Mr. Oli, Sri Ram is Omnipresent; He is everywhere!

Nepal’s Prime Minister Mr. K P Sharma Oli made a statement claiming that Ayodhya, the birthplace of Sri Ram was in Nepal and not in India as billions believe. He said that Sri Ram was a Nepali and not an Indian.

Per se, no one should have any objection to what Mr. Oli said. But he forgot one major attribute of Sri Ram’s character that He is Omnipresent. He is everywhere, He is in every living being. He belonged to the entire humanity, nay the whole of the universe.

So, Sri Ram is there in Nepal, in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Korea, and you name the country, and I bet, you will find the presence of Sri Ram in one or the other form. Hence, Nepal and the people of Nepal have full freedom to own Him. Why then Mr. Oli is trying to confine Sri Ram to Nepal alone when He belonged to the entire Universe?

However, Mr. Oli is not the only person to make such a claim about Sri Ram and Ayodhya. He said that Ayodhya is situated at a village called Thori, 135 km from Kathmandu in the Birganj district of Nepal. Well, this is not a new discovery. One comes across many such instances in human history.

For example, the Tharu Janjati community believes that the birthplace of Sri Ram is located in the Bhikna Thadi adjacent to the West Champaran district in Bihar. They believe that the Ashram of Maharshi Valmiki was also located here where Sita gave birth to twin sons Lav and Kush who were reared and trained by the Maharshi in all ways and walks of life including music and archery and statecraft.

There are many other countries in the world that feel proud of connecting them with Sri Ram. Korea had a 2000-year-old relationship with Ayodhya and the Korean Prices had come to participate in the installation ceremony of Sri Ram’s idol on the banks of the Sharayu River. Ayodhya located there is known as ‘Ayuda’ in the colloquial tongue.

The story of Sri Ram is present in every country, every community from the Himalayan forest-dwellers to people living in apartments; from the Indonesian land to the Middle East, everywhere one finds the impressions of Sri Ram and his story made with changes that suited to their environment. The Mizos in India’s northeast believe that Sri Ram and Lakshman initiated them in sowing paddy. There are ample shreds of evidence one comes across in the various communities dwelling in India’s north-eastern region.

The best example is Indonesia where people are Muslims and staunch followers of Islam but have great faith in Sri Ram. They engage in a theatrical presentation of Sri Ram’s life – Ram Leela – every year. The Sumatra island of Indonesia is named after Sumitra, the mother of Lakshman. A river in Jawa city is named Sarayu.

Indonesia’s President was Sukarno and he was rescued by the then Chief Minister of Odisha Biju Patnaik when he faced a coup. His daughter was named as ‘Sukarnaputri Meghavati’ and his wife was ‘Ratnadevi’. The official airlines of Indonesia bear the name ‘Guarda Airways’, and ‘Garuda’ is considered as the divine carrier of Lord Vishnu.

The people of Indonesia have changed their religion but not their forefathers, culture, and traditions. Therefore, they are still attached to their ancient traditions, customs, and culture and take pride in following those. The average Indonesian feels and believes that Sri Ram originally belonged to them and the Indians had stolen these traditions from them.

Mr. Oli must be knowing that in Thailand the King is called ‘Ram’. The epithet is attached to his name quintessentially. The King resides in Ayodhya near Bangkok and though the majority of Thai people follow Buddhism, they believe that the King is a descendent of Sri Ram and therefore, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. If one wants to know and understand the Hindu symbols and culture, Thailand is the only place available.

In fact, the entire south-east Asian region is the home to numerous symbols of Hindu traditions and culture, customs and rituals, and festivals.

Mr. Oli must understand that Ram has occupied every particle of Bharat and there can be no idea of Bharat sans Ram, nay it is impossible even to think like that. Ram is revered in the entire Bharat; He is worshipped and venerated by all. Even the Muslims consider Him as ‘Imam-e-Hind’. Allama Iqbal described Sri Ram as ‘Imam-e-Hind’. He wrote in one of his poems in 1908:

“है राम के वजूद पर हिन्दोस्ताँ को नाज़, अहले नज़र समझते हैं उनको इमामे हिन्दI”

This means India is proud that Sri Ram was born here and all the learned people accept Him as Imam or the Spiritual Guru of Hind. Thousands of Muslims in Bharat today also believe that Sri Ram is 'Imam-e-Hind' and have lent their support for the construction of Sri Ram Mandir at his birthplace Ayodhya.

The socialist leader of yesteryears Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia used to say that Ram, Krishna, and Shiv are the three characters that are revered by all Indians. Every Indian knows something about these three personalities.

Mahatma Gandhi nursed the dream of establishing ‘Ram Rajya’. So, Mr. Oli can draw inspiration from Gandhi and make Nepal a ‘Ram Rajya’ which will be based on justice and equality for all. Gandhi had visualized such a Ram Rajya in Bharat which will be based on purity and truth. Ram is God to all Indian and there is nothing wrong if someone wants to connect Nepal with Sri Ram. In spite of his being a Marxist, Mr. Oli certainly deserves a pat for trying to connect Nepal with Sri Ram.

But there is a hitch. Does he want to divide Bharat and Nepal who had millennia-old cultural unity and emotional attachment in the name of Sri Ram? Or is he sincere in his approach? Prima Facie, it appears that Mr. Oli is playing to the tune of his Chinese Masters. He must understand the character of Sri Ram first. Ram does not believe in miracles. He engages everybody in action and he did it while constructing a bridge connecting Sri Lanka with Bharat. And everyone, even a tiny squirrel helped in that venture. He is not the God of Hindus alone; He is the cultural treasure of Bharat. And it is not easy to divide such a common treasure, nor it is advisable.

Iqbal once again pronounced in loud voice: “The glass of Hind is filled to the brim with Truth and the philosophical expanse of the West is noting but the expanse of Sri Ram”.

लबरेज़ है शराब-ए हक़ीक़त से जाम-ए हिन्द सब, फ़लसफ़ी हैं खित्ता-ए मग़रिब के राम-ए हिन्द l

Sri Ram is that adhesive that connects the millions of Indians settled outside Bharat. Sri Ram is the great ambassador of cultural awakening besides the faith. Ram is there in Myanmar. The Popa Mountain here is famous for its medicinal herbs and it is believed that Hanuman took a part of this mountain to Sri Lanka for treatment of Lakshman. There is a hollow at the center of this mountain and that justifies the belief of the people of Myanmar who show this part of the mountain to the tourists with pride.

Thus, Mr. Oli may be claiming Sri Ram for Nepal, but He belongs to the entire universe. Even if he asks his own people, he would get the right answer for, is not Ram a point of reverence for every Nepali also?