ABC OF RAM SETHU..Did Rama Exist?

There is no historical evidence to suggest Rama existed. That doesn’t mean he did not exist. He may have. He may not have. For example, it is much easier to believe that Narasimha avatar of lord Vishnu may not have existed in real life, mainly coz it’s hard to believe that a man actually took the shape of a lion. Also it is much easier to dismiss that Vamana Avatar existed coz it’s hard to believe a story where a man could step on a planet to cover it entirely with a foot. In the same vein, no body actually asserts that Asuras and Devas really churned the sea using a mountain and a snake with a tortoise as the base. However, many people do believe that Lord Rama and Lord Krishna existed and actually lived. Most people in the world believe that Mohamed Prophet, Alexander, Asoka existed and lived on this planet, in flesh and blood and not as mere fantasy of a book writer.

While some of the above characters have actually lived, some may not have. How do we know who existed and who did not?

For example coming to Alexander, there is a lot of evidence to suggest he existed. The books describing him written during his life time have discussed events and places that have been recorded by others elsewhere. His conquests that describe his exploits in Persia and India have been recorded by different cultures and societies other than Greeks. So, a corroboration of the same person coming from various sources helps build the case that this person actually existed and that is not mere work of fiction. Time of his existence is calculated from various sources. Some includes timings such as lunar or solar eclipse, a recorded event such as flooding or earthquake, or hard evidences like coins, bones and articrafts.

There is no such evidence to suggest Rama existed. There is no historical evidence of Ayodhya-there are no city walls dating to that period of time. The books that we find are not the original texts of those times, and hence we can’t even date them. And there is no other visitor or another author from another society who has described Rama’s rule in any other book. The conclusion is, there is no evidence of Rama’s existence.

Is Ram Sethu/Adam’s bridge a natural formation?

Archaeological survey of India estimates its formation to be approximately 1,25,000 years ago.

But if it were indeed man made, what are the signs one should look for?

Usually most of the construction sites of such large scales, such as pyramids or Great Wall of China, leave behind traces of human presence-traces of coins, traces of bones etc. Such construction of a grand scale if man made could be made only by large societies and hence large societies tend to leave traces of cities, dwellings, jewelry etc. None of such evidences are found in Adam’s bridge. It is like asking whether Mount Everest is a natural formation. As there is no evidence to suggest it’s man-made so it’s highly probable that it’s natural.

Did Human live 1.75 million years ago in India as suggested by the petition?

The petitioners protesting the dredging of Adam’s bridge/Ram Sethu have suggested that Rama has built this bridge 17, 50,000 years ago. That is a long time ago. The Homo Sapiens (Humans) did not appear on this planet then.

At that time there were proto Humans whose brain size was much smaller than ours and if you had a chance to look at them you would pass them as apes. Back then we did not speak, we did not write, we did not have societies, we did not build cities- we were not even humans then. But around 2,50,000 years ago proto humans became humans, originated in Africa and spread to most parts of the world. Humans became dominant species around 12,000 years ago, started agriculture, formed cities, built kingdoms etc. Indus Valley civilization which predates Sanskrit and other Vedic religion started around 5,000 years ago. Rama, if existed in this civilization, should have been less than 5,500 years ago. There’s is a big difference between 5,500 and 17, 50,000 years.

And why do these idiots come up with the number 1.75 Million Years? What is so magical about it?

Let me explain. Some Hindus believe our time is divided into 4 Yugas. The first one is Satya Yuga which lasted 1.728 Million years. Second is Treta Yuga which lasted 1.296 Million years. Third one is Dvapara Yuga which lasted 8,64,000 years. And at last Kali Yuga which spans 4,32,000 years. Lord Rama was born in Treta Yuga. And we are in Kali Yuga which started at 3102 BC.

So, if you add backwards, 2013+ 3102+ 864,000+(2/3) of 1,296,000, you get 1.7333 Million Years. There it is-your magical figure! One has to understand that this number is not scientific and has no practical basis whatsoever. No other historical event was calculated using these numbers and hence could be discarded as another mythological byproduct.

Isn’t literary evidence good enough?

Is Ramayana written by Valmiki good enough evidence to prove that Adam’s bridge/Ram sethu is a man-made construction? One should quickly ask one’s self, is Tolkien’s Lord Of the Rings a good enough evidence to prove that Middle Earth exists? Not Really.

Just because Ramayana is a religious book, it doesn’t make historical evidence.

Conclusion:

To suggest that Rama existed is a matter of belief, whether he existed or not is not irreverent to dredging of Ram Sethu. What is important in perspective of Govt’s  Sethusamudram Project is to know if Ram Sethu is a man-made construction or not. All evidences suggest that it is not, except quotations from mythology and some blind beliefs.

India is now running extremely low on Vitamin S-where S stands for Science. The lack of vitamin has led to a disease called “our sentiments are hurt”. The first sign of this disease is that human sentiments become more important in the matters of running the state whereas logic and reason are booted out of the door.

So, certain people defending the story of Ram Sethu was built by monkeys had moved Supreme Court of India citing quotations from Valmiki’s Ramayana to back up their stand. It is like quoting Harry Porter to prove existence of Hogwart Castle.

These petitioners have claimed that it was built 1.75 Million years ago.

What happens to a billion people when they do not get their dose of Vitamin S on adequate level? You get a cocktail country where mythology is mixed with history, blind belief mixed logic, irrationality mixed with rationality. In short you get a billion idiots.

Humans have been humans for much less than 1 Million years. So, how come Rama existed before humans became humans? And how did he achieve this grand feet of building a bridge using monkeys?

Was Rama an ape then or was he human then? Is it blasphemy to ask this question?

- Jay and Sujai