Resilience is the process of adapting oneself in the face of adversity. Our lives in 2020 is an example. As we step into the New Year 2021, nothing better than to remind ourselves of our continued commitment to this process. The first to help us in this process is none other than Aditya. Therefore I commence my blogging this year in 2021 with a rededication of my earlier prayer to Aditya in an AV format.
Through Devotion to You, one gets Sri Rama, thereby getting Free of the Sorrows of Life after Life. At the End one Goes to the Abode of Raghupati (Sri Rama) where one is Known as the Devotee of Hari. Even without Worshipping any Other Deities, one Gets All Happiness who Worships Sri Hanuman. Difficulties Disappear and Sorrows are Removed, for Those who Contemplate on the Powerful Sri Hanuman. Victory, Victory, Victory to You, O Hanuman, Please Bestow your Grace as our Supreme Guru. Those who Recite this Hanuman Chalisa one hundred times (with devotion), will get Freed from Worldly Bondage and get Great Happiness. Those who Read the Hanuman Chalisa (with devotion), will become Perfect, Lord Shiva is the Witness. Tulsidas who is Always the Servant of Hari Prays the Lord to Reside in his Heart.
O Son of wind god, remover of difficulties, oh one of auspicious form. With Ram, Lakshman and Sita reside in our hearts of King of Gods”
Vibhisana Followed your Advice,and the Whole World Knows that he became the King of Lanka. The Sun which was at a distance of Sixteen Thousand Miles; You Swallowed It (the Sun) thinking it to be a Sweet Fruit. Carrying Lord Sri Rama’s Ring in your Mouth, You Crossed the Ocean, no Wonder in that. All the Difficult Tasks in this World, are rendered Easy by your Grace.You are the Gate-Keeper of Sri Rama’s Kingdom. No one can Enter without Your Permission. Those who take Refuge in You enjoy all Happiness. If You are the Protector, what is there to Fear?You alone can Control Your Great Energy. When you Roar, the Three Worlds Tremble. Ghosts and Evil Spirits will Not Come Near, when one Utters the Name of Mahavir (Hanuman).
Assuming the smallest form you saw (visited) Sita and assuming the gigantic form you burnt down the Lanka. Assuming a terrible form you slayed demons. You made Lord Rama’s works easier. You brought Sanjeevini mountain to save Lakshmana’s Life. Lord Rama embraced you in joy. Lord Rama praised you very much saying ‘You are dear to me like my brother Bharata. May the thousand headed serpent Adishesha sing of your glory’ saying this Lord Rama embraced you. Sanaka, Brahma and other Royal sages, Narad, Saraswati and Adishesha, Yama, Kubera, Dikpaalakas, poets and singers; they can not describe your greatness properly. You helped Sugreeva. You made him friends with Rama which gave him his Kingship back.
Cleansing the mirror of my mind with the dust from the Lotus-feet of Divine Guru, I describe the unblemished glory of Lord Rama, which bestows four fruits of Righteousness (Dharma), Wealth (Artha), Pleasure (Kama) and Liberation (Moksha). Considering this person as intelligence less, I remember Lord Hanuman. Give me strength, intelligence and knowledge, cure my body ailments and mental imperfections
Victory to Hanuman who is the ocean of Wisdom and Virtues, Victory to the king of Monkeys who is illuminating three worlds. You are the messenger of Rama (to Sita), You are the abode of incomparable power.You are also called by the names of ‘Anjani Putra’ (Son of Anjana) and ‘Pavana suta’ (son of wind god). Oh mighty valorous one, of terrific deeds whose body organs are as strong as Diamond (or the weapon of God Indra).Cure my bad mind oh companion of those with pure (good) mind. You are golden colored, you are shining in your beautiful attire.You have beautiful ear-rings in your ear and curly hair. Vajrayudha (mace) and flag are shining in your hand. Sacred thread made of Munja grass adorns your shoulder.O partial incarnation of Lord shiva, giver of joy to King Kesari. Your great majesty is revered by the whole world.Oh one learned in all Vidyas, one full of virtues, Very clever. You are always eager to do Rama’s tasks.You enjoy listening to Lord Rama’s story; Lord Rama, Lakshman and Sita reside in your heart.
