May-1: Guru Mahima in Ramcharitmanas

One needs to follow Ramayana. The word ‘ayana’ means path and Ramayana thus means the path shown by Lord Rama. Bhagavatham on the other hand is not called ‘Krishnayana’. Bhagavatam is for listening, enjoying and reminiscing the leelas of Lord Krishna.
Our guru Maharaj gives a beautiful explanation as to what Ramayana truly shows us. He says Ramayana shows a path and that is nothing but listening to glories of the Lord.

When we read Valmiki Ramayana, it says, “Vishnor balam vardataam” By reading Ramayana, the strength and power of Lord Vishnu grows. The story in Ramayana has proved to be an elixir for Lord Rama Himself!

Mother Sita was separated from Lord Rama and it was only the story of Ramayana narrated by Lava and Kusha (His own sons) that brought Sita back to him and hence happiness to his own family. That is the greatness of Katha Sravana that Lord Rama himself experienced.

It is true with Hanumanji too. Hanumanji says that He will be present wherever Ramayana is being expounded. He further says that he will not only be listening to the Ramayana but prostrating unto them all time.
“yatra yatra raghunatha kirtanam tatra tatra krutamastakaanjalim”

Sita Mata’s lifeline is listening to the nectarine Rama Katha. In Ashokavana, she was about to end her life since the ogresses threatened her and since Ravana had given her an ultimatum of two months and that he would take her life if she failed to concede. It was Rama Katha which was sung by Hanumanji saved her life. It is beautiful how Hanumanji sings the glories of Rama. Sitting on the top of the tree in the Ashoka Vana, Hanumanji witnesses all the happenings until a point when Sita Mataji is ready to hang herself. Hanumanji wanted to help her out, but he was afraid that the Mother would only get more frightened if he appears before Her, him being a monkey, a speaking monkey! So merely sitting on the branches of the tree, He starts singing the divine glories of Lord Rama – right from His birth in Ayodhya up until the point when He is suffering having lost her.

Here it is shown how a satsang should be. A satsang is verily chanting the Divine Names of the Lord and listening to the glories of the Lord. Hanumanji shows here that it is immaterial whether we see each other face to face. Thus, our telecon satsangs are indeed true satsangs where we merely sing the Divine Names and listen to the glories of the Lord, and we all should thank God for giving us a satsang opportunity.

Following the short talk on the significance of Satsang by Sri Narayanan from Boston, Sri Narayan Daveji from Pearland, TX, discoursed on Ramayana.

Tulsidas wrote the divine story of Lord Rama and this is called Ram Charit Manas.
Lord Shiva is continuously reciting the name of Lord Rama in His meditation. So with the divine blessings of the lord, Lord Shiva was able to portray Lord Rama’s divine play that he intended to do when he incarnated on earth. He kept this in His mind and He passed this to mother Bhavani and hence the name Ram Charit Manas (Since Lord Shiva had depicted the form of Lord Rama in his mind).

Lord Rama is considered as a Maryaada Purushottam. His incarnation clearly shows how one should lead a life as a son, a husband, a ruler and a father. Since his life is too ideal to be followed in this age of Kali Yuga, we can keep his Charitra in our minds and very slowly our lives will become akin to Lord Rama. Hence it is called Ram Charit Manas.

Lord Shiva gave this to Tulsidas and he in turn gave it to the world.

It is said in Ramayan,-
Sambat sorah sai ekteesaa | karau kathaa hari pad dhari seessaa ||
naumi bhaum baar madhu maasa | avadpuri yah charita prakaasa || (3) (C-34)

On the day of Rava Navami in Ayodhya, Shri Thulsidas wrote the Ram Charit manas for the benefit of the common man in this Kaliyuga. This wonderful Ram Charit Manas depicts the divine plays of Lord Rama, it also contains the significance of Rama Nam, importance of satsang and the greatness of the Guru.

Daveji expounded on the Guru Mahima from Ram Charit manas.

