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Ramayana tells us how a son should respect his parents by means of "Sravana Kumar" character.

It also tells how a wife should respect her husband by means of "Sita" character.

And how a brother should respect his elder brother by means of "Laxmana" character.

Also how a devotee should respect God by means of "Hanuman" & "Shabari" characters.

There are so many other characters like the above from Ramayana which continue to influence us, but still Bhagavad Gita is considered more prominent than Ramayana, why is it so?

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    ramayan and gita are both good, but ramayan is a story of morality and gita is a quote by God in mahabharata, – Friendy Jul 28 '15 at 09:56
  • yes Gita is a quote by god and summary of vedas.... thats why Gita is more considered than Ramayana – Bhavin Jul 28 '15 at 12:31
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    Both are equally popular. Gita is popular among Vedantins. Ramayan is popular among general public. Ask everyone what God preached in the Gita, and not everyone will have an idea. But everyone will know the basic idea of Ramayan. The purpose is different. All the best – Sai Jul 28 '15 at 14:00
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    @Sai It may interest you to know that among Sri Vaishnavas, the Valmiki Ramayana is referred to as the Saranagati Shastra - the guide to surrendering to Vishnu: in the Bala Kanda the gods take refuge in Vishnu to save them from Ravana, in the Ayodhya Kanda Bharata falls at the feet of Rama, in the Aranya Kanda the sages of the Dandaka forest seek refuge in Rama to protect them from Rakshasas, in the Kishkindha Kanda Sugriva seeks refuge in Rama to fight Vali, in the Sundara Kanda Sita urges Ravana to surrender to Rama, and in the Yuddha Kanda Vibhishana surrenders to Rama after leaving Ravana. – Keshav Srinivasan Jul 29 '15 at 23:59
  • @KeshavSrinivasan that's pretty cool. This leads me to ask you for one clarification, so if I remember correctly, as per Vadagali there is no need to surrender to God, for we are powerless to do so, isn't it? So what does sharanagati mean for that sect? Thanks – Sai Jul 30 '15 at 14:10
  • @Sai It's the other way around: Vadakalai Sri Vaishnavas believe that a positive act of surrender is required (that's the purpose of the Bharanyasam ceremony for Vadakalais). Thenkalais, on the other hand, believe that the pursuit of any means to moksha, whether Bhakti, Sharanagati, or anything else is beyond the power of the Jiva. For Thenkalais Moksha is not something your earn, it's something Vishnu chooses to grant to anyone he wants. Like there was once a guy who accidentally ran around a Vishnu temple to retrieve a cow that had escaped, so Vishnu decided to grant him Moksha! – Keshav Srinivasan Jul 30 '15 at 14:33
  • @Sai According to Thenkalais Sri Vishnavas, "All that is required is (i) the knowledge of the Svarupa of the Jeevatma and (ii) mental acceptance of the Lord's grace in granting salvation". See my answer here: http://hinduism.stackexchange.com/a/2835/36 – Keshav Srinivasan Jul 30 '15 at 14:36
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    @Sai You're welcome. By the way, I just posted a question about the mantra used for Sharanagati: http://hinduism.stackexchange.com/q/7971/36 – Keshav Srinivasan Jul 31 '15 at 16:34
  • @KeshavSrinivasan How can there be any guide for Saranagati? Saranagati is complete surrender. And complete surrender doesn't know anything else. A "calculated" devotion is no devotion at all. – Pinakin Nov 17 '15 at 11:11
  • @ChinmaySarupria At least Sri Vaishnavas believe that you can perform Sharanagati regardless of what is in your heart. In fact, Sri Vaishnavas believe that if someone performs Sharanagati, even if they had no devotion to Vishnu beforehand, Vishnu will fill their heart with devotion to him after they've surrender to him. – Keshav Srinivasan Nov 17 '15 at 16:22
  • @KeshavSrinivasan If that's the case then I want to perform Sharanagati right now. What do I say to Vishnu? – Pinakin Nov 18 '15 at 04:54
  • @ChinmaySarupria Well, it's a relatively simple process. It basically involves saying the Dvaya mantra, which I discuss in my question here: http://hinduism.stackexchange.com/q/7971/36 In order to use the Dvaya mantra, you need to be initiated into Pancharatra, which requires a simple ceremony you can perform with a Sri Vaishnava Acharya. I don't know where you live, but at least in Tamil Nadu (and perhaps in other places in South India), Sri Vaishnava Acharyas travel around performing the ceremony for people. Here's a video of the ceremony: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7jG3GJ8NK0 – Keshav Srinivasan Nov 18 '15 at 05:10

1 Answers1

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  1. Ramayana is about "maryada purushottam" Sri Ram, as a ideal man, showing how to behave in adverse conditions and to set as an example

  2. Gita is about explaining different paths to salvation, God-Devottee relation

  3. Gita is a condensed "sweet milk" from all vedas, upanishad, brahma sutra & puranas (Ramayana is one of the 18 puranas)

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