The Secret of Shri Ram's Divine Descension

Ram is Brahm, about whom the Vedas say:

Adr̥ṣṭaṁ avyavahāryaṁ agrāhyaṁ acintyaṁ — the Unseen, Unrelated, Unattainable, and Inconceivable. The question of His birth does not even arise. A being is born as a result of being bound by karma. And karma is performed by one who harbors desires — someone who needs to attain something. And the need to attain something belongs only to one under the influence of maya.

God, however, is the Lord of Maya. All scriptures state this:

māyāṁ tu prakr̥tiṁ vidyānmāyinaṁ ca maheśvaram।
asmānmāyī sr̥jate viśvametat tasmiṁścānyo māyayā sanniruddha:।
māyādhīśa gyāna guna dhāmū। jagata prakāśya prakāśaka rāmū।

So, God has neither birth nor karma. Yet, He does take birth and perform actions.

God says to Arjun —

"Bahūni me vyatītāni janmāni tava cārjuna।"
"Arjun! I, too, have had countless births."

The Bhagavatam mentions twenty to twenty-five descensions of God, but that is just a joke. The same Bhagavatam also says:

"Avatārā hyasaṅkhyeyā" — The descensions of God are innumerable. Every second, infinite descensions take place across the innumerable Brahmands, the vast cosmic realms.

The one we reside in is just one small brahmānd — the brahmānd of the four-faced Brahma. It comprises fourteen lokās (abodes). Among them is Mṛtyuloka (earth), which has around two hundred countries. One of these is known as Bharat (India).

"Saṁkhyā ceta rajasāmasti na viśvānāṁ kadācana।"
One might even count the grains of sand, but one can never count the number of brahmānds. Similarly, no one can count the descensions of God. Only something that is limited in number can be counted — the infinite is beyond enumeration.

God says — “Even I cannot state the number of My descensions.”

Thus, God also takes birth and performs karma. Lord Ram lived in this very land of India for eleven thousand years. Lord Krishna had an immensely large household in Dwarka — 16,108 wives and ten children with each wife, and then their children. His family alone was as large as the population of Delhi. Who else could manage such an expansive household?

Even at the time of birth, such great Leelas took place — what did God not do! In all His descents, He fought, killed, and performed endless feats. And God does not need to do any of this —

"Na vidyate yasya ca janma karma vā।"
God does not need to take birth or perform karma.
Still, He takes birth and performs karma.

It is truly astonishing —

An unborn entity takes birth. He performs karma without desires — something impossible for us. Desire arises only from a sense of lack or incompleteness. But He acts without any desire. Despite being the Father of all, He allows worldly beings to make Him their son. Mother Yashoda even scolds Him. When Yashoda tied up Shri Krishna and threatened Him with a stick, saying —

“Today, I will teach you a lesson! So many complaints have come about you!” — at that moment, Thakur Ji's condition became pitiful — His body trembled, tears rolled down from His eyes, and He stared at the stick — “It’s about to strike... when will it strike, and where?”

The One whose slightest frown could annihilate countless universes stood trembling like a helpless child.

He did all this causelessly — for the sake of His devotees —

"Bhagata hetu bhagavāna prabhu, rāma dhareu tanu bhūpa ।
kie carita pāvana parama, prākr̥ta nara anurūpa॥"

He enacted worldly plays just like ordinary men —

"Bhaye prakaṭa kr̥pālā" — Ram appeared with four arms before His mother.

Lord Ram was not born from the mother’s womb. But the mother felt as though He had been born from her womb. Normally, both the mother and the child experience great pain during childbirth. But Kaushalya never felt that He came from outside. Just as a pregnant woman experiences symptoms month by month, Ram, while residing in her mind, made her feel each one of them. He filled her womb with air so that she wouldn’t suspect the child came from outside. Joy spread everywhere in Ayodhya as Dasharath, in his old age, was to have a son.

