I was invited by Sun News TV channel to be a guest in their live coverage of Prana Pratistha of Bhagawan Shri Rama in his Janmasthan in Ayodhya on 22nd January 2024. They asked me a few questions for which some of my answers were muted - you can guess why. What was telecast is given in two videos below.
In this recorded version, I have spoken in the beginning and from 29 minutes onwards. I have spoken on Rama's connection to Tamilnadu, his temples in Tamilnadu right from his time, how Ravana was hated by Tamils and on Valmiki's knowledge of Tamil.
In the next video you can hear me from 1.39 minutes onwards answering a question on what I think about the image of Rama. I started stating that I can see the image in three ways.
1. It fulfils the Saamudrika lakshana described for Rama by Hanuman to Sita in Ashoka Vana.
2. It signifies the home coming of Rama - that Rama is back in his birth place.
3. I quoted the version of the other guest in the programme that Rama lived lakhs of years ago in Treta Yuga which makes Rama a mythical and imagined character. So I talked about the two types of Yugas- namely Divya Yuga and Dharma Yuga in which Divya Yuga measured by planetary conjunction is not applicable to human life.
By then my voice was muted and we were not allowed to talk further and there was no proper closure of the talk either. After waiting for 45 minutes or so, we left the studio on being told that the programme involving us was over. I expected this but accepted their invitation to make my point. I did talk about how Ravana was hated by Tamils. I did talk about Rama as the ancestor of the Cholas and the like which this TV group could not have stomached.
After I spoke about Ravana factor, my next answer about Skanda and how the Supreme court accepted the evidence from Skanda Purana in determining the location of Janmasthan which had actually pointed to the location of the Babri masjid was muted even before I could start giving the details. Facts cannot be hidden always.
Now coming to the third point which I wanted to tell but couldn't tell was this:
In Dharma Yuga measurement, the amount of Dharma decides the Yuga.
If 3/4th of the Dharma is present, it is Treta Yuga. Rama lived in that kind of period.
If 1/2 of Dharma is present, it is Dwapara Yuga.
If 1/4th of Dharma is present, it is Kali Yuga.
Now we are in Kali Yuga both in terms of amount of Dharma and in planetary measures.
However, in Valmiki Ramayana, Maalyavaan, the maternal grandfather of Ravana had given a different point. He scolded Ravana that he was adharmic. In that context he said that when Dharma is high, there is Krita yuga. If Adharma is high, that is Kali Yuga. Maalyavaan said that Ravana was Adharmic and therefore there was Kali yuga then. In other words, in the so-called Treta yuga of Rama, the adharmic activities of Ravana brought Kali Yuga wherever he went. But wherever Rama went, there was Treta Yuga with 3/4th of Dharma.
Today Rama has come back to Ayodhya to his own palace. This means we now have Treta yuga in Kali Yuga. This beautiful idea of hope and positivity could not be told in this TV.
However the listeners to All India Radio the opportunity to listen to me speak about this as I also got a call to talk in the live coverage of Prana Pratistha in AIR on that day. I answered two questions - one about this yuga issue and Rama's birth year. The audio clippings of my talk are available but I have no idea of how to make them public. Those wanting to listen to it can drop a mail to jayasreebooks@gmail.come. I will share them.
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