Hanuman A great devotee of the Lord

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A great devotee of the Lord

 

30-12-1997 :: Pg: 24 :: Col: c

 

Cl: Religion

 

CHENNAI, Dec. 30.

 

It is rare to find one blessed with both physical

prowess and intellectual ability. Nature endows

man generally only with either of the two.

Scriptures are replete with instances of persons

who were great warriors but who lacked the

qualities of the head and the heart. One exception

perhaps is Hanuman who through the role he

played as the emissary of Rama to Lanka, earned

the praise, love and gratitude of the Lord.

 

Above all he has attained the status of a

Chiranjeevi (one who has conquered death) and

is revered as a devotee par excellence for he

expressed the desire to remain in the world when

the Lord wanted him to accompany Him to His

eternal abode. This great devotee of the Lord

derives great joy in listening to the glory of the

Lord and it is for this reason that he preferred to

remain in the world.

 

That he remained a celibate totally dedicating his

life to the Lord can be seen from the Ramayana.

He distinguished himself as one who had total

control over his senses, intuitive faculty and

knowledge of the scriptures. And, for all his

attainments he was very humble. Hanuman is

introduced in the Kishkinda Kandam in the

Ramayana and in the Sundara Kandam he

becomes the central character when he is chosen

for the task of locating Sita.

 

In his discourse on the occasion of Hanumath

Jayanthi Sri Sukisivam said, Hanuman's greatness

was expressed by Rama Himself to Lakshmana

soon after they met. When the other Vanaras

including Sugriva hid themselves, out of fear,

when they saw Rama and Lakshmana

approaching, it was Hanuman who volunteered to

find out their identity. Disguising himself as a

Brahmachari he approached them.

 

Kamban portrays the thoughts that crossed

Hanuman's mind when he tried to assess them,

which reflect his rational and intuitive powers.

``What are they in search of? How shall I find out

who they really are? I can make out that there is

something worrying them. They appear to be

distressed; but still, they do not look like such

weaklings as to succumb to sufferings. They

cannot be celestials because they resemble

humans. They appear to take dharma and virtue

as part of their lives. They seem to have lost a

precious object and are obviously looking for it.''

 

When Hanuman introduced himself as the son of

Vayu and Anjana, Rama felt, ``There appears to

be none more capable than him. Qualities like

character, efficiency, modesty and knowledge

resulting from education, cannot be separated

from him,'' and told Lakshmana, ``There is no art,

nor any Veda which this great man has not

mastered. This is evident from the way he

speaks.''

--

Happy Holidays,

Shree

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