Team work in the Ramayana

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Thank you all to see and work.
The section of Ramayan in which the Vanaras go out in search for Lord Ram is called as Sundara Kaand. And this is the only Kaand of the Ramayan which has a name that is not connected either with the event or the place. Now you have the Ayodhya Kaand, you have the Aranya Kaand, you have the Yudhya Kaand.
So all these are either places or events. Yudhya took place, or Ishti in the Kaand where the Vanaras went to the forest. So all of you know the Kaandas of the Ramayan? There is Bal Kaand, Ayodhya Kaand, then Aranya Kaand, then there is Ishti in the Kaand, then Sundara Kaand, Yudhya Kaand and Uttara Kaand.
So, the Uttara Kaand is like a subsequent edition where Ram is still in his questions. Lord Ram comes back, settles as the king. And then the sages come and Lord Ram asks him some questions.
And he answers them. So a lot of miscellaneous stories are there. Now Sundara Kaand is so linked because the soundary of the Ramayan comes out of it.
Actually, although the Ramayan is about Lord Ram, I am his journey, so the journey of Lord Ram, that is Ramayan. But in the Ramayan, Lord Ram is least present in the Sundara Kaand. Lord Ram sends off the Vanaras and they just take his blessings and they start off.
Throughout the Sundara Kaand, Lord Ram is not there at all. And only when he returns back, Hanuman along with the Vanaras and Lord Ram is so grateful and Lord Ram embraces him, at that time he is present again. So, Lord Ram is from the point of view of events or from the point of view of physical presence, he is absent.
But actually, he is most intensely present in the harness of the devotees. So, the climax of the emotional, the dramatic climax of the Ramayan is the killing of Ravana at the reunion of Mother Sita and Ram. But the emotional climax of the Ramayan comes in Ashokamalika when the servant of Lord Ram and the consort of Lord Ram, Hanuman and Mother Sita meet each other and Hanuman gives the token of Sita which Lord Ram has given to Mother Sita and Sita gives her Ujjwala to the Churam, Vrindar, Srinarama.
At that time, although Lord Ram is not there, Lord Ram is intensely there in the heart of both of them. And, in one sense, the teaching of Lord Sita and Mahaprabhu of love and separation is actually manifested in the Sundarkand of the Ramayana. So, to some extent, for all of us practising Krishna Consciousness in this world, the Ramayana is Sundarkand’s most instructive.
Because for all of us, Lord Ram is not present directly with us. But He can be present in our hearts. In fact, one of the definitions of Krishna Consciousness is a very broad term and it can have many definitions.
So, one of the definitions is to feel the presence of Krishna in His absence. To feel the presence of Krishna in His absence. That is Krishna Consciousness.
When Krishna is directly there, most of us will generally be conscious of Him. There are excerpts in the Duryodhana. You saw Krishna but you were not conscious.
Consciousness came up. Krishna is just a mystic exhibitor. Generally, it is easier to be conscious if Krishna is present.
It is more challenging and it is also more involving if you can be conscious of Krishna in His absence. So, to feel the presence of Krishna in His absence that is Krishna Consciousness. And in this Sankhya Pramana, you see how the devotees feel the presence of Lord Ram constantly.
So, it is a very long and adventurous story. So, we will discuss one part of it. After Lord Ram arranges for Sugriva to be coronated as the king.
Sugriva gives him the throne and then Sugriva is overcome by forgetfulness for some time. But then Tara, Hanuman and Lakshman all remind him of his duty. And he sends off the Vanara soldiers in different directions.
Because he along with Hanuman had actually seen Ravana taking Sita. They did not know it was Sita at that time. But then, Ravana is flying overhead.
At that time, he did see. So, he knew they were in the southern direction. That’s why, he felt it was most likely that Sita would be in the southern direction.
And that’s why he sent his best generals in the south. So, if you see, Hanuman’s glory has not yet emerged in the Ramayana. Of course, Hanuman was the person who designed himself and got Sugriva and Lord Ram to meet each other.
But Hanuman’s prowess has not yet been exhibited anywhere in the Ramayana. Actually, till this point, since Sundarkand, Hanuman has a profile that is lower than Sugriva. He is just assistant to Sugriva.
So, cricket parlance, some day later comes along and he steals the show. So, you know, he hits sixes and boundaries and he makes all the top batsmen feel ashamed. So, Hanuman is like that.
His profile is very low in this year. In Sundarkand, he hits his majestic proportions and then, practically, in the Yudhakand, actually, even Sugriva, Angad, they are all dwarfed by Hanuman. By Hanuman’s prowess and courage and brilliance.
And then, in Uttarkand, Hanuman also has a very prominent role. So, actually, it is described that in the Uttarkand, when Lord Ram asks Agastya Rishi, in my experience, I saw that Hanuman was very powerful. In fact, Hanuman was more powerful not only in Sugriva, but he was more powerful in Bali also.
And why is it that when Bali banished Sugriva, Hanuman did not contest. Hanuman did not fight in our power, Bali. So, at that time, the sages described that he was caused to forget his own power because of the curse of the sages.
