203 - KA CHUP SADHI RAHA BALWANA

Pranvau pavan kumar khal ban pavak gyandhan

Jasu hriday agar basahi Ram sar chap dhar.

(I bow down to Hanuman, the leader of the knowledgeable, who is akin to wildfire for those who stand like a forest of evil, and in whose heart Lord Ram lives eternally with His bow and arrows.)

The character of Sri Hanuman Ji Maharaj is absolutely amazing. He is such a guileless, humble and dedicated servant of his deity, Lord Ram that it is quite beyond comparison to anyone else’s devotion. This is the reason that Mother Janaki blesses him with these words, ‘Ajar amar gunnidhi sut hohu karahun bahut raghunayak chhohu’ i.e. ‘O son, may you forever be youthful, eternal and treasure of all virtues.’ This is the reason that Sri Hanuman, the son of Anjani and Pawan, an incarnation of Lord Shiva and one among the ‘ashta chiranjeevi’, is worthy of being worshipped by all – children, youth and elderly – owing to his innumerable wondrous leelas.

Today’s modern era is creating a new world altogether. It’s as if the entire world has shrunk to fit a palm. The entire scenario is transforming rapidly due to the influx of multinational companies and massive conglomerates, cut-throat competition and financial disparities. The fundamental ethics and ideals of the mankind are changing their hues akin to a chameleon. It appears as if the scary sketch of Kaliyug as drawn in our ancient texts is about to come alive. Under these tough circumstances, the only entity that can bring awakening to our devotion and wisdom with its midas touch is the ‘Hanumat Tattva’ the element of Sri Hanuman, that’s lying hidden deep inside each one of us. All that’s required is that it be reminded of its own powers. As has been mentioned in the famous verse, ‘Ka chup sadhi raha balwana’, once we realize our abilities, our strength, no task is too tough to accomplish. Again, as it has been said, “kaun so kaj kathin jag mahi”. There is no such thing as a task too tough to be accomplished. Actually speaking, all the ancient religious texts appear to be attempting artistically to awaken the strength and talents hidden deep inside a human being. No doubt, a character as inimitable as Sri Hanuman makes possible a seemingly impossible mission upon hearing the humble and pitiful calls of His devotees. There can be no two options on this. Time and again, the ‘leelas’, the chains of events created by God are a clear example of this fact ‘Bhav vasya Bhagwan’, i.e. the God lies in the feeling. This is indeed a universally accepted thought. Though God does not unveil His supreme presence in front of all and sundry, those facets are revealed only to those who are worthy of beholding it. ‘Soi janeu soi dehu janai, janat tumhhi-tumhhi hoi jaye’ i.e. only he gets to know You, who has been blessed by You’. For once a person knows God, he or she becomes fully and truly aware of his own self.

Even if we are not able to attain the heights that only a true devotee can, we can still attempt to move higher by accepting Sri Hanuman’s character that’s forthright, kind, eager to serve, humble and dignified, as the ideal one. If we do so, we shall certainly discover that our lives are becoming more purposeful, more meaningful with each passing day. We shall also find that our lives are getting imbued with new energy, inspiration and objectives. ‘Karat karat abhyas ke jarmati hot sujan’ i.e. if we practice again and again in small measures, the cup of life will certainly become full to the brim. After all, if we can raise our flag at Himalayan peaks, scan the deepest oceanic chasms and put our footprints at others celestial bodies, we certainly cannot be without a certain amount of cerebral powers. Still it is possible that in our haste to gather worldly achievements onto our lap, we may lose the ability to differentiate between a diamond and a glass shard.

In the same context, one remembers a leela of Sri Hanuman. It occurs when Lord Ram is crowned the king of Ayodhya after His return from the exile. At this hallowed occasion, Lord Ram bestows presents on his courtiers, ministers and monkey-friends. He takes off a necklace of priceless gems from His neck and gifts it to Sri Hanuman. But what’s this? Hanuman is cracking each gem into two with his teeth and is checking their innards. Everyone is surprised. Someone asks, “What are you doing?” Hanuman replies innocently that He doesn’t want these gems as they are devoid of His Lord’s image. He reiterates that He’s a worshipper solely of Lord Ram. Thus Sri Hanuman makes it clear that his goals are absolutely bereft of any worldly attractions whatsoever.

Sri Hanuman is an outstanding orator and an able envoy. There is no ego or selfishness in Him. His service, His wisdom, His valor, these are all dedicated to the Lord. He considers nothing as his own. Lord Ram sends Sri Hanuman who He considers to be ‘Vidyavan guni ati chaatur’, i.e. ‘knowledgeable, virtuous and cleaver’ as his messenger to Sita while she is being held captive in Ravan’s evil kingdom. Sri Hanuman is able to invoke this confidence in her that Lord Ram has ample power and ability to come to her rescue. On the other hand, He also inspires Lord Ram to liberate Sita from the agonies of their separation as soon as possible. This quality of Sri Hanuman is worthy of being emulated by the representatives of media, an important column of democracy. It is imperative that communication between diverse parties be harmonized in order to do good to the society.

