Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12Maharishi received the supreme wisdom of Veda from his master, Bhagavan Brahmananda Saraswati, Jagadguru Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math, Himålayas, a shining light in the line of the great teachers of the Holy Tradition of Vedic Masters, which includes Vasishta, Vyåsa, Shankara, and their disciples. 4 4 Introduction T he RåmåyaΔ is part of Veda. The term Veda in the Sanskrit language means ‘knowledge’. Traditionally, Veda and its literature—the Vedic Literature—is held to be the total know- ledge of life and creation, transmitted orally for thousands of years by the Vedic families of India. In recent times, Veda and the Vedic Literature has been recorded in book form, and examined from different perspectives depending on the interests, level of knowledge, experi- ence, and understanding of its commentators. Over the past 50 years, His Holiness Maharishi Mahesh Yogi revealed the complete knowledge of Veda, its structuring dynamics in the Vedic Literature, and its infinite organizing power. Maharishi organized the scattered Vedic Literature into 40 branches and showed that it is a per- fect science of life. One of the 40 branches is called Itihås, which includes the two great Vedic Epics, Mahåbhårat and RåmåyaΔ. These contain accounts of sages, Âishis (Seers) and kings, De- vatås (Divine Beings) and Råkshasas (demons), the incarnations of Divinities, great wisdom and teachings, ideal values and behaviour, as well as plots between and within families, battles, wars, and the actions and interactions of many different types of beings.