At the start of Ramcharitmanas, in Bala Kand, Tulsiji offers his salutations to the Eternal Guru, Lord Shiva and then to his own Guru in the following doha —
Bandau guru pad kanj krupaa sindu nararupa hari |
mahaamoh tam punj jaasu bachan rabi kar nikar ||

I bow to the lotus feet of my Guru, who is an ocean of mercy and none other than Lord Hari Himself in human form and whose words are akin to the rays of the Sun which removes the darkness called ignorance.

Further, in the subsequent chaupayi, he says,

Bandau guru pada padma paraagaa | suruchi subaas saras anuraaga ||
Amia moorimaya choorana chaaru | samana sakala bhava ruja parivaaru || (1)
sukrti sambhu tana bimala bibhooti | manjula mangala moda prasooti ||
jana mana manju mukur mal harani | kiyen tilak gun ganbas karani || (2)
Sri gur pad nakh mani gana joti | sumirat dibya drishti hiyam hoti ||
Dalan moh tam so suprakaasu | bade bhaag ur aavayi jaasu || (3)
Ugharahim bimala bilochana hi ke | mitahim dosha dukh bhav rajni ke ||
Sujahim raam charit mani maanik | guputa pragata jahan jo jehi kaanik || (4)

Guru pad raj mrudu manjula anjana | nayana amia druga dosha bibhanjan ||
Tehim kari bimala bibeka bilochana | baranaum raam charita bhava mochan || (1)

I greet the dust of the Lotus feet of my Guru as a salve, which is an elixir for the defect in my eye. I touch the lotus feet of my Guru, to take the dust to treat my troubled eye so that I can describe the glories of Lord Rama”

In Balkand, we have read that Lord Dasaratha was not blessed with a son for long and this very much worried him. Now let us see why Lord incarnated on this earth as Lord Rama. In the previous birth, Dasaratha and Kausalya Matha were born as Manu and Shatrupa. They did immense penance and the Lord appeared in front of them and asked them for a boon. This ideal couple declined the offer and instead they requested for a son akin to Lord Hari who was standing in front of them. The lord agreed to this. Later He realized that there was none like him in this world. So He Himself decided to incarnate in this world as their son. Even though Bhagwan decided to incarnate again, this happened only with a guru’s blessings.

Ek baar bhoopati man maahi | bhai galaani more sut naahi ||
Guru grah gayau turat mahipaala | charan laagi kari binaya bisaala || (1)
Nija dukh sukh sab gurhi sunaayau | kahi bashishta bahu bidhi samujaavu ||
Dharahu dheer hoyihahim sut chaari | tribhuvan bidita bhagat bhaya haari || (2)(C-189)

The fact that King Dasaratha was not blessed with a son made him very depressed. Dasaratha, being a great king went to seek his guru’s advice to seek a remedy for his sorrow.
It is said that one can confide their concerns to their guru and it is only a guru who can direct us in the right path.

And Sage Vashishta said,
“You will have four sons and these four sons and they will be very learned and will be known throughout the three worlds and wipe out the fears of the devotees”

Sage Vasishta having blessed King Dasaratha, invited a very learned sage, Shringi to perform Putra Kameshti Yagna. Following the yagna, Kausalya Maata gave birth to four sons, the eldest of them being Lord Rama and the other being Bharatha, Lakshmana and Shatrugna.

It is very clearly seen in Balkand, King Dasaratha consulted his Guru SageVashista for every advice during the childhood face to ensure that his sons cultivated good habits.

It was Sage Vashista who had named the fours sons to be Rama, Lakshmana, Bharataha and Shatrugna.

Kachuka divas bheet ehi bhaanti | jaat na jaaniya dina aru raati |
naam karana kar avasaru jaani | bhoop boli pataye muni gyaani || (1)
Kari pooja bhoopati as bhaasha | dhariya nam jo muni guni raakha ||
Inha ke naam anek anoopa | main nrup kahab svamati anuroopa || (2) (C-197)

King Dasartha performed pooja to Sage Vasahista and requested him to name his four sons. We can see that even though the Lord incarnated in this world, king Dasaratha requested his guru, Sage Vashista to name his sons.

