#Watch| Exclusive Conversation with David Frawley on Ram Mandir Consecration

2 years ago

Watch here for an exclusive interview where David Frawley provides insightful commentary on the consecration ceremony of the Ayodhya Ram Temple. What he thinks of the Ram Mandir. Discover a distinct worldwide viewpoint as we examine the importance of this momentous occasion.

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Transcript

00:00 Hello and welcome. You are watching One India with me, Pankaj Mishra. Today it's our honor to

00:05 be joined by an eminent personality who needs no introduction, both in India and globally,

00:12 Dr. David Frawley. And with the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and the consecration

00:19 ceremony due in just a bit, Dr. Frawley, thank you so much for speaking with us and sharing

00:26 your views here on One India. Thank you. It is my great honor to be with you and I welcome

00:33 our discussion. Lovely. Dr. Frawley, first things first, construction of Ram Temple,

00:41 something that is not just being celebrated in India, but also as I have gathered from my family

00:48 and friends who live abroad too, is something which is appearing to be much anticipated. How

00:56 do you see this, the relevance of it, both at the Indian level and at the global front as well?

01:02 Well, of course, at the Indian level, this is a very major event, culturally, spiritually,

01:11 even had had some political ramifications. But it's essentially a new view of India relative to

01:19 its ancient traditions, like the Ram worship, moving into the 21st century, and awakening a

01:27 great new inspiration and celebration throughout the country. And globally, there is a seeing of

01:36 that, you know, the yoga traditions brought Ram to the world already. We have a Hanuman Temple within

01:42 an hour of our particular house. And then there's also the idea because people in the West aren't

01:51 building temples. In fact, the big temples in the world are being built by the Hindus. They just

01:56 built the largest one in the United States in New Jersey, largest monument. So this view of a

02:03 temple worship, spirituality, yoga as the essence of life, not just technology and material pursuit.

02:13 Absolutely. And of the deity, obviously, who would be adorning the temple and his veneration,

02:21 Lord Ram, something that has always been there and a lot of aspects that, you know,

02:28 comes associated with Lord Ram is about how to go about your life, how to behave, how to, you know,

02:36 be with others, every aspect of that. How relevant do you believe the values of Lord Ram would be

02:43 for a peaceful coexistence that India to Bharat to stands for?

02:49 Well, Ram is, of course, the avatar of Dharma. He represents higher values. He represents

02:59 service, self sacrifice, helping others, even if it requires giving up your own kingdom. So

03:07 it is a selfless image that is of value to everyone. And he on all living beings. And he

03:16 also tried to help everyone out. That may involve it sometimes having to deal with removing negative

03:23 forces. But it's also about embracing and promoting a deeper inspiration of unity,

03:32 consciousness, oneself and all as the Vedas teach.

03:37 Absolutely. Dr. Foley, you're right when it comes to Ram, the teachings and something that

03:46 everyone, each one of us can imbibe. I can see you, you are in Santa Fe, if I'm not wrong,

03:52 in New Mexico, in the United States, and I see the idols of gods and goddesses there in the

03:59 background, your association with Indian culture, if you can, if you can share with us and also

04:07 the relevance of Ram for those who live outside India, how it has been a connecting thread,

04:15 if at all?

04:17 Yes. Well, I've been involved with the Vedic teachings, studying with yoga gurus,

04:22 all the way since my teenage years, which was a little while ago. And I also traveled to India

04:29 and met many of the gurus. I had learned Sanskrit, travel the country, learn the teachings.

04:36 And then I found myself in an interesting situation. Because as someone from the West,

04:42 who had gone to the East, as it were, I was also being asked in India to explain these teachings

04:48 to the people in India, because many of them understood an English idiom better than the

04:54 traditional idiom. So I became a bridge going back way between East and West.

04:59 And the different branches, yoga, Vedanta, Ayurveda, etc. Now, we must remember has always

05:08 been a worldwide inspiration, or at least throughout Asia. We see temples, the names of Ram

05:16 from Indonesia, through all of Southeast Asia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, even the Japanese did an

05:24 animated film of Sri Ram recently, and have a number of Hindu deities and their culture.

05:31 And then it represents our ancient spiritual heritage. You know, beings just didn't begin

05:39 the last few centuries of technology. We look our wisdom actually from our most ancient books,

05:46 not from our most modern books. And we also look to a lot of our art to the ancients and to music,

05:54 dance, like in Indian classical traditions, culture, temples, even the pyramids of Egypt,

06:01 you know, Sri Ram is of that era. Right. Nicholas to say you're right,

06:06 Southeast Asia, and talk about Africa towards, you know, even the Gulf countries, the concept

06:15 of Ram and the presence and the belief, it definitely surpasses all the boundaries.

06:21 You know, coming back to the modernity versus the ancient traditions or beliefs,

06:28 you are in United States, one of the most developed countries on the face of the earth.

06:35 Many a times we have seen, and we talk about it as Western influence on Indian culture,

06:42 Indian kids for that matter, parents, like me, at times are more inclined towards teaching our kids

06:50 the English as a language, rather than focusing on what, you know, our traditions and cultures say.

06:57 Do you believe that this conflict, if I may use this word here, would find some sort of closure

07:04 with the arrival or with the concept of Ram in the days and years to come?