And his childhood was very mischievous. And he was very mischievous. What he would do is, at one time, there was a… he was meditating his Upanishad.
And Hanuman just went to the jungle and he was flying. A small child he was, but he is obviously small. So, he went around and there was a tiger and a leopard.
They were going along. So, Hanuman is jumping along both of them by their tails. And they started flying.
And he was shocked. Nobody had done anything like this to them. And he brought both of them and he chucked the tiger right in front of the door of the sage.
And he kept the leopard near the window. And the sage wanted to respond to nature. And he came out and he saw that tiger over there.
He thought, okay, I will go out of the window and saw the leopard over there. So, later Hanuman did a lot of mischievous activities. Now, the sages knew that Hanuman is a great person because they all knew that when Indra had sent a thunderbolt on Hanuman.
So, at that time Vayu had become so distressed. But Hanuman appeared to be there and Vayu was so distressed. He said, you have caused the death of my tender child.
I have caused the death of all of you. Vayu stopped doing it. And nobody could believe that Vayu stopped doing it.
The whole universe came disturbed. Then all the yogis came and they said, in order to pacify Vayu, they all gave blessings to Hanuman. So, now the word Hanuman has many meanings.
Etymologically, you know, actually, Hanu means the one of the primal form is the jaw. And then, actually the jaw which is distorted because of the blow. Now, man also means honour.
Han means to give up. So, one who has sacrificed his honour for the service of the Lord. That is also Hanuman.
Hanuman is himself a very powerful person. But, you know, he does not claim to be God. Although in India, many times people worship Hanuman separately.
But ideally, Hanuman should be worshipped in relationship with the Lord. So, one who is himself very powerful, but he sacrifices his honour for the service of the Lord. He is not claiming that I am suffering.
Yes, I am the servant of the Lord. But there are many meanings. So, Hanuman was basically extremely God because of all the blessings that the various Devatas had given him.
Brahmaji gave him the blessing that my Brahmastra which nobody can counter. Now, you, if you are attacked by it, it will only have a temporary effect on you. So, all these blessings had been given by the Devatas to Hanuman.
So, therefore, they also needed him as a special person because in the future he had to do a special service for Lord Hanuman. But they knew right now he was being very mischievous. So, what did they do? They gave him Atta Hasmukhir Jnana Apoham.
They prayed to the Lord and by that, Apoham. He forgot everything. He forgot his own prowess.
He forgot his own glory. And he is a very ten-minute gentleman. And then, actually, to some extent, when we commit Vaishnavapura, this is what happens.
Of course, Hanuman did not commit a Vaishnavapura in a malevolent sense. He just played mischievous. But what happens is now Hanuman still had the strength.
But he forgot that he had the strength. So, like that, whatever spiritual promises we have made, it is there with us. But he forgot that we have the strength.
So, although we have the strength to resist the temptations of Maya, but we forget our own strength. When temptations come in front of us, we are overpowered by temptations. So, that’s why later on, when Vani banished Sugriva.
So, Hanuman was a powerful gentleman, but he was just one of the non-residents. And he was subordinate to the king. So, he did not protest.
Sugriva left. He also left with him. So, that is also a long story that when Hanuman wanted to take education, he went to the Sun God.
He said, who should I take education from? He said, Sun gives education to everyone. And the first person in Krishna’s agency was the Sun. So, he said, I will go and take education.
That is the best teacher. So, Krishna is not here. So, the first student of Krishna will go and take education from him.
So, he went directly to Sun God and told Sun God, I want to learn. So, he said, I cannot teach you because I am constantly moving. I am constantly moving.
That is my duty. I will also keep moving. You keep moving.
So, Hanuman was so expert that Suryadeva was moving and Hanuman was moving at the same speed as Suryadeva but looking at Suryadeva. Hanuman was moving backwards. Again a reverse engineer moved.
So, the reverse engineer cannot move very fast. Hanuman was moving very fast. And he got everything so rapidly that you know when they are teaching and all of you are now going out and trying to share Krishna Consciousness with other students.
So, now if somebody is eager to learn he should also feel great joy. Somebody is eager to learn. I am trying to teach.
And he is eager to learn. And then actually to some extent when somebody is eager to learn whenever there is a teacher and there is a student then when there is eagerness to learn then the loving bond becomes very deep. Actually, the student when he learns from the teacher he feels grateful to the teacher.
The teacher has taught me so much. On the other hand, the teacher doesn’t feel proud that I have learned so much. The teacher feels grateful that I have to share this knowledge and the student is so eager, so sincere to learn.
So, that’s why when Hanuman completes his education Hanuman says, please, what dakshina can I give you? So, at that time Suryadeva said actually to have a student like him is the greatest dakshina. He said, you are such a wonderful student. He never slept in class.
He didn’t say that. Obviously, he could not have slept. He was moving all around.
But, he said I loved it so enthusiastically. I am so grateful that you are so eager to learn. I don’t need any other dakshina.
