Minister Reddy’s speech
‘Lord Rama sacrificed everything for the people of his kingdom. Similarly, we cannot only be always concerned and worried about our own comfort, convenience and own pleasure. We need to be thoughtful about the people in difficulty around us and at times n
The national co-coordinator of Fiji Brahma Kumaris Rajyog Meditation Centre - BK Sister Shanta; members of the Fiji Brahma Kumaris Rajyog Meditation Centre; other invited guests; and Ladies and Gentlemen; Ram Ram to all.
Ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted and immensely blessed to be here amongst you all this afternoon to celebrate this most revered and prestigious festival: Ram Navami. I foremost take this opportunity to thank the co-ordinator and members of the Fiji Brahma Kumaris Rajyog Meditation Centre for orchestrating this special event. I heartily acknowledge the crowd in attendance today and appreciate your devotion and commitment to spirituality. Ladies and gentlemen, Ram Navami is one of the most auspicious Hindu festivals celebrated by Hindus worldwide. This day is observed as the birthday of the Great Lord Ram, son of King Dasharath. The festival of Ram Navami is enthusiastically looked forward to and is full of splendour and joy. Many followers on this day do fasting to give thanks and appreciation to Lord Rama and seek his forgiveness and blessings. Lord Rama symbolises courage, commitment and virtue. He is regarded as the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu. We accept that he came to earth to annihilate evil forces. Swami Vivekananda describes Lord Rama as, “the embodiment of truth, morality, the ideal son, the ideal husband, and above all, the ideal king.” Ladies and gentlemen, Lord Rama is widely believed to be an actual historical figure – a “hero of ancient India.” From the mythological perspective, Lord Rama is seen as eternally blissful and in his earthly form came to exemplify the perfect man, referred to as ‘Maryada Purushottam’. Lord Rama’s dutifulness, humility and nobility are highlighted in the discourses and Bhajans that narrate details from the various episodes of the epic ‘Ramayana’. In the present world, the celebration of Shri Ram Janma Utsav has more relevance and usefulness particularly because listening to Rama’s life episodes helps us to make a move towards becoming a perfect person in life. His personality shows us how to embody the divine spirit on Earth, how to live our lives in accordance with dharma and the divine principles. Ladies and gentlemen, there are many messages that could be learnt from Lord Rama’s character. These are: As a son – we should respectfully and lovingly obey our father’s orders. There can be situations in life even when we should consider sacrificing our own comfort for our father’s dignity and parents wishes. As a brother – we need to always remain loyal to our brothers. We should care for them and be ready to support them at every phase in life. We should be the pillar of strength for them. As a husband – we have certain obligations and responsibilities, such as, protection of our wives. But there are times when one’s divine path must even take precedence over the path of householder. In addition, as a King, Lord Rama sacrificed everything for the people of his kingdom. Similarly, we cannot only be always concerned and worried about our own comfort, convenience and own pleasure. We need to be thoughtful about the people in difficulty around us and at times need to make sacrifices in order to assist them. Ladies and gentlemen, in addition to this, Lord Rama taught us how to respect our Gurus, teachers, parents, elders, women and youngsters. He showed to the world that all living creatures need to be respected, cherished, and loved as precious lives. He, as a Prince, experienced all the good and bad situations in life with a balanced mind and became a role model. Apart from this, Lord Rama also had to sacrifice a lot. Lord Rama along with brother Lakshman, wife Sita and devotee Hanuman represent various divine aspects of their earthly journey of life. Their life situations have meanings in today’s life where man is confronted with unexpected events that test his ego and moral sense of duty and humanity. Thus, recitations and discourses of the Ramayana help us to take hints from Lord Rama’s demonstration of integrity and courage to win over evil motives and egocentric desires of self and others. Moreover, Lord Rama’s primary message is: to fulfil your duty without any selfish motives; put other people before yourself. For example, when he was exiled to the forest, Shri Rama did not complain. He did not fight back in anger. Rather, he helped his father fulfil his promise given to his step mother. He lived his life according to Hindu Dharma as a son and as a future king. He did not even think once about himself, his own comforts, and his own rights. Rather, he abided by his dharma, principles and his duty. Ladies and gentlemen, Shri Rama’s heart always overflowed with love, generosity, humility, and a sense of duty. Later, as a king he provided full liberty and freedom to his citizens to express their feelings, problems, and complaints to their leaders without any fear and hesitation. He served his people with of justice and impartiality. Ladies and gentlemen, when our forefathers arrived from India, they brought with them our rich culture, traditions and religious values and virtues. They have taught us our identity and it is extremely delighting that we have carried on from them. Our gathering this evening marks everyone’s dedication to holiness and belief in God. Ram Naumi kirtans, bhajans and music has been echoing in every corner of our beloved nation. I am also delighted to see our children taking so much interest in prayers and religion. As adults, we have the responsibility to transit our religious knowledge to the young ones and what perfect platform we have here today to do just that. To conclude, Ladies and gentlemen, Lord Rama through various incidents of his life taught the human beings what should be the ideal behaviour of a perfect human being in the situations of loss, gain, pleasure and pain. The epics like Ramayana and Ramcharit Manas explain the real identity of Rama and significance of his existence on earth. It is said that the name of Ram is so pious that simply remembering his name by true heart vanishes all the sins of a man. Lord Rama has shown to all that greed and desires do not get realised most of the time and a ceaseless quest for them brings only frustration, defeat and end. Therefore, in the true essence of Ram Navami let us bring to practice the teachings of Lord Rama and become selfless individuals ourselves. This is also a time to reflect on our actions and see how best we can mend our ways and follow the path paved by the Lord. I once again thank everyone present here and wish you all a blessed Ram Naumi celebrations. Ram Ram.