Goswami Tulsidas began composing the Ramacharitmanas four and a half centuries ago. It has profoundly impacted many, particularly the Hindi-speaking people. Over these centuries, Lord Rama has been largely conceived by them as depicted by Tulsidas. He is divine, and in his human avatar, the ultimate upholder of maryada, which is a difficult word to translate into English. For me, it connotes righteous conduct which is context specific.
The transformation of an invocation
Lord Rama waged a righteous war against Ravana and vanquished those who disrupted religious ceremonies. This militant aspect, especially Ravana ‘vadh’, continues to be celebrated in large parts of India during Dussehra. But the aggressive aspects of Lord Rama are not as emphasised by Tulsidas as are his sobriety, calmness and compassion. The current popular invocation, ‘Jai Shri Ram’, particularly its aggressive tone and manner, is vastly different from earlier invocations of Lord Rama’s name.
“Jai Shri Ram” emerged from the Rath Yatra undertaken in 1990 by a former Deputy Prime Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader, Lal Krishna Advani, to press for the construction of a Lord Rama temple at the site of the then disputed structure. The militant tone of “Jai Shri Ram” was obviously meant to stir Hindu feelings for the Ram Janmabhoomi temple.
Earlier, Hindus in large parts of the Hindi-speaking areas invoked Lord Rama’s name by way of greetings by simply saying “Ram Ram” or “Jai Ramji ki” or “Jai Siya Ram”. The last-mentioned invocation is particularly significant for it includes Sita; in the Awadhi dialect in which Tulsidas composed the Ramacharitmanas, Sita is Siya. Indeed, in it, Tulsidas writes, “Recognising the entire creation as full of Siya and Rama, I make obeisance to them with joined palms.” It would not be an exaggeration to state that for many, Lord Rama was incomplete without Siya.
Invocations are symptomatic of changed social thinking. Thus, “Jai Shri Ram” connotes that a sharpness has occurred in Hindu thinking. Many, however, assert that it indicates that Hindus have become more confident. What is true, though, is that the only place in earlier times where the words “Jai Shri Ram” were sometimes seen was in pictures and calendars where Hanuman was depicted tearing his chest open and showing the words “Jai Shri Ram” inscribed on his heart.
The construction of the grand temple in Ayodhya, where Lord Rama will be worshipped in his infant form, is being widely welcomed in most parts of the country. For millions, it connotes a correction of a historical wrong suffered by the Hindus during their ‘thousand years of slavery’. They also feel that Hindus must become assertive to bury the long centuries of indignities. More Hindus have begun to think on these lines than in the past.
Turning to an epic poem in its entirety
As the Ram Janmabhoomi temple is consecrated on January 22, 2024, and the day becomes one of celebration, what would be most needed is to turn to the Ramacharitmanas in its entirety. That would lead us to fully comprehend Lord Rama in all his dimensions, and not only in his warrior mode. Indeed, as the temple is of the infant Lord Rama, it is important to recall what Tulsidas writes in Balkand, Doha 191, Chands 1 and 4: that after showing Kausalya, His full form adorned with His ‘characteristic emblems’, He accepted her entreaty and became “an infant and began to cry”. That would mean to take joy in his sweet childlike activities so beautifully captured in D.V. Paluskar’s immortal rendering of the bhajan “Thumak chalat Ramachandra”. It is an attribute of our times that the infant Rama is seldom invoked, even if the Ayodhya case was for the rights of Ramlalla Virajman. Few invoke, leave alone take joy, in the Lord’s manifestation as a child.
In the Ramacharitmanas, Lord Rama’s compassion stands out. Tulsidas notes that Bharata, full of remorse and guilt, meets Lord Rama to persuade him to return to Ayodhya, saying, “I know the disposition of my master [meaning the Lord] who is never angry even with the offender.” Yet, now in the changed times, even Hanuman is sometimes depicted in an angry disposition. And, Lord Rama is shown not merely holding a bow, as was traditional, but also with a bow with its strings tautly drawn. This is not the only way Tulsidas perceived the Lord in Ramacharitmanas. This change is also reflective of the enormous evolution that has taken place over the past four decades in Hindu society, especially in northern and western India.
On Gandhi
A last thought. Perhaps it was the father of our nation who had immersed himself in Lord Rama’s bhakti more than anyone else. For it was only such a bhakt who would have instinctively uttered “He Ram” as he was felled by an assassin’s bullet. It is evocative that his samadhi at Rajghat carries these words. As we Hindus celebrate the grand new Ram Janmabhoomi temple, it is Gandhiji’s Rama bhakti that we need to absorb.
Vivek Katju is a retired Indian Foreign Service officer
