Teachings from The Ramayana on Family & Life

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I am a huge enthusiast of the Ramayana. My extensive research of the epic offered me the perspectives that compelled me to understand and explore its potential to bring palpable positive changes in our lives. The year I decided to begin a school based on the teachings of the Ramayana, the pandemic hit us. Nevertheless, I rolled out The Ramayana School, which received a good response. This encouraged me to look for life lessons and leadership from this Indian odyssey and its characters, to organize learning modules for general readers, children and young adults.

While our education system continues to focus on utilitarian learning emphasizing the importance of apps to teach maths, science and coding, among other subjects, I felt the need for value-based education, which could throw light on the idea of resilience, honesty, kindness, compassion, truthfulness and the skills to resolve conflicts and manage constant stress, which contemporary society burdens us with every moment. We seldom come across a system that helps us understand and imbibe the art of robust decision-making. The lifelong chase for a higher intelligence quotient (IQ) alone keeps us and our families poor in emotional quotient (EQ). A high IQ might keep us ahead in our career race, but a low EQ has the potential to make us lose in many other challenges that modern life throws at us.

Even if you are a super-smart coder, a brilliant scientist, a top-notch business tycoon or a world-renowned doctor, life will not stop posing complicated emotional challenges to you. Are we preparing our families to adequately deal with such situations?

This book is an endeavour to explore and contextualize the life lessons hidden in the Ramayana essentially for families. It attempts to dive deep into the stories, conversations and characters of the Ramayana, and to translate them into real-life learnings for a happy family.

Rama spent fourteen years, driven by his grit and determination, in exile. In those fourteen years, he faced the worst of the challenges that one can possibly face in one's life. He was about to become the king of the mighty Kosala kingdom, but instead, he was sentenced to exile. When, despite all the hardships, he completed almost thirteen years of exile, his wife was kidnapped. He had to fight a life-threatening war with the mighty army of Ravana. During those fourteen years, he almost lost his kingdom, almost lost his wife and almost his life.