Sunday and the Ramayana

Sunday lovely Sunday. This is what every weekend should be like. Brunch at a French place, a documentary and MoMA, and nice walk in the park. Best Sunday ever, and pretty much what I plan on every Sunday being like from now until October.

I went to bed at 11:30, woke up refreshed, and got to work at record earliness today, which means I get to leave early and be in the sun some more! Between 4:30 and my hair appointment, I hope to finish this book that I've been reading for a THOUSAND YEARS! It's this for this and there's like a billion words in it, and I made the mistake of making it a subway read, meaning I only read it in 10 minute spurts on the subway so it never ends. Previous subway reads have been short things, I don't know what's wrong with me.

Anyway, yesterday I was reading it and it felt real appropriate because the story was ending (but the book has like a 70 page denoument) and spring was coming and everyone was cheerful and happy with the monkeys and the animals. So I guess it's timed well with the arrival of true springtime.

It's really a beautiful story. I thought it would be tedious and horrible like reading the Bible, but this prose rendition is really appealing. There are lovely episodes all throughout, and the good people feel like really good people. The virtue and honor and honesty portrayed in this story had a purity to them that's really unique. This is a world where everyone helps everyone and gives without getting and strives towards a happier community. I don't know anything about Hinduism or the culture in which this mythology was created, so all I can say about the Ramayana is how it affected my Western, non-religiously-affiliated mind.

All the virtue depicted in this story, all the reasons people gave of themselves and helped others, was due to this universal respect that everyone (everyone not evil) shared. It's an affect that is really inspiring, perhaps because it is woefully absent from our own reality. The bad (evil) characters in the story were considered such because they were selfish and lacking in respect for the lives of others. It wasn't about wishing ill on anyone, it was about taking without consideration.

Another major theme in this story was forgiveness, and the act of granting it when it is needed. Misdeeds, fault, and blame aren't absent from the story, but when a character has acted inappropriately and genuinely asks forgiveness, it is always given. Always. There are no grudges or endless bitternesses. Our silly notion that forgiveness has to be deserved or earned isn't even a passing thought in these characters' minds. I think there's a lot we can take from their example.

Maybe the reason the characters in this mythology were so positive and giving was because -- and maybe I'm imagining this -- they all seemed acutely aware that they were part of this huge story. It's really hard to explain what I mean, but it seemed like they knew their lives were epic. At many points in this book, the characters would sit and relate past stories about other characters, and as the book went on, they'd be telling stories about things that happened earlier on in their own timeline. And they would tell these things in the same fashion as the main tale itself. It was stories being built on stories with every character being part of countless histories all interwoven and stretching back thousands of years. With an awareness of this huge epic that involves yourself and every person around you, I believe it would be difficult to be hateful or self-serving. Stories are one of the most powerful things that keep communities and cultures cohesive. We're all aware of our own, but I think we often forget that we're a part of each other's. What this book represented to me was the power of what could happen if we all worked towards forming a huge communal epic where everyone's actions are a part of the story and everyone, no matter who, can be a hero.

Hmm... that got a little sappy and heavy-handed.... sorry.