Today's Topics: 

We reviewed the Egyptian test answers and saw the updated class averages, which now represent 72% of your semester grade. I will add Quizzes 9 and 10 by early next week, leaving only the last quiz (Quiz 11) and the final exam. We then began The Ramayana, and we will continue to examine it next week.
 

The Ramayana, one of the great Hindu epics, is the story of a powerful prince who makes a sacrifice to save the world from evil.  It's an adventure story, a love story, a morality tale, and a fable -- all wrapped into one narrative.  I hope that you enjoy this one.  It's got talking monkeys, evil demons, beautiful women, lies and deception, as well as action, battles, etc., etc., etc.  There's something for everyone!

You should review pages 514-515 in the coursepacket in order to review some of the Hindu terminology that we will see in this story. The word "Hindu" means "river," referring to the religious communities along the Indus River. Just as we have seen with Taoism, the flow of water seems to be the main metaphor for life. The universe undergoes endless cycles of change, from creation, to preservation, to death (called samsara). Much like Buddhism, Hindus seek peace by eliminating the need to be reincarnated. WHereas Buddhists seek nirvana, the extinguishing of the flame of desire, Hindus strive to merge with the one Supreme Reality, known collectively as Brahman, the Creator and Unmanifest Reality who is both pervasive and transcendent in the universe. A Hindu achieves this unification with the universe when his consciousness merges with God (this state is called moksha). Every soul (atman) ultimately evolves toward a union with God and realizes Truth, achieved through devotion, austerity, meditation, or selfless service (called ahimsa, a term that reflects selflessness and nonviolence toward all creatures, since all life forms stem from the same life energy).

Hindus believe in reincarnation: the soul is reborn into a different body (like changing into a new shirt) until all karmas are resolved (Hindus do not believe in hell, an underworld, or damnation). Karma is a Sanskrit word that means "action," the cause/effect relationship by which each individual creates his own destiny by his thoughts, words, and deeds. Karma can be either good or bad, but always must be resolved before an individual soul can achieve moksha. We will see many examples of karma and its aftermath in this story.

We also looked at another important idea: the Hindu caste system. In Hinduism, all men are created unequal. Here are the divisions, ranked from highest to lowest:

Brahmans -- the priests and teachers
Kshatriyas -- the warriors, kings, and soldiers (this is the caste in which Rama and Lakshmana are born into)
Vaisyas -- merchants and traders
Sudras -- laborers or slaves
Dalit ("untouchables") -- outcast people considered too impure and polluted to rank as worthy beings (such as slaughtering and tanning animals), and therefore Brahma apparently has no place or need for them. The name means "crushed," "stepped on," or "oppressed."

Each person must fulfill certain caste and religious obligations (dharma) in order to maintain harmony in the universe. The only means of escaping birth is to perform one's sacred duty. One's dharma is partly determined by one's caste position, but also by one's stage of life. A priest or teacher, for example, cannot teach others when he is a small child, so age also determines how one is supposed to act. If an individual performs his dharma properly, then the universe is in balance and the atman is allowed to be reincarnated into a higher form. A person born as a servant, for example, may spend his life complaining about his lot in life, but this only leads to a potential reincarnation lower down the scale.

Below the human castes are the animals, ranked as well from great to small. Above are the godly incarnations that are found in seven different circles (the highest being 7th heaven). What we will see is that, once people achieve a godly incaration, they often are not prepared for such responsibility and power, leading them to act irresponsibly. If you recall the film Bruce Almighty, you can see that waking up with the powers of the gods leads one into great temptation. If you woke up with godly powers, you might play around with them, testing out your strengths and limitations. However, in doing so, you would be deviating from your new dharma, and yout curious actions would be considered selfish. Each soul needs to get beyond this feeling and use your powers for the universal good, not selfish interest.

The three Principal Gods play a large role in The Ramayana: Vishnu ("The Preserver"), Shiva ("The Destroyer"), and Brahma (the Universal Absolute Spirit) form the Hindu Triad that represents the cycle of life. Earlier gods are also mentioned in the beginning of the story, such as Indra (king of the gods; Aryan war god and weather god), who was an earlier all-powerful god worshipped in the earlier days of Hinduism.

