Sita - Ramayana by Devdutt Pattanaik

Sita An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana by Devdutt Pattanaik
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another good read from Devdutt Pattanaik. The author follows the same path as has been trod in Jaya. The main plus point is that the author has given anecdotes and incidents from the various version of Ramayana, not all of which will be palatable to the traditional Ramayana reader. But for persons open to understanding the perspective of how the story can be interpreted, or twisted to suit one's own experience and circumstances it is a great read.
In the process the author has also added his perspective of how certain actions should be, if at all be, judged. The underlying theme of the book is the philosophy is "Observe, don't judge". It is the philosophy that Sita, the protagonist of this book, does through the book. Be it her perspective of going to the forest for 14 years, or her being abducted by Ravana, or her having to go through the fire trial, or her being banished to the jungles by Rama. The underlying message is that all events and incidents occur for a good reason. While it may not be evident at that instant, hindsight will show one the reason for the happening.
The author also has interspersed the whole book with chunks of wisdom from the different characters in the book. Those that appealed to me are presented here.

The point of Yagna is to outgrow fear, not indulge in it.

Demons are just humans, we refuse to understand or tolerate. To reject them, as they reject us is adharma.

What we possess is temporary. What we become is permanent

Events are events. Humans qualify them as good and bad. All things are good and bad only in hindsight.

Be the best you can, in the worst of circumstances, even when no one is watching.

He who seeks to predict the future is insecure. He who seeks to control the future is insecure. So much impatience. Impatience is the enemy of wisdom, it propels us to jump to conclusions, judge and condemn rather than understand.

Knowledge is no antidote to pain.

Knowledge is like a floating log of wood that helps us stay afloat in the ocean of misery. To find shore we have to kick our legs and swim. No one can do that for us.

Humans are never satisfied with justice. Animals never ask for justice.

Be a human. Let go and move on. They who hurt you cannot expant their mind. But surely you can.

Being satisfied with life is but an option. You can demand more too if you wish. That is also hallmark of humanity.

Plants compete for sunlight and animals for mates, blessed with humanity, only you and I have the power to abandon competition. To do so is adharma.


It it a sacrifice to give up sleep for your crying child?

Dharma is often assumed to be a set of universal moral and ethical laws. Such universal laws do not exist but are imagined by all humans in every society because humans want them to exist. What exists is universal natural law, where the fit survive using strenght and cunning. Social law with its notions of what is right and fair keeps changing with time, with place, with context, with the people involved. The beneficiaries of the social law are convinced their laws are fair and right. But those who do not benefit from the same laws reject them and spark revolutions.

There is great joy in satisfying oneself; but there is greater joy when we satisfy ourselves by satisfying others; still greater just when we do not need satisfaction; and even more joy when despite not needing satisfaction we provide satisfaction to others.

When the mind is knotted in fear, the problem is always outside, never inside.

The cost of an yagna; when fire burns in the altar something is claimed as fuel. The human mind focuses on who benefits from the fire, rarely on who is consumed by the fire.

Fear is a constant, and faith is a choice. Fear comes from karma, from faith arises dharma. Fear creats Kaikeyis and Ravanas, streets full of gossip, families with rigid rules and fragile reputations. They will always be there. Faith creates a Sita and a Rama. These will come into being only if we have faith that the mind can expand until we do not abandon the world, even when the world abandons us.

Sita to Valmiki
---------------
Do you think being an entertainer is inferior to being a prince? As long as you think so, Brahma will never be a true brahmin, for hierarchy stems from the animal need to dominate, not the human ability to expand the mind in quest for Brahman.

Sita in the jungle
------------------
As she walked into the forest she observed the absence of boundaries. There was nothing to distinguish the crop from the weed. Everything had value. In nature nothing is pure or polluted. Culture excludes what it does not value. Nature includes all.

View all my reviews