From a satsang with Paramacharya of SWAHA, H.H. Pt. Hardeo Persad
In the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita, the Lord say that whenever righteousness is on the decline and unrighteousness is on the ascendant, and His devotees are in distress, He manifests himself from time to time. Whenever these three conditions have existed on earth, the Supreme Lord has manifested to deliver His devotees from their circumstances and to re-establish dharma (righteous conduct). More than 5,000 years ago, on the 9th day in the month of Chaitra, the Lord manifested on this earth in human form as Maryada Purshottam, Prabhu Shree Raam.
Who is Shree Raam? Is He the prince of Ayodhya and the son of King Dashrath and Queen Kausalya? His earthly brother, Lakshmanji, answers that question. He makes the point that life is nothing but an empty dream unless one realizes the Supreme Being. Shree Raam is that Supreme Objective. In order to achieve that objective, one must be genuinely devoted in mind, word and deed to the feet of Shree Raam. Shree Raam is ultimately Raam Brahm.
Hinduism states that God is known, unknown and beyond the unknown. Brahm is described as being indescribable and infinite, without beginning, middle or end. Thus, while Shree Raam assumes a known form as the prince of Ayodhya, and son of Dashrath and Kausalya, He is also the omnipresent, omniscient Brahm. He is the Supreme Purush (Person), manifested. He is the form of Paramartma (the Supreme Soul). As humans, our minds are conditioned to think in images, names and forms. We are limited by space, time and causation in this world of duality. We cannot conceptualize that which is formless and infinite. Therefore, the Ultimate Objective, the Supreme Being, is personified in the form of Shree Raam.
Shree Raam is that Spirit that is imperceptible, the One without a second. He is incomparable, indescribable and without differentiation. The Vedas have expressed the Supreme as “neti, neti”, “not this, not that”, expressing the difficulty of the human mind to comprehend the formless, infinite Supreme. Shree Raam is that Supreme Purush, the divinity assuming a human form and enacting his divine plays on earth so that we may better understand Him, His purpose and our true natures. He says He manifests Himself for the sake of His devotees, Mother Earth, the Devtas, the Brahmins and the cows. By listening to the kathas of Shree Raam, one can free oneself from all entanglements of the world and be freed from all problems. By identifying with His leelas (divine acts) on earth, we learn to identify with Him more and more. Eventually, through constant spiritual practice, we will identify totally with Him. This is the power of the Ramaayan.
As the Avataar manifests, there are two qualities that He displays. As tatastha lakshan, God behaves as a man in human form; as svarupa lakshan, He manifests as a human, but at times acts in accordance with His true nature and behaves as a God while in human form. Each of us, as matter (the body) and spirit are tatastha lakshan. We act according to the world, but svarupa lakshan, spirituality and divinity, is our essence. We should always remember that we are sparks of that divinity. The scriptures aid us in this journey to identify the ultimate objective of life, which is to realize “Aham Brahmasmi”, “The Lord and I are One.”
As we celebrate the birth of Shree Raam, let us remember that He is the Supreme Being Himself, who manifested on earth to fulfil His divine purpose of re-establishing dharma and saving His devotees. By identifying with Him through glorification and other spiritual practices, we will eventually realize the truth of our own divinity.