07:09 Well, certainly today, globally, we are also having this new technology. And the children

07:17 are being guided by cell phones. And they're often more involved with computers and cell phones than

07:25 nature, and even play. Now, Sri Ram also represents a much deeper influence in the past, and also

07:36 the upcoming future. Because we need to go back to our spiritual roots in humanity,

07:43 and on nature and ecology. It's a great ecological story, we could say. And it's one that causes us

07:53 to look to a different future. Because such a wonderful story that can inspire everyone,

07:58 not just to screens, we have the entire universe within us. All of nature is part of us,

08:07 we can find much more beauty and wonder, exploring nature and spirituality. Technology is important,

08:14 but it is not the ultimate goal of life. It is a tool for a higher consciousness. And that higher

08:21 consciousness is being taught to us by texts like Ramayana.

08:26 Absolutely. And Dr. Frohli, you know, when we talk about, say, higher consciousness,

08:34 this is something that comes from within also. And it is very much incumbent on us how we view

08:40 and accept a particular notion or a thought. Do you believe from both, again, I would say,

08:46 since you have the, you know, the luxury, if I may say so, to look at something ingrained to

08:55 the Indian culture, both from a foreign point of view and from the India's point of view,

09:02 the concept of Ram or the belief associated with it, there has been a debate also going on

09:08 in the country as of now that the assertion of the Ram temple, do you believe that somewhere

09:16 it is also being seen as assertion of Hinduism or Hindutva?

09:23 Well, certainly, we must remember, the yogya is a long term spiritual community. The temples go

09:34 back way before, back into ancient times, and a yogi has remained a temple city all these particular

09:43 years, even after the Ram Landir was taken down. So obviously, it is a matter of pride in India's

09:51 culture. And in its majority culture, being the Hindu, of course, that takes a great pride.

09:57 But Ram was also honored by the Buddhist, the Jain, the Sikhs, and many others, almost of all

10:05 religions, you might say. So we must remember that Ram is a universal figure, dharma is a universal

10:13 fact. But it should be a point of pride for India as a nation, that its civilization is coming up,

10:21 and that it is having a revival inside of India, but also an influence outside of India,

10:28 because as we say, the story of the Ramayana is gone global.

10:31 Right. Now, Dr. Prawley, you know, as diverse as the culture that India is, on one hand, we have

10:41 Ramayana talks about dharma. On other, we have Mahabharata, which talks about karma. And Lord

10:49 Krishna, you know, speaking to Arjuna in the battlefield and telling him, "Karma karo, phal

10:57 ki chinta na karo", don't worry about the result, you just do your work, your duty. In that regard,

11:02 for India, which finds itself at the crossroads of development of

11:08 tradition and culture, which needs to go hand in hand, what message do you believe that India

11:17 conveys as of now on the global platform, when it comes to the realities of a war might be going on

11:25 between a Russia or a Ukraine or in Israel or Gaza? How do you see it? And what message,

11:32 from your point of view, do you foresee for the world?

11:36 Well, first of all, India represents one sixth of humanity. So it's not just one country.

11:45 It's all, there's greater diversity inside of India than in Europe, North America. And Europe

11:53 has never been united. That's why we have another European war. But India is united today. And of

12:00 course, there are conflicts and differences and various opinions. But it is a country that's

12:06 growing, developing and flourishing. And it says the entire world is one family, the universe,

12:12 not just human beings, but all beings. So India has a role. And India has generally been a

12:19 peacemaker. It's not gone into one camp or another. India supports a multipolar world,

12:26 which means we honor all people, all countries, all traditions and give them their space.

12:33 Democracy doesn't mean uniformity for everyone. It means a space for individual, cultural,

12:40 and spiritual artistic differences and traditions to grow. So that great diversity is coming out of

12:47 India and the world needs to know how to recognize and share it in celebrations, not just in debates.

12:54 Well, indeed. Thank you so much, Dr. Foley for speaking to us and also

12:59 letting our viewers know, understand a perspective, which is very rare, I would say,

13:07 to look at India from a completely different culture and also a country which is

13:13 miles, miles, miles away from India. Dr. David Foley there joining us from Santa Fe.

13:20 One quick question, Dr. Foley, which I would like to know, you know, there are many authors who have

13:26 come to India, they have written a lot about India. If we have to find Dr. Foley in India,

13:32 when you are here, which is the place most likely will find you?

13:36 Well, I'm coming to India shortly. But I'm my main programs in the south.

13:42 Kanyakumari with the Vivekananda Kendra around the Sri Aurobindo ashram and other places in the

13:50 south, but I always come in and out of Delhi. So in and out of Delhi, I usually meet with various

13:56 groups in Delhi, and also various media things going on. And so in some other media groups as

14:04 well, and books are there. You can always join us there. And we website etc, we put up where our

14:13 programs will be. But a lot of our work in India is sadhana. It's not all public, but some of it is.

14:20 Right. We look forward to speak to you and to meet you also in person in the days to come. Dr.

14:27 Foley, thank you so much for speaking with One India. Thank you. Thank you. Adi Om Jai Shri Ram.

14:33 Adi Om Sir.

#Watch| Exclusive Conversation with David Frawley on Ram Mandir Consecration | Oneindia News

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