Author: TNN
Publication: The Times of India
Date: September 9, 2011
URL: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-09-09/mysore/30134382_1_ramayana-morals-women-professionals
There is a new craze among women to learn
Ramayana and Mahabharata and understand the relevance of the epics in today's
materialistic life. Women professionals, who are taking up courses or examinations
on the epics, feel that the contents will be a guiding spirit in their stressed
lifestyle.
Last year, 365 women, most of them doctors
and lawyers, took up the examination conducted by Samarpana, an organization
run by Sudha Paneesh, a social activist. Tulsi Vijaykumar, the wife of a jeweller
from city, stood first in Mysore and Bangalore centres.
Many may be skeptical about Samarpana's efforts
because Ramayana is considered a part of Hindu mythology but women who have
passed the examination refuse to look at it from a religious angle. "For
us morals of the epic are important," claims Dr Rajani, a medical officer
from the city who passed the examination last year, describing Ramayana as
a way of life.
Dr Rajani says that when many aspire to lead
a materialistic and highly commercialized life, Ramayana comes as a great
relief to their disturbed minds. Ramayana is a formula of life and one can
lead a peaceful life with high moral values, she says appreciating Samarpana
for making them study Ramayana.
UOM teacher Jyothi Shekar says morals of Ramayana
are a panacea for all the problems of a turbulent mind and learning Ramayana
will go a long way in leading a peaceful life besides helping them make their
children aware of moral values.
Sudha Paneesh, who runs the course in alliance
with a trust in Bangalore, claims nobody will learn Ramayana if it is told
and retold. The examination format attract them more in addition to making
them feel that they are involved in a competition. "Our aim is to deduce
morals of Ramayana and make efforts to apply them to people's lives,"
she said.
"We are targeting women because they
are the teachers in their homes," she said justifying her decision to
have the course exclusively for women.
