Ram Mandir, what is in it for the citizens of India and the world

Anil Kumar Dahal *

As the inauguration of Ram Mandir in the birth place of Shree Ram in Ayodhya is in peak and a hot topic these days, I would like to share the importance of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya from a citizen’s prospective rather than religious or political prospective. I am sharing my opinion not as a Hindu and I am not affiliated to any political party as well.

So all my Muslim, Christian and brothers from other religion, brothers and sisters from any political parties may consider this piece as a very neutral and factual opinion about the Ram Mandir which will be inaugurated by our Honourable Prime Minister Shree Narendra Damodar das Modiji on 22nd of January 2024. Ram Mandir was constructed after the Supreme Court Judgement and its direction.

In the Indian history, Shree Ram is also considered as Purusottam (Purush- Man, Uttam- excellent/noble) and the history of Ram and Suryavanshi is an inspiration for a principled and ideal society. The complete history narration may take much time to and space to complete so I choose to highlight some facts on why Ram Mandir is important for citizen in shortest summary possible.

Today in the world of chaos and fight for power, we have witnessed the political fight among different groups. We have also noticed how the hunger for power has made enmity between parents and children, cousins, mentors and their followers, seniors and juniors, siblings, in present times as well as in history.

However the story of Ram and Bharat, where Bharat ruled Ayodhya during the exile period of 14 years of Ram and kept the sandals of Shree Ram in the throne symbolically during that period reminds us that a prosperous Nation also exists without enmity of the brothers. The respect that Bharat holds for his brother Ram is an example in history and must be an inspiration for all.

The Dwapar Yug, the time of Ram’s reign was a time where polygamy was in practice by the rulers in the society. It may have its own pros and cons, I am not diving into it however Ram vowed for a single wife and kept his words.

This shows the true love of Ram towards his wife Sita and must be inspiration to millions of couples living in the country and globe. Most of us considered Shah Jahan as an inspiration for true love however we must also notice that Mumtaz was not the first or last queen of Shah Jahan and I am sure no one will agree that it may be the symbol of true love if we don’t have a second agenda.

Every family want their children to have their life dedicated for their siblings. The dedication of Ram, Bharat, Lakshman and Shatrughna towards each other is a real inspiration for any family living in this world. No family in this world, may be from any religion, caste, race may disagree to the fact that the families of Suryavanshis will be a great learning for their family well being.

While Ram was in exile and Sita was kidnapped by Ravana, Ram started to raise his armies in the forest. He had an option to choose between Sugreev and Bali, Bali was more powerful than Sugreev and has defeated Ravana many times. However Ram chose Sugreev in his army only because he was with the righteous. He in fact defeated Bali and chose Sugreev for his army.

Ram always respects one’s culture. In today’s time when the opinion is about a diversified yet unified Nation, what can be more perfect example than Ram respecting the culture in Lanka of those times. After defeating Ravana, Ram handed over the Nation to Ravan’s brother Vibishan. As per the tradition of Lanka, Mandodari, wife of Ravana was married to Vibishan after Ravana was killed in the battlefield. Again I am not going into the pros and cons of the tradition practices of those times.

Today, the practice of keeping family first by the rulers and politician is not unknown practice. Many a times the citizens carry lots of burden due to this practice and Nation faces instability issues. What can be more principled than the story of Ram, where he disowns his own wife for the sake of the Nation. Didn’t he love his wife Sita.

Had he not loved, he wouldn’t have travelled all the way from UP to Lanka, raised armies of tribals and Monkeys, fight the mighty force of Ravan and bring back Sita. Disowning Sita was the supreme sacrifice he made for his Nation as a ruler.

The history doesn’t talk about invasion, conquer, expansion and its kind. The history talks about prosperity, peace, systems, justice, development, education, science, intellect and all prospect to uplift the society and lead an ideal life.

The history inspires us for our positive personal development, societal development, nationalism, justice, human values, family values and everything that makes a citizen, society and nation ideal, noble, strong, principled and prosperous.

The history is such that, if every child and citizen of the Nation learn from it, than we make our country a better place to live in and lead the world as well. The Ram Mandir to be inaugurated on 22nd of January in Ayodhya is symbolic for our Nation moving towards reviving the lost values.

I congratulate all who are invited to witness the great history in making and I also request everyone to atleast visit the temple once and get the inspiration. Let’s read, learn and adopt Ramayan.

The intention of this article is neither political nor religious so I request everyone to read it as a history and let’s learn together from our own history.