Ramanavami : Celebrating the Birth of Lord Rama
Birthday or the day a person is born is a celebration not just for that person, but also for their near and dear ones. When spoken of in a logical frame of reference, birthday is an inception, a new beginning, a new chapter in the allegory named existence! And if the birth anniversary is that of the Lord himself, then it is not just special but also sacred, pious and divine for the whole mankind! Ramanavmi is one such celebration. It commemorates the birth of Lord Rama; one of the incarnations of Lord Vishnu, Son of King Dashratha and Kaushalya, consort of Sita, master of Hanuman and the Supreme Being in Hinduism.
Ramanavmi falls on the ninth day of the month of Chaitra in the Hindu calendar. It also marks the last day of the Chaitra Navratri festival and is one of the most revered and venerated festivals according to the Hindu religion. Lord Rama who is worshipped as the ‘Perfect Man’ or ‘Maryada Purshottam’ and who has been glorified as being the Lord of Virtue in Hinduism is believed to have incarnated on Earth to replace Adharma; immorality or the absence of virtues, with Dharma; conformity to religious virtues. His birthday is therefore regarded as a new dawn when the good was engendered and empowered to render the evil powerless. It is the genesis of an era; popularly known as Rama Rajya, that was to witness the triumph of righteousness over impiety.
On the day of Ramanavmi, shrines dedicated to Lord Rama are decorated with flowers and strings of lights and the statue of Rama just apposing with Sita and Lakshman is richly adorned. Devotees of Rama observe a day long fast and sing hymns of their Lord. Worshippers also narrate or listen to Ramayan, the story of Lord Rama on the day of Ramanavmi.
In the Northern parts of India, devotees also take out processions, called Rath Yatras, in honor of Lord Rama. The richly decorated Rath or Chariot with persons enacting as Rama, Sita, Lakshman and Hanuman move through the streets, thus recreating the time when Lord Rama had returned to Ayodhya after defeating Ravana. Similarly, in the Southern parts of India, worshippers of the Maryada Purshottam perform Kalyanotsavam, marriage celebration of Rama and Sita that culminates in a procession on the streets.
So let us all come together and celebrate Ramanavmi hoping for the revival of Ramarajya via virtues like righteousness, integrity, sanctity, piety, devotion, purity, luminance and loyalty towards others.
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