“Seeing Sita, like trying to decipher knowledge from the Vedas which has become barely perceptible after lack of use, his mind became doubtful. As Sita was not decorated, with difficulty Hanuman could recognize her, like understanding a text which has gotten a different meaning due to a lack of purity.” (Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara Kand, 15.38-39)

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तस्य संदिदिहे बुद्धिर्मुहुः सीतां निरीक्ष्य तु।
आम्नायानामयोगेन विद्यां प्रशिथिलामिव।।
दुःखेन बुबुधे सीतां हनुमाननलङ्कृताम्।
संस्कारेण यथा हीनां वाचमर्थान्तरं गताम्।।

tasya saṃdidihe buddhirmuhuḥ sītāṃ nirīkṣya tu।
āmnāyānāmayogena vidyāṃ praśithilāmiva।।
duḥkhena bubudhe sītāṃ hanumānanalaṅkṛtām।
saṃskāreṇa yathā hīnāṃ vācamarthāntaraṃ gatām।।

1. They are inquisitive

“The imagery is fascinating. It is not so easy to dismiss. Especially in terms of the worship of Vishnu and those figures related to Him, there is beauty to the presentation. It stands in stark contrast to the ‘angry god’ concept.

“Instead of an authority figure from the heavens disapprovingly glancing at the sinful population at large, it is the people approaching in a humble manner. Free of ego, they act as if Vishnu is everything. They will remain poor themselves. They may have only a leaf or a flower to offer, but offer it they will. Their dedication is like nothing I have ever seen.”

पत्रं पुष्पं फलं तोयं
यो मे भक्त्या प्रयच्छति
तद् अहं भक्त्य्-उपहृतम्
अश्नामि प्रयतात्मनः

patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ
yo me bhaktyā prayacchati
tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam
aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ

“If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.26)

2. They want to compare

“I am researching a book on the various theories of the creation. This is from the religious perspective. I want to see if there are any similarities when you go from tradition to tradition. We have the commonly known story of the person named Noah and his ark.

“Is there something similar in the Vedas? Is Manu the same as Noah, but just with a different name? Is the Matsya avatara the provider of intelligence from another realm? Apart from this incident, what others are the same? Is the Kalki avatara the same as what we know to be Armageddon, for instance?”

3. They are part of an occupying force

“We have been tasked with studying the culture of this place that we now rule over. It is strange that they do not seem to be interested in the slightest in our way of life. They are content roaming the country with their cows, their gods, and their simple food.

“Let us delve further into the Sanskrit texts to see what we can find. These stories are sure fascinating. Maybe they picked them up from other cultures. They seem to know something about everything. Their scriptures have information on eating, exercise, sleeping, continuing the population, running a kingdom, finding peace of mind, and even reading the stars. It would be foolish to dismiss their religion as narrow-minded.”

4. They want to criticize

“Look at these people and their false gods. They are so doomed. They have these crazy stories that they somehow believe to be true. Some ancient sage inventing the battery, for instance. Flying vehicles and something about an imbalance of the different airs within the body causing disease. Just see that their savior of all is a debauchee. He runs around with young girls and has no shame in the process.

“Let us study a little further just to observe how ridiculous their ideas are. Reincarnation? Come on! What kind of nonsense is that? The senses forming attachment and the lack of satisfaction leading to anger and wrath? These people sure do spend a lot of time philosophizing. Their false gods have a lot to say about a lot of things, but since they don’t follow our religion, which is the only true one, they are all going to hell.”

ध्यायतो विषयान्पुंसः सङ्गस्तेषूपजायते ।
सङ्गात्सञ्जायते कामः कामात्क्रोधोऽभिजायते ॥

dhyāyato viṣayān puṁsaḥ
saṅgas teṣūpajāyate
saṅgāt sañjāyate kāmaḥ
kāmāt krodho ’bhijāyate

“While contemplating the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment for them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust anger arises.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.62)

5. They feel a void in life

“Do you ever think about your purpose in life? I believe in God and all. We go to a house of worship on a regular basis. I am not talking about religion. This is a specific direction. For instance, if I no longer had to work, what would I do every day? I am not sure. I might be bored out of my mind.

“Does Vedic literature have an answer for this? Or is it one of those things where you have to accept and that’s it? Is there anything about finding a purpose, in passing the time in a meaningful way? Is there anything about being happy and content as you finish out your days in this world?”

…

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada makes the comparison to licking the outside of the bottle instead of opening it. If there is honey inside, there is no way to get the taste without removing the cap or the lid.

In the same way, whatever our reason for approaching the timeless wisdom of the Vedas, if we are lacking the proper culture then there is no way to understand anything. We can be in possession of a perfect translation, from the original Sanskrit to our language of choice, but the meanings get lost.

It is coming across an old saying that might not be in use in the modern day. We are accessing Sanskrit poetry from thousands of years in the past, at a time now when the language is barely known to anyone. How can the average person transpose themselves to an ancient period of time to become familiar with the context?

Therefore, it is necessary to have an authority figure. Someone like Shri Hanuman. He is able to identify Sita Devi in Lanka. She is in a dreadful condition. She does not look like her normal self. She is in great distress due to forced separation from her husband, Shri Rama.

Someone like Ravana assumes Sita is an object for his enjoyment. Despite being specifically told to the contrary, it is like there is a wall blocking his intelligence from proceeding. He can only go by what he sees, and his lens has the filter of personal enjoyment.

Hanuman can see through the conditions. He is the empowered representative to decipher what belongs to Shri Hari. It is therefore a requirement to have someone like Shri Hanuman for assisting in understanding Vedic literature. Otherwise, the exercise is something like walking through a museum and appreciating or misunderstanding from only a distance.

In Closing:

Upon ancient culture to land,
Difficult to understand.

With strange gods and rituals too,
Leader of all a debauchee who.

Someone like Hanuman required,
For proper vision acquired.

Seeing Sita Devi in Lanka there,
Of her true identity aware.

Categories: the five

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