“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.”
- George Orwell | The Washington Post -
Strauss, Valerie. (March 4, 2013) How George Orwell might explain school reform.
The Washington Post, Washington D.C.
Following a struggle spanning half a millennium – during which thousands of people lost their lives, a protracted legal battle ensued, historians and archeologists as well as politicians and journalists sparred – on January 22, 2024, a new temple dedicated to Lord Rama was rebuilt at its original historic site. Lord Rama is a central figure in the pantheon of Sanatana Dharma, popularly known as Hinduism, and is the protagonist of Ramayana (one of The Manuals of the Cosmos™) – the oldest extant epic from Bharat, which is now known as India. The site of this new temple represents the birthplace of Lord Rama in the ancient city of Ayodhya.
Around 1528 CE, Babur, the first chieftain of the Mogul invaders of Bharat, destroyed this ancient temple and built a mosque named after himself over it. This pattern of deliberate attempts at obliterating the indigenous history continued for over 300 years during which thousands of temples were razed.
This kind of intentional destruction was particularly devastating to the culture of Bharat, which is rooted in Vedic literature. The Vedas (The Manuals of the Cosmos™) are the foundational texts of Sanatana Dharma, wherein spirituality is considered the highest plane of knowledge or science (from Latin scientia, meaning knowledge) and experience. The temples of Sanantan Dharma have been the seat of spirituality and thus, an important part of the cultural identity of Bharat for millennia.
The first universities in the history of the world were also built in Bharat – several hundred years before anywhere else. Many of these universities were residential and attracted international students from many countries. A wide variety of subjects, within overarching Vedic Knowledge System (VKS), were taught there. Unfortunately, these centers of learning were also destroyed by Muslim invaders.
Finally, systematic and often violent attempts at proselytization were made first by the Muslim invaders, and later by the British Christian colonizers.
All in all, there was a prolonged, multi-pronged assault on Sanatana Dharma, which is essentially the civilizational spirit of Bharat (and I argue of humanity at large . . . read below).
Following independence of Bharat from British rule, the left-leaning politicians, historians, and journalists of that era systematically perpetuated this assault. During the struggle for the Rama Temple, fierce attempts were made to even invalidate Lord Rama as a real figure and to reduce his character to a fictional one. However, in the minds of billion-plus followers of Sanatana Dharma around the world, Lord Rama is an integral part of the civilizational history, spirit and identity of Bharat.
Thus, the story of and around rebuilding the Rama Temple at its original site, after half a millennium, chronicles a resurgence of the oldest surviving civilization in history: that of Bharat. There is no other example in human history where a civilization has not only survived but thrived again, despite such a long and sustained period of duress. The rebuilding of the Rama Temple emphasizes and accentuates the essence of Sanatana Dharma and thus, the civilization of Bharat as a whole.
“Whenever I have read any part of the Vedas, I have felt that some unearthly and unknown light illuminated me. In the great teaching of the Vedas, there is no touch of sectarianism. It is of all ages, climbs, and nationalities and is the royal road for the attainment of the Great Knowledge. When I read it, I feel that I am under the Spangled heavens of a summer night.”
- Henry David Thoreau | Thoreau’s Journal (published 1861) -
“In the great books of India, an empire spoke to us, nothing small or unworthy, but large, serene, consistent, the voice of an old intelligence, which another age and climate had pondered and thus disposed of the questions that exercise us.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson | The Bhagavad-Gita: Krishna's counsel in time of war -
Miller, Barbara Stoler (1986). The Bhagavad-Gita: Krishna's counsel in time of war. Columbia Press: NY
Sanatana Dharma is the longest lasting faith in history. It roughly translates into “eternal and righteous way to live” (Please refer to my blog, dated: 2/17/22, The Timeless Triad: A Peek into the Consciousness of Vedic Culture). I have suggested in my previous blogs that the word “eternal” was used intentionally to describe the way of life Sanatana Dharma preaches. Nothing can be eternal unless it is within the cosmic order and whatever is within the cosmic order cannot be time limited or meant only for a certain group of earthly people. In this sense, Sanatana Dharma is essentially secular. I believe this is the reason Sanatana Dharma has not only never engaged in systematic proselytization but also its basic tenets have universal appeal. I also believe that its elements of eternality and universality have enabled it to survive millennia of assault by different forces.
Thus, it is not surprising, there is good evidence that Sanatana Dharma was the predominant – if not the singular – and global spiritual order on Earth in antiquity. To those interested in this topic, I highly recommend Stephen Knapp’s book Proof of Vedic Culture’s Global Existence.
