The Name that Redeems

There is no Bharatiya [Indian] who has not heard the story of Rama, nor is there a village in Bharat [India] without a Rama temple. From time immemorial, every individual in Bharat has regarded Sri Rama’s life as an ideal, and has sought to sanctify every moment of his or her life by living up to it. Bharat has always considered the life of anyone devoid of spirituality as utterly valueless.

Sri Ramachandra was born on a day when the planet Shukra (Venus) entered Meena (Pisces). The month of His advent marked the beginning of Vasantha ritu (Spring), and was the time when the sun entered Mesha Rashi (Aries). Sri Rama’s incarnation as a human being was for the purpose of promoting peace and happiness in the world. “Ramo vigrahavaan dharmah”—“Rama is the very embodiment of righteousness.” It was as if righteousness itself had incarnated on earth.

Dharma [right action] and Rama are inseparable. He excelled not only in physical strength, but also in intelligence and character. It is impossible to describe all the virtues of Rama.

Every Avatar has six types of powers: all-encompassing prosperity, righteousness, fame, wealth, wisdom, and renunciation (or non-attachment). Every Avatar of God in every age and every place has these six attributes. Sri Rama had all of them in equal measure.

Truth & righteousness

In the Ramayana, satya (truth) and dharma (righteousness) are the most important concepts. The Vedas, which Bharatiyas regard as their very life-breath, proclaim: “Satyam vada; Dharmam chara” (speak the truth; act righteously). Truth is the foundation for all righteousness, and there is no greater religion than truth. In order to honor the plighted word of his father, Rama elected to leave Ayodhya and go to the forest. He stood firm to uphold truth and to fulfill the promise of his father, to maintain the traditions of the Ikshvaku dynasty in which He was born, to protect His country, and for the welfare of the world. Everyone who calls himself a human being should stand up for truth in the same manner. It is said of mahatmas (high-souled men) that their speech, their thoughts, and their deeds are in perfect accord. In the case of the wicked, their thoughts, words, and deeds are at variance with each other. By these definitions Rama was a mahatma and Ravana was a duratma (an evil-souled being).

Women symbolize the gunas

In the first twelve years of Rama’s life, He encountered three types of women. When He went with the sage Vishwamitra to protect the latter’s yagnas [holy rituals], He encountered the ogress Thataki and put an end to her without any compunction or aversion. After Vishwamitra’s sacrifice was completed, Rama went with the sage to Mithila [Sita’s home]. On the way, He came across Ahalya, a sage’s wife, who had been transformed into a rock. He absolved her of sin, gave her life, and restored her to her husband. At Mithila, He encountered Sita and accepted her in marriage without any hesitation.

What is the inner meaning of these three incidents? They show that even from his boyhood, Rama displayed extraordinary qualities and was an example to the world. Thataki, the first woman he encountered, symbolizes the tamas [one of the 3 gunas (inherent qualities) characterized by dullness and sloth] quality; He destroyed this tendency. Ahalya represents the Rajo guna [passionate quality]. He taught the right lesson to Ahalya and purified her. He accepted Sita who represented the satwic [pure] quality. Bhagavan approves of and accepts only that which is satwic. He values the satwic quality and He protects and fosters it.

Today all the three gunas—tamas, rajas, and satwa—are present in man in varying proportions. What does the presence of the tamo guna signify? It is natural for the tamasic person to regard untruth as truth, wrong as right, evil as good. Although the phenomenal world is impermanent and illusory, the tamasic minded person regards it as permanent and real.

The rajasic person lacks the power of dis-crimination and behaves without restraint by yielding to likes and dislikes. Impulsive action is characteristic of persons in whom the rajo guna is predominant. Because of hasty and impulsive action, they are subject to all kinds of difficulties. In the process, they waste their lives. People should try to avoid acting in haste. “Haste makes waste, waste makes worry. So do not be in a hurry.” In the quest for the Divine, there should be no hurry. Purity and serenity are required for God-realization. There can be no happiness for the man who lacks peace.

