Why Do We Celebrate Saintly People

“How can I ensure that the purpose of my task does not get destroyed? How shall I avoid mental disparity, and how do I ensure that my crossing of the ocean does not go for naught?” (Hanuman, Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara Kand, 2.41)

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न विनश्येत्कथं कार्यं वैक्लब्यं न कथं भवेत्
लङ्घनं च समुद्रस्य कथं नु न वृथा भवेत्

na vinaśyetkathaṃ kāryaṃ vaiklabyaṃ na kathaṃ bhavet
laṅghanaṃ ca samudrasya kathaṃ nu na vṛthā bhavet

“Let’s begin with the acknowledgment of the term. Your assignment is fine with me. If you describe a person or group of individuals as ‘saintly,’ I will go along. I am not going to blanketly object out of principle. There might be the accompanying outfit. Saffron robes. Sacred markings on the forehead. Beads of the holy basil tree worn as a necklace. Travelling from place to place. Speaking on Sanskrit texts that are so old that we cannot accurately apply a date of composition.

“The thing is, why should such people be celebrated? In the explicit sense, where they receive more praise than others. You have the mothers working hard day and night, providing for their families or staying home and taking care of the children. You have the husband going to the office. The elderly have been through so much. Children face difficulties today that were unimaginable in prior generations.

“Why does the saintly person have to stand out? They are as much a human being as you and me. Why are they so special? Why should they receive different treatment? Are we not all headed for the same destination? From birth there is death. This takes place for everyone. If your average person wants to live a certain way, where they are not harming others, why should we criticize them for it?”

We can think of saintly people as a symbol of sacrifice. We already honor those who voluntarily renounce personal comforts for the benefit of others. The parents who do so much for us during childhood. The police officer who heroically enters a dangerous situation. The firefighter who tries to rescue potential victims in a burning building. The citizen turned politician who is fearless in the den of liars and thieves.

These sacrifices are limited to the specific circumstances and the time. Someone is helping to teach me how to read and write, but that ability has limited applicability. Eventually, my education will vanish. I will carry forward the conceptions from this life to the next.

शरीरं यद् अवाप्नोति
यच् चाप्य् उत्क्रामतीश्वरः
गृहीत्वैतानि संयाति
वायुर् गन्धान् इवाशयात्

śarīraṁ yad avāpnoti
yac cāpy utkrāmatīśvaraḥ
gṛhītvaitāni saṁyāti
vāyur gandhān ivāśayāt

“The living entity in the material world carries his different conceptions of life from one body to another as the air carries aromas.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 15.8)

It could be that someone makes such a mark that their influence is felt for many generations. Perhaps they are instrumental in starting a new nation. Maybe they discovered an innovative way to produce food, such that much time and labor are saved in the process. Though they may not be as appreciated several hundred years after the fact, their sacrifice still makes a lasting impact.

Imagine, then, if we could sacrifice in such a way that the entire human population could benefit, for thousands of years into the future. Simply based on the way we live or the words we say, we can rescue others from not only pain and suffering in the single lifetime, but the very cause of suffering itself, which is rebirth.

आ-ब्रह्म-भुवनाल् लोकाः
पुनर् आवर्तिनो ऽर्जुन
माम् उपेत्य तु कौन्तेय
पुनर् जन्म न विद्यते

ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ
punar āvartino ‘rjuna
mām upetya tu kaunteya
punar janma na vidyate

“From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kunti, never takes birth again.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 8.16)

We can look to someone like Shri Hanuman, who sacrificed so much directly for the benefit of Shri Rama. That was an isolated incident, reserved for a specific period of time. Shri Rama eventually returned to the spiritual world, along with His close associates. We are still talking about Rama, and the influence of Hanuman is still alive and well.

Hanuman bravely crossed over the ocean to reach Lanka. He contemplated different options when continuing in his mission. He could have spent the entire time celebrating himself. He could have written a book about his exploits. He could have struck a deal with the enemy, who was the leader of Lanka.

Hanuman sacrificed for Sita and Rama. He did not do anything for himself. There was no interest in personal comfort. At the same time, he did not end up a loser. He did not squander the opportunity for enjoyment. His time in that service, which is also yoga, was most worthwhile.

Hanuman is saintly in nature, and we celebrate him the most because he sacrifices to the extent of volunteering to remain in this dreaded world of tumult, chaos, ignorance, despair, sadness, and madness. He sacrifices in order to rescue us, who are so bewildered that we cannot even decipher our purpose in being here.

In Closing:

Reached conclusion in haste,
That this life experience a waste.

Why even to this place dreaded,
When all for destruction headed?

But someone sacrificing for me,
Messenger of Rama is he.

Despite dangers of this world knowing,
The meaning to life showing.