Expressions researched:
"rama means"
|"rama, means"
In this connection we may mention an incident that took place between two of our sannyāsīs while we were preaching the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra in Hyderabad. One of them stated that "Hare Rāma" refers to Śrī Balarāma, and the other protested that "Hare Rāma" means Lord Rāma. Ultimately the controversy came to me, and I gave the decision that if someone says that the "Rāma" in "Hare Rāma" is Lord Rāmacandra and someone else says that the "Rāma" in "Hare Rāma" is Śrī Balarāma, both are correct because there is no difference between Śrī Balarāma and Lord Rāma.
If someone calls Lord Rāmacandra by the vibration Hare Rāma, understanding it to mean "O Lord Rāmacandra!" he is quite right. Similarly, if one says that Hare Rāma means "O Śrī Balarāma!" he is also right. Those who are aware of the viṣṇu-tattva do not fight over all these details.
Rāma means ramaṇa. Ramaṇa means enjoyment. So yoginaḥ.
Now, mind that, karma-yogī. Those who are yogis, those who are trying to get spiritual life, regain their spiritual vitality, they are called yogis. There are different kinds of yogis: karma-yogī, jñāna-yogī, dhyāna-yogī, rāja-yogī. The highest of all of them is the bhakti-yogī or the bhakta.
Antavanta ime dehāḥ. Anta means this body. Antavanta ime dehā nityasyoktāḥ śarīriṇaḥ: (2.18) "But within the body, the proprietor of the body is nitya." So nityo nityānām. If I am nitya, eternal, then I should be interested in eternal happiness. But the eternal happiness is not possible to enjoy by this body. Therefore it is said, ramante yoginaḥ anante. So ananta-ramaṇa, that is the description of Rāma. Rāma means ananta-ānanda, unlimited happiness. Iti rāma-padenāsau paraṁ brahmābhidhīyate (CC Madhya 9.29). Rāma is paraṁ brahma, and Kṛṣṇa is also paraṁ brahma. Kṛṣṇa is recognized by Arjuna after understanding Bhagavad-gītā, paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān (BG 10.12). So there is no different between Rāma and Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is also paraṁ brahma and Rāma is also paraṁ brahma.
Enjoys within him... That is real happiness. This word rāma... We chant Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare, Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare. This rāma... he rāma means that unlimited enjoyment in real happiness. There is another meaning of rāma. Rāma, Lord Rāma, that is all right. And also some grammatical meaning that rāma means ramante. Ramante means to enjoy.
. In the unlimited, not into the limited. In the unlimited. Yoginaḥ anante and satyānande, that is real happiness. Satyānande cid-ātmani. And that is spiritual. That is not material. Iti rāma, this is the meaning of Rāma. Hare Rāma. We described, this Rāma means to enjoy in the spiritual life. That is called Rāma.
. But real meaning of Kṛṣṇa is paraṁ brahma. Kṛṣi go va... Kṛṣi bhu-vacaka-sabda nasta nirvṛtti-vacaka (?) iti kṛṣṇa paraṁ brahma iti abhidhīyate. Kṛṣṇa means paraṁ brahma. Kṛṣṇa means all-attractive. So we have to take the understanding of great personality. Rāma. Rāma. Rāma means paraṁ brahma.
So this Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Rāma means direct connection with the paraṁ brahma.
Caitanya Mahāprabhu has described, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇaṁ śreyaḥ-kairava-candrikā-vitaraṇaṁ vidyā-vadhū-jīvanam ānandāmbudhi-vardhanam (CC Antya 20.12). Ānandāmbudhi... We have no experience that ambudhi... Ambudhi means the ocean. And ānandāmbudhi, the ocean of ānanda, vardhanam, it is increasing. It is increasing. We have no experience that the sea or the ocean is increasing. It is decreasing. So this is ānanda. Ramante yoginaḥ anante. That is ananta ānanda. Ramante yoginaḥ anante satyānande cid-ātmani. That is not jaḍātmā. Here this ānanda is jaḍa, dull. It is not ānanda, material, but cid-ātmani. Iti rāma-padenāsau paraṁ brahmābhidhīyate (CC Madhya 9.29). These are the description. Rāma means one who takes ānanda in the reality, not in the false. So this is the way of understanding Kṛṣṇa.
