Ram Navami - Festivals
The birth of a hero
Ram Navami is a festival that celebrates the birth of Lord Rama, the son of King Dasharath. It was a joyous occasion in Ayodhya all those centuries ago when King Dasharath's heir was finally born. It was like a dream come true for the king as the lack of an heir had troubled him sorely for many years.
Lord Rama is an avatar of Lord Vishnuwho came down to earth to battle the invincible Ravana in human form. Lord Brahma had been receiving complaints from all the gods about the havoc that Ravana was wreaking on earth, but because Lord Brahma had granted Ravana so many boons, he could not be killed by a god. But Ravana had become so overconfident that he would never expect an attack from a human being. So Lord Vishnu agreed to go to earth in the guise of Prince Ram, the son of King Dasharath and Queen Kaushalya.
The story of Lord Rama as told in the great epic Ramayana is one that most Indians know irrespective of caste, creed and religion. Lord Rama is a legendary figure, the epitome of all that is good and true, the man who vanquished the demon king Ravana. Lord Rama is not just a hero, but has been given the status of a god by the Hindus. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that his birth is celebrated year after year with great pomp and enjoyment on the ninth day after the new moon in Sukul Paksh (the waxing moon), which falls sometime in the month of April.
The festivities
So how is Ram Navami celebrated? Some people choose to fast on this day. The diet of such a person would include potatoes made in any form without haldi (turmeric), garlic, ginger or onion. He can also eat fruit and root vegetables of any kind. Curd, tea, coffee, milk, and water are also permitted.
Bhajans praising the exploits of Lord Rama, his loyal brother Lakshman and his devoted wife Sita are sung. The house is swept clean and pictures of Lord Rama, Lakshman, Sita and Hanuman are put on a dais in preparation for the puja. Flowers and incense are kept before the deities. There are two thaalis kept ready in the puja area. One contains the prasad and the other the items necessary for the puja like roli, aipun, rice, water, flowers, a bell and a conch.
First, the youngest female member of the family applies teeka to all the male members of the family. A red bindi is applied on the foreheads of all the female members. Everyone participates in the puja by first sprinkling the water, roli, and aipun on the gods and then showering handfuls of rice on the deities. Then everybody stands up to perform the arti at the end of which ganga jal or plain water is sprinkled over the gathering. The singing of bhajans goes on for the entire puja. Finally, the prasad is distributed among all the people who have gathered for worship.
With best 
regards,amarnathgiri@nagarjunagroup.
M.Sc.,Ph.D & DIPLOMA AS - P.G.D.E.P.L,CES, DCA,
IGIDR-MUMBAI
1. Ramayan
1.1 Origin and meaning
A. The word Ramayan (रामायण) has been derived from two words ram (रं) and ayan (अयन). Ram ramayate (रम् रमयते) means to remain engrossed in one’s target. It is with reference to remaining engrossed in Bliss which is derived from spiritual practice. Ayan means the seven regions (saptalokas). The Ramayan preaches how to attain the Final Liberation (Moksha) crossing the seven regions, remaining engrossed in spiritual practice, that is in Bliss.
B. ‘In the quote “SamasyaayanamRamayanam” (समस्य अयनं रामायणम्) “ayan” means speed, the path or to go. “Ramayan” is thus that which leads one to The Supreme Lord, Shrirama, inspires or enthuses one or rather endows one with the speed to reach The Lord or shows one the real path in life. It also means that, that which includes the main story of the destruction of the unrighteous Ravan by the righteous Rama is the “Ramayan”. Ayan also means shelter. Rama’s existence itself is the Ramayan.’
1.2 Various Ramayans
A. The ValmikiRamayan: There are several Ramayans, but the ValmikiRamayan is considered to be the standard among them. The ValmikiRamayan does not include parts written by other authors just like the other Ramayans. The opinions of various researchers about this Ramayan are as follows.- When the fisherman Valya undertook chanting for sixty thousand years he finally became Sage Valmiki. According to another school of thought Sage Valmiki’s real name was Ratnakar, not Valya the fisherman. Valmik is the name of a species of ants which builds anthills. These ants built an anthill on the body of a sage named Ratnakar. Hence people began calling him Sage Valmiki.
- Ram was born a hundred and fifty years after Sage Valmiki wrote the Ramayan. According to some the Ramayan was written in the Satyayug and Rama was born in the Tretayug.
