Usually people celebrate Ram Navami by decorating their homes, putting up a fresh marigold flowers and mango leaves toran at the main door of the house, making rangoli at the entrance, worshipping Lord Ram, Mata Sita, Lakshman and Lord Hanuman, singing bhajans in praise of Lord Ram, reading the Ramayana, and visiting Lord Ram’s temple. Those who keep a fast for Navratri also perform a puja for Goddess Durga and offer her a feast of halwa, puri, and black chana on this day.This is the traditional way of celebrating the festival. But if we want, we can gain more from this propitious day.
Ram Navami falls in the month of Chaitra as per the Hindu calendar. This month heralds the beginning of spring. Spring is considered a time of fresh starts. It is the season when the trees left barren by the harsh winter weather start to grow new leaves, flowers begin to bloom, days become brighter and longer and there are beauty and joy all around.When nature is forgetting past hurts and is making a brand new beginning, then shouldn’t we also use this time to let go of the old, unhealthy, and redundant? And, what better day than the birthday of Lord Rama to make a new and happy beginning?
* Set New Year resolutionsIf you’ve missed out on setting goals and resolutions for the year in January, you can do so now. Gudi Padwa marked the beginning of the Hindu New Year. So, technically, you’re just nine days into a new year. There’s still time to catch up!! Use this day to introspect on the months gone by, what you need to do in the next 9 – 12 months, and set those goals!
* Declutter and clean your homeOkay, maybe not exactly on Ram Navami day. But in the next 2 – 3 days, your goal should be to remove and discard things that are not of any use to you or your family. Cleaning your surroundings will help you create a healthy and peaceful environment. It will also create space in your home and life for new and better things. And, isn’t that what we all want?
* Quit one bad habitLord Rama’s life is evidence that if one prevails, they can overcome evil. He fought with Ravana to save his wife and bring her home. While we may not have a real ten-headed Ravana in our lives that has captured someone in our family, we do have bad and unhealthy habits that may be slowly nibbling away at our life and happiness. So, use this day to identify one such habit and commit to quitting it.
* Start new projects and habitsRam Navami is one of the most auspicious days in the Hindu calendar. This makes it a great day for starting or launching new projects, work, and business. It is also a great day to make positive changes to your lifestyle.
* Plant a treeThe forest provided shelter to Lord Rama during his exile. In modern times, forests help create a clean, healthy and liveable environment for us. They make the weather pleasant, help the sustain the wildlife, and make our Earth beautiful. So while you may not be able to plant an entire forest, you can plant one tree in your garden, in your locality, or a public garden to thank mother nature for everything that it does for you.