Ram, Bharat, Lakshman, and Shatrughna - what do they symbolise?

Question

I’d like to ask something. We’ve just understood that Ram represents a special awakened consciousness, and Sita represents our pure truth or pure thought. Now, if Ram is that awakened consciousness and Sita is pure thought, then why does that pure consciousness, or its pure thought, go chasing after the golden deer—the symbol of illusion? What does this signify?

Answer

See, we need to understand this step by step. First, let’s recall: King Dasharatha desired to have a son. You’ve read in the story—his wish was fulfilled, and he was blessed with a son, Ram. Along with Ram, three more sons were born. Everywhere in our Puranic literature, the word putra (son) is not used only for a physical child but also as a symbol for qualities (guna). So Dasharatha’s sons are actually symbols of the awakening of inner qualities within us.

Dasharatha represents our pure and noble mind. When our pure mind yearns deeply, it prays: “May a divine quality arise within me.” From that longing, one supreme quality is born — Self-knowledge (Ram). When this one quality—Self-realization—awakens in the pure mind, three more related qualities also manifest automatically.

The second quality born with Ram is Bharat. Bharat represents the natural outcome of Self-knowledge — when I realize “I am the Self,” I also naturally realize that the qualities of the Self—peace, joy, and love—are mine already. The Self is described as Sat-Chit-Ananda (existence, consciousness, bliss). So when I become aware that I am the Self, I automatically experience its bliss. That effortless joy and peace within—this is Bharat.

The third quality is Lakshman. Once I recognize, “I am consciousness, the Self,” I realize that my mind, which by itself is inert, functions only because of my conscious presence. Thoughts arise because of that consciousness flowing through the mind. When the conscious Self is withdrawn, the body and mind become lifeless. A dead body, even with a brain, cannot think. Thoughts are created only in the presence of consciousness. So Lakshman symbolizes the understanding that I, the conscious Self, am the creator of my own thoughts. When this realization becomes firm, we stop blaming others — we know that the thoughts I think are created by me alone.

Then the fourth quality is Shatrughna. When I recognize that I myself create my thoughts, I also realize that I alone have the power to end or dissolve them. The one who creates also has the strength to destroy. If I think “this person is bad,” and later a saint tells me, “don’t think like that,” I can immediately withdraw that thought. The ability to dissolve one’s own negative thoughts is Shatrughna — literally, “the destroyer of inner enemies.”

So Ram, Bharat, Lakshman, and Shatrughna are not four separate people — they are four inner qualities that arise when Self-knowledge awakens.

• Ram is Self-awareness.
  
  

• Bharat is the joy and love that naturally accompany that awareness.
  
  

• Lakshman is the alert understanding that “I create my own thoughts.”
  
  

• Shatrughna is the power to destroy wrong or harmful thoughts.
  
  

When one divine quality—Self-knowledge—arises within, these other three qualities emerge automatically.

This is how we must understand the Ramayana. Only then do we truly do justice to it. The Ramayana is not just an outer story; it is the story of our inner journey. That journey can’t easily be expressed in direct, analytical language, because the inner experiences are far deeper than words.

Even in ordinary life, if I’m feeling sorrow, my tears convey it more clearly than my words ever could. Similarly, the inner spiritual journey is shown in the form of a story or imagery so that it can be understood. The Ramayana, therefore, is a symbolic narration of our inner evolution.

Of course, the story is real in its own right, and one may regard it as a historical or symbolic text according to one’s belief. But to gain the real benefit from it, one should first try to understand the inner meaning hidden within the story. Once that is grasped, you are free to view it however you wish — as history, allegory, or both.