SREE RAMA NAVAMI 12TH APRIL, 2011.

12TH APRIL 2011, Ram Navami.The festival of Ram Navami is dedicated to Lord Ram. The festival of Ram Navami marks the birthday celebrations of the Hindu Lord Rama, who is considered to be one of the incarnations of Lord Vishnu.
story behind Navami and Sri Rama:

Generally, we will not perform (or) start any new issues (or) work during Ashtami (the day Sri Krishnar is born) nor in Navami. And during this Navami thithi only, Sri Ramar was born.

There is a small and beautiful story behind this. Each and every thithi has karthaas (Head or Chief). Once, these two thithis - Ashtami and Navami went towards Sriman Narayanan and questioned that these two thithis are not being accepted by any of the person in the earth and thinks that these two were not used for any of the new business not new things being started during these days. But, on hearing this, Sriman Narayanan answered them that to explain the greatness of these thithis, he will be born in the earth, during these thithis. And as a result of this only, Sri Rama was born in Navami and Sri Krishna in Ashtami and the entire world is celebrating these two days as a great festival.

Origin:-

When the evil forces reign supreme, the Lord will come to the rescue and set things right. Sri Rama Navami marks the birth of Lord Rama, the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Sri Rama Navami the birthday of Lord Sri Ram, is observed on Chaitra Shukla Navami, the ninth day in Shukla Paksha during Chaitra month. Sri Ram Navami date is April 12, 2011. Rama Navratras, the nine-day worship dedicated to Lord Sri Ram, starts on Chaitra Shukla Padyami and ends on Chaitra Shukla Navami (Ram Navami). Sri Rama Navami marks the culmination of Sri Rama Navratri. Different procedures will be followed, in north and south.

How to celebrate:-
During this day, performing pooja for photo of Sri Rama Pattabhishekam and after that you can chant some of the slokams from Sri Ramayanam.The offering Prasad are Vadai, Payasam, butter milk (diluted water) etc. and along with this, the great Sri Rama Nama it is 100% evident that wherever the great Sri Rama Nama is expressed, Hanuman will enjoy that Nama and along with Sri Rama, and he will also bless us with his grace. More to this, by chanting the Sri Rama Nama, it is said that bhaktas will get the favour equivalent to that of the favour got by fasting. Not even on this day, even daily we should atleast say the Sri Rama Japa for 108 times (or atleast for 28 times) and we can a lot of positive changes on our life.

While performing Puja at home, you can always be flexible. The strict rituals are meant for Vedic priests. All you need be careful is to perform the puja with a clean body and clean mind. What is more important is your devotion and faith. It is said that lord Sri Rama showers all his blessings on people, who remember him with an honest and true heart. So anybody who worships the Lord sincerely could get blessed with Its Grace irrespective of the caste, creed, race, power, status and qualities.
The birth of Rama (Ram Navami), explains guidelines that need to be followed by each ad every person in this world. Rama occupies a very reverential place in the religious life of India and in the religious history of the world. He is the embodiment of righteousness and is believed to be the incarnation of the solar aspect of Vishnu. Numerous temples are scattered all over India for Rama, Lakshmana & Sita. In all images, Rama is depicted to be having two arms which emphasizes the character of Rama as a human being because God Vishnu preferred to adopt this form to re-establish the golden age of justice & happiness. The expression “Rama Rajya”, even today, means the reign in which peace and prosperity prevail.

Rama: An Ideal son
Lord Rama was the ideal son, who always obeyed His parents;
At times even advised the elders.

The Ideal brother:
Rama-Lakshman's love is cited as the ideal of brotherly love.

The Ideal friend:
He helped Sugreev, Vibhishan and many others during their difficult times.

The Ideal Enemy:
Vibhishan refused to perform the last rites of Ravan, his brother. Lord Rama said to him, ''If you do not do it, I will. He was my brother too!'' He was also the true embodiment of humanity.

The Ideal King:
A righteous King who followed all codes of conduct for Kings as laid down in our scriptures. A king has to be like Rama, representing your will, your goodwill, your sense of proper judgement, fair play and righteousness. Shri Rama not only propounded what was good but he followed that. He sacrificed for that and he established his own symbol as a pure symbol of that righteous will which is within the people, which is the collective righteous will“.
An Ideal of True patriot:

A Patriotism for One's Own Country at all times.

