Sri Ram’s help is needed against today’s Ravanas

Something big is happening in Bharat after 500 long years. Common sense says that it should have happened much earlier: latest in 1947, when India was partitioned on religious lines and Indians who had converted to Islam got Pakistan. At that time, it would have been natural for Hindus to get back their temples which had been destroyed by invaders and mosques built on them as symbols of dominance and supremacy.

But maybe, now is just the right time for Bharat and the world to get back the Mandir at the birthplace of Sri Ram. The reason is that Ram is an epitome of Dharma, who fought and vanquished adharmik forces – and in our times, Adharma has become exceptionally strong and also needs to be fought and vanquished.

Humanity is presently not in good shape – without roots and direction, without meaning and values. It’s called “being woke” and even portrayed as positive. It spread among Westerners and already shows some impact among young Indians. Truth as such is now declared as non-existent, because “everyone has his own truth”. There is no objective meaning to life either, but it’s now a “personal matter”. Humans are dumbed down with junk food, drugs and low-grade entertainment, which only benefits the producers.

The belief in a Supreme Being and a soul has been ridiculed by “renowned” philosophers and scientists, like Yuval Noah Harari or Stephen Hawking. And many more terrible things, which were up to now hidden, are coming to light thanks to the alternative media and whistle blowers.

The worst of these things is probably the massive scale of child trafficking – for sex abuse, organ and blood harvesting and even for ritualistic “sacrifice” (means murder) to propitiate demonic forces by members of secret societies, who hold powerful positions on top of the pyramid. It’s all so unbelievable, but several whistleblowers have been silenced after speaking up, and this sadly gives them credence.

The eternal strife between Devas and Asuras is well underway in this world of Maya, and the Asuras seem to have the upper hand. Lust, anger and greed – the three gates to the hell of self-destruction according to Sri Krishna (Bh.G 16.21) – are rampant. Clearly, attempts are made to cut off humans from Atma, their divine Self – the worst thing that can possibly happen.

In the midst of this dark scenario, Bharat is still a beacon of light, even though Kali Yug shows its effect here, too. Yet most Indians still have faith in their Hindu Dharma. They still know about their divine core (Atma) and have devotion for the Devas.

Bharat is the only place on earth, where daily in many thousand temples the Devas are worshiped for the well-being of ALL, and NOT the Asuras or Satanic forces for personal wealth, power and sense-enjoyment. Every morning and evening the temples reverberate with the Arati for the Lord of the world (Om jaya Jagadisha hare) or for the Deities of the particular temple, who are all essentially one with the ONE Great Brahman or Sat-Chit-Ananda – blissful Consciousness.

The Deities are not somewhere in heaven, but present in the temple due to Pran Pratishtha having been performed, where the stone idol is infused with Prana, the divine life-force. And now, on 22 January 2024, a most special Pran Pratishtha will be performed: Sri Ram will become a living Presence in the newly-constructed Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.

Ayodhya – the name evokes great emotions in Hindus:

Ayodhya is the place where Ram was born, and grew up with his brothers Lakshman, Bharata and Shatrughna; where the sage Vashishtha taught them the ancient wisdom, and sage Vishwamitra took Ram and his brother Lakshman to fight malevolent Asuras.

It is the place where he brought Sita as his wife from Janakpur; from where he, Sita and Lakshman left for his long exile on the very same day, when his coronation was planned.

It is the place where his father died of grief over the separation from his dearest son; where his brother Bharat ruled, putting the padukas of Ram on the throne… and to which Ram returned with Sita, Lakshman and Hanuman after he had defeated the demon king Ravana in Lanka, and established the benevolent Ram Rajya.

Every Hindu knows the details of Ram’s life. The Ramayana is ingrained in them. It is played on village stages, chanted in ashrams and was an absolute hit on TV. It is a sacred scripture that contains all that one needs to know to live a dignified life, and to behave in an ideal way in midst of challenges.

Sri Ram is an outstanding example for humans – noble, just, brave, ever protecting the weak, and keeping his word.And he is dearly beloved.

Therefore, is there any question at all why Hindus fought for 500 years to get back this very special place and sacrificed so much? They fought not only against the invaders. In recent decades, they also had to fight against their own people – scheming politicians, communists and former Hindus who had converted to Islam, who all denied that Ram was real and that there was a Mandir earlier.Yet this is now past, finally.

Bharat is in a celebratory mood. Many Hindus have taken vows in the run-up to Pran Pratishtha, to purify themselves for the historic occasion. Japa of the Ram Mantra is done and devotional bhajans are sung or listened to.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will be a witness of the Pran Pratishtha on behalf of 140 crore Bharatiyas, too, has announced that he will follow certain rituals for 11 days prior to the Pran Pratishtha because – in his own words – “I have to awaken divine consciousness in myself, too”. As Prime Minister, he has tremendous responsibility. He surely needs and will ask for guidance from Prabhu Shri Ram.