- Sage Dhoumya was a friend of Sage Valmiki and Sage Bharadvaj. He has written the holy text Agnidhumavati on the spiritual practice by inhalation of smoke (dhumrasadhana). Sage Valmiki and Sage Dhoumya lived together for twenty-two years. Sage Dhoumya made twenty-four amendments in the original Ramayan. Actually what we call the ‘ValmikiRamayan’ should be the ‘DhoumitRamayan’. The original ValmikiRamayan was never available. The ValmikiRamayan in use today is the one written in the Puranic period.
Sage Valmiki had taken a vow of not leaving the ashram (kshetrasanyas); hence Sage Dhoumya propagated the Ramayan. It was He who preached to everyone that Ram would be born and that the Ramayan would actually occur. He even told Sage Vasishtha whose ashram was situated at Prayag (Allahabad) in Vindhyachal about Ram.
C. The JainRamayan and the Buddha Ramayan: The biography of Ram is so ideal that in the later period the Jains and the Buddhists began to feel that even their religions should be enriched with it. Hence the Jain and Buddha Ramayans were written.
D. The AdbhutRamayan: This has been written around the fourteenth century. It is also known as Adbhutottarkand. It is in the form of a conversation between Valmiki and Bharadvaj. In this Sita is depicted as the deity Kali instead of the usual sattvik (sattva predominant) chaste woman (pativrata). It is said that seeing that Ram was unable to slay Ravan She Herself slayed him.
E. The Adhyatma-ramayan: This is in the form of a conversation between Uma and Shankar. Uma makes a prayer to Shankar, “The Path of Devotion (Bhaktiyoga) is a superior one to attain The Lord. But due to varied opinions I am not convinced of His nature. So please endow Me with Your grace and reveal His true form to Me.” In response to this Shankar narrated the Adhyatma-ramayan to Her.
The ValmikiRamayan is the basis of this holy text, but in some places a few variations are seen. This holy text is also known as the Adhyatma-rama-charit and the AdhyatmikRamasanhita.
F. The TulsiRamayan: This is more devotional, while the ValmikiRamayan is more historical. (This is akin to the Bhagvat which is more devotional and the Mahabharat which is more historical.)
2. Origin of some Names of Ram
2.1 Ram
This Name was prevalent even before the birth of Ram.2.2 Ramchandra
Ram’s original Name is only ‘Ram.’ He is a descendant of the sun dynasty (suryavanshi). Inspite of being born at twelve noon He was not named with names such as Rambhanu which incorporate a name of the sun. Later from the incident in which as a child He obstinately cried to have the moon (chandra), He was probably named Ramchandra.2.3 Sree Ram
When Ram returned with Sita after His victory at Lanka He was called Sree Ram. ‘Sree’ is an adjective used for The Lord. When Ram revealed that He was an incarnation of God, everyone started calling Him Sree Ram. In the ValmikiRamayan, Ram is not referred to as God but is called ‘the Supreme Man (narapungav).' [Hanuman is referred to as ‘the supreme monkey (kapipungav).' However by itself the word pungav means a bullock.]3. Ram’s family and incarnations
When the Lord incarnates other deities too incarnate along with Him. Based on this rule, when Sree Vishnu assumed the incarnation of Ram the other deities who followed suit as well as the other incarnations who accompanied Him are described in the following table.| Ram and His family | Whose incarnation? |
| 1. Ram | Vishnu |
| 2. Sita | Divine Energy (Shakti) of Vishnu |
| 3. Lakshman | Adishesh |
| 4. Bharat | The conch |
| 5. Shatrughna | The discus |
| 6. Maruti | The eleventh Rudra, Shiva |
4. Special features
4.1 Ideal in all aspects
A. The ideal son: Though Ram obeyed His parents, at times He also advised the elders. For instance when leaving for the forest He exhorted His parents not to grieve for Him.B. The ideal brother: Even today people quote Ram-Lakshman’s love as the ideal illustration of brotherly love.
C. The ideal husband: Ram was devoted singly to His wife.
Even after abandoning Sita, Ram lived in detachment. Later when He performed a sacrificial fire (yadnya) He placed Sita’s idol by His side but did not choose another wife. During those days it was a practice for kings to have several consorts. Taking this background into consideration this depicts His faithfulness to only one wife.
D. The ideal friend: Ram helped Sugriv, Vibhishan, etc. during catastrophes in their lives.
E. The ideal king: When His subjects expressed doubts about the chastity of Sita, ignoring His personal relationship with Her, He abandoned Her in accordance with the code of Righteousness of the ruler (rajdharma). In this context, Kalidas a famous poet has written a meaningful verse (shloka) - ‘कौलिनभीतेन गृहन्निरस्ता न तेन वैदेहसुता मनस्त: ।’ which means ‘fearing social stigma Rama drove Sita out of His home, but not out of His mind’.