The Ramayana, chapters 1-3

We began looking at several important characters and Hindu terms today.  This story is an epic, so we will see Rama take a journey to achieve greatness.  Be aware that R. K. Narayan's The Ramayana is only a condensed English translation.  Many details and important scenes have been shortened or omitted from the original Sanskrit story.  It is based more on the Tamil version of the epic rather than the original, but it is a much easier and accessible version to a Western audience.  The Ramayana is just one part of a longer epic, The Mahabharatha, which is about as long as six Bibles!   Chapter 1 in The Ramayana is essentially a rehash of some of the classic stories from the earlier part of The Mahabharatha, but a few scenes provide some necessary background.

We know that Rama is an incarnation of the god Vishnu (the Preserver).  We see Rama first taken into the desert where he is tested by the wise guru Viswamithra.  This guru (spiritual guide) shows Rama many wonders of the Hindu world, all wrapped up in a history lesson.  Rama is not fully aware that he is a god until later in the story.  (Can you tell where Rama first understands his essence?)  Once Rama is tested in the desert, he will be ready to assume greater deeds.  One test that Rama has to pass is the test of Thataka, the demoness.  Rama is hesitant to kill her because she is a woman, but Viswamithra counsels Rama to view her inner nature.  We will see that this difference separates the gods (devas) from the demons (asuras) throughout the narrative.

One such character is Mareecha, who is one of the demons defeated by young Rama in the first chapter.  When the demons attempt to disturb the yanga (the sacrifice), Rama and his brother Lakshmana send their arrows upward to protect the holy event below.  While Lakshmana'sarrows attack the demons, Rama's arrows help to deflect the blood and garbage that falls from the sky, thereby preserving the sacrifice, much to the amazement of Viswamithra.  Rama's arrow sends Mareecha, a son of Thataka, clear across the land, prompting Mareecha to begin questioning his evil ways.  We'll see this character later in the story as the uncle of Ravana.

Another interesting anecdote from the beginning of the story involves Mahabali's tale, where Vishnu, in a previous incarnation, comes into being in the form of a dwarf who tricks Mahabali by claiming the universe in three steps.  This incarnation of Rama is explained in the coursepacket section called "The Avatars of Vishnu," which shows us that Vishnu has/will come to earth in 10 incarnations, each time saving the world from the demons.  You see that the 7th incarnation was Rama, and his story is told in our book, The Ramayana (the way of Rama).  Vishnu's 8th incarnation occurs in a character Krishna, who we will read about in next week's story, The Bhagavad-Gita.  The 9th incarnation was Buddha, so you can see how Buddhism was an extension of Hinduism.  The 10th incarnation (Kalki, a warrior on a white hore who will exterminate the material world) is yet to come, so get ready!

After Rama's initiation in the desert, he travels back home through the neighboring kingdom, reigned by Janaka.  As Rama passes through, he meets eyes with Sita, whom he will marry.  When they first see each other, they are struck by each other's beauty and grandeur.  In their past lives, however, they are also married.  Rama is the god Vishnu, while Sita is the goddess Lakshmi, the mother goddess and the deity of wealth, prosperity, and fertility.  When they look at each other, there is something that they recognize as familiar, yet their human forms do not allow themselves to understand why they are sensing this deja vu.  This is a good description of the way that reincarnation appears to operate -- that the soul inhabiting the new body cannot recall the thoughts and deeds from the previous lives.  

Hindus believe that one's actions (karmas) influence the entire universe, and that what goes around comes around.  If you treat others respectfully, you will have that sentiment returned to you.  Treat people badly, and you will be returned with the same behavior down the line.  You may not get an immediate reaction or repayment (called "instant karma").  You may receive the return action at any time in any of your lives, or even thousands of years later.  In the end, however, all will balance out.   On page 25, Sita, afer meeting eyes with Rama, becomes lovestruck to the point where she cannot eat, sleep, or concentrate.  At one point she hears a bird (Anril) singing a beautiful song outside of her window.  She is disturbed by the bird, and she blames a "sin" from a previous life for causing her current distress.  She believes that her karma is being repayed in the form of the bird.  She does not know that she will marry Rama in just a few short days.

