The Ramayana is an ancient Indian epic, composed sometime in the 5th century BCE, about the exile and then the return of Rama, prince of Ayodhya. It was composed in sanskrit by the sage Valmiki, who taught it to Rama's sons, the twins Lava and Kush.
10 lessons of Ramayana to live by
1. Respect elders and be
duty bound towards parents:
Rama left for vanvas(forest) after his stepmother expressed her
desire to see her own son Bharata is the future king of Ayodhya.
2. Anybody can make a show
of greatness:
It is how we handle reversals that matters. Greatness is tested
by the ability to tolerate provocations. When Rama had to give up his throne, he could have shown his anger towards Kaikeyi but
he restrained himself.
3. Attachments create traps
and leads to suffering:
Marichi assumed the form of a golden deer which attracted Sita
who wanted to possess it and this is what led to her being kidnapped.
4. Maya knows our
weaknesses:
Maya transforms our strength into weakness and casts a veil over
the teachings of great souls. Ravana used illusion to captivate Sita enough for
her to disobey Lakshmana.
5. Be deeply committed to
your duty:
Besides being Sita's husband, Rama was also the king of Ayodhya.
The duty of a king is to heed the opinion of his subjects, in spite of his
manly duty. Hence he was forced to excile his wife for the sake of the people
who questioned her chastity.
6. Choose the path of
righteousness:
Vibhishana, the younger brother of Ravana chose to not support his siblings in the war against Ram. He knew his brother had committed the sin of pride by kidnapping Sita.
7. Always stand by what is right:
Salvation comes from pleasing god. Jatayu lost his life
fighting for Lord Rama. Thereby achieving this purpose it is better to lose and
win then to win and lose.
8. Remain humble no
matter how powerful you become:
Hanuman could have easily rescued Sita from Ravana’s Ashok
vatika by himself since he had the power to single-handedly defeat Ravana’s army.
But he chose to step aside nd allow Lord
Ravana’s /divine powers to destroy Ravana.
9. The goal of life is to please the lord:
Bharat wanted to stay
in the forest with Rama. But he obeyed his over his elder brother and return to
Ayodhya to be crowned though he placed Rama’s sandal on the throne.
10. Embrance all irrespective of caste, creed and colour:
Prince Rama ate fruits already tested by Shabri a poor old woman who had nothing to offer but feel your love.
