“Rāmāyaṇa” means the journey of Rāma. On the surface, it is the story of Prince Rāma of Ayodhyā, but in the yogic decoding, it is the inner journey of Cit (pure consciousness) from bondage to liberation.
• Daśaratha (ten-charioted king) symbolizes the human body governed by the ten senses (five jñānendriyas and five karmendriyas).

• His three queens represent the three guṇas of nature — Kausalyā = sattva, Kaikeyī = tamas, Sumitrā = rajas.

• The four sons are the inner faculties of mind:
• Rāma = Cit (pure awareness)
• Lakṣmaṇa = Buddhi (discrimination)
• Bharata = Ahaṁkāra (ego, surrendered)
• Śatrughna = Manas (mind, coordinator of senses)
Rāma’s journey is assisted by Hanumān, symbol of prāṇa (disciplined life-force), and the Vānara-sena, the semi-conscious powers of the subconscious mind. Together, they construct Rāma Setu, the bridge of focus and discipline that crosses the ocean of the subconscious, linking conscious and unconscious realms.
In Laṅkā, the fortress of ego at the Maṇipūra (navel centre), Rāma battles Rāvaṇa, the ten-headed ego embodying the ten negative tendencies (kāma, krodha, lobha, moha, mada, mātsarya, fear, doubt, arrogance, ignorance). With the help of awakened prāṇa, Rāma destroys the ego and frees the soul.
On the yogic path, this journey represents the breaking of the three granthis (psychic knots):
• Brahma Granthi (at Mūlādhāra – bondage to matter)
• Viṣṇu Granthi (at Anāhata – bondage to emotions/ego-identity)
• Rudra Granthi (at Ājñā – bondage of subtle ego and duality).
When these knots are broken, Rāma (consciousness) reunites with Sītā (Śakti, inner soul-energy, born of Earth at Mūlādhāra). Their reunion is not at the physical level, but at the Sahasrāra (crown lotus), symbolizing the ultimate union of consciousness and energy — the supreme state of Yoga.
Thus, the Rāmāyaṇa is not just history or mythology, but a timeless inner map of the yogic seeker’s journey from the rule of the senses to the liberation of the soul.”