As the brothers grow up in Ayodhya, the brothers are accorded ‘yagnopavita’ by their Guru and their parents, as it is said in the following verse –
Bhaye kumaar jabhi sab bhraataa | deenha janeu guru pitu maata ||
Gurugraham gaye padhan raghuraayi | alp kaal bidhiyaa sab aayi || (2)
jaaki sahaj svaas sruti chaari | so hari padh yah kauthuka bhaari ||
Bidyaa binaya nipuna guna seela | khelahi khel sakala nrupleela || (3) (C-204)

Even though it was the lord who had incarnated as Lord Rama, he took the Yagnopavitra as any other common man. And then the lord leaves for Gurukul for education and within a short span of time, Lordess Saraswati herself came to the Lord.

The four Vedas are verily the breath of the Lord. The significance of the guru and that of Gurukul is stressed here. One needs to be in the sight of the guru after the Yagnopaveeth. Thus the Lord shows the importance of Gurukul here.

The Lord finished his education in the Gurukul and came back to Ayodhya. At that time, Sage Vishawmitra once visited the kingdom of Ayodhya. Here it is very nice to read how King Dasaratha welcomed the Santh. Even though we offer our respect our guru, it is equally important to receive any Santh with same respect when they visit our place.

Muni aagaman sunaa jab raaja | milana gayau lai bipra samaaja ||
Kari dandavat munihi sanmaani | nij aasan baitaarenhi aani || (1)
Charan pakaari keenhi ati pooja | mo sam aaju dhanya nahi dhooja ||
bibid bhaanti bhojan karuvaavaa | munibar hrudaya harash ati paavaa || (2)
…
Tab man harashi bachan kah raau | muni as krupaa na keenhi hu kaavu ||
Kehi kaaran aagaman tumhaara | kahahu so karat na kaavum baara || (4) (C-207)

When King Dasaratha was informed that Sage Vishwamitra was visiting his kingdom, he immediately went out and prostrated in front of him and offered his throne as a seat for him. There are two interpretations here, “Nij aasan” means king Dasaratha’s own seat was given to Sage Vishwamitra. In a symbolic way, it means that king Dasaratha was ready to accept Sage Vishwamitra’s advices and thus act accordingly. If we look at it in a different perspective, “Nij aasan” – king dasaratha being a very learned man, knew that lot of Mahans and saints will be visiting his kingdom and hence he had allocated seats for them- and he gave the right seat for Sage Vishwamitra.
He performed pada pooja to sage Vishwamitra and told him that he is immensely blessed to have such a great saint visit his kingdom. He then asked Sage Vishwamtira for the reason for his visit.

In reply to this, Sage Vishwamitra asked king dasaratha if he can take Ram and Lakshman to his place. He mentioned that he was doing some yagna and Marich and Subahu were creating hurdles and not allowing him to do yagna.

Sab sut mohi praan ki naayi | raam det nahi banayi gosaayi ||
kaham nisichar ati ghor katoraa | kaham sundar sut param kishora || (3)
Suni nrup giraa prem ras saani | hrudayam harsh maanaa muni gyaani ||
Tab bashishta bahu bidhi samjhaavaa | nrup sandeh naas kaham paavaa || (4)
ati aadar dou tanaya bolaaye | hrudayam laayi bahu baanti sikhaaye ||
mere praan naath sut douoo | tumh muni pitaa aan nahi kouoo || (5) (C-208)

He said to sage Vishwamitra that all his four sons are his lifeline. He further told him that his sons are beautiful and tender when compared to demons, which are strong and wild. He also requested sage Vishwamitra that he will give his entire army to fight the demon.

