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| Sita's final departure by MS Copilot Designer |
Exile and the Kingdom is the title of a
collection of short stories by Albert Camus. Camus was the philosopher of the
absurd. We seek meaning in a universe that offers none: that is Camus’s
philosophy in one sentence. We want order in our world, but what the world
offers is chaos. An individual may feel like an exile, an outcast, or stranger,
in one’s society. Kingdom in Camus’s stories is a metaphor for order and
meaning in life; something that helps the individual to overcome his exileness.
Rama’s exile is not like the exiles
in Camus’s stories, of course. Rama does not experience the kind of
psychological alienation that Camus’s characters do. Though the exile is
imposed on him by an external force – which is the kingdom, literally – Rama
accepts it voluntarily, unlike Camus’s characters who all rebel against it.
Rama is never a rebel. He adheres to
dharma steadfastly and stoically. In the case of Rama, there is a reversal of
the situation in Camus’s philosophy. The kingdom which should stand for order
and meaning becomes unjust and is rendered helpless by dharma! Kaikeyi’s demand
is selfish and unfair. Dasharatha who fulfils that demand in the name of dharma
is helpless. The kingdom thus becomes the opposite of what it should be.
We are all exiles one way or the
other, Camus would say. Exile is the very human condition. We are exiled from
absolute entities such as justice, order, and meaning. We look for patterns,
divine justice, cosmic purpose, or moral truths that can explain our suffering
and guide our lives. Some of us may discover these with the help of religion
and God. But is there really any guarantee that virtue will be rewarded or that
suffering will make sense? Can our religions and gods ensure that?
Rama was the Maryada Purushottam, the ideal man. Yet he had to leave his palace, live in harshest of conditions in forests, be separated from his beloved wife, send that wife through a fire-test first and then exile her later before demanding yet another proof from her of her virtues. In the end of it all, everything ended up in sheer futility. Sita, for whom the entire conflict in the Ramayana takes place, is swallowed by the earth in absolute absurdity as well as anguish. Rama too abandons his kingdom and returns to his eternal abode. Ayodhya itself becomes a desolate and abandoned place. What does the entire repertoire of human deeds and endeavours amount to in the end? What does Rama Rajya achieve? What does Rama Rajya mean if it was only anguish for everyone most of the time?
To be exiled from meaning and order
but still strive for love, truth, and beauty, is for Camus, the noblest
condition of being human. Rama has certainly achieved that noblest condition
though his treatment of Sita may make us wonder about his love.
My study of the epic informs me that
Rama should not be seen as an ordinary man because he is an incarnation of God
and is not ruled by individual desires but by societal and cosmic duty. His
primary duty is as a king, not as a husband. In the ideal of kingship, the king
must be beyond reproach, even at the cost of personal loss. It is not because
he suspects Sita’s purity that he makes the inhuman demands but because the
people of Ayodhya do.
Rama Rajya then becomes tantamount
with dharma. And dharma can be heartless! This is precisely what Camus would
question. I am a fan of Camus.
I like Sita a lot more than Rama. She
proves her virtue the first time it is questioned by entering the fire. She
accepts her exile later when she is pregnant with Luva and Kusha. But when she
is asked to prove her virtue yet again, years later, she chooses to rebel like
a Camusian hero. She asks the earth to open up and devour her, which the earth
does mercifully. Dharma has its limits. Rama Rajya has its limits.
Sita makes the Ramayana an
existentialist work of literature. We live in a flawed world. Even Rama Rajya
is flawed. Idealism labours under a crushing burden. It can silence the heart
in order to uphold what is perceived as the divine or at least a higher order.
In that sort of a world, you have to sacrifice your personal happiness for the
sake of a moral vision that will offer no comfort.
PS. I’m participating in #BlogchatterA2Z. This series looks at the Ramayana
from various angles.
