Importance of celeberating Sri Ram Navami

 Ram Navami is celebrated to proclaim the birth of Lord Sriram, the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The 9th day (Navami) in the bright fortnight of the Hindu lunar month of Chaitra is referred to as Ram Navami. On this day, when the five planets and the sun, etc. were in the first house of cancer at noon along with the lunar asterism Pushya, Ramachandra was born in Ayodhya. Several temples of Shriram celebrate this festival for nine days beginning from the first day (pratipada) of month of Chaitra (ie. from Ugadi Day).

This year Ram Navami falls on 8th April, 2014. On the occasion of SriRam Navami, let us know more about the ‘Maryadapurushottaman’ SriRam and His attributes and the importance of SriRam Navami and how to celebrate it.

Spiritual importance of RamNavami

    On the Jayanti day of any Deity, that deity’s principle (tatva) is more active on earth. On Sriram Navami, the principle of Sriram is 1000 times more active on earth, as compared to the other days. Inorder to get maximum benefit of Lord Sriram’s tatva, chant ‘Sri Ram Jay Ram Jay Jay Ram’ as much as possible on this day.

    When one undertakes the chanting of “Shree Ram Jai Ram, Jai Jai Ram” on this day, one benefits immensely from the increased proportion of Shree Ram principle on this day. Devotees worldwide who have chanted fervently this chant on this day have been bestowed with a number of spiritual experiences.

Attributes of Lord Rama

Name : Lord Rama’s Name was prevalent even before His birth. After His victory at Lanka, that is, upon demonstrating His Godhood, everyone started addressing Him as Srirama (Lord Rama).

Ideal in All Respects : Lord Rama is an example of the ideal son, brother, husband, king, friend and enemy.

The Follower of Righteousness (Dharma) : Lord Rama observed all decorum prescribed by Dharma; that is why He is referred to as ‘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 that era to have many wives, are His well-known attributes.

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

Lord Rama: An Ideal

The Ideal son        : He always obeyed His parents; at times even advised the elders.
The Ideal brother    : Rama-Lakshman’s love is cited as the ideal of brotherly love.
The Ideal husband    : He was devoted to His one and only wife. Kings, then, use to have many wives.
The Ideal friend    : He helped Sugreev, Bibhishan and many others during their difficult times.
The Ideal King    : He followed all codes of conduct for Kings as laid down in our scriptures.
The Ideal Enemy    : Bibhishan refused to perform the last rites of Ravan, his brother. Lord Rama said to him, ”If you do not do it, I will. He was my brother too!”
Maryadapurushottam : He represents the Supreme extent of Righteousness.

Shriram’s Human Nature

    He displays emotions of happiness & unhappiness just like 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 the Ramayana in our lives:

•    Lakshman refers to the focus on the soul, instead of the worldly.
•    Bharat signifies a seeker engrossed in the worship of radiance.
•    Shatrughna is the one who destroys the six foes (Shadripus) of the soul.
•    Rama, Sita and Lakshman together stand for spiritual knowledge, devotion and detachment respectively.
•    Hanuman is the activated Kundalini and
•    Ravana embodies the 6 enemies of a human being which are desire, anger, greed, attachment, vanity and envy. (Shadripus)

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 Ravana : Ravana was highly learned and possessed the knowledge of Righteousness (Dharma). Shriram had to destroy him, so that He could protect the embodied souls doing spiritual practice. Shriram acquired a gross body to help the souls pursue their spiritual aspirations appropriately.

Final Liberation : Many embodied souls completed their individual spiritual practice through the path of Knowledge (Dhyanyoga) but since their spiritual practice for the sake of society (Samashti sadhana) was incomplete, their spiritual practice for Final Liberation remained incomplete. In Satya-yuga there was no way to perform spiritual practice for the sake of society and as a result many embodied souls got stuck midway. For their progress and liberation, they were born as monkeys (vanars) during Shriram’s time. Some of the Gods who had been cursed were also born during this period as monkeys. In order to make all these embodied souls practice spirituality for the sake of society and their progress, Shriram acquired a gross body.

To set an ideal for the people: Shriram set an example through each and every action of His. He explained how an embodied soul can attain Final Liberation by acting in accordance with the scriptures.