King Dasaratha is now filled with doubts. He thinks Ram as his own son and ignorance overpowers him and he fails to come to realty that he is indeed Lord. Secondly he didn’t implicitly adhere to the words of Sage Vishwamitra to send his sons along with him.
It is very beautifully seen as to how the guru removes this ignorance in king Dasaratha’s mind. Sage Vashista spent time to explain the king. After having been convinced by Sage Vashista, he very affectionately called his two sons and advised him
He told Sage Vishwamitra that his sons are his very breath and asked him to take good care of them.

The key take away point is that, we should implicitly obey the words of our guru and that will only bring glory to our family.

It is seen that Lord Rama goes to Sage Vishwamitra’s ashram and he gave Moksha to Maricha and Subahu then went to the court of Janak Maharaj where he broke the bow and subsequently married Sita Mata.

Having thus beautifully expounded the greatness of Guru in Balakand, Daveji concluded with first two lines of Hanuman Chalisa that speak of the significance of the Guru.

Shri Guru Charan Saroj Raj
Nij man mukure sudhar
Varnao Raghuvar Vimal Jasu
Jo dayaku phal char

I clean my mind with dust of lotus feet of Guru. The mind is tainted with bad thoughts and we need some thing to clean the mind and it is only that dust that can clean our minds.

The satsang was opened for prayer requests and ended with Nama Sankirtan by Ranjaniji and Rajasekarji from Boston.

Apr 3: Rama Navami & Sant Tulsidas

In Srimad Bhagavatam, there is an episode where the Prachetas are instructed to perform penance to the Lord. They head in a particular direction towards doing penances. When they were in a confusion as to how to meditate on the Lord and what to ask, Lord Shiva himself comes as a guru and instructs them. In the song known as the “Rudra Geetam”, He describes the beautiful form of the Lord to meditate upon. He says, “When God comes in front of you, do not ask Him to bestow you with any worldly or spiritual goodness. If at all you ask for something, it should be satsang for even half a second.
Kshanaardhenaapi tulayam na svargam naapunarbhavam |
bhagavat sangi sangasya martyaanaam kimutaasishah ||

The union with Bhagavatas is indeed the rarest of the rarest. Satsang represents sheer bhakti. Association with a Jivan Mukta, or constant chanting of the Divine Name and listening to the glories of the Divine is indeed satsang.

The Nama chanting was lead by Sri Thiagaraj and family from Dallas. It was Rama Navami, a very auspicious day.

Followed by brief round of introductions, Gayatriji from Boston gave a blissful satsang talk.

When Sri Sukha talks to King Parikshit about Prahalad’s life-history he says “Yat bhagavatha mahatmyam bhagavat bhakti vardanam”. By listening to the life-histories of the devotees of the lord, one develops bhakti. Why should one develop bhakti? Our aim in life is to reach the holy feet of God. Bhakti is a special path because the journey to the destination is enjoyable if that path is followed. Unlike other margas, where one has to perform many difficult tasks and also undergo lot of physical stress to attain God, the path of bhakti is very pleasant and is very joyful indeed. How does one develop bhakti? We are not the right person to define what bhakti is. We tend to develop bhakti by listening to the life-histories of great devotees. One such devotee of Lord Rama was Sri. Tulsidas.

Tulsidas was born in a village near Kasi under a tulasi plant. What is special about a Tulsi plant? Every other flower releases its fragrance only when it blooms but tulsi releases its fragrance right from the time it sprouts. Akin to the tulasi plant, Tulsidas exhibited his love for Lord Rama ever since his birth. Instead of crying “qua qua” he shouted “Rama Rama” when he was an infant. Being born in a Brahmin family, he learnt all the shastras and Upanishads. His parents got him married to a woman by name Ratnavali.

