June 3, 2017 archive

Hanuman undoubtedly was an orator par excellence. When he addressed Rama and Lakshmana for the very first time, His words were grammatically perfect, peaceful, pleasant, captivating, soft and warm.

Not everyone possesses this art of speaking pleasantly. To speak without indirectly hurting the feelings of others is an art. Hanuman offering solace to Mother Sita and his choice of words when enemy Vibhishana sought shelter under Lord Rama are other examples where he displayed this wisdom and eloquence in speech.

Before the war, Vibhishana, the younger brother of Demon Ravana, approached Rama and sought refuge under Him. That it was a demon who was approaching them was obvious from the fact that he had come flying in the air. Only demons have the ability to fly. We humans do not. From his speech it appeared that he was of gentle nature, but his body resembled that of a demon. He was explaining his entire background as well as the circumstances that led him to seek shelter under Lord Rama. He openly admitted that he is the brother of Demon Ravana. Yet, he was seeking shelter. How could one offer shelter to an enemy? This was the dilemma faced by members of Rama’s camp.

Rama skillfully asked every member present there for his opinion. Everyone unanimously declared that the enemy should not be trusted and should be shot then and there. They gave many reasons why Vibhishana should not be given refuge. They also offered to kill him.

Hanuman however was seated silently far away. Calling him near, Rama asked, “Hanuma, what is your opinion?” Hanuman was now in a fix. He could not approve of the decision of the elders in the group. But he could not openly go against his own elders and give a decision contrary to theirs. What would they think of him? At the same time, he knew that Lord Rama wanted to offer shelter to Vibhishana. For this reason, in spite of having got the opinion of all the elders present there, Rama was still asking Hanuman for an opinion. Therefore Rama had a definite purpose behind this question, Hanuman realized.

Talking exactly as is demanded by the situation is a laudable trait. It is a penance. Carelessly giving any suggestion, giving suggestion such that it is advantageous to us are not appreciable. Having tactfully assessed the situation, Hanuman said, “O Lord, do you really have to ask ordinary beings like us for opinion? Please do whatever you feel like in this aspect.”

Through these simple sentences, Hanuman emphatically conveyed a profound message. The first was that his teammates were ordinary beings whose wasteful opinions did not really matter. Secondly being the king as well as God Rama who was superior to them all had every right to make an unanimous decision without heeding to the wasteful advices of ordinary beings. Thirdly, whatever Rama decides is for the good and hence is acceptable to one and all. Thus, Hanuman’s reply was acceptable to one and all.

To speak skillfully without wasting any words while keeping the situation in mind is a very laudable ability. For possessing this skill, Hanuman has been aptly praised as ‘Vāgvidām varaha.’ He is an erudite scholar.

Tulsidas in his Hanuman Chalisa states- aṣṭa siddhi nava nidhi ke dāta– which means that Lord Hanuman bestows these the eight supernatural accomplishments. Hanuman advises us to use these supernatural accomplishments exclusively for the service of the Lord and in turn to secure the grace of Lord Rama, just like him.

He advocates that everyone should chant the name of Rama to obtain these accomplishments. Nowhere does he boast by asking people to chant his glories. He further says that if anyone chants his name, it is equivalent of chanting Rama’s name alone!

Om Namo Hanumate Namaha.

In every single instance and in every single task that concerned His master, irrespective of whether it was small or large, Hanuman displayed the same eagerness in completion! This was His greatness! ‘My master will be pleased if this task is complete. Therefore I should complete it. Let Him just mention the task to be done and I shall complete it that very instant’- was his line of thinking. With this attitude, he enthusiastically completed every single task allotted to him in no time and eagerly awaited the next. ‘O Lord, what is the next task that I should complete? What should I do? How should I behave?’ He would thus ask in great humility, as soon as the job was complete.  He believed that whatever might happen, Lord Rama’s tasks should be completed successfully.

Unlike him, we try to escape the allotted work. We find lame excuses. We should learn from Hanuman.

