Hanuman's Crossing - Part 2
We started travelling with Hanuman across the ocean and
tried to glean some learnings. After hugging the Mainaka mountain, Hanuman
continued his journey – in this case a flight without a plane.
As he was proceeding, the Devas decided that there was a
need to show his might to the world. So they went to Surasa, a Nagamatha (A
motherly Naga) who was living under the ocean. They told her that she should
try to stop Hanuman as a rakshasi and threaten him.
Nagamatha, while reluctant initially, agreed. She came to
the surface, made herself into a giant and waited for him. When she saw him in
the sky, she made herself huge and stood sky high. She said “Who are you? Where
are you going over the seas?” Hanuman realised who Surasa was and why she was
there. He said kindly “Matha, I am Hanuman going on Lord Rama’s work.” Surasa
said “I don’t care. I have a boon that I can swallow anything that comes here.
So I am going to swallow you.”
Surasa then realised, that this kind of act of Hanuman is
what the Devas wanted to highlight to humanity. She blessed him with success
and let him proceed. The Devas blessed him with success in his mission.
Hanuman proceeded for a bit but felt that some one was
pulling him. He wondered what was slowing him down and saw a demoness. Her name
was Simhika who was also known as Chaaya Graham. (Chaaya – shadow; Graham –
eclipse). She can touch a person’s shadow and pull his energy.
Hanuman realised that he needed to deal with this
differently. Simhika came up the surface of the ocean and said “Hey monkey. Who
are you? Where are you going? Ravana has kept me in the ocean as a protection
so that no one can proceed towards Lanka. I cannot allow to cross.” Saying so
she expanded herself like Surasa. Hanuman too expanded his form. The expansion
battle between Simhika and Hanuman continued for sometime.
Hanuman went into Simhika’s mouth. The Devas, the birds, the
fish were all shocked and did not know what to expect. A few seconds passed.
Simhika closed her huge mouth with a huge thud. The watchers feared the worst.
A few seconds passed – one, two, three – and a few more.
Then there was a slow rumbling sound. The sound became
bigger and bigger. Simhika clutched her abdomen and shrieked. Slowly her
abdomen was being torn and a leg, then another came out.
The tear in Simhika’s stomach became bigger and bigger. And
there emerged Anjaneya in his glory. He stepped out wearing her intenstines as
a necklace. Having overcome all these obstacles Hanuman proceeded towards the
shores of Lanka.
Remember all this was just a day’s work for Anjaneya Swamy.
We saw that in the journey from Mahendragiri to tackling Mainaka, Hanuman’s
story taught us the following:
1. We all need mentors / guides /
gurus at some point in our life to achieve our potential;
2. We should never forget the help
we got from others as demonstrated by the king of ocean and Mainaka;
3. When we have a goal, we should
never get distracted, however well intentioned;
4. We should handle well wishers
tactfully without hurting them.
In the case of Surasa and Simhika Hanuman demonstrated
different tactics in similar situations. He could have escaped from Simhika’s
mouth the same way he came out of Surasa’s. He did not. Why? If left
unattended, Simhika would trouble others who cross the ocean. Surasa troubled
Hanuman just to prove his strength to the world. So he did not trouble her.
Our lessons:
·
We need to deal with each situation depending on both the intent
and the form;
·
We need to be smart in dealing with situations to ensure that we
progress without damaging good people.
The beautiful journey of Hanuman can be a story but it can
be a life lesson for us for every stage of our life. JaiShriram. Jain Anjaneya.
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