Hanuma's Forgetfulness

గురు బ్రహ్మ గురుర్ విష్ణుః గురుర్ దేవో మహేశ్వరః

గురు స్సాక్షాత్ పరబ్రహ్మ తస్మై శ్రీ గురవే నమః

శుక్లాం బరధరం విష్ణుం శశివర్ణం చతుర్భుజం

ప్రసన్న వదనం ధ్యాయేత్ సర్వ విఘ్నోప శాంతయే

శ్రుతి స్మృతి పురాణానాం ఆలయం కరుణాలయం

నమామి భగవత్ పాదం శంకరం లోక శంకరం

ఓం నమః శివాయ

When Sugreeva had sent armies towards the four directions in search of Sita,  Hanuma, Angada, Jaambavanta and others were chosen for the south side. After multiple hurdles they came to know of Sita’s presence in Lanka through Sampaati. Then they reached the banks of the Sea, not knowing the next steps. Everyone was asked about their capacity in terms of crossing the sea. Different people gave different opinions with regards to crossing 100 Yojanas. Some said they can jump 25 yojanas, some said 50, Angada said he can cross but can’t come back. At that time Hanuma was sitting in one corner without uttering a word. Jaambavanta approached him and made him realise his strengths. Then Hanuma realised his strength and after that, as they say its history.

We all know that Hanuma had a curse on him by the sages that he would be forgetful and would not know his strength unless reminded.

But there were multiple instances in Ramayanam, where Hanuma exhibited his forgetfulness. Many times in many lectures it is said that Hanuma’s curse got diffused when Jambavanta reminded him of his strength. But it is possible that Hanuma continued to be forgetful. Lets see some instances. Some of these are before the sea crossing and some are after.

Sugreeva sought Sri Rama’s help so that his wife and kingdom could be restored to him. But Vali was killed by Sri Rama and Tara was wailing profusely with Vali’s head on her lap, Hanuma went up to her and said that she should carry out the coronation of Angada as the king. Hanuma is not an ordinary person to speak randomly or irrationally or without sense. I would attribute this statement of Hanuma, which definitely would have shocked Sugreeva J, as an act of forgetfulness. Ofcourse, Tara rejected that opinion and saved Sugreeva.

When Lakshmana threatened Sugreeva with dire consequences, for having forgotten his promise to help his brother find his wife, Tara came to Sugreeva’s rescue. At that time Hanuma sided with Lakshmana as if Sugreeva did not do anything towards keeping his promise. At that time Sugreeva passed on the orders to Hanuma that he is reducing the time for the army to assemble from 15 days to 10 days. This also clearly indicates that Hanuma has actually forgotten the earlier orders. This also seems like an act of forgetfulness on the part of Hanuma.

During the war, when Lakshmana gets hit with Trishul of Raavana, he falls down unconscious. At that time Sushena asks Hanuma to get the same herb that was used earlier. Hanuma reaches the mountain and forgets which herbs to pick. And so he pulls out the entire mountain and gets it to the war field for sushena to treat Lakshmana. This also reminds us of Hanuma’s forgetfulness.

When Hanuma visited Sita in Lanka, he saw all the female raakshasas around Sita. At that time he saw Trijata, daughter of Vibhishana, telling Sita about a dream. She consoled Sita and assured her that everything would be fine. Importantly, she told all the raakshasis around Sita that they should immediately seek Sita’s pardon. At that time Sita told Trijata that they were just following the orders of their king. So, they do not deserve any punishment from her. Once the war ended and Hanuma was asked by Sri Rama to inform Sita and get her back, hanuma went to Sita. Seeing the Raakshasis Hanuma asked Sita’s permission to destroy all the Raakshasis. Hanuma doesn’t need to be told something twice and what else can this be attributed to, other than forgetfulness.

