Rama Ravana Ramayana=india?

I believe its religion vs. progress.

Hindus believe its a Ram Setu created by Lord Rama to reach Sri lanka. World Archeological group believes it to be a natual land connection between two lands India and Sri lanka (and hence calls it Adam's Bridge) and is not man-made and removing it to form a creek between 2 countries will allow easier and quicker access for ships and cargos just like they have in panama creek thus helping quick transport across countries and help in their porgress.

Indian government may not take a stand on this. But interestingly Sri lankans can (and they have in favor of forming the creek), as there arent those many Hindus there. But the project could be only undertaken by India as its quite huge.

Canal.
or Channel.

not creek


Joe(this is fascinating)nation

sorry canal I meant.

Sri Lanka/ India

Well, there is most certainly something there, but it looks to this untrained eye as if Sri Lanka was part of India sometime in the past, just like this island that I live on was once part of Brooklyn and Long Island.

Ramesvarem would lose it's ferry service if you built a channel between the mainland and Sri Lanka, but what would be gained??

Joe(Most Americans cannot find India on a map, but many of them can't find their own home state on a either... .)Nation

Joe
It is the otherway round.
Infact Srilanka government fears about the revenue .
The fact is this.
This controversy about Rama( My name!) inconnection with modern trade development is rotten to the core.
The funny HINDU party makes much ado about nothing.
Rama is nothing to do with god_ if there is one.
In India there are umpteen gods inhindu religion.
The Adams bridge is the apt description of this episode.
But the fanatic fundamentalists Indian hindus will never accept rationality.
This is my view. and I was born in Hindu family

The gods we worship are our own creations. Religions are manmade. One need not subscribe to any religion, if one is guided by one's conscience and commonsense. Without man, there is no god. Religion, it may be argued, is meant to satisfy our spiritual needs. But many who claim to be religious are quite materialistic in their thinking. It is not proper to block the economic prosperity of the nation in the name of religion.

S. Anbumani Selvam,

http://www.hindu.com/2007/09/22/stories/2007092255271201.htm

I wish a response from some xyz
who uphold the hindu fanatics views about Rama.( I mean the hindu party which iis called Advani's party=BJP)

Incidentally this project was first mooted a hundred and fifty years ago by one Commander Taylor during the British occupation of India.

It had been known to all the governments since independence including BJP.

Vinsan
Thanks for exposing the hypocracy
which is a favourite word in Indian politics.

Hey Ram! With these last words, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi breathed his last. What would he have thought of the current controversy over the historicity or otherwise of Ram, the epic hero?

It would be interesting to ask: What is the historicity of the wind or cosmos? Behind visual reality, there exists something one can call supernature. Beyond history, there is the realm of metahistory.

How can man with his arrested sensibility, give expression to eternal life or eternity, in a language which is itself man-made? When we do not have a recorded or authentic history of language how shall we be able to understand the word ?'history' used in language?

The word Ram means causing rest, charming, loving and delightful. Gandhi knew from the core of his heart that Ram is the hidden centre of all apparent reality. It is the unchanging reality, underlying a shifting reality.

Ram is part of metahistory. Ram possesses highest power but never reveals himself as a possessor of power. People with inferior power exhibit their power in mindless activity and vanish like a bubble.

Much of Bapu's philosophy was based on the substance of Indian thought. He did tend to believe in avatars or incarnations and believed in the saving power of the name ?'Ram' in salvation through Lord Krishna. For Gandhi, the legend of Ram is so deeply embedded in the Indian way of life that it is difficult to think of India and Indian culture without any mention of his name.

The metahistory of Ram has inspired many poets and artists to depict his character with all its glory and transcendental splendour. After having understood the superficiality of so-called history Oswald Spengler had said in his book, The Decline of the West, that history should be the business of a poet.

The first such epic is the Ramayana, composed by Sanskrit poet Valmiki who is believed to be a contemporary of Ram. The whole of the Ramayana consists of 24,000 stanzas or 96,000 lines. It is a great work of art with many dramatic passages. Apart from the Ramayana other important epics of Sanskrit literature which characterise the life of Ram are Raghvansh by Kalidas and Uttar Ramcharit by Bhavbhuti. Ram gained immense popularity through the writings of Tulsidas, too, who depicted Ram's character with such devotion and sincerity that Ram became the inseparable part of the collective unconscious of the people.

Abhinand, Kshemendra Jaidev, Pravassen, Kritivas Kambhan and at least 40 other poets have eulogised the greatness of the legendary Ram through their writings. So it is not difficult for any one of us to utter the name of Ram consciously or uncons-ciously as Gandhi did. Although Gandhi was acquainted with the basic tenets of all religions, he was deeply moved by Christ's Sermon on the Mount.

Gandhi's passion for sustainable living and development was inspired by eternal and universal principles of faith in the oneness of religion and humanity.

Gandhi's philosophy of non-violence, truth and simple living was derived from a belief in the power of the very same principles epitomised by Maryada Purushottam Ram - the ideal personality - immortalised in the legend's story, the Ramayana, narrated in as many languages, forms and cultures as its plural versions.

(http://spirituality.indiatimes.com)

The North South divide among the Hindus in India still alive.
The Party which had ruined India BJP is still alive like some strage cracy Hitler supporters in Germany.

I had explained my views about the subject.
I had not followed the final result .
Are there any A2K active participants who are well informed?
Accept my thanks in advance
Rama Fuchs