LAHIRI Mahasaya was undoubtedly one of India's greatest yogis whose family home in Varanasi remains a shrine. It is from here that the saintly man spread the fragrance of Kriya Yoga. Innumerable are the people in varying shades of trouble who have benefitted merely from his divine looks. Not so lucky was a young blind disciple Ramu who spent hours together fanning his guru with a hand-made palm-leaf fan.
One of Mahasaya's devotees felt sorry for Ramu. Should the boy have no sight when he faithfully served our guru in whom the Divine was fully blazing, the devotee asked himself, and went on, at a quiet moment, to urge Ramu to seek Mahasaya's help. Ramu had been born blind. With some diffidence, the next day the boy gathered courage to beg for physical wealth.
"Ramu, someone has connived to put me in a difficult position. I have no healing power," Mahasaya countered, as quoted in the "Autography of a Yogi" by Paramhansa Yogananda. Ramu, however, did not give up: "Sir, the Infinite One within you can certainly heal."
Mahasaya immediately changed track. "That is indeed different, Ramu. God's limit is nowhere! He who ignites the stars and the cells of flesh with mysterious life-effulgence can surely bring luster of vision into your eyes." So saying, the guru touched Ramu's forehead between his eyebrows and asked him to keep his mind concentrated there and frequently chant Rama's name for seven days.
In exactly one week, Ramu was blessed with vision! "The Omniscient One had unerringly directed his disciple to repeat the name of Rama, adored by him above all other saints."
Mahasaya is not the only sage to have kept Lord Rama seated on a high pedestal. That credit goes to many others too. Be it Valmiki, Vishwamitra, Vashisht, Vedanta Desikar, Sant Tulsidas, Ramanuja, Sri Raghavendra, Ramana Mahirishi and the pontiffs of the Sringeri (Karnataka) and Kanchi (Tamil Nadu) matt, everyone assiduously worshipped the king of Ayodhya.
The revered 68th pontiff of Kanchi Kamakoti Pitam, the late Chandrasekharendra Saraswati, was an ardent devotee of Rama. He always emphasized to devotees who thronged to him that Rama should be remembered with utmost love and devotion. Mere lip service to Rama's name will not fetch anything.
One day a man approached the seer and said that he was always drowned in problems. The "Walking God", as the Shankaracharya was known, asked the man to wait. As the sage kept meeting one devotee after another, the distraught man waited patiently. Finally, when his turn came, the elderly saint - the most respected in the Adi Shankara lineage in modern times -- told him: "Just as you waited for me, spend that much time daily repeating the name of Rama. Do it silently but devotionally. If you do that, you will soon have Lord Hanuman take his place beside you. If you persist, Sita Devi too will take a seat near you. Soon it will be the turn of Lord Shiva and Parvati. Once they come, Ganesh and Kartik won't be far behind. Goddess Lakshmi will follow them, and in no time Lord Vishnu, whose 'avatar' Rama was, will make his presence felt. Once these gods enter your thinking, you will have nothing to worry about." The grateful man bowed and departed.
It is not without reason that Rama Nama is so popular among the believers. Swami Vivekananda described Rama as an embodiment of truth and morality as well as an ideal son, husband and king. Our 107-year-old family guru, Gunja Baba, who lives in a small village in Uttar Pradesh's Hardoi district, always urges us to pray to Rama. He has identified himself with the Lord so much that more than once I saw him shed tears while reading Ramcharitmanas, unable to even mentally bear the suffering that Rama underwent during his exile.
Why do so many saints and sages ask us to worship Rama?
The seventh 'avatar' of Lord Vishnu is widely seen as the most virtuous hero in Hindu religion. Although a prince and later a king, Rama had no ego. His life story tells us to obey and respect elders, to always keep calm, be fearless, never to give up whatever the adversities, respect friends, bless even those who are critical, never speak a lie or use foul language, never care to remember what one gives to others, be always pleasing and serene, protect the weak, have no other woman in life, respect decency even while taking on the enemy, and remain engrossed in spiritual life even if you become a VVIP.
It is said that those who always remember Lord Rama and take his name as often as possible end up getting some if not all of his virtues, thus undergoing a major change in personality. Devotion to Rama is not about being loud or vocal about it or to show the world that you are a great Rama devotee. The god himself did not do anything to win brownie points. You cannot be true to Rama if your actions bring sorrow to others and if you cannot protect the weak and powerless.
No wonder Rama's triumphant return to Ayodhya after the battle of Ramayana marks Deepawali, the festival of lights. It is also not surprising that Rama's name is taken whenever there is a death. It will be far better if one starts taking his name religiously and devotionally while one is still alive. Such an act, the sages say, will fetch you a relatively easy life.