Sita's father, Janaka, forces Rama to perform a great deed to prove his worthiness -- the stringing of Shiva's bow, which was left behind after the creation of the universe.  The bow is as big as a mountain, so obviously no mortal could accomplish such a feat.  Rama not only strings the bow, but he accidentally breaks it in the process, although many spectators missed his great feat because they averted their eyes, thinking that Rama would fail like all the others who had tried before.  Rama is now publicly acclaimed as a hero, and many may suspect that he is indeed a god.  Rama may now marry Sita, much to the delight of the large crowd watching.

Their wedding is huge, and millions of people arrive from all over the world.  Rama is universally loved and admired (as is Sita, who had thousands of male suitors begging Janaka for his daughter's hand in marriage).  On page 32, we see some holy priests (Brahmins) arriving to the ceremony, many walking on their toes to avoid stepping on insects and small animals.  In Hinduism, all life forms are respected equally, since one never knows whether or not an insect is really a relative living life in a different form (incarnation).  These holy men also prevent themselves from "touching their nether regions" and looking at all the pretty girls, so as not to distract them from their spiritual pursuits.

In Eastern beliefs, the idea of emotion or passion is considered to be detrimental to one's life.  If you recall, Joseph Campbell refers to the original meaning of the word "passion," which is "suffering."  Please separate the concept of "love" apart from "passion."  Not all passion is love, and not all love is steeped in passion.  Passion could entail anger, jealousy, or any other emotion that prevents you from concentrating on your thoughts or duties.  Sita clearly feels passion, since she cannot go about her daily life without thinking of that handsome man that she just met.  In Hinduism, one common duality is the mind vs. the body (or one's emotions).  We are made of both, but one goal is to disregard the bodily messages in favor of the intelligent ones.

Next, let's address the fact that Rama has more than one "mother."  Dasaratha's three wives are invited to the wedding: Kausalya, Sumithra, and Kaikeyi.  Having reigned for thousands of years, Dasaratha has earned the right to marry multiple wives, an ancient tradition for a powerful leader.  As these three wives enter Ayodhya for the wedding, each is followed by a group of attendants:
 

Although Kooni exaggerates considerably, Dasaratha does act slyly in one way -- he calls Rama into his room to inform his son that he has chosen Rama to be the next king, and that he will be coronated tomorrow.  Oddly, Dasaratha has sent Bharatha out of town to visit his grandfather.  Perhaps Dasaratha does not trust Bharatha's reaction to the news, or perhaps Bharatha was merely sent to bring his grandfather to the coronation.

Ultimately, Kooni does convince Kaikeyi that Rama might banish Bharatha from the city and take over power from her side of the family.  This is a lie, of course, but it works well enough.  Kaikeyi soon decides that she would rather see her own flesh and blood (Bharatha) on the throne instead of Rama, even though she earlier admitted that she considers her step-son, Rama, to be one of her own.  She forces Dasaratha to fulfill his promises (boons) to her (which he pledged after she saved his life in a much earlier episode).

The timing of Kaikeyi's demands could not have been worse, for Dasaratha is forced to fulfill Kaikeyi's demands if he wishes to attain dissolution (moksha -- that is, heaven, peace, etc.).  If Dasaratha gives into Kaikeyi's demands, then the universe will be placed into chaos because Rama will not be crowned (breaking his promise to Rama).  If he stands firm and refuses to comply, then his own karma will be out of balance because he will renege on his promises to his wife,which also means that he will have to face yet another incarnation.  He's stuck, and he knows it.  He soon dies from the heartbreak (the passion/suffering) caused by Kaikeyi's cunning.  Dasaratha faces a "lose/lose" situation when Kaikeyi forces him to banish Rama and award Bharatha the throne.  He can't win, which is probably why he dies a desperate, passionate death.

Rama's birth mother, Kausalya, initially blames Bharatha for this mischief, but is convinced otherwise by Bharatha's anger and frustration with his own mother's actions (karma).  Even so, Dasaratha blames both mother and son for this deed, and he disowns them.  Unfortunately, he died immediately after, so his word remains as unbreakable law (Rama will mention that words are "like arrows" (page 57), since they cannot be recalled after they have been launched).  This final action by the king forces Bharatha from being the one to light his father's funeral pyre.  Rama is banished, and Lakshmana is with him, so these two older brothers cannot do it.  Yet Bharatha cannot participate due to his father's commands.  It seems as if Bharatha is the greatest victim of his mother's own treachery and selfishness.  Bharatha will leave Rama's sandals on the throne to let everyone know who the real leader is.