Tulsidas was a person who loved his wife a lot. He worked as an adviser for a king. The king one day asked Tulsidas to accompany him to a trip to some other town. Tulsidas couldn’t deny this offer but was also not very happy to leave his wife alone. He cautioned his wife Ratnavali to be at most cautious when she was alone. Those days it was not safe to leave women alone at home. So he stocked his house with all groceries and promised his wife that he would return in a few months. But his trip got delayed and it took some more months for Tulsidas to return to his town. The day when he returned he found that his wife was not home and the house was locked. He immediately enquired his neighbors and they informed him that she had left for her parents’ place. They also informed him that she was accompanied by an unknown person. Scared, Tulsidas started to his parents-in-law’s place. It was dark when he went there and he found her sleeping in her room. Ratnavali was shocked to see Tulsidas and asked him “Why did you come here at this point of time?” In reply, he asked her how she could leave that house and come to her parents place. He told her that he was very much worried about her. Ratnavali said “Oh You always tell that Lord Rama will always take care of everything –
“Apathadam apahartharam dhathaaram Sarvasampadaam
lokabiramam Sriramam bhooyo bhooyo Namamyaham”

So why should you worry that I am in danger when Lord Rama will always be there in case of any lingering danger? She continued further and said “You love my body that is made of bones and flesh more than what you love Lord Rama. Had you placed the same love upon Lord Rama, you should have seen Lord Rama by now”. This enlightened Tulsidas. He decided to do Bhakti to Lord Rama and wished to have his darshan and so he left for Kasi the very same night.

Since then, he performed crores and crores of Rama Nama chanting in the mornings and in the evenings he discoursed on Ramayana. In the night, he used to write his own version of Ramayana in Sanskrit. One morning, when he woke up, he found that all the Ramayana he wrote the previous night were all gone. However, the leaves in which he wrote the Ramayana still remained there but all the slokas had disappeared. So Tulsidas decided to see who the culprit was and stayed awake the whole night. And guess who that person was? It was none other than Lord Shiva. He had done this deliberately so that he could talk to Tulsidas and request him to write Ramayana in Prakrita Bhassha, which is the local language so that the local people could understand it better. From then on he started to write Ramayana in Prakrita bhassha. Every evening he discoursed on the portion of Ramayana he wrote the previous night. Tulsidas noticed an old man who came to his lectures every day and he listened to his lectures with rapt attention and with tears flowing in his eyes.

One morning after his daily ablutions, he splashed the water from his kamanadalu in a nearby tree and instantly a brahma rakshasha (a demon) came out of the tree. Tulsidas asked “who are you? The demon said that he had got this birth as a demon because of the sins he had incurred in the past. And now the Rama Nama Kamandalu Thirtha (the holy water) had purified him and just when he was about to leave to his holy abode, he expressed his desire to do some good deed for Tulsidas. Tulsidas told the demon that all his life he has been longing to have the darshan of Lord Rama and asked him if he can help him get the darshan of Lord Rama. The demon replied back by saying that he didn’t have the powers to give him Lord Rama’s darshan. He however told him that the old man who listens to his daily lectures with rapt attention was none other than Lord Hanuman.

Tulsidas now couldn’t wait for the evening lecture. When the lecture was over, he immediately followed the old man behind and fell at his feet. Tulsidas said to the old man, “I know that you are Lord Hanuman”. The moment he said that, the old man disappeared and there was hanuman. From that day onwards, Lord hanuman and Tulsidas became friends. Tulsidas in a song sings, “Pavanathanaya Paramasakha”

One day Tulsidas asked Hanuman if he could recommend Lord Rama to bless him with his darshan. Hanuman agreed to put forth the request to Lord Rama. He told Hanuman that he didn’t want a darhsan of Lord Rama for few seconds and instead desired to have Lord Rama come to his house, have dinner at his place and rest that night. He came back to Tulsidas and told him that he will have Lord Rama’s darshan on the next Punarvasu day. On hearing this he was very excited to see Lord Rama.

