Sri Rama Navami
Birthday of Sri Rama
Sri Rama Navami is celebrated all over the world by Hindus as the birthday of Sri Rama, the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu, scion of the Solar Dynasty, pinnacle of human perfection. The sage Valmiki wrote about the life of this great incarnation in his famous book “The Ramayana” – “The Way of Rama.” It is the story of the life of an exemplary human being that has enthralled the minds of all who have read it, not only in Bharat, the land of its origin, but in all parts of the world. The story of Rama has spread to Tibet, Turkey, Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. In India, Thailand and Bali, Sri Rama is worshipped as God incarnate. The Supreme, formless, Brahman took a form to set an example to all human beings as to how a person should act and behave in the world in order to attain the summum bonum of life which is moksha or liberation from these mortal coils.
We live in a crazy age which is at a loss to know the meaning of human existence, which places money above character, personal greed before compassion or consideration of another’s right. Even those of us who still retain a small amount of sanity are at a loss to understand how we can act according to “dharma,” the cosmic law of righteousness, in a world which is devoid of dharma – a world in which the meaning of honour, truth and high principles seem to be dead – where hate and self-interest seem to be the only rules of conduct starting right up from the rulers down to the citizens.
The sages of the Sanatana Dharma have always understood that the only way to change a society which seems to act in an inhuman way is to give examples of individuals who act in an exemplary fashion. We can only change ourselves, we cannot change the society but the fact is that the society is made up of individuals and if more and more individuals begin to act in a righteous fashion, the society will be forced to change. In fact, the individual can and must change if the society has to change. All our ancient scriptures have tried to give us the methods of achieving this change, first in the individual, and then in the society.
For this purpose, the life of Sri Rama is an example beyond parallel. In Rama, Valmiki has portrayed the sublime aspect of human nature which is impossible to understand. In him we find a mixture of the might of a God and the frailty of a human being. It is an attempt to bring God and man together in a single individual. In him we find that the Supreme took on a human form with all its frailties in order to show us how our aspirations for a dharmic (righteous) life can be fulfilled despite the shortcomings of the human nature. In the life of Rama, Valmiki has portrayed a man who becomes divine by shaking off the limitations of humanity by his strict adherence to truth and honour. He has all the qualities of the average man – the attachments, the desires, the anger, the love, and the compassion. His greatness lies in the fact that he surmounted these obstacles in his character so that he became a superhuman – one who put his duty above all personal considerations.
The Hindu religion has always advocated that each individual should follow their swadharma which is the duty that each one of us has in the orbit of one’s own milieu, and depends on the particular position that we are placed in our life. Sri Rama was a king and he depicts very clearly the nature of the dharma that a ruler owes to his people. A ruler or the head of a state cannot afford to place his own petty desires before the needs of the citizens who have reposed their faith in him and expect him to do his best for them. This ideal of course is totally at variance with that of the British king who abdicated in order to marry the woman of his choice at the precise time when his country desperately needed him. On the other hand, Rama was prepared to banish his most beloved wife in order to keep to the dharmic standards expected of a king who has to put his citizens before his own self. At a time when all kings were free to marry many times, Rama refused to take another wife. He had enshrined Sita in his heart and no other woman had any appeal for him. He led his lonely and solitary life till the end of his days faithfully carrying out the duties allotted to him. His reign has been extolled as a utopia of grace and plenty where all sorrows were dealt with instantaneously and where the earth gave in abundance and all people were happy and content.
The universal laws of rita and satya when reflected through the medium of the human personality, become distorted and that is why we find that though many of us struggle hard to become totally dharmic, we do not always hit the mark. The character of Rama actually gives us a lot of comfort because it shows us that even God when he takes on a mortal body has to come under the sway of maya!
Ramayana – the story of Rama, is the very first poem composed in the world and Valmiki is acclaimed as the Adi Kavi or the first poet. One may well marvel at the fact that this story which took place some thousands of years ago has had such worldwide appeal. It has continued to cast its spell through the ages up to the present age, which is noted for its cynicism and contempt of anything which lies beyond the ken of the scientific mind. The reason for this is that the story is based on certain eternal verities which appeal to the best in human nature. These values have a universal appeal. The character of Sri Rama has risen above the limits of sect, religion, race and country. Though it is an ancient chronicle, the Ramayana has a deep message for the modern man and woman.
Rama was the epitome of all types of human loves – love of a son for his father, love for a brother, for a friend, for a wife and for the country. But soaring above all these loves, was his love for the abstract principle of dharma. His life shows that when a human being tries to uphold dharma at all costs, he must be prepared to sacrifice all his other loves. Dharma is a stern disciplinarian and brooks no straying from its strict path. One who adheres fanatically to the path of dharma will find, like Rama, that even the strongest of material attachments will have to be sacrificed. However, the greatness of Rama’s character lies in the fact that despite his agony he did not deviate from the strict ideal he had kept for himself and did not flinch from the final sacrifice of his beloved wife and brother on the altar of dharma. We, who live in an age of easy morality, where ideals are conveniently renounced for the sake of selfish interests, may not be able to understand and appreciate the towering personality of Rama but to the ancient Hindu society, he was a God for only a God could act with such total unselfishness.
The morals that have been instilled into our minds from the time of the Ramayana have helped to shape our society. Even now we are capable of appreciating this godliness even though we may not be able to emulate it. The Ramayana lifts us to the sublime heights of glory, in fact to the pinnacle of divinity, for no ordinary mortal could be so utterly selfless to the point of being considered heartless. In Rama we see the portrait of a mighty superhuman, who based his entire life on a strict adherence to the implacable law of dharma. It is a law of nature and thus brooks no disobedience. The whole of nature follows this rule without question. Human beings however allow their greedy minds to overrule their heads. Rama is the one exception to this and for this he had to pay a heavy penalty. To understand him better we should understand that the only question he ever asked himself was – “Am I acting according to dharma?”
Time according to the Hindu calendar is cyclical as we see it in nature. Just as there are twenty-four hours in a day and seven days in a week and four weeks in a month and twelve months in a year, we have a sixty-year cycle for the years and each of them have their own names. This year 2022, is known as Shubakrita. The birthday of Sri Rama, known as Sri Rama Navami falls on the ninth day of the bright fortnight of the month of Chaitra, which happens to be the 10th of April. So let us all take this as a unique opportunity to set right this society which seems to have only one object in life which is to make money. Let us concentrate on making our own country once again into a Rama Rajya where people can live without fear, with head held high and proud of our own heritage. Let us pray that our leaders will come to their right senses and realise that their first and foremost duty is to their country. A great step forward towards this goal has been taken by reclaiming the holy land of Ayodhya where Rama ruled.
It is said in our scriptures that the name of Rama, if used sincerely can make a huge change in our psyche. The word “Rama” is a mantra in its own right. In fact, it is known as a “taraka mantra” that is capable of elevating us from the entanglements of the world of the senses and lifting us into the liberating atmosphere of the divine. This mantra should thus be chanted by everyone as many times as possible in order to bring about a change in the world.
A reading of the life of Rama – The Ramayana, has the effect of cleansing us of our negative emotions and charging us with the moral fervour and grace of the great characters portrayed in the book.
“Sri Rama, Rama, Rameti, Reme, Rame, manorame,
Sahasranama tat tulyam, Rama Nama varanane.”
Chanting of the one name of “Rama” is equivalent to the chanting of the thousand and one names of Lord Vishnu – the Vishnu Sahasranama.
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama, Rama, Hare Hare!