Thursday, January 06, 2005

Discussion: The truth behind chanting Ram naam Satya hai

NOTE: the phrase "ram naam satya hai" is in hidi language.

For some time i had been thinking that why people say "Ram naam Satya hai" when people die. Ram naam is always a truth and will always remain one. then why say ram naam satya hai when a person dies. Infact nowdays it has become synonymous to death. we now tend to associate ram naam satya hai with death. if we hear ram naam satya hai, we think somebody must have died. what is to think is why people say ram naam satya hai at death and how did it came into existence.

I asked this to one of my professors here at my institute, Prof. Ganesh Devy. The following are excerpts from the hobnob.

In older times there was no such ritual to say ram naam satya hai. he says that he does not remember such a ritual when he was young.In earlier days distance between the cremation ground and home was small. People used to have cremation ground in the backyard or at a short distance. As time passed by and population increased, distance between the cremation gound and home increased. Now how one should utilize time while the body is being taken to the cremation ground. We should not talk as it is not suitable to the situation. So people took to chanting ram naam satya hai to occupy themselves. It was just a social change which happened with time. If you have noticed, non-hindi speaking commumities also say ram naam satya hai in hindi and not in their local/regional language.People say ram naam satya hai just for saying. Just like in all hindu marriages, we have shlokas in sanskrit. It has no relation with ram, life after death, or anything like that. this just happened as a social change and thats all. After sometime we may have a situation when this say be replaced some kind of music denoting death. Nowdays we have special kind of music (with shahnai) which denotes that a marriage is taking place. After some, when the population increases so much that there will be shortage of land, then people might take to cremating their near and dear ones with sophisticated scientific equipments like electric furnace. and then may be the ritual of saying ram naam satya hai will change.

6 Comments:

Blogger Evanescently Blithe said...

interesting!!!!
programmers song is just tooo goood..
i hope by now u have translated it into english

Tue Jun 20, 12:35:00 am 2006  
Blogger Unknown said...

People have different explanation for this. What I have inferred is that when someone dear to you leaves this world and you are all soaked in grief and doubt, these four words are mere reminder to you that everything in this mortal world is nothing but illusion (MAYA) and the Ram is eternal and the only truth.

Fri Jul 12, 08:59:00 am 2013  
Blogger Unknown said...

Ram naam satya hai....satya bolo satya hai....
What is there in it... just chanting...
even today when somebody wishes me - Good Morning" i simply says "Ram Naam Satya Hai"....
Satya is always satya and is never related to the dead body or funerals....
when i started this practice for every "good morning" by replying "Ram naam...", people puzzled at that point of time....but now after practicing for more than three months, they wish me "ram naam satya hai" and I respond them by saying "staya bolo satya hai.... and by saying all this to each other we all have good laugh when we meet and the fear of the slogan has vanished...

Satya Bolo Satya Hai....

Sat Sept 27, 08:53:00 pm 2014  
Blogger g bo said...

Yours professot has very less knowdlege On sanathan dharam, suryavansham family and the story behind ram why is truth.

Mon Aug 22, 04:58:00 am 2016  
Blogger g bo said...

Yours professot has very less knowdlege On sanathan dharam, suryavansham family and the story behind ram why is truth.

Mon Aug 22, 04:58:00 am 2016  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

whoever u r or professor is.
Raam naam is always true.

Tue Jan 10, 09:25:00 am 2017  

Post a Comment

<< Home

since Jan 9 2005