Saint Thyagaraja [a famous poet/composer of south India] said in one of his songs: “Without peace, there is no happiness.” Thyagaraja was a great devotee of Rama and had numerous experiences that he conveyed to the world through his songs.

Triple power of the name Rama

What is the inner meaning of the name Rama? The three syllables ‘R’, ‘A,’ and ‘Ma’ indicate the three causes for human birth, namely papamu (the sins one has committed), tapamu (the troubles one experiences), and ajnanamu (one’s ignorance). “Ra” represents the root letter for Agni [God of fire]. “Aa” represents the letter for the moon. “Ma” represents the root letter for the sun. What does Agni signify? It reduces everything to ashes; similarly, the letter “R” has the power to destroy all the sins committed by man. The letter “Aa” (symbolizing the moon) has the power of cooling the fevers man suffers from, and conferring peace on him. “Ma” represents the sun that dispels the darkness of ignorance and confers the illumination of wisdom. Hence, the word Rama has the right triple power of destroying sins, conferring peace, and dispelling ignorance.

When you utter the word “Ram,” you first open the mouth with the sound “Ra.” All your sins go out when your mouth is open. When you utter “M” by closing the mouth, the sins that have left cannot return. . Everyone should recognize the sweetness, the sacredness, and the divinity enshrined in the name “Rama.” It was for this reason that Thyagaraja sang: “Oh mind! Contemplate on the name of Rama with full awareness of its power.” It is good to utter the name Rama with full understanding of all that it signifies. But even without that understanding, the chanting of the name has the power to destroy all sins.

The glory of spring

We must learn to chant the sweet name of Rama with a pure, unsullied heart, in a spirit of selfless devotion. The deities representing the moon and the sun, dwell in the mind of man; intelligence is endowed by the sun. However two kinds of birds have got into the mind of man. One bird fosters the sense of “I” and “ mine” and fills the mind with ego. This is a destructive force. The second bird fosters the feeling of freedom from attachment and hatred. It signifies the power of the sun on the mind. Rama, who belongs to the solar race, adhered to the latter path.

There is a significant connection between the Rama principle and the Vasanta Ritu. In the spring, the trees put forth new leaves and flowers and fill the world with gladness. When the sun’s rays fall on the fresh leaves, they acquire a golden hue. The whole world puts on a glorious new look in spring. The beginning of the New Year is celebrated in various regions by the preparation of special edibles from a mixture of flowers and fruits from the neem and mango trees. In consuming these delicacies, people are reminded that life is a mixture of pleasure and pain, profit and loss, and both are to be treated with equal-mindedness.

In spring, the air is redolent with the fragrance of mango blossoms and the song of the kokila (cuckoo). There is joy in the air one breathes. The cuckoo calls are sweet to the ears, and never as sweet as in the spring. If a crow sits on our roof and caws, we want to drive it away, but we welcome the kokila’s song. Why this difference? The crow seeks nothing from us and the kokila has not given us anything. The difference lies in their voice. The crow’s cawing jars on the ears, while the kokila’s song is music to the ears.

God resides in the heart

Similarly when speech is sweet, the speaker becomes endearing; everyone should learn to speak sweetly and pleasingly. Sweet speech confers peace. It is the means to self-realization. Sri Rama loves to dwell in the heart of the person who speaks sweetly.

Once the sage Narada appeared before Lord Vishnu and said, “Oh Lord! I travel in the three worlds and I know the past, the present, and the future. If I want to convey any special information to you, to what address should I send it? I do not want your temporary address. What is your permanent address?” Vishnu replied, “Narada! Take down my permanent address: Madbhaktaah yatra gaayanthi tatra thhishtaami, Narada (Wherever my devotees sing my glories, I reside there.)”