So, Hanuman said actually, you have taught me so eagerly and you have taught me so wonderfully and you are appreciating my eagerness to learn. But, as a student, it is my duty to offer you some dakshina. Please tell me, what can I offer you? So, at that time Suryadeva requested him that my son, my son-in-law is born in Kishkindha as a Sukharivar.
So, kindly always assist him and protect him in all situations. And therefore, Ramana Maharaj was so powerful he considered as his duty to be not only by the side of Sukharivar but to be a supporter of Sukharivar. So, that is how Hanuman started.
He was a very powerful warrior with physical prowess got by the blessings of all the Devas and learning God from Suryadeva by his teaching. But, at that time, he had forgotten that. But still, when Hanuman and Lord Rama met, it was a natural moment between them because the Lord and the Devotee were meeting for the first time and Lord Rama especially was there.
So, when all the Vanaras were going in different directions, Lord Rama did not give a signal to anyone else. Hanuman said, I am sure that you will find Sita. And then, they started off.
And they went towards the south. And in the southern direction, there were many big forests, caves, sometimes they were hungry, thirsty, they couldn’t find anything. So, eventually, after they went to a mystical cave where there was an assistant of one of the Apsaras who first tested them and fed them and then, she released them.
And then, she came out and said, go south and you will come to the ocean over there. And then, just beyond the ocean, there is Mother Sita. In the abode of Lanka, which is the capital of Rama.
And then, the Vanaras were running running from there. They were now rested, refreshed, energised. They also got the means that Sita is not far away.
They ran down the street roaring, cheering. And suddenly, they came to the ocean. When they came to the ocean, they saw the huge waves like a vast ocean stretching as far as the eye could see and draw it.
Their mouths fell open. Their tails were high and they fell down. They didn’t know what to do.
They started looking at each other and they slid. And as they were sitting there, wondering what to do. And all of them thought, I don’t know what to do.
I just hope so much. One of the Vanaras, he said, as it is impossible for us to cross this ocean and if we go back, we will be punished for having not succeeded in the mission. So, I have an idea.
He said, you know, we had gone to the caves. You know, who was that? Yogini? He had gone to the caves of that Yogini. And there, there were some beautiful gardens and nice fruits and nice place to sit.
Let us go and hide over there and we will never go back. And there is so much underground that nobody will find it. So, we will live there peacefully.
So, one of the Vanaras said, all of you shut up. We have been given a service. We cannot abandon our service like this.
And I said, you know, if you are so foolish, do you think that Lord Ram cannot find where we are? If we try to hide and not do the service, he will find us and Supreme Lord will punish us also. And Angad, see, what happens is, when there is a team, so all the Vanaras were a team. So, their leaders over there were Janbaban, Angad and Hanuman.
These three were the primary leaders. So, you know, everyone has his own personality. Everyone has his own mind.
Everyone has his own desires, background. And to actually synergise everything in devotional service is not easy. So, Angad was still mortified by the death of his father.
Because while he was sitting right in front of his eyes, being kicked. And by the kind and influence of the Lord, Angad did not feel any resentment towards Ram. Because Angad, because Vali actually when he was departing, finally, Vali, he actually requested him, he told Supreme Lord, I have wrongly punished you.
Please forgive me. And then he turned to Lord Ram and he said, you know, the mistake that I have committed, please, the wrath for that should not be taken by my son Angad. He is innocent.
And then he turned to Tara and he said, Tara, you know, please take care of Angad and serve Supreme Lord. And then he turned to Angad and he said, you know, don’t feel angry towards Lord Ram and treat Supreme Lord just like you carry out his orders. And assist him in the service of Lord Ram.
So Angad then knew. And that is his father’s instruction. To serve Supreme Lord.
This is it. You know, we may have an instruction and you don’t follow. Still all of us have our own emotions.
So Angad, it’s wrinkled in his heart. You know, why does my father feel like this? Yes, Sugriva, he thought he is angry towards Lord Ram because he knew Lord Ram was just. And he felt that, actually, Sugriva conspired with Ram.
And Sugriva was the cause of my father’s death. And he felt, Angad felt that, if I go back now, Sugriva will always be feeling that, you know, I am a challenge to him for the throne. And therefore he will be looking for some excuse to punish me.
So if I go back unsuccessful, he will have me executed. And then at that time, you know, whatever emotions are there in the heart, they will sooner or later come out. So then, at that time Angad started speaking.
And Angad said, if we go back, then I am sure, Sugriva will have all of us executed. You see, how the thoughts move. First, he will have me executed.
Now, if I just say I will execute, he will have all of us executed. Indeed, one who can kill his own older brother, what will stop him from killing others? So I suggest we never go back. I suggest that we sit over here itself.
And we do try our luck. We pass to death. We will not eat anything, we will not drink anything, and we will lay down our bodies.
That is the honourable way for us to die. Rather than go back to our kingdom and be executed in front of our loved ones. Let us die honourably over here.
Angad was the prince. He was the prince regent after Sugriva. Angad was supposed to become the king.
Sugriva had not been. He had been banished. That is why he was not there with him.
Sugriva did not have any children at this time. So, when the prince started speaking like that, some of the monkeys came and said, Hanuman said, Sugriva will never do like this. Sugriva is very kind and compassionate.
