Hindu Sevika Samiti (UK) Mahila Shibir 2020 East and South Midlands Vibhag FOREWORD INSPIRING AND UNPRECEDENTED INITIATIVE In an era of mass consumerism - not only of material goods - but of information, where society continues to be led by dominant and parochial ideas, the struggle to make our stories heard, has been limited. But the tides are slowly turning and is being led by the collaborative strength of empowered Hindu women from within our community. The Covid-19 pandemic has at once forced us to cancel our core programs - which for decades had brought us together to pursue our mission to develop value-based leaders - but also allowed us the opportunity to collaborate in other, more innovative ways. It gives me immense pride that Hindu Sevika Samiti (UK) have set a new precedent for the trajectory of our work. As a follow up to the successful Mahila Shibirs in seven vibhags attended by over 500 participants, 342 Mahila sevikas came together to write 411 articles on seven different topics which will be presented in the form of seven e-books. I am very delighted to launch this collection which explores topics such as: The uniqueness of Bharat, Ramayan ki Kathayen, Pandemic and the Hindu way of life and The contribution of Hindu women, amongst others. From writing to editing, content checking to proofreading, the entire project was conducted by our Sevikas. This project has revealed hidden talents of many mahilas in writing essays and articles. We hope that these skills are further encouraged and nurtured to become good writers which our community badly lacks. I encourage all to read and share these works with their family and friends and hope our swayamsevaks and sevikas from across the world can take inspiration from this enormous initiative. Dhiraj D Shah Sanghachalak, HSS (UK) 2 Ashaadh 5122 (HE) 23 June 2020 MESSAGES Very well structured and I am glad all the writers have done so well its a treasure for our coming generations. Specially mentioned guru of Bhagwati Sita it's a very uncommon topic and we are thankful for mentioning it in this book. I will try my best to send in our all centres so our youngsters can read it. Clear vision and properly organized way for teaching about this epic scripture. ~ Swamini Suryaprabha Didi (Bhramkumari) My heartiest congratulations to all the sevika sisters who participated in E-shibir of 31 May 2020. Today, we are very fortunate to have technology which paved instrumental role to make E Mahila shibir accessible to hundreds of mahilas all over the UK. My favourite part of the shibir was the geet "Mansa Satatam" which brought back the memories of our first one-day varg of UK Samiti in Leicester in 1987. I feel proud of the gruhinis who have cultivated themselves to be capable of using modern technology and authored these fantastic E books. From this book the world will gain a better knowledge of Ramayan and various aspects related to it through these articles and will be used by future generations for years to come. Ultimately, I believe women in the 21st century needs to be strong, independent, intellectual, self-supporting and static and samiti helps in cultivating all these aspects in young girls around the world. ~ Sushila Ji, Leicester, RSS – Rashtriya Sevika Samiti, Bharat. DISCLAIMER The views and opinions expressed in the articles are the respective author’s own and do not represent that of HSS (UK) or the author’s places of work. While each author and HSS (UK) has made every effort to ensure that the information we are sharing is accurate, we welcome any comments, suggestions, or correction of errors. HSS (UK) is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of any information in the articles. CONTENT 1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………. 01 2. Path Darshani Shri Ram Katha……………………………………………… 03 3. Sages of Ramayan Sage Valmiki…………………………………………………………………….. 07 Sage Vishwamitra…………………………………………………………….. 09 Sage Agastya……………………………………………………………………. 11 Rishi Vashishta…………………………………………………………………... 13 Devi Arundhati…………………………………………………………………. 15 Devi Gargi – Guruma of Sita Mata……………………………………. 17 4. Characters of Ramayan Raja Dashrath………………………………………………………………….. 19 Mata Kaushalaya………………………………………………………………. 21 Mata Kaikeyi……………………………………………………………………… 25 Mata Sunaina …………………………………………………………………… 28 Bhagwan Ram ………………………………………………………………….. 29 Ram – Sita…………………………………………………………………………. 32 Mata Sita…………………………………………………………………………. 36 Sita Swayamvar ……………………………………………………………….. 39 Urmila ……………………………………………………………………………… 41 Maricha…………………………………………………………………………….. 43 Jatayu ………………………………………………………………………………. 45 Shabri……………………………………………………………………………….. 47 Shabri and Hampi city..…………………………………………………….. 50 Mandodari………………………………………………………………………… 53 Hanuman ji - Leap of faith……………..…………………………………. 54 Jamvant…………………………………………………………………………….. 56 The mighty squirrel……………………………………………………………. 59 Let us be Awesome……………………………………………………………. 61 Existence of Ravan in 2020……………………………………………...... 