And when the moment of His appearance came, He made the mother unconscious. He appears as a sixteen-year-old youth with four arms holding a conch, discus, mace, and lotus adorned with ornaments. The chakra (discus) is so sharp that it can cut through diamonds — had He stayed in the womb with it, what would have been the fate of the mother? But He stayed inside in a formless state and carried out all tasks peacefully.

Then, when He appeared (while the baby was supposedly still in the womb), the mother asked — "Lord, how did You come?"

God replied, "You were the one who had asked for a boon that I be born as your son."

Mother said — "I asked for a son — but You have appeared like a father!”

God answered, “Had I come directly as a child, you would have doubted — is it truly Me, or a celestial being or human? So I came in this form first to show that I am the One you prayed to.”

Then mother said — "O Lord, I do not wish to see You in this form."

‘Prabhu muskānā’ — So first, God smiled.
Whereas a worldly baby cries at birth and keeps crying throughout life. The smiles we display are mostly for show, mere social etiquette. God, however, came willingly, so why should He cry?

But if God had continued smiling, the mother would have wondered if this was my son or someone else. So, He became a tiny infant, and the majestic form disappeared. He made the mother unconscious and instilled the feeling in the mother's mind that the child was about to be born — and then He was born. The womb became empty — the air that was filled in it was gone. Now ‘Rōdan thānā’ — Thakur Ji started crying. The mother was happy that the baby was born.
From there began His divine pastimes, which you all read and hear about.

The body of God that took the form of an infant is the same as the majestic form in which He appeared first. This is because it is not a physical body. Our bodies result from the union of the father’s sperm and the mother’s egg, composed of the five gross elements.

But His body is divine —

"Ānandamātramavikalpamaviddhavarca:" (Bhagavatam 3-9-3)
"Asyāpi deva vapuṣo madanugrahasya svecchāmayasya na tu bhūtamayasya ko'pi।" (Bhagavatam 10-14-2)

Through evidence from various scriptures and Vedas, the authors of our scriptures have established that God's body is God Himself.
Souls bound by Maya consist of two — soul and body.
But not so with God —
God Himself becomes the body. We refer to "His body" only for ease of expression. But in truth, He does not have a body — He Himself became the body.

What’s unique about His body? —

"Aṁgani yasya sakalendriya-vr̥tti-maṁti:"
Each of His senses performs the function of all other senses.

With one ear, He can hear, see, smell, taste, touch, think, and know. He can perform every task from a single pore. And He can do all the work even without a body.

"Binu paga calahiṁ" — Without feet, we can’t walk. But He walks without feet — He is beyond the understanding of our intellect.
"sunahiṁ binu kānā। kara binu karama karahiṁ bidhi nānā॥
ānana rahita sakala rasa bhogī। binu jihvā bakatā baḍa jogī...."

Thus, Lord Ram Himself became the body. For the welfare of beings, out of compassion, the poor Lord had to take birth, perform actions, and even get scolded by us. He carries Nand Baba's slippers on His head and brings them for him.

Tulsidas, Surdas, Nanak, Tukaram — such saints were but our brothers — they were once bound by maya, just like us. After attaining God, they rose to such a height that God became their servant. God says — “Forget Dasharath! Anyone who wishes may make Me their Master, Friend, Son, or Beloved — I am ready!”

And He had become so, is becoming so, and will continue to do so.

Why?
Grace.

God has one quality — Grace — He cannot help Himself. He thinks, “These poor children of Mine are suffering. For their sake, I shall go amongst them, become their Master, Friend, Son, or Beloved, and bestow happiness on them.”

And He tells the rest of us —
“If you, too, cultivate such sentiments, I will bestow the same happiness on you just as I graced Dasharath and Kaushalya.”

This is the uniqueness of Lord Ram’s divine descension.

Siyaavar Ramchandra ki Jai!

You can read Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj’s books to dive deeper into this topic

Recommended book:

Hare Rama Hare Krishna - Hindi