Hanuman spoke like this. At that time, Sugriva said, what kind of compassion? At the first apportion, my father, Vali, he could have killed him so many times. But, because of paternal love, he only banished him.
He never killed him, although he had so much opportunity. He, that wicked Sugriva, at the first opportunity, he killed my father. The one who can kill his own older brother, who is like one’s father.
What will stop him from killing his subordinates? Sugriva said, Hanuman spoke like this. Jambavan was an older monkey. So, Jambavan said, you know, please, we are not here to fight with either.
We have a service to do. Let us think of how we will cross the ocean. And let us see how we can execute the will of Lord Ram.
Then, this whole conflict will not come up again. It is impossible to cross the ocean. Let us sit and fast to death.
And then, because Angada was speaking so powerfully, all the Vanaras started sitting and fasting to death. They were sitting. At that time, Hanuman and Jambavan looked at each other in dismay.
First of all, they were dismayed that they were not able to cross the ocean. And secondly, they were dismayed that all their colleagues are going to fast to death. And, it was pretty easy.
They didn’t know what to do. So, when there is a great danger, Lord Ram comes to the rescue. But Lord Ram comes to the rescue sometimes in very unexpected ways.
Sometimes we have a danger, and to rescue us from the danger, the Lord sends a bigger danger. So, what happened? There was an ocean on one side, and there was a big mountain on the other side. They were sitting near the foothills of the mountain.
And they were about to fast to death. Suddenly, out of a cave, a giant bird came out. And that bird was so big.
It appeared to be like a huge eagle within the mountain. And it beat the giant and it opened its mouth. It appeared like the mouth of a cave opening itself.
And it said, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha Providence is indeed very kind. I normally don’t even get one animal to eat, but I have got so many monkeys to eat. And so wonderful, I can’t run, I can’t fly or run, but these monkeys are not running away also.
They are sitting peacefully. I eat them one by one. And that is how it came into existence.
And, you know, in one sense, actually it is said that suicide, about suicide, it is said that the act is courageous, but the action is cowardly. What does that mean? The act is courageous, but the action is cowardly. What does that mean? Actually, all of us love our life.
So, to want to lay down our life, that requires courage. But actually, to lay down our life is courageous. But the purpose why we are laying down our life is frustration because of problems.
So, that is cowardly. So, if somebody goes on a war field and dies and lays down his life, that is courageous. So, the willingness to give up one’s life is courageous.
But to give it up because of frustration, because of wanting to evade problems is cowardly. And that is why many times when people decide to commit suicide, a train is coming, they lie down on the train tracks and all the boys get up and walk away. Give me some other day.
So, although the Varadars were thinking that we will pass to death, but suddenly when this giant bird came and said, we are about to die. They didn’t know what to do. They were looking at us like that.
Oh, Varadars, how unfortunate are we. Calamity upon calamity upon calamity is coming upon us. First, we lost our nobility.
Then, when we were dispatched, we were blocked by this insurmountable obstacle. And now, when we decide to pass to death, we should have already laid down our body by dying. It appears we are going to become breakfast for this giant bird.
The glorious sacrifice of Jatayu in laying down his life, it seems that all the sacrifice is going to be in vain. At last, all our efforts are in vain because calamity and this giant bird got this. What did you say? What did you say about Jatayu? My heart trembles when I hear that Jatayu has lost his life.
Tears are coming from his eyes. Tears are coming from his eyes. Please tell me everything about Jatayu.
What has happened to him? I have not seen him for many years till now. I was surprised at this turn of events. He was about to return and I was crying.
He says, who are you? I am the older brother of Jatayu. My name is Sampath. And Jatayu and I we were giant birds.
And we used to fly in the sky. We used to have flying races. And we used to fly around the earth full or short time.
And one day, 8000 feet by our progress at flying, we decided to compete with each other to see who would reach the sun first. And as I was flying, flying, flying, straight towards the orbit of the sun. Because both of us wanted to win the race, we were flying faster and faster and faster.
And the heat of the sun was becoming more and more unreal. And I could see that Jatayu was my younger brother and he was getting burnt. And in order to protect him, I put my wings on him.
When I put my wings on him to cover him, at that time, my wings got burnt. And I said, help me sit on the ground. And as I said, help me sit on the ground, I didn’t know what happened to Jatayu.
Since that time, I have been wondering where he is. And now you are telling me that he is no more. He is half dead.
And then the one who was meditating, how Jatayu had heroically fought us. And he had laid down his life. Then, somebody said, he is carrying you on the back of the horse.
So that, I can offer some water to Jatayu. But he does not have any sons. Somebody has to do this.
Actually, Lord Ram as the son, Lord Ram had taken the beauty of the son. And he had done that. But still, the blood related difference had started.
And the whole emotions changed. All this giant world. Generally, we don’t think that the tiger is still there.
We think that the tiger has his brother and sister. And he has laughed. But suddenly, they saw this giant world.
He is about to eat us. He has tears coming out of his eyes. Initially, they were very shocked.
