Brain washing.

I know that i am beating a dead snake since the book containing 300 versions of Ramayana has been removed from the curriculum of history UG's of Delhi univ.Nevertheless the ongoing sparring on TV, dailies and blogs has successfully goaded me to blog my opinion on this ticklish issue.

An under graduate student is a very young person and like all those belonging to that age wants a hero, an idol to emulate , to follow and guide them through his or her troubled teen age years .

We hear and learn from our crib , on our mother's lap and in the crook of our father's arms that Rama was an ideal man.A truthful, honest, valiant generous and just individual and that Sita was the embodiment of all that is gentle,forgiving,compassionate and good.And this idea lingers on and guides us through to and in adult hood as well.

If a confusing version of a man we consider as 'Purushotama '---the perfect one is prescribed for young minds to study and ponder who do not posses the maturity to flick or laugh away such absurdities as a middle aged person may,would only serve to shock and disillusion them . At the fall off their idol from the high pedestal.Naive' youth and even us---the middle aged one's who have experienced everything and soured by life's bitter and raw deals require an ideal person to emulate and follow.

Great men like Rama,Buddha, Jesus , Prophet and other religious heads are a source of inspiration in this fetid world. A breath of fresh and fragrant air.Their noble nature and exemplary life reinforces one's belief in good and higher things of life Their true worth can be grasped more so, only in times of unimaginable sorrow.

By flinging mud on them with crazy theories is nothing but mocking and squashing all human endeavours for a virtuous , sublime and spiritual life.

We need to revere such men as they are rare to come by.

I am not advocating fanaticism only observing and cautioning that young minds are way too impressionable to be taught that Rama and Sita are siblings or that Sita was the daughter of Ravana, too naive to analyse that such versions may have emanated from faiths opposing the Hindu faith.That such theories may smack of supercilliousness and have an inner agenda.

As far as my knowledge goes Kambhar and Tulsidas have not deviated from the main narrative of the original Epic--Valmiki's Ramayana.They have no where struck a discordant chord . In fact they have further embellished it with their poetic skills.

The history students can always read these 300 versions if they have the patience and interest to do so at their own free will instead of have it thrust down their gullet ,and preferably in their adult years.

I 'd rather prefer that young minds be brain washed with the teachings of Rama, Buddha, Jesus or Prophet or any other religious and spiritual leaders than that of the likes of Lennin, Stalin,Maostetung or Polpot.