Lord Rama had tremendous patriotism for his own kingdom Ayodhya! After the death of Ravana, Vibhisana fell at the feet of Rama and said, "Swami, I never aspired to be the King of Lanka. I only wanted my brother to give up his bad qualities. I pray to you to take over the Kingdom of Lanka."All the rakshasas also came and prayed to Rama that he should become King of Lanka.Lakshmana also supported them saying, "O brother, Bharatha is already ruling over Ayodhya. Even if you return to Ayodhya, you may not be crowned as the King. So, I request you to take over this kingdom and transform all the rakshasas.Lanka is full of golden mansions. Where else can you find such a beautiful place? I will be very happy if you rule over this Kingdom."Rama lovingly took Lakshmana close to him and said."Lakshmana, how could you get such a silly desire? Just because one's mother is ugly, can he call any other beautiful woman as his mother? Even though my country is poor compared to Lanka, I still consider it as my mother. Lanka may be full of gold, but I don't want it"!!
An Ideal husband:
An Incident in Ramayana is an example to this:

After killing Ravana, Lord Rama is resting on a rock. He notices a shadow approaching him. He realises that the shadow is that of a woman. He does not lift His eyes to see who it is, for, Lord Rama never looks at any woman other than Sita. As the shadow nears Him, Lord Rama pulls His feet up, and sits with His legs folded. This is to avoid even the shadow of the unknown woman touching His feet. So careful is He that none other than His wife should touch Him. Lord Rama is particular that even the shadow of another woman should not touch Him. The shadow is then seen to recede. Lord Rama wonders who it is; who had come so close to Him and had yet retreated. So He enquires who the person is. The shadow is that of Mandodari, and she discloses who she is. Lord Rama asks her why she is there. She says she heard that Ravana was killed in battle. Ravana had been a king who had struck fear in the hearts of his enemies. Everyone believed him to be invincible. And yet, he had been killed by someone. She had come to the battlefield to look at the man who killed her husband. She wanted to know what quality He had that her husband did not have. Lord Rama then asks her whether she found what that quality was. Mandodari says she has found that quality. Lord Rama is particular that even the shadow of a woman other than his wife should not touch Him. Ravana, on the other hand, was willing to sacrifice so many lives in his attempt at making another man's wife his. Therein lies the difference. That one quality of Lord Rama has led to His victory. Lord Rama was the one whose thoughts and words never went astray.

Message:-

The Lord incarnated as Rama and led a human life just to show all of humankind and how we should lead our lives. Ram Navami is a therefore a special reminder of the noble ideals for which Lord Rama stood. Lord Rama is portrayed as carrying his bows and arrows all the time. This symbolizes his alertness and readiness to fight against unfairness and thus establish justice and peace. Wickedness or injustice will always be existent. By his example, Rama gives mankind the strength and conviction to fight it. Man ought not to be weak and accept passively what is unrighteous. He must rise actively against inconsistency and unrighteous or immoral actions. This is called aggressive goodness.

Valmiki has symbolized Rama as an ideal of perfection. The human personality consists of different facets functioning in different aspects of life. Only in the life of Rama, each facet of human personality is seen projected to absolute perfection. He underwent many problems in his life just to show us how we should handle difficulties without getting frustrated. Through all the hurdles in His life, he remained as the perfect son, an ideal king, a true husband, a real friend, a devoted brother, a perfect student, and above all a noble enemy! Each and every one of His actions is a lesson to us and thus He is the perfect teacher of humankind to this day. This exemplary incarnation of perfection is the ideal every human should look up to. Lord Rama was a star amongst humans and His name is a star amongst mantras.

Live like him, think like him and act like him and you will become one with him.

Sakrudaeva prapanaaya thavaasmithi cha yaachathae
Abhayam sarvabhoothaebhyO dadaami aethath vratham mama

The meaning is: Rama says -
Whoever utters to me "I belong to you", it is my vow to protect them. This manthra will shield you against all sins if chanted regularly and will give prosperity to all who recite or write this great Mantra!