The Ideal Brother

Describe a family member.

When Rama was banished to the forest his brother Bharat was not home. When Rama reached the Chitrakoot forest the forest diety herself welcomed him. She asked “what can I do for you?” In reply he said, ” dear forest deity, i request you to please remove the thorns from the path that I have come, I ask nothing more of you.” The deity was confused ” you have already come this way my lord, why then bother about the thorns?” He replied ” my brother Bharat will come in search of me and I don’t want the thorns to be in his way.” She said ” is your brother so weak that a few thorns can harm him?” No replied Rama, “but he will be pained thinking that his brother had to walk this path full of thorns “. This was the love shared by brothers Bharat and Rama from Ramayana. This was the ideal relationship between brothers.

But today’s world this relationship has gone to dust. Everyone is only concerned about himself, his spouse and children. Brotherhood is a fast depleting relationship. In fact brothers are the most aggressive enemies in today’s world. The fight over ancestral property, care of parents and weaker siblings etc are enough to create a deep wedge that may last for generations. Fights, wars and legal battles are very common amongst siblings.

A great war like Mahabharat that lasted for 18 days leaving over 1,660,020,000people dead and over 24 thousand missing is believed to be the greatest war ever which was again fought due to power struggle between brothers.

This is a reason why from ancient times we were advised to listen to the Ramayana and imbibe the values because small misunderstandings are what lead to fights. A simple heart to heart talk can lead to solutions which can avoid bitterness in relationships and preserve love and understanding for times to come .

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