“O very powerful one, I depend on your might. As you are the best of the monkeys, O son of the wind, do you exert yourself in such a way that by using your extraordinary strength and bravery, O Hanuman, the daughter of Janaka may be found.” (Shri Rama speaking to Hanuman, Valmiki Ramayana, Kishkindha Kand, 44.17)

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अतिबल बलमाश्रितस्तवाहं
हरिवरविक्रम विक्रमैरनल्पैः
पवनसुत यथाऽभिगम्यते सा
जनकसुता हनुमं स्तथा कुरुष्व

atibala balamāśritastavāhaṃ
harivaravikrama vikramairanalpaiḥ
pavanasuta yathā’bhigamyate sā
janakasutā hanumaṃ stathā kuruṣva

People living within the Vedic tradition, through either family affiliation or coming in contact with a spiritual teacher of high repute, are familiar with the glories, exploits, triumphs, and heroism of Shri Hanuman. If wanting to simplify things, his very being can be understood through two famous images.

One is of him crossing the ocean. This was in search of Sita Devi, the princess of Videha. She had gone missing while living in the forest of Dandaka. In this image, Hanuman is all alone. No one is helping him. In the second image, Hanuman is carrying a mountain in his hand. Rather than assume the mountain is small in size, that it has been reduced through some magical spell, it is Hanuman who is large in stature. A life-saving herb is somewhere on this mountain, and Hanuman does not have the time to search every nook and corner. He decides to bring back the entire mountain to the area where the medical attention is desperately needed.

These images depict scenes later within the narrative, but the amazing thing is that success was foretold. It was anticipated from the beginning, by the people who asked Hanuman for help. They put him right in the middle of a daring mission. Though there were many people involved in the search party, to find the missing wife of Shri Rama, who is the prince of Ayodhya, it was believed that only Hanuman would have the skills necessary to go the extra mile, should it be required.

To highlight the glories of Hanuman specifically related to this endeavor, we can consider a hypothetical situation where we are inserted into a predicament. Someone is asking us to do something amazing and extraordinary, where not only is the final destination unknown, but there is no guarantee of a safe journey. No underwriter would dare to write an insurance policy to cover the damages. The risk is too high.

Based on our journey thus far in life, in traversing the complexities and unknowns associated with eking out a living, we might offer excuses along the following lines. If Sugriva, the king of the Vanaras in the Kishkindha kingdom, should ask us to help his friend in this difficult endeavor, we might offer the following justifications for our hesitation.

1. But it is really far

“Do you even know where she is? That princess might be so far away. I have never left home before. How will I get around? That seems like a big deal. I am not sure you are thinking clearly here. Somebody else might be better suited for the job.”

2. But it is really dangerous

“Will these people be happy to see me? I have a feeling they won’t. I probably can’t even tell them what I am doing in their area. You are putting me directly into harm’s way. I think that is asking a lot. Why can’t someone else do this? I am always being tapped on the shoulder to help here and there. You are taking advantage of my kindness and eagerness to serve.”

3. But I might not know what to say

“Alright, in the optimistic case that I do end up meeting the princess, what will I say to her? I have no clue. I have never met her before. She might think I am just as evil as everyone else. I wouldn’t blame her. If I fumble my words then the entire mission will be spoiled. I will be so upset with myself, in taking that extraordinary effort and having nothing to show for it.”

4. But I might not make it back in time

“How do you expect me to accomplish this in so short of a time window? That is an unreasonable ask. It is difficult enough to search the entire world for someone that is in distress. Have you ever considered that the person who took her, the captor, just might not want her to be discovered? I do not see how you can put all of your hopes on me.”

5. But I might not succeed

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, but you are overlooking something crucial. I might not succeed. Then what will you do? I cannot live with that burden of guilt. Everyone will blame me. They will be justified in their disappointment. I will have to go the rest of my days knowing that I could not live up to expectations. I will let everyone down. That is too much of a burden to take.”

…

These excuses could be reused for any endeavor that can get complicated in the end. We marvel at how someone had a small idea, like starting a restaurant or food service, and took it to the grandest scale. The large multinational corporations often began in someone’s garage. The founder took something basic and managed to grow it to where thousands of people are employed in offices dispersed throughout the world.

Hanuman had the most difficult work to accomplish, but he did not cave under pressure. He was as invested in the outcome. It was his link to the Supreme Lord, Shri Rama, that carried him through. Just by stepping foot in the path, he was already successful. It is only Rama who is satya-sankalpa, and so if He desires the devotee to end up in a certain destination, that desire will manifest into reality.

सह-जं कर्म कौन्तेय
स-दोषम् अपि न त्यजेत्
सर्वारम्भा हि दोषेण
धूमेनाग्निर् इवावृताः

saha-jaṁ karma kaunteya
sa-doṣam api na tyajet
sarvārambhā hi doṣeṇa
dhūmenāgnir ivāvṛtāḥ

“Every endeavor is covered by some sort of fault, just as fire is covered by smoke. Therefore one should not give up the work which is born of his nature, O son of Kunti, even if such work is full of fault.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 18.48)

As Shri Krishna describes, every endeavor has some sort of flaw. Nobody works in a perfect way. The startup that grows to a larger scale might have several bad actors in it. The spiritual institution started by a noted guru might have many horrible aspects to its history. But the potential for bad should not dissuade a person from acting, from proceeding with a hope of success.

This especially applies to the mission of the human life. I might fail in remembering the Supreme Lord at the time of death. I might make many mistakes in my personal implementation of pravritti and nivritti, in understanding karya and akarya, and in attaining a practical realization [vijnana] of the accepted knowledge [jnana].

तेषां सतत-युक्तानां
भजतां प्रीति-पूर्वकम्
ददामि बुद्धि-योगं तं
येन माम् उपयान्ति ते

teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ
bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam
dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ
yena mām upayānti te

“To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 10.10)

There is misery from the moment of birth. Appearing in this world in an embodied form is something like a defeat. The jiva soul with their consciousness covered by prakriti and its specific combination of the three modes: sattva, raja, and tama. If I make a sincere effort in working for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord, then I will get help. There is no wasted effort, despite the potential for colossal failure.

In Closing:

“Potential for disaster spelling,
Destined to fail I’m telling.

Better someone else than me,
If success wanting to see.

Too many dangers in path to go,
My assurance impossible so.”

Hanuman with no such objections taking,
Rama Himself the successful end making.

Categories: the five

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