Ram means enjoy. We want enjoyment, but we do not know how we can have permanent enjoyment. When you have got permanent enjoyment by reciprocation of transaction with the Supreme, then that particular accepter of our reciprocation is called Rāma. That means by... We enjoy the loving exchange between God and ourselves. That position is called rama. But if you have no idea what is God, how we can exchange our feelings, then there is no question of rama. Rama means when we are in position of exchanging our loving attachment to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then He's known as Rāma. The capacity in which He accepts our service, loving service, is called Rāma, ramante.
The goodness platform is very nice in the material world, but there is another platform, which is called śuddha-sattva. Sattvaṁ viśuddham, viśuddhaṁ vasudeva-śabditam. That is transcendental platform, and in that platform you can understand God. God is Vāsudeva, and in the vasudeva platform... So ramante yogino 'nante satyānande cid-ātmani. That is cid-ātmani. Cit means knowledge; ātmani means self. In that platform. Iti rāma-padenāsau paraṁ brahmābhidhīyate (CC Madhya 9.29). This is the description, this is the meaning of the word rāma. Rāma, this word, comes from ramante, ram. Ram-dhātu. Ram means enjoyment. And rāma means the full of pleasure. If you contact with Rāma, or Kṛṣṇa, the absolute attractive, then you are placed in the absolute platform for eternal enjoyment.
So we address; Hare, "Oh, the energy, spiritual energy of the Lord," and Kṛṣṇa, "O the Supreme Lord," Hare Rāma, the same thing. Paraṁ Brahman. Rāma means Paraṁ Brahman, Kṛṣṇa means Paraṁ Brahman and... So what is the meaning of addressing, "He Kṛṣṇa, He Rādhe, He Rāma." Why? There should be some... Why you are asking? That "Just engage me in your service." That is taught by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Rāma is also God, another name of God. Rāma means the "who enjoys." Kṛṣṇa means "who attracts." So God is the supreme enjoyer, therefore He is called Rāma. And God is the supreme attractor. He attracts everyone, therefore He is called Kṛṣṇa. So the names are on the quality of God. You have already questioned. Yes.
So Hare Kṛṣṇa and Hare Rāma. Therefore it is enjoined by the śāstra, "Chant these two names: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare." So Rāma and Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord, and Hare means Harā. So Harā means the potency, pleasure potency of the Supreme Lord, Harā. It is addressed as Hare. So Hare Kṛṣṇa means Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, and Hare Rāma means Sītā-Rāma. So either you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa or Sītā-Rāma, it is the same. And this is the only way. This is only. There is no difficulty.
Balarāma is Nityānanda. That we know by following the footprints of mahājanas. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says, vrajendra-nandana yei, śacī-suta hoila sei, balarāma hoila nitāi: "Balarāma has appeared now as Nityānanda." So bala means strength, spiritual strength, and rāma means enjoyer. Iti rāma padenāsau param brahma ity abhidhīyate. Rāma means Parabrahman. Satyānande cid-ātmani. Ramante yoginaḥ anante (CC Madhya 9.29). Yogi, they are also interested in enjoying life.
Rāma means who enjoys. So this word rāma is explained in the śāstra that one who is expert in enjoying eternal happiness, he is perfect yogi. Not flickering happiness. Flickering happiness, the yogis are not interested in flickering happiness or material happiness. Material happiness is always flickering, temporary. That is not happiness, but we take it. Real happiness is when we enjoy life with Kṛṣṇa, rāma. That is real happiness.
In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, in the Tenth Canto, it is stated that "This Rāma and Kṛṣṇa"—Rāma means Balarāma, and Kṛṣṇa—"They are the root of this material creation. And both of Them enters into each and every universe and maintains that." Aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-stham (Bs. 5.35).
