here i m sharing the article of Jug Suraiya. He is a former Associate Editor of the Times of India, Delhi, an author besides being a columnist.
Khushwant Singh calls him "Art Buchwald of India”.
in this column he has raised a doubt about the existence of Ram as a human being who ever exited in India. the Article is written in the backdrop of Sethusamundram project.
**Is the Ram of the Ramayan for real? **
Years after the Ramjanambhoomi controversy reached eruption point with the demolition of the Babri masjid, the 'reality ’ of Ram is once again the cause of impassioned debate and mass agitations which disrupt public order.
The source of contention is the Sethusamundram project which proposes to dredge an 83-km-long canal through the sea channel separating India and Sri Lanka, thereby facilitating shipping. (When Sethusamudram is in place, ships sailing from the west to the east coast of india will no more need to circumnavigate around Sri Lanka.)
However, the sangh parivar has contented that the dredging operations would destroy the ‘Ram Setu’, built by Ram to cross over into Lanka, which would deeply offend the sensibilities of millions of devotees. The Indian government has cited the Archeological Survey to plead in court that while the Ram legend is an integral part of Indic civilisation and literature, it is not based on ‘historical records’. In short, Ram isn’t for real.
But of course he isn’t, Ram’s devotees might well respond. Ram isn’t real, he is much more; he’s hyper-real. Hyper-reality could be described as that intangible supporting structure that adds significance to our everyday reality which can be weighed and measured and tallied on a balance sheet of profit and loss. Art is an example of hyper-reality (Hamlet never existed, but he’s more ‘real’ than any person we will ever meet). The love of a mother willing to sacrifice her life for a child is another example of the power of hyper-reality. As is spiritual belief, in Ram, or Jesus, or Allah. Hyper-reality transforms existence into life.
Rubbish, realists would say. Life is about progress, not superstition and mumbo-jumbo. Trouble is, how ‘real’, or progressive, is progress? Environmentalists have joined forces with the parivar in opposing the Sethusamudram project which the greens fear will wreak ecological havoc.
Is environmentalism, often contrasted with progress, also mumbo-jumbo, along with religious belief? Is global warming as much a myth as Ram? Many proponents of progress might say so. Critics, on the other hand, would say it’s becoming increasingly difficult to weigh the benefits of progress as against its costs. Not least because the standard kilogram, devised 118 years ago and hermetically sealed in Paris, is mysteriously losing weight. Not much, just 50 microns (which is about as much as the weight of a fingerprint) over the years. But still, the kg, a foundation stone of reality as distinct from fiction, myth or hyper-reality, is different from what it was, is changeable, whether it’s because of proton decay or some other ‘real’ reason no one knows. So, does today’s reality weigh (50 microns) less than yesterday’s? A perplexing thought. As much so as thinking what would happen if Ram (or Hamlet) went on a diet. Can a myth shed weight like a real kilo can? Presumably not. In which case is the myth, or hyper-reality, more real, in the sense of being more constant, than reality?
Perhaps the real and the hyper-real are inextricable components of the same merry-go-round. As a modern scientist put it: “Reality is what we take to be true. What we take to be true is what we believe. What we believe is based upon our percepts. What we perceive depends on what we look for. What we look for depends on what we perceive. What we perceive determines what we believe. What we believe determines what we take to be true. What we take to be true is our reality.”
Sethusamudram or Ram Setu? Progress or belief? Take your pick. Only don’t do so on the streets, inconveniencing your neighbour. Be it Ram, or anyone else.
Is Ram really for real?:Juggle-Bandhi:Jug Suraiya’s blog-The Times Of India
this article has proved to be one of the most controvercial article ever posted on the Time of India websites. first time when i saw that blog i was shocked to see that somebody have doubts about the very existence of Ram. however the post comments on the blog disclosed that there is 2nd opinion on the existence of Ram.
like one person commented like:
"Majority of Historians and intellectuals (Jawahar Lal Nehru, Ramila Thapar, ASI and list is long) clearly denied the existence of Ram. If there is any historical evidence about the existence of Ram, it should be present to the Supreme Court and then denial should be consider as a crime of IPC. "
another commented by quoting few other leading personalties who have denied the Ram as a god or even its mere existance :
“My Rama (god Rama) is not the Rama of Ramayana”. Mahatma Gandhi
“The Ramayana and Mahabaratha are nothing but another Arabian Nights Story” Jawaharlal Nehru
“Rama is not a god; but he is a hero” Rajagopalachari, First Governor-General of India and a great Brahmin leader.
“Ramayan is not a divine story; it is only a literature” (Kaliyuga Kamban, T.K. Chidambaranatha Mudaliar).
**reader reaction was not very postive about the article at large. majority of the ppl who commented on the article have condemned both the article and author. however, the striking things is that none of the hindus (who commented on the article) made a serious a efforts to historically prove the existence of Ram. **
so now the question arises that to accept the existence of Ram we have to rely on our faith and no corroborative and conclusive evidance exit in this regard?
