Category: Vanara Gita

Vanara Gita 58: True devotee is filled only with thoughts of his favorite deity.

To recapitulate:

  • Merit from the good deeds performed in earlier births, yields good results in this birth.
  • Harming others in other births leads to suffering in this birth.
  • Engaging in philanthropic deeds bestows immense merit (punya).
  • Emergence of such a desire in the mind reflects a certain degree of merit (punya) within the individual.

He should then convert this desire into actions. Only then it will transform into a meritorious holy tree.

  • In the absence of such merit a person will not even get the thought of offering service to the Lord.

The presence of all these above-mentioned traits brings greatness to a person. Only then will he acquire the required eligibility and competence (yogyata).  This eligibility will bestow the title ‘devotee’ upon the person.

It is not so simple to be addressed as a ‘devotee’. Very often people complain, “For the past few weeks I had feelings of great devotion towards God. Suddenly such feelings seem to have disappeared.” Such a person will not be addressed as a true and great devotee. A sea difference exists between the feelings of a true devotee and such a person. The difference is visible in the speech itself. Regarding such a person, others may at most say, “Oh, that person was a regular visitor to the temple. Of late he is not to be seen. Perhaps he is unwell”. They too will never address him as a great devotee.

Only he, who participates without fail in daily activities of the Lord, is addressed as a great devotee. Reaching such a state is a hard task. Such a state should be maintained as well. Due to such deeds, the balance of merit to one’s credit should also be increased.

It is the good deeds, good traits and good sincere devotion of a person that fetch him a good name. The power, fame and wealth that one enjoys today may not remain tomorrow.  The power also brings with it a lot of ego and self-pride. Contrary to this, the good traits and good habits acquired by the person remain eternally with him.

People often speak about a true devotee in the following manner- “God only knows, in which birth this person would have performed which meritorious deed to have been blessed with such intense devotion” or “This is the result of some meritorious deed of an earlier birth” or “It is due to the merit earned in many births that he is blessed with undisrupted devotion to the Guru in this birth”. Thus, even when being clueless about earlier births, we often speak in this manner. Should we not aim to scale this level in terms of our devotion and good traits? Our good habits also protect us.

Troubling and harming others is a sinful deed. Increase in bad habits only lead to increase in the balance of sins of the individual. No one will even want to think about such an individual.

Only thoughts about his chosen deity circulate within the intellect of a true devotee. They speak solely about their deity and the traits of their deity. A devotee of a Guru will speak only about his Guru, the form of his Guru, the essence behind the Guru principle, and so on. Starting from the inner being (atma), the devotee will wonderfully praise even the physical form of his/her Guru. His glories are sung at all times. This turns out to be an endless obsession.

Likewise, only thoughts about Hanuman will flow in the intellect (buddhi) of the ardent devotees of Hanuman. They speak about Hanuman at all times. Hanuman transforms his devotees to become like Him. Every deity transforms the ardent devotee, who constantly reflects and thinks about Him, into Himself. Hanuman blesses such devotees with devotion towards Rama. This is exactly what happened to Vanara Shatabali.

 

Om Namo Hanumate Namaha.

 

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Vanara Gita 57: Even to serve the Lord, His blessings are crucial

Vanara Śatabali says-

Dhanyo asmy-anugrahitosmi punyosmi mahīto asmyaham

Hanuman tva pādāmbhoja sevā vibhava yogataḥ.

Meaning- Oh Hanumanta! By obtaining this chance of serving your lotus feet I have been absolutely blessed. You have favoured me.  Due to this grace upon me, I have become meritorious and great.

To be bestowed with an opportunity to serve the lotus feet of Hanuman is an exceedingly great fortune that is very rare to attain. It is a great yoga. When those who obtain this golden opportunity use it wisely, they are rewarded with immense blessedness (dhanyata).

What exactly is dhanyata (blessedness)? It means serving that Supreme Lord who is the root behind this birth of ours. Performing actions towards knowing the Supreme is true blessedness.

While many entertain the desire to serve the Supreme Lord, only a select few actually are blessed with this opportunity. Why is this so? This is because even to serve Him, His blessings and grace are critical pre-requisites. If this is so, how does one obtain ‘His’ blessings and grace? The answer to this is simple- if the person has ever prayed to be blessed with an opportunity to serve His feet, then he will be adequately blessed with it. The devotee should have asked, “O Lord, I seek a birth in which I have an opportunity to serve your lotus feet. Please bless me accordingly”.

It isn’t too late even now. A devotee can pray, “O Lord, please bless me with an opportunity to serve your feet within this birth”. He may or may not be blessed with a chance in this birth. There is no necessity that such a prayer should yield results in this birth itself. In the event that this blessing is not showered in this birth, then it will automatically get transferred to a future birth.

All our scriptures and holy texts decisively state that serving and helping others is greatly meritorious and that harming/troubling others is highly sinful. Even the sincere desire to reach help others is a proof that at least a drop of merit (punya) exists in the person. Just as a seed is nourished such that it grows into an enormous tree, the good thought of assisting others should be nurtured by converting it into action. With an increase in such charitable deeds, this will grow into a gigantic meritorious tree.