In the wide river of Hinduism flow the smaller rivulets of Vaishnava, Shakta and Shiva traditions. It is an astounding quality of Sri Hanuman’s character that He is able to raise them all to a point of cohesive correlation. Being an incarnation of Lord Shiva, He’s able to attract the followers of Shiva. On the other hand, He is a beloved devotee of Lord Ram, Himself an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Lord Ram is so pleased by Sri Hanuman’s devotion that He says, “Sun kapi tohi saman upkari, nahi koi surnar muni tanudhari” i.e. “O Hanuman, there is no god, human or saint who is as beneficent as you are.” Thus Hanuman is loved by the Vaishnavas as well. Sita represents the Adishakti, the mother of the creation and she loves Sri Hanuman like a son. Therefore Sri Hanuman becomes a deity for the Shaktas too. Thus Hanuman weaves the diverse spiritual filaments into one thread and unites all the different aspects of God.

Sri Hanuman stands first among the knowledgeable. Even as a child, He reaches out to devour the sun believing it to be a fruit. Actually, the significant meaning behind this leela is that He is determined to absorb knowledge from the sun, the symbol of light of knowledge. He holds a boon that the brahmastra shall have no impact on Him. Yet he willingly bears the pain of Meghnad’s brahmastra on His own being, so that the honor and dignity of Brahma be maintained and still the mankind be spared the ill effects of that deadly weapon. Another endearing aspect of His personality is His eagerness to please Lord Ram. When he gets to know from Sita that she applies sindoor on her forehead to please Lord Ram, Sri Hanuman in his childlike innocence rubs sindoor all over his body and thus ascends the highest throne of veneration in the domain of devotion.

Another name of Hanuman is Pawan Putra owing to the role played by the God of wind in His birth. Wind or air is the element that’s also known as the ‘prana tattva’ or the ‘consciousness’. Hanuman is also worshipped as the ‘Panchmukhi’ or the ‘five-faceted one’. Behind that too lies His self-control, His absolute ownership over the physical body that’s composed of the five elements of  ‘kshiti, pavak, jal, gagan, sameera’ i.e. ‘earth, fire, water, sky and air’.

For Vibhishan, Sri Hanuman is a sage, without whom the blessings of the Divine Grace is impossible, ‘Binu hari kripa milahi nahi santa’. If Sugreev is safe from Bali, it is due to Sri Hanuman. Lakshman, Sita, Bharat and even Ram acknowledge the debt they owe to Him, “Sun sut tohi urrinn main nahi” i.e. “O son, I cannot repay the debts I owe to you”. It is an extraordinary trait of His personality that He stays as comfortable in His immense enlightened body, kanak bhoodharakar shareera’ i.e. ‘the gigantic, shining golden form’, as He is in His minutest form that’s nearly the size of a mere mosquito, ‘masak saman roop kapi dhari’. Hanuman simply does not have the biased vision that differentiates between a small job and a big one. Whatever He does, He does with full physical and mental absorption. No wonder then that the result too is always cent percent. And then it is His salient feature that He has the amazing humility to term His own ability of making possible the seemingly impossible as ‘So sab tav pratap raghurai’ i.e. ‘it’s all due to the grace of the Lord’. This is the reason that everyone adores the attractiveness of Sri Hanuman’s character. Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Christians – His devotees belong to all faiths. Many Muslims too admire Him from the heart. The history of Lucknow’s Hanuman Temple at Aliganj is a living example of this fact. For believers of astrology, He is the ‘sankat mochak’, the savior, who protects them from the ill effects of malefic planets such as shani, rahu and mangal.

Sri Hanuman is so famous in His ‘ashtasiddhi, navnidhi ke daata’ being that it has been reported that even Barrack Obama, the President of USA too always keeps a small idle of Him nearby. On the other hand, the founder members of Lucknow’s Sardar Bhagat Singh College of Technology and Management have named Him their Chairman, the highest post of the institution.

This on one hand shows Sri Hanuman’s affection towards His devotees and on the other, this is the reflection of the inimitably inherent feeling of service in Sri Hanuman’s personality towards which everyone wants to express gratitude. And this is the reason that people look up to Him as their ideal and seek His blessings for emerging victorious in their lives’ battles. Great indeed is Sri Hanuman, the king of devotees, the treasure trove of virtues.