While reading the passages from the Ramayna, I noticed that sometimes, people treat others like Gods, and that had me wondering what the "standard" is for that kind of behavior. For example, in "Sita Sings the Blues," when Rama rejects Sita for living in another man's home (even though it was against her will), she says she could have killed Ravana herself, but the only reason she didn't was because Rama didn't order her to. She goes on to say that she has no reason to live, so she has Rama build her a funeral pyre so she can burn herself to death. It is understandable that Sita would do this, because Sita was a devout wife and treated Rama like a God. I did some research, and according to the Mahabharata "... the husband is the wife's highest deity... A woman has no protector like her lord, and no happiness like her lord... What chaste woman is there that would, when deprived of her lord, venture to bear the burden of life?" (I found that here.) So whether or not she knew he was an avatar of Vishnu, she was doing her righteous duty according to the Mahabharata.
I also noticed Rama's relationship with his parents. Rama is said to be the perfect man, and no doubt is the perfect son as well. For example, when Kaikeyi told Rama that he has been banished to Dandaka for 14 years, he just accepts it without protest because it is the right thing to do. As he says, "...there is no greater act of righteousness than this: obedience to one's father and doing as he bids." I think in Hinduism, it is everyone's righteous duty to treat our parents like Gods. Rama even shows evidence of regarding his mother in the same way when he asked for her blessings and "reverently circled" her (pradakshina), something typically done to Gods at Hindu temples. Nowadays, there probably aren't that many parents, if any, that make their kids treat them like Gods and we're not hidebound to obey our parents' every bizarre request, but it is still our righteous duty to respect them.
Question:
Did people know then that Rama was an avatar of Vishnu? If not, when did they find out? (I know a while ago I asked this of Buddha as well.)
I also noticed Rama's relationship with his parents. Rama is said to be the perfect man, and no doubt is the perfect son as well. For example, when Kaikeyi told Rama that he has been banished to Dandaka for 14 years, he just accepts it without protest because it is the right thing to do. As he says, "...there is no greater act of righteousness than this: obedience to one's father and doing as he bids." I think in Hinduism, it is everyone's righteous duty to treat our parents like Gods. Rama even shows evidence of regarding his mother in the same way when he asked for her blessings and "reverently circled" her (pradakshina), something typically done to Gods at Hindu temples. Nowadays, there probably aren't that many parents, if any, that make their kids treat them like Gods and we're not hidebound to obey our parents' every bizarre request, but it is still our righteous duty to respect them.
Question:
Did people know then that Rama was an avatar of Vishnu? If not, when did they find out? (I know a while ago I asked this of Buddha as well.)
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