Rama nam, Gandhi and the freedom of India

Hari Aum.

My Guru Sivananda and other Gurus say that when a person recites a mantra or name of God over time, gradually he or she imbibes the virtues of that deity. He also says that the mantra transforms the physical, mental, moral and spiritual fibre of the person completely, removing all that is undivine, so that the divine alone shines from within.

The Indian freedom movement of the last century contained many great leaders with strong moral and spiritual fibre. One of the greatest among them was Mahatma Gandhi. Some people criticise Gandhi but the truth is that few, if any, of those who criticise him, could have achieved even ten percent of what he did. It is easy to criticise great souls from the comfort of one's armchair. It is difficult to do even half of what they did.

My Guru Sivananda wrote of Gandhi as a person who was primarily a spiritual seeker, a great soul. A person who lived, and died, uttering the name of God. You can read what my Guru says about Gandhi here. http://www.energyenhancement.org/sivananda/Sri-Swami-Sivananda-The-Path-Beyond-Sorrow-Chapter-16-Divine-Life-3-Mahatma-Gandhi-as-a-Spiritual-Seeker.html

The name of God that Mahatma Gandhi chose as his support in life was the name "Rama". Gandhi is often depicted as an aged man leaning on a staff. The real staff, that he leaned on and gained tremendous strength from all his life, was the name of Rama or 'Ram nam'. The essence of Gandhi was Rama nam.

Gandhi himself says "In the darkest hour of my trial, that one name has saved me, and is still saving me". "I may even say that the Word is in my heart, if not actually on my lips, all the twenty-four hours". You can see what Gandhi says about Rama nam here. http://www.gandhi-manibhavan.org/gandhiphilosophy/philosophy_god_ramanama.htm

According to Gandhi, my Guru and other yoga Gurus, the name "Rama" does not refer only to the avatar of Lord Vishnu who was born in Ayodhya a long time ago and played out an extraordinary Lila on this planet. It is not only the name of a great divine king who established dharma and destroyed adharma on this planet.

According to them, Rama is an eternal name or mantra. It existed long before the advent of the avatar Shri Rama, and will continue to exist forever. Rama represents the Unborn eternal Supreme Being, who has taken on all names and forms, and who is without any name or form. Rama is the Supreme Brahman of the Upanisads and Gita. All is Rama.

"Rama" is regarded both as a name of God, and also as a mantra of God. As the yogis say, God and His name are One.
The mantra Rama is said to be formed of the union of syllables from two other great mantras, namely Om Namo Narayanaya and Om Namah Sivaya.

The "Ra" in Om Namo Narayanaya is an important syllable and the heart of the mantra. If this is removed from the mantra, it takes on the opposite meaning.

The "Ma" in Om Namah Sivaya is an important syllable and the heart of the mantra. Removal of "ma" from this mantra, changes it meaning from auspicious to inauspicious.

My Guru and other Gurus teach that the union of "Ra" from Om Namo Narayanaya, and "Ma" from Om Namah Sivaya, creates a powerful two-syllable mantra "Rama". This mantra has been recited by great souls in India from the beginning of time. From Valmiki of ancient times, to Tulsidas and Kabir of the middle ages, to Papa Ramdas and Swami Chidananda of more recent times, so many saints of India have obtained their sainthood on the strength of Rama Nam.

Tulasidas lovingly says of the name of Shri Rama, that this is even greater than Shri Rama Himself. In the Ram Charit manas, he says that the avatar Shri Rama delivered Ahalya and a few others during His incarnation. But the Name of Shri Rama has delivered countless people from the suffering of samsara.

People say that India owes her freedom in great part to that great soul, that Mahatma, called Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. This is only part of the truth.

The truth is that India owes her freedom to Rama Nam, which was the inner essence of Gandhi.

It was Rama nam which transformed Gandhi from 'atma' (soul) into 'Mahatma' (great soul) and inspired him to fight for the freedom of India. The constant utterance of the mantra "Rama" by Gandhi, day in day out, all his life, made him a veritable instrument of Shri Rama. He was a tool in the hands of Shri Rama.

The whole independence of India was therefore founded upon the name "Rama". The building block of the free nation India, is Rama nam.  Indians owe their freedom today to Rama Nam.