He set an example of a Divine Kingdom for the people: When Righteousness (Dharma) manifested in the gross, Unrighteousness (Adharma) also manifested in the gross. Many embodied souls started troubling 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 as to how a Divine Kingdom should be. Shriram is an ideal of how selfless, free from desire and impartial a King can be!
Celebration of Ram Navami

    Several temples of Shriram celebrate this festival for nine days, beginning from Ugadi (the first day (pratipada) of the month of Chaitra). It is celebrated by periodic readings (parayanam) of the Ramayanam, organizing and attending spiritual discourses (kirtans) and beautifully embellishing Shriram’s statue. During these nine days, reciting the Ramaraksha prayer (stotra) eleven times daily with a resolve (sankalpam) brings the prayer to fruition, yielding benefits like reduction of speech impairment and other ailments, and gaining prosperity. On the ninth day, that is, on Sriram Navami a spiritual discourse on Shriram’s birth is held in the afternoon. At noon, a coconut, draped in a hooded cloak is placed in a cradle and rocked. The coconut signifies the baby Shriram. A red, fragrant powder (gulal) and flowers are showered onto it. Many places in North India host fairs in connection with the festival, culminating in spectacular fireworks on Rama Navami

How to worship Sriram?

Apply chandan (sandalwood paste) on the idol of Sriram with the ring finger (Anamika). Flowers like Champa (chembakam) and Chameli (pichi) can be offered to Sriram. Incense sticks with any of the above fragrance, can be lit. Do pradakshina around the idol three times or in multiples of three.

Ritualistic Worship (Puja)

    Since Shriram is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, He too is worshipped like Vishnu in sixteen steps (shodashopachar puja). Tulsi (a sacred and medicinal plant found in India) leaves are essential for His worship. Tulsi has the ability to attract the subtlest pure particles (pavitrakas) of Vishnu. It is even better if one can use Lotuses for the worship. Khir (a sweet delicacy made from milk and rice or vermicelli) or shira (a sweet delicacy made from semolina, pure ghee and sugar) is Lord Vishnu’s favourite sacrament (naivedya). Choosing the substances offered in the worship according to the science of Spirituality helps generate Divine consciousness (chaitanya) in the idol, so that it aids one’s spiritual progress.

RAMRAJYA

The ideal Ramrajya was like this!

    During the reign of Sriram, all His subjects too were wise.
1.    The subjects were leading a calm, peaceful and prosperous life.
2.    There was no place for crime, corruption and diseases.
3.    It was a period which did not invite natural disasters.

The subjects of Ramrajya were all followers of Dharma. That is why they got a sattvik and ideal ruler in the form of Sriram and hence they could experience Ramrajya (Divine kingdom).

Hindus bring back Ramrajya !

‘The subjects were happy in Ram Rajya; but in the ‘rule of Ravana called democracy’ the sujects are very miserable. To make the subjects happy let us destroy the present demoniacal rule of anti-national elements and establish Ram Rajya. To achieve this, spiritual practice and devotion are the need of the hour.’

Hindus should wake up and destroy the ‘Modern incarnations of Ravan’. The attacks on the Hindu Dharma are growing from the Christians, Muslims, atheists and all other anti-Hindus and yet Hindus are not retaliating. If the condition remains as it is then Hindu Dharma as well as Hindus will become extinct forever. Keep in mind that changes do not occur by big miracles, but acts within the common man’s reach.
Defamation of Shriram by modern incarnations of Ravan

1. Defamation on Orkut Community
    In 2007, many ‘communities’ were created in the website ‘Orkut’, which stooped to very low levels in their display of denigration of Lord ShriRam.

2. Defamation through shoes

    Minelli of Italy painted images of Shriram on shoes made by them and deliberately advertised this aspect. Hindus protested against this denigration and the company was compelled to withdraw their shoes from the market.
Such defamation of many Deities is taking place regularly through advertisements of products, films, serials, plays, advertisements, etc. It is the duty of each and every Hindu to take efforts to stop such denigration !

Inorder to re-establish a Ramrajya

1.    Everybody should follow Dharma and do spiritual practice (sadhana).
2.    Oust the corrupt politicians from their posts and select those candidates who abide by Dharma.
3.    Develop good qualities in the next generation and teach them to follow Dharma, and help them develop faith in God.
On this auspicious occasion of Sriram Navami, let us pray : ‘O Sriram, bestow on us the strength to establish Ramrajya!’