Sri Rama
Divine Life
Society Publication: Hindu Gods
and Goddesses by Sri Swami Sivananda
Om Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram
O Lord Rama! O Raghava!
Thou art an ocean of mercy.
Thou art Maryada Purushottama.
Thou art the refuge of devotees.
I have filled my being
With Thy love.
I installed Thee
In my heart.
Om Sri Ramaya Namah.
Thou art an ocean of mercy.
Thou art Maryada Purushottama.
Thou art the refuge of devotees.
I have filled my being
With Thy love.
I installed Thee
In my heart.
Om Sri Ramaya Namah.
King Dasaratha who was endowed
with good fortune, who was devoted to truth, who was brave and famous, was
without a son. Dasaratha brought the
Rishi to Ayodhya and performed the sacrifice. The God of Fire appeared from the
fire of the sacrifice. He had a golden vessel full of divine Payasa (sweet
porridge). He said, "O best of kings! Take this Payasa made by the gods in
heaven. Give it to your worthy wives. You shall beget by them mighty
sons."
Dasaratha obtained the
permission of Vasishtha and Rishya Sringa and gave the Payasa half and half to
his queens Kausalya and Kaikeyi. Sumitra also went there. She also wanted to
take a portion of the Payasa. Kausalya joyfully gave her half of her share.
Kaikeyi also gave her half of her share with immense joy. All the queens became
pregnant.
On the ninth lunar day of the
bright half of the month of Chaitra, under the star Punarvasu, and Lagna
Karkata (the auspicious zodiacal sign of cancer), the five constellations in
the ascendent, appeared on earth the great and prosperous Sri Rama with mighty
arms, the eternal Lord, the Master of the world, the joy of Dasaratha was born
to queen Kausalya. Bharata was born to Kaikeyi. Sumitra gave birth to two sons,
twins, Lakshmana and Satrughna.
Vasishtha conferred the names.
Kausalya’s son was named Rama, because He gave joy and happiness to all,
because the Munis found in Him delight through Knowledge in order to cross this
ocean of ignorance.
Bharata was so named, because
he protected all, Lakshmana, because he was endowed with auspicious attributes,
and Satrughna was given that name, as he was the destroyer of enemies.
Sri Rama was an Avatara of
Lord Hari; Lakshmana was an Avatara of Adisesha; Bharata and Satrughna were
Avataras of Conch and Discus. Sita was an Avatara of Sri Lakshmi.
All the sons of Dasaratha were
heroic and virtuous. They were patient, brave, truthful and firm. They soon
captivated the heart of the public. Sri Rama excelled His brothers in bravery
and truthfulness.
The Divine Virtues of Rama
Rama was well accomplished,
beautiful and endowed with royal marks. He was valiant and glowing with splendor.
He was in no way inferior to Indra himself in battle. He was well-versed in
holy scriptures and equal to Brihaspati in wisdom. He was skilled in every
science. He was an object of love and reverence with all people. He had His
senses under perfect control. Even His enemies were pleased to see Him. He was
the terror of the wicked and the protector of the virtuous. He was endowed with
keen intelligence. He could never be vanquished by anyone.
Sri Rama’s glory and powers
were unlimited. He was peerless on earth. He was free from malice. He was
gentle and was the protector of His people. He always addressed the people in
gentle words. He never used any harsh words even when somebody addressed Him
rudely.
Sri Rama was wise and
virtuous. He was effulgent like the sun, in forgiveness like the earth, in
intelligence like Brihaspati, in frame (physique) like Vasava, in prowess like
Indra. He observed ascetic vows and honored saints. He would forget hundreds of
evils done to Him, but would gratefully remember a single act of kindness ever
shown.
In the leisure when He was not
engaged in His martial exercises, He had discussions on the Shastras with the
wise and the aged people. He always followed the right in every walk of His
life and never swerved from His royal duties.
Rama was a friend of the poor
and chastiser of the wicked. He was a cosmic benefactor. He was well-versed in
religion, social customs and laws. He looked after the welfare of His subjects,
and the people too loved Him immensely.
Sri Rama never spoke a lie
even in extreme danger or peril. He was brave, candid and modest. He was the
source of all good. He always respected His superiors. He was free from
idleness. He was ever vigilant. He sought no evil. He had perfect control over
anger.
Sri Rama was happy in
adversity, calm in miseries, intrepid in dangers.
Sri Rama, the hero of
Valmiki’s Ramayana, is an embodiment of every social and domestic virtue. His
sense of filial duty is unparalleled in the history of the world.
He kicked off the throne and
the pleasures of the senses and the world to fulfil the words of His father.
Sri Rama’s life was a life of
holy obedience, of stainless purity, of matchless simplicity, laudable contentment,
commendable self-sacrifice, and remarkable renunciation. He paid equal respect
to His mother and His step-mothers, and revered His Guru.
Sri Rama is known as Maryada
Purushottama. He adhered to the injunctions of the Shastras. He led the life of
an ideal householder to teach the world the Dharmas of a Grihastha. He never
swerved an inch from truth and duty.
