When life hits us with a punch on our face, we start looking here and there for help. Often when surrounded by tough circumstances , we start wishing for an easier life. In this post, we turn through the pages of Indian Epic Ramayan, where Lord Hanuman will teach us how to face tough times in life.
A short detour into my childhood
Some years back, when I was a kid, we used to live in a house right across a very busy street in Dehradun, India. With traffic all around the clock, my mother made sure I didn’t step out without adult supervision, till I turned 9 years old. But when she finally did allow me to venture out alone, to get groceries for house, I became one of the happiest people in the word. Whenever mom used to send me to get groceries for our house, I used to feel overjoyed. This was because, I felt mom had chosen me, to do something important.
The inspiring tale of Hanuman’s devotion to his duty
Lord Hanuman is one of the central characters in the Indian Epic Ramayan. According to Ramayan, Shri Ram who was born in the princely Raghuvansha clan in the ancient Indian city of Ayodhya, was an incarnate of the supreme god head, Lord Vishnu. As ordained by his father, Shri Ram was banished to the jungles for a period of 14 years. For the exile, his beloved wife Sita and his younger brother Lakshman decided to accompany him.
During the exile, Ravan, the demon king of Lanka, kidnapped Sita, while Shri Ram and his brother Lakshman were away from their modest dwelling. When Shri Ram gets to know about the abduction of his beloved wife, he becomes extremely distressed.
As Shri Ram and Lakshman, dressed as ascetics, were searching for Sita, they met Lord Hanuman, the monkey god, who is said to be the 11th avatar of Lord Shiva. As soon as Lord Hanuman got to know about who these wandering ascetics actually were, Hanuman fell to the feet of Shri Ram and decided to devote the rest of his life in the service of Shri Ram.
With the help of Hanuman, Shri Ram gets to befriend Sugreev, the exiled monkey king. In order to find Sita, Sugreev sent search parties in all directions. The search party, which comprised Hanuman, was sent in the Southern direction.
Hanuman’s attitude when doing his duty
While Hanuman and his team are busy searching for Sita, they receive a tip that Sita was in Lanka. The biggest obstacle in reaching Lanka was the ocean. Therefore, in order to meet Sita, they would have to cross the ocean.
Since it was not physically possible for an army of monkeys and bears to cross the ocean, the whole search party, including Hanuman gets dejected. However Jamvant, who was a divine king of bears, known for his wisdom, reminds Hanuman of his latent divine powers which he had forgotten, due to a curse he had received for a mischief in childhood.
On hearing about the divine powers that lay hidden in him, Hanuman gets elated. In his version of Ramayan, Swami Tulsi Das narrates the endearing incident as follows :
जामवंत के बचन सुहाए,
सुनि हनुमंत हृदय अति भाए॥
तब लगि मोहि परिखेहु तुम्ह भाई,
सहि दुख कंद मूल फल खाई ॥1॥
Meaning : Hanuman was much delighted at heart to hear the heartening speech of Jamvant. Hanuman says, “Suffering hardships and living on bulbs, roots and fruits, wait for me…
Hanuman then continues by reassuring the army before departing to fulfill his duty to his Lord Ram
जब लगि आवौं सीतहि देखी,
होइहि काजु मोहि हरष बिसेषी॥
यह कहि नाइ सबन्हि कहुँ माथा,
चलेउ हरषि हियँ धरि रघुनाथा ॥2॥
Meaning : ..till I return after seeing Sita. I am sure our object will be accomplished as I feel very cheerful.” So saying and after bowing his head to them all, he set out, full of joy with an image of Shri Ram(the Lord of the Raghus), enshrined in his heart.
Thanks to his divine powers, Hanuman sets flight across the Indian Ocean towards Lanka to perform his duty towards his master.
Knowing that Hanuman was an emissary of Lord Ram, the deity presiding over the ocean, offers Hanuman to relieve his fatigue by resting on mount Mainika. However, Hanuman who had a single minded devotion towards completing the duty assigned to him by Lord Ram, respectfully declines the tempting offer.
हनूमान तेहि परसा कर पुनि कीन्ह प्रनाम।
राम काजु कीन्हें बिनु मोहि कहाँ बिश्राम॥1॥
Meaning : Hanuman simply touched the mountain with his hand and then made obeisance to it saying, “There can be no rest for me till I have accomplished Shri Ram’s work.”
Applying Hanuman’s attitude to face tough situations in life
In life we often complain about the responsibilities assigned to us. We consider our duties as an irksome burden. This forces us to live our lives with a persistent frown on our face. As a result we go about our daily lives, complaining about something or the other. Making ourselves and those others around us feel miserable.
When it comes to carrying out your duties, now compare your attitude with that of Hanuman. Hanuman who had a deep love for his Lord Ram, regarded the duty ordained by his master, as a privilege rather than a burden. He felt lucky and grateful to be chosen to carry out Shri Ram’s work.
Just like Hanuman, you should feel grateful that god has chosen you to carry out his work on this planet. When you do something with a feeling of love, it becomes a privilege to do that task and not a burden. Now if you approach the task with love in your heart, just like Hanuman did, then harder the task, the more motivated you will be to accomplish it. This is because the difficulty of task at hand would imply that not many would be able to do it. And since you are doing the task for someone you love, (for example: object of love for Hanuman was Shri Ram), you wouldn’t want to disappoint them, by not accomplishing the task.
But what about circumstances such as a serious injury or a loss of a loved one ?
When confronted by challenges in life, such as financial crisis at home, a serious injury or the demise of a loved one, we often start looking here and there for help. We start cursing our circumstances, for the misfortunes.
However rather than looking for somebody else to help you and be your source of strength, be the pillar of strength for those around you. Consider that god wants to bring strength and comfort to others through you. I know it’s not easy, but neither was Hanuman’s task that was assigned to him by Shri Ram. Just feel privileged for being chosen by god for bringing strength and well being to those around you.
Then at once start carrying out god’s work with a smile on your face, and just like Hanuman, don’t rest till you get it done.
If you liked this article, you will also like : What Ramayan teaches us about getting success in life.
Thanks a lot 🙂