June 7, 2017 archive

Vanara Gita 68: Only when a person considers himself to be God’s servant, he tastes supreme success

In the earlier eons demons too feared sins. They feared falling into hell as a result of which they could never reach higher planetary systems.

It can be said that although the demons disliked the Supreme Lord, they dedicatedly adhered to about 80% of the rules of dharma (righteousness). It was this dedication in the observance of the rules of dharma that protected them at all times. It also made it all the more difficult to subdue or defeat them. In certain aspects however, their atrocities, vices and evil-mindedness were unabated. The Lord would instigate them to proceed further in this evil path, so that it would pave the way for their destruction.

Gomukha, who was very righteous, advises everyone to fear sin. At the same time he urges everyone to develop an intellect that will guide on the path of dharma (dharma buddhi).

Hanuman’s prayer to Lord Rama was- dāsoham kosalendrasya– ‘Oh Lord Rama, please eternally consider me your servant’. Only a person who entertains the feelings that he is a servant of the Lord ultimately emerges successful. Dharma (righteousness) protects such person. It is totally wrong to think- ‘Why should I surrender to the Lord?” One should always entertain the feelings that everyone is a servant of the Sadguru.

There is a hymn in which the composer in all humility prays– Daasaradhi karuna payonidhi– ‘O Son of Dasaratha, Lord Rama, the ocean of mercy’.  Gomukha teaches that the Lord showers His compassion upon those devotees who are full of such humility. He will forgive them too.

 

Pavanasa (Panasa), the Vanara composes the last hymn of this Vanara Geeta-

 

Hanumato na param paramārdhathah

Idi vadāmi janān paramārdhatah

Na hi param bhavatātra vichakshanah.

 Iteedham vanara proktam sarva pāpaharam varam sarva jnānapradam caiva sarva soubhāgya vardhanam.

 Iti śri parāśara samhitāyām, parāśara maitreya samvāde śri pancha-mukha hanuman mantra vivaraṇe śri vānara geeta nāma samāptaha.

 

Meaning- When seen from the angle of the Absolute Truth, there is no truth which is greater than Hanuman! There is nothing more superior to Him! Hence there is no necessity to entertain any other thought.

There is nothing greater than Hanuman. Hanuman and Hanuman mantra eternally exist. Hanuman is the life force (prana shakti). Life force is all-pervading and eternal. When this universe was born, it was born together with the life force. How then can this life force disappear from here? There is no knowledge that is superior to this knowledge. Therefore the understanding that Hanuman is the only true essence should seep into one and all. This is the most superior knowledge. Panasa declares that acquiring this knowledge is equivalent of obtaining everything in entirety!

 

Om Namo Hanumate Namah

Permanent link to this article: https://puttugam.com/vanara-gita-episode-68-only-a-person-who-entertains-the-feelings-that-he-is-a-servant-of-the-lord-tastes-supreme-success/

Vanara Gita 67: Only virtues- sins accompany the person after death

  • Life is extremely short. It is like a bubble. Within this, we should take steps to ensure it is fruitful and productive.
  • The results of both good and bad actions need to be necessarily experienced irrespective of whether they were performed knowingly or unknowingly. Good deeds result in merit. Bad deeds result in sin leading to sorrowful experiences.
  • As it is only the balance of virtues and sins that accompany a being after death, it is very important to engage in the performance of good and meritorious deeds at all hours.
  • Through the process of dharmic (righteous) activities, good fame should be earned.
  • Without stopping to look back at the earlier achievements, the person should move continuously forward in this path of dharmic activities. He should never provide a chance for his actions to be praised by others. The firm opinion and belief that they are truly dharmic activities should exist within him. Under no circumstances should he feel sorry that he was neither recognized nor praised. One should make life fruitful and meaningful.

Many persons do not get involved in the performance of good deeds. Not engaging in such deeds is also a grave mistake.

Absolute success in any deed comes only when the person has achieved total victory over the senses (indriyas). In its absence, total victory is impossible. Sense-control is not limited to conquering sexual desire and anger. As age advances, the appetite for lust automatically reduces. Sense-control includes conquering greediness, need for recognition, irritation and many such traits. Obtaining absolute victory over senses is no easy job.

