Book Review- Wisdom From The Ramayana - On Life and Relationship by Chaitanya Charan Das

My childhood has the distinct memories of listening to many stories and tales in the no-electricity-dark-nights kindling my imagination and boosting my notion of hope and virtue. “Ramayan” is one of those epics that carries a special essence of truth and faithfulness and obedience to me. The story still captivates me.

The writer of this latest read “Wisdom from the Ramayana” is Shri Chaitanya Charan Das. The name is familiar to me as I am used to listening to his podcasts and watching sermons on youtube. He is a monk, mentor and spiritual author & teacher for nearly 25 years in the bhakti-yoga tradition. He is well versed in ancient wisdom texts. His pragmatic approach through his modern-day expression of age-old texts is incredibly absorbing.

Wisdom from the Ramayana is a neat little handy book that divulges the nineteen incidents from the Ramayana encompassing many of its characters and reflecting on the complex dynamics of their relationships. These incidents from the epic are chosen to highlight difficulties in relationships common to us all. Events such as the Ram/Dashrath Forest Banishment (Duty, obedience, and responsibility), Manthara/Kaikeyi nexus (harmful advice, improper motives, and fear of loss of power and position); Sugriva/Vaali (lack of communication and misunderstanding); Rama/Shabari’s gift (understanding of intention, seeking of devotion), Vibhishana/Ravan (decision to change the side, desire to do right despite conflicting his loyalty to his brother), and even the debatable Agnipariksha of Sita (holding duties of king versus family responsibility), etc. are interpreted in a crisp manner which impels the reader to reflect on her/his own associations in a new light.

Personally, I found a few new life lessons in this book …probably a problem with reading too many self-help books…nevertheless the different perspective on the already-read lessons is always refreshing. This book is meant to provide the reader with optimistic and rational viewpoints and to let the reader judge the numerous dispositions, actions, and reactions in actual life in a better way.

The following are the quotes that I really liked-

“A common blunder we make is that we often talk about people instead of talking with people.”

“We live in a culture that frequently champions rights and downplays responsibilities.”

“Emotions are the ornaments of life. But we need to choose the emotions that bring out our higher side, not our lower side.”

“Valuing relations over possessions is foundational for the sustenance of family, society, and humanity at large.”

“During our life journey, we are not here to see through each other; we are here to see each other through.”