Salutations again and again therefore, to that glorious and wondrous name of God, "Rama", which, along with granting spiritual freedom to so many, bestowed freedom to a whole nation called India, using Mahatma Gandhi as a vital instrument.

May Rama nam ever be revered in India, the nation which is spiritual mother of the world. May Indians live in the true spirit of Rama Nam, namely Ahimsa (non-violence), Satya (truth) and Dharma (goodness, justice for all).

Jai Sita Ram
Om Sri Ramaya Namah.
Om Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram.

Hari Aum Tat Sat

Shri Rama, saguna and nirguna Brahman

Hari Aum.

Om Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram.

I was mulling over the life of Lord Rama in recent days. I am reading the Ram Charit Manas by the great poet-saint Tulsidas. I am also watching the TV series 'Siya Ke Ram' these days; this is meant to be about the life of Sita and Ram. There is some controversy about this series as some people feel upset that certain details have been added that were not mentioned in the original Valmiki Ramayan (some details may have been added from other puranas for example and some may not be from any purana at all!).
However the overall broad storyline is the same as the original. My husband and I have been watching this together in the evenings and we both feel, that on the whole, it has been very well made. The characters act very well and the sets are excellent. It has been great to watch.

While I enjoy reading very much and like reading spiritual books, there is something special about watching a well-made play, movie, or indeed a television series on a spiritual topic. The characters literally come to life in front of your eyes. One watches as they talk, smile, laugh and weep. And when the acting is good, as I feel it has been overall in this series, one can feel really moved.

The life of Lord Rama in many ways is so tragic. He is the ultimate Mr Nice Guy. He is kind to all, towards humans and other species alike. He is a sweet and loving son, a dutiful brother, a caring and tender husband, a noble and great King. He takes care of everyone's needs at the cost of His personal welfare.
And in return for all this, His life was filled with tears and suffering for most of the time. First there was separation from His family (when He is exiled to the forest for no fault of His own), then later there was separation from His beloved wife Sita (when She is kidnapped by the Asura king Ravan), then a final separation from His wife again after returning to Ayodhya as a result of being forced to do so as per the wish of His public. He had to bow to their wishes as their King (though some say this last portion of sending Sita to the forest was a later addition to the original Ramayan written by Valmiki).

The final part where fate compels Rama to send Sita, His precious wife and very life, away forever, is probably the most depressing.
 During their exile in the forest, when He  discovered Sita was missing (after Ravan stole Her away), Rama goes into deep depression. He wanders desperately all over the forest, speaking to various trees and animals, asking them all if they have seen His beloved. He weeps and sheds countless tears.

For that same Rama, to later have to send away His own wife Sita to the forest, being forced to place His dharma as king above His and Her personal welfare, must have been exceedingly painful.

Yet He has always been judged negatively for this. When He and She stayed together in the palace as husband and wife after returning from Lanka, His people complained and judged Them both. The people felt is was improper for Him to accept Her back after She was Ravana's prisoner for a while- they felt this was setting a bad example for their relationships. The king in those days often had an attitude as the father, mother and servant of the people. The people had great power. Shri Rama was compelled to take their opinions into account and respect them, no matter how foolish and ignorant these were.

So in the interests of His ignorant public, Shri Rama was then forced to give up His wife, thus putting their wishes ahead of His own- as one might expect from a just and noble king. However He has been negatively judged by many for doing this too.
It just shows how sometimes one can never win. It seems people will always find a reason to criticise a great soul, even God Himself, no matter what He does. (I recently heard that last year some foolish person in India started a lawsuit against Rama to sue Him for cruelty to His wife for leaving Her. This person clearly has no clue that Rama and Sita are One- nobody can truly separate Them! This lawsuit was entirely meaningless therefore and absurd! The courts threw out this case as a waste of time obviously. That such foolish things happen today shows that the Lila of God is really incomprehensible).

Our Gurus and scriptures tell us that Rama is an Avatar of Lord Narayana. He is the Supreme Being, beginningless and endless. The vast sky bedecked with stars and planets, the multitude of creatures in existence, is only a tiny part of His extraordinary creation. He is the origin of the mind, intelligence, senses, everything. He is truly our father, mother, brother, sister, son, relative, friend, teacher/Guru and God. He is everything.

Yet in this human form (except in some places), He acts as though He knows this not (unlike His next Avatar as Lord Krishna who freely shows His Godliness through various deeds from infancy to adulthood). Unlike Lord Krishna who smiles His way through most of His life here, Lord Rama appears to suffer like any one of us might when separated from His family and wife.

