Five Areas Where Shri Rama Has The Best People Associated With Him

“O Rama, You should know that just as fish cannot survive when taken out of water, neither Sita nor I can live without You for even a moment.” (Lakshmana, Valmiki Ramayana, Ayodhya Kand, 53.31)

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न च सीता त्वया हीना न चाहमपि राघव।
मुहूर्तमपि जीवावो जलान्मत्स्याविनोद्धृतौ।।

na ca sītā tvayā hīnā na cāhamapi rāghava।
muhūrtamapi jīvāvo jalānmatsyāvinoddhṛtau।।

The name is befitting. The Sanskrit word Bhagavan is appropriate for describing the Supreme Lord. He has all the luck. Nothing goes wrong for Him, precisely because correct and incorrect, high and low, warm and cold, and other such dualities only apply to a temporary existence in a world that is like a shadow-copy of the original thing.

ममैवांशो जीवलोके जीवभूतः सनातनः।
मनःषष्ठानीन्द्रियाणि प्रकृतिस्थानि कर्षति।।

mamaivāṃśo jīvaloke jīvabhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ।
manaḥṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛtisthāni karṣati।।

“The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal, fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 15.7)

Time and space are infinite, and so the Vedas continue to expand since they glorify Bhagavan. Still, a short period of time suffices as an appropriate sample size for proving the concept, for showing that the Almighty indeed has the best of everything.

1. Wife

Shri Rama is the Divine avatara appearing in the age known as Treta. This is similar to the Golden Age, except man’s adherence to dharma [duty and high responsibility] diminishes slightly. Rama is one of the notable exceptions, appearing in the pious family of rulers started by King Ikshvaku.

श्री-भगवान् उवाच
इमं विवस्वते योगं
प्रोक्तवान् अहम् अव्ययम्
विवस्वान् मनवे प्राह
मनुर् इक्ष्वाकवे ’ब्रवीत्

śrī-bhagavān uvāca
imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ
proktavān aham avyayam
vivasvān manave prāha
manur ikṣvākave ’bravīt

“The Blessed Lord said: I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, Vivasvan, and Vivasvan instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Ikshvaku.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 4.1)

A handsome, strong and chivalrous prince deserves the best partner for life. Rama earned such a princess in the most amazing way. He won a contest. The participation was limited to the most powerful people in the world. Only the strong attempted to lift Lord Shiva’s bow, and only Rama could even move it.

King Janaka held the contest in Videha to determine the appropriate husband for his daughter Sita. Rama has the best wife because she is the goddess of fortune. She is completely devoted to her husband, and she forgoes personal comfort for the sake of helping Rama in whatever way she can. She refuses the advances of other men like Ravana, where the threat of physical violence and the allure of additional riches make no impact.

Sita follows Rama to the ends of the earth, accepting His fate as her own. If He must live in a hellish place for a set period of time, Janaka’s daughter will not back away from the pressure. Through her asceticism she has the full potency to deal with attacking enemies, but she defers to her husband to carry out the work in order to increase His fame.

2. Brother

Rama has three younger brothers, and they are all devoted to Him to an unimaginable level. They practice in different ways, and Lakshmana is known to be the one closest in terms of personal association. He one time remarked that neither he nor Sita can live without Rama. To be separated from Rama is something like a fish being taken out of water.

If living in a forest area, with danger surrounding them, Lakshmana foregoes sleep. He keeps watch during the nighttime in order that his elder brother may get some much needed rest. He promises to serve Rama for a hundred years or more, if necessary. Rama is the leader, and the three younger brothers each deserve the name Ramanuja due to their dedication.

3. Father

Shri Rama has the best father, who is named Dasharatha due to his past ability in helping the demigods. He can fight against chariots attacking from the ten directions simultaneously. He is pious enough to earn not only Rama as a son, but three other partial expansions of Vishnu, as well. He is so well-known for his truthfulness that Rama would not let a blemish occur due to a temporary fall into envy from one of the queens, Kaikeyi.

4. Servant

Likely the most popular song in history wasn’t recorded in a studio. It did not have elite songwriters helping the cause, and neither was there a high-priced producer. The author was a great devotee of Shri Rama, and he understood that more beloved than the master is the servant. That is to say Bhagavan derives more pleasure out of the glorification of those closest to Him than He does praise directed at Himself.

The Hanuman Chalisa is in glorification of the Vanara warrior who helped find Sita after she went missing in the Dandaka forest. Hanuman is not of the human community, and he has a stature greater than that of an ascetic or priest. He is well-versed in the Vedas and he is expert at glorifying Rama, an effort which occurs simultaneously.

नानृग्वेदविनीतस्य नायजुर्वेद्धारिणः |
नासामवेदविदुषश्शक्यमेवं विभाषितुम् ||

nānṛgvedavinītasya nāyajurveddhāriṇaḥ|
nāsāmavedaviduṣaśśakyamevaṃ vibhāṣitum ||

“One cannot speak this way without having been well-trained in the Rig Veda, memorized the Yajur Veda, and thoroughly understood the Sama Veda.” (Lord Rama speaking to Lakshmana about Hanuman, Valmiki Ramayana, Kishkindha Kand, 3.28)

5. Biographer

Famous people have a difficult time with legacy due to the fact that enemies and skeptics may assume the role of biographer. Such writers view it as their duty to find areas to criticize, to not be known as sycophantic in their community.

As Bhagavan is without flaws, only those purely devoted to Him are qualified to write about His instructions and pastimes. Shri Rama has the best biographer in Maharishi Valmiki, who is initiated by Narada Muni, the traveling saint who spreads the glories of Narayana, which is another name for Vishnu.

The work is never complete, and so empowered people are further inspired to continue in the glorification. For the Hindi language, there is Goswami Tulsidas, who is also the author of the Hanuman Chalisa. He glorifies Rama in such a way that one is left wondering how the Divine couple could have found such a wonderful person to be associated with them.

In this way Rama is the most fortunate. He also has the best home in the spiritual world, a place that welcomes the return of any souls who had previously lost their way, unfortunately trapped in a seemingly endless spiral of birth and death.

In Closing:

To best home welcoming back,

Any souls veered off track.

Most skilled His biography to write,

Tulsi’s words creating direct sight.

A father battle-ready beyond belief,

Sita chaste despite torture and grief.

Hanuman a servant like no other,

Lakshmana most amazing brother.