Definition of an ideal society Valmiki’s Ramayana and Confucius’ Analects provide a powerful illustration of an ideal and functional society by demonstrating what a ruler or government should do in order to make an ideal society. The two rulers described by Confucius and Valmiki, both have power/sovereignty over the society and the ideal society is defined as having righteous behavior with each other, having no poverty and crime, being dutiful, and respecting elders. Society based on changeable actions and moral character is the appropriate way people should live and rule under Confucius. Conversely, birth status and inherent duties to a society define the ideal living under the Ramayana. Although the analects and Ramayana agree that good
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Duke Ai asks Confucius how people can be won over. Confucius replies by telling him to “Raise the straight and set them above the crooked” which Confucius says will win the hearts of the people (Analects, 1335). Confucius is trying to tell the Duke that people can be won over if the good are rewarded or “raised” and the bad are punished. It implies that if the ruler/governor put emphasis on “good” qualities such as respect, purity and neat rather than “bad” qualities like dishonesty or doing illegal stuff, the society will become ideal as the society with only good qualities can remove poverty, inequality between different class of persons and gender inequality which also allows the proper function of the society. Confucius said “He who by revising the old knows the new, is fit to be teacher” (Analects, 1335). Confucius is trying to say that a ruler can teach his subjects by knowing about the knowledge of the past but also keeping in touch with the knowledge of the present. A ruler must be a good teacher in order to be considered an effective ruler and to raise the society to the level of an essential …show more content…
In Ramayana, Good and evil have many contradictions. The wars are shown between human/gods and demons. Demons are the kind of creatures, that don’t follow dharma and perform evil actions like violence, women’s abduction and disrespecting other creatures. In this story, Ravana, who was a very powerful demon king, followed the dharma of being a righteous ruler. But, his poor decision of abducting someone else’s wife not only doomed his life, but also his kingdom and his people. He abducted Rama’s wife Sita and brought her to his kingdom. He tried to persuade Sita to marry him but she was determined that she will not marry him and trusted her husband to come to save her. When lord Rama came to his kingdom and defeated all of his ministers and his sons, he realized that his bad choice had cost his whole kingdom and finally, after the fight between Rama and Ravana, Ravana was killed by Rama (Ramayana, 1187-1188,1226-1227). So, this evidence demonstrates that a bad choice in life can led to the downfall of the individual and also it affects idealistic
Duke Ai asks Confucius how people can be won over. Confucius replies by telling him to “Raise the straight and set them above the crooked” which Confucius says will win the hearts of the people (Analects, 1335). Confucius is trying to tell the Duke that people can be won over if the good are rewarded or “raised” and the bad are punished. It implies that if the ruler/governor put emphasis on “good” qualities such as respect, purity and neat rather than “bad” qualities like dishonesty or doing illegal stuff, the society will become ideal as the society with only good qualities can remove poverty, inequality between different class of persons and gender inequality which also allows the proper function of the society. Confucius said “He who by revising the old knows the new, is fit to be teacher” (Analects, 1335). Confucius is trying to say that a ruler can teach his subjects by knowing about the knowledge of the past but also keeping in touch with the knowledge of the present. A ruler must be a good teacher in order to be considered an effective ruler and to raise the society to the level of an essential …show more content…
In Ramayana, Good and evil have many contradictions. The wars are shown between human/gods and demons. Demons are the kind of creatures, that don’t follow dharma and perform evil actions like violence, women’s abduction and disrespecting other creatures. In this story, Ravana, who was a very powerful demon king, followed the dharma of being a righteous ruler. But, his poor decision of abducting someone else’s wife not only doomed his life, but also his kingdom and his people. He abducted Rama’s wife Sita and brought her to his kingdom. He tried to persuade Sita to marry him but she was determined that she will not marry him and trusted her husband to come to save her. When lord Rama came to his kingdom and defeated all of his ministers and his sons, he realized that his bad choice had cost his whole kingdom and finally, after the fight between Rama and Ravana, Ravana was killed by Rama (Ramayana, 1187-1188,1226-1227). So, this evidence demonstrates that a bad choice in life can led to the downfall of the individual and also it affects idealistic