And I think they are a disgrace to the legend that was Rama.
Well, what do we know about Lord Rama ? The first thing that comes to mind, and the first thing that we are taught as kids is 'Dharma', which means the virtuous path. Another thing about Rama that comes to the forefront was how he followed the path of non-violence, unless in self-defense or the defense of the others. He also corssed the length of the country to wage war on Ravana, but even there , he had sent out a peace treaty first.
From wikipedia :
Rama is always shown with a bow (called Kodanda) on his shoulder. As per Valmiki Ramayana, Sita once enquired as to why her Lord, Rama always carried a bow with him. Sita was upset with Rama's promise to sages that he offer protection while they performed their sacrificial rituals and therefore petitioned Rama that 'We are in the forest and we should live life of sages so why wield this weapon?'. Sita then narrated a story about an ancient sage who became violent simply by having a weapon in his possession (in this case a sword). Rama smiled and promised to Sita that he would never attack anybody unless the other person provokes him to do so, a promise that he kept throughout his life. In fact he had always given two chances to his enemies Tataka, Maarich, Vali and even Ravana. He even offered a peace treaty to Ravana before starting the war. Angada took his peace message to Ravana which was declined.Persecution of women was not his passtime.
The only place in Indian Mythology that I remember reading about anything against women is the vastraharan of Draupadi by the Kauravs. I think that todays political parties who indulge in such passtimes should be named Kaurav Sena.
One of the usual refrains that these people have is that they are the custodians of Indian Culture. What a hoot ! Which culture are they talking about ? A few hundred years back when India was under colonial rule and the culture was about sati, child sacrifices etc ? Or more years back when India was under the rule of the Emperors Shah Jahan and created the Wonder that is Taj. Or even a few years back under the rule of Akbar when the grand trunk road was made ? Or earlier depictions on the walls of temples of India with nude and semi-nude people ?
If they are so worried about culture and going back in time, about the negative influence of "western culture", then why do they use the inventions from the west ? Dear xyz sena, do not use the inventions from the west. Here are a few.
- All the people in the video are wearing jeans/trousers and T-shirts. Go and wear traditional indian dresses. Why don't you do that ? Don't you know Jeans, Tshirts are from the west ?
- Don't use electricity at home. Yup, thats also from the west. No louspeakers, TV, radio as they were invented in the west and use electricity.
- Don't use a phone or a mobile phone. Oh boy , how can you do that ? thats also from the west.
- Don't use cars, motorcycles etc. These are also from the west.
- Don't use posters as they are printed with technology from the west.
- Don't use any allopathic medicine as they are also invented in the west.
- Don't use computers.
- Oh ! dont use the internet also. I mean that's also from the west.
The high handedness from these self proclaimed culture custodians has resulted in some people taking up innovating ideas. I came across this totally novel concept of Pink Chaddis !
At some level, this all hurts me. This is not the India I grew up with. This is not the India that I read about in books when I was young. This India is a place where we are afraid, not only about cross-border terrorists, but also about terrorists who don the garb of the culture police.
Well said Vibhuji!
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