It is important to note here that Kaikeyi is technically not the source of these problems -- Dasaratha is. True, Kaikeyi's timing is pathetic and troublesome, spurned on by Kooni's ambitious words. However, Kaikeyi has every right to ask Dasaratha to pony up on his prior promises. Remember, Kaikeyi saved his life when he lay dying on the battlefield, and Dasaratha felt compelled to say or do anything to win her hand in marriage, including promising her stubborn father that Dasaratha would make their son (Bharatha) the heir to the throne. Kaikeyi is in the right to hold Dasaratha to his word. Dasaratha should have not made promises that he could not keep or that would come back to haunt him. He admits many errors in judgment in this chapter, from falling in love with Kaikeyi's beautiful looks to shooting little boys at the river, thinking he was an elephant. Dasaratha's move to coronate Rama with Bharatha out of town merely adds to the list of his suspicious behaviors in this story.

One must ask, however, what the hunchbacked dwarf Kooni can gain from this. I asked the class this question, and the best response was that Kooni would have the elevated status of serving the queen mother (Kaikeyi) if Bharatha ascended to the throne. Otherwise, her selfish motives have caused a domino effect that has shaken the foundation of the city. Do you see how simple attachment to the material world causes problems?

Rama willingly departs, mainly due to the Hindu belief in dharma (sacred duty).  One's dharma is determined by one's social position (caste) as well as by circumstance.  Once a person understands his dharma, he must religiously pursue it until it is completed, which may last thousands of lifetimes.  As a son, Rama must obey his father's wishes, even if they are communicated through his stepmother.  Failure to pursue one's dharma will also create bad karma, tossing the world off of its axis. Notice that Rama calmly and rationally accepts his fate, casting no blame and showing no regrets or anger toward anyone.

When informed about this new change of plans just an hour before the coronation, Rama seems to understand the "bigger picture" about this situation, and so he willingly accepts his banishment without any emotional attachment.  Perhaps Rama knows that this 14-year exile will allow him to be tested further, giving him the experience necessary to achieve glory in the end.  This is very similar to the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve are banished to attain a life experience and prove their wordiness.  In fact, Rama blames himself for hastily accepting the throne without thinking about the consequences.  Rama takes the "high road" and says no evil or cross words to anyone in his family.  He sees his fate as an opportunity, not a curse, revealing his detachment from the material world, unlike Kooni, Kaikeyi, Kausalya, Dasaratha, Lakshmana, Bharatha, the advisors, and the whole region filled with well-wishers.

In the desert, much like we saw in the Egyptian unit, evil roams free, as did Set.  Rama, his wife, and brother will now enter a new place where the demons curse and tempt them incessantly.  In chapter 4, we will see Rama tested by the demons during his exile into the forest, a wide open range of land that I like to call the "demons' playground."  Ravana, the great demon, will send his family members and henchmen to the desert to conquer Rama, but Rama will vanquish these beasts every time.  This will be the first chapter where we really start to see Rama acting as a god.  Because he is a man, however, he must also adhere to his social standing (caste), which is why he acts like a warrior -- he IS one.

We will also see the forests filled with talking animals, such as Jatayu the eagle, Jambavan the bear, and Hanuman the monkey scholar. These characters are not mere animals, but rather gods incarnated into animal forms with the dharma to assist Rama complete his mission. We will learn later in the story that many of these demons were cursed in certain ways where they would die at the hands of monkeys, etc., revealing the need for these unique incarnations.

Likewise, we will also notice that a profound difference exists between the devas (gods) and the asuras (demons). Whereas the gods, such as Rama, will be able to see the true inner nature of someone, the demons, such as Ravana, the Grand Tormentor, are only able to see the face value of each person. To the demons, the looks tell them everything about a person, but the gods see past the facade and into one's atman (soul). Likewise, the demons will use illusions and chaos to achieve their ends, but Rama (Vishnu incarnate) will use his reasoning and rational thinking to enact divine justice in profound ways.

