Paper Topic:

The Ramayana

The Ramayana and the core values of Hinduism represented in the Epic

[Name of the writer appears here]

[Name of the institution appears here] Hinduism , with its eight hundred million practitioners worldwide is unique among the world 's major religions because it cannot be traced to have been founded by any specific individual nor can it be said to have come about out of any specific historical event . It is as diverse as India itself and is an extraordinary collection of variations and expansions -some ancient and some more recent (Toropov and

Buckles 113

What is interesting about Hinduism is that it does not have any specific one book which its followers can turn to for moral guidance like the Quran for Muslims or the Bible for Christians . Also , because it arose from no single person or institution , it is seen as eternal and unchanging in its existence with believers even regarding it as having existed forever (Toropov and Buckles 114

Such is the case with the complexity of pin-pointing a basis for Hinduism , its aspects and social implications that it is indeed a chore to point to a specific work or oral tradition that should be followed It is an ongoing , pragmatic and inspired synthesis , not the product of any strict ideology or doctrine (Toropov and Buckles 116 ' There are of course , still various ancient texts that can be considered to support the existence and traditions of Hinduism

For many , the Rig Veda , known as the Gayatri manta , equates to what Hinduism truly is and is said to be the first thing that even little children are taught . Aside from the many doctrines and mantras , Hinduism also has a long history of literary work that has become a basis or foundation for Hindu ethics . There is the ever popular Kama Sutra , the epic story of the great war , The Mahabharata and of course , the other great epic which is The Ramayana

The Sanskrit Ramayana is attributed to the poet and mystic Valmiki and is believed to have been composed between 400 BC and 300 AD although the ending is thought to have been added only much later . Unfortunately , it is often only read by people interested in literature and so does not share the popularity of other great ancient epic works especially in the west

The Ramayana is one of the most attributed Hindu literary works and in reading the book , one is hard pressed not to notice how the values and cultures depicted in it are emulated by Indian society even up to this day . For example , The Ramayana would later be turned into an epic television serial by Ramanand Sagar and would run from 1986-1988 though it was criticized by feminists in its one-dimensional portrayal of Sita when she embodied the docility and submissiveness prized by Hindu males (Lal and Van Loon 155

At this point however , it has now become important for one to ask , what exactly are the core values of Hinduism and what tenets...

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