But then, very lovingly, this giant world, all the Maharashtrians, united, picked him up. And carried him to the coast. And then, he took some water and poured it against his eyes.
And then, the Maharashtrians said, So, how have you been living over here? So, he said, When I fell down from the sky, I was not only mortally wounded because of the burning of my feet, burning of my wings, but I was also sorely distressed. Because the source of my prowess and pride had been destroyed. I didn’t know what to live for.
What to do? I was living in distress. A great sage passed by. And seeing my distress, he asked me what was wrong.
And I told him the whole story of how I had lost my brother and how I had lost my friends. So, it was a total disaster. It’s one thing to lose one’s loved ones, to lose one’s relatives.
It’s bad. But if one loses one’s relatives, and also one loses one’s own source of power and influence, it’s very disastrous. It’s like a flying bird trying to reach the sun and conquer it.
And the next moment, everything is lost. It’s not a good place. Even now, it’s trying to recover.
So, although both of them are glorious souls, but still, sometimes we become proud of our prowess when we become foolhardy. Foolhardy means we try to do things which are beyond our capacity. So, as birds, we can fly surely, but to go into the orb of the sun, to reach the sun is too hard.
So, all of us, when we do our service, surely we want to do as much service as possible. But we also have to be intelligent. We have to know our limitations.
In the early days, when the devotees were preaching, because they used to do music, Hare Krishna music, the devotees got an opportunity to go to nightclubs. And nightclubs, they were going and chanting Hare Krishna. And they were getting some donations, some people were giving their money, but they were treating it just like entertainment.
And one time, when they went to a nightclub, at that time, as they were singing, now they were trying to sing a very devotional Hare Krishna song, but all the people were drunk and suddenly, four or five people came and attacked one of the Madanis, devotees, you know. They took off their clothes and they were thinking he was a tabloid dancer. And these things are common.
And everybody was horrified. They tried to beat them and they were shocked. They thought we are doing what we do every day.
Why are you stopping us? We are going to Krishna’s house to chant Hare Krishna. They were very naive. They were very naive.
We are going for preaching, but we should be intelligent enough to see where we are going. Are the people likely to become devotees over there? If they are going to a nightclub, it’s very, very unlikely that people will become devotees over there. Sir, I told them, no need to go to such places.
You go on the streets. On the streets, you don’t have to come over there. It’s easier when you are preaching.
You know, some students, they may become devotees, but they have all sorts of nasty posters in their room. You need not go over there. You can call them off.
You have to know that we should protect ourselves. Krishna will protect us, surely, but Krishna has also given us intelligence by which we are going to protect ourselves. How do we know our capacity? When we do something beyond our capacity, what happens? The muscles start screaming.
Our mind will start screaming. Screaming for self-realisation. The screams will become unbearable.
Before we start listening to the screams, we should come away from there. Actually, we should know our capacity. Otherwise, we get bored.
So, the sage told him, I have a promise by which I can give you your wings back, but at night. Why? He said, He was thinking, how will I live without the wings? You can give me my wings back. Why not give it to me? He said, you have realised the nature of human existence.
And, this realisation is precious. Very few people get this realisation. And, if I give you your wings back, again, you will be intoxicated by the power.
And you will forget this relationship. But without my wings, I cannot fly. I will arrange for your food every day.
And he said, there is a more important reason that I will not give you your wings. Because, when you will be here, in the future, the servants of Lord Ram will come here. And, you will have an opportunity to be of service to Lord Ram.
To those servants of Lord Ram. And as Ambedkar was speaking like this, suddenly, the distress of the lords of Jatayu, disappeared. Suddenly, he said, these are the servants of Lord Ram.
And, they have come here. So, I told him, I will do that service to Lord Ram. Because, by that service, you will get purified.
After that, when I give you your wings, you will not become intoxicated by the power of wings. So, he said, nice. Now, there is no opportunity for us.
We have been waiting for so long. The servants of Lord Ram lost the opportunity. So, he asked him, what service can I render to you? Please, tell me.
And, they were wondering, what service can we render? He said, actually, we are all looking for Sita. Do you know where Sita is? He said, yes, of course, I know. He said, yes.
As a number of the birds, which you have a very sharp vision. So, I can see, right now, I can see Sita. She is there in Lanka.
And, she is in great distress. And, she is waiting for you to come. And, by my mystic power, I also know that one of you will be able to jump across the ocean and reach Lanka.
And, you will be able to face her. And, then, as he spoke this, the wings appeared again. And, great vision, flying into the air.
And, he was flying in the air. The birds and monkeys were looking at him. Suddenly, he was on the ground.
Suddenly, a fire appeared. Huge cloud in the sky. And, he said, the sage told me that the servants of Lord Ram are unstoppable in all the three worlds.
This is not to speak of the ocean or the army of the Asuras. Then, the army of Ravana. The army of the Devas and the Asuras, together combined, cannot stop the servants of Lord Ram.
Go ahead, your victory is assured. And, then, as he was doing, completely, the mood of the Vanaras changed. They started roaring.
