Suppressing Power

“Knowing the supreme taste associated with service to Rama, Brahma became a devotee Jambavan and Shiva became Hanuman. One should try to understand the meaning behind doing this.” (Dohavali, 143)

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जानि राम सेवा सरस समुझि करब अनुमान।
पुरुषा ते सेवक भए हर ते भे हनुमान ॥

jāni rāma sevā sarasa samujhi karaba anumāna।
puruṣā te sevaka bhae hara te bhe hanumāna ॥

Who doesn’t want to be powerful? Who doesn’t want to have control? Even if there is no need to exert authority, to put others in their place, to lay down the hammer, just having the option is helpful. It is comforting to know that when things get tough, when others raise opposition, when no one will listen to what I say, I can apply force to get what I want.

In this regard, who can be more powerful than Brahma and Shiva? Lord Brahma is the creator. He is the original ancestor, if we traced back all the way to the beginning. We are all related to one another, in that regard. Every person has a link to Brahma.

Brahma is like the artist seated in front of a blank canvas. Using the three main ingredients of goodness, passion, and ignorance as colors, the sky is the limit. Brahma can be as creative as he wants. He does not generate the living beings, but he determines the kinds of places in which they can appear.

न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचिन्
नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः
अजो नित्यः शाश्वतो ऽयं पुराणो
न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे

na jāyate mriyate vā kadācin
nāyaṁ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ
ajo nityaḥ śāśvato ‘yaṁ purāṇo
na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre

“For the soul there is never birth nor death. Nor, having once been, does he ever cease to be. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.20)

Lord Shiva is the destroyer. He annihilates everything that Brahma creates. He does not need to hire a demolition crew. He can do everything by himself. He has conquered lust, both literally and figuratively. He is free of material desire, and when Kamadeva interfered with his meditation, Mahadeva burned him.

Goswami Tulsidas explains that these two greatest of figures intentionally chose to appear in the lila of Shri Rama as servants. Brahma became Jambavan and Shiva became Hanuman. This was a decision based on intelligence. It was a choice tied to the impending experience.

That service to Rama brings the highest taste. There is ananda, or bliss. This bliss is what the living being always seeks, whether climbing the ladder of success or renouncing the world and living in a cave. Whether indulging the senses or practicing austerity, the end-goal is always ananda.

Tulsidas asks that we study this decision. It is more than a record within history. Just why would Brahma do such a thing? Why would Mahadeva, who is worshiped by devotee and demon alike, ever think of being in a subordinate position?

The picture coordinates well with our position of struggle within the material world. We are always trying to get ahead. We are trying to assert our superiority. We are showing off whatever we have, whether it is beauty, wealth, knowledge, or renunciation.

Brahma and Shiva already have everything. They have the most over which to boast. They can show off to anyone. They can assert their dominance in any field of activity. They have helped so many characters in the past, present, and future.

We should also note that within the roles of Jambavan and Hanuman, there is struggle. There is difficulty. There is concern over finding success, saphala. There appears to be uncertainty with respect to outcomes. It is not that Brahma and Shiva reside in a temple, in a peaceful atmosphere, with no cares in the world.

विषया विनिवर्तन्ते
निराहारस्य देहिनः
रस-वर्जं रसो ऽप्य् अस्य
परं दृष्ट्वा निवर्तते

viṣayā vinivartante
nirāhārasya dehinaḥ
rasa-varjaṁ raso ‘py asya
paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate

“The embodied soul may be restricted from sense enjoyment, though the taste for sense objects remains. But, ceasing such engagements by experiencing a higher taste, he is fixed in consciousness.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.59)

This means that the taste within service to Rama involves every facility gifted by nature. Whatever I have can be used in pleasing the Supreme Lord. It is within that service that I will finally feel alive. I was sleeping the whole time, otherwise. I had no purpose, but in following in the footsteps of Brahma and Shiva, it is like my life is finally complete.

In Closing:

My life finally complete,
Following steps of their feet.

Brahma and Shiva known,
Intelligent decision shown.

That in Rama’s lila to play,
As Jambavan and Hanuman to display.

Strength and tireless effort to extend,
A reliable and the dearest friend.