Rama and Ganga — Two Paths, One Truth of Self-Knowledge

Question

I have a question — what is the difference between Rama and Ganga then?

Answer

Actually, there’s no real difference. Both are ways of expressing Self-knowledge.

You see, the essential point — the most important thing for our life — is ātma-jñāna, knowledge of the Self: to know who I am. That’s the real purpose.

Now, this truth can be explained in many different ways. In the Purāṇas, the same idea of Self-knowledge is shown through dozens of stories — each one teaching the same thing in a different form.

In the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, for instance, Self-knowledge is taught through the descent of Rama.
And in the story we studied today, it’s explained through the descent of Ganga.

So those are two methods — two symbolic ways of teaching the same truth. And these are not the only ones; if we explore the scriptures further, we’ll find many more examples. Next time, I can share a few where the same teaching appears in different forms.

Each story uses its own language and symbols, but all are guiding us toward one goal — how to attain Self-knowledge.

That’s why, Swati, there isn’t just one way. The Rāmāyaṇa itself is one way of explaining it.
We have taken it literally as history, but it’s also a spiritual map — showing, in great detail, where the journey begins, how to proceed, and what the final state of realization looks like.

So whether the story uses Rama or Ganga, the message is the same. Only the method of explanation differs.

See how much effort the sages put in to help us understand the Self — teaching the same truth again and again in countless ways, just so that somehow we may grasp it and live it.