“One cannot speak this way without having been well-trained in the Rig Veda, memorized the Yajur Veda, and thoroughly understood the Sama Veda.” (Lord Rama speaking to Lakshmana about Hanuman, Valmiki Ramayana, Kishkindha Kand, 3.28)

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नानृग्वेदविनीतस्य नायजुर्वेद्धारिणः
नासामवेदविदुषश्शक्यमेवं विभाषितुम्

nānṛgvedavinītasya nāyajurveddhāriṇaḥ
nāsāmavedaviduṣaśśakyamevaṃ vibhāṣitum

“You use the incident of the first meeting between Shri Hanuman and Shri Rama, as kindly preserved in the historical Sanskrit poem known as the Ramayana, as evidence of the qualities in the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In fact, this is supposed to be proof of the very existence of God, based on the spontaneous reaction from Hanuman.

“That dedicated messenger, duta, representing the interests of the Vanara leader named Sugriva composed beautiful praise without prior thought. This was based on simply meeting Rama and His younger brother Lakshmana. Supposedly, this is how to tell you are in the presence of transcendental greatness. Just as one might be moved to tears in witnessing the self-sacrifice of the mother towards her child, the beautiful vision of a wonder of nature, or the greatness of someone in general, there is something inside which changes when dealing directly with God the person.

“That sounds well and good. I will not argue against the theory. The question I have is about the people who have a similar experience but lack the same response. They are not moved at all. In fact, they might become more antagonistic. Their atheistic stance digs deeper into the ground. If it was firmly entrenched before, it is now like a pillar which finds added support. They believe more than ever that the believers are the crazy ones, that there is no God ruling over the entire universe.

“You have the Rakshasa leader named Ravana meeting the same Rama. You have the incident with Paundraka described in Bhagavata Purana. Today, you have the people who visit the temple, observe the deity, and do not come away with a change of heart. While the regular attendees see the same deity and immediately shed tears. How do we account for the difference? Why should we use the experience of Hanuman as evidence of divinity while ignoring the continuation of sinful behavior in Ravana?”

The explanation is simple. There must be some kind of qualification. There must be some level of maturity. We already have experience with this in our daily lives. A youth might have no interest an in automobile. You tell them of innovations like a rearview camera, an overhead camera, and intelligent controls to help with parallel parking, and they have no idea what you are talking about. They could very well witness these features in action and still have no appreciation for them.

It is not until they have a little maturity, gain some experience in driving a car, that they come to be impressed. They might be so impressed that they decide to study cars for a living. They appreciate more and more. That which they previously ignored is now the focal point of their working day.

It may appear that Ravana was not moved, but that is not the case. He was actually a devoted soul having descended from the Vaikuntha realm due to a curse. He was a devotee of Rama, but acting out that devotion through antagonism. In fact, a close associate to Ravana had tremendous appreciation for Rama. Though Maricha was on the other side, though he was an attacker against the innocent, he provided some of the best praise we can find of that celebrated eldest son of King Dasharatha.

अवजानन्नहं मोहाद्बालोऽयमिति राघवम्
विश्वामित्रस्य तां वेदिमभ्यधावं कृतत्वरः
तेन मुक्तस्ततो बाणः शितश्शत्रुनिबर्हणः
तेनाहं त्वाहतः क्षिप्तस्समुद्रे शतयोजने

avajānannahaṃ mohādbālo’yamiti rāghavam
viśvāmitrasya tāṃ vedimabhyadhāvaṃ kṛtatvaraḥ
tena muktastato bāṇaḥ śitaśśatrunibarhaṇaḥ
tenāhaṃ tvāhataḥ kṣiptassamudre śatayojane

“Being under the influence of illusion, I underestimated Rama and took Him to be a mere child. Thus I ran towards Vishvamitra’s sacrificial altar. With that, Rama released an acute arrow capable of destroying His enemies. Upon hitting me, that arrow forcefully threw me away to an ocean one hundred yojanas [eight hundred miles] away.” (Maricha speaking to Ravana, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 38.19)

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada explains that the non-devotees will only see the material elements used in the construction of the deity. They are not yet interacting with God the person. They may also hear transcendental sound, shabda-brahman, but are not influenced. It is like receiving an important message over the radio, but not understanding due to lack of familiarity with the language spoken.

श्री-भगवान् उवाच
इदं तु ते गुह्यतमं
प्रवक्ष्याम्य् अनसूयवे
ज्ञानं विज्ञान-सहितं
यज् ज्ञात्वा मोक्ष्यसे ऽशुभात्

śrī-bhagavān uvāca
idaṁ tu te guhyatamaṁ
pravakṣyāmy anasūyave
jñānaṁ vijñāna-sahitaṁ
yaj jñātvā mokṣyase ‘śubhāt

“The Supreme Lord said: My dear Arjuna, because you are never envious of Me, I shall impart to you this most secret wisdom, knowing which you shall be relieved of the miseries of material existence.” (Bhagavad-gita, 9.1)

It is for such reasons that there is a discipline known as vaidhi-bhakti. It is for making the qualification. Shastra carries forward conversations with disciples who are already qualified. For instance, Arjuna could hear Bhagavad-gita, which contained confidential truths, because he was not envious of Krishna. Through purificatory rites, samskaras, and dedication to sadhu, shastra, and guru, we have the potential to reach the same level of qualification, after which we can appreciate Shri Rama without end.

In Closing:

To appreciate without end,
An initial meeting to extend.

Since remembering so,
Into those glories to go.

Like Hanuman culture to exemplify,
To understand properly qualified.

With barely few moments screening,
Praise in presence of Rama meaning.

Categories: questions

Tags: dailyprompt, hanuman, poem, poems, poetry, ramayana