The Ramayana and the Mahabharata are two Vedic epics, together termed Itihasa, which literally means: thus or how it happened. The Ramayana, translating into “the journey of Lord Rama”, chronicles the life of Lord Rama in great detail from his birth to his death. This story has been told and retold innumerable times, in some form, since time immemorial, not only in the households of Bharat, but also in those of many other countries such as Nepal, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Mongolia, Vietnam, China, Maldives, South Korea, etc.
In addition, historians, philologists, and archeologists are increasingly unearthing connections between the life of Lord Rama and artifacts, legends, and linguistics in countries such as Iraq, Egypt, Russia, Italy, Peru, Honduras, and other parts of South America.
I believe there are important reasons behind this global presence of Lord Rama’s story, within the framework of Sanatana Dharma. The story of Ramayana deeply resonates with the human psyche and evokes the entire spectrum of emotions and human attributes, including both virtues and vices. The reason for this resonance is the fact that the story embodies the triumph of eternal and universal values which are essential for continued existence and welfare of the human race, within the order of the cosmos. As such, once again, the values characterized by Lord Rama are secular, non-sectarian and non-communal.
It is not surprising that the rebuilding of the Rama Temple was celebrated across the globe by people of all faiths.
The rebuilding of Rama Mandir has engendered a wide variety of emotions around the globe including, but not limited to pain, elation, redemption, anger, resentment, kindness, reconciliation, existential dilemmas and so forth.
This event also marks a confluence of a whole variety of civilizational and cultural artifacts such as faith, ethos, philosophy, art, politics, journalism, science, economy, and the like.
The western media overall, both on the right and the left, and part of media elsewhere have engaged in predominantly negative coverage of this event, portraying it as a manifestation of a so-called Hindutva movement. In my estimation, the deeper reason for this kind of unfair and slanted journalistic treatment of this event is at least partially the fact that paradigms of VKS and Sanatana Dharma are considered in direct contradiction to those of so-called modern, progressive, and scientific thoughts. This contradiction is very unsettling to the vast majority of political, sociological, philosophical and scientific institutions. The other reasons include ignorance of and/ or indifference to history.
In VKS and Sanatana Dharma there are no inherent contradictions as spirituality is considered the most advanced and consequential form of knowledge – thus, spirituality and human civilization are inextricably intertwined.
“India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend and the great-grandmother of tradition. Our most
valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only.”
- Mark Twain | "Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World." (1897) -
The central story of Ramayana culminates in Lord Rama, the symbol of good, killing Ravana, the symbol of evil. Although this is an oversimplification of the multifaceted and complex storyline of Ramayana, it can be said that Lord Rama represents virtues which can help our humanity today: love, dedication, gratitude, humility, fairness, kindness, honesty, selflessness, respect for elders, etc. Ravana, on the other hand, represents the darker, antithetical attributes of humanity.
It is fair to say that our modern human civilization has a preponderance of qualities represented by Ravana. We are definitely in a moral crisis at every level: individuals, communities, religious faiths, cultures, countries, and others.
- Sylvia Levi -
Dr. V.K. Maheshwari (2011) Amazing India - The Motherland of Our Race. Retrieved from http://www.vkmaheshwari.com/WP/?p=267
The rebuilding of the Rama Temple in Ayodhya marks a renewed beginning of triumph of good over evil, of eternality over evanescence for the sake of humanity.
The omens are encouraging so far. Just today, the BAPS Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a Muslim state, was inaugurated by Narendra Modi, the prime minister of Bharat.
Today also happens to be a very auspicious day in Vedic cosmology: the birthday of the Vedic goddess of knowledge and wisdom, Saraswati (Read more on Saraswati Puja). Two years ago, on this very auspicious day, I launched this blog site and today, after a hiatus of several months, I am back at it!
Very fittingly and in line with ethos contained in The Manuals of the Cosmos™, the BAPS Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi is a grand monument epitomizing high-level, multi-faith cooperation between Sanatana Dharma, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism and Jainism. It is a testament to all-embracing, secular aspects of Sanatana Dharma. Read more . . .
Let’s hope that humanity has begun to turn over the pages, one at a time, from The Manuals of the Cosmos™.
And that’s all folks...
At least for now…
Until next time…
“India will teach us the tolerance and gentleness of mature mind, understanding spirit and a unifying, pacifying love for all human beings.”
- Will Durant -
Durant, Will & Durant, Ariel. The Story of Civilization: Our Oriental Heritage, Vol I. 1976. Simon & Schuster (Ed. 1).
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