After the war on their way back to Ayodhya, Sri Rama asked Hanuma to reach Ayodhya before them. “Inform Bharatha about my Victory and check out the body language and feelings of Bharatha. In case Bharatha is attached to the kingdom, then I shall return to the forests directly from here.” Hearing this, Hanuma reaches Ayodhya and shares the details, of all the events that happened, to Bharatha. But after that there is no mention of Hanuma returning to Sri Rama and confirming the status to Sri Rama. This is not such an insignificant event for Valmiki to have missed it. Knowing the status of Bharatha, Hanuma must have been filled with so much happiness that he would have forgotten to return to Sri Rama to inform him the status.

The purpose of this post is not to doubt the ability of Hanuma or his greatness. His character is impeccable. If at all any negative points come out against him, those are because of his forgetfulness, which is a curse, rather than his character. Importantly, all my above statements could be wrong because of my inability to understand things in the right perspective.

సర్వే జనాః సుఖినో భవంతు

PS: There could be typos and other mistakes in telugu and english, kindly pardon me with big hearts.

Vibheeshana - Not a traitor

గురు బ్రహ్మ గురుర్ విష్ణుః గురుర్ దేవో మహేశ్వరః

గురు స్సాక్షాత్ పరబ్రహ్మ తస్మై శ్రీ గురవే నమః

శుక్లాం బరధరం విష్ణుం శశివర్ణం చతుర్భుజం

ప్రసన్న వదనం ధ్యాయేత్ సర్వ విఘ్నోప శాంతయే

శ్రుతి స్మృతి పురాణానాం ఆలయం కరుణాలయం

నమామి భగవత్ పాదం శంకరం లోక శంకరం

ఓం నమః శివాయ

Before Independence Gopalakrishna Gokhale started giving lectures to people in lot of areas stating that completely boycotting everything English is not good for the country. His intention was not to take sides with British though. On one of the days in a magazine called “Bande Maataram”, run by Aurobindo Ghosh, an article was published with the title, “Exit Vibheeshana”. This article was about Gokhale being a traitor. This had two problems. First the allegation that Gokhale was a traitor and second Vibheeshana.

Just to refresh the memory – Vibheeshana is that Raavana’s brother from Raamayanam. He tried his best convincing his brother Raavana to return Sita to Sri Rama. Despite all his attempts, Raavana not only ignored him, but also insulted him. With adharma growing in Lanka, Vibheeshana did not have a choice but to take side with Dharma.

So he approached Sri Rama and sought refuge. Sri Rama being Sri Rama sought the advice of all his colleagues. Except Hanuman, everyone advised against the acceptance of Vibheeshana. Their justification was, “If some one can desert his brother, he is definitely not trust worthy.” After listening to all opinions, Sri Rama made a very simple statement, “Any one who comes to me seeking refuge, I wont refuse. Even if Raavana comes and seeks refuge, I will pardon him and protect him.”

Anyway, let me not digress to Sri Rama’s character discussion here. That’s a never ending topic. So, Vibheeshana took the side of dharma and joined Sri Rama. Now multiple questions arise by this act.

Instead of joining Sri Rama, he could have been neutral and left Lanka and gone somewhere.

A human being has to be good or bad. Being Neutral is not a good choice. If you know that something is bad, then you have to take the side of good. You cant sit on the fence.

Ok fine. Taking sides is ok. But why does he have to share all the secrets with Sri Rama and his army?

Once you have taken a side, you have to be committed. You have to do full justice to your relationship and commitment. You cant make half hearted attempts.

Maybe by taking sides with Sri Rama, he wanted the kingdom?

Vibheeshana is not only a Dharma seeking guy, he is a very wise guy. Vibheeshana would get the kingdom only if Raavana loses the war. If Raavana loses the war, there would be nothing left in Lanka. So, who would be interested in ruling a grave yard?

So, finally, is Vibheeshana a traitor? To answer that lets define who a traitor is. A traitor is the one who takes sides with the enemy to make his/her country a slave to the enemy.

From the above definition, Vibheeshana never wanted/made Lanka a slave country of Sri Rama. In fact, he ruled it as a king. He took it up at a stage when there was nothing left in Lanka after the war.