62 5. Places of Ramayan Ayodhya……………………………………………………………………………. 66 Chitrakoot………………………………………………………………………….. 68 Kishkindha…………………………………………………………………………. 69 4. Ramayan around the world Ramayan impact around the world…………………………………….. 74 Ramayan in Burma……………………………………………………………... 81 Ramayan in Nepal………………………………………………………………. 83 Ramayan in Cambodia……………………………………………………….. 87 Ramayan in Japan & China……………….……………………………….. 89 Ramayan in Thailand ……………….……………….………………………. 91 Ramayan in Sri Lanka ……………….……………….………………………. 93 Ramayan in Malaysia ……………….……………………………….………. 95 Ramayan in Philippines ……………….……………….…………………… 98 Ramayan in Indonesia ……………….………………………………….…. 103 5. Kuch Alag Future mediums of Ramayan………………………………………....... 107 Ramayan – Alag Bhasha aur Alag Roop……………………………… 109 Journey of Ramayan………………………………………………………..… 116 References INTRODUCTION Priyanka Mohta जाकी रही भावना जैसी, प्रभु मूरत देखी ततन तैसी (Jaaki rahi bhawana jaise, Prabhu murat dekhi tin taisi) This verse from the Ramcharit Manas gives the true essence of the Ramayan. Some call the Ramayan an Epic and some call it a Mythology and yet there are some who feel it is a story of inspiration. So, what is the Ramayan actually? Ramayan is the sandhi of two words Ram and Ayan. Ram is our Prabhu Shree Ramchandra ji and Ayan means to come. So, by name per se it is the Story of Shree Ramchandraji’s arrival on the earth. Ram ji arrived on this Earth millions of years ago and recent studies, with strong evidence, have put the date for the Ramayan as 12000 BC. So this is how long the story of life of Ramji has been told in writings or by word of mouth. The people who read it or heard it –interpreted it to the limitations of their understanding which is driven by various factors –language, state of mind, age and somehow is greatly influenced by conversations in the home. I read the Ramayan with my father. He taught us the granth in three ways – as Dharma Shashtra, Karma Shashtra and later as a management book. We learnt our Dharmic values about how to live as a family and how tyaag is an important part of family happiness. As a Karma Shastra: how you have to be strong and prepared for the worldly challenges as well as how far you can apply dharmic values. This is summed up in the Sunderkand Shlok 57: बिनय न मानत जलधि ज蔼, गए तीन दिन िीतत। (Vinay na manat jaladhi jad, gaye teen din beete) िोले राम सकोप ति, भय बिनु होइ न प्रीतत (Bole Ram sakop tab, bhay bina hoi na preeti) 1 Follow values and give respect. However when dealing with the world, the balance between the power and being righteous has to be appropriate. The granth is full of Management learnings as well. This is the opening chaupai from the Sundarkand जामवंत के िचन सुहाए ।सुतन हनुमंत िय अतत भाए ॥ (Jamvant ke vachan suhaye, suni hanumant hridaye aati bhaye) ति लधग मोदह पररखेहु तु륍ह भाई।सदह िखु कंि मूल फल खाई॥ (Tab lagi mohi parikhau tumh bhai, sahi dukh kand mool fal khai) What an inspiration! Jamvant ji is a leader and knows Hanuman ji is the only one who can go and come back from Lanka. Before delegating the task, he reminds him of his power and gives confidence that he is the right person to do this task. Therefore, as a Team Leader/ Manager you have to give confidence and support to staff, look at the failings and help them improve but by using appropriate language at the right time. I have quoted two examples from one chapter – Sundarkand. This is one book with so much knowledge that there is no one way to learn or interpret it. For our development when we read it, we need to read the lines, and also in between the lines - carefully and without prejudice. The granth covers not only one age or era, it has links from the past and links to the future as well. In this world we are just like the group of blind men, who interpret an elephant by touching one part of it and then fight over what it actually is. It’s time to dig deep and find the real pearl of knowledge Jai Shri Ram! 2 PATH DARSHANI SHRI RAM KATHA The most common question asked about Ramayan - When was Ramayan introduced to us for the first time? I do not have a specific answer, Ramayan has always been an inseparable part of our life in various ways : through the stories told by grandparents or read in Amar Chitra Katha or by watching the Ramayan serial on television. Growing up listening to it gave me my favourite part of story and interestingly with age the favourite bit shifted from one story to another. As a little girl, my favourite stories were how Kumbhkaran got killed by Shri Ram and Sita Ji’s Swayamvar. I used to listen to these stories until I eventually started reading - Hanumanji, Little squirrel and Shabri were my favourite characters . Ramayan was the same book but it becomes more and more meaningful as I grew up. I was in college when I first read “Pathdarshi Shri Ram Katha” by Vandaniye Mausiji ( Laxmibai Kelkar, Founder of Rashtra Sevika Samiti). This book has a collection of her Ramayan pravachans. The book was instrumental to change my perspective about Ramayan.