Why Lord Ram Never Used Miracles Like Krishna?

In the great and glorious history of Sanatana Dharma two of the most famous venerable and radiant complete incarnations of Lord Vishnu took place to re-establish righteousness on this earth and show the real path of life to humanity. In the final phase of Treta Yuga Maryada Purushottam Lord Shri Ram incarnated and in the transition period of Dvapara Yuga the holy appearance of Leela Purushottam Lord Shri Krishna took place. When we study the entire life history their plays and methodology of these two great divine incarnations deeply and subtly an extremely astonishing logical and fundamental difference is clearly visible. While the entire life of Lord Shri Krishna from the moment of birth to his departure to Goloka was filled with supernatural miracles magical wonders and open displays of metaphysical powers Lord Shri Ram never displayed any kind of ordinary physical or magical miracle in his entire life span.

Shri Krishna opened the shackles immediately upon taking birth in the prison of Kansa killed terrifying demons like Putana Trinavarta and Shaktasura in his childhood lifted the huge Govardhan mountain on his pinky finger to shatter the ego of Indra and stopped the movement of time in the battlefield of Kurukshetra to display his supreme cosmic form to Arjuna. Completely opposite to this Lord Shri Ram kept enduring worldly sufferings like an extremely ordinary human being throughout his life wandered in the forests due to exile slept on harsh gravel wept for the separation of his wife like ordinary humans while hiding from demons and prayed with folded hands while being hungry and thirsty for three days on the shore to seek a path from the ocean to go to Lanka.

Seeing this fundamental and deep variation it is natural for a question to arise in the mind of any curious devotee and reader as to why despite being a complete part of saaksat Narayana Shri Ram kept his divine powers completely hidden in the background? Why did he not take the support of supernatural divine plays like Shri Krishna to destroy tyrannical demonic forces like Ravana Kumbhakarna and Tadaka? In the Ramayana written by Maharishi Valmiki various Puranas and texts of Vedic philosophy an extremely mystical logical and spiritual answer to this secret is found. In reality Shri Ram staying completely away from miracles was not his weakness but it was his well thought out divine plan deep respect for the laws of nature and the highest ideal of conduct established for human race. This article uncovers that secret spiritual truth which makes Ram different from Krishna and the personification of modesty.

Vedic Comparative Description of the Tendencies of Ram and Krishna Avatars

According to Vedic philosophy laws of the time cycle and mythological samhitahs the core purpose of incarnation the requirement of the society of their time and the immediate social rules of these two great avatars were completely distinct which can be understood clearly through the following detailed table.

Comparative Point	Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram (Treta Yuga)	Leela Purushottam Shri Krishna (Dvapara Yuga)
Core Form of Incarnation	One hundred percent strict adherence to the limitations of human form (Maryada)	Open display of full opulence, Yogamaya and divine powers (Leela)
Main Rule of Asura Slaying	Only an ordinary human being could kill Ravana (Word of Brahma)	There was no such constitutional regulation for Kansa, Shishupala and Jarasandha
Approach Towards Miracles	Complete and strict prohibition of miracles, relying only on human effort	Supernatural metaphysical miracles ready for the protection of society in crisis
Practical Solution to Crisis	Harsh human struggle, ideal conduct, lamentation, patience and rule-boundedness	High class diplomacy, war strategy, intelligence and use of powers
Main Message to Humanity	How a human being should conduct himself ideally in adverse circumstances	How one should live with cleverness and righteousness amidst complex dilemmas

Boon of Brahma Received by Ravana and Compulsion of Human Womb

The biggest uninfringed and main reason for Lord Shri Ram not using miracles in his entire life was that special boon received by Ravana from Lord Brahma which became the main foundation of his death. The lord of Lanka Ravana through the strength of his harsh penance sacrifice of ten heads and fierce celibacy had sought this boon from Brahma that no deity gandharva yaksha kinnar demon danav or serpent could kill him. Ravana was so proud of his physical strength and the military power of golden Lanka that while asking for the boon he considered human beings and monkeys extremely trivial weak and tasteless and did not even think it necessary to mention their names. He thought that human beings weak like straw and monkeys jumping on trees would do what harm to him.

Due to this very reason to make the slaying of Ravana valid under cosmic laws Lord Vishnu had to completely place his entire divine powers four-armed form and Sudarshana Chakra in the background and take birth as an ordinary human being in the house of an ordinary king. If Shri Ram had used any kind of divine cosmic miracle in the war in the search for Sita or in his daily life the modesty of that boon of Brahma would have been shattered and the slaying of Ravana would have fallen under the category of unrighteousness. The end of Ravana could be done only by a warrior who fought relying solely on his human effort and arrows while struggling with hunger thirst exhaustion separation grief and physical pain. Therefore throughout his life Shri Ram completely refused to consider himself saaksat God and always said before the assembly of gods "Atmanam manusham manye ramam dasharathatmajam" meaning I consider myself an ordinary human being the son of King Dasharatha and I have to remain within my human limitations.

