Ramayana is itihasa: Running away of the Doubter

 

Assignment-2

In the summer of 2023, I went to a World Hindu Conference in Chicago organized by Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America.

The conference was very well organized and provided a great opportunity to Hindus across the world to exchange ideas, and information that could bring Hindus together on a global scale.

Obviously, there were some delegates from the ‘others’ side’ who also attended to do our purvapaksha. As we have experienced since the last few decades, the elements who want to destroy our civilization, who want to break Bharat have their network spread all across the academy, media, entertainment industry as well as in politics. These forces have huge financial backing from several sources.

While I was straddling from one room to another to get the best of all the worlds during the conference, I met Marathi-speaking Mahesh Pitale (assumed name) from Pune, studying in the USA. Since I hail from Mumbai, and I know Marathi, we got along well pretty fast.

He made friends with me and made great efforts to stick to me, which initially was not noticed by me. (Later when I realized who he was, I understood they are provided with such training to first befriend us and slowly do our purvapaksha).

However, I am happy we became friends because whatever agenda he had, he did not succeed in it.

To sum up my encounter with him in those 3 days, I like to state that we had a fairly long conversation on the subject of Ramayana being history or myth.

During my conversation with him, I gathered that he was in his last semester in a Liberal Arts Program in Princeton University. That provided me with his background. 

Obviously, he wanted to prove it by arguing Ramayana was a myth and he had no idea that I was well-read about it and was able to demolish all his arguments based on his position on Ramayana.

I reckoned the upcoming conversation was going to be of interest.

I would summarize about my conversation with him as under:

 

Mahesh:          Ramayana is a very beautifully written fiction by Valmiki, isn't it, Udit?

Udit:                Well, Ramayana IS a beautifully written itihasa, my friend, Mahesh.

M:                    Do you think it is itihasa?

U:                     I do not think it is itihasa. It IS itihasa.

M:                    What makes you think so? There is nothing in this story that can prove it is 

                        itihasa.

U:                     Do you want to point out your doubts?

M:                    There is nothing in the story to prove that it is itihasa. For ex., the story talks

                        About Pushpaka Vimana. That is complete nonsense. 

U:                     My friend, I am sure you say this because you have neither read nor heard about 

                        ‘Vymaanika Shaastra’ written by Bharadwaja Muni. 

M:                    I have not heard about it. What does it say?

U:                     This is an ancient shastra that describes about 120 vimana-s and about the

Metallurgy, avionics, Aeronautics, fuels and other maneuvers that were deployed in flying those vimana-s. And, according to him, he was only compiling that information available that time in different texts, which means, in other words, the vimana-s were already flying prior to his time. An English translation of the same by G.R. Josyer is available online if you want to read it.

M:                    Oh, come on. Just because someone writes, does not necessarily mean those 

                        vimana-s existed. If they existed, one should be able to see their parts at the

excavation sites or at least, there should be ‘some’ proof.

U:                     My dear friend, Ramayana happened several thousand years back, so it is 

                        extremely difficult to get to see any material from those times, because between

                        those times and today, so many natural calamities or disasters may have 

                        occurred. However, the very detailed and that too highly technical data available

                        prove that we did have such technology. If someone had 

                        told your grandfather in 1920s/1930s that one day, a man will land on the moon 

and that we would have computers and the internet that could make the world what it is today, would he have believed it? Just because he did not see or experience does not mean things do not exist or cannot exist. Apart from this shastra, our Bhagavatam, Kautilya’s Arthashastra, Yantrakalpa etc speak in great detail about vimana-s and pilots etc.

M:                    Ok, granted, vimana-s may have existed. But there is no proof of Rama’s 

                        Existence.

U:                     Shri Rama belonged to Suryavanshi dynasty that began with King Ikshwaku and 

                        Shri Rama was 50th in line. The way this whole record was maintained not 

                        Because one day in 21st century in a conference in Chicago, one Mahesh would 

                        Ask Udit to prove Ramayana as itihas as against his belief that it is a myth.

                        Mahesh, while in vanavasa, Shri Rama straddled across from the north of India 

                        To south and crossing the sea, reached Shri Lanka. All the places in India from 

                        Where he started and reached the edge of South to cross the sea that have been

Mentioned in Valmiki Ramayana still actually exist and most have the same names even after thousands of years. People talk about Shri 

                        Rama having spent his time there, staying there etc. Nobody went to all these 

                        Hundred places and spoke to the people that if anyone asks you, you say that

                        Shri Rama passed through our village or our forest etc. This has been going on

                        For the last thousands of years. You think this could be a myth? By the way, even

                        NASA has accepted Ramasetu as a manmade structure and not a natural marine

                        Formation, which is now public knowledge.

M:                    Udit, I have to attend the conference on ‘Media Strategy in today’s world’, so

                        may I take your leave? We would continue to talk about this. Thanks.

U:                     Ok, I hope you believe Ramayana IS itihas now.

M:                    Not sure, yet. But we will talk.

U:                     Mahesh, I know where you are coming from. It is fine if you do not believe me. 

Because, Bhagawan Krishna says in Shrimad Bhagavad Gita;

 

                        इदं ते नातपस्काय नाभक्ताय कदाचन ।

न चाशुश्रूषवे वाच्यं न च मां योऽभ्यसूयति ॥ १८-६७॥

 

This is never to be spoken by you to one who is devoid of austerities or devotion, nor to one who does not render service or who does not desire to listen, nor to one who cavils at Me.

                       

                        Of course, my words only filled the air that replaced Mahesh while he was gone

                        Too far.

But I was satisfied and patted my back gently to have succeeded in giving a befitting reply to one of those who was apparently sepoy of the ‘Others’.

                       

                        Astu!

                         

                        Udit Shah