Roaring joy. Yes, he is successful. And, again, they came to the coast of the ocean.
And, again, they are roaring. Laughter. Because, they are still thinking.
He said that he will be successful. Yes. And, the sage also said that he will be successful.
Laughter. So, then, Amitabh said, just to encourage. And, he realised that he had discouraged all the soldiers that, you know, actually, I think, that this is also an incident.
He was the least of the Vanaras among us. He jumped across a golden ocean. So, he said to the Vanaras, how much distance can you jump? So, all the Vanaras said to him.
Somebody said to him, I can jump 2 million miles. Somebody said, I can jump 100 million miles. Somebody said that I can jump 200 million miles.
300 million miles. So, they all turned around. And, then, finally, he said, Jambavan said, no.
And, I was young. What mistake of jumping the 8000 million miles over here? He said, I could in one leap go around the whole earth. But, I have become old now.
I don’t think I can jump this 1000 million miles. I am not sure. He didn’t say, I can’t do it.
So, Amitabh said, I can surely jump this 1000 million miles and go there. But, he said, I have never done anything like this before. So, I don’t know, after jumping the 1000 million miles and reaching there, whether I will have the energy to jump back and come here.
So, then, they were not thinking what to do. Then, Jambavan said, oh, you are the prince. I am sure you can jump and come back.
But, I think you should not go. You are our prince and you should stay here. You should send some other able monkey.
Some other able monkey. Everybody started looking here. Nobody felt like able monkey.
All this time, Hanuman had been very silent. And, almost fencing. He healed all.
And then, at that time, Jambavan said, oh, Hanuman, why are you so silent? You are going to be the rescuer of all the vanaras in this great stage of distress. And, you will easily jump across. Hanuman was looking at him in great surprise.
He had never thought that he would lose his glory. And then, at that time, Jambavan started speaking verses glorifying Hanuman. And, reminding him of all the wonderful feats that he had done in his childhood.
Of all the great blessings that he had got from the universe. So, there are actually beautiful verses. Those who are Hanuman bhaktas, they often sing these verses which are sung by Jambavan speaking the glory of Hanuman.
You have got this blessing from Brahma. You got this blessing from Indra. You got this blessing from this person.
And, Hanuman was just looking at him. As Jambavan was speaking, Hanuman’s body was becoming bigger and bigger and bigger. And then, as Jambavan was speaking, Jambavan then closed his eyes.
He was just speaking. He was also delighted in glorifying Hanuman. When he opened his eyes, he could not see Hanuman.
Hanuman had become giant form. And then, Hanuman said, Yes! I have jumped across. Jai Shri Ram! Jai Shri Ram! And then, he decided to leap across.
So, actually, Hanuman, this is very important. This particular incident is very important. There are two incidents.
First of all, Jambavan, to some extent, played the role of a spiritual master for Hanuman. A spiritual master, all of us are souls. And as souls, we are very powerful.
We don’t think of ourselves as powerful. We think of ourselves as servants. We already have a big false ego.
And if we tell ourselves, I am very powerful, that only will kill our false ego. But actually, as a soul, the soul has tremendous power. Unfortunately, instead of realising the glory of the soul, we try to imagine ourselves as the body and the soul.
But actually, the soul is extremely powerful. The soul is empowered by Krishna. And the soul can do amazing things.
So, although the spiritual master can come up with so many things. But through that humility, we are able to access our own spiritual power. And more importantly, we are able to access God’s glory.
So, actually the spiritual master is bringing out our latent energy. So, just as Hanuman had forgotten, we also have forgotten our spiritual identity. But Jambavan glorified Hanuman to bring it.
So, we should not glorify him. I should glorify myself to remind my own glory. Not like that.
Actually, Hanuman had not acquired a false ego, thinking himself to be greater than what he was. Because of Hanuman’s forgetfulness, he was thinking himself to be smaller than what he was. In our case, we have assumed a false ego.
And after the glorification is done at the spiritual level, we take it to the material level. And then we make a mess of everything. Mr. Anand Maharaj said in one lecture, when others glorify you, you are unfortunately a believer.
Laughter Now, what does that mean? That doesn’t mean that they are lying. It means that we should understand this is not my glory. You see that this is actually Krishna’s mercy that he has given his ability to end up in some grander service.
And through this notion of appreciation, they are giving me a direction of how I can serve Hanuman. So, we should think he is an agnostic. But, along with that, the spiritual master revives our lost memory.
And along with that, especially when somebody is told to do some service, by that time that devotee should be encouraged and appreciated so that he can do that service. Just as a vehicle runs on fuel, all of us, we run on the fuel of encouragement and appreciation. We don’t run on the fuel of the bodily food that we eat.
That is required. But, there are so many people who are getting that. They are depressed, lazy, helpless.
So, actually all of us, we run from this is that we are able to become inspired and activated by the fuel of encouragement and appreciation. So, especially if some devotee is given some important service, by giving that service, we are actually encouraging and appreciating that devotee. Not in an egoistic sense, not so that we will increase the ego.
