Hope Called Ram Rajya

Any talk about Ram and Ayodhya Mandir is often followed by a discussion on Ram Rajya, a term that denotes good governance, philosophy professor at JNU, Bindu Puri, tells Ranjeni A Singh in an interaction
1. Is Ram Rajya a religious, political or secular concept? Can it be applied in daily life?
It is seen as a religious concept, but it depends on what you understand by religion.As M K Gandhi said, true religion is that which has got moral values at its core, surrounded by cultural and mythical elements specific to different sectarian religions. Ram Rajya is important to the culture-myth-legend framework of Hindu religion.
At the same time, it articulates a certain moral vision which can be shared across religions. So, in that sense it is secular. The reason why Ram Rajya touches the core with so many people is because it is ancient wisdom articulated in Valmiki’s Ramayan and Tulsidas’ Ramcharitmanas. It is also an ideal polity, the state of perfect justice; a state where justice is easily accessible to both prince and pauper. So, Ram Rajya is an ideal polity and Ram is this person who shows you that every individual has the possibility of being morally good.
Though Ram Rajya is an ancient concept, it was Gandhi ji who popularised it. In 1929, he said in Young India, “by Ram Rajya, I mean divine raj, the kingdom of God.” In the same article, he also said, “I acknowledge no other god but the one god of truth and righteousness.” So Ram Rajya is this kingdom on earth, a kingdom of right and righteousness.
2. You say that Ram and the Ayodhya Mandir are symbols of Ram Rajya, how so?
Ram is often called Maryada Purushottam, as he practised righteousness to perfection. Ram and the Ayodhya Ram Mandir are symbols of Ram Rajya, an ideal kingdom of truth on earth. The presence of Ram in the temple signifies the importance of personal individual effort to arrive at religious, moral perfection within one’s lifetime. With our personal effort, we can emulate Ram as this Maryada Purushottam.
The Ram Mandir encourages us to look at the world with sam drishti, a vision that takes everything as absolutely equal. People from across faiths — whether craftsmen, labourers, engineers or architects — have contributed to the building of the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya. Therefore, the temple is a symbol of the possibility of heaven on earth. If we take small steps within our own frail individual mortal lives, we can make it happen.

3. Does the Indian Constitution reflect the spirit of Ram Rajya?
n Yes, but it does more than that. This idea of Ram Rajya with Ram as the hero is a symbol of syncretism. And this symbol is an enabler of self-transformation. Ram exemplifies the potentiality within every human to stand firm for truth.
Ram Rajya evokes a society based on the power of non-violence in its positive form — step by step making friendship with our country, countrymen and after that going out in concentric circles till we reach the whole of humanity and the non-human world, and treat them as we would treat ourselves and our families.
4. Why is the concept of Ram Rajya so relevant today?
To have faith in human goodness is part of being a good human being. You cannot afford to be a sceptic. In a world torn by conflicts, war and brutalities, the concept of Ram Rajya gives us hope. We have to take it forward and think of a kingdom of righteousness on earth.
An ideal polity doesn’t belong to any one sectarian religion. This kind of existence is possible if we remind ourselves that what we are really searching for is God, and as Gandhi said, “God is nothing but truth and the only part to it is non-violence.” If such be the thought of all religious-minded people, then they may realise the conflict between what they profess and what they do, and that might be what humanity needs desperately at such a time.
Byline: Ranjeni A Singh