Tattva

As we are preparing for celebrations of Sri Ram Janma, which falls on April 14 this year, it befits the occasion to explain the significance of the event. Every Hindu holds Bhagwan Sri Ramchandra, as an ideal king. Everyone in our culture, right from Mahatma Gandhi to the youngest tot, craves for Ram Rajya, the kingdom of Ram which is the ideal society.

Many of us must have seen the picture of Shesh-shayee Bhagwan Shri Vishnu. (And we take Sri Ram as an Avatar of Sri Vishnu.) If not, picture the following mentally:

The Lord, with four instruments in His four hands- Shankh, Chakra, Gadaa, Padma.
He is reclining leisurely, on the coil of a seven-headed Snake—Shesh Naag.
The snake is balancing a Globe, Prithvi, on its hoods, and is floating on the surface of an Ocean.
Laxmi Devi, Goddess of Wealth, is sitting at His feet.
Four headed Brahma, with books in his hands, sitting on a Lotus, Kamal, stemming out of the Lord’s navel.  
Narad Muni, with his Veena; Garud, an eagle, the Lord’s Vaahan and Tumbaru, standing in the Ocean, with folded hands, alongside of the coiled Naag, reverentially looking toward the Lord.

In Hindu mythology a King, Raja, is an Avataar, incarnate, (an Aunsh) of Bhagwaan Shri Vishnu, the Protector (Palankarta) of the Universe. The scenario described above, is the symbolic representation of an ideal King (Adarsh Raja).

The Lord is shown having four implements, or aayudhas: Shankh (Conch), Chakra (Disc), Gadaa (Mace), Padma (Lotus Flower) in his four hands. Note the anti-clockwise sequence. First is Shankh, then Chakra, Gadaa and Padma. All is sequential. There is no haphazardness. An ideal king must be ever ready with all these, fully equipped and well organized.

These four aayudhas symbolize the four ‘R’s, four things that are required of any leader. The Shankh represents the clarion call to Rally the nation at the time of danger or invasion. The second ‘R,’ Chakra, symbolizes the Rapidity with which the society is to be mobilized.

The third ‘R’ is the Gadaa, a symbol of Resistance. The ideal king’s armory must always be filled with a variety of Shastraas and Astraas, conventional, as well as unconventional weapons.

The fourth ‘R’ is Padma, which represents Resources, the nation’s needs that are continuously and uninterruptedly supplied by the society, as the situation demands.  The whole society, in fields and factories, in offices and institutions, in homes and out, works together to provide the necessary resources to maintain the security and prosperity of the entire nation.

Laxmi Devi is at his feet. She is His Dasi. She is serving Him, His cause. He is not serving her. He is Laxmi Pati, not Laxmi Das.

Brahma, with the four Vedas in hands represents the Vidwad Jana in the King’s court, Pandit Sabha. All knowledgeable and scholarly, Brahma depicts the learned, giving the king sane counsel.

The Shesh Naag is holding its Chhaya (shade) over the king. Shesh, in Sanskrit means ‘balance.’ An ideal king can rest leisurely, when he has the chaatra of this balance over his head. With no balance in the banks to fall back upon, we would not rest easily, either. Shesh thus symbolizes the Finance or Revenue Ministry of the king. The Shesh Naag is holding the globe, the kingdom, on his seven heads, which represent various departments. This shows that the Ministry has to function for the welfare of the entire kingdom.

Garud, the eagle, is a bird that sores thousands of meters in the sky. But it has its critical eyes on the minutest details on earth. This Garud is a representation of the Planning Ministry of the ideal king. The Planning Minister knows the exact needs of the society. He requires finances for this. These are our ‘Five Year Plans’—First, second, third—each bigger and more ambitious than the earlier! (Currently, the tenth plan is going on.)

And the source of these finances can only be the Revenue/ Finance Ministry. In nature, in the animal kingdom, there is animosity between the eagle and the snake. That is aptly made use of and applied here. “I collect the revenue and you spend it beyond my means,” says the Finance Minister. “I can’t help it. I need the finances,” retorts the Planning Minister. There is constant tussle between the Planning Ministry (symbolized by the eagle Garud) and the Finance Ministry (symbolized by the snake Shesh Naag).

Narad is standing beside Garud. All of us have heard of the pranks of Narad since childhood. He is the one who makes two people fight and runs away with their clothes! He has access to all the Tri-Lokas (three worlds). Actually, in this case, Narad represents an Institution: the Intelligence Department of the king. Spies all over the world! This system must be very efficient for an ideal King. Getting information from inside the kingdom and outside, and conveying it to the King is their job. They would make others fight amongst themselves, for the good of their own kingdom.

Then comes the Tumbru, representing Kalaakaar class in the Society, specialists in various creative arts such as sculptors, painters, writers, musicians, etc. of innumerable vocations. They also need Raj Ashray, patronage of the king.

And, lastly, all this is floating on the surface of the Ocean. This Ocean is not an ordinary ocean of salt water. It is Ocean of Milk (Ksheer Saagar)! From times immemorial, throughout the world, people have described an ideal kingdom as a place where, ‘Doodh ki Nadiyaa(n) bahatee hai!’ (Rivers of milk flow.) Thus, milk represents prosperity. In the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Germany had erected a 40 ft (12 mt.) tall replica of a cow in concrete, at the entrance. ‘This is the symbol of the prosperity of our German nation’, they proclaimed to the world. And thus, this is another symbolism in Hindu mythology.

Does the above narration bring any significant change in you perspective of Sri Ram Janma celebrations this year? Did my earlier article ‘Shiv Ling- A symbol of Nuclear Energy’ bring any changes in your perspective of the Shiv-Ling?
 

P. S. Incidentally, the following foot-note may be pertinent here:
In the late 1940s when Dr. Raghuvir met then President of Indonesia, Dr. Sukarno, he asked him why the national airline of Indonesia is named ‘Garud Airways.’ Dr. Sukarno, the Muslim President of the largest Muslim Country in the world, answered, ‘The Vaahan of Vishnu is Garud. Raja is the incarnation of Vishnu. In Indonesia, instead of Raja, we have a President. And I am the one. So, naturally my carrier would be Garud.’
And our airlines in India are ‘Air India’ and ‘Indian Airlines!’ Ponder!

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 1st, 2008 at 5:15 am and is filed under Festivals. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.