Look at how Rama uses the logic of the caste system when he battles Soorpanka, Ravana's evil sister.  She descends to Earth in the form of a sexually desperate woman, changing her appearance and her name to Kamavalli.  She approaches Rama and makes several advances toward him.  Rama, however, knows that she is a demon, and sees through her disguise (obviously, his desert training in chapter 1 has been helpful to battle these very situations).  He first tells her that they could never marry because they come from different castes (page 68), but also tells her that they are from different forms entirely (he is a human, while Soorpanka is of the rakshasa class of demons), so it would never work out.  She persists, forcing Lakshmana to cut off various body parts, essentially making her ugly and undesirable for lesser humans.  Ironically, she is most worried about losing her nose!  All she has to do is change her physical shapes, but it appears easier to complain instead.  Lakshmana will play the role of bodyguard and advisor to Rama, and he will often do the "dirty work" for Rama.

When Soorpanka returns to the realm of demons, she informs Ravana that she was maimed by Rama, thus sending Ravana into a rage, wishing to kill Rama in an act of vengeance.  However, after Soorpanka tells her brother about the beautiful Sita, Ravana suddenly becomes smitten with the love bug, and can think only of marrying Sita. We should find it funny that he falls in love with a brief verbal description of Sita. He must have a wild imagination because he falls so hard in love with Sita that he becomes tormented by his own desires.  In his confusion, he changes the weather (page 82), although he is not satisfied with any weather at all.  What Ravana is doing here is creating chaos, pure chaos, since he is the demon force of chaos and confusion.  In fact, he is so confused that he will curse the moon for being unpredictable and fickle, yet his personality embodies the exact same mutability as is demonstrated by the moon.  Ravana is playing a feminine role here, being wavering and undecided about himself and about which actions to take.  One by one, his demon family members will try to counsel him about his foolish behavior, but he is so ignorant that he is blind to his own ignorance to the point where he can never "see the light." This type of chaos and confusion is called maya, and it is the way that the demons operate. Watch for this term to appear later in the story.

Ravana forces Mareecha (his uncle, an evil demon who is attempting to become good) to assume the form of a jeweled deer, which tempts Sita to the point where she begs Rama to fetch it for her.  Although Lakshmana counsels against this, Rama willingly (and foolishly) attempts to capture the deer.  Further trickery lures Lakshmana away from the cottage, leaving Sita all alone to be kidnapped by Ravana.  When Ravana arrives (in the form of a hermit beggar), Sita is unaware of his demon nature, and she allows herself to be kidnapped to the far away island of Sri Lanka.

We'll go over this scene and several other important ones next Monday as we continue our adventure through the story.

If you have fallen behind in your reading, you have one final week of class to catch up. Enjoy this middle part of the story, since it is filled with lots of action, misadventures, and drunken monkeys. Especially watch the scene in chapter 6 where Rama battles Vali, Sugreeva's angry brother. We will learn a great deal about Rama's character and Hindu standards of conduct through these episodes.

Announcements: 

The Final Exam Study Guide is now available.

I will also hold extended office hours on April 24-28. These are open-door hours, so just stop by (no appointments necessary). Please knock on my door if I am working with another student. I will be mostly unavailable during the exam week due to personal appointments, so I recommend seeing me as soon as possible if you need some extra help.

The KSU final exam schedule is also available, so check your calendars for your exam times. Remember that exams are schedules for two hours, so you will be arriving and leaving your exams at slightly different times than usual.

I have adjusted the exam time for Section 40 (Friday class that meets from 8:00 - 10:45). Instead of taking the exam from 7:00 - 9:00 AM, I have adjusted it to 9:00 - 11:00 AM. Please contact me if you have any problem with this change. I simply did this to give you an extra few hours of sleep or study. Please be aware that traffic patterns operate slightly differently throughout the morning, so be sure to leave home in plenty of time.

Due Next Time:

The Ramayana, chapters 7-14 (Narayan, 115-171) / READING GUIDE (527-533)

The Bhagavad-Gita: Triad of Nature's Qualities (534)

The Bhagavad-Gita (535-558)

Quiz 11

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