MMNA IS A PROUD SPONSOR OF THE WINNERS OF KBRE OF NORTH EAST REGION
October 11, 2008
The
Ramayana and the
Mahabharata are the two greatest
history books of Vedic period that record major important events of Treta and
Dwapar Yugas respectively. Declared Swami Vivekananda, “In fact, the
Ramayana and the
Mahabharata are the two
encyclopedias of the ancient Aryan life and wisdom, portraying an ideal
civilization, which humanity has yet to aspire after.” Rishi Valmiki, the
biographer of the Ramayana,
related the history of this period in the form of poetry (kavya) comprising 24,000 stanzas, for
the benefit and instruction of posterity. This instruction leaves a powerful
impression on the reader’s mind when the reader realizes that what the
Ramayana teaches Sri Rama and his
family actually practiced and is not a mere precept. Sri Rama led an ideal life
as an obedient and dutiful son, an affectionate brother, a loving husband, an
upholder of dharma for the
protection of the weak and helpless, and an ideal king. Lakshmana, Bharata, and
Shatrughana were ideal brothers, while Sri Sita was an ideal wife upholding a
wife’s duty (stri dharma). The
father of Sri Rama, Raja Dashratha was an ideal father. The entire family of the
four married brothers, given to personal sacrifice and service to others, are
perfect role models for any family. As the
Ramayana is the history of a ruling royal family, it contains lessons
in polity, administration, diplomacy, war, and other topics related to
governance based on dharma. Many
precepts related to the proper outlook on sense enjoyment (kama) are found in the context of
events of this historic family. The family followed lofty ethical ideals: one
should be willing to die to protect one’s promise (Raghukula riti sada chali aayi;
Praan jaye pr vachan n jaye). It was
common practice for a king to conduct massive donations (yajna) at regular intervals, where a
large number of people from all walks of life were invited, and honored with
expensive gifts. The best outcome of this festivity was considered to be where
the king distributed not only all the wealth he had collected in the form of
taxes as sanctioned by the sastras,
but also the original wealth he had been enjoying. The day after this
disbursement of all wealth in the Asvamedha
yajna, Sri Rama, was left only with earthen pots. The wealth (artha) is acquired so it affords an
ability to give. Thus, in the Ramayana,
the life of Sri Rama depicts a perfect balanced ideal of wealth, pleasure, and
dharma.
In order to acquaint children in
America with the values given in the
Ramayana and to make the Ramayana
an integral part of their early learning, a nationwide quiz contest,
Kaun Banega Ramayana Expert (KBRE)
meaning "who will become Ramayana expert?" was held in April-June 2008. The quiz
was sponsored and managed by Hindu
Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS), a non-profit and voluntary organization,
working to preserve, practice, and promote Hindu values.
KBRE was launched
on
April 6th, the Hindu New Year day; "Ugadi" and the winners were announced in mid
June 2008. More than 2000 children, from the age group 5 to 15, (around 500 from
the North-East region) participated in this friendly quiz. It had two components
– an online examination followed by in-person examination. The nature of
in-person examination was different on various regional levels such as written
test, one-on-one interview, debate, group discussion and speech competition.
Those who passed online examination were allowed to appear for the in-person
examination. Selection of the winners and prize distribution happened on the
regional levels. It was heartening to see the children reading the
Ramayana and actively participating
and competing in the quiz. The KBRE was concluded in June-2008 by announcing the
winners on regional levels and distributing the cash prizes. For more
information:
http://www.balgokulam.org/contest/index.aspx