Sita once told Rama to seek
shelter in a safe place and to let the forest dwellers alone, as there was much
danger there. Rama’s reply revealed His firm determination to adhere to truth
and to His duty, as a king, to protect those who took shelter under Him. Sri
Rama said, "O Sita, I may even give up life, or you, or Lakshmana; but can
never give up the performance of My word, given particularly to helpless
Brahmins. Rama speaks but once and never fails to keep up His promise."
Lord Rama was Maryada
Purushottama. He was a Prema Murti. 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 deals of man. He led an ideal life of a householder to teach
humanity. He ruled His people so nicely that His rule came to be called Rama
Rajya, meaning the rule of righteousness, the rule which bestows on all
happiness and prosperity.
Rama Nama or the Name of Lord
Rama is a blessing which millions of Hindus have treasured in their hearts
since ages past. It is the supreme purifier of the mind of man, the bestower of
perennial joy, the giver of peace and the key to the gate of immortality.
You must learn to take the
Name of Rama with full devotion and faith. When you study the Ramayana of
Tulsidas, you will learn how great the divine power of that blessed Name is.
The word Rama is interpreted
in the Ramarahasyopanishad as the combination of the essence of the
Narayana-Ashta-Akshara and the Siva-Pancha-Akshara, i.e., Ra and Ma, without
which the Ashtakshara and the Panchakshara not only do not give their proper
meaning, but give the opposite meaning. Rama Nama is also considered as the
essence of the Thousand Names of the Lord. It is the Taraka Mantra, the vessel
which takes the mortal across the ocean of Samsara or death. The power of the
Name is well realized when it is known that even the incorrect pronunciation
thereof turned rogue Ratnakara into sage Valmiki.
Rama Nama burns ignorance,
passion and sin. With knowledge or without knowledge, correctly or incorrectly,
when the word Rama is pronounced, it showers a rain of good on the devotee. Sri
Rama Brahma Tarakam.: Sri Rama is Brahman who takes one across Samsara.
Rama is one in whom Yogins sport (Ramante) i.e., the Self within. Once you take
refuge in Him, your welfare becomes His responsibility.
The Name of Sri Rama is
sweeter than the sweetest 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 which is
dormant in our hearts. It bathes the aspirant in the ocean of divine bliss.
Glory to Sri Rama and His Name.
Let no ideas of purity or
impurity enter your mind. There is no unholy object in this world. Should there
be any, it becomes the holiest of the holy by contact with the Lord’s Name.
Illusion, notwithstanding all her efforts, fails to get hold of him who remains
deeply absorbed in the Lord’s Name and love.
Why did Rama, the Supreme
Being, forget His real divine nature? If Rama always knew His true Self, why
did He grieve for the loss of His wife Sita?"
The answer to this question is
that verily Rama was the Supreme Self. He never moved or did anything. He was
never subject to joy or sorrow, birth or death, pleasure or pain. Through His
life, Sri Rama behaved like an ordinary man only. He had to do that, because
Ravana had a boon that he could not be killed by Devas, Asuras, Rakshasas,
Yakshas, serpents, bears, etc. He belittled the strength of man in his pride.
Ravana could only be killed by a man. So Sri Rama had to show that He was an
ordinary man only. Otherwise, He would be disqualified for destroying Ravana,
if He exhibited Himself to be a God, according to the boon of Brahma.
To a devotee, Rama is not
simply a good and great person, but God Himself. Rama is the son of Dasaratha,
the King of Ayodhya, as well as the divine, omnipresent God; Self, Atman or
Brahman. The destruction of the ten-headed Ravana by Rama is the annihilation
of the mind with the ten senses. Worship of Rama is the worship of the Virat
Purusha Himself. Read the prayers offered by Mandodari and Brahma in the
Yuddha-Khanda of the Valmiki Ramayana. They refer to Rama as the one Creator of
the universe, the God of all, the Ruler of all.
Rama Navami falls on the ninth
day of the bright half of the month Chaitra (March-April). This is the birthday
of Sri Rama, the seventh divine Incarnation. In India, Sri Rama Navami Utsava
is celebrated for nine days with great fervor and devotion by the devotees of
Lord Rama. Some keep strict fast. Temples are decorated and the image of Rama
adorned with costly ornaments. The Ramayana is read in the temples.
May you all attain the final
beatitude of life through intense devotion towards Rama! May you live immersed
in the ecstasy of divine love and Suddha Prem! May Sri Rama, who is effulgent
like million suns, who is adored by the gods and devotees, protect you all!
May Lord Rama bestow His
choicest blessings on you all! May you all live drowned in the ocean of divine
ecstasy through constant repetition of Lord Rama’s Name.
May peace be unto all! May
prosperity be unto all! May happiness be unto all!
Let us all sing:
Om Sri Ram Jaya Ram Jaya Jaya Ram
Om Sri Ram Jaya Ram Jaya Jaya Ram.
Om Sri Ram Jaya Ram Jaya Jaya Ram.
Excerpts from:
Sri Rama - Hindu Gods and Goddesses by
Sri Swami Sivananda
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