In India, people who were worshipped as gods are those who somehow rose to that stature. For example, Ram is worshipped as a god. He rose to that stature because he was considered the best king. His administration was supposed to be the most compassionate and most just administration ever. And in many ways, the time of Ram became a kind of fulcrum to build this civilisation in these 6,000 years.
Even when India’s freedom struggle was happening in the early twentieth century, Mahatma Gandhi went on talking about creating a Ram Rajya. That means a kingdom where, irrespective of caste, creed, colour, or whatever else, everyone lives as equal human beings, and everyone has equal opportunity. Even now, in vernacular languages, when someone wants to refer to “an ideal nation,” he says Ram Rajya.
But there are arguments from some people these days that Ram is a male chauvinist who, because of his pride or insecurity, sent his wife back to the jungle. During the Youth and Truth campaign, in one of the premier educational institutions in the country, one young man asked me, “The way Ram treated his wife, he brought her back from Sri Lanka and then sent her to the forest again – I think he was insecure about her being elsewhere for some time.” I said, “See, you definitely are not competent to be a psychiatrist for Ram. And 6,000 years later, you don’t make these judgments.”
If he was an ordinary man, you could question how he treated his wife, but he was a king. For Ram, his praja, or subjects, were most important. And he lived in a time when he was trying to establish the dharma of the land. Essentially, he was trying to make it a law-abiding population. The story goes that a dhobi was asking questions “Your wife has been somewhere. How do we know the children that she is bearing are yours? What kind of queen mother is she?” It was not just about a dhobi. When they used the term “dhobi,” they actually meant ordinary people.
If the king says, “I don’t care what you think, I love my wife,” and keeps her, he would not be considered a good king. Sita was not just another woman for him. He walked 3,000 km and fought a battle for her. He was living for her, but still, he sent her back to the jungle when she was pregnant. A child is a big thing for any man, but for a king, it was especially important. Despite this, he placed the well-being of the people and the rule of law of the nation at that time above his personal love.
Do you want a leader for this nation who puts the people of this nation above their own family and personal love or do you want a Dhritarashtra — “At any cost, my son”? In that context, Ram should be the leader of the future for the world. We need people who think beyond their biology, their personal likes and dislikes, and their own sufferings and problems, and look at what is best for the people. That is what Ram and this culture signify — a sense of sacrifice. Essentially, dispassion when it comes to oneself, absolute passion when it comes to everyone around you — this is the only thing we value.
In Sanatana Dharma or the Hindu way of life, the only thing that is important is to become liberated — mukti, moksha, nirvana, whatever you want to call it — essentially, you must become free. So, when we see a human being who is liberated, we worship him. It is not only Ram — there have been many — but a king who is like this is a rare thing. There may be a sage sitting in the hills, but he is not available to the public, and he is not doing much activity. He is wonderful, but a king handling every kind of nonsense daily, fighting battles, managing the administration and doing politics, and yet fully liberated — this is a tremendous inspiration.
This is why we call him “Maryada Purushottam”, which means this man deserves everyone’s respect because he has risen. He was born as a human being and went through so much drama in life — much more than others — but he rose above that. He is like a sage but sits on a throne and runs the nation.
Ranked amongst the fifty most influential people in India, Sadhguru is a Yogi, mystic, visionary and a New York Times bestselling author. Sadhguru has been conferred the Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India in 2017, the highest annual civilian award, accorded for exceptional and distinguished service. He is also the founder of the world’s largest people’s movement, Conscious Planet – Save Soil, which has touched over 4 billion people. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
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