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The Significance of Ram Navami 
March 23, 2007 |
| Vedic Astrology Diary Archives |
SALUTATIONS to Lord Rama, an Incarnation of Lord Vishnu, who
is measureless, who is of the nature of pure Consciousness and
bliss, who is the consort of Sita, Master of Sri Hanuman, and
the Lord of the three worlds, who took His birth at His own
will in order to establish righteousness, destroy the wicked
and protect His devotees.
Ram Navami or the birthday of Lord Rama falls on the 9th day
of the bright fortnight of the month of Chaitra (March-April).
Rama was the Lord Hari Himself, incarnate on earth for the destruction
of Ravana. He was well accomplished, beautiful and endowed with
royal marks. His glory and prowess were unlimited. He was peerless
on earth. He was free from malice. He was gentle. He was the
protector of all His people. He always addressed them in gentle
words. He never used any harsh words even when somebody provoked
Him. He held sway over the whole world.
Let Sri Rama be your ideal. Ideals are remembered and adored
for the purpose of adopting them in your own life. The Ram Navami
celebration or the Vasanta Navaratri every year is an opportune
period for us to saturate ourselves with the spirit of Lord
Rama. We love and adore our ideals because we express thereby
our yearning to unite with them. In our worship of God it is
implied that we should be virtuous, good and perfect even as
God is. Hence the wise instruction: “One should become
divine in order to be able to worship God”. One cannot
be a real worshipper of Lord Rama unless one makes an honest
attempt to grow in the virtues that the Lord represents. On
the other hand, worship of Lord Rama is itself the surest means
to develop such virtues. One who approaches Sri Rama with love
and worshipfulness becomes large-hearted, pure in spirit, good-natured
and dispassionate in thought, word and deed. A true devotee
of Lord Rama is His representative, with His power and His knowledge.
Lord Rama was the prince of the Ikshvaku race. He was virtuous
and of manly strength. He was the Lord of the mind and the senses.
Brave and valiant, He was yet gentle and modest. He was a sage
in counsel, kind and sweet in speech, and most courteous and
handsome in appearance. He was the master of all the divine
weapons, and a great warrior. Ever devoted to the good and prosperity
of His kingdom and His subjects, He was a defender of the weak
and the protector of the righteous. Endowed with numerous wondrous
powers of the mind, He was well versed in all sciences—in
military science as well as the science of the Self. Deep and
unfathomed like the ocean, firm and steadfast like the Himalayan
Mountains, valiant like Lord Vishnu, He was the joy of Kaushalya.
Though fierce like fire on the battlefield, He was calm like
the cool breeze of the Mandara Hills, patient like Mother Earth,
bounteous like the god of wealth and righteous like the lord
of justice himself. In the pains and the griefs of His people,
His heart swiftly sympathized with the sufferers. In the festive
scenes, which held them in joy, He, like a father, shared their
joys. By His honor and heroism, as well as by His gentleness
and love for His subjects, He greatly endeared Himself to the
hearts of His people. Such a great person was the Lord Rama!
Lord Rama was the best of men with a sterling character. He
was the very image of love. He was an ideal son, an ideal brother,
an ideal husband, an ideal friend and an ideal king. He can
be taken to embody all the highest ideals of man. He led the
ideal life of a householder to teach the tenets of righteousness
to humanity. He ruled His people so well that it came to be
known as Ram-Rajya, which meant the rule of righteousness, the
rule, which bestows happiness and prosperity on all.
The noblest lesson embodied in the Ramayana is the supreme importance
of righteousness in the life of every human being. Righteousness
is the spiritual spark of life. Cultivation of righteousness
is the process of unfoldment of the latent divinity in man.
The glorious incarnation of the Supreme Being in the form of
Lord Rama has exemplified the path of righteousness. Let mankind
follow His footsteps and practice the ideals cherished by Him,
for it is only thus that there can be everlasting peace, prosperity
and welfare in this world.
