Ram: Symbolic of Inner Radiance

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
‘Ram’ in Sanskrit means ‘that which is radiant’ and ‘ma’ means ‘myself’.
That which shines forth within you is Rama. That which is radiant in every particle of the being is Rama. Lord Rama was born to Dasharatha and Kaushalya. Dasharatha means ‘the ten-charioted one’ in Sanskrit. It signifies the five sense organs and the five organs of action. Kaushalya in Sanskrit means ‘skilled’. The skillful driver of the ten chariots can give birth to Ram. When the five sense organs and the five organs of action are used skillfully, radiance is born within.
Often we try to look for radiance within. Just realise that you are radiant. The creation is made up of five elements and the ten organs. This entire creation is there to give you pleasure and relief. Whatever gives you pleasure should also give you relief. Otherwise the very pleasure becomes pain. The entire creation gives you pleasure and liberation.
What is more important – objects or the senses? Senses are more important than objects of the sense. Your eyes are more important than television. Ears are more important than music or sound. Many do not realise this. They think sense objects are more important than the senses. They know that watching too much TV is not good for the eyes, yet they don’t care about their eyes and keep watching television. They know that their system does not want a lot of food, yet they will give into the taste and eat more.
Mind is more important than the senses. When mind is not cared for and only senses are cared, you get depressed. When your craving for things becomes more important than the mind, it causes depression.
Rama was born in Ayodhya, which means ‘the place where no war can happen’. When there is no conflict in the mind, then radiance dawns. So, how to stop the flight of the mind? Meditation and breathing techniques is the answer. Just a few days of continuous practice of meditation can silence the mind and change the quality of your life.
Our breath holds a lot of secrets because, for every emotion in the mind, there is a corresponding rhythm in the breath. When one cannot handle the mind directly, it can be handled through breath. The mind is like a kite and breath, the string. You don’t have to take Prozac if you can attend to the breath.
When the mind settles down, only then ‘total rest’ or meditation happens. The mind that has come back home, to the source, is meditation. Mind that becomes ‘no mind’ is meditation. Train the mind a little to live in the present moment, drop the stress, tension and strain that you are carrying for nothing. When the flight of the mind stops, you experience, total rest and complete alertness. In that state, all the ten organs cooperate with you and you become one with the creation. And then, Ram is born!
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