We presume that searching for Mother Sita was the only major task that Hanuman had undertaken for his master. But what we do not know is that there were many other tasks, big and small, apart from this, which Hanuman completed for Lord Rama. The entire character of Hanuman in Ramayana reveals his attitude of service towards his master. His service towards his master (seva) is both limitless and indescribable.

In merely 5 minutes, I can never relate to you Hanuman’s Guru seva in detail. How do you suppose that I can justify all His great accomplishments in just a day’s time? Even if you ask me to speak for this entire day, it will still be grossly insufficient. Moreover, you should have the ability to listen for that long. Only when the student is ready, the master can teach. The Guru is eternally ready to teach provided the student shows inclination towards listening and learning. Krishna taught each and every time Arjuna asked, irrespective of the time, location and the situation. He never even once said, -‘this is not the right time. I shall teach later.’ Whenever the disciple faces a spiritual doubt, the Guru clarifies. this is the wonderful relationship that they both share. The student also should take initiative and ask relevant questions. He should not be careless or negligent. If he gives lame excuses or blames his master then he cannot be helped.

Hanuman had in him the burning desire to eternally complete his master’s errands. As this enthusiasm was deeply ingrained within him, the eagerness would rush forth from him. This deep-rooted enthusiasm accompanied by his firm determination that only dharma (righteousness) should eternally prevail, has bestowed him with an agile and alert intellect. They have ensured that his intellect (buddhi) does not turn inert or lazy (jada). His intellect is eternally alert in the waking state as he does not know when he would be assigned the next task.

Hanuman displayed great eloquence (vak paṭutvam) in His speech when He met the brothers Rama and Lakshmana for the first time. Unlike Sugriva, He did not have any apprehensions about Rama and Lakshmana. Due to selfishness, Sugriva was worried that Rama and Lakshmana were magicians deputed to kill him and hence he feared them.  Hanuman, on the other hand, was undoubtedly sure that it was His master who had arrived. From their appearance, way of walking, shadow, way of speech and so on, Hanuman identified them.

Hanuman undoubtedly was an orator par excellence. When he addressed Rama and Lakshmana for the very first time, His words were grammatically perfect (without any grammatical error), peaceful, pleasant, captivating, soft and warm. Not everyone possesses this art of speaking pleasantly.

Om Namo Hanumate Namaha.

The weight of Hanuman’s strong powerful diamond body caused the mighty Mountain Mahendra to be reduced into tiny pieces! When Hanuman was flying to Lanka, the Mountain Mainaka rose up from under the seas. It is impossible to describe the strength contained within this massive and mighty Mountain Mainaka. Even such a mountain trembled fearfully when Hanuman gave it a single blow. It is said that Mainaka’s head reeled completely and he fell down due to the effect of this blow.

Likewise, Hanuman hit Lankini Devi (deity who zealously guarded the impregnable gates of the city of Lanka) with his fist and caused her to collapse. Who do you think was Lankini? She was a Devata; a yaksha (celestial being). It can be said that she was a cursed illusory being who appeared as a Devata yaksha. One blow from Hanuman’s fist was enough for this illusory being to collapse. It is another matter, however, that with this blow, she was rid of her curse.

Hanuman could get this strong and healthy body due to never-ending practice of Pranayama and meditation (dhyana). Endlessly He meditated upon Rama- ‘Rama, Rama, Rama, Rama…’. That’s all. There is no other thought and no other talk. Rama is included in each and every word spoken by Him. As devotees of Lord Hanuman, we too should practice this at least a bit. Every word spoken should have reference to Lord Rama. Be it in mind or speech, the eagerness to complete Lord Rama’s task should exist within us.

Hanuman sang the glories of Lord Rama every minute and in every situation. At the time of flying across the ocean, when he met Sita Devi, at the time of meeting Rama’s devotee Vibhishana, when seated in Ravana’s court, when carrying the Mountain Sanjivini, and even when Demon Indrajit left the powerful weapon Brahmastra, Hanuman only sang the praises of Rama. All the demons whom he came across when flying over the ocean were told the glories of Lord Rama.