There is a good chance that western media will criticize PM Modi for being so unapologetically Hindu. They may wonder, what it is about Hindu Dharma which makes people stick to it, in spite of all the negative propaganda against it by the Abrahamic religions, by communists and media. Why are the attacks on Hinduism from all sides not working as planned? Why do now even more Hindus again treasure their heritage? Why do even many foreigners consider Hindu Dharma as the best option for humanity and the world?

The answer is easy: Hindu Dharma is based on Truth and righteous living. It tells us who we really are in our essence (eternal Atma). And in this temporary world of Maya, it is on the side of Devas, who want to liberate us from Maya by realizing our divine consciousness, and not on the side of those who want to drive us deeper into ignorance and bondage.

Yet there is still a big challenge for Bharat: How to make those Indians who have been massively indoctrinated to look down on the faith of their Hindu ancestors – either by their newly adopted religions or by the education system – also see this truth?

Hopefully, Shri Ram gives Sadbuddhi to all.

And may all feel His Divine Presence in their hearts….

Satyameva Jayate

Jai Sri Ram

By Maria Wirth

This blog was first published here:

Sri Ram’s help is needed against today’s Ravanas

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 Śri Rāma – Vigrahavān Dharma

Celebrating Ayodhya – A Symbol of Sanātana Dharma

The Personal Connection

My parents named me Kalyanaraman, hoping and praying that some small fraction of Bhagavān Śri Rāma’s qualities and character may manifest in me. However, before I could fully understand the significance of that name, during my first visit to the USA, I changed it to better suit the Western tastes. Similar aspirations as my parents’ were perhaps held by those of notable individuals such as E. V. Ramasami Naickar, Ramachandra Guha, N. Ram, Jairam Ramesh, Sitaram Yechury, and Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, who may have also desired a glimpse of Rama in their sons. It is important to acknowledge that not all prayers are answered, and in hindsight, in some of these cases, the answer was a resounding “No.” Nevertheless, our history has also witnessed the presence of illustrious figures like Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Ramana Maharishi, Ram Swaroop, Sitaram Goel, Srinivasa Ramanujan, and C.V. Raman, where the answer to their parents’ prayers was a “Yes”, even if it is a partial Yes.

The Clash of Two Ideas

In the present times, there exists a clash between India and Bharat, each representing two dominant and distinct ideas of India, being played out in the grand stage of India’s political battleground – its modern-day Kurukshetra. On the one hand, there is the idea that the entire civilizational heritage of India, encompassing its spirituality, religion, culture, and traditional wisdom, indeed its Sanātana Dharma (eternal law) is an unnecessary burden, irrelevant and detrimental to India’s progress. A natural corollary of this idea is the notion that India is better off forgetting its past, and must focus on modernizing and westernizing as quickly as possible. A consistent and deliberate effort, to engineer this “forgetting of the past”, has been made as a critical political project for many decades now; with the disconnection of the people from their language, Sanskrit, serving as one of the significant pillars. As individuals became increasingly alienated from their own culture and heritage, they developed an indifference, and even disdain, and grew to look down at their past, their parents, and ancestors. This disdain soon came to be considered a precondition for progress. This was the idea of India that I imbibed through my education at school and college, during my time as a student in India.

On the other side is the idea, which propounds that the country’s future cannot be de-linked from its civilizational past, and rely solely and entirely on imitating the latest Western fashions and fads. That its future must be rooted in a meaningful recovery of the wisdom embedded in its ancient culture, its traditions, and civilizational heritage. Recognizing and embracing that such a meaningful revival of India’s civilizational past—its “Dharma” or law which is “Sanātana” or eternal—as necessary for its own self-respect, sense of identity and destiny, is the alternate idea of Bharat. This perspective unfolded for me only gradually. The realization that this recovery of the past and restoration of Bharat’s Hindu heritage is not antithetical to its progress and does not constitute a regression, was not easy for me. I did not arrive at this understanding in one dramatic moment of explosive illumination, but rather the idea grew on me over time. Many Gurus and Acharyas contributed to this gradual understanding – Swami Dayananda Saraswati of Arsha Vidya Gurukulam being a central figure in that journey from darkness to light, from ignorance to knowledge. Just as the “forgetting” of India’s past was meticulously orchestrated, over many decades and perhaps even centuries, the “remembering” of India’s culture, wisdom, and civilizational heritage must also be consciously and diligently engineered. It cannot be left to the happenstance of accident, good fortune, or fate. And we all have a role to play here. To arrive at this understanding, I had to unlearn the previous idea of India that I had already deeply assimilated.

The Watershed Event and Pivotal Turning Point

In late 1992, I was a student at Ohio State University when the Babri Masjid was brought down. Like many poorly informed Hindus, I too was upset, and felt deeply disappointed with my fellow Hindus for having brought down the Babri Masjid. “It is not in our Hindu ethos or character to tear down a religious site of another religion, even if they had done it to us many times over”, I reasoned. I was filled with questions – “Why can’t we construct a Ram Mandir at a nearby site instead?” “Why do we have to claim that exact site for the Ram Mandir?” “Why do we need to stoke this controversy? Why can’t we be secular and work extra hard to get along with the Muslims?”

