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| Shree Rama Dootham |
"Read the next line in Hanuman Chalisa", said the messenger keeping his eyes closed.
I should have brought my voice recorder today. How else am I going to remember whatever he is teaching me today?. Wondering what else is in store for me, I opened my Hanuman Chalisa book to recite the next line...
Budhi hina tanu janike sumirau pavan kumar |
Bal budhi vidya dehu mohi harahu kalesa vikar ||
Without waiting for him to ask, I started reading out the translation of it as given in the book that I had with me:
Knowing myself to be ignorant, I urge you, O Hanuman, The son of Pavan! O Lord! kindly Bestow on me strength, wisdom and knowledge, removing all my miseries and blemishes.
'See the beauty in it', the messenger said right looking at my eyes, “Knowing myself to be ignorant”, such a learned scholar, with all humility admits being ignorant seeking the grace from the lord to give strength, wisdom & knowledge'. Do you have that quality with you my son ?
What quality sir?
'Mein Nahi Tu Hi'....
"means... ?" I enquired...
The Messenger replied back, "When Hanuman overcame all the hurdles that he had to face while crossing the ocean in search of Sita, and when he finally landed on the Trikuta Mountain, all the celestial praised him for his might, courage, and ingenuity. However Hanuman thought he could only do it because of the grace of the lord. He didn't for once felt pride about His achievement. He Says, 'It's not my power, It's all because of Ram, any power that I have it belongs to Him'. No Ego, how else can he cross the mighty ocean, without his Ram's blessings, tell me?".
I was trying to ascertain what he wants me to understand...
He continued, "So son, do you surrender your achievement at the lotus feet of your Master and say 'Oh! my Lord, whatever fame, accomplishment, knowledge, power, prosperity I have, it's only because of your grace & nothing else. It's not me, it's only you. Do you do that ?
I did not want to answer this question as I know the messenger is not really waiting for me to answer. He just wants me to remind myself that I need to surrender the fruits of my action at the lotus feet of my master and not personally claim any importance for myself.
I remember once Guruji was saying that:
'Selfless Service is not only a challenging task but also a crucifiying task. Every minute, every second, 'ME' tries to pop out. 'ME' tries to come forward, at that time, again and again, sadhaka has to gather that 'I' without hurting that 'I' and offer that 'I' at the lotus feet of the parampara. If your mind says, 'I did it', 'because of ME it happened', gather that as a flower, and again and again offer that flower at the lotus feet of the god and the guru and pray to that lord, 'Oh lord this flower, is still has to pick up the fragrance and the essence of the humanity, bless that flower with that fragrance'.
For a second I closed my eyes to seek the blessings to overcome my 'I' feeling and to empty my 'I' so that it can become an instrument for the Grace to work.
I decided to ask my next question to the Messenger.
"Sir, why Tulsidas seeks the blessings of Hanuman for strength, wisdom & knowledge?"
"Won't you stop asking questions" the Messenger shot back.
I just shrugged off my shoulder without knowing how to respond.
Messenger after a moment of silence said, "When you think of ram, you always think of Sita. When you think of Sita you always think of Ram. That’s why Ram is also called as 'Sitaram'. You should always try to reach them both. If you ask what is so unique about praying to Hanuman, it is HE who was gifted to have united both Rama & Sita through his strength, wisdom & knowledge which is again nothing but the blessings from the Lord Ram. That’s why Valmiki has dedicated an entire Kanda for Lord Hanuman titling Sundara Kanda, So..... "
My Mind suddenly caught hold of his statement 'When you think of Ram, you always think of Sita. When you think of Sita you always think of Ram'.
I quickly interrupted him and asked, "Can't I worship only Ram?".
For some strange reasons, I could not worship or rather I have never worshiped Sita as I would have worshiped Lord Ram, Why is it so, Am I doing any sin by ignoring her?
