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<font size="3"><font color="#0000ff">Thanks a bazillion for participating in the last one guys, it was enlightening and inspiring - you're all brilliant 👏 <font color="#660066">This time, the topic is really broad, so hopefully it'll last us a while. <font color="#9900ff">If possible, everyone should at least address it once within the next two pages so it doesn't get too spread out to follow. <font color="#006666">Enjoy!
<font color="#ff0066">Using the following scenes from RS's mythos as a point of departure, let's discuss the roles of men and women, and more specifically, husbands and wives as idealized (or discouraged) in Hindu culture at that time. How did the duties and expectations of each one differ, if at all? Did they ever come into conflict with any other duties for any particular character, and why? And most importantly, what lessons can we take from them and apply to modern times regarding social order, familial responsibilities, and their relationship to spiritual advancement?
<font color="#0000ff"><font size="4">The discussion can include but certainly isn't limited to the following scenes:</font>
</font></font></font></font></font></font></font><font color="#ff0000">Shri Ram's first night speech and
vow of monogamy😍 (8:25)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOFkAphUGaA</font>
<font color="#ff0000">Mata Sunayana's advice on being a good wife (starts at 5:10):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWDhl8Rxaf8
Maharaj Ugrasen's advice on being a good husband (4:35)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYlyi8tMi9A
</font><font color="#ff0000">Mandodari explains and exemplifies friend and
minister aspect of wife's duties (5 minutes in, but watch all of it! It's
brilliant!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2puFPnJavYU</font>
<font color="#ff0000">Sita's response to Ram's attempt to send her home from Sumant, pre-Bharat Milaap (right from start)</font>
<font color="#ff0000">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgZU4q9Xl14
Devi Anusuya's speech for Sita (25 seconds in)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TJHqCF4ZCE
</font><font color="#ff0000">Bharat and Mandavi discuss duties after Bharat
Milaap (4 minutes in)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHu4vYJVfks</font>
<font color="#ff0000">Sunayana Maa's post-Bharat Milaap advice, esp listen on how she asks them to respect Kaikeyi and lead their husbands on the right path (3:20)</font>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU-4cVz8l4E
<font color="#ff0000">Ram takes to a bed of grass after Sita's exile (4 minutes in)</font>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV2d0jX1Tt8
<font color="#ff0000">Sulochana demonstrate's wife's duty to be encouraging and courageous</font> <font color="#ff0000">(right from start)</font>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahe0mlynYKs
<font color="#ff0000">Sita serving Ram (45 seconds in)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUCemYJ-LGE
Vasu serving Devaki (around 2:30)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9dF5PbIIVc
Sita's Pativrata self-defense (6 minutes in)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmq_QHhzXWw</a>
Vasu upholds husband's duty after Akashwani (4:50)
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RfaDuuJmAc">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RfaDuuJmAc
Continuation of above, Vasu affirms equality of husband and wife (1:30)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jsh7vimT3U
Praja realizes Ram's respect for Sita (and that they should replicate with their wives) after golden statue decision is announced (7:30)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0t-_p8qYM0A
Continuation of above, a certain family interprets this statue decision as Ram's empowerment of women in general (right from start)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ot7HCcp5lPy
</font></div>
2nd Discussion of the Week
Very Nice and BROAD topic indeed👍🏼! Yes, we have the scope to discuss the role of Men-Women in society, their Inter-Personal relationship as well as how they contribute to Spiritual journey of the partner- everything can be discussed under this topic.
So, am I the first one to post 😳 ? Honestly I don't have many points right now. Just trying to write about the scenes which have Touched 😍 me in various ways…
I love to watch all the scenes of Sunayana Devi. The way she tells Sita about the Duties of a Wife, I think Shri Krishna also have a scene like this where Devaki's mother advices her about the same.
Where Sunayana Devi advices Urmila-Mandavi-Shrutakeerti about staying in Ayodhya and taking care of the elders as that is the primary duty of them at that stage and Most Importantly that she will welcome them all in Mithila only after the problems of Ayodhya are sorted out (i.e.-after the homecoming of Ram-Sita-Lakshman)…Such a Great Lesson from a mother⭐️⭐️…
I loved the Mata Anusuya-Sita meeting very much—The whole scene teaches us how an Ideal Wife should Behave. Today, the world has changed a lot and we feel that the Morals/Ideals represented by these chacters are TOO HIGH (Members, please forgive me😳 for saying this, but that is my opinion, as I have already mentioned in my introductory posts in CC2😊). But now I feel that those Ideals should be there for us to follow, otherwise there will be no parametre to measure how we are doing in our personal lives, those Ideals should be there for us to compare-learn and improve ourselves whenever we can.
We have discussed a lot about Raavan-Mandodari in our Orkut Ramayan Community⭐️ …Wife has so many roles to perform and Mandodari was a perfect wife…It is really sad that her endeavours could not change the fate of Raavan, but indeed that scene is just TOO GOOD 👍🏼!
We have also discussed about the Bharat-Maandavi meeting at Nandigram(in prev posts with Sis Lola in CC2 or CC3 – I don't remember exactly). There we find that Maandavi's duty as a wife(serving her husband) is in conflict with the duty Bharat assigns her(to look after Kaikeyi).
Now one of my favourite scene is when Shri Ram decides to sleep on bed of grass after Sita's exile… I was filled with Respect for Lord Ram watching that scene. And Ram explains to Lakshman that Without the wife a husband must not enjoy any pleasures of life…Such High Ideal 😍…Just motivates us all to behave in the proper way, to value the sacrifice the other person is making. The LOVE shared by Ram-Sita are just Heavenly😍!
Yes, Vasudev upholding the duties of a Husband after the Akaashvani is another Powerful scene. I also loved that scene, along with the High Ideals, the Sincerity in the relationship of Vasudev and Devaki is also evident here.
Another scene which I remember quite well is the scene where Lakshman and Urmila meet for the last time before Lakshman going to Vanvaas. There also Lakshman gives priority to his duty as a brother(serving elder brother) in comparison to his duty as husband(to look after his wife).
I feel I have moved a bit from the original topic of discussion, but I have this problem of not been able to apply those Ideals in our existence in this Kalyug😭. So just tried to do that [i.e.-connecting Treta and Dwapar yug concepts with this(our😕 ) world] here in my post😆😆.
That is all I have to say in the beginning of the discussion. Very sketchy indeed, just touching on the dialogues mentioned by Lola (and left some scenes which I don't remember correctly😳, will definitely watch and comment on them soon). Really interested to read the views of all the members regarding all those scenes. Will catch up with all of you as the discussion progresses in future.
@ Lola,
Excellent way of making it easier for the members to go though all the scenes, you have taken Sooo... Much pain😊 in arranging the Topics and mentioning the Youtube links with all of them…Great Work Dear 👏 👏 !
Jai Shri Krishna. Jai Shri Ram.
Anupamaa
