Priya Arora is a spiritual seeker and a devoted follower of Advaita Vedanta. Delving into this ancient civilizational philosophy for many years was an eye-opening experience for her, dispelling many misconceptions. Vedanta’s profundity and continuing relevance today inspire her writing.
Priya was born and raised in India and later graduated from Oxford University with a degree in English literature. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, children and beloved French bulldog, Humphrey.
The Ramayana is thousands of years old, yet it is filled with life lessons that benefit us even today. It teaches courage and fortitude to handle problems that are the inevitable result of birth. Reading it instils values like leadership, forbearance, loyalty, respect, equality, forgiveness, humility, and most of all, selflessness. Rama exemplifies eternally relevant dharma, demonstrating the path to enlightenment through conscious selfless action. He illustrates how one can attain liberation from suffering not by renunciation but by engaging fully in life, yet rising above it, through the purity of our choices.
This retelling of Valmiki’s Ramayana is a compelling read. It brings alive the poet’s ancient Sanskrit epic in lucid English without diluting the original intent. Making this edition truly special are the additional chapters on Vedic life, Rama’s descendants and the story of Valmiki.
Read this book and be amazed at the profound thinking of our ancestors. The values we cherish today—democracy, liberty, equality and justice—are at the core of this story. Rama embodies righteousness that never loses relevance, making him a man of dharma and a role model in every age.
‘One of the most authentic and enthralling presentations of the Ramayana’‘Ethical debates and sensitive episodes of the Ramayana that perplex the minds of many are explained by the author. Indeed, she delved into the hearts of the characters and analysed the ethical dilemmas. A great help to modern students and teachers’
