“That same lady, for whom thousands upon many thousands of monkeys have been searching everywhere, in all directions, has been found by me.” (Hanuman, Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara Kand, 30.3)

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यां कपीनां सहस्राणि सुबहून्ययुतानि च।
दिक्षु सर्वासु मार्गन्ते सेयमासादिता मया।।

yāṃ kapīnāṃ sahasrāṇi subahūnyayutāni ca।
dikṣu sarvāsu mārgante seyamāsāditā mayā।।

1. Getting offered the job

“This was a remote position. People tell you to not bother applying to those. Too many applicants. The pool is filled with candidates, many of whom are from low cost-of-living areas. This means that they will work for less.

“It is a flexible arrangement, for sure, but that is advantageous to the employer, as well. They can cast a wider net. They don’t have to pay as much, and they can take their time finding the best candidate; not necessarily settling for whoever is available to the local area.

“Anyway, I somehow got chosen for the position. The pay is actually more than I make right now. None of this makes any sense. The interview was extremely difficult. I am guessing that other candidates did not make the grade. I am proud of myself; I must admit. I never thought I could win such a competition against other people in the field, especially when geography was not part of the equation.”

2. Solving the puzzle

“It just came to me, like second nature. There were many of us in the classroom. It was three in succession. More so a way to pass the time than a meaningful competition. Just for fun, but I guess I was the best at solving the puzzles. I felt pretty good afterwards; people were complimenting me.”

3. Fixing the web application

“All of a sudden one of our applications critical to the business stopped working. It would hang on the main screen, after logging in. I wasn’t brought in until later, since everyone thought that the problem had to do with authentication.

“Anyway, it was the database. One of the queries running in the background suddenly would not finish. This is my field of expertise, so I knew how to approach the problem and find a solution. It did not take me that long. The application was back to normal after I put in the change. People were so relieved. It felt good to be the hero of the day.”

4. Getting the highest grade in the class

“You might not like to hear this, but it is the truth. Throughout my years in school, I was always the first one to complete examinations. It never made sense to me. I guess I am good at math; I would really never know. I have no frame of reference to go off.

“Sometimes, in order to not draw so much attention, I would wait a little bit after finishing a test. I would double and triple check my work, to make sure. But I still got a perfect score. It never meant anything in the long-run. Does anybody even care what your grades were from twenty and thirty years ago? Nevertheless, I felt a sense of pride. The accomplishments fueled motivation.”

5. Locating someone that thousands of others already failed to

Shri Hanuman explains that thousands and thousands of Vanaras from Kishkindha were searching for Sita Devi. They barely had details on her appearance, and they had to rely upon collected clues to even have an idea of which way to proceed.

Still, they did not find success. How could they be expected to? The person who had taken her away obviously was in no hurry to reveal her location. Ravana, the king of Lanka, thought he was safe on the island of Lanka, travelling to and from using his amazing aerial vehicle called the Pushpaka.

Yet there he was, a single Vanara, in Lanka and meeting Sita Devi. It was Hanuman who succeeded; no one else. It was only Hanuman who could leap over the lengthy ocean, find a way past Lanka’s gatekeeper, maintain the search incognito, and discern Sita from the other beautiful women in the city.

In this regard, no one in the history of the world has more to be proud over, but Hanuman is not that way. In images of worship, we see him in diminutive stature, kneeling in front of Shri Rama, Lakshmana, and Sita. He seeks nothing from them, but rather maintains everlasting devotion, serving as the great inspiration for those seeking success in spiritual life.

In Closing:

Success for myself to seek,
But my prospects look bleak.

Since already overly proud,
Triumph’s celebration loud.

But an inspiration for me,
Shri Hanuman to see.

At most difficult job succeeding,
But in full humility leading.

Categories: the five

Tags: god, hare krishna, hinduism, poem, poems, poetry, religion