22nd Jan 2024
‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony being performed today at Ayodhya is a sacred consecration ritual that breathes life into an idol, transforming it into a divine entity. The ritual leads to a sacred union of the divine and the material aimed at bridging the gap between devotees and the object of their adoration.
The consecration of Ram Lalla in Awadhpuri heralds the proclamation of the establishment of ‘Ram Rajya’ in India.
The true ‘Ram Rajya’ however shall be established only if we imbibe the values of Lord Ram, the beloved King who is the root of the tree of all Dharma. He is the full moon, giving delight to the ocean of ‘Viveka’ or discrimination and the sun for the lotus of Vairagya. He is the destroyer of sin, the dispeller of the darkness of ignorance and the destroyer of pain. In the act of destroying the masses of clouds of delusion he acts like wind.
Lord Rama is much more than simply being name of a Hindu god. The beauty of Lord Rama lies in his character, not in his name.
Lord Rama can be simply described as a man who displays perfect moral as well as social behaviour. Lord Rama, in the words of Swami Vivekananda, is “the embodiment of truth, of morality, the ideal son, the ideal husband and above all, the ideal king”.
He is a symbol of the victory of right over the evil. Lord Rama characterizes how a man should fulfill his moral commitments and should strictly follow his limits so that social order can be maintained. It is precisely due to this fact, he is known as “Maryada Puroshotam” or “The man of limits”.
Lord Rama is known for his adherence to Dharma, which means righteousness or moral duty. He always followed the path of Dharma, never wavering from his moral principles even in the face of great adversity.
Our society realizes the strong value system that revolves around Lord Rama. It is precisely the reason that in any typical Hindu household, Family members are socialized to be selfless, honest, courageous and maintain highest standards of integrity. Each recital of Ramayana is intended to make family members, especially the children, aware of the importance of inculcating virtues in life. However, this value system gets diminished over time when we enter the public discourse.
In the current society which is today facing a huge moral crisis, we need to create high moral standards and that is where we need to fight hard. If we are able to embrace the core values that Ram embodies, many of our problems will get banished.
I just hope that on this momentous occasion, we will take the values of Lord Rama more seriously than his name. The principles of truthfulness, integrity, and honesty need to be rejuvenated in our society and obsession with the identity needs to be reduced.
Some major qualities of Lord Rama which we need to adopt are his qualities of
- Gunavaan- Principled and Endowed with excellent qualities.
- Veeryavan- Endowed with Prowess.
- Dharmajnah- Always righteous in all actions.
- Krithajnah- Grateful (Remembers even a little help done by others).
- Satyavaakyah- Truthful in his statements.
Today, as the nation celebrates the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony at Ayodhya, Let’s celebrate and light the Diya or the light within, Let’s perform the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony by breathing the right values and raising our moral standard as a true tribute to Lord Ram, and stay blessed forever.