Ramayana - an essential subject

Ramayana is one of the eposes which counts amongst the literary and religious treasures of humanity. It's intricate story of fight between good & evil and love & envy has captured the hearts of many millions of readers from all walks of life. Its ageless message is especially relevant today.

And yet, as much as Ramayana has its historical, moral, social, artistic, scientific and dramatic value, there is much more to it. It has an immense spiritual value as it describes the pastimes of Lord Rama who is an incarnation of Krishna, the Supreme Lord. Such a potent transcendental literature can churn spiritual emotions slumbering within our hearts and bring us closer to God and to our real spiritual selves.

Srila Prabhupada's books, lectures, conversations and letters offer a comprehensive presentation of this essential subject as seen in the Vaniquotes Ramayana category. An introduction from his books is given below in the following 6 quotes.

Quotes from Srila Prabhupada's books


vanipedia.org 		On the expiry of fourteen years, after settling the affairs at Laṅkā, the Lord came back to His kingdom, Ayodhyā, by flower plane. He instructed His brother Śatrughna to attack Lavṇāsura, who reigned at Mathurā, and the demon was killed. He performed ten Aśvamedha sacrifices, and later on He disappeared while taking a bath in the Śarayu River. The great epic Rāmāyaṇa is the history of Lord Rāma's activities in the world, and the authoritative Rāmāyaṇa was written by the great poet Vālmīki. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.12.19)



vanipedia.org 		The four Vedas, with their supplementary Purāṇas, the Mahābhārata, the Rāmāyaṇa and their corollaries, which are known as smṛtis, are all authorized sources of knowledge. If we are at all to gather knowledge, we must gather it from these sources without hesitation. Revealed knowledge may in the beginning be unbelievable because of our paradoxical desire to verify everything with our tiny brains, but the speculative means of attaining knowledge is always imperfect. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 5.14)



vanipedia.org 		An apparently pitiable condition in devotional service may appear distressing to the inexperienced student, but the feelings of the devotee in this pitiable condition are considered to be ecstatic by expert devotees. For example, the subject matter of the Rāmāyaṇa is sometimes considered pitiable and distressing to the heart, but actually that is not the fact. (Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 34)



vanipedia.org 		The Ṛg Veda, Yajur Veda, Sāma Veda, Atharva Veda, Mahābhārata, Pañcarātra and original Rāmāyaṇa are all considered Vedic literature. The Purāṇas (such as the Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa, Nāradīya Purāṇa, Viṣṇu Purāṇa and Bhāgavata Purāṇa) are especially meant for Vaiṣṇavas and are also Vedic literature. As such, whatever is stated within the Purāṇas, Mahābhārata and Rāmāyaṇa is self-evident. There is no need for interpretation. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 6.137)



vanipedia.org 		There is a great difference between mundane stories, fiction, or history and the transcendental pastimes of the Lord. The histories of the whole universe contain references to the pastimes of the incarnations of the Lord. The Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata, and the Purāṇas are histories of bygone ages recorded in connection with the pastimes of the incarnations of the Lord and therefore remain fresh even after repeated readings. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.1.19)



vanipedia.org 		The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth." Unless one is tattva-darśī, in complete knowledge of the Absolute Truth, one cannot describe the activities of the Personality of Godhead. Therefore although there are many so-called Rāmāyaṇas, or histories of Lord Rāmacandra's activities, some of them are not actually authoritative. Sometimes Lord Rāmacandra's activities are described in terms of one's own imaginations, speculations or material sentiments. But the characteristics of Lord Rāmacandra should not be handled as something imaginary. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 9.10.3)



Ramayana - explore more within this category.

Vanipedia has now over 903 introductory articles compiled from Srila Prabhupada's books under the series titled Essential Subjects. All these articles can be seen in the Table of Content on the right side of this article and also here in this Umbrella Category. Browse through them to relish the breadth and depth of Srila Prabhupada's teachings - There is a subject for everyone.


   
 

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