None but the righteous can be truly happy. None but he who has
the correct sense of duty and the will for its implementation
can be said to live worthily. One must be imbued with a definite
conviction about the supremacy of moral principles, ethical
values and spiritual ideals. These ought to guide one’s
day-to-day actions and serve as powerful means for the culture
of the human personality. That is the purpose of life. That
is the way to Self-realization. That is the message and the
mission of Lord Rama’s fife on earth. To a devotee, Sri
Rama is not simply a good and a great person, but God Himself.
Rama was the son of King Dasaratha of Ayodhya, but He is also
the divine omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient God. The destruction
of the ten-headed Ravana signifies the annihilation of the mind
or the ten senses. Worship of Lord Rama is worship of the all-pervading
Godhead Himself. Read the prayers offered by Mandothari and
Brahma in the Yuddha Kanda of the Ramayana. They refer to Rama
as the one Creator of the universe, the God of all, the Ruler
of the universe.
Devotion to God is not a simple emotion. It is the result of
intense dispassion and purity of heart and attitude. You should
strive your utmost to possess the good qualities that are extolled
in the Ramayana and exemplified in the life of Lord Rama. Otherwise,
emotion may rise up in you temporarily to a kind of ecstasy,
but you will not experience divine consciousness thereby. Devotion
is a fruit, which ripens gradually through the processes of
self-restraint and virtue. Without intense dispassion there
can be no real sadhana for Self-realization. Only after detachment
from the world of things, is it possible to attain the Supreme
Godhead. Remember this.
Devotion has absolutely nothing to do with age, caste, creed,
position or sex. Generally, the worldly-minded people say: “We
will practice meditation and devotion when we retire from service.”
This is a serious mistake. How can you do serious sadhana after
squeezing out all your energy in working? How will you be able
to practice the strict Yogic discipline in your old age? Is
there any certainty in life? No, the spiritual seeds of discipline
and devotion must be sown in you while you are young, while
your heart is tender and untainted. Then only will it strike
a deep root, blossom forth and bear fruit when you become old
and retire. Only then can you bravely face the god of death
and meet him with a smile! I shall tell you the means of attaining
the final release from the great cycle of births and deaths.
Devotion to Lord Rama is a great purifier of the heart. From
devotion arises knowledge. From knowledge comes the realization
of the pure Self. Knowing this perfectly, one goes to the Supreme
Abode and merges in the Supreme Self.
Without first developing devotion to Rama who is the Self, who
lives in the hearts of all beings, who is all bliss and who
is peerless, how can man cross the ocean of worldly life which
has sorrow, pain and misery for its waves? Do thou therefore
worship Lord Rama who is Vishnu and the consort of Sita who
is Lakshmi. Abandon all foolishness and enmity. Take to the
service of Lord Rama.
The Lord is extremely fond of those who have surrendered themselves
to Him. He has given this promise in the Ramayana: “To
anyone who once takes shelter under Me and solicits ‘I
am Thine’, I bestow fearlessness from all beings. This
is My vow”. Even a great sinner who is full of evil qualities
and who is fond of other people’s wealth, is freed from
all kinds of faults that pertain to worldly life if only he
remembers the Lord always. He attains purity and goes to the
supreme abode of the Lord. The Name of Lord Rama is the greatest
purifier of the heart. It wipes away all one’s sins. Not
only this, but it wipes away the sinful tendencies as well.
The Name is sweeter than the sweetest of objects. It is the
haven of peace. It is the very life of pure souls. It is the
purifier of all purifying agencies. It quenches the consuming
fire of worldly desires. It awakens the knowledge of God. It
bathes the aspirant in the, ocean of divine bliss. Glory to
Sri Rama and His Name! O Devotee! recite His Name, sing His
glory and serve His Lotus Feet. Enthrone in your heart Lord
Rama of dark hue, whose image is reflected in the heart of Lord
Shiva. Blessed is the pious soul who uninterruptedly drinks
the nectar of Sri Rama’s Name which has been churned out
of the ocean of the Vedas, which removes the impurities of the
Kali Yuga or the iron age, which lives constantly on the lips
of Lord Shiva, which is a sovereign remedy or unfailing specific
to cure the disease of worldly existence and which is the life
of Mother Sita. Ram-Nam burns ignorance, passion and sin. With
or without knowledge, correctly or incorrectly, when the word
“Rama” is pronounced it showers a rain of good upon
the devotee. Sri Rama is Brahman who takes one across the ocean
of worldly existence. Rama is one in across whom the Yogis sport,
that is, the Self within.Lord Shiva tells His consort Parvati:
“This Ram-Nam is equal to the Lord’s thousand Names,
or repetition of the Mantra a thousand times.”
