Page 54 - Hinduism
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world of svarga and finally mokṣa by following the Yoga is described in the Tantras.
The Itihāsas are the Rāmāyana and the Mahābhārata. The Rāmāyana teaches how the conduct of the people towards different persons is to be regulated by upholding ideals for each case through the story of Rāma and Sitā. The Rāmāyana is as much a story of Rāma as of Sitā and teaches stridharma also. The way in which a son should obey his father, the manner in which the brothers should love each other, the way in which the wife should obey her husband, the manner of the devotion of a servant towards his master, how friends should love each other and work for mutual good; how men and women should conduct themselves towards each other, the feminine virtues of gentleness and love and several other principles of our religion are taught through the life and adventures of Rāma and Sitā. It also brings home to all people the principle that people should be honoured for their moral worth and not for their birth and that pious creatures too deserve respect and service. Above all the Rāmāyana is termed a śaraṇāgatiśāstra and teaches the cardinal principle of our religion that a man who sincerely seeks another for protection should never be abandoned. God as redeemer is anxious to save mankind even if they at least once pray for His mercy. The book also illustrates the principle that God incarnates Himself
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