People talk about various abodes for the Lord: Vaikuntha [heaven], Kailasa [the mountainous abode of Shiva, one of the Hindu trinity], Badrinath [holy place in the north of India], Kedarnath [holy place in the north of India] and so on. All these are only “care of” addresses. The permanent address is in the heart of the devotee. As the Gita says, “The Lord dwells in the heart of all beings.” Hence the heart is described as “Atma-Rama”—one who delights the atma (the heart) by His presence.

Offer your heart to the Divine

Whatever you do, do it not to please others, but to please the indweller in your heart, and for your inner satisfaction. This means acting according to the dictates of your conscience; this will please God. To derive self-satisfaction from your actions, you have to cultivate faith. When there is satisfaction, there is readiness for sacrifice. Through sacrifice, the Divine is realized. Your faith should be unwavering like that of the Pandavas in Sri Krishna.

All spiritual aspirants and devotees like Thyagaraja have had to experience many trials and tribulations. Even Pothana, the author of the Telugu Bhagavatam [the story of Sri Krishna], was subjected to great pressure to dedicate his work to a local chieftain. Pothana stood firm because of his strong faith in Sri Rama, and totally surrendered to Him. Rather than dedicate his works to a mere mortal, he was prepared to offer his heart and soul to Rama. He declared, “All that I have is yours. Whatever I receive or offer comes from you. I cannot claim anything as my own.”

Men go on pilgrimages to various holy places. When they are in Benares they offer the Ganga water back to the Ganga [a Hindu act of worship] while uttering the names of the Lord. What is the special value of such an offering? You must offer the Lord the heart that He has given you. That is true surrender. Lakshmana is the supreme exemplar of the doctrine of sharanaagati (surrender). He said, “I offer my wealth, family, and everything to you, Oh Rama! Protect me, who has taken refuge in you.” It was this total surrender that impelled Rama to observe, when Lakshmana lay stricken in the battlefield in Lanka, “Wives and kinsmen can be obtained in any country. But where can one get such a brother?” Rama thus exemplified the depth of fraternal attachment. The mutual love between Rama and Lakshmana was of the highest order.

After Ravana’s fall, Sugriva, Vibhishana, and others appealed to Rama to become the king of Lanka, which was a richly endowed land. Rama turned down the request saying that he could not give up his mother or his Motherland.

Face troubles with faith in God

Today everybody utters “Ram,” “Ram.” But very few follow the example set by Rama. They are not true devotees of Rama. At best they may be described as “part-time devotees.” True devotion means perpetual remembrance of the name of the Lord and constant meditation on that name, cherishing the figure of Rama in the heart.

You should be prepared to face the vicissitudes of life with firm faith in God. God is remembered during times of trouble. Confronting difficulties with faith is a spiritual discipline in itself. Although Rama was the son of the Emperor Dasaratha and son-in-law of King Janaka, He had to face many ordeals in life due to His determination to uphold dharma. The Pandavas went through many difficulties for the sake of righteousness; hence their name and fame remains forever. You should pray to the Lord to give you the strength to bear all troubles and face all difficulties. If you have even an atom of the grace of the Lord, a mountain of troubles can be overcome. Chaitanya declared, “If a fraction of the time that is spent in worrying about wealth, provisions, wife, children, friends, and business is devoted to contemplation on the feet of the Divine, one can face the messengers of death without fear and cross the ocean of samsara [worldly life]!”

It is not necessary to devote many hours to prayer. It is enough if one thinks of God with all his heart and offers himself even for a few moments. When lit, a single matchstick can dispel the darkness in a closed room. Mountains of cotton can catch fire with a single spark. Likewise, wholehearted utterance even once, of the name of Rama can destroy mountains of sins. But the chanting should not be done mechanically, rather, it should emanate from the depths of the heart. Having been born in this sacred land of Bharat, having before you the ideal example of the Rama Avatar, you must seek to redeem your lives, by living up to Rama’s ideals and proclaiming them to the world. Remember the name of Rama with love. The only means through which God can be realized is through love.

Source: Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 22