On the day of Punarvasu, he prepared everything for Lord Rama and was eagerly waiting for him, when he suddenly heard heavy footsteps at the door in the middle of the night. The sound was akin to an army marching towards his door. Tulsidas feared that it could be attackers and that they could damage all the decorations that he had done for his Lord and decided not to open the door. The sound receded after sometime and was quite very soon.

Next day, Tulsidas was very upset that he didn’t have Lord Rama’s darshan and asked Hanuman as to why even his words went wrong. Hanuman told him that Lord Rama had indeed been to his house and knocked his house but he didn’t open the door. After listening to this, Tulsidas asked him if it was a reason to not to bless him with his darshan. He told hanuman that he could have himself opened the door and come in to give him darshan. Hanumanji immediately told him that it was not how he wished to have Lord Rama’s darshan! Since he wanted Lord Rama to come like an ordinary person, Lord Rama decided to do so. Tulsidas felt that he lacked bhakti and thought that hanuman’s words would never go wrong. He went to Brindavan and performed Ramayana Navaham and that’s where he was blessed with Lord Rama’s darshan.

People in Brindavan greet each other by saying “Radhe Radhe”, whereas Tulsidas who didn’t want to let go his Rama bhakti greeted everyone by saying “Sitaram”. Tulsidas was sitting and reading out Ramayana right across the Vamshi Vat. Suddenly he heard the sound of a flute and turned back and there was Lord Krishna standing in front of him with his Vyatyasta Charana with his flute and peacock feather in his head. Tulsidas was now very confused as to whether he wanted to have Lord Krishna’s darshan or not. All these years he had truly wished to see Lord Rama and not lord Krishna. He requested Lord Krishna to go away. Lord Krishna said to him that he would not go away. He said that a great saint (mahan) has come to his place to discourse on Ramayana and that he wouldn’t go away. Tulsidas decided not to get distracted with Lord Krishna’s darshan and continued to read Ramayana with rapt attention. But the beauty of Lord Krishna had a greater impact on him than his Ramayana and Lord Rama. With tears rolling down his eyes, he fell at the feet of Lord Krishna and said, “Oh Lord Krishna, I am akin to a pathivratha (a faithful wife). I am a Rama Bhakta! Please preserve my bhakti for Lord Rama. Please bestow me with a darshan of Lord Rama. Lord Krishna told Tulsidas that “Pathivratha para grham na gacheth”. Pathi vratha does not go to somebody else’s house. You are not in Ayodhya, but in Brindavan! He further added that even if a Pathivratha goes to somebody’s house, she would not see the men in that house. Even if she saw the men, she would not talk to them. Lord Krishna said that he had not only seen him but also talked to him. Even when talking to the Lord, he should have only referenced Ramayana and Lord Rama in the conversation. Tulsidas pleaded with him asking him to preserve this bhakti to Lord Rama. He stood and raised his hands. Immediately his flute became the bow and arrow and there stood Lord Rama. Krishna told him that he will show his form as he desired and blessed him with Lord Rama’s darshan. Thus Tulsidas was blessed with Lord Rama’s darshan. With all humility, he prayed to Lord Rama
“Tu dayalu deena ham
Tu dhani ham bhikari
Ham Prasidda papa ki
Tu papa punja haari”

He returned to Kasi and established an ashram there. During the day, many sadhus used to visit the ashram and have the darshan of Tulsidas, recite Ramayana for some time and take leave. One day few Brahmin sadhus had come to have darshan of Tulsidas. After their morning ablutions, they were seated to have their lunch. At that instant of time, a person who appeared to be Bhagavatha, with sita ram cloth on his body, chandan on him and came inside singing the nama kirtan. Tulsidas was very happy to see him and invited him to have lunch. When he was about to be seated , the Brahmin sadhus got up and told Tulsidas that it was not correct to have lunch with that man and it is one of the means to accrue sin. Tulsidas told him that anyone who chants the name of Lord Rama is not a sinner. The Brahmins did not reconcile to this fact. Tulsidas in the meanwhile took the uchistam (the left-over of the food) and placed it in front of the Nandi in the temple and started to pray. Nandi came right there to consume the food and that verily proved the fact that the divine name chanting of the lord can do wonders.

