Ramnavami (Chaitra Shukla Navami, 21.4.21)

Ramnavami is celebrated on the 9^th day in the bright fortnight of the Hindu lunar month of Chaitra to proclaim the birth of Prabhu Shriram, the 7^th Incarnation of Shri Vishnu. On this day, when the five planets and the sun, etc. were in the first house of Cancer at noon along with Punarvasu Nakshatra, Ramchandra was born in Ayodhya.

Attributes of Shriram

Name : Shriram’s Name was prevalent even before His birth. After His victory in Sri Lanka – upon demonstrating His Godhood, everyone started addressing Him as Shriram.

Ideal in all respects : Shriram is an example of the ideal son, brother, husband, king, friend and enemy.

Follower of Dharma (Righteousness) : Shriram observed all the rules of Dharma; that is why He is called ‘Maryadapurushottam’. Also, honouring one’s word (Ekvachani) and needing just one arrow or shot to find the mark (Ekbani) and having only one wife (Ekpatni), when the norm was for Kings of those times to have many wives, are His well-known attributes.

Shriram’s Kingdom (Ramrajya) : During Shriram’s rule in the Tretayug it was not Shriram alone who was wise, His subjects, too, were prudent. Hence, during His reign not a single complaint was brought to His court.

Ramrajya dwells within oneself. The implied meaning of this is absolute control over the five sense organs, five motor organs, mind, subconscious mind, intellect and ego by Shriram Principle (Atmaram – the Soul principle).

Worship of Shriram

Once the stage of worship of the Divine Principle or Deity according to one’s religion (the family Deity for Hindus) is completed, the spiritual practice (worship) of Shriram is useful for many seekers to go from many to One. This is because of Shriram’s Divine attributes listed above.

Shriram’s human nature

He displays emotions of happiness and unhappiness just like the humans do. (His melancholy at Sita’s abduction is an example.) Hence, we feel closer to Him than we feel towards other Deities.

The implied meaning of Ramayan in our lives : Lakshman refers to the focus on the soul, instead of worldly affairs. Bharat denotes a seeker engrossed in the worship of radiance. Shatrughna is the one who destroys the six foes (Shadaripu) of the soul.

Ram, Seeta and Lakshman together stand for spiritual knowledge, devotion and detachment respectively. Hanuman is the activated Kundalini and Ravan embodies the six enemies of a human being – lust, anger, greed, attachment, arrogance and jealousy.

Every Incarnation comes to Earth with a specific purpose : The main task of every Incarnation is to destroy evil and establish the Divine Kingdom; but the percentage and proportion of this varies in different Yugas. And, all activities of the Incarnation are centred around this task.

Killing of Ravan : Ravan was highly learned and possessed the knowledge of Dharma. Shriram had to destroy him, so that He could protect the jivas (Embodied souls) performing spiritual practice. Shriram acquired a physical body to help the souls pursue their spiritual aspirations appropriately.

Moksha (Final Liberation) : Many jivas completed their individual spiritual practice through Jnanyoga (Path of Knowledge) but since their Samashti sadhana (Spiritual practice for the sake of society) was incomplete, their spiritual practice for Moksha remained incomplete. In Satyuga there was no way to perform spiritual practice for the sake of society, and as a result, many jivas got stuck midway. For their progress and liberation, they were born as monkeys during Shriram’s time. Some Deities who had been cursed were also born during this period as monkeys. To make all these jivas practice Spirituality for the sake of society and their progress, Shriram acquired a physical body.

To set an ideal for the people : Shriram set an example through every action of His. He explained how a jiva can attain Moksha by acting in accordance with the Scriptures.

He set an example of a Divine Kingdom for the people : When Dharma manifested in the physical dimension, adharma (Unrighteousness) also manifested. Many jivas started troubling the Sages and others who acted in accordance with the Scriptures. During that time, Shriram protected the Sages and set an example through His own deeds for all kings on how a Divine Kingdom should be. Shriram is an ideal of how selfless, free from desire and impartial a King can be !

Hindus should reinstate Ramrajya !

Ramrajya is the only solution to all the problems today. It can only be possible if Hindus wake up and destroy the modern Incarnations of Ravan. The attacks on the Hindu Dharma by the Christians, Muslims, atheists and anti-Hindus are growing from and yet Hindus are not retaliating. If the condition remains as it is, Hindu Dharma as well as Hindus will become extinct. Keep in mind that changes do not take place by big miracles, but acts within the common man’s reach.