As an Indian Christian, I am excited about the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ of the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya. My excitement stems from the simple respect I have for the religious and spiritual beliefs of my Hindu sisters and brothers.
My sisters and brothers of the Hindu faith believe it is the return of Bhagwan Ram to his place of birth and I share in this joy of theirs and also accept the beauty of their beliefs and the devotion to their faith.
The Ram Mandir is not a temple of worship for the Hindus alone but a revered and religious place for every single daughter and son of Bharat Mata from different faiths who believe in their Bharatiya spiritual and cultural roots.
The spirituality that emanates from the deepest roots of India has the power to touch lives not only in India but across the world. In a time of global communal strife, it is the ethos and values of Sanatana Dharma that is the beacon of peace, joy, and humanity. In recent times, the world is slowly realizing and also accepting this simple truth about Sanatana Dharma and the principles of ‘Dharma’ and ‘Karma’.
I am not a critic of religion, including my religion, but I believe that spirituality goes beyond the dogmatic pressures of a religion. Spirituality is the acceptance of the ‘God’ within you and the ‘God’ around you, which is the core backbone of the ‘Sanatana Dharma’ teachings.
The story of Bhagwan Ram is a fascinating story of the reality of life and the importance of principles to lead that life. There is no doubt about the brutal truth that the Abrahamic religions in particular Islam and Christianity – in their eagerness to proselytize attempted to kill the religious and spiritual beliefs of the indigenous people of Bharat and even demonize the belief systems. But Sanatana Dharma has prevailed and it will always prevail because it is based on the truthful principles of life and human existence in cohesiveness with nature and the different facets of nature.
The Ramayana is not a myth or just a story told to keep people of Hindu beliefs fixated on the lives of Ram, Laxman, Sita, and Hanuman. It is a lesson to its believers and even non-believing readers on the simplicity of the Sanatana Dharma beliefs, a reflection of the pains and joys of life but most importantly the humanistic principles of ‘Dharma’ and ‘Karma’. Every one of the roles depicted in the ‘Ramayana’ is people epitomizing the principles of ‘Dharma’ and ‘Karma’, even Ravana, who was blessed with wisdom and knowledge so profound but erred in his Dharmic duties.
I see the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya as the first step of India rising as Bharat to reclaim its lost legacy and create a more lasting legacy based on the ethos of Sanatana Dharma and its teachings which were lost for centuries because of Bharat being under the control of different invaders who managed to keep the beauty of Sanatana Dharma suppressed, an example of the fact is the Babri Masjid itself that stood on the grounds of the birthplace of Bhagwan Ram and it took an uprising and the legal system to give justice to the millions of sisters and brothers of the Hindu faith after 500 years.
I am confident that Ayodhya and the spirituality attached to this holy place coupled with the beliefs of millions of believers will transform this spiritual and religious place into a global pilgrimage destination for people of the Sanatana Dharma faith from different corners of the world; much on the lines of the religious and spiritual destination such as Vatican or Mecca. There will not only be a spiritual transformation but there will also be an economic transformation of Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, and Bharat because of the Ram Mandir in the birthplace of the Bhagwan Ram.
I believe that Bharat is poised at that era in time when the beauty of our spirituality and our culture is finding acceptance globally. People burdened by the dogmatism of their religious beliefs are slowly coming to accept the simplicity of a life lived on the principles of Sanatana Dharma.
The spiritual revival of Bharat will commence on the day of the ‘Pran Prastishtha’ of the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya and as a Bharatiya, I am grateful to ‘God’ that I am living at the moment in history to witness India rise as Bharat and through its spiritual force transform the world socially, economically but most importantly humanistically. More importantly, I am living at a time to see Bhagwan Ram return to his place of birth, which is the devotion of millions of my Hindu sisters and brothers and I want to share this joy with them wholeheartedly.
Jai Shri Ram!
