Everyone must imbibe values from Ramayan, strive to become ideal human being: Amit Shah

Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said that everyone must imbibe values from the Ramayana in their lives and strive to become an ideal human being.

Presiding over as chief guest of the fifth International Ramayan Festival organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) here, he said Ramayana is the treasure of centuries-old Indian culture and has solutions to all problems in the world.

"Everyone must imbibe values from Ramayana in their lives and strive to become an ideal human being," he said.

The ICCR was established with the vision of propagating Indian culture and its values to the whole world, the minister said, adding that there is no better way to realise this vision than organising the Ramayana festival.

Shah said that the International Ramayana Festival is being organised for the fifth year in a row, in which 17 countries have participated with their artists and rendered their versions of Ramayana.

It is one such scripture that has transcended personal, societal, religious, cultural and national boundaries and has reached a global audience, he said.

"Ramayana, an unparalleled creation by Maharishi Valmiki on the life and values of an ideal human being, beautifully depicts the highs and lows of human life and answers questions on morality and ethics arising out of difficult situations in life," the minister said.

Ramayana goes beyond this and has even explained difficult concepts like good governance, art of war, science and technology, protecting dignity of women through conversations between the different characters in the scripture, he added.