By IANS
Bangalore : Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Thursday criticised the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government for its judicial affidavit that said there was no historical evidence to prove the existence of Lord Ram.
In a statement issued from Germany, Sri Sri said: “Ramayana and Mahabharata are called “Itihasas” (histories). Itihas means it happened. That Sri Ram did exist is recorded in the epic Ramayana.
“The ancient seers had made clear distinction between “Puranas” (classical literature) and Itihasas. Puranas are mythological, symbolic stories, while Itihasas are that which actually happened.”
The founder of the Art of Living Foundation said it would be wrong to assume Lord Ram was a mythological character and not real because there was no scientific evidence to prove his existence.
“There were unproven miracles in the lives of religious figures of other faiths. If we dismiss Lord Ram as a fictitious character, then we have to dismiss all miracles in the lives of Jesus, Moses and Mohammed as myths,” he said.
In its affidavit to the Supreme Court on the Sethusamudram shipping channel, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) said there were no “historical records” to prove the existence of Lord Ram or the Ram Sethu (bridge).
The affidavit has kicked off a major political controversy with the BJP pressurising the government to withdraw the controversial affidavit from the apex court.
The government later said it would file a fresh affidavit in the Supreme Court, omitting the reference to Lord Ram.
The BJP and other right wing parties have been protesting the Rs.24 billion-canal project that would see a navigational route through India’s west and east coasts, saying that it would damage the bridge that Hindus believe was build by Lord Ram millennia ago.