God Is Lord Rāmacandra - The Ideal King and Supreme Lord
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the Supreme Personality of Godhead frequently descends to reestablish the principles of religion. Appearing in the glorious solar dynasty as Lord Rāmacandra, the Lord played the role of an ideal king, demonstrating perfect morality, superhuman power, and absolute devotion to His pure servants.
The Transcendent Līlā-avatāra
Although the Supreme Lord appears within the material world, He is never bound by it. Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that Lord Rāmacandra is an eternal līlā-avatāra, fully possessing the spiritual, transcendental nature of viṣṇu-tattva.
- In different millennia there are different incarnations, and they are innumerable, although some of them are very prominent, such as Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Rama, Nrsimha, Vamana and many others. These incarnations are called lila incarnations.
- The Lord has innumerable forms (ramadi-murtisu kala-niyamena tisthan (BS 5.39)), and unless these forms, such as Lord Ramacandra, Nrsimhadeva, Krsna and Balarama, were transcendental, how could they be worshiped by devotees since time immemorial.
- The Lord descends either as Kapila or Rama, Nrsimha or Varaha, and whatever forms He assumes in the material world are all manifestations of His own personal internal energy. They are never forms of the material energy.
- Rama was accepted as incarnation. Krsna was accepted as incarnation. In every home, there is Rama and Krsna worship. Not this Ramakrishna. Neither any acarya accepts him.
The Quadruple Expansion
The Supreme Lord is never alone in His pastimes. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that when Lord Rāmacandra appeared as Vāsudeva, His three younger brothers appeared simultaneously as His eternal plenary expansions.
- Lord Ramacandra, Laksmana, Bharata and Satrughna, who, being visnu-tattva, are all equally powerful, became the sons of Maharaja Dasaratha in response to prayers by the demigods.
- Lord Ramacandra and His brothers, Laksmana, Bharata and Satrughna are incarnations of Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha respectively.
- Originally Lord Ramacandra is the incarnation of Vasudeva, Laksmana is the incarnation of Sankarsana, Bharata is the incarnation of Pradyumna, and Satrughna is the incarnation of Aniruddha, expansions of the Personality of Godhead.
- The Padma Purana describes that Ramacandra is Narayana and that Laksmana, Bharata and Satrughna are respectively Sesa, Cakra and Sankha - the conchshell in the hand of Narayana.
Setting the Perfect Example
To elevate human society, the Lord personally demonstrated how to live. Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that Lord Rāmacandra acted as the perfect son, husband, and king, strictly executing the principles of varṇāśrama-dharma.
- He taught good behavior for everyone, especially for householders, in terms of varnasrama-dharma. Thus He taught the general public by His personal activities.
- Lord Ramacandra is the ideal king for maintaining and protecting the highest culture of humanity, known as brahmanya-dharma.
- The King (Lord Ramacandra), being magnanimous and perfect in His duty, performed many sacrifices and treated the citizens as His sons, and the citizens, being trained in the varnasrama system, were obedient and perfectly ordered.
- Rama presented Himself as an ideal king. He did not manifest Himself as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but from symptoms of authentic literature we understand that He is God.
Exhibiting Superhuman Opulence
Although playing the part of a human being, the Lord cannot hide His supreme power. Śrīla Prabhupāda highlights how Lord Rāmacandra completely defied the material laws of nature by constructing a massive bridge out of floating stones.
- He (Lord Ramacandra) exhibited superhuman activities which no human being, including the materially advanced Ravana, could perform because Lord Ramacandra was the Personality of Godhead.
- We accept Lord Ramacandra as the Supreme Personality of Godhead because He constructed this bridge, and we accept Lord Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead because He lifted Govardhana Hill when He was only seven years old.
- He (Lord Ramacandra) made the stones even within this earth to be weightless and prepared a stone bridge on the sea without any supporting pillar. That is the display of the power of God.
- Ramacandra approached his kingdom on a stone bridge. And the stones were floating on the water. Where is the law of gravitation.
Annihilating Rāvaṇa
The primary mission of an incarnation is to protect the devotees and vanquish the demons. Śrīla Prabhupāda notes that to rescue Sītādevī and relieve the universe from disturbance, Lord Rāmacandra effortlessly destroyed the powerful atheist Rāvaṇa.