It was the Akbar reign then and he honored people who were adept in different skills. He had a love for music. Tulsidas who was very skillful in music was invited by Akbar to his court. Tulsidas had accepted the invitation. After Tulsidas sang some songs on Lord Rama,the king asked Tulsidas if he can recommend his name to Lord Rama so that he is blessed with his darshan. Tulsidas told the king that he didn’t have enough qualifications to see Lord Rama. Akbar immediately asked as to what are the qualifications to see Lord Rama. Anybody who aspires to see Lord Rama should have Rama bhakti. How can one get Rama Bhakti, the king questioned. Tulsidas replied that one should always think of Lord Rama, perform to pooja to Rama’s idol, speak Rama stories(Katha), sing Rama’s praises. Live for rama and breathe for Rama. When King Akbar heard that he was not eligible enough to see Lord Rama, he threw Tulsidas into the prison. Since Hanuman was Tulsidas’s pal, he called him for help and requested him to ask Lord Rama to save him. Hanuman told Tulsidas that they themselves can deal with this issue and not involve Lord Rama! So that night, about a dozen huge monkeys called gorilla monkeys, came into the palace and ransacked the whole palace. The king was furious because every single item in the palace which his queen would enjoy had been destroyed. When he inquired about this incident to his minister, he was told that it was because of Tulsidas arrest who is an ardent devotee of Lord Rama. The king immediately went to his prison and there Tulsidas told him that he had requested Lord Rama to give darshan to the king and it looks like his family is in the midst of arrival and Lord Rama will himself be here shortly. Akbar took back his request to see Lord Rama and Tulsidas told him that anyone who values his palace and other worldly possessions more than Lord Rama doesn’t deserve to see him. He then walked out of the prison and went back to his ashram and lived happily by spreading the glories of Rama Nama.”

Following this wonderful lecture, Narayananji from Boston talked about Lord Hanuman. In all our Friday satsangs, there is one person who sits and listens to the satsang but is always anonymous. It is none other than our Hanunmanji. It is said that –
“Yatra Yatra Raghunatha Kirthanam
Thatra Thatra krutam mastakaanjalim
Bhaspavari paripurna lochanam
Maruthim mamada raakshasaandhakam”

Wherever there is chanting of Lord Rama’s Names, wherever one reminisces on Lord Rama, Hanumanji is verily in that place listening to all of these. It is true even today.

There is a great saint in the lineage of Sringeri Mutt. He happened to narrate Ramayana and he kept a plate which had fruits that was offered to Hanuman. One of his disciples one day asked this saint about the plate. The saint replied that it was for Hanuman as he comes wherever Rama Katha is being expounded. But this disciple didn’t quite understand it. When the Ramayana katha was about to conclude on the last day, Hanumanaji did come in form of a vanara and consumed the fruits and went away. This dates back to some few years ago.

In 2004 Our Guru maharaj preformed a Maha Samrajya Patabishekha, in which about hundred and twenty eight Bhagavathas were reading Ramayana. There was one person who listened to Ramayana with full concentration and when there was a small break during the parayana, he used to climb a tree and chant Rama Nama and when the parayana resumed he joined back again. He participated in each and every event during the navaham and after the nineth day he was not to be found. Our Guru Maharaj told the devotees that he was verily a form of Hanuman.

Following this, Sri Thiagarajan talked on the difference between Sharadha navarathiri and Vasantha navarathiri. The former is very holy for goddess Devi and Rama Navami falls during the Vasantha Navarathiri. It is very auspicious to do any parayana or chanting the divine names of the Lord during Vasantha Navarathiri. It is a good time to do Ramayana Parayana because Rama Navami falls on the navami day akin to Sarasawati pooja which also falls on the navami day of the Sharadha navarathiri.

The satsang wrapped up with Namasankirtan prayers.