Starting from Tuesday the 8th September 2020 for the next 5 weeks , on every Tuesday I will try and upload the meaning and Tamil Translation for 8 verses each of the divine work by Saint Tulsidas on Lord Hanuman, Anjaneya as He is called. Hanuman Chalisa the devotional hymn has 40 verses excluding the introduction and the end piece. There are several texts, lyrics, translations and meanings available in the internet. Hence my focus has been only to understand the hymn and express it in the language I am comfortable with. Of course this comes with the rider that this may not be called as Tamil Poetry from the purist perspective.
in the concluding phase of Aditya Hridayam, the impact that the Sun had on a tired and weary Rama is brought out. While these verses might sound “unrealistic” to some of the present time “rational thinking” personnel, the fact that Sun has a refreshing effect on life and rejuvenates millions of living beings into action is undeniable.
Verse 28
एतच्छ्रुत्वामहातेजाःनष्टशोकोऽभवत्तदा।
धारयामाससुप्रीतोराघवःप्रयतात्मवान्॥२८॥
– EtacchrutvA mahAtEjA naShTashOkO$bhavattadA
– dhArayAmAsa suprItO rAghava: prayatAtmavAn
Meaning of the Sanskrit Words
tadA = then
mahAtEjA = one with tremendous energy
Etat = this
shrutvA = having heard
naShTashOka: = losing grief, cheered up
abhavat = became [Simple Past, la~Ng lakAra:]
suprIta: = pleased, gladdened
prayatAtmavAn = one with a pious-minded, subdued mind
rAvaNam – ravana (used as an object of the sentence)
ca – and
agrata: – in front of
dR^iShTvA – on seeing (Dhrusti – seeing)
yuddhAya – for the battle
Sam-upa-sthitam – standing prepared (‘Sam’ – popular prefix to indicate correctness/propreity – in this case, ravana is standing, correctly prepared to fight)
Meaning of the Verse
When Lord Rama (implicit subject of the sentence) is standing absorbed in thought, on the battlefield, as He is exhausted by the fight till now; seeing Ravana facing Him (in front of Him) duly prepared for the fight…
The Dictionary Definition of resilience is “ the capability of a strained body to recover its size and shape after defamation caused especially by compressive stress “ or “ the ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change “. American Psychological Association defines it as a “ process of adapting well in the face of adversity “.
Resilience is always built through learning, not acquired as a gift. Harvard Business School professor Bill George in his book “ Discover your true North “ highlights the method of “revisiting your crucibles”, viz our earlier trials and tribulations to draw from our inner strengths and lessons learnt. This however is a post facto process. We survived the storm and then we realised that we survived. We use the learning in the next storm not knowing whether it helps or not.
In the thick of the adverse situations most of the times, we need someone to confirm to us that we have what it takes to be resilient. We long for help. Ancient Indian history brings out several such adverse situations where the Principal Character derives his/her inner strength through the advice from a either friend or a philosopher or guide. Arjuna in the Indian epic Mahabharata finds Lord himself as Krishna to help him with “Bhagwad Gita” to launch the successful war against the Kauravas.
On many occasions, Nature’s manifestations themselves will provide the necessary impetus to us to recharge ourselves and have a go at the challenges that we face. If such manifestations are explained by an eminent Philosopher/Saint/Guru at the adverse situation, then it is an accelerator for rejuvenation.
This is exactly the theme of my next series of blogs on “Aditya Hridayam” by the diminutive ancient Hindu Sage Agasthya where we will see how Lord Rama finds his inner strength to defeat the Lankan King Ravana on hearing the manifestations of Aditya (The Sun) in the other epic of Sage Valmiki’s “Ramayana”.
Again a word of caution – As a novice, I am neither an expert in languages nor have adequate knowledge of religion/spirituality. I am just a mind seeker.
Note: Based on the feedback received on my earlier blogs, I have added meaning of Sanskrit words & the meaning of the Verse in English. Needless to say that I haven’t put any effort in these two additions as they are reproduced with courtesy from the information available in books and the Worldwide web!
True to the Indian name “Bhanu” for Sun & Sunday, I will try and update this blog every Sunday