RAGHUPATI

Raghupati Raghava
Raghupati-raghava Raja Ram
Patita-pavana Sita Ram
Sita Ram (jaya), Sita Ram
Sita Ram Jaya Radhe Shyam


Spiritual translation Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram


 


We worship the Divine, the great Lord of the universe. Oh God,
you are the comfort of all the fallen. You manifest yourself as
Sita and Rama, as Radha and Shyama (Krishna). Please give us all
insight, oh God. Ishwara and Allah are your names - Let us love
all people.


 


“Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram” is a particularly popular kirtan. It
also comes in different melodies. There are two main melodies in
use in Yoga Vidya. There is the melody that Swami Vishnudevananda
liked to sing and also Swami Sivananda and as you also find it in
the film with Mahatma Gandhi, that is a song that Mahatma Gandhi
liked to sing. And then there is another version that Krishna Das
made popular and that many at Yoga Vidya also sing.


Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram has different parts. The first part is
the classic one, which is a mixture of Sanskrit and Hindi, it's
more Sanskrit, but sometimes "Rama" is shortened to "Ram", which
would be such a slightly Hindiized version. But Ram is also the
Bija Mantra, which goes to the heart and develops Rama, as joy.


The second part is, you could say, the cross-religious part,
where it is said that all religions are ultimately one. First of
all, the first part. “Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram.” Ram is the
king of the Raghavas, that is, he is the king of an entire tribe.
He is Raghupati, he is the lord of the Raghus. He is Sita Ram, he
is always connected to Sita. He is Patita Pavana, the one who
purifies all the fallen. This means that when we don't know what
to do and feel desperate somewhere, Rama helps us, Rama supports
us.


The next verse: “Jaya Sita Ram Jaya Sita Ram Sita Ram Jaya Radhe
Shyam”, this is a particularly dynamic part that means: “May Sita
and Rama triumph.” Jaya means triumph or victory. And then Radhe
Shyam is invoked, because Radha and Shyama (Krishna) are also
important in Rama, are practically the descendants or are later
generation, incarnations of Rama and Sita. Rama and Sita are
incarnations of Vishnu and Lakshmi. Vishnu and Lakshmi incarnated
later than Krishna and Radha