Every tale has a hero and a villain
Every tale has a hero who personifies society's ideals and a villain who appears to be in opposition to those values. Ravana, the main antagonist in the old Hindu epic Ramayana, is one of the villains we have encountered in our readings. (Pollet, 1995). Ravana is initially portrayed as a Shiva devotee, a great and noble monarch, and a great scholar. However, the instant he kidnaps Sita, our opinion of him changes. Additionally, Ravana transgresses a number of social standards. For example, he seized control of his half-brother's kingdom in Lanka and behaved in ways that were cruel, barbaric, and aggressive. In addition, he banished his brother for a good advice and had tried to violate the chastity of three women, actions which were all against the norms of his society (Vālmīki & Nagar, (2006).
Ravana's influence and worship
Ravana was a man of great knowledge, a great worrior a great Shiva-devotee and also a great king. Consequently, he had quite a following. Though he was slain by King Rama, Ravana is still worshipped in some parts of India as the most revered devotee of Shiva (Vālmīki & Nagar, (2006). This evidences that the Indian society puts devotion to the gods above all else.
Women in Hindu mythologies
Question 2
Women in Hindu mythologies are unique, and they are used as an embodiment of love, courage, righteousness as well as revenge and hatred (Pollet, 1995). Sita, the heroine in Ramayan and the wife of King Rama is one of the powerful women in the epic. She is a beautiful woman, has a stable character, was patient and pure. Her kidnapping story is an inspiration to many women to be devoted to the gods and be compassionate. These positive traits can best fit Mandodari, the wife of Ravan (Vālmīki & Nagar, (2006).
Mandodari's loyalty and faith
Like Sita, Mandodari is beautiful and intelligent woman of cool temper. Additionally, she is depicted as a faithful woman who tolerated the misdeeds of her husband. She also has relentless faith, with which she tried to change her husband, and which inspires other women to be faithful. However, she was a calculating woman; she used her abilities to see the future to advise her husband to release Sita (Vālmīki & Nagar, (2006). Her devotion to her husbands despite the misdeeds is a revelation that Hindu society expects the woman to be royal to the husband under all circumstances.
Miracles in Hindu epics
Question 3
A majority of the Hindu epics we have read contains miracles, supernatural events and activities that are beyond the reach of mortals (Pollet, 1995). One such miracle is the powers contained in Rama’s weapons. Rama has a weapon that carries his opponent Maricha hundreds of miles away and douches him in the sea. Another weapon shoots and reduces Subahu to a pile of cinder, making Ram victorious (Vālmīki & Nagar, (2006).
The reverence for gods in Hindu society
These weapons have miraculous powers since Rama is an incarnation of the god Vishnu. These reveals Hindu great reverence to the gods and perceive them to have supernatural powers.
Seeking knowledge as a life-long process
Question 4
Confucious said “learn as if you could not reach your object, and always feared also lets you should lose it.” By this, Confuscious meant that seeking knowledge should be a life-long process that should be sought at all times, since once cannot quite say that s/he has learned everything. Additionally, learners should learn while wary of the fact that whatever they learn can get ‘lost’, thus constantly revise to keep abreast with whatever one has learn (Zhang, 2003).
Embracing lifelong learning without fear
Modern American students should embrace this saying and learn as if they cannot reach the object. This means they should take learning as a life-long process that never ends. However, they should reject the assertion that they should learn always fearing that they should loose what they learn. Such an erroneous perception may discourage comprehension since it keeps learners in constant fear. It may also make students avoid learning since after all; they are bound to lose what they learn.
References
Pollet, G. (1995). Indian epic values: Rāmāyaṇa and its impact ; proceedings of the 8th International Rāmāyaṇa Conference, Leuven, 6-8 July 1991. Leuven: Peeters.
Vālmīki, ., & Nagar, S. L. (2006). Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa. Delhi: Parimal Publications.
Zhang, W.-B. (2003). American civilization portrayed in ancient Confucianism. New York: Algora Pub.
