Happy Ram Navmi

[Guest guest]

Happy Ram Navmi, dear group members! Hope you will like this article.

Tigre

 

RAMNAVMI

By

 

SRI SWAMI SIVANANDA

Om Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram

 

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.

 

Ramnavami 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 Ramnavmi 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 sympathised with the sufferers. In the festive scenes which

held them in joy, He like a father, shared their joys. By His honour

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 practise 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-realisation. 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-

realisation. 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

practise 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 practise 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 realisation 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".

 

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 Ramnavmi day take a firm resolve that you will

repeat Ram-Nam with every breath and that you will endeavour to lead

a righteous life.

 

Ramnavmi 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 Ramnavmi Utsavam is celebrated for nine days

with great fervour 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 colourful

ceremony, highly inspiring and instructive, too.