NEW DELHI: Law minister Veerappa Moily's contemporary treatise on the Ramayan, containing 22,000 verses, was released on Wednesday by Chief Justice of India S H Kapadia, who said without people imbibing the core values of the great epic, there was little hope of Hinduism becoming a way of life.
Justice Kapadia was probably referring to the landmark Supreme Court judgment which, unable to define Hinduism, had referred to it as a way of life.
"If the core values of Ramayan are respected by one and all, then why so much of discrimination on the basis of caste, creed and religion," asked Kapadia. But he also provided the answer to it, saying, "No egalitarian society can be achieved unless we imbine these values in our life and work".
He heaped praise on Moily saying, "In my lifetime, I have not come across a politician so well versed and so thorough." Taking a cue from Moily's `Ramayana Mahanveshanam', the CJI said, "If dharma includes justice, then I have taken my job as spiritual work. If the judges work with vision and vitality, they can do a lot for the country".
He added, "I am not a Hindu but a Zoroastrian, which has taught me three things -- right word, right work and right deed. And I see a convergence of Hinduism and my religion on this issue".
The two volume, 1,700-page work translated from Kannada was released by Rupa & Co in the presence of Union ministers, judges of the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court and law officers.