However, my perspective shifted after I came across the books Hindu Temples – What Happened to Them – Volume 1 and Volume 2. These books changed my thinking. I hold my encounter with these two “Rams” i.e., authors Śrī Sita Ram Goel, and his mentor Śrī Ram Swaroop, to be pivotal moments in my intellectual journey. I then went on to read another book by Śrī Sita Ram Goel titled How I Became a Hindu and one by Śrī Ram Swaroop titled On Hinduism – Reviews and Reflections. Until then, I had never heard about these two “Rams.” Their works left a profound impact on me and after this encounter, I couldn’t stop reading them. I highly recommend reading their books, and for those who have not read them, I have shared their links here. We must note with gratitude that the parents of both these authors had named them after the Bhagavān Śri Rāma.

The Symbiotic Juxtaposition

Vikās (development) and Virāsat (heritage) had always been pitched against one another in the old Idea of India. The current Prime Minister of India, Sri Narendra Modi, changed the rules of the game and showed us that Vikās (Development) does not have to be antithetical to Virāsat (Heritage). He taught us, and is still teaching, this invaluable and unforgettable lesson, through his ideas, his actions, and his accomplishments. It is unclear which of these he is more passionate about – Vikās or Virāsat. I must say here, that it was not entirely clear to me that this integration of Vikās and Virāsat was even possible. I often used to wonder, if a commitment to restore and recover our civilizational past, also invariably meant that we sacrifice a little in the realm of material progress i.e., in the general direction of modernization and westernization.

108 ft tall Statue of Oneness at Omkareshwar, Madhya Pradesh

Hi-Tech Vande Bharat Trains

However, the events that have unfolded in Bharat in the last ten years have shown otherwise. One day, Bharat inaugurates yet another of its latest Vande Bharat Railway Trains; and a few days later, it consecrates a newly created Kashi Vishwanath Mandir Corridor. One day, Bharat lands its Lunar mission Chandrayaan on the moon at a location where it has never been done before; a few days later, it inaugurates a newly refurbished Mahakaleshwar Temple Corridor. One day, Bharat celebrates completing nine billion Digital Payment transactions in one month; and a few days later it unveils a 108-foot Statue of Adi Shankaracharya at Omkareshwar. One day Bharat throws open its longest over-sea trans-harbor bridge from Mumbai to Navi Mumbai; and a few days later, the same Bharat is set to consecrate its Ram Lalla Mandir after a five-hundred-year wait in Ayodhya. We can go on with the examples. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is changing the grammar and structure of the democratic politics of India as we speak. He has moved it beyond family, caste, corruption, and appeasement, and created a new possibility – ‘Vikās with Virāsat’. He has overturned the Nehruvian idea that Vikās can come only at the expense of Virāsat and vice-versa. And the Nehruvians are in a state of shock now.

Chandrayaan III – The only Lunar Mission to land on the dark said of moon

Atal Setu – India’s Longest Sea Bridge

Ayodhya – A Testament

Ayodhya is a testament to this unique synthesis of Vikās and Virāsat. The whole city is re-emerging from a state of longstanding destruction, neglect, and abandonment. The Mandir is rising again, and is bringing in its wake a brand new airport, a new railway station, new trains, new facilities, and in time, new hotels, and other infrastructure will also emerge. The whole economy of the region is awaiting an impending transformation. When Rama returned to Ayodhya after his 14-year exile and numerous travails, the whole of Ayodhya lit up in joy. Now, when the Ram Lalla Mandir rises again in Ayodhya after its 500-year symbolic exile, Ayodhya will light up once more with unspeakable joy.

The proposed uplift of Ayodhya Railway Station underway

Interiors of the Maharishi Valmiki International Airport, Ayodhya

A Civilization is waking up from its slumber. Dharma is awakening. This potential for rebirth, for re-emergence, is what makes it ‘Sanātana’ or eternal. Rāma is simultaneously eternal and undying in his Ādhyātmika dimension; He is the Avatāra of Viṣnu in his Ādidaivika dimension as a Vigrahavān Dharma; He is a great example for us all to emulate, as a human Hero in his Ādibhautika dimension. It is the Spirit of Sanātana Dharma that is re-emerging once more in Ayodhya.

We at Hindu University of America stand with Prime Minister Modi and the billion-plus Hindus all over the world, those who believe and stand ready to rejoice, and those who are confused and don’t know what to do about this phenomenon, to celebrate with gratitude this ceremony consecrating the Rām Lallā deity in this newly built Rām Mandir, on January 22, 2024.

May it be a day when we Hindus remember our past once more with both joy and pride and contemplate our future with confidence and clarity.

Jai Śrī Rāma!

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