Recently, the government of India unveiled a 182 meters long statue – The Statue of Unity, giving a tribute to India’s finest statesman, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, in the state of Gujarat. This statue is considered to be the world’s tallest statue and an engineering marvel. Following this, another statue of the great king and warrior, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is under construction in Maharashtra. The Uttar Pradesh government’s Chief Minister is also proposing a big statue of Lord Ram in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. And recently, the Karnataka government has also proposed a 125-feet tall Mother Cauvery Statue. The reason for constructing these statues by various political leaders is debatable. Some believe that it is a waste of taxpayers’ money, while others argue that it will help in boosting tourism and is a tribute to the respective leaders, kings, lords, etc.
But the actual question should be, does building a giant statue become a true tribute to your respective idols? Many of the people believe its answer to be no. Many years ago, one of the finest English poets and writers, William Shakespeare, wrote a sonnet named, ‘Not marble nor the gilded monuments’, in which he reflected the very basics of universal truth about monuments or great structures, that one day or the other the big structures will be destroyed by some reason or the other and what will be left even at the doomsday are powerful words or ideas. Understanding this is the need of the hour. When our political leaders are busy in building statues, we have to understand that following the principles and ideas of those great people will be more beneficial than building their statues.
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel – The ironman of India was the person who unified India after Independence. But what was this unification? Was it only uniting a piece of land with another? No. It was the unification of person to person. His vision for India was that every Indian irrespective of any discrimination lives with the fraternity. Can we achieve his principles by merely building a giant statue or we need to go a little further? Even today after so many years of Independence we are divided on several grounds whether it be religion, caste, colour or something else. To give a real tribute to Sardar, we need to break these barriers and should work collectively as one nation to achieve great heights. That will be India, that Sardar dreamt of.
Now let us go back to Tretayug, the time which experienced the Ram-Rajya. How did Lord Ram ensure that every person of his kingdom remains happy and gets what they righteously desire from a great kingdom? Most of us don’t think that he did so by building a giant statue of his own or of his idols or forefathers. He did so by ensuring good governance. Let’s link it back with today’s time and understand how to ensure true devotion and respect towards Lord Ram. One must accept that Lord Ram will be happier when his children will get their basic needs accomplished which includes quality education, healthcare, employment along with many others. And all this is the responsibility of the same government which wishes to build Lord Ram’s grand statue. Bringing Ram-Rajya should be a priority and a better tribute to Lord Ram by his followers, than building a statue. That’s what are the teachings of Lord Ram himself.
India is a country where rivers are considered sacred. We consider them as a mother since they are responsible for the life on land. But the same Sujalaam-Sufalaam land is also famous for the pollution of its rivers. Everyone is aware of the state of Indian rivers – the levels to which they are polluted. Mother Cauvery would be much happier if we focus more on the cleaning of our rivers than building a statue since rivers are the reason for our survival and there is an urgent need to understand that.
At the end, just remember one thing, instead of knowing your idols, try to understand them. Read what they spoke, wrote and followed. Once you understand them, you will realize what is wrong and what is right.
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