Adi Shankara-Bhagavad-pādācharya has declared that the desire to serve the Supreme Lord will not emerge in the person unless and until he has some merit (punya) to his credit. It is only when we have some merit with us that we are attracted towards God.

At times Swamiji says to his devotees- “Your quota is finished” or “Your quota is depleting quickly”. This leaves the devotee confused. However what does this imply?  “The merit from the various good deeds that you had performed during your many earlier births has resulted in this friendship between you and Me. From the moment you found your Guru, you have stopped participating in any form of meritorious deeds. Prior to this, every single day you were praying and contemplating about Guru and God.”

 

Om Namo Hanumate Namaha.

Permanent link to this article: https://puttugam.com/vanara-gita-episode-57-even-to-serve-the-lord-his-blessings-and-grace-are-critical-pre-requisites/

Vanara Gita 56: Devotion towards Hanuman helps build good character

It is the greatest fortune of earthlings that Hanuman resides on this planet. This being so, not contemplating upon him and refusing to hold on to his feet reflect utter foolishness. Letting go of this golden opportunity in life is nothing but stupidity.

All of us are familiar with stories from our Puranas which state that all Gods, be it Rama or Krishna or Subrahmanya, all retired back to their planets upon completion of their tasks.  That they left behind on earth, their energized shadow images (chaya roopa shakti), is also a well-known fact. Apart from Hanuman, the Sun with its self-originating natural energy is the only other visible God on earth. Amongst them, the Sun is neither completely visible nor within reach. Hence Hanuman is the only God who is both visible and within our reach. How can we not remember him then, when we are living on this earth?

Hanuman has preached varied good paths, all of which have been penned down as poetic compositions by eminent poets. Through reading and understanding of these poems and following the path prescribed therein, everyone will transform into worthy beings of great character.

Every being necessarily enters this world in the form of a small infant. All infants are alike and labels such as good, respectable, evil and sinful cannot be attached to any being at the time of birth. It is the character that defines them as adults. No one is born as inferior or mean. It is the samskaras (subtle tendencies of past actions) as well as the present actions of the individual that labels them as good or bad. Meditating upon Hanuman prompts the person towards performing good deeds. In turn this helps in building an excellent character. Good character brings with it the resultant respect and fame.

To lead a respectful life on this earth, devotion is a very critical pre-requisite. Even though people in the society greatly retain the tendency to ridicule others, deep down they entertain a certain degree of respect towards true devotees of the Lord. ‘Oh, he is a great devotee’ or ‘ He is a firm devotee of Lord Hanuman’ or ‘He visits the Venkataramana temple every single day’ – people make such respectful observations about devotees in general. What could be greater luck and respect than to be addressed in this manner by the entire neighborhood?

For example, there are many who customarily offer a vadamala (garland of doughnut shaped lentil-based dish) to Hanuman upon the completion of every good assignment in their life. The society holds such devotees in great respect and awe. This boosts the devotee even further and encourages him to accelerate the participation in such good deeds. It also, in addition, strengthens their good character. Thus the terms ‘devotion’ and ‘devotee’ are steps to building a great character in the individual.

Earth is the only plane in which the person has a chance to build a good character. This is possible because of Hanuman’s grace. Under such circumstances, abstaining from talking about Hanuman and worshipping him is nothing but complete foolishness. Engaging in sinful deeds while displaying pretentious devotion serves no purpose. Ramayana and other great epics are the holy books, reading which will help in developing a great character.

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Vanara Gita 55: Hanuman eternally resides on earth.

Our learned seers have already assigned the tasks that should be taken up based on time during the day. This is stipulated in the almanac.

Sun is the visible form of the all-pervading Lord. Non-appearance of the Sun is considered to be an ill-fated day. The famous text Amarkosha states ‘Megha channe ‘ti durdinam’ which means that the day on which the sky is entirely covered with clouds is a very bad day.  No new assignment ought to be begun on such a day. Likewise, Tuesday is generally considered inauspicious for starting any new tasks. Within the Panchanga too, there are many ill-fated and inauspicious times specified, based on the stars (nakshatras), yogam, karanam and tithi (day as per lunar calendar).

Nevertheless, none of these limitations of the almanac apply to those ardent devotees who are eternally engrossed in contemplation about Hanuman. Since they possess a pure intent (suddha sankalpa) they are free to begin any new assignment at any hour. Hanuman remains eternally by their side.

To recapitulate, Golāngūla emphasizes that any limitation regarding time or classifications of auspicious and inauspicious times, do not apply to ardent devotees of Hanuman who are relentlessly engaged in chanting his divine name. Such persons should assess for themselves whether their intent is pure and whether they are constantly engrossed in contemplation about Hanuman or not. Persons with pure intent will eternally be engaged in chanting divine names. Where a person lacks pure intent and is unable to undertake relentless nama japa, he should resort to taking the help of the almanac (panchanga) to choose auspicious times during the day.