How then can the ordinary person, who cannot even repair any part of his body, try to achieve absolute victory over the senses? How can he overcome the society? How can he go beyond the web of fruitive actions and their results that surround him? How is he to cross over these bondages and attain salvation? Gomukha, the ardent devotee of Hanuman, pondered upon the fate of ordinary people and thought of a solution. He then composed this hymn.

It was Treta Yuga (the second of the 4 eons). The fear that sins would drag him to hell and that as a result he would not be able to make the journey into heaven existed in the mind of every being. If during that pure period when Lord Rama was ruling people feared sins, then imagine the degree of fear one should have towards sins during the subsequent eon of Dwapara and the present period of Kali?

Living beings at that time were very knowledgeable. They were aware of the various planes of existence and how one travelled to these planes after death. They knew that evil deeds dragged them to hell and prevented them from moving into the higher planes after death. This fear prevented them from committing sins.

It is said that even the demons of that time feared transgressing dharma (rules of righteousness) and that they strictly abided by these rules even during war. Barring a few demons like Ravana who existed sporadically, all other demons adhered to the life of dharma. Ravana went against dharma so as to be blessed with death at the hands of the Supreme Master. It was not exactly a sin but a visible deed undertaken to show the world the outcome of such evil deeds.

Permanent link to this article: https://puttugam.com/vanara-gita-episode-67-as-only-virtues-sins-accompany-the-person-after-death-he-should-engage-in-meritorious-deeds-always/

Vanara Gita 66: Only saintly persons accept mistakes easily

Only some people accept their mistakes. Most of them refuse to accept their mistakes.

The person, who has lost the object, loses on both counts. The object is lost and on top of it he has to hear a lot of unnecessary harsh statements from the person who has caused the damage. At last, he will decide to simply keep quiet.

Mahatmas simply accept mistakes and seek forgiveness. This is a small, yet profound difference that exists between Mahatmas and petty minded persons. Thus, a very small percentage of persons accept their mistakes although it is natural for every person to commit mistakes. A great majority of people deny them.

Gomukha is a great person who acknowledges that he commits not one, but hundreds of mistakes every day and seeks forgiveness from the Lord. He states that he commits limitless mental mistakes and towards them too he seeks forgiveness.

Great persons, even if they have not committed mistakes will pray, “O great Lord! It is natural that everyone commits mistakes. I do not know the list of all the mistakes that I have committed in each and every birth of mine. This birth in which I have been blessed with wisdom is a very sacred one. Please forgive all my mistakes committed across various births O Lord. Mentally I commit sins every second of my life. Please be compassionate and save me. I have no clue about the mistakes that I commit. When I breathe in, I take in so many germs (krimi). When walking on the ground, I step upon so many ants and insects, thereby injuring and killing them. Treating me as your servant, please forgive me for my mistakes and sins”.

Servants commit mistakes. The Lord, the supreme master, forgives them. Here it is important to note that the prayer is offered with feelings of humility from servant to master. What a great teaching is hidden within this prayer made by Gomukha!

Life is as short-lived as a water bubble. No life is permanent. Results of fruitive action (karma phala) have to be mandatorily experienced, irrespective of whether a mistake is committed knowingly or unknowingly. A person who performs good deeds acquires good merit (punya). The person who commits sins accumulates sins and suffers. The result is visible then and there.

Only the list of sins and merits (paapa-punya) accompany a living being on its onward journey after death! Have you ever heard of anyone taking with them their property and house after death? Everyone leaves this earth penniless. What can the being, who has to leave behind even his body on this earth, take with him? He will take only his share of virtues and sins.

 

Om Namo Hanumate Namah

Permanent link to this article: https://puttugam.com/vanara-gita-episode-66-only-saintly-persons-accept-mistakes-easily/

Vanara Gita 65: Learning to accept mistakes is a noble trait.

Gomukha, the Vanara, praises the Lord in this manner-

Aparādha śatam nityam kurvāām mām nṛsamshakam

Kshamasva dāsā bhudyā tvam hanuman karunānidhe.

