Ram Navami is the day when Lord Rama is believed to have
incarnated on Earth. This is the day that is most revered and respected by the
devotees of Lord Rama. It falls on the ninth day, that is the last day, of the
Chaitra month of the Hindu calendar, and this year it is to fall on 5th
April 2017. Ram Navami is a celebration of the birth of the Lord himself,
making it one of the most sacred, divine, and pious day of the year. Son of
King Dashratha and Queen Kaushalya, and consort of Mata Sita, Lord Rama is one
of the most important incarnations of Lord Vishnu. He was the 7th avatar from
the ‘Dashavatar’ of Lord Vishnu.
Lord Rama is also known as ‘Maryada Purshottam’ meaning the perfect man, and has been glorified
as being the ‘Lord of Virtue’ in Hinduism. He took birth to fight Adharma
(immorality, evil, and vice), and replace it with Dharma (conformity to
religious virtues). This is why he is always referred to when ‘victory of good
over evil’ is thought or spoken about. His era of Ram Rajya witnessed the victory of morality and justice over sin
and wickedness.
On this day, temples dedicated to Lord Rama are decorated
beautifully with flowers and lights, and the statues of the Lord along with those
of Mata Sita and Lakshman are also adorned and ornamented. Devotees observe
fast on this day and sing hymns of the Lord. The story of Ramayana is also
narrated on this day for the devotees to hear and connect to the Lord. Also,
processions are carried out by the devotees in honour of Lord Rama in the
Northern parts of India. People dressed up as Lord Rama, Mata Sita, Lakshman,
and Hanuman are seated on a richly decorated chariot, that is moved through the
streets of various cities, depicting the return of Lord Rama to Ayodhya after
defeating Ravana. On the other hand, devotees in the Southern parts of India
perform ‘Kalyanotsavam’ – the wedding
celebration of Lord Rama and Mata Sita – as part of processions on the streets.
There are other devotes who celebrate the occasion as a 9 day festival by
organizing an Akhand Paath of the Ramacharitamanas. This involves Havan, keertan, bhajans, Aarti, and
distribution of prasad. Many devotees also observe fast for all the nine days
of the Chaitra Navratri to get blessings from the Lord; while there are others
who observe fast only on the first, fifth, and ninth day of the Navratri
festival.
Let us all come together this year and celebrate Ram Navami
to pray to the Lord for blessing us with integrity, purity, morality, truth, justice,
and goodness. Because Lord Rama is ultimately a form of Lord Vishnu, you can
also move towards pleasing him by praying to any of his form (avatar). One such
means is by performing a Satyanarayan Puja. Satyanarayan is also an avatar of
Lord Vishnu, and people perform this Puja on a full moon day or on special
occasions like graduation, new job, marriage, new business, purchase of a new
home, etc. You can also pray to the Almighty to seek his blessings by performing
the Satyanarayan Puja in the most appropriate way by appointing proficient and
expert MakeMyPuja Pandits.
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