The conception of Rama

[Aditya, the Hindu Skeptic]

Artur Karp wrote:

> If anyone is interested - most probably RV X:10.10 is meant (Yama & Yami),

That dialog refers to incest between siblings and not Niyog (a practice
somewhat equivalent to but before artificial insemination was
discovered). In many civilizations marriage between brothers and sisters
was considered desirable e.g. in ancient Egypt, because the concept of
recessive genes was unknown. In animal breeding such practice is still
prevalent which leads to catastrophic results. We cannot pass judgments
on past practices in terms of the present day ideas of morality.

For instance monogamy is very recent development and many Mormons have
not accepted it completely. We have replaced polygamy with serial
monogamy as more desirable practice in Western cultures.

I have no quarrel with the past practices  but I disagreed with Mr.
Gupta because he was trying to interpret Ramayan's story based on his
perceptions of Vedic morality. i still do not know why he became so
vociferous and upset with my posting since we essentially agreed with
each other about the patrimony of Ram. AFIK,  Valmiki has not left any
hint about identity of the sperm provider for Ram's birth even though I
consider Ramayan to be a book of fiction based on some real life
characters with extensive poetic license in writing it. I did not want
to cast any aspersions on the morality of the practice.




--
Have a peaceful and joyous day.
Aditya Mishra
Primary e-mail: a018967t at bc.seflin.org
Primary homepage: http://www.smart1.net/aditya
ICQ # 1131674 Mediaring # 1-954-746-0442
Fax #:  209-315-8571
Random thought of the day:
        I'm not a friend you haven't met, I'm just a stranger.