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| Shri Rama Dootham |
As it took more time than I thought, to bring back the Messenger in this material world, I continued to recite the next stanza from Hanuman Chalisa along with its meaning…
Hath bajre aur dhvaja biraje | Kandhe moonj janeu saaje ||
Shankar suvan kesari nandan | Tej pratap maha jag vandan ||
Vidyavan guni ati chatur | Ram kaj karibe ko atur ||
Prabhu charitra sunibe ko rasiya | Ram lakhan sita man basiya ||
Shri Hanumanji is holding in one hand a lighting bolt and in the other a banner with sacred threadacross his shoulder
Oh Hanumanji! You are the emanation of 'SHIVA' and you delight Shri Keshri. Being ever effulgent, you and hold vast sway over the universe. The entire world propitiates. You are adorable of all.
Oh! Shri Hanumanji! You are the repository learning, virtuous, very wise and highly keen to do the work of Shri Ram.
You are intensely greedy for listening to the naration of Lord Ram's life story and revel on its enjoyment. You ever dwell in the hearts of Shri Ram-Sita and Shri Lakshman.
"Hmm….." Messenger softly acknowledged having heard what I recited…and told with a smile "You too are greedy to listen more from me, isn't it" ?
I just nodded my head in affirmation with a return smile.
"Tell me Beta, what is needed to achieve any set goal" ?, Messenger suddenly posed a question to me..
After a brief thought, I replied “Determination”..
"What else"?
"Clarity..!"
"What else" ?
"Commitment...!"
"Hmm..?"
"To have a plan in place…!"
"All are OK, but what you should have in basic before you get all these additional qualities ?
"Sir, I fail to find any definite answer, you only please clarify…" I surrendered finally....
Messenger replied, "Son, to do any work or to achieve anything what is more important than anything else is the enthusiasm that you should have to do it. Without it, you cannot achieve anything and with it, you can achieve everything. Even 90 year old man if he has enthusiasm can do anything, and with no enthusiasm even a 20 year young man cannot achieve anything. Age is not limitation when one has enthusiasm in doing anything".
"Hanuman shows this when he readily accepts the job of crossing the ocean... Didn't He ? asked the Messenger looking straight into my eyes.
"Sir, I understand, but I have one doubt here.. It may be idiotic question as well.. Can I ask? "...
"Son whatever you have asked till now are all idiotic only, never mind, I am tuned to it, Go ahead".. said the Messenger with the twinkling eyes....
Strangely, this taunt from the Messenger didn't hurt me, rather I was feeling more happy to know that the Messenger is now more willing to listen to me... So I continued with my question...
"Sir, why did Hanuman choose to go through Akasha marga to cross the Ocean? Doesn't he know swimming" ?
"Hahaha… Bete, with Ram blessings, Hanuman can cross the Ocean through Akasha Marga or through Jal Marga…or He can also drink the entire Ocean if he wish, but He did not do it because if He drank all the Ocean, then how can the sedhubandhana leela would happen later. For every action there is a reason…. The blessed one’s do them so casually that we fail to understand them many a times …"
"For your understanding let us assume that Hanuman decided to cross the ocean through Akasha, because flight goes faster than the Ship, isn’t it ? Hahaha..... the Messenger laughter echoed the whole Dhyana Mandir, in the Sadhana Dhama Ashram...
"Ah! Yes, now there is logic…." Now I too joined in that laughter....
"You know what He did immediately..."? the Messenger again posed a question to me...
I know whatever answer I would give, it wouldn't be right, so I decided to keep quite & waited for the Messenger only to answer it…
"Hanuman himself was quite aware how important & critical is the mission entrusted to Him and as he was taking leave of all fellow monkeys, Sugriva, Rama & Lakshmana, He knew to achieve anything one need both manusya (human) effort and lord’s anugraha (blessing), so he decided to start the journey with a Prayer. Now tell me, to whom he prayed first ?
Again.. I thought for a moment and before I answer.. the Messenger interrupted stating…
"Tell me, Because of whom you are peaceful and Happy in life now...."?
"My Guruji… !", I instantly answered…
"Yes, Hanuman first salutes to His Guru, the 'Sun' God since he learnt all Vedic scriptures from Sun, then He Salutes to the Lord Indra, Brahma, the devotees of the Lord, his own father (the Wind-God) and then mentally paid obeisance to Rama and Lakshmana. He then bowed down to all the rivers and oceans before embarking on the mission".
I interrupted by asking, "Sir, I understand why Hanuman prays to his Guru & to Rama & Lakshmana, but why others? ".....
Without any hesitation, the Messenger replied gently, "Hanuman realizes that to accomplish his mission, he needs Lords as well as the natural forces like rivers and oceans cooperation and blessings. The manner in which Hanuman starts his mission is indeed a lesson for all of us on how we should initiate any critical mission".
