Ram Navami is the birthday of Shri Rama. It generally falls in the Shukla Paksha on the Navami, the ninth day of the month of Chaitra in the Hindu calendar that is in the month of March- April of English calendar. It is also known as Chaitra Masa Suklapaksha Navami, and marks the end of the nine-day Chaitra-Navratri celebrations. This year Shri Ram Navami is going to be celebrated on Tuesday, April 8.
This festival lasts for the whole nine days of the Navratra, thus the period is called ‘Sri Rama Navratra or Vasanth Navaratra. It is marked by continuous recitals, Akhand Paath of the Shri Ramacharitamanas with devotional songs, bhajan, kirtan and distribution of prasad after the puja and aarti. On the ninth day, vigrah of infant form of Sri Rama Lalla is placed on Palana and rocked by devotees.
Lord Rama stands in front of the whole world as an ideal king, son, brother, husband and father. He taught us how to respect our Gurus, teachers, parents, elders, women, and youngsters. He showed to the world that all living creatures need to be respected, cherished, and loved as precious lives.
He as a prince experienced all the good and bad life situations with a balanced mind and became a role model. Shri Rama’s heart always overflowed with love, generosity, humility, and a sense of duty. Later, as a king he provided full liberty and freedom to his citizens to express their feelings, problems, and complaints to their leaders without any fear and hesitation.
Shri Rama’s primary message is that fulfill your duty without any selfish motives; put other people before yourself. When he was exiled to the forest, Shri Rama did not complain. He did not fight back in anger. Rather, he helped his father fulfill his promise given to his step mother.
He lived his life according to Hindu Dharma as a son and as a future king. He did not even once think about himself, his own comforts, and his own rights.
Rather, he abided by his dharma, principles, and his duty. Greedy desires can never be fulfilled, and the ceaseless quest for them brings only frustration. Therefore, regardless of how smart we are, how rich we are, or how beautiful we are, we are demons if our hearts are filled with anger and greed. Thus, in essence, the difference between Lord Rama and Ravana is as the following. Both were kings; both were learned in the scriptures; both were charismatic; both were beautiful. But, the ideal Hindu Dharmik life lead by Rama made him a god and non-ideal Adharmik life lead by Ravana made him a demon king.
In the present world, the celebration of Shri Ram Janma Utsav has more relevance and usefulness than before because Lord Ram exemplified himself as a perfect person – ‘Maryada Purshottam’. He showed us how to embody the divine spirit on Earth, how to live our lives in accordance with dharma and the divine principles.Our desires and wishes for comforts, contentment, prosperity, and happiness will be fulfilled only after the celebration of Shri Ram Avatar.
The incarnations and preaching of Trinity in Hinduism are not meant only for Indian subcontinent but for the whole universe and everyone on this earth to follow and live a worthy and meaningful life. In this connection, Lord Ram’s avatar and His current Janma Utsav is to bless the whole universe and to establish ideal principles in this world. Balakanda reference says that Lord Rama incarnated for the welfare of this universe:
Everyone should participate in Shri Ram Janma Utsav to learn lessons from the Ramayan and from the glorious examples of Shri Rama’s life and obtain His blessings for your bright future, prosperity, and bliss.On behalf of Hindu Mandir of Lake County, I invite all of you to come with family, friends, and relatives and participate in Shri Ram Janma Utsav to be held on Tuesday, April 8 from 6:00pm to 8:30pm and make use of this auspicious opportunity to have Darshan of Lord Ram Lalla and Palana seva.
Pandit Anil Joshi is the Priest at Hindu Mandir of Lake County, Grayslake, IL
Pandit Anil Joshi
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