SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE FROM RAMAYANA

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.