Consisting of 1,196 chapters and kandas and 55,102 verses combined, the Christian Bible and the Ramayana of Valmiki are two of the most important sacred texts of their respective religions (Kizziah, “King James Bible Statistics”; “Ramayana: Organization”). The Christian Bible, an ancient religious text consisting of both the Old and New Testaments, uses multiple narratives and parables to convey important values and themes. Christianity follows the teachings of the Old Testament, which contains the account of Israel becoming a nation and its adherence to the Law of Moses, and the New Testament in which Christ came to fulfill the Law and taught His sermons. The New Testament sets Christians apart from Jews as it outlines Christ 's teachings
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The Bible’s basic purpose as Harvard Professor Coogan mentioned is its message of love to all of its readers and to love one another as much as we love ourselves and look outward and serve others. On the contrary, the Ramayana’s purpose is primarily to teach its readers to look “within” in order to discover one’s own dharma and follow it. The two basic purposes taught within each of these sacred texts seem highly contradictory and nothing alike; however, the two texts’ teachings are more similar than different. The Bible and particularly, the New Testament testifies of Jesus Christ and his ministry and teachings. The Christian sacred text has a purpose to teach its readers to follow Christ’s example of justice, love, righteousness, humility, and compassion. Likewise, Rama plays a very similar role to Jesus in teaching Hindus to follow their dharma. The Ramayana’s purpose is almost identical: to teach Hindus to follow Rama’s example of being a just, moral, righteous, and dharmic leader (Kinnard). Although having different approaches, the purposes of the Bible and the Ramayana are very similar in that they both teach their readers, based off of a divine being’s example, to live moral and righteous lives and obtain spiritual enlightenment. For this reason, the Bible and the Ramayana is not intended for a specific tribe of people nor solely for devout followers of Christianity or Hinduism. These texts can affect the lives of people of all faiths and circumstances alike as they teach their readers to lead righteous and moral
The Bible’s basic purpose as Harvard Professor Coogan mentioned is its message of love to all of its readers and to love one another as much as we love ourselves and look outward and serve others. On the contrary, the Ramayana’s purpose is primarily to teach its readers to look “within” in order to discover one’s own dharma and follow it. The two basic purposes taught within each of these sacred texts seem highly contradictory and nothing alike; however, the two texts’ teachings are more similar than different. The Bible and particularly, the New Testament testifies of Jesus Christ and his ministry and teachings. The Christian sacred text has a purpose to teach its readers to follow Christ’s example of justice, love, righteousness, humility, and compassion. Likewise, Rama plays a very similar role to Jesus in teaching Hindus to follow their dharma. The Ramayana’s purpose is almost identical: to teach Hindus to follow Rama’s example of being a just, moral, righteous, and dharmic leader (Kinnard). Although having different approaches, the purposes of the Bible and the Ramayana are very similar in that they both teach their readers, based off of a divine being’s example, to live moral and righteous lives and obtain spiritual enlightenment. For this reason, the Bible and the Ramayana is not intended for a specific tribe of people nor solely for devout followers of Christianity or Hinduism. These texts can affect the lives of people of all faiths and circumstances alike as they teach their readers to lead righteous and moral