Ramayana transcended all boundaries known to man: Amit Shah

The Ramayana is one scripture which has transcended all boundaries known to mankind, said Union Home Minister Amit Shah as he presided over the fifth International Ramayana Festival as its Chief Guest on Tuesday.

"The International Ramayan Festival is being organised for the fifth year in a row, during which 17 countries have participated with their artists and rendered their versions of Ramayan. Ramayan is one such scripture that has transcended personal, societal, religious, cultural and national boundaries to reach a global audience," Shah said.

He also praised the organiser of the event, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) for conducting the festival.

"ICCR was established with the vision of propagating Indian culture and its values to the whole world. There is no other better way to realize this vision than organizing the Ramayan festival," he said.

Praising the religious text further, Shah said, "Ramayan is the treasure of centuries-old Indian culture and has solutions to all problems in the world. It is an unparalleled creation by Maharishi Valmiki on the life and values of an ideal human being. It beautifully depicts the highs and lows of human life and answers questions on morality and ethics arising out of difficult situations in life."

Applauding it for the vastness of topics it touches on, Shah said it explained difficult concepts like "good governance, the art of war, science and technology, protecting the dignity of women, among others, through conversations between the different characters in the scripture."

He also appealed to all the people to imbibe values from Ramayan in their lives and strive to become an ideal human being.