Ramayana's Impact: Swami Vivekanand's Insights on Prabhu Ramchandra and Ideals

Swami Vivekanand has been a major source of inspiration for many freedom fighters including Lokmanya Tilak, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Annie Besant, and Rabindranath Tagore. Swami Vivekanand’s life and teachings always proved as a guiding force for them. Swami Vivekananda influenced Indian boundaries. Philosophers like Romain Rolland, Leo Tolstoy, Max Muller, Arnold Toynbee, and Will Durant were also influenced by Swami Vivekanand. They believe that Swami Vivekanand’s teaching has great strength to establish peace and liberation of the world from social ills.

Swami Vivekanand drew attention because of his speech in Chicago’s Parliament of Religions in September 1893. The New York Herald wrote about Swamiji, “He is undoubtedly the greatest figure in the Parliament of Religion. After hearing him, we feel how foolish it is to send missionaries to this conference”.

For such an eminent person, Ramayana was a great source of inspiration. On January 31, 1900, Swami Vivekanand delivered a talk on Ramayana. During his speech, Swami Vivekanand made some reference to Ram Setu. He said, “Learning everything about Sita from Hanuman, Ram collected an army and with it marched towards the southernmost point of India. There Rama’s monkey built a huge bridge, called Set-Bandha, connecting India with Ceylon. In very low water, even now it is possible to cross from India to Ceylon”. Significantly, Bhaskar Setupathi was Swamiji’s greatest disciple and it was because of Setupathi that Swamiji participated in the Chicago conference. Setupathi means the Lord of Bridge.

Swami Vivekanand, who is attributed to rejuvenating the Hindu way of life in modern days, used to hold Prabhu Ramchandra in very high esteem. Swami Vivekanand’s affection for Prabhu Ramchandra can be understood by some of his quotes. These quotes are:

1.Rama, the ancient idol of the heroic ages, the embodiment of truth, of morality, the ideal son, the ideal husband, the ideal father, and, above all, the ideal all, the ideal king.

2.He who was Shri Rama, whose stream of love flowed with resistless might even to the Chandala (the outcaste); Oh, whoever was engaged in doing good to the world though superhuman by nature, whose renown there is none to equal in the three worlds, Sita’s beloved, whose body of Knowledge Supreme was covered by devotion sweet in the form of Sita.

3.Rama, the ancient idol of the heroic ages, the embodiment of truth, of morality, the ideals son, the ideals husband, the ideal father, and, above all, the ideals all, the ideal king, this Rama has been presented before us by the great Saint Valmiki.

4.Rama and Sita are the ideals of the Indian nation.

“Where, there is Rama, there is no Kama; where there is Kama, there Rama is not. Night and day can never exist together.” The voice of the ancient sages proclaims to us, “If you desire to attain God, you will have to renounce Kâma-Kânchana (lust and possession).

You have now to make the character of Mahavira your ideal. See how at the command of Ramachandra he crossed the ocean. He had no care for life or death! He was a perfect master of his senses and wonderfully sagacious. You have now to build your life on this great ideal of personal service. Through that, all other ideals will gradually manifest in life. Obedience to the Guru without questioning, and strict observance of Brahmacharya — this is the secret of success. On the one hand, Hanuman represents the ideal of service, so on the other hand, he represents leonine courage, striking the whole world with awe. He has not the least hesitation in sacrificing his life for the good of Rama. A supreme indifference to everything except the service of Rama, even to the attainment of the status of Brahma and Shiva, the great World – gods! Only the carrying out of Shri Rama’s best is the one vow of this life! Such whole–hearted devotion is wanted.

Swami Vivekanand, thus, reasserted the popular image of Prabhu Ramchandra as “Maryadapurushottam’. For Swamiji, Prabhu Ramchandra was an ideal son, ideal husband, ideal brother and ideal king, who was affectionate to all. Above all, Prabhu Ramchandra was an icon of morality for Swami Vivekanand. Swami Vivekananda feels that India needs devotion like Hanuman.