So, before we call anyone a traitor, lets think.

సర్వే జనాః సుఖినో భవంతు

PS: There could be typos and other mistakes in telugu and english, kindly pardon me with big hearts.

Feeling of getting cheated

గురు బ్రహ్మ గురుర్ విష్ణుః గురుర్ దేవో మహేశ్వరః

గురు స్సాక్షాత్ పరబ్రహ్మ తస్మై శ్రీ గురవే నమః

శుక్లాం బరధరం విష్ణుం శశివర్ణం చతుర్భుజం

ప్రసన్న వదనం ధ్యాయేత్ సర్వ విఘ్నోప శాంతయే

శ్రుతి స్మృతి పురాణానాం ఆలయం కరుణాలయం

నమామి భగవత్ పాదం శంకరం లోక శంకరం

ఓం నమః శివాయ

During our childhood all of us would have heard this story of a child and a tiger. It goes like this.

Once a father and a son go to the forest for cutting the wood. The father leaves the child in a safe place and asks him to shout for him if he encounters any danger. Saying this the father goes into the woods to cut some trees.

The child being naughty starts playing with his father. He starts shouting, “Father! There is a tiger here. Please come and help me.” Hearing this, the father goes running to his son and sees that there is no tiger. The child laughs and the father realizes that the child was playing a prank and goes back to his work.

Second time the child does the same. The father runs back to his son once more and realizes that the child has played the prank again. Father goes back angrily.

Third time the child does the same. The father assumes that the child is playing the prank again and doesn’t go to him. But this time the tiger actually is there and despite the child shouting multiple times, father doesn’t go to him. The tiger kills the child.

Whenever we hear this story, we remember only one moral - You should not lie. But honestly, there is one more. If you recall the story once more, the father doesn’t go to the child because he did not want to get cheated once more. This is a big problem that all of us face. All of us hate this feeling of getting cheated. That is despite the magnitude of loss, material or otherwise. We never want to get cheated. Rather we never want to get the feeling of getting cheated, irrespective of whether we actually get cheated or not.

If only the father did not have that feeling, he would have gone again to his son and maybe he would have saved his son. So, it’s better to get cheated than a lack of reaction to that, which might end up in a loss. It’s better to be left with a feeling of getting cheated.

Watched a movie couple of years back. One of the characters in that movie would be waiting at a road junction along with his friend in a car. A ragged woman approaches him and shows him a medical prescription and says that she is suffering from cancer and needs money for buying medicines.

Out of sympathy, he gives good sum of money to that lady. The friend says, “You should not trust these kinds of people. They are not trust worthy.”

The following day the same friend goes back to this guy and says, “Do you remember the lady to whom you gave the money for purchasing the medicines? She doesn’t have any cancer. That’s her way of begging. I told you not to give those alms to her. This is how you get cheated. Be careful next time.”

To that the guy responds, “Thank God! She doesn’t have cancer. I was worried about that. Now that she doesn’t have cancer, I am relieved.”

That’s very inspiring. This is again a very simple philosophy. The guy was more bothered about the problem the lady was facing than he getting cheated.

When we give donations, especially the small ones, many a time we think if the party taking the donation would use it wisely or not. Even if 9 out of the 10 people misuse it, and if that money gets utilized properly by even 1 person, we should be happy about it. If we have that kind of a perspective, we can be very happy in our lives. If we end up with the feeling of getting cheated, we will left with sadness.

So, let’s leave the feeling of getting cheated and stay happy.

సర్వే జనాః సుఖినో భవంతు

PS: There could be typos and other mistakes in telugu and english, kindly pardon me with big hearts.

