The Ram Mandir was envisioned and planned by the people of Bharat. The construction of the grand Mandir complex at the believed birthplace of our cultural and civilisation icon and epoch-person Sri Ram commenced after a long struggle for ownership and occupation of the sacred site. It came after a period of 492 years following the demolition of an ancient Mandir at the site, a period marked by scuffles, riots, bloodshed, litigation and political chicanery over the issue.
The Ram Mandir is not only a magnificent symbol of Hindu culture but also the monument of the legendary Sri Ram, whose superlative human traits continue to guide and motivate the present generation of humans ages after him. Sri Ram’s powerful persona has ruled the psyches of global humans for millennia, showing them what an ideal human being is like. Blended with all divine-human qualities into a perfect person, Sri Ram lives on in the hearts and minds of his admirers and devotees after his time, nearly 900 thousand years ago.
The present political dispensation in Bharat is proudly privileged to initiate the construction of the Ram Mandir complex at the birthplace of Sri Ram in Ayodhya. The complex is not just a cluster of buildings. It is a living symbol of the timeless divine Vedic culture, which is supreme and universalistic. But more importantly, the construction is happening at a time when Bharat as a nation has taken off into a higher trajectory of geopolitical existence after centuries of lying low. Bharat’s resurrection as the major cultural, economic, and political power on the global horizon coincides with the construction of the grand Ram Mandir. The two are not coincidental by chance but by design—human and divine. The human design is what I am referring to as the inauguration of the Mandir at the most opportune time.
Ram Mandir is set to become the epicentre of the divine Hindu culture that has guided humanity to righteousness all through its long history on this planet. The final phase of construction of this Mandir is coming at a time when the entire world is in the grip of serious stress caused by the raging wars at three locations, threatening to escalate into a world war that could cause widespread death and destruction. It appears to be a harbinger of peace and harmony in the present world riven by violent conflicts and terrorism of various shades—military, political and economic. The divine signals emanating from the grand Mandir complex could well be the agents of peace and harmony in the war-afflicted world.
Bharat is already showing a surge of unity among the various sections of the Hindu population in the wake of the Ram Mandir construction—palpably greater unity in the historically divided and fragmented Hindu society. The Mandir appears to be fostering cohesion in the society—a most refreshing phenomenon. The inauguration of the Mandir complex was followed closely by the Archaeological Survey of India’s findings on the existence of deity murtis beneath the Gyanvapi Masjid adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath Mandir at Varanasi. The series and sequence of events surrounding the Ram Mandir since the time of demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992 have also reinforced peoples’ faith in the administrative machinery and the judicial system of Bharat. The intensified religious fervour in the masses as a result of these events, no doubt, will bring rich dividends—in political, social and economic terms.
On the economic front, the Mandir is proving to be a big booster. The Mandir complex, built at a cost of Rs 1500 crores, will attract about 450000 tourist devotees everyday and generate annual revenue of Rs 30000 crores. It has the potential of becoming one of the biggest religious tourism centres in global history. And this is not all. This construction will be the precursor to the development of similar religious tourist complexes at other sites in the country—one at Mathura dedicated to Sri Krishna and another at Varanasi dedicated to Bhagwan Shiva. These complexes will be huge money spinners because of the patronage of millions of national and international tourists. And they will have a positive cascade effect on other sectors of the Bharat’s economy too.
The Ram Mandir complex construction and the consecration of the murti of Sri Ram have stirred up the religious sentiments of most of the Hindus spread across Bharat and outside. This has infused a fresh new sense of cultural nationalism that remained dormant or suppressed through the larger period of the last 77 years. Since Sri Ram was an iconoclastic personality considered as God incarnate, the incident of consecration of Sri Ram’s murti having aroused and enhanced religious passions has given new political levers to the present BJP Government in UP State as well as the centre to work on its longer-term developmental agenda. This is only going to build a stronger Bharat — economically, socially and geopolitically, sooner than later.
It may appear to some of the deeply religious devotees of Bhagwan Ram that forces inimical to Sri Ram had destroyed the pre-existing Ram Mandir and had prevented its reconstruction for so long, but the establishment of the Mandir now appears to be uniting Indians cutting across caste, class and even religion. Sri Ram is a living symbol of supreme Dharma, which stands for universal brotherhood, love, compassion, peace and harmony. And these are the very basic conditions for progress and prosperity of all sections of the society. Ramayana–the story of the legendary Sri Ram, contains timeless lessons for all humanity and solutions to every problem that humans can confront.
The establishment of the Ram Mandir complex, no doubt, spells better times for the entire world. There can be no better news today than this when the world is in the grip of severe violent conflicts at multiple places, when humanity is deeply divided on ideological lines. Sri Ram represented the universal, eternal Vedic ideology that holds meaning, relevance and application at the larger cosmic level.
Long live Sri Ram! Long live Bharat!
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