“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

For the purpose of analysis, we take the hypothetical situation of children stumbling upon something unknown to them. For the sake of simplicity, we say that it is a banana. One child picks up a banana, which is in the ripe stage. They are unsure what to do with it. They decide to toss it across the room, in the manner of a discus.

There are other children on the scene. They see what the first child did and decide to imitate. Soon thereafter, bananas are flying everywhere. The children think they have invented the best game. They could play this for hours.

It so happens that the play continues, in succession, for day after day. We presume that no adults are around to provide the proper information. There is no higher authority to give guidance into how the object of play is actually meant for eating. There is a process of peeling. The outside is like packing material used when sending a parcel from one place to another; except in this case nature does the packing.

The banana is a certain kind of food. It is a fruit. It changes in state. It is found on trees. A person can satisfy their hunger by accidentally stumbling upon one. The fate of the mature fruit is one way to describe the fear of death.

यथा फलानां पक्वानां नान्यत्र पतनाद्भयम्।
एवं नरस्य जातस्य नान्यत्र मरणाद्भयम्।।

yathā phalānāṃ pakvānāṃ nānyatra patanādbhayam
evaṃ narasya jātasya nānyatra maraṇādbhayam

“As a ripe fruit has no other fear than to fall, so a man who is born has no other fear than death.” (Lord Rama, Valmiki Ramayana, Ayodhya Kand, 105.17)

The missing factor in this case is the presence of authority. Someone must be there to provide the proper information. If not in the personal form, then at least there must be an extension of their knowledge. They could write down a message for others to consult. They could publish a detailed explanation in something like a book.

We see from this example how something can change but also stay the same. The change is based on the response. The children have found a new way to use the banana. They are so involved with this utilization that they do not know any other way.

At the same time, the banana has not changed. The properties are exactly the same. The difference in use has no impact on the constitutional makeup. The banana will continue to flow through the expected life cycle, from raw and green to ripe and yellow with spots.

We can use this example to study how the meanings to shlokas from sacred texts of the Vedic tradition get misapplied. Through the passage of time, due to a lack of proper authority figures to provide guidance, a person or group of people may speculate as to the meanings. They misinterpret this concept or apply the incorrect context. In the process, they produce a brand new meaning.

This new interpretation, which is not entirely correct, could be put into use for generations. Across hundreds of years, the succession is based on the initial misconception. Something like Bhagavad-gita, which is spoken on a battlefield to a warrior, eventually urging him to continue in military conflict, might become the basis upon which an invented principle of nonviolence is taught.

Someone like the king of Lanka might try to view the wife of Shri Rama as personal property. Although Ravana steals Sita Devi away, by force, he assumes that she will align with the proper side, with the rest of the queens. Though Sita does not move an inch towards him, Ravana never considers that something might be wrong in the equation.

Separate from her husband, Sita Devi does not look as she should. With great difficulty, however, someone like Hanuman can identify her. He retains the original meaning. He knows that despite the external changes, the original person is still there.

In the same way, though there may be so many wrong interpretations and malicious presentations of Vedic culture, the representatives of the Supreme Personality of Godhead never deviate from the cause of dharma. They can reinstitute the proper knowledge, if it should happen to be lost. They can empower others to carry the same spiritual vision.

एवं परम्परा-प्राप्तम्
इमं राजर्षयो विदुः
स कालेनेह महता
योगो नष्टः परन्तप

evaṁ paramparā-prāptam
imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ
sa kāleneha mahatā
yogo naṣṭaḥ parantapa

“This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way. But in course of time the succession was broken, and therefore the science as it is appears to be lost.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 4.2)

In Closing:

By ignorant speculators tossed,
The original knowledge now lost.

For many generations in succession,
Misguiding others in wrong directions.

But someone like Hanuman can see,
That indeed Sita is she.

Who for pleasure of husband meant,
Proper meaning to others sent.

Categories: life of a text

Tags: god, hanuman, hare krishna, poem, poems, poetry, ramayana, religion, sita