The Beauty of Kamba Ramayanam

I began writing a rather long post titled "An Introduction to Vedic Philosophy in My Own Words", but as soon as I started I remembered a small portion of Kamba Ramayanam that I had read on a website a month ago. With Rama Navami just 4 days ago, I decided to simply write about Kamba Ramayanam. For full disclosure, I have never read Kamba Ramayanam, but after hearing this beautiful small portion, I now want to.

Image courtsy: dollsofindia.com

..angu un kAl vaNNam kaNden
ingu un kai vaNNam kaNden.. -(1)

This, and another portion that I remember my father referring to a long time ago:

kaNdanan karpinuk kaNiyai kaNgaLaal.. - (2)

In (1), Kambar refers to Rama killing Ravana, and His (hands') prowess with the bow, while also beautifully referring to the sanctity of His feet in redeeming Ahalya from her curse. Even an adultress is purified when Rama's feet touches her. As regards Rama's killing of Ravana, Kamba Ramayanam is said to describe the scene beautifully, and by the Wikipedia account to be experienced by reading!

Note that while every portion of Kamba Ramayanam oozes devotion to the Lord, it may not be fully accurate, for it is a recent retelling and there is obviously a lot of poetic freedom taken. I'm not complaining, though!

(2) refers to Hanuman reporting on his finding of Sita in Ravana's garden in Lanka. Kambar alludes to Rama's eagerness to hear good news about Sita, and Hanuman not adding to the suspense by starting his words with an affirmative kaNdanan. (The poetic license here, of course, is that Rama is portrayed as being vulnerable, which can not apply to an omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God.)

I don't want to let this post go without a bit of a take on Vedic philosophy. While many may consider the Vedas to be focused on rigid rituals and inquiry, bhakti is really the most important aspect. With inquiry may come knowledge, but without bhakti to back it up, there will be no happiness in having acquired that knowledge. Even inaccurate knowledge must be acceptable to the Lord, as long as the bhakti is honest.

Happiness (Ananda) is really what all of us seek. Anything else that we believe we might be seeking is only a means to this end. The difference between each of us is that we seek it in different ways.

• For some of us, happiness must be permanent, and we seek lasting happiness and joy. This can only come from an understanding of the universe, of its creator, of the nature of the animate and the inanimate, and of the purpose of life. The pursuit of this happiness does not come without bhakti.
• For some of us, the eye cannot see beyond momentary happiness, and we seek pleasure whether physical or otherwise. Even happiness from work, from good health, from providing others food, from seeing one's kin flourish, etc., will all fall under momentary happiness, for eventually it will all go away. The pursuit of this happiness needs but a calculative mind and an organized lifestyle, and of course inexplicable luck. 
• For the lowest amongst us, happiness is not of the self but depends on others' suffering. This does not have to be dictators and mass murderers; even those that can say no good word or do no good deed (while still being within legal limits) can still qualify. The happiness thus derived will not even qualify as happiness but as the satisfaction derived from sadism, etc.