The following are just some themes that you can ponder while you read the Ramayana. 1. Perhaps the central most theme to the Ramayana is “working out of karma, the consequences of past deeds.” Like all great epic stories the final conclusion is not in question, but rather the focus is on the process to that conclusion. What makes the narrative interesting are the many layers of karma involved, the dilemmas to be faced and how one’s dharma impacts these actions. When these factors all act simultaneously the relatively simple story of good versus evil becomes far more complex. Stated another way, it is precisely the timeless nature of the struggles portrayed in the Ramayana that has allowed Rama’s name to resonate up to the present not just among Indians but throughout Southeast Asia. Keeping the nature of the various struggles presented, select several elements which you think make Ramayana such a potent story while highlighting how it reveals fundamental characteristics about Indian life, culture and history. 2. In India today many parents tell their children to “be as Rama” or “to be as Sita” holding these two characters up as the model of properly adhering to one's dharma. Using these two characters examine what constitutes dharma and how it differs for Rama and Sita. 3. There can be little question that at its base, the Ramayana is a philosophical text, yet the story also encodes the cultural values of Hindu civilization by inculcating the notions of a stratified social order, a patriarchy, marriage, and the extended family structure. Select several themes or one or two scenes which you feel typify Indian society, and describe why. 4. One of the more fascinating elements of the Ramayana is its exploration of tensions (or dualities) between two attractive options: personal freedom and duty; forest life and “worldly society”; gain and loss; joy and sorrow. Focusing on this idea of dualities explore what you feel are the more crucial tensions in the Ramayana and explain why.
|
|||||||