Messenger now looked straight into my eyes. I could see he is searching for something more. How would I tell him that whenever I pray to my Guru, I do not keep Guru Ma in same pedestal. Somehow I keep ignoring her and don't offer the real respect from the Heart that normally flows for my Guru. I was feeling rather embarrassed now knowing that the Messenger is reading my thoughts. I may be wrong, but somehow I desperately wanted an answer for this, because for a long time, this was bothering me inside.
I could not control, as little tears started rolling in my eyes. I knew I am doing something wrong but with helpless state I looked at the Messenger to help me to come out of this.
The Messenger for a moment closed his eyes and started speaking:
"Bhringi, an ancient sage (rishi) is a great devotee of Lord Shiva. The sage was so fanatically devoted to Shiva that he did not even care for Parvati. While all the rishis paid homage to both Shiva and Parvati, this great sage 'Bhringi' would not worship Parvati and dedicated himself solely to Shiva. The sage performed circumambulation of Shiva daily but ignored Parvati.
Shiva is 'Trikalagyani', the one who knows everything about the past, present and the future, knew this too. He was waiting for a right moment to make the Sage understand the universal truth. One Day at Mount Kailash, Sage Bhringi, as a symbol of his devotion & worship towards Lord Shiva, wanted to do Parikrama (Pradakshina) of Shiva alone, again ignoring Parvati who was sitting next to him.
Shiva noticing this, glanced towards Parvati & took the form of 'Ardha-nari', making Shakti one half of His body to demonstrate to the Sage that they are two halves of same truth. However still adamant, the sage took the form of a 'bee' to do parikrama of only one half of Shiva and not the other half which is the Shakti swarupa.
Seeing this, Goddess Parvati blessed the sage stating, "Since the sage only did the parikrama of the purush, he is happy to be blessed with purusha (male) tatva alone. So let me bless Sage Bhringi his desire to get the blessings of that Purusha tatva and let him be free from any Stri (female) tatva from his body.
Instantly, Bhringi lost all flesh and blood and he became a bag of bones. He collapsed on the floor, unable to get up. He lost all parts of the body that come from the mother. (In Tantra, the Indian school of alchemy, it is believed that the tough and rigid parts of the body such as nerves and bones come from the father while the soft and fluid parts of the body such as flesh and blood come from the mother.)
Bhringi realized his folly, apologized and sought his forgiveness. He realized that, Shiva and Shakti make up the whole. They are not independent entities. One cannot exist without the other. Without either there is neither. The sage realized that although Shiva and Parvati appear as two different bodies but they are in essence one – the source of all creation, sustenance and dissolution.
This Ardhanarishvara represents the synthesis of masculine and feminine energies of the universe (Purusha and Prakriti) and illustrates how Shakti, the female principle of God, is inseparable from Shiva, the male principle of God.
"So son, When you think of ram, you always think of sita. When you think of sita you always think of ram". Never ignore one for another. Bete! Samaj mein Aya Kya ?" (Son, did you understand) asked the Messenger closing his eyes.
I got the slap that was due for a long time. Though not physically but the impact was there. How foolish I was ignoring 'Ma' all this time. I realized as important it is to receive the Purusha tatva, it is equally important to realize the significance of the 'Prakriti - Stri' tatva.
I resolved to see them both equally from today and continue to serve them both who have put their life & soul in the service to Humanity.
"That's enough", said the Messenger. I took it as the signal to stop brooding about the past and move on with the present. So I quickly composed myself & got ready to ask my next question.
"Stop Interviewing Me. Go & do your duty. Don't waste my time" came the stern reply from the Messenger.
I tried to plead him to spend some more time with me but the messenger was so stubborn that he asked me to stop bothering him anymore. I knew I had many questions to ask and I did not want this to end so abruptly. My mind started thinking to devise a plan quickly to allow Him to sit with me for some more time.
(to be Contd...)
-'Bansuri'
(Please note that the views expressed in this fictional story series are the views of the author's own imagination taking reference from various sources which includes but not limited to Valmiki Ramayana, Kamba Ramayana, Hanuman chalisa along with Swami Rama & Guruji Pattabhiram's teachings. If you find any text inappropriate, the author seeks humble apologies.)
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