- Krsna does not need to come to punish the petty demons, but when there are great demons like Ravana, Hiranyakasipu and Kamsa, the Lord comes as Lord Ramacandra, Lord Nrsimha-deva or Sri Krsna to punish them.
- He (Ravana) challenged the authority of Sri Rama, the Personality of Godhead, and kidnapped His wife, Sita. Of course Lord Rama came to chastise this atheist, answering the prayer and desire of the demigods.
- The demon Ravana was a fierce figure before the demigods, but when he was before Lord Ramacandra he trembled and prayed to his deity, Lord Siva, but to no avail.
- After thus rebuking Ravana, Lord Ramacandra fixed an arrow to His bow, aimed at Ravana, and released the arrow, which pierced Ravana's heart like a thunderbolt.
The Perfection of Hanumān
The Supreme Lord is conquered only by unalloyed devotion. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the great monkey Hanumān achieved the highest perfection of life not through academic study, but simply by carrying out the orders of Lord Rāmacandra.
- Hanuman (Mahavira), the famous nonhuman devotee of Lord Sri Ramacandra, attained success simply by carrying out the orders of the Lord.
- Hanuman simply carried out Lord Ramacandra's orders. Hanuman apparently had no education, and he was not capable of teaching Vedanta, but he simply carried out the orders of Lord Ramacandra and attained perfection.
- Hanuman, who attained perfection simply by becoming the servant of Lord Rama; Arjuna, who attained perfection simply by being a friend of Krsna's; and Bali Maharaja who attained perfection simply by offering whatever he had in his possession.
- In this connection, Prahlada Maharaj cited the example of Hanuman, the eternal servitor of Lord Ramacandra, who also set an example by never asking any material favor from the Lord.
Sītā and Rāma
The Lord and His pleasure potency are eternally inseparable. Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that Mother Sītā is the goddess of fortune herself, and there is absolutely no difference between worshiping Sītā-Rāma and Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa.
- Vaisnava, they do not worship Krsna alone without Radharani. They do not worship Rama without Sita. They do not worship Narayana without Laksmi, because the Lord and the energy must be there.
- The Lord achieved the hand of mother Sita, who was equally as endowed with transcendental qualities of form, beauty, behavior, age and nature. Indeed, she was the goddess of fortune who constantly rests on the chest of the Lord.
- Once Hanuman, the great devotee of Lord Ramacandra, said that he knew that Narayana, the husband of Laksmi, and Rama, the husband of Sita, are one and the same, and that there is no difference between Laksmi and Sita.
- Hanuman, the great devotee of Rama, said, "I know that there is no difference between the Sita-Rama and Laksmi-Narayana forms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but nevertheless, the form of Rama and Sita has absorbed my affection and love."
The Power of His Holy Name
In the current age, the most direct way to associate with the Supreme Lord is through His holy name. Śrīla Prabhupāda confirms that by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, one invokes the absolute presence and protection of Lord Rāmacandra.
- The Hare Krsna maha-mantra - Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare - includes both the holy name of Lord Krsna and the name of Lord Rama.
- If someone calls Lord Ramacandra by the vibration Hare Rama, O Lord Ramacandra! he is quite right. Similarly, if one says that Hare Rama means, O Sri Balarama! he is also right. Those who are aware of the visnu-tattva do not fight over all these details.
- Either you chant the holy name of Rama or you see the statue of Rama or you talk of His pastimes, transcendental pastimes, everything, that means you are associating with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
- If one somehow or other remembers the holy name of Narayana, Krsna or Rama at the end of life, he immediately achieves the transcendental result of going back home, back to Godhead.
Conclusion
To understand the absolute nature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one must carefully study His glorious descents. Śrīla Prabhupāda concludes that Lord Rāmacandra perfectly demonstrated the life of an ideal king and dutiful husband while simultaneously exhibiting the supreme, omnipotent opulences of Godhead by vanquishing the demon Rāvaṇa and bridging the ocean. By faithfully chanting His holy name and following the exemplary devotional service of Hanumān, any sincere soul can attain the ultimate perfection of returning to the eternal kingdom of God.
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