worthless, for nowhere on it did it bear your name." Someone asks Hanuman, "Why don't you destroy your body as well?". Hanuman rends his flesh and there, on his bones are the words, "Rama, Rama, Rama, Rama". So, too, your computer has become an instrument of truth. Read this book, it is incredible.<P