Kaely Mayes

Essay 2

The Ramayana

One of the prevalent religions in Indonesia is Hinduism. The classical epic, The

Ramayana,is an essential learning tool for the Hindu People during both

modern and ancient times. It instills the ideology of Hinduism and upholds

the principles of dharma. Through the actions and thoughts of the

characters, The Ramayana shows how to incorporate dharma into one’s life.

It also exhibits the differences in dharma and artha, to which leads one to

either moksha or samsāra. Dharma is moral ethics and duty that befalls all

living beings, to act upon perfect conduct. The end result of living the life of

dharma is to enter moksha, the liberation from the cycle of rebirth (also

called samsāra). Whereas arthais wealth, greed and the wanting of power

that can easily consume ones’ self. Throughout life there is a constant

battle between these two, it is the choices made that shape the outcome.

The Ramayana is a guide how to follow dharma and reject arthathrough the

experiences of its characters. It also shows the effects of the characters

actions.

The Ramayana teaches through the experiences of the characters and

how they handle situations. One of the major characters in The Ramayana is

Rama, the 7thhuman avatar of the Supreme Being Vishnu. He is considered

the ultimate dharma king. Every action and situation encountered by Rama

in the epic was influenced by ideology of dharma. He was presented with

many opportunities to obtain power and wealth, but at the expense of

righteousness. He understood that life is not fair and that one needs to

utilize what one is given. Unfortunately, there are some people that never

do learn what dharma truly means. One such person is Rama’s antagonist,

Ravanathe demon king of Lanka. He is considered by many people as the

ultimate arthaking. Ravana’s actions are manipulated by arthaand the

momentary happiness it brings. Long ago this demon acquired a gift from

Shiva of immorality; no god could ever kill him. He used his powers to

conquer many devas and instill fear into everyone.

The theme that presents itself in this epic and in the Hindu religion is

the conflict between artha, a life that leads to happiness, and dharma, a life

that leads to tragedy. Pleasure and happiness comes from having what you

want, no matter how obtained or preserved. It is usually obtained through

artha. While artha may create happiness, it is fleeting because arthacreates

karma. Having karma is not good for it brings upon another cycle of life.

The pursuit of artha will never allow one to reach mokshaand will keep

incarnating one’s soul until all the said karma is gone. Only then can one

reach moksha. The way to rid one’s self of karma is to lead a life of dharma.

The Ramayana shows how one can accomplish reaching moksha, through

making correct choices using dharma. Every time a character’s actions are

driven by artha, their aim is unsuccessful. A life lead by dharma may be

unfair, but one is rewarded in the end. For example, at the end of this epic

Ravanais killed and Rama’s kingship is reinstated. By following the path of

dharma, Rama was able to endure his exile and the wrongs against him were

corrected.

The conflict of dharma over arthawill always exist in society. Even in

present day with the rise of technology and individualism, we have

surrounded ourselves with the temptations of artha. The modern world

depends on the accumulation of power, the need for wealth to have a good

life and the greed for better things. It is difficult to see past artha, but the

need for a life of dharma still exists. By educating people through the

teachings presented in The Ramayana, one can instill the importance of

dharma to future generations. The values in The Ramayana are universal;

everyone will be able to use this learning tool to understand the lessons

taught within the epic.

Narayan, R.K. The Ramayana. Strand: Peguin Books Ltd., 1972.

"Ramayana". Wikipedia. 4/20/2009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramayana>.