Monday: Friendship
in Kishkindha
Previous Posts in this series:
Hari OM
ReplyDeleteTo strive for Love, Truth and Beauty in spite of... therein lies the nub! The lessons of unwavering devotion to that which is noble is the Essence of such tales. This includes the Exile. On the literary level it provides the soap opera that so many enjoy. On the spiritual, it provides the Example. Even Jesus understood the need for the solitary status and sacrifice of the near and dear if one is to raise oneself above the humdrum of life. Whether or not there is a heaven is (for me at least) irrelevant. The purpose is to live life as the very best that a human being can be. Something at which 99.9% of us fail... The problem comes when that which is meant for the individual is translated into an order of power and control.
The thought that Rama Rajya is a heaven on earth is itself disproved by the telling of the Ramayana - that which is heaven can only be gained through death (of the Ego...)
Now I Eagerly await to see what you Find For F! (are you having Fun?) YAM xx
Thank you for your valuable addition to this series, Yamini. As I have already said, I'm a learner here, trying to make sense of this epic. Even Mahabharata doesn't easily make sense to me. I hope by the time I complete this series, at least the Ramayana begins to be a little more than the soap opera you mentioned above.
DeleteI love this series. looking forward to read more articles! loving it
ReplyDeleteThanks for telling me this.
DeleteThis is something enlightening. The interpretation of the word Exile was something unique. I liked the idea that we are all in an exile. How profound! - Swarnali Nath
ReplyDeleteIf you ever get to Albert Camus, read him, and you will know what being an exile is, metaphorically.
DeleteRama’s dharma isn’t about avoiding chaos but confronting it with integrity. Unlike Camus' exile, Rama accepts suffering to uphold collective good. Sita’s revolt isn’t against dharma, but societal flaws. Rama Rajya isn’t utopia—it’s the struggle to do right, even when it hurts. That’s its enduring power.
ReplyDeleteThat's what i think. Not sure if i am able to convey correctly what i mean
My 'rebellion' is against the current political projection of Rama Rajya as a utopia that it will usher in. I didn't want to bring politics directly into the post.
DeleteYou conveyed precisely what you wanted to and I won't disagree with your view either.
When I had read the book ' The Forest of Enchantments by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni' I loved it because it was a book that tells Ramayana from Sita's perspective & even I feel a lot many times that Sita had a more solid character in upholding her Dharma as a daughter, queen, wife, mother & daughter in law. Your blog post echoes the same thought & hence I love it !
ReplyDeleteI find many heroic women in the Ramayana. Next post will mention another one, Tara.
DeleteWhat a beautiful picture.
ReplyDeleteAI-generated
DeleteJustification is an escapism from your wrong doings and justice rise up over the real truth. Reading this I feel it like Ramas justification on the death of Sita , that he is trying to bring or maybe justify his doings like doubting sita . He was a man of dharma and not a family man so he only knew how to keep his dharma as a soldier and not a husband which actually led to the end of Sita . But love should have opened his eyes but he shut it forcefully with his shield of dharma , being born as a soldier,a warrior which restricted him from being a good husband .
ReplyDeleteReading this series arises a huge curiosity in me waiting for the next ❤️
There's an additional matter of religion which makes interpretation tough. By religion, whatever Rama did and Sita suffered were all predetermined by certain karma of their previous existence and so on. I'm trying my best to approach the epic as a work of literature, but as I go on I understand it's difficult.
DeleteTrue Dharma stands with the victim. Seeta represents the victims of the system and it is through them the bhumi pravesham occured. Your posts speak for them.
ReplyDeleteYou got it right: Why I find it hard to digest Rama's dharma is precisely this.
DeleteWhen I read Camus in high school, I did not like him. Nor did I understand him.
ReplyDeleteCamuus is a great intellectual. I'm sure you'll like him if you give him enough time.
DeleteFrom times immemorial, the path of an idealist has been tragic. One's values are a curse in this world.
ReplyDeleteBut is an authentic life possible without values?
DeleteInteresting and very well said. I like the brief of Ramayana you mentioned in paragraph 4. SO much anguish and unsatisfaction for everyone
ReplyDeleteI'm reinforcing the notion of sacrifice because I feel current India has misunderstood the meaning of Rama Rajya. Rama Rajya is not a utopia. On the contrary, it is an immense lesson in endurance on the face of innumerable challenges and hardships. And maintaining one's integrity at the same time.
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