Observing Sri Ram Naumi

The Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa, Ladysmith Sub-Centre, will be observing Sri Ram Naumi daily from Friday, April 8, to Friday, April 15, weekdays from 6.30pm to 7.30pm and weekends from 5pm to 6pm at the Ramakrishna Centre in Agra Road.

The programme will comprise Ramayan recitals, discourses, kirtans and arati.

On Sunday, April 10, a special programme with Sri Swami Sumanasananda (president of the Ramakrishna Centre of SA, Durban) will be held, commencing at 5pm. Supper prasadham will be served afterwards.

On Friday, April 15, a midday Havan will be performed from 11.30am to 12:30pm, marking the birth of Lord Ram. Supper prasadham will be served after the evening satsang programme.

Ram Naumi, the nine-day Hindu festival celebrated in the month of April (Chaitra), is when Lord Vishnu took the seventh avatar and Lord Ram was born to destroy the Demon King Ravana.

During this period, Lord Vishnu is worshipped in His human incarnation as Rama, the divine ruler of Ayodhya.

Thousands of pilgrims converge on temples to participate in Ram Naumi festivities. Colourful processions are held which comprise brilliant floats of Rama, his wife Sita, Rama’s loyal brother Lakshmana and Hanuman, Rama’s monkey-general.

Swami Vivekananda once said, “Rama, the ancient idol of the heroic ages, the embodiment of truth, of morality, the ideal son, the ideal husband and above all, the ideal king, this Rama has been presented before us by the great sage Valmiki. No language can be purer, none more chaste, none more beautiful and at the same time simpler than the language in which the great poet has depicted the life of Rama.”

All are kindly invited to attend.