Posted on: 15 May 2023
O Learned and Devoted Servants of God,
If you understand the spiritual line of Shri Hanuman, there is nothing more to understand in the spiritual knowledge (Nivrutti). If you understand the worldly life of Shri Rama, there is nothing more to understand in worldly line (Pravrutti). Hanuman also did several works related to Pravrutti, but, He did not do any such work for His personal life and He did all those Pravrutti works for Shri Rama only.
Shri Hanuman is the incarnation of God Shiva and it is said that one must learn spiritual knowledge from God Shiva (Jñānaṃ maheśvarādicchet). Hence, it is appropriate to learn spiritual knowledge from the practice of Shri Hanuman. The decided conclusions of knowledge only are always practiced and hence, the practice of anybody is his concluded and decided knowledge.
In spiritual knowledge, there are three items (Triputi), which are the goal, the path to reach the goal and the true status of the self of the traveler. We can also add the value of the fruit attained by the traveler as the fourth item to understand the value of the path followed by the traveler. Let us examine the practical knowledge in view of these four items in the case of Shri Hanuman:-
1) Let us see the value of the fruit attained by Shri Hanuman in His spiritual path. He became the future God Brahma. Brahma means Vishnu and Shiva also because the Veda says that one God only creates, maintains and destroys this entire world (Yato vā imāni…, Ekamevādvitīyam…). This means that the fruit attained by Shri Hanuman is unimaginable! Because the fruit is to become unimaginable God or Parabrahman or the ultimate original root God!!! Can you imagine by thinking continuously for million births of times a better fruit than this? This one point itself is sufficient to decide that the path followed by Shri Hanuman is the most best and most highest.
2) Did Hanuman ever say even once that He is God? He always said that He is the servant of God Rama always (Dāso'haṃ kosalendrasya, Rāmasyākliṣṭakarmaṇaḥ— Raamaayanam). Who is this Rama? Rama was His contemporary human incarnation and was neither an energetic incarnation nor a statue in the temple. By serving such contemporary human form of God, Shri Hanuman attained the above said unimaginable fruit. Is this point not sufficient that you shall use the short human lifetime by catching the contemporary human incarnation without wasting your short lifetime in penance to see the energetic incarnation. Shri Hanuman is said to be the most intelligent (Vātātmajaṃ buddhimatāṃ variṣṭham) for such a decision that avoids the wastage of time even for one minute for catching God.
3) Hanuman warned devotees not to be influenced by miraculous powers because even demons can do miracles. Even devotees can perform miracles. Shri Hanuman did several miracles, but never claimed that He was God. Moreover, the human incarnation selected by Him was Shri Rama, who never did any miracle! In fact, as per the present standards, Hanuman shall be God and Rama shall be the devotee. Miracles are very dangerous because they induce ego even in the human being-component of the human incarnation as we have seen in the case of Parashurama. Every devotee gets attracted towards miracles to solve personal worldly problems, which increases the selfishness of the soul that hinders the soul to get the grace of God. All this is the message of Shri Hanuman expressed through His practical spiritual behavior.
4) It is said that God Vishnu gives salvation from worldly bonds due to the power of bond of the devotee with Him. Shri Rama is the incarnation of God Vishnu. Hanuman got salvation from all His worldly bonds due to the closest attachment to Shri Rama. Once He met Shri Rama, He never left Him and never returned back to His home to see His parents. Even though Sun, His preacher ordered Him to marry his daughter (Suvarcala), He absorbed her in Him as His shine. He got perfect liberation from all His worldly bonds due to total attachment to Shri Rama. He showed Shri Rama in His heart by tearing His heart. Catching the contemporary human incarnation, which never did any miracle, He got the highest fruit and perfect salvation. Even though He was the incarnation of God Shiva, He never expressed His divinity and always said that He was the eternal servant of Shri Rama because He was God, who came in the role of the devotee to set an ideal example for all devotees in the spiritual path.
Shri Hanuman shall be closer to the devotee than Shri Rama because Shri Rama is the future goal whereas Shri Hanuman is the present devotee to be followed immediately by every devotee. The devotee of Shri Hanuman will shine like Shri Rama in worldly life and attain the fruit attained by Shri Hanuman in spiritual life.