And, I’ll conclude with this one last point. Actually, when Hanuman jumped across, what did the Anarvadas do? They did not go back to the cave of the yogis and start looking for food and waiting. They said, it is our combined mission.
But, you alone are able to jump across. So, for praying for your success, we will stand in yogic meditation on one foot, fasting from food and water till you come back. And, this way, by the power of austerity that we have acquired, we will pray for your success.
So, this is the deal. When the one person is taking energy to his own direction, all the other people will also take energy. Our team is responsible.
So, we push it on. Some devotee is doing some service. Some devotee is going for preaching.
The other devotee is going for his own service. So, actually, standing on one leg in yogic austerity is not easy. It is not for all the ones who are doing that.
Hanuman was there searching. They are also doing austerity. Hanuman is doing austerity because taking austerity is taking the danger of the search of the Lord.
At least, we can do this. But then, you know how Hanuman went in and after so many dangers, eventually found Narasimha. So, Initially, it appears that the world is so big and how will you find one person in that big world? How will you find Sita? It appears it is virtually impossible.
But, when you understand, when you just see from material point of view, Prabhupada going abroad all alone, who is going to hear him? He is all right. It is like this. So, like that, Prabhupada, when he went abroad, he was constantly in a hurry.
The desire of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the instructions of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, it appeared as virtually impossible. But, actually, when we try to do the instruction, then the Lord will do the austerity. The Lord will do the austerity.
And you see how enormous Prabhupada’s instructions were. So, if you just see from material point of view, so many difficulties are there, so many misconceptions people have. People have so many, they are so metal-attached, they have so many misconceptions because of the 19th century, they have so many misconceptions because of their own past notions.
It is virtually impossible. But, when you remember that the Lord is there, the Lord will afford you obstacles. Then we understand that the mission of the Lord is not mission impossible, it is mission unstoppable.
It is mission unstoppable. Any questions? The question is, when Hanuman met Lord Ram for the first time in Vishvindha, was there suddenly a great devotee of the Lord all along this meditation? Will the Lord send eternal associates? The eternal associates manifest their eternal nature according to the plan of the Lord. So, Hanuman is always a great devotee of the Lord, but he manifested the devotion when he met Lord Ram.
So, before that, he was a heroic, dharmic, Vandana warrior. But, he was not, he has not yet manifested this devotion. Like all the Vandana devotees also worship Vishnu, but his eternal relationship with Lord Ram was awakened.
It was eternally there, but it was awakened by that meeting. The question is that, Jambavan knew about Hanuman’s advent right from the beginning. So, why didn’t they remind him only at that particular time? They reminded him before, but then Hanuman said, Jambavan is like the wise old man, not man, wise old deer among the company of the servants of Lord Ram.
So, according to Hanuman, actually, Jambavan was created right at the beginning. When Brahmaji was created, the first created being after Brahmaji is Jambavan. So, he has seen all the avatars.
He has seen Matsya, Kurma, Vamana, Varaha, Narasimha, all the avatars he has seen. So, he actually knows this whole thing in his life. And he knows that the Lord has a particular plan.
So, therefore, according to the plan of the Lord, he was inspired to meet him at that particular time. Now, others did not know. As far as we know, Sugriva did not know about it, because Hanuman was staying in a hermitage.
And actually, Hanuman went to Sugriva after Vishnu. So, Jambavan, according to the plan of the Lord, he revealed that at that particular time. So, actually, that is very dramatic.
Just when he was needed, his prowess becomes manifest. The most needed was the service of the Lord and his prowess at meeting him. Yes.
The question is that Hanuman went beyond his service of Hanuman, and he also went to Sri Lanka. So, we may also one day be doing a service, but we can also go beyond that capacity. But we may or may not be able to do that.
So, should we do that? And if we do that, are we proud or what? There are two factors over here. First and foremost is, we should make sure that our instructed service is done. Hanuman first found Sita.
And once we have done completely the instructed service, then if we have the time, the resources, Hanuman actually realised at that time that Hanuman had several reasons why he went to Lanka. Not just because his tail was gone and he wanted to take revenge. Not like that.
So, Hanuman first of all felt that I can do reconnaissance. He could have just gone back at that time. I can go reconnaissance.
I can see what are the strengths, how are the encampments, where are the weapons, where are the weak points, how can we attack. So, as a general, he knew the war was going to come. He wanted to do the reconnaissance.
That’s why he went there. Then he also felt he wanted to avoid the war if he could. That’s why he allowed himself to be arrested so that he could give a warning to Ravana.
But Ravana didn’t hear. Still Hanuman had some hope that Ravana may not listen to good instructions but he may change his heart because of his fear of Thomas. And that’s why he wanted to go out and burn the whole of Lanka.
And Ravana was aghast. At that time, Hanuman screamed at the top of his voice Kings generally send the least of their warriors as their messengers. So, he said I am the least of the servants of Lord Ra.
And see what I have done to the Lanka. Thousands of servants of Lord Ra bigger than me are going to soon come and attack you. Remember what is going to happen.
And then he laughed at the end of it. So, Hanuman was an expert general. Hanuman knew that even if Ravana doesn’t hear then he was hoping that he can create dissension in Ravana’s ranks.