Hanuman has fixed the mantra ‘Rama’ into every breath of His. It is a noiseless repetition of the name. During inhalation the word ‘Ra’ is uttered mentally and during exhalation it is the word ‘Ma’. Thus every breath automatically states ‘Ra….ma…’ We too should put this into practice. When listened carefully, the mantra is audible.

From the very moment Hanuman undertook to execute Lord Rama’s task, His fame began to spread in all the worlds. Even before this, Hanuman was famous. But now, after undertaking Rama’s task, his fame enveloped all the planes of existence.

His fame enveloped even the Deva loka (plane of Gods)! It evoked discussions even among the Gods. His marvelous deeds and his fame brought him the support as well as the protection from all the Gods. The fact that a Vānara was performing so many marvelous deeds, that too in the form of a service towards his master, stirred the Gods to move and come to his aid. All the 333 crore Devatas helped Hanuman in his mission that was undertaken in service of Lord Rama. It can be said that to ensure success in execution of Rama’s task, each and every God transferred his energy and strength to one strand of hair in Hanuman’s body!

Destruction of the massive Ashoka Vana (Ravana’s private garden) in Lanka, killing singlehandedly the ferocious, terrible demon Aksha (son of Ravana), standing at the centre-most major crossroad in Lanka and singing loudly the glories of Lord Rama, boldly sitting in Ravana’s court and advising him are instances that prove the courage of Hanuman.

Standing boldly amidst crores of demons, in the centre of the city of Lanka, Hanuman had the guts to loudly shout victory slogans glorifying Lord Rama. What better example than this is needed to display his courage? Not just Ravana, but also his sons and his entire set of ministers, were terrible demons with limitless magical powers. Remember that there are two kinds of supernatural powers- good and evil. The demons of Lanka possessed unlimited evil supernatural powers, not to forget that they possessed tremendous physical strength as well. Hanuman was a one-man army. Yet, the courage he displayed by loudly and boldly shouting victory slogans praising Lord Rama, sitting in the centre of Ravana’s court and preaching Ravana are praiseworthy. His commanding language and the manner in which he opposed Ravana is amazing. How much ever it is spoken of, it will never suffice.

The manner in which he ultimately brought peace to Mother Sita, and the way in which he set fire to the city of Lanka are praiseworthy. When his tail was torched, he fearlessly flew across the city setting all the buildings on fire. Remember that these magnificent buildings in Lanka were magical and illusory. Even such buildings melted like wax. For containing the power to burn down the entire city, his tail is glorified.

Every part of his body, be it his eyes, nose, heart, tail, ears, or even the tip of the tail is as strong as a diamond. He has a Vajrakaya i.e. body that is as strong and hard as a diamond. Even many Vajrayudhas (diamond weapons) collectively could not have injured, even minutely, any part of his body. As we all know, Vajrayudha is the weapon held by Lord Indra (Lord of Heaven). Akin to the Brahmastra this powerful weapon when struck cannot miss its mark. If Hanuman’s body itself is compared to this diamond weapon Vajrayudha, then how powerful would he be? He is a moving thunderbolt, a flying thunderbolt, a thunderbolt whose strike will never miss its mark. He is a thunderbolt who crushes the demons and zealously protects his ardent devotees.

His body glows with infinite divine radiance. His radiance dazzles like a diamond. Each and every hair on his body is as large as the city of Ayodhya and possesses infinite power. On his vast body there are crores of such hair. Each hair eternally vibrates with the name of Rama- ‘Rama, Rama, Ram, Rama…’. When Hanuman says ‘Rama’ once, each and every hair vibrates with the name ‘Rama’. Thus his whole body vibrates with the divine name ‘Rama’. Just listening to this makes every hair on our body stand up.

Om Namo Hanumate Namaha.