That dusk when Sri
Hanumanji flew towards Ayodhya, only one agonizing thought was reeling in His
mind and that was how to save Himself from the torment and loneliness of
Ayodhya! Now His service to Sri Ram had been taken away, and His joy in writing
a new Ramayana was gone as well.
The palace of Ayodhya,
the Royal assembly, the banks of Sarayu and royal gardens all seemed to be
lifeless and empty without Mother Sita. Even Sri Ram's life remained now as a
dry leaf. This describes the inner state of Hanumanji's mind. Hanumanji was
thinking about some new engagements when He arrived in Ayodhya.
He
received a message that the King wants to see Him in the Royal assembly as
quickly as possible. Hanumanji appeared at once. Sri Ram was discussing with
His spiritual master the performance of the fire ceremony.
The purpose of
performing such sacrifices was so that all the Kings and Emperors of all times
should not remain just the puppets of their selfish whims. They should not be
prisoners and slaves of their family, society, and state affairs. They should
not become victims of their own conceptions and prejudices.
Sri
Ram had to establish an ideal for all the Kings and Emperors or Presidents and
Prime Ministers of the world who were to come for thousands of years in the
future.
Hanumanji heard the
discussions and became very happy. At least His Master Sri Ram would have more
engagements and He would find occasions to serve Him.
A
group of soldiers was sent all over the world under the direction of Prince
Satrughna and Hanumanji was engaged to help him as commander-in-chief. The
sacrificial hose went first, and Jambavanta, Sugriva, Angada, Nala, Neela, and
Vibhishana all followed in the footprints of the sacrificial horse --a
snowwhite blue-eared special horse. A golden plate on which Sri Ram's message
was written, was fixed on his head like a crown. If anyone tried to arrest,
steal, or stop the horse, the soldiers had to fight him.
After a few days of
enjoyable journey, the horse entered the ashram of Maharishi Chyavana who was a
great master of medical science in those days. One of his remedies for
regaining youth in old-age and revitalizing all the cells and chemicals of the
body making them fresh and alert like teenagers is still popular in the world
of Ayurvedic medical science and it works. Its name is Chyavanprasha. It is
very delicious and powerful tonic of today. Of course, its capacity is reduced
due to the Iron Age --since certain herbs of its ingredients are not available,
therefore it does not miraculously turn you into a youth but it makes you more
dynamic, alive -giving a younger look. It cost only three or four dollars, and
is still available in medicine shops of Svargashram, Rishikesh. Maharishi
Chyavana greeted the Prince and Hanumanji with the full warmth of his heart and
the army halted there around his ashram and spent the night joyfully hearing a
lecture of the rishi on his inventions of medical science.
"Revered
sir, could you sanctify our fire sacrifice ceremony by your Holy presence? Very
soon it is going to be started by His Majesty Sri Ram," the Prince and
Hanumanji requested of the rishi.
"It would be my
great good fortune if I could become a member of Sri Ram's fire sacrifice
ceremony," The rishi replied.
A charioteer was ordered
to take the rishi to Ayodhya, but Hanumanji said that the rishi's presence in
Ayodhya was urgently required, so with the permission of the Prince, He sat him
on His shoulders and traveled through the space.
Within minutes He placed
him before Sri Ram in the Royal assembly. From this time on Hanumanji used to
take all the important rishis to Ayodhya by carrying them on His shoulders. It
was fun for Him plus having an opportunity to see Sri Ram once more.
Hanumanji did not expect
that everywhere they would go they would be received with warm greetings and
welcome. Most of the emperors of the world accepted Sri Ram as sovereign
Emperor. They welcomed the army of Ayodhya and a huge crowd gathered to see
those famous figures like Hanumanji, Vibhishana and Sugriva, all heros they had
been hearing about for a very long time.
Most
of the kings offered their greatest warmth of love and invited them to stay as
their guests and then presented tributes to them and promised to join the fire
sacrifice ceremony. But there were also kings who stopped the horse and fought
bravely. They were not all demons but handsome, glorious heros who loved their
dignity. Many of them were peculiar and stubborn devotees who fought only to
create a situation in which Sri Ram Himself would come and they would have the
darshan of Sri Ram and take Him to their palace and worship Him.
First
the horse was arrested by the Prince of Punjab --Daman. The king was a man of
tremendous power and the son of King Subahu. He was the proudest personality
--And war became compulsory. In the course of a long, wild fight the sharp
arrows of Puskal (the son of Prince Bharata) pierced him, and Prince Daman fell
unconscious.
The King Sabahu entered
the battlefield and really proved that he was an efficient celebrator of the
festivity of war -War for a right cause was a festival to him. Frightening the
whole army of Sri Ram, Subahu pierced all the limbs of Hanumanji with his
arrows.
Hanumanji became very
angry and wrapped him with His long extended tail along with his chariot, and
raising him high up in the sky, dashed him to the earth. The driver of the chariot
died and the chariot broke into pieces, but Subahu was still alive. Hanumanji
dashed His right foot on his chest and he fell down unconscious on the ground,
vomiting blood.
It was the kick of
Hanumanji which worked a great miracle. Instead of slipping into a state of
inertia of a faint, the King Subahu's consciousness fell into the trance of
transcendental plane and he saw very clearly on the screen of his
pure-consciousness the Olympian Emperor of Ayodhya, Sri Ram, on the alter of
the fire sacrifice ceremony, surrounded by all the great representatives of
different planets and great philosopher rishis, with flowers being showered
upon Him.
Having
a vision of Sri Ram, all his sins were washed away and he was transformed into
a great devotee.
He shouted to his son,
"Oh stupid, stop the war immediately. Sri Ram is not an ordinary human
being. He is the Supreme Bramha."
He was shedding tears of
joy talking to his son and ministers. "In my youth I used to go to the
hermitage of the great rishi Astanga for spiritual knowledge. I was a great
absolutist, a vedantin. I believed only in the unmanifest, absolute, abstract
Truth and that the God can never be in a form.
"The
rishi used to explain that the Truth is indefinable and inconceivable. He is
unmanifest and also manifest. `Look,' he said, `He is going to incarnate very
soon on the earth in the form of Sri Ram in Ayodhya.'
"I couldn't believe
this, and by logic and arguments I cut his statements down. The rishi became
enraged at my crudeness and he cursed me saying, `You will fail to attain the
Bramhavidya, the transcendental wisdom, by which Absolute Bramhan is Realized.'
Then I fell down at his feet and asked for pardon.
"He
foretold that after many years the Messenger of Sri Ram would come and kick me
in the chest and then instantaneously I would be enlightened, and in the light
produced by the shock of the kick the mystery of form and formlessness would
automatically be understood.
"Today
I am sanctified by the lotus feet of Sri Hanumanji. Now we shouldn't have war,
but rather welcome and worship the Messenger of Sri Ram," the King
concluded.
For many days the army
of Sri Ram rested in the palace of Ekachakra City. Prince Daman and King Subahu
served them with great respect and homage.
Time
and again, and again and again, the King clasped the feet of Hanumanji saying,
"My spiritual Master, You are my redeemer, by Your merciful kick I
attained the Knowledge Supreme."
0 comments:
Post a Comment