Atheists do not believe in God. They see themselves as scientific and rational, and find God to be a superstition. For them sacred lore, or mythology, such as Ramayan, is either exaggerated historical fact or a psychological metaphor. The former transforms them into vira (he who overpowers his rivals). The latter transforms them into maha-vira (he who overpowers his own ego)
History of vira
For those who see Ram of the Ramayan as a historical figure, he is bound by space and time. The space is now identified as Ayodhya, on Sarayu’s banks. The time of Ram’s birth, as per planetary software, is claimed to be 12.30 pm on Jan 10, 5114 BCE.
This challenges archeological data (earliest Ramayan images are carved from 5th century AD onwards) as well as textual evidence (earliest Ramayan manuscripts refer to Scythians and so could have emerged only after 3rd century BC).
But historicity of Ram is endorsed by Hindu gurus and acharyas who claim to have direct access to the occult and mystical secrets of Veda, that is out of reach of ordinary scientists. They confidently state that Rameses, pharaoh of Egypt who lived around 1400 BC, was named after Ram.
This approach to sacred scripture is not restricted to Indians, or Hindus. It is found everywhere. Americans refer to White People as Caucasians because in 19th century it was believed that Noah’s Arc anchored itself on the Caucasus after the Great Flood. Despite no evidence of Exodus in Egyptian hieroglyphics, Jewish scholars argue that Exodus was a historical fact making Israel the Promised Land.
Such history serves grand visions that help establish a nation-state.
Metaphor of Maha-vira
God is a metaphor that rose in West Asia. It refers to an all-powerful being who creates the world, demands submission to his commandments, and judges humans after their death, condemning the disobedient to hell. This metaphor became popular in Bharat, in last eight centuries, after Muslim-Turks and Christian-Europeans became rulers of the land.
Hindus who wrote about Hinduism in colonial times used this Western metaphor of God to explain Hindu concepts like brahman, atma, bhagavan, and ishwar. They did not factor in rebirth – an idea alien to West Asia but critical to South Asian metaphysics.
Rebirth is also a metaphor for a world that is infinite and limitless over which we have no control. It is shared by past events that took place before we were born. Our present actions will impact future generations and we can do nothing about it. So no one is actually all-powerful. When “God” manifests in mortal form, as Ram, even he cannot prevent machinations of court, abduction of his wife, or vile gossip amongst his subjects. Such is life.
Ramayan then becomes a tale of brothers who are potential rivals. Just like Cain and Abel of Bible, known as Habil and Qabil in Arab-Persian lore. A universal theme of competition. In Lanka, Ravan overthrows his younger brother Kubera, to become king of Lanka and demands unquestioning loyalty from other brothers. In Kishkinda, Vali kicks out his younger brother Sugriva, and claims his wife as his own. The alpha dominates here just as in the jungle. But humans have a choice – to reject this animal trait. To do so is dharma!
Ram therefore lets his brother, Bharat, become king and without remorse or regret proceeds to forest exile. Ram does not need a kingdom or a title to define him. Thus, idea of ‘atma’ is presented in narrative form. This makes Ram maha-vira.
The same idea is found in Jain and Buddhist versions of the tale too. In Jain Ramayan, Prince Padma becomes a hermit to prevent Bharat from becoming a hermit and breaking his mother’s heart.
In Buddhist Dasharatha Jataka, Prince Ram-pandita is told to go to the forest to save himself from his wicked stepmother. He is told to return after 12 years, when astrologers predict his old father, the king, will die. But the king dies in 9 years and Bharat goes to the forest to bring back Ram-Pandita. Ram-Pandita insists he will stay in the forest for 12 years as he had given his word to his father.
If a prince does not keep his word, why would people trust the royal family? So Bharat returns to the palace with Ram-Pandita’s footwear.
This idea of royal integrity so appealed to Buddhists that even in Buddhist polities of Thailand and Cambodia, Ram became the symbol of royal grace and dignity.
Metaphorical royal Ram is timeless, unbound by geography, unlike historical Ram. Everyone has to choose which battle he seeks to fight.
