Can Ramayana and Mahabharata be looked as books beyond tradition and heritage?  

New Delhi (India), April 17: Dharma vs Dharma situations happen every day in our life. In a pandemic, a business which is heavily dependent on oxygen cylinders for its manufacturing might choose to give those oxygen cylinders to save a few hundred lives. A woman might choose to let go of her hard-earned jewellery for her in-laws, who are in a financially dire situation. These kinds of Dharma vs Dharma situations keep happening in life. One has to choose a higher Dharma by carefully observing their life and the Dharma. Badri’s latest book ‘Jayam’, presents his insights on the pursuit of dharma as illustrated in the Mahabharata and Ramayana.

There are innumerable instances from our great epics Ramayana and Mahabharata, which teaches us the right way to respond to any crisis and to emulate the better aspect of life from these ancient texts. Ramayana and Mahabharata are both lessons to be studied to understand Dharma. For instance, there were two Dharmas that Vithura had in front of him, from which he had to choose. It was a tough decision, and unfortunately, Vithura made the wrong choice. He had to choose between respecting the words of his brother by calling Dharmaputra for the game of dice vs protecting the honor of Dharmaputra. It’s a classic conflict of Dharma vs Dharma.

Dharma is regarded as the guiding principle of the cosmos in conventional Indian thinking. Though it is the source of both philosophy and religion, it is neither. Both of them and many other aspects of life are built upon them. It includes all obligations, rights, prohibitions, religious observances, social responsibilities, secular laws, customs, etc.