Reading Notes: Narayan's Ramayana, Section A

Hello World!! 

In the Introduction of the "Ramayana" the author tells us about the importance of the text itself. He lets us know that this is an epic of grand proportions. I was incredibly amazed to learn that people still learn and live their lives from the examples found with in the "Ramayana." I was even more impressed when he went on to mention that most other cultures do not have the same value for their mythological stories as the Hinduism culture does. After reading a good amount of the "Ramayana," I am now realizing why this story is of such great importance to these people. It has so many wonderful hidden lessons. Most importantly I found that it teaches you to always have faith and hope. Despite all of the difficulties faced by Ram and Lakshmana on their journey, they continue on and handle each crisis as it comes. They never once throw in the towel or even run away fearfully. This in itself is an enormous lesson. You should never run from life's lessons! They are there to prepare you for your future, just as all of the circumstances that Ram finds on this journey are to prepare him for his memorable fight with Ravana. 

Thataka's Story:
One of the stories that I really enjoyed was the one titled "Thataka's Story" (p11) I found it to be an incredible story about a woman's suffering or even a person's suffering in general! I cannot even imagine what it would feel like if your sons had left you for any reason. I feel it was even worse for her since she had no husband and no sons. She was all alone with no love. I thoroughly enjoyed how she exemplified how if you are devoid of love within yourself you can have difficulty accepting and even have anger towards the possibility of love itself. I thought that she chose to destroy everything and everyone for fear that she would love it as much as she did her sons only to be betrayed. It was a wonderful example of how pain inside of you can destroy everything else around you. 
It reminds me of the beautiful quote by MLK Jr. "Hate cannot drive out hate; Only love can do that. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; Only love can do that. I am curious however, what would have happened if her sons hadn't left her... would she give life and love to everything instead of tormenting and killing it? Would she be beautiful instead of being so terrifying? I am curious about the opposite as well as her point of view. What was going on inside her heart? Pain? Anger? Disappointment? What would happen if her sons came back to her? So many ideas, so little time! I think that Thataka as a character is incredible, and there are so many various sides to her that explaining her logic or giving her character a foil would be an incredibly interesting story! So, what will my story be about exactly? Well, for that you will have to wait until tomorrow!! After all, what's the fun in life without surprises!

 

Thataka's fight with Ram and Lakshamana, 

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tataka

 

All information has come from Narayan's Ramayana, (link to Reading Guide A)