Establishing Ideal for Human Race: Learning Life Without Miracles

Treta Yuga was that time period where the roots of righteousness were quite deep and strong in society but human beings needed to be taught practically how to fulfill the duty of an ideal son an ideal king an ideal husband and an ideal brother in adverse situations. If Shri Ram had performed a small magical miracle upon the abduction of his wife Sita and turned Lanka to ashes merely by his wish the coming generations and this entire world would never have learned how to maintain the balance of mind and patience during a crisis.

Shri Ram showed society how when everything shatters in practical life when a harsh exile of fourteen years is received suddenly in the morning instead of the coronation one can still remain firm on the words of his parents without getting distracted. He got the Ram Setu constructed with stones by writing the name of Ram organized the backward forest dwellers Bhils and monkeys to make a disciplined army. This is a living and historical proof that even an ordinary human being if he wishes can defeat the biggest fierce and most modern demonic army of the world on the strength of his limited resources unbroken willpower and hard work. The character of Ram inspires human beings to become a true karma yogi not to sit holding hands relying on false miracles.

Difference in Social Consciousness of Treta Yuga and Dvapara Yuga

According to the unalterable laws of the Vedic time cycle three out of four phases of righteousness were completely active and awake in the Treta Yuga. The people of that time were mentally and spiritually highly mature and they would get inspired to walk on the path of righteousness merely by seeing the ideals of modesty truth and scriptures. In that golden era people did not need to see any magical miracle to believe in righteousness or adopt good conduct. The calm serious self sacrificing and sinless character of Ram was completely sufficient to keep society मर्यादित and disciplined.

On the contrary when Dvapara Yuga arrived only half of righteousness was left and the roots of unrighteousness had spread in society. Society was dominated by deceitful diplomats like Shakuni gross tyrants like Duryodhana and Dushasana and cruel kings like Kansa and Shishupala who were not ready at all to accept any human rule scripture or modesty. The social and mental consciousness of that era had become so distorted and tamsik that displaying the fierce opulence valor and supernatural powers of saaksat God from time to time had become mandatory to re-establish righteousness there. If Shri Krishna had not shown the miracle of Sudarshana Chakra in the midst of the assembly at the time of slaying Shishupala had not killed Kansa with supernatural strength or had not displayed his supreme cosmic form to Arjuna at the time of the sermon of Gita irreligious people would have dismissed his peace talks completely considering him just an ordinary cowherd or Yaduvanshi king. To solve the complexities of Dvapara Yuga play cleverness and diplomacy were required while the truth of Treta Yuga needed only the holy light of modesty and penance.

Modesty of Yoganidra and Respect for the Laws of Nature

From the perspective of spiritual science and tantra shastra taking an incarnation on earth means that whichever physical body the supreme consciousness enters it has to respect the limitations of that body and the physical and biological laws of that realm completely. Shri Ram never broke the natural laws of the earth for his own benefit. When his old father King Dasharatha died he wept bitterly like an ordinary son. When Lakshman was rendered unconscious by the Shakti arrow of Meghanada in the battlefield he lamented like a helpless brother and instead of reviving Lakshman with any magical power he took the advice of Sushena the royal physician of Lanka itself and saved his life within the rules of the medical system of nature by using the herbal mixture (Sanjeevani) brought by Hanuman ji. He did not mock nature there by doing any magic or supernatural miracle.

This great approach of Shri Ram teaches us the intense lesson that God after making this universe never changes the laws established by it for his own selfishness or loved ones. Happiness and sorrow gain and loss life and death are the eternal and unalterable laws of this transient world and even when God comes in human form he accepts these laws gladly while undergoing sufferings. The entire life of Ram is such a glorious and inspiring saga of the complete prohibition of miracles which explains to today's modern human being that the real miracle is not in any magic trick or superstition but in remaining firm before one's adverse situations to maintain the purity and morality of one's character.

FAQ

Why did Lord Shri Ram not display miracles in his entire life?
Shri Ram had incarnated as Maryada Purushottam. His main purpose was to present the character of an ideal human being before humanity. He wanted to show how a human being without any supernatural power can achieve victory over every crisis relying merely on his human effort resolve and righteousness.

Why was it necessary for Shri Ram to remain entirely human to slay Ravana? Ravana had received a boon from Brahma that no deity demon or yaksha could kill him. Human beings were not included in that boon. Therefore to respect the words of Brahma and for the end of Ravana Lord Vishnu had to fight remaining completely within human limitations.

What is the main difference between the incarnations of Shri Krishna and Shri Ram regarding miracles?
Shri Ram came in Treta Yuga where righteousness was strong therefore he kept human modesty and duties supreme. Shri Krishna came in Dvapara Yuga where unrighteousness had increased and people did not accept the words of righteousness directly therefore the use of supernatural miracles and diplomacy was mandatory for the protection of society.

Why did Shri Ram not perform a miracle when Lakshman ji was hit by the Shakti arrow?
Shri Ram respected the natural and physical laws of the earth completely. He wanted to show that human body is mortal and during illness or crisis medical treatment and human effort (like Hanuman ji bringing the Sanjeevani herb) are required not any superstition or magical miracle.

According to Valmiki Ramayana what did Shri Ram think about himself?
In the Valmiki Ramayana Shri Ram never addressed himself as God. He clearly accepted before the deities that I consider myself an ordinary human being the son of King Dasharatha and will perform my duties in this very form.