Here we do not know what sort of enjoyment we are doing. Cid-ātmani. Iti rāma padenāsau paraṁ brahmābhidhīyate (CC Madhya 9.29). This is the meaning of the word Rāma. We chant daily Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. Now, this word Rāma is explained in this way. Rāma means to enjoy life in the Supreme, transcendental Supreme Personality of Godhead. That means dovetail your activities with Kṛṣṇa consciousness and you will be able to enjoy life eternally, blissfully. This is the purpose of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
So Jagannātha means the proprietor or the master of all these movements, He is Jagannātha. And Balabhadra, Balarāma, bala means strength and rāma means enjoyment. So Balarāma means who gives you spiritual strength for enjoying eternal blissful life, He is Balarāma. And Subhadrā, su means auspicious and bhadra means well-being. Subhadrā, Jagannātha and Balarāma combined together are present before you to reclaim you all from your miserable condition of life. That is the purport of this Ratha-yātrā Festival. (break) If anyone sees on the cart Jagannātha, Subhadrā, and Baladeva, then he does not take birth again in this material world. Ratheja vamanaṁ dṛṣṭa
Kṛṣṇa is svayam. Kṛṣṇaḥ svayaṁ samabhavat paramaḥ pumān yo. Kṛṣṇa is paramaḥ pumān. Paramaḥ pumān means the ultimate Supreme Personality of Godhead. But He is always manifest in different incarnations, and of all the incarnation, Lord Rāma is the foremost, Balarāma. You have heard the name of Balarāma, Baladeva. Similarly Rāma, Rāma means the Supreme Enjoyer. Ramante yoginām anante sac-cid-ānanda-cirātmanīti rāma-padenāsau. Rāma means real bliss, and all the yogis, either dhyāna-yogī or a jñāna-yogī or a bhakta-yogī... There are three kinds of yogis. Everyone tries to enjoy that eternal bliss, and that is real pleasure. Therefore Rāma.
Rāmākhyam. Rāma means the ramanīyā, the beautiful, or the enjoyer, rāmākhyam. And jagad-īśvaram. And He is the master or the proprietor of the whole universes. Sura-gurum. Sura means the demigods and gurum is spiritual master. Sura-gurum. Just like Arjuna is sura, and his guru is Kṛṣṇa. Vyāsadeva, his guru, Nārada; Nārada's guru is Brahmā; Brahmā's guru is Kṛṣṇa. So sura-gurum. māyā-manusyam. And when He appears as human being, that is māyā. māyā means actually He is not an ordinary man.
Kṛṣṇa, Govinda, ādi-puruṣa, the original person, He is taking various forms. Rāmādi-murtiṣu specially. Three Rāma: Paraśurāma, Balarāma, and Daśarathi Rāma. So this Rāma means enjoyment. So Kṛṣṇa's enjoyment... It does not mean, Kṛṣṇa has appeared as the boar; it does not mean He is suffering. Everything is ānanda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhāvitābhis (Bs. 5.37). Sometimes a big man becomes a horse. It is... There is a very nice interesting story that the big Prime Minister Gladstone, English, English Prime Minister, Gladstone?
Lord Caitanya says that the Lord's name... Lord's name is not, I mean to say, limited with Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is the perfect name. Kṛṣṇa means all-attractive. Kṛṣṇa means all-attractive. And Rāma means the supreme pleasure. So if God is not all-attractive and supreme pleasure, then what is the meaning of God? God must be. He must be the supreme pleasure. Otherwise how you can be satisfied with Him?
So we have to transfer our love from so many dogs to God. That is the perfection of life. And we are not teaching any particular type of religion. We are simply teaching that you love God. And this is possible simply by chanting these three names, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare... It is sixteen names. Actually there are three names: Hare, Kṛṣṇa, and Rāma. Rāma means the supreme pleasure, Kṛṣṇa means all-attractive, and Hare means the energy. Then it is perfect. Energy and the Lord, that is whole sum and substance of all creation, cosmic manifestation, anything. They are detailed in this Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, but that is the sum and substance of everything.