Results and Credits

గురు బ్రహ్మ గురుర్ విష్ణుః గురుర్ దేవో మహేశ్వరః

గురు స్సాక్షాత్ పరబ్రహ్మ తస్మై శ్రీ గురవే నమః

శుక్లాం బరధరం విష్ణుం శశివర్ణం చతుర్భుజం

ప్రసన్న వదనం ధ్యాయేత్ సర్వ విఘ్నోప శాంతయే

శ్రుతి స్మృతి పురాణానాం ఆలయం కరుణాలయం

నమామి భగవత్ పాదం శంకరం లోక శంకరం

ఓం నమః శివాయ

One day towards the late evening a fully crowded bus was about to start from the bus station to its destination. The bus was pretty overcrowded and quite a number of people were standing in the bus as well. The conductor gave a green signal and the bus started moving.

After crossing the town limits, the bus moved into a forest area with lots of trees on both sides of the road. These trees were pretty wide and tall trees. Suddenly there was lightning in the sky and then started the thunders. Within few minutes it started raining. It rained so heavily that driving the vehicle became very tough for the driver. It became pretty dark suddenly and so the driver was dependant on the front lights and wipers completely. He reduced the speed of the vehicle and started driving slowly. People inside the bus started getting scared with the sudden change in the weather.

The conductor and the driver assured everyone that they are in safe hands as they are used to this kind of inclement weather pretty frequently. While that gave some comfort to the passengers but they were still worried as the raining increased and there were more thunders in the sky.

As the bus moved a little further, suddenly a lightning struck a tree, 50 meters away, and the tree fell on the road. This shocked all the passengers. While they were very happy that it did not strike the bus, they were more scared now. The driver manoeuvred skillfully and went past the tree and resumed the journey.

After another 15 mins, another lightning struck another big tree, this time 40 meters away, and the tree fell on the road. The passengers were dumb stuck. They did not know what to do. The bus driver once again skillfully drove past the tree on the road and resumed the journey.

After another 10 mins, another lightning struck another big tree, this time 20 meters away, and the tree fell on the road. The passengers started screaming out of fear. Almost everyone started saying that next time the lightning is going to strike the bus and that everyone is going to die. The driver was about to start the engine and take the bus past that tree, one gentleman got up. He asked the driver not to start the bus. He said to everyone, “There is someone in this bus whose time has come to die. But obviously we don’t know who that is. But we can definitely find out who that is. We all see that tree in front of us right? This is what we will do. Each one of us will go all alone to that tree, touch it and come back. The person, who is supposed to die, will be struck with lightning once he/she touches the tree. The rest of us can continue our journey once that happens. There is no reason for all of us to die for the sake of one one. What do you all say?”

Everyone accepted that proposal instantaneously. Humans never think that the time has come to depart from this world.

The gentleman who proposed the above, volunteered to be the first person. He slowly walked towards the tree thinking if he is that unfortunate person. He went near the tree, touched it and slowly walked back with a great relief. One after the other, all the passengers in the bus got out of the bus, walked towards the tree, touched it and came back. Even the bus conductor and the driver went to the tree touched and came back without getting hurt.

Finally, it was the turn of the last man. Everyone looked at him as if he was a convict. Everyone was convinced that he was the person because of whom all the passengers in the bus were put to risk. Everyone started making unnecessary comments too. The man got up and walked slowly towards the tree. As soon as he touched the tree, the lightning struck again. But this time, the lightning struck the bus and not the tree. All the people in the bus died and this man survived.

So, many a times we give credit to ourselves for whatever good happens to us. But in reality the good that happens to us could be because of multiple good people around us. These could be your parents, your own family members (Spouse, children etc), your friends, some elderly people who have blessed you, some well wishers etc. But we rarely recognize that or attempt to recognize that. But whenever a bad thing happens to us, we immediately attempt at finding out the reason or the scapegoat for that.

Whenever any good happens to us, we should thank God for providing us well wishers because of whom that good thing has happened to us. Whenever we experience bad things, we should thank god for punishing less than what we actually deserve.

సర్వే జనాః సుఖినో భవంతు

PS: There could be typos and other mistakes in telugu and english, kindly pardon me with big hearts.