The name 'Rama' is the essence of the Vedas.  The Story of Rama is an Ocean of Milk, pure and patent.  It has provided inspiration to the poetic imagination of every language and country.  It is the greatest treasure inherited by his good fortune by every Indian.  There is no Indian who has not imbibed the nectar of Ramakatha, the Story of Rama.

The Ramayana, the epic that deals with the story of the Rama Incarnation, is a sacred text that is reverently recited by people with all varieties of equipment, the scholar as well as ignoramus, the millionaire as well as the pauper.  The name that the Ramayana glorifies cleanses all evil; it transforms the sinner; it reveals the Form that the Name represents, the Form that is as charming as the Name itself.

© Bhavan's Journal, April 1-15, 2001.  Reprinted with permission.

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