"Hanuman then says:
- He will go as fast as Ram’s weapon in search of Sita
- Like how Ram’s arrow reach the target accurately, he too will search Sita Devi accurately.
- Like how ram’s arrow after achieving the target, returns back to its original place, He too will come back to ram’s feet.
- Like how in all Lord Ram’s arrow, the name ‘Ram’ is imprinted, in same way, He too would always utter the Lord's name ‘Ram... Ram...’
and adding to it Hanuman states that He has Ram’s ring which He feels would give Him the strength & guide Him to Success".
I knew it's morally not right to question the deeds of Lords, but nevertheless I was prepared to be open to my Messenger to pose any question that arise in my mind, as I am willing to get myself corrected before Him. So I decided to ask that question which lingered in my mind..
"Sir, you said Lord Hanuman does not have any ego, then why does He say all these before leaving, I feel these statements may be sign of ‘Ego’... ?"
"Good Question Son!, Hanuman knows very well that any power that he Has belongs to Ram, There is no Ego in him. He states all this to show His enthusiasm & to make the entire Vanara group to be motivated. It does not mean ego. You should also have such enthusiasm but at the same time you should have humility in you like Hanuman. Its very difficult as it’s only a subtle difference. If you have too much confidence, it can easily turn into ego. So you should be very careful".
"Sir, but how to realize this Ego and to overcome it?....
Messenger gently closed his eyes & replied, "I will tell you what Swami Rama says, to understand this. He Says:
A person walking on the path of self-transformation should be aware of the dangers of egoism. Even while practicing the great virtues of truthfulness and nonviolence, a person can feed the ego. The ego related to the realm of spirituality is more subtle and injurious than the ego related to one’s worldly success.
During the period of seeking, the student may become too intellectual, ignoring sahaja bhava (spontaneous intuition); conversely, he may become too emotional; ignoring reason. An emotional trip is as dangerous as an intellectual trip; each feeds the ego.
A person becomes a slave to his ego when he thinks of selfish gains. A selfish person dwells in a state of doubt since his conscience constantly reminds him of his wrong attitude. On the one hand, he is pulled by his selfish desires, and on the other, he is alarmed by his inner voice. He is torn apart by these two forces.
Do not ever condemn yourself in any way. Learn to appreciate and admire yourself, but see that you do not feed your ego. It is the arch enemy on the path, though it can be polished with some effort.
Acknowledge your weak points, let the power of discrimination counsel your ego, and make a strong resolution to overcome your weaknesses. While working on the removal of weaknesses, you have to be very vigilant. Ego does not want its weaknesses exposed. The more you hide your weaknesses, the more they grow. Remind yourself that you are on the path of inner purification and self-discovery. It requires great courage. Stand firm during this internal battle, and support your Atman, even at the cost of dismounting the ego and all its retinue.
A human being is miserable if he fails to unfold and use his inner potentials. In order to unfold his inner potentials, he must purify the ego or surrender it to the higher Reality. After renouncing slavery to the ego, he can emerge from the confines of body, senses, and mind.
Only a profound method of meditation can help to purify the ego. A purified ego does not create barriers.
By practicing diligently, one may attain concentration of mind, one may speak the truth, and one may serve others, but one cannot realize the Truth unless one surrenders one’s ego to the higher Self. Only after rising above egocentric awareness, can one find the universe within. Only then can one learn to love all and exclude none. One who does not love one’s fellow beings, cannot love God at all.
The most important step toward self-transformation is to shed one’s ego, to surrender it to the higher Reality, and thereby attain the light of discrimination and pure faith.
Once ego surrenders itself to the highest Truth, you have attained victory, and spiritual illumination is yours. Soon after the victory over ego, all other virtues, such as humility, love, selflessness, compassion, and kindness, spontaneously unfold. These virtues are prerequisites for self-transformation. When these virtues blossom, a human being becomes a saint. These saintly qualities send a silent invitation to the Lord of Life.
"Hanuman didn't for a moment looked at other vanaras and thought proudly, “See only I can cross, not you people”. No!, certainly he did not do that. He only bowed to all and stretched his two hands, folding his two legs, twisting his long tail once, opening his mouth wide open, with the force, he jumped saying “Jai Sitaram” and climbed up to highest peak of the Mahendra promontory, and stood like a pillar supporting the vault of the sky. Then poising himself for flight, with hands and tail outstretched in air, his neck drawn in, his legs bent, and his chest contracted, he pressed down his feet and rose sheer into the sky and clove through the air towards Lanka".
"Hanuman pierced into the Akasha....."
stating this the Messenger again went into silence... then suddenly with thundering blooming voice, he said, "Bolo.. Jai Ram Ji Ki,... Bolo, Jai Ram Ji Ki".......
I too joined....
Jai Ram Ji Ki.....
Jai Ram Ji Ki.....
Jai Ram Ji Ki.....
(To be contd..)
(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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