Sri Rama Appearance Day

bija · April 14, 2008

Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krsna!

Went for small walk today to buy fruits, dairy, and nuts for Sri Rama feast offering tonight. I am going to make a cardamon banana milk sweet, simple fruits,cheese and nuts. Was doing jaap while walking....Nityananda Nityananda Nityananda! Meditating on the brother of Sri Rama. I noticed the fragrance of the eucalyptus trees on the side walk, the fragrance reminding me of the forest where Sri Rama lived. I picked one leaf from the tree, offered it to the Lord of the Forest within my heart, and then took the prasadam of the Divine smell, for rememberance of this Holy Day.

Lord Sri Ramacandra is a powerful incarnation of God as the ideal king. He appeared in Treta Yuga more than two million years ago. Under the order of his father Maharaja Dasaratha, Lord Ramacandra lived in the Dandakaranya forest for 14 years, along with his wife Sita Devi, and his younger brother Laksmana. After the powerful demon Ravana kidnapped his wife, Lord Ramacandra retrieved her, with the help of his faithful servant Hanuman, and killed Ravana along with Ravana's armies. The history of Lord Ramacandra's pastimes are recorded by the sage Valmiki in the Ramayana.

See also Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.22, 2.7.23-25, 5.19.1-8, and Canto Nine chapters 10 and 11 (copied from my vaisnava calendar reminder)

Dark Warrior · April 14, 2008

This is a good thread. I will post a bit on Ramayana here, and I hope others will post their experiences here as well.

Yatra yatra raghunatha kirtanam;

Tatra tatra kritha masthakanjalim;

Bhaspavaari paripurna lochanam;

Maarutim namata raakshasanthakam

"We bow to Maruti, Sri Hanuman, who stands with his palms folded above his forehead, with a torrent of tears flowing down his eyes wherever the Names of Lord Rama are sung".

Srimad Ramayana is the account by Valmiki of Sri Hari's avatar as Ramachandra. The Supreme Being acted as human in respect of His own laws, to kill Ravana.

Sri Rama is often referred to as, 'Krishna in disguise', because He chose to hide His divinity, rather than manifest it openly.

But Srimad Ramayana is much more than that. It is truly the '5th Veda' in the sense that Lord Rama and His divine associates acted in a way that established the truth of the Vedas.

There are many gems in Srimad Ramayana. Let me outline the Kalyana Gunas of Raghava, as gleaned from this text.

Devotional Service

It is believed that Sri Krishna avatara was alone the most accessible of all. But this isn't entirely true. While Lord Krishna was certainly more playful, Lord Rama chose to highlight His desire to give His devotees a chance to perform service to Him.

Sri Hari came as Sri Rama. To serve Him, came His brothers, Lakshmana, Bharata, and Shatrughna.

There is a significance to this. Lakshmana was never separated from Sri Rama and always endeavoured to serve Him in closeness. This represents the devotee who never wants to be separated from the Lord, and always serves the Lord.

Bharata was separated from the Lord for 14 years. Yet, He rendered faithful service to the Lord, always remembering Him while performing his daily duties. Bharata's position is similar to Jivas like us, who cannot see the Lord as He is, and yet wish to serve Him.

Shatrughna is undoubtedly, the greatest of devotees. Because, rather than serving the Supreme Lord, Shatrughna was more intent on serving Bharata, the devotee of the Lord. And this is the lakshana of a Vaishnava - He should always place the Lord's devotees on a pedestal above the Lord Himself. In fact, the devotee of the Lord is far superior to the Lord, and hence, He is to be shown the greatest respect.

The fact that Bharata's service is greater than even Lakshmana's is illustrated by the incidents in Ramayana where Bharata is eulogised by Guha, Sugriva, Hanuman, Vashishta and even Ravana!! In one episode, when Ravana is informed of Rama's might, Ravana replies, 'I am aware that Bharata's brother is indeed great'. Rather than saying 'Lakshmana's brother', Ravana says, 'Bharata's brother'. Thus, the greatness of the Lord is amplified only by the fact that He is the brother of Bharata!!

Bharata's service also differed from Lakshmana in this sense - Lakshmana made his own decisions often. When Sri Rama said, 'do not accompany me to the forest', Lakshmana did not obey Him. When Sri Rama urged Lakshmana to show restraint to His enemies, Lakshmana did not obey. Thus, Lakshmana did great devotional service to Lord Rama and earned praise by simply NOT obeying Him!!

Bharata, on the other hand, obeyed Rama's command to rule Ayodhya in His absence, and did not accompany Rama to the forest. This shows how great devotees can choose different ways to serve the Lord.

Ramayana can indeed be called Bharatayana, as Bharata's service is lauded by even the narrator Valmiki Maharishi, and by all the persons who came into contact with Sri Raghava.

Lord Hanuman was also an exemplary devotee. He performed a service that was a mixture of both Lakshmana's and Bharata's. In some instances, he would never be separated from Sri Rama, but at the same time, He was willing to serve Him even during separation, like when he went in search of Sita. He earned many accolades by acting as the Lord's messenger, ie, when he discovered Sita being held at Lanka, when he went to inform Bharata of the Lord's return, etc.

In fact, the Lord was so enamoured of Sri Anjaneyar's service as a messenger, that He decided to imitate His devotee in Krishna Avatara. That is why Sri Krishna kept acting as a messenger for Pandavas. It is a well known fact that one of the kalyana gunas of the Lord is that He always wants to imitate His devotees. But there is also the point that He never succeeds in that fully either!! Therfore, Sri Krishna, just couldn't measure up to Lord Hanuman as a messenger.

It is all part of His lila. Srimad Ramayana contains a lot more than what I have told here. If anyone is interested, I will post some more stuff later on.

bija · April 14, 2008

Thank you, what a wonderful read about devotional service and intimacy.

The sun has just gone down here, and sweet banana milk pudding, fruits, and nuts prasadam was honored. A small kirtan in service to the saints in Guru Parampara was performed to enhance their loving moods, and reading about Sri Rama, and also the glories of Sri Caitanya were sung.

I hope this thread can sing the glories of Sri Rama over the next few days.

I am in ignorance of His glories.

Valmiki Ramayana can be read here