In a gesture filled with cultural
significance, Thailand is sending soil to the Ramjanmabhoomi ahead of the
inauguration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
This act follows the earlier gesture of
sending water from two rivers in Thailand to Lord Ram’s temple. This unique
connection aims to strengthen the cultural ties between Thailand and Bharat,
said World Hindu Foundation or WHF founder and global chairman Swami
Vigyanananand in an exclusive conversation with ANI.
In preparation for the consecration
ceremony of Ram Lalla on January 22, next year, soil from Thailand is being
sent to the sacred site of Ram Janmabhoomi.
The initiative was taken by the Vishva
Hindu Parishad or VHP Thailand Chapter president Susheelkumar Saraff, said
Swami Vigyanananand.
The collaboration between the two
nations is not limited to soil, added Swami Vigyanananand.
He stated, “Bharat and Thailand have a
strong cultural and historical bond. Kings belong to Lord Ram’s descendants.
Every king here too has the title of Ram in their name which is an old
tradition here, he said.
Bangkok in Thailand is part of the Asian
southeast country where rich Hindu cultural heritage exists that is why they
planned to organise the World Hindu Congress here.
Swami Vigyanananand said, “We have
identified 51 countries that will witness Lord Ram’s consecration at Ayodhya.
Susheelkumar Saraff and I will also be present in Ayodhya.”
Expressing his delight over the
scheduled consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 22 next year,
Swami Vigyanananand, chief organiser of World Hindu Congress, told ANI that the
ceremony will be telecast live in Bangkok and Hindus from across the globe will
converge at the event, engaging in kirtans, bhajans, puja, and recitation.
“We have ordered prasad (food offered to
the deity) from Ayodhya. A replica of the Ayodhya temple has been built here.
We have also brought an image of the birthplace of Ram Lalla from Ayodhya.
Copies of the image will be shared with all the delegates (attending the
conference). The festive ambience in Ayodhya ahead of the consecration of the
Ram temple should be spread across the world,” he added.
A famous city in Thailand was known as
Ayutthaya, where its kings bore the title of Ramatibodhi (Lord Rama). Ayutthaya
has been linked to the context in which Ayodhya is mentioned as the capital of
Lord Rama in the Ramayana.
Ayutthaya, which was the capital of the
Siamese rulers from 1351 AD, was looted and almost completely destroyed by the
Burmese forces in 1767.
The name of the Thai religious text is
Ramkeen, which has the same status as the Thai Ramayana. Ramanujan, who wrote
the book 300 Ramayana, has compared this book with Valmiki Ramayana.
It is believed to have been composed
afresh by King Rama I in the 18th century and the main villain in this book,
Thotsakan, is like Ravana of the Hindu text. The ideal of Ram is depicted in
the hero of this book, Phra Ram.
However, now the remains of Thai Ayodhya
are spread over a large area and are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Dr Suresh Pal Giri has been teaching in
Thailand for 22 years.
In an exclusive interview with ANI, he
said, “I teach in a religious university in Thailand. The land on which you are
standing is a part of the missing link of Bharat. For some years, it was called
Thailand, it is genetically Hindu and later with time, elements of Buddhism
kept coming into Hinduism and it got mixed.”
He said even after so many years, Lord
Ram is worshipped in Thailand as well as in Bharat. Dr Giri said, “The
similarity between Bharat’s Ayodhya and Thailand’s Ayodhya is that we have not
forgotten our ancestors, our existence and our traditions. Even after so many
years, we still believe in Lord Ram and worship him in Thailand as well as in Bharat.
The king here had also built some Hindu
temples in this city. Here, 35 kilometres away from Ayutthaya, there is a
temple of Lord Vishnu, Brahma and Shankar. The city has a 3,000-year-old Hindu
temple dedicated to the kings of Bharat.”
ANI