At least other Rakshas will see some sense. Why should we fight for this one Sita? Actually, even Nibisha’s assistants it was only when they saw Hanuman missed completely almost devastated half of Lanka Then Nibisha said we will go that side. They agreed.
So, it was a calculated and implicit move from Hanuman’s side. Like that, if we are sufficiently matured and we feel that we can do a service then there is nothing wrong in it. But first and foremost, we should not be at the expense of our normal service.
If you go for follow-up and yes, you have to come back at 10 o’clock of 10 am after doing your yoga circles and then you meet some new boy and you think, ok, I can talk to him for one more hour at 11 o’clock and even if I sleep a little less, it doesn’t matter I can wake up in the morning and do my service. But then if you say, ok, this boy is so nice, he has so many questions I will talk with him till 1 o’clock. And then at 1 o’clock I come back and then don’t you know I was preaching till 1 o’clock? You people were sleeping peacefully and now you are disturbing my sleep.
And you don’t wake up, that is not good. So yes, if we can extend a little bit and we can continue our normal service, that’s ok. But if it’s going to affect our normal sadhana, our normal service then we need not do that.
And over a period of time we also learn the experience. You know how much are our limits. We learn by experience.
Thank you. Thank you very much. You said that in Balkan India Hanuman means Ram.
Correct. So now how it is whether in Balkan it is known that Hanuman meant Lord Ram but it is actually shown even in the Hanuman movie. So see there are various renditions of Ramayana.
So Valmiki Ramayana is the Mool Ramayana. And apart from that there is Kampila Ramayana, Adhyatma Ramayana and many other Ramayanas which are sometimes retellings and the retellings are not just the same thing told in a vernacular language. But some other details are also revealed which are not revealed in the original scripture.
So now we have to see carefully. For example now, there is Adhyatma Ramayana. Now Adhyatma Ramayana is that way bona fide.
And our Acharyas also have quoted from it. Prabhupada quotes from it in Chetanjali Kangal, Madhya Lila, one or two places. So now Adhyatma Ramayana is acceptable to us but we have to see it in context of Valmiki Ramayana.
That means does the story or whatever additional details are told in the Valmiki Ramayana, either they contradict the philosophy or the storyline of the original Valmiki Ramayana. Then we don’t accept it. So the Lakshmana Rekha story, Lakshmana Rekha is not mentioned in the Valmiki Ramayana.
But it does not contradict the theme. Yes, Lakshmana it’s logical that Lakshmana Prabhupada and you know Lord Krishna is so exhaustive that no one person can give complete narration of the past. So there are certain details or revelations, additional revelations which come later.
And if they don’t contradict either the storyline or they don’t contradict the the philosophy then that is okay. Then we can accept it. But certain details which are told sometimes, because what has happened is so many people have composed their own Ramayans sometimes.
And it’s very popular. So there is one particular story where before being banished Ram goes to Kaikeyi. Then he dies at Kaikeyi.
Now I want to ask the I have a request from you. What is this request? This request will cause you great pain and it will cause you great infamy also. Will you do it for my sake? Yes.
What do you want? This may even cause the death of your husband. Will you do it still? For your sake I will do it. Please ask that I will be banished for 14 years and what have you made there? But this was not there anywhere.
And if we accept this then the whole mantra becomes irrelevant. There is no point in having mantra. So So what happens is some people try to make everybody in the Ramayana pure.
And the idea is Kaikeyi was such a great devotee of Lord Ram that she was ready to even become a widow for the sake of Ram. This is against the mood and against the storyline of the Ramayana. So you cannot accept that.
See our Acharyas have not so much committed in the Ramayana. But Sri Vishnu Acharyas have committed a lot. They have committed almost in Tamil and very gradually it has been transmitted.
But generally some details get directly contradicted. So if you look at the Valmiki Ramayana it is clearly stated that Hanuman did not organise Rama first. But then Hanuman organised him.
So it is conceivably possible that Hanuman could have gone to Ayodhya and they could have lived together sometime and they could have got separated. And then they were reunited again. So it is possible.
And it is not against the storyline. What the storyline over here says is that when they met for the first time Hanuman did not organise him. That could be because of the forgetfulness of the senses also.
But they recognised him. So that is why. Because the story does not as far as I know come in the immediate standard Ramayana.
They come in the Ramayana, Jatna Ramayana. So we don’t talk about it so much. So now the movie makers from where they got the story we don’t know.
So it is not wrong philosophy. It is possible that Hanuman could have met Lord Rama over here. But this is a general principle.
It doesn’t contradict the philosophy. It doesn’t contradict the main storyline. But it enhances the storyline.
And that is perfectly fine. It enhances the storyline. So like even this thing or the Maya Sita.
That is not an issue with the Ramayana. Where Jatna Ramayana is Kuru Purana. So it enhances the storyline.
It is a deeper understanding. That is perfectly fine. Yes.
Stages. Stages. Yeah.
It is possible. We will have to check this out. And we will have to check this out.
I will check it and discuss it later. Thank you very much.