That is the meaning, rāma. Iti rāma-padenāsau paraṁ brahma ity abhidhīyate. Rāma. Rāma means rāman. Rāma. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Rāma. If you associate with Him, Rāma or Kṛṣṇa or Viṣṇu, Nārāyaṇa... Nārāyaṇa parā avyaktāt. He is transcendental. So some way or other, if you make association with Him, if you are elevated to that position, then you get ananta, unlimited happiness. That is required.
That is spiritual, cid-ātmani. Iti rāma-padenāsau paraṁ brahmābhidhīyate (CC Madhya 9.29). Therefore rāma, rāma means to enjoy spiritual bliss satyānanda. That is, that should be the aim of human form of life. Human form of life is a chance to come back to the real platform of transcendental bliss. And if we waste our time simply for animal sense gratification like dogs and hogs, then you are wasting your time.
What is the meaning of Rāma, Rāma-Kṛṣṇa? So Rāma means ramante, enjoys, rāma. So who enjoys? Yoginaḥ, big, big yogis. Rāmante yoginaḥ. The greatest of all yogis is the bhakta-yogī.
Similarly, Rāma means God. So there are three words in this verse: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare: Hare, Kṛṣṇa and Rāma. So anyone can chant these three names, Hare, Kṛṣṇa and Rāma, and make his life successful. I hope you shall join us in this chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.
Prabhupāda: Satyānanda-cid-ātmani. Yogis, bhakti-yogis, they also want ānanda, but not this false ānanda, satyānanda-cid-ātmāni, iti... Therefore they call Rāma. Rāma means ramaṇa, enjoyment. Iti rāma-padenāsau paraṁ brahmābhidhiyate (CC Madhya 9.29). They do not know what is satyānanda. They do not understand, as soon as we accept this material body, it is misery, simply misery. The body is constructed within the womb of the mother in a miserable condition. These rascals, they do not understand. In a packed-up way, head down, leg up. And it is enjoyment. The body is created in this troublesome, from miserable condition; still, they say, "enjoyment." This is foolishness. This is called illusion.
Prabhupāda: You cannot do any harm to Rāma, but he will be destroyed. This policy, that take Sītā and kill Rāma, means he will destroy himself. So this is going on. Take Gītā and kill Kṛṣṇa. This will destroy the whole thing. This Rāvaṇa's policy. And Hanumān's policy is somehow or other rescue Sītā and get her seated by the side of Rāma. Therefore he's worshiped, Vajrāṅgajī. That is the difference between Rāvaṇa's policy. Sītā is the via media. But one is trying to bring back Sītā and seat her by the side of Rāma, and another is trying to take away Sītā and kill Rāma. This wrong policy will not take.
Prabhupāda: Rāma means Kṛṣṇa, the same. Rāmādi-mūrtiṣu kalā niyamena tiṣṭhan (Bs. 5.39). Kṛṣṇa is always existing with His different incarnation, expansions, rāmādi-mūrti-Rāma, Nṛsiṁha, Varāha.... There are hundreds and thousands of expansions. Advaita acyuta anādi ananta-rūpam. So Rāma is expansion of Kṛṣṇa. He's God. There is no difference between Rāma and Kṛṣṇa. Just like one candle, and if you light another candle, another candle, so one may be the first, second, third, like that, but in candle power they are all the same; similarly, Rāma is expansion of Kṛṣṇa. That does not mean Rāma is less than Kṛṣṇa. Rāma, Nṛsiṁha, Varāha. There are many.
Generally it means Krishna, because Rama means enjoyer. So either Ramacandra, Balarama or Krishna are all Visnu Tattvas and are always enjoying. The sakti tattva, or jiva tattva is always enjoyed. Our position is always predominated. If we remain in that position and properly use our small independence, then we remain happily eternally. But artificially, if we want to be independent and imitate the Supreme Enjoyer, then it is delusion. Material life means trying to imitate the Enjoyer, and spiritual life means to remain in one's eternal position as enjoyed.
| Page Title: | Rāma means |
| Compiler: | Partha-sarathi, MadhuGopaldas, Rishab, Vaishnavi |
| Created: | 03 of Apr, 2010 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=2, OB=0, Lec=26, Con=3, Let=1 |
| No. of Quotes: | 32 |