F. The ideal enemy: After Ravan’s death when his brother Vibhishan refused to perform his last rites, Ram told him, “Enemity ends with death. If you do not perform his last rites, I will. He is My brother as well.”
4.2 Follower of Righteousness (Dharma)
He followed all the bounds of Righteousness. Hence He is referred to as ‘Maryada-purushottam’, the Supreme limit of Righteousness.4.3 True to His word
A. Generally when one has to emphasize a point one says ‘I am speaking the truth thrice’. Similarly, the word ‘Shantihi (शांति:)’ is recited thrice. The word ‘thrice’ is used with the following two meanings.
B. In Sanskrut grammar there are three nouns, singular (ekvachan), dual (dvivachan) and plural (bahuvachan). Ram was ‘singular’. This implies that one should merge into Ram, that is traverse from three (many) to one. In spirituality, progress occurs as one goes from many to one and then from one to zero. Here, zero refers to the absolute incarnation, Lord Krushna.
- To speak taking the oath of the trinity, Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh.
- The word trivar (त्रिवार) meaning thrice is derived from tri (त्रि) and var (वार), that is three days. If one gets the same dream on three consecutive nights, then it is said to be a spiritual dream. One should either act accordingly or ask a spiritually evolved person about it. Similarly only if something is heard thrice should it be considered to be the truth. Rama however, was true to His word, that is once He uttered something it was the ultimate truth and there was no need to emphasise that point again three times.
C. According to geometry three depicts the three dimensions but Ram is unidimensional.
4.4 The one who struck his target with only one arrow
Rama could strike the target with an arrow at the first shot. There was never a need for a second one.4.5 Human nature
Rama displays emotions of happiness and unhappiness just like human beings. Hence one feels more attracted to Him than to other deities. For instance, after Sita’s abduction, Rama became melancholic. However in such circumstances how the God principle in Rama was intact will be clear from the ensuing conversation between Shiv (Shankar) and Parvati, quoted below.Parvati: Just see how the one whose Name You chant is grieving for His wife like an average mortal.
Shankar: That grief is namesake. He has to do that as He has assumed a human form.
Parvati: Ram is wandering about embracing the trees. That proves He is really pining for Sita.
Shankar: Why don’t You experience whether what I said is true or false, Yourself? Assume the form of Sita and appear before Him. Then observe His behaviour.
Parvati did as Shankar had said. Seeing Her Ram offered obeisance to Her and said, “I have recognised You. You are the Great Illusion (Adimaya).” With this Parvati was convinced that Ram’s bereavement was but a superficial display.
4.6 Ram’s servant (Ramdas) and Ram’s kingdom (Ramrajya)
Rama’s servant (Ramdas): This word has two meanings.- The servant (das) of Ram
- The one whose servant is Ram!
- During His times, that is in the Tretayug Ram alone was not wise, His subjects too were prudent. Hence during His reign not a single complaint was brought to His court.
- The real kingdom of Ram (implied meaning): Absolute control over the five sense organs, five motor organs, mind, subconscious mind, intellect and ego by Ram (Atmaram - the soul principle) dwelling in the heart itself is Ram’s real kingdom.
4.7 Principle, ability and manifest energy
The meaning of these words is given under the point ‘Principle, ability and manifest energy’.- Principle: Vishnu principle 75% (Vishnu / God = 100%)
- Ability: Creation 20%, sustenance 50% and dissolution 30%
- Manifest energy: 75%
Look at the picture of the fivefold family of Ram (Rampanchayatan) including Hanuman, given below and decide from whom one can experience energy? Only then read further.
 Rama panchayatan |
| Looking at whom? | Presence or absence of a spiritual experience |
| 1. Rama | Present 2 |
| 2. Lakshman | 2 |
| 3. Bharat | 0 |
| 4. Shatrughna | 0 |
| 5. Sita | 10 |
| 6. Hanuman | 5 |
| Absent 10 | |
| Total | 29 |
10 out of 29 seekers did not perceive anything. Out of the 19 who perceived something, half that is 10 of them sensed the energy in Sita. This experiment illustrates why Sita is referred to as the Energy of Rama. 5 seekers experienced Energy in Maruti. From this one will realise why the manifest energy in Maruti is much greater than in other deities.
Reference:‘Vishnu and His forms’, published by SanatanSanstha