And although we may say that Lord Rama, as God, can never really forget who He is (because God cannot ever forget His true nature) we cannot say that His tears and sadness are just an act. Because that would be belittling His suffering and, in a way, making light of it. No Shri Rama throws Himself completely into the role of being an ordinary human man, and experiences the joys and sorrows of life. His tears therefore would be quite painful for any devotee of His to see.

In fact, when God appears to cry, the devotee also feels most depressed. This is true in other puranic stories as well. For example, when Lord Shiva sees Sati's lifeless body and seems to experience tremendous pain and grief, His devotees hearing of this, would also feel that every tear from His eye breaks their hearts into a million pieces.
That the embodiment of goodness, nobility and all excellence, that One who has all virtues in the maximum degree should suffer is very depressing. Similarly every tear from Lord Rama's eyes would pierce His devotees hearts and cause great pain.
 Surely nothing is worse that seeing good people suffer (all suffering including that of criminals may be sad to see but in general many of us feel particularly upset when good people suffer). And equally nothing is worse that seeing God, the embodiment of all goodness, who does not deserve any suffering, appear to suffer.

We say He is all-bliss, all-knowledge, on one level He can never experience grief or pain. But on another level, in human form, as an Avatar, He can. And the yogis say, He exists in you and me, He Himself experiences all our joys and all our sorrows- for we ourselves are a part of Him.

The main bright spot in the life of Lord Rama, the one who brings comfort to Rama, is the valiant and noble Lord Hanuman. Any devotee of Lord Ram would be sunk in gloom after reading about His weeping and suffering in the absence of Sita. The arrival of Lord Hanuman on the scene brings immediate comfort to Rama and thus to His devotees. Lord Hanuman is devoted to Lord Rama as we would like to be, He is ever ready to serve the noble Shri Rama. Each time that Rama (who is the peace and strength of everyone including Hanuman) appears to falter, Hanuman steps in and gives Him peace and strength to carry on. It is a quite an extraordinary Lila.

I am just glad that Lord Rama's next Avatar as Lord Krishna seemed to enjoy Himself more. I don't think His devotees would be able to bear hearing of Him having another life of mostly suffering! From one perspective, neither Lord Rama nor Lord Krishna suffer in any way at any time. From a different perspective, They appear to.

And perhaps They choose to seem to enjoy and suffer in order to bless us who are their devotees. One who thinks constantly of God alone can attain God. It is hard for most of us to think about that Impersonal Supreme Being who is beyond thought, beyond feeling, nameless and formless (nirguna Brahman). Our mind, the tool for God-attainment, is designed precisely the opposite way to the impersonal. Our mind are filled with emotions, feelings, thoughts and rationalising about the people and things around us- about names and forms. Our mind can easily contemplate God with name, form, feelings and qualities (saguna Brahman).

When we read about the personal God, say Rama, Krishna, Shiva and the Divine Mother, and hear of their joys and sorrows, then we too as their devotees feel joy and sorrow. We rejoice at the wedding of Shiva and Parvati, the love between Radha and Krishna, the winning of Sita's hand by Shri Rama. We sink into gloom when we hear of Lord Shiva weeping over Sati, of Lord Krishna leaving Radha for Mathura, and of Shri Rama being separated from Sita.

Powerful emotions are often stirred up in us as a result of all this. A sense of concern for God Himself arises. This connects us to God very effectively. As Sivananda says, emotion directed to God is devotion. It is easy to spend the day feeling sad over the separation of Rama and Sita after watching an episode of Siya ke Ram! In this way, one easily spends the day contemplating Sita and Ram. It would not be so easy to contemplate the impersonal Brahman all day, for most of us anyway.

Hence I understand why the Gurus say that the path of the personal God, the saguna (with form/qualities/gunas) Brahman is so much more suitable for the people of today, rather than worshiping the nirguna (formless/without qualities) Brahman. Worship of either saguna or nirguna Brahman, leads to knowledge of the other aspect too- so both paths are equally valid. But the Gurus rightly say worship of the saguna form is easier and more effective for us today- and many of them worshipped God in the saguna form first and then realised Him in the nirguna aspect as well.

Hari Aum Tat Sat