Aerial View of RamSetu
When I wrote:
Symbolisms in the Ramayana (It is up on my website, www.dalsabzi.com under 'Books'for free perusal). Sri Ram Kinkar Maharaj and Sri Morari Bapu, after having blessed the book, emphatically urged me to mention that though I may be allowed to write on the Symbolisms of the great epic, that does not undermine the fact that Sri Ram is a historical figure...
Follows excerpt from a commentator on social, educational and religious issues.
(I received this note from Sanatan Dharma by email)

...Logic and science have their say but not in matters of faith. In a nation where religion percolates to all levels of culture, secularism and modernity, themes like Ram, Mohammed, Mary and Moses are all interwoven within the existence of the people. A denial can drive people into a frenzy.

As Sri Sri Ravi Shankar rightly puts it, one cannot dismiss Sri Ram as a mythological character just because a lot of miracles were reported in his life and there are no scientific evidences to prove them. There were unproven miracles in the lives of the religious figures of every faith. Just because we can't prove the parting of the Red Sea, we can't say that Moses was a fictitious figure. Just because there were miracles in the lives of Jesus, Moses and Mohammed, you cannot call them mythical figures.

Historical evidence of most of the eminent religious figures would be difficult to find. Nevertheless, the authenticity of Ram's reality cannot be doubted, as most legends and myths have their roots in real incidents and actual happenings of religious figures. So far as Ram is concerned, there are numerous places in India and Sri Lanka closely linked to his life including Ayodhya, Janakpuri, Dhanushkodi and Rameswaram.

The whole debate about whether or not Lord Ram existed or not is redundant. Even if he did not exist, this is not going to diminish his importance because he actually exists in the hearts of not only Hindus but also Muslims. According to Islam, 120,000 messengers were sent to the earth...
...Questioning a largely tolerant and pluralistic people to provide proof that their god actually exists is driving them to aggression...
...The author is a commentator on social, educational and religious issues and the great-nephew of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.