Sri Ramavatar-Part II

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Of the various avatar, Sri Ramavatara is unique and glorious. While the earlier avatars only served a limited purpose, namely subduing the wicked and protecting the good, the main purpose of Ramavatara is Dharma -Samsthapana. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that the Lord chose the role of a man - an ideal human. The glory of the Ramavatar is the demonstration that the dharmic way of life could be lived by all in thought, word and deed, under all conditions and circumstances.

This has been achieved by Sri Rama in this descent by becoming the son of King Dasaratha.

"When the Supreme Lord who is sought after and proclaimed by the Vedas was born as the son of Dasaratha, the Vedas became the Ramayana. The Ramayana is Vedas in action". Ours is a spiritual culture which is enshrined in our scriptures, elaborated in our philosophy, practised in religion and lived in life. Sri Rama lived the Vedic injunctions like Sat yam vada, Dharmam chara, Mathrudevo bhava, Pitru devobhava, Acharya devo bhava etc. Though the epic Ramayana is known to all, its uniqueness, as an intensely human episode has a relevance to the present day world.

Thus, the Supreme came on the stage of life as Sri Rama, took the most difficult role as the son of Dasaratha and through His unlimited bliss bestowing qualities lived the Vedic way of life and through His father has set eternal object-lessons, capable of being emulated for generations to come. Choosing King Dasaratha as the father in itself is to serve the unique purpose of Ramavatar, that is Dharma Samsthapana by living a life of Dharma and setting an example to others as an audio-visual demonstration.

The purpose of a human avatar is to teach lessons to human beings. As stated in the Bhagawad Gita, "Whatsoever a great man does, that very thing other men also do; whatever standard he sets up, the generality of men follow the same". Born as the prince of Ayodhya, He was an embodiment of Dharma and showed through His father that eternal happiness lies only in renunciation, which has been the thundering theme of the Upanishads, namely "Immortality cannot be attained by activity, wealth or progeny but by renunciation alone".

However, the illustrious King Dasaratha thought that although he had everything, the cause of his unhappiness was the absence of progeny. This notion was not only dispelled by Sri Rama by becoming his son, along with His three brothers, but He also showed to His father and through him to the rest of the humanity by His own life and actions that true happiness lies in renunciation alone. By His abiding by the paternal command, He demonstrated His unique qualities of uncompromising adherence to truth and firmness in keeping a vow.

Everybody starting from King Dasaratha himself, followed by Kausalya, Lakshmana, the people of Ayodhya, Vasishta and others and lastly Bharata tried to persuade Sri Rama to stay in Ayodhya but failed miserably. Further, as one goes through the 24,OQO stanzas of Srimad Ramayana, one becomes charged with the multifarious divine qualities portrayed in the multiple roles played by Sri Rama in the human drama, as the ideal hero, a dutiful son, ideal brother, husband and king. Thus, the divine yet human qualities of Sri Rama which are vividly splashed in the Ayodhya Kanda of the epic and which every human being could imbibe and profit by are vividly reflected in the various facets of Ram avatar.

About the author

P.G.Ananthanarayan (Mani)

This article has been written by P.G.Ananthanarayan (Mani) for the Vedanta Vani of Chinmaya Mission.