Meaning- O Hanuman! O Lord who overflows with endless compassion! Considering me as your servant kindly forgive and protect me, the miscreant, who has been committing hundreds of mistakes every single day.

There is a very famous hymn with a very identical meaning to Parameshwara-

aparādha sahasrani kriyanthe aaharnisam maya,

Dāso yam ithi mām mathwa kshamaswa parameshwara

Meaning- O Supreme Lord! I have been committing thousands of wrongdoings. Treating me as your servant, please forgive and protect me.

Everyone commits mistakes. However, only a few accept their mistakes. Mahatmas accept even those mistakes that they have not committed. They will say, “Perhaps this mistake took place because of me. Maybe it was my fault. Ok, why all this fuss. This is my mistake”. So saying, they will simply accept it. The truth would be that they were in no way responsible for it. Yet, as they have been accused, they will accept by saying, “as far as I know, the mistake did not take place. It may have happened without my knowledge. But ok, since you are saying, it must be true. It is my mistake. I am responsible”. In this manner, they speak the truth yet at the same time they take upon themselves the responsibility of the mistake.

Mean, petty-minded people, on the other hand, will argue, “What is this? On what basis do you hold me responsible? I am meeting you for the very first time and you say that I have harmed you? How can I harm when I have not even entered into your home? Do you mean to say that I broke this object? I have never seen you holding the object and you say that I have broken it. How could it be possible?”

Such petty minded persons refrain from accepting their mistakes. They go to any extreme to prove themselves right. They declare that they do not have even the minutest idea about the mistake and that they were not present in the vicinity at that time. In-between, they will add tidbits of their inherent great traits and nature. They boast of the greatness of their lineage, their ancestors, their father, grandfather and of themselves. Tell me, who can ever help such persons? Only Hanuman should come to their rescue and set them right.

Permanent link to this article: https://puttugam.com/vanara-gita-episode-65-learning-to-accept-mistakes-is-a-noble-trait/

Vanara Gita 64: Polluting the mind leads to downfall

At times, in this world, we come across persons who seem to playfully achieve spiritual success without any personal effort. How is this possible? It appears as if lady luck is smiling upon them for no apparent reason. This too is the outcome of the Lord’s grace. We have no idea of the efforts that they had put in during their previous births. We should understand that they are enjoying the resultant fruits in this birth.

Secondly, it is God who decides the kind of result He wishes to bestow for any spiritual practices upon any individual.

We experience both the good and bad results of our earlier actions. Just because Swamiji is saying this, it is incorrect to keep waiting for the other person to experience the results for his past sins at the earliest. ‘When will problems begin in his life?’- there are people who wait for neighbours to land into difficulty. They fret when others successfully clear their exams. Instead of concentrating on their own studies and preparing well for the upcoming exams, they focus eternally on the competitor. Instead of going with the flow, they choose to go against the tide.

It is better to move on without focusing and wasting time on useless doubts. Entertaining wasteful doubts pollutes one’s mind. In addition these qualities cause one’s own downfall.  Polluting the mind leads to one’s downfall.

Vanara Taruna says that everything happens only due to Hanuman’s will. He firmly believes that every step takes place with Lord’s will. ‘Let the life’s events unfold as destined by the Lord. I shall unfailingly hold on to the Lord’s feet and meditate solely upon Him. This is my duty. I will not leave him because of unpleasant events that land on my head.’ This is the correct attitude.

The entire secret is embedded in the word ‘Hanumad ajna’ i.e. Hanuman’s command. Only the person who understands this logic sails through life easily. Those who don’t understand will continue to lament that the other person who does nothing gets rewarded for no apparent reason. Due to such persistent thoughts he will continue to rotate in difficulties. He will also acquire demonic tendencies; become slack in devotion and will move in the wrong direction. To add to the distress, he will find that success shines even more brightly upon the person who apparently does nothing. That person will be inching closer to the goal.

Permanent link to this article: https://puttugam.com/vanara-gita-episode-64-polluting-the-mind-leads-to-our-downfall/

Load more

X

Forgot Password?

Join Us

Password Reset
Please enter your e-mail address. You will receive a new password via e-mail.