Wow.. How interesting! Thank you for posting this. I will definitely forward the link to my family who have also wondered about the Ramayana. To answer your question, I would ask, what would you like to think? Which may seem like a reverse phych cliche thing to do, sorry if so, .. but what I mean is.. Do you want to believe the Ramayana is real? And that Rama is God? Do you want to believe in God? If so, why?

Cultivating faith is difficult in any religion and culture, because by definition it indicates a belief in something that cannot be proven. And all the more so in Hinduism as it is so old, and throughout its ancient history there have been many migrations and assimilations of other cultures down into the Indian subcontinent, making the many tangles of beliefs and customs all the more confusing. For example, there are many similarities between the Devas of Hinduism and the pantheon of Zoroastrianism, there must certainly have been a sharing of common beliefs between the two cultures at some point. In the Vedas themselves, there seem to be different approaches to the beliefs of Sanatana Dharma. The Rg Veda presents them in more ritualistic terms, whereas the Aranyakas offer philosophical explanations. I often wonder if there was already a prehistoric migration that gave rise to the ritualism of Hinduism by the time the Vedas were complied, as ritual is something than can be seen throughout many other cultures in various forms. The only thing truly original and unique to Hinduism is the underlying philosophy and systems of thought, replete with concepts like karma, dharma, jnana, ahimsa, satya, etc, which flow together to form a rich tapestry of knowledge that glimmers behind every thought and every action, and weaves belief, philosophy, and faith with purpose

There is a wonderful quote by Martin Luther King Jr., “Science gives man knowledge that is power; religion gives man wisdom that is control. Science deals mainly with facts; religion deals mainly with values. The two are not rivals. They are complementary. Science keeps religion from sinking into the valley of crippling irrationalism and paralyzing obscurantism. Religion prevents science from falling into the marsh of obsolete materialism and moral nihilism.”

What I find myself wondering is.. does the all powerful God need us to believe in him? Or do we need faith to inspire us to be better? I have struggled with the same questions you have mention, and I find myself thinking more often these days that in the end, the simple truth is that life is a gift. To live each moment filled with purpose, and love, to love others, and be curious about the world, to learn and be awed by the things of creation. Some people find it easier to find fulfillment in each moment with a belief in God, others maybe don’t need it. So, I wonder if in approaching faith, we need to ask ourselves what we need, because God already gave us the greatest gift of life, and perhaps he does not need anything more than for us to live it to our best.

Going back to the land bridge, at the very least, it seems to indicate something very interesting happened in history that we are not yet fully aware of. Thanks again for this post and the video link! :)