Final Battle

 what evidence is there that the final battle is a spiritual or psychological one, rather than a literal one.  Think about what clues are given, and how they connect with Hinduism.

I think that the final battle between Rama and Ravanna is spiritual and physchological. Rama recieves help from the gods during/before the batter which makes the battle spiritual. Also, Rama and Ravanna both use gifts that the gods have given them during the battle which also makes it a spiritual battle. It's a psychological battle because it uses a lot of planning and think about what you are going to do. You can't just beat your opponent physcially, you also have to beat them mentally. Ravanna easily could have on the battle because he was more prepared/stronger physically but Rama was more mentally strong. He had a reason why he was fighting and he was morally right in fighting the battle he was. He was also more mentally strong because he had more support nad he was more prepared. He had to be more prepared because he knew he had a rough battle ahead of him. Ravanna wasn't as mentally prepared because he had won almost every single battle he was in so he thought he didn't had to prepare to fight Rama. He thought it was going to be another easy battle. Also, with all the winnings that Rama had it was a big "ego" boost, in the sense that he felt better and better about fighting. Ravanna kept losing battles and he was just being torn down because this had never happened to him before.

The two ideas about the war being spiritual and pyschological relate back to hinduism because hinduism has to do with respecting your gods and there wishes. Also it has a lot to do with your dharma and your karma. Ravanna finally losing a battle has a lot to do with his karma because he had it coming. He took Rama's wife, without her wanting to go, and didn't give her back. Also, Ravanna had been so cruel to people and was stacking up bad karma that he was bound to come to the end and Rama was the person to do it. Lastly, since Ravanna was so bad in this life that dharma would cause him to be a snail or something in the next life.

Is Rama Sexist?

To be completely honest, I haven't really seen many times where Rama has been sexist. I don't know if I'm not reading careful enough but I haven't seen enough times to consider him sexist. The only time I really saw him being some what sexist is when he was hestitant to kill Mareecha because she was a girl. And when he didn't want Sita to come into the forest with him.
I feel like Rama is more respectful of women than he is sexist. Like he treats his wife really good and he loves her. He respects her wishes and does the stuff she asks.

So honestly, I don't know! :/

If I could relive one day..

If I could relive one day it would be the day that my dad died. I would change sooo many things about that day. If I was to relive it and have the same outcome that it previously had I would only change a few things. I would of actually talked to my dad that day, I would find time to see him or something. I never got to see or talk to my dad that day and its a big regret/mistake that I have. My dad normally took me to school in the morning but the day he died he took my sister to breakfast for her birthday. The morning is generally the only time I see my dad before he went to work and before my soccer but after work and soccer I see him. So I never got a chance to see him that day. But if I could relive that day I would make sure I said goodbye and told him I loved him.

Now..If I was able to relive that day and change the outcome I would make it so he didn't die, obviously. If my dad didn't die I don't know how today would look. I mean I have imagined it plenty of times and thought it would be easier and better but in reality, who knows.

How's your kharma?  If you had one do-over, one day to live over, what would it be? How would it change the outcome today?

Journal-3

Rama is so inclined to sympathize with Sugreeva because he feels bad that his wife was taken him from him and he was turned on by his own family.  Rama I think feels similar to Sugreeva because they are going through similar problems. Rama was exiled for fourteen years and Sugreeva can't leave the mountain or his brother will kill him. Vali, Sugreeva's brother, took Sugreeva's wife and Ravanna took Ramas. Rama also sympathizes with Sugreeva because it's good karma to help him.

In Rama's and Vali's argument I think that both sides have good points but Vali overall realized that Rama was right and what he did was "justice". On page 108 Vali goes on talking about how Rama's sense of judgement is all out of whack because he has lots his wife which caused him to sympathize with Sugreeva. But then Rama, on page 109, tells Vali the story that Sugreeva told him. Vali is being told the truth about what happened between Sugreeva and him. And the argument really just goes back and forth for a while until Vali realizes that Rama was right in killing him and that he had been wrong this whole time. He dies with "pride" and blesses his brother and Rama.

The Brothers, Vali and Sugreevas, fight is a lot like wars. People find something out that could be wrong, or right, and start wars for no reason (in my opinion). Each side of the war gets alliances to help them out. Sugreeva got Rama to help him out. Then they all end in battle, like Vali's and Sugreeva's battle. Then the alliances help their alliances fight the enemy and that is what Rama does for Sugreeva.. He helps Sugreeva by killing Vali.

Immanence and Illusory

Journal: Cite at least two examples (with pg. numbers) in the first two chapters of Ramayana where you see evidence of the divine being IMMANENT, and discuss how they fit this criteria.  Make also, at least three instances of appearances being ILLUSORY and what these might mean.;
Read "Two Promises Revived"

Illusory-

Example 1. Chapter 1, page 14. "(Although Rama was Vishnu, his human incarnation made him unaware of his  indentity at the moment.)"
At this point in the story they were going to where Vishnu had meditated but Rama doesn't know that he has been there. I think that Rama being Vishnu means that he is in human form for some specific reason, whether its to fix his kharma or make sure that there is proper dharma in the world.

Example 2. Chapter 2, page 24. "They had been together long ago in Vaikuntam their original home in heaven, as Vishnu and his spouse Lakshmi, but in their present incarnation, suffering all the limitations of mortals, they looked at each other as strangers."
I think that this means that when you love someone no matter what you are always going to have that connection/bond with them. Even if you don't remember who they are or what you had you will always have that connection.

Example 3.  Chapter 1, page 14. "Vishnu took birth in a brahmin family as a person of tiny proportions; within this diminutive personality was packed a great deal of power and learning."
I think that this means that Vishnu was trying to learn and be something different..something he would have never been.

Immanence-

Example 1. Chapter 1 page 17. "Every inch of ground on earth, as you may have realized by now, has a divine association."

This example fits the criteria for immanence because every part of the ground has to do with the gods in some way, shape or form.

Example 2. Chapter 1 page 17. "You see that river now. It is Ganga flowing along the valley, coming down from the Himalayas, carrying within her the essence of rare herbs and elements found on her way. She courses through many a kingdom, and every inch of the ground she touches becomes holy; Ganga cleanses and transforms; the dying person with a sip of that water or with the ashes of his bones dissolved therein attains salvation."

This fits the criteria because its saying the river is the goddess Ganga.