The following is the hymn composed by Kumada-

Trātaro bhuvi padāccha mārgāccha rasane tvaya

Hanuman-nirmitā ssanthi janānām hīnatha kutah.

Meaning- Those feet of Hanuman, that are a refuge for all the beings, reside on this earth. Oh tongue, you have with you hymns and other paths that lead towards Hanuman.  Where is the question of deficiency among the people of earth?

The sheer luck of the human beings ensured that Hanuman incarnated on this earth plane. Unlike other incarnations, he does not disappear after the stipulated time. Instead he remains eternally on earth. Earth is his residence; it is his abode. This is his own plane (loka) of existence. The very moment he incarnated on earth, all various types of inauspiciousness that had enveloped this earth were simply washed off. The mountains and the seas also were freed from all inauspiciousness and were rendered pure instantly.

In such a situation, where is the place for fear? Why should anyone entertain feelings of aversion towards earth? Amongst the innumerable planes of existence in this creation, we have been born on this plane called earth, where Hanuman has incarnated. The luck is not just in being born here on earth, but also in the fact that we possess the required consciousness while on this plane. Isn’t this our greatest fortune? In such situation, when we continuously undertake Hanuman nama japa, where is the need to agonize about inauspicious and auspicious happenings?

 

Om Namo Hanumate Namaha

Permanent link to this article: https://puttugam.com/vanara-gita-episode-55-hanuman-eternally-resides-on-earth-this-is-his-abode/

Vanara Gita 54: Pancanga (almanac) identifies the good and bad time-slots during a day

The holy text Srimad Bhagavatam outrightly condemns that a mouth, which does not sing the glories of the Lord, is not a mouth at all! Only that tongue which sings the praises of Lord Hari, is the real tongue, it says.

It is nothing but the taste of nectar that is contained within the name ‘Hanuman’. After an in-depth analysis of all the Vedas and of all the scriptures, our ancient seers have finally concluded that the taste contained in the recitation of the divine name of the Almighty transcends every other taste.

The tongue that otherwise enjoys varied food tastes, fails to appreciate any taste when the body develops fever. Yet, even under sick, diseased and disturbed conditions, the tongue continues to enjoy the taste that emerges out of the recitation of the divine names! In fact, during troubled times, this recitation turns even tastier. The person is inclined to conduct more nama japa during such troubled times. Nama japa (recitation of divine names) turns out to be a medicine for troubled times. Thus, this taste cuts through all situations and all times. Nama japa is a divine medicine that smoothens the future journey.

Golāngūla praises Lord Hanuman in the following verse-

Kuto durdinam vā kuto bhouma-vārah

Kuto ydhṛti stasya bhadrā katham vā

Kuto vā vyatīpāta-dosha kshutam vām

Hunumat padadhyāna vīta subhasya.

Meaning- Where is the question of having an inauspicious day, where is the need to scan the almanac to locate an auspicious time, star (nakshatra), yogam and karanam to that person who has washed away all his impurities through the worship of the feet of Lord Hanuman? Such a person need not fear anything; for every moment is only an auspicious moment for him.

Tuesdays are commonly considered inauspicious for any new beginning. The almanac is scanned to locate the planetary position (star) and auspicious time (yogam) ideally suited for the task on hand. The Rahu-kalam and yama-gandam timings during the day are considered unfavorable for starting many tasks. A cat crossing the path, or the person sneezing before the start of the activity are also treated as inauspicious sentiments. Golāngūla declares that the person undertaking Hanuman’s errands need not entertain such sentiments. To them, every task will be rendered auspicious.

The almanac is used as the basis to identify auspicious and inauspicious timings within any given day. To be rendered successful, a task should compulsorily be taken up with absolute purity in body, mind and speech. This is known as Trikarana shuddhi. As it is impossible to retain the mind and the speech under total control, the almanac is studied to identify the good and the bad time slots during the day. Keeping this in mind, if the task is taken up with total purity of body, it is accomplished successfully.

The real truth is that the divisions such as good and bad times are non-existent. Time is an endless flow. Nevertheless, only when a task is taken up in accordance with time, it is rendered successful. A fruit that is plucked only when it is fully ripened is useful.

Likewise developing knowledge about time is of utmost importance. Based on their experience, our knowledgeable ancient sages have established various time slots that are suitable for various activities in daily life. This declaration of theirs is known as the almanac.

As it has in it 5 primary constituents (limbs) such as the tithi (day as per the lunar fortnight), vaara (day of the week) nakshatra (prevailing star), yogam and karanam (other divisions of time involving astronomical calculations), our daily time is classified as Panchanga (5-limbed).

 

Om Namo Hanumate Namaha.

Permanent link to this article: https://puttugam.com/vanara-gita-episode-54-pancanga-almanac-identifies-the-good-and-bad-time-slots-during-a-day/

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