LORD SRI RAMA
Om Sri Ramaya Namah
I call this the anti-gossip tonic. When you find that you are
wasting your time in gossip, repeat His Name several times.
You can make up for the time lost, and the mind will be slowly
weaned away from the habit of gossiping. Sri Rama is also a
wish-fulfilling tree. He will bestow upon you whatever you want!
Just read what Lord Shiva further says:
“The
seat of all good things, the destroyer of all impurities of
this age of darkness, purer than purity itself, the food for
the journey of aspirants on the path to salvation, their only
resting place, the very life-breath of virtuous men, is the
Divine Name of Sri Rama. So say the sages.”
On the auspicious Ram Navami day take a firm resolve that you
will repeat Ram-Nam with every breath and that you will endeavor
to lead a righteous life.
Ram Navami is one of the most important festivals of the Vaishnava
sect of the Hindus. However, even those who adore Lord Shiva
celebrate the occasion. Some observe a strict fast on the day.
Temples are decorated and the image of Lord Rama is richly adorned.
The holy Ramayana is read in the temples. At Ayodhya, the birthplace
of Sri Rama, a big fair is held on this day. In South India
the Sri Ram Navami Utsavam is celebrated for nine days with
great fervor and devotion. Those talented in the art of story-telling
narrate the thrilling episodes of the Ramayana. The Kirtanists
chant the holy Name of Rama and celebrate the wedding of Rama
with Sita on this great day. It is an extremely colorful ceremony,
highly inspiring and instructive, too.
At the Sivananda Ashram, Rishikesh, Ram Navami is celebrated
for nine days as follows:
1. Spiritual seekers do as much Japa as possible. The sacred
Mantras Om Sri Ramaya Namah or Om Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram
are chanted.
2. Devotees read the whole of the Ramayana, either the Sanskrit
version of Sage Valmiki or the Hindi version of Saint Tulsidas,
during these nine days.
Those who cannot recite the entire epic may read this single
verse which contains in a nutshell the story of the Ramayana:
“Formerly, Sri Rama went to the forests, where Rishis
did penance, and killed the illusive deer. Sita was carried
away and Jatayu was killed. Rama met Sugriva, killed Vali and
crossed the ocean. The city of Lanka was burned by Hanuman.
The demons, Ravana and Kumbhakarna, were then killed. Thus is
recited the holy Ramayana”.
3. Devotees greet one another with “Sri Ram” or
“Jai Ram-ji-ki”.
4. Those who have adopted Lord Rama as their favorite Deity
observe a fast, taking only milk and fruit for all the nine
days. Some people fast only on the Ram Navami day itself
5. On the final or Ramnavmi day, there is a grand worship of
Lord Rama in the gorgeously decorated temple. All the Vedic
rituals including Laksharchana are performed.
6. A havan is also performed.
7. From four in the morning to late at night, there is Ram and
Ram alone everywhere!
8. Leaflets, booklets and books relating to Lord Rama are distributed.
9. Special meetings are held in the evening at which discourses
on the life and teachings of the Lord are delivered.
10. Earnest seekers take resolves to accelerate their spiritual
progress.
O beloved seekers, time is fleeting. Know the value of time.
Time is most precious. Utilize every second profitably. Do not
procrastinate. Abandon all idle gossiping. Forget the past.
Live every moment of your life for the realization of the divine
ideal and goal. Unfold your latent faculties. Grow, evolve and
become a superhuman or a dynamic Yogi. Struggle hard and reach
the goal of life.
May you all attain the final beatitude of life through intense
devotion towards Lord Rama! May you live immersed in the ecstasy
of divine love! May Sri Rama who is as effulgent as a million
suns and who is adored by the gods and devotees, protect you
all! May the blessings of Lord Rama be upon you all.
Copyright 2007. Vaughn Paul
Manley. All Rights Reserved. |
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