Narratives

Woke Myth

Western woke liberals treat Rāmāyana like a myth, essential a figment of fabricated wishful thinking.

Refusing to engage with "insiders" who practice the "faith", the "outsiders" cancel any meaningful dialog, because the potential of a Bhāratiya civilizational narrative could unite the Indian nation-state from fulfilling its manifest destiny on the geopolitical stage - that of a Vishwa-Guru to the world.

Naturally then, it is a mandate of well funded Western organizations to :

• stir up liberal arts students, 

• fund their professors, and 

• feed mass protests 

to further their agenda of maintaining Western hegemony on grand narratives that eventually drive global economics and power.

They cherry-pick from the classic tale, and its many extrapolations, to justify why Hindu society is beset with endemic issues, eg patriarchy, misogyny, etc., which of course would hinder the spread of the grand narrative being crafted by its staunch adherents, the much vilified Brahmin for example.

But setting up the tale with a societal lens of times past is akin to putting up a strawman and blowing it down with ease; it hardly serves the purpose of critical review if the lens itself is flawed, or inappropriate.

Those swayed by this kind of narrative are merely pawns in the global theater of geopolitics in the clash of civilizations, weaponizing especially the current generation of the kids of Hindu parents - who themselves are mostly clueless of the larger import, having focused their lives on material, temporal progress at the loss of civilizational identity.

Inspiring tale

Tales of near-super-human achievements are ripe fodder for spiking Yoga classes, as students struggle against tight body-parts at least something magical could be an outcome out of all the hard work !

Mostly these are tales of Shiva which are the bolder teachers, and for the less adventurous tales on Buddha because this being has been totally emasculated of spirits.

From the Rāmāyana specifically, Hanumān as the embodiment of Prānāyāma, is very apt.

Rāma Rājya

Another take that has made the Rāmāyana literally legendary is the epilogue period, the fabulous time that ensues in society after the conclusion of the epic, a period called the Rāma Rājya, by which time Rāma has been elevated to Avatār proportions, as an incarnation of Vishnu himself.

Rāma Rājya is a time when the entire kingdom is filled with prosperity & joy - because :

• rains come on time (india being primarily rain fed agriculture)very 

• women are never left abandoned (male dominance essential for security in those times)

• sons die only after their fathers (of course to avoid grief, but more so who would then sustain the family)

• justice is done and seen to be done (this was a period famous for strict rules-based living)

Although these indicators were set to a different age, none would likely object to these timeless aspirations of abundance & happiness. 

Given that world over there is the trend to prop up nation states using civilizational narratives, for example Christian Nationalism in America, etc., it is no surprise that today's Indian state is re-energizing the story of Rāma, into a national grand narrative to unite Hindus, approaching the idealized state of an eternally glorious religion. 

This effort is abetted by a resurgence of archaeological fervour unearthing clues in ancient temple sites that demonstrate the actual historical fact of its occurrence, beneath the destructive rubble of invasive history.

The objective of any grand narrative such as the Rāmāyana, is of course to move the whole of society in lockstep, towards an idealized civilizational-state, but with blind adherence it could lead to undesirable outcomes, as state religion often does.

However, to not delude ourselves on this grand inspirational journey though, to see ourselves and the world around us clearly, in our Mind's eye if you will, the Yoga of  Rāmāyana is essential to absorb, else the famed Rāma Rājya would reduce to mere myth and unrealizable in modern times.

Thankfully there is always present an undercurrent of the Yoga mind to "easily" sort this out in the psyche of society - once the millenium-old cultural invasions of the Asuras have been checked.

Critical Reviews

Many have accomplished what we would traditionally call as bhāshya's or detailed commentaries, but most nowadays lack the skill & patience of such traditionalists more suited toward academic understanding.

The Rāmāyana's real impact thought is on lay people who absorb the entire story as a felt experience in their particular emotional context, 

This is then truly an Itihās -  when the story has run through the storyteller as a felt experience, and they then narrate it from a first-person standpoint, so internalized, that they literally embody the characters in the story.

This is certainly useful as psychotherapy.

Evolutionary

When the tale evoked is evolutionary in intent, the catharsis is complete & transcendental expansion is best felt. 

No trace of Rākshasa's, and only Devas's abound in the psyche.

Thusly, an eternally sustained Rāma Rājya.