RIFLE RANGE BOY: Still learning...

Hanuman and Suvarchala
Credit: Pinterest

I used to frequent temples quite a bit in my younger days. My mother probably thought that by loitering God's home, maybe He would take pity and throw a bone to us to chew. She must have put her trust in God believing that He would not disappoint. Be it, Thaipusam, fire-walking ceremony or billy-goat slaughtering ceremony, she would be there, and I would be passively taken along. It was her sincere belief that through divine intervention, her children would live a better life than her and that God would peel open the inner eye of Consciousness. We still await but hope, but we cannot say we did not get in abundance. But what is too much and when is it enough, anyway?

As a child, my mind used to wonder a lot. Rather than doing the things I was supposed to do, I found pleasure as an observer of things and people around me. Sometimes, I ask myself what they thought and why they did the things that they did. Occasionally, Amma gives explanations that made sense to her. During other times, I drew my own conclusions. Periodically, I drew blanks.

Like the time when I pondered why worshipers would pray to demigods and not the main deity. Since the real McCoy had more clout to grant wishes, why go through intermediaries? Why prostrate to the fearsome Muniswaran when Shiva is just around the corner? I realised later that there were entry restrictions into temples once upon a time. That could explain the reason for people in the lower rung of the society to settle for lesser Gods as intermediaries.

Angry Hanuman - An icon of aggressive Hindutva
Credit: Karan Acharya

But I could not comprehend was why congregants would bow and exhibit so much reverence to Hanuman who is, in fact, less a being in his primate form when Rama and his consort are the real bosses. I thought it was the celibacy of the Brahmachari pose that he displayed. But then there is a temple in Telangana where Hanuman is seen as a couple with Survachala (Lord Surya's daughter).

If Hanuman was enlightened by his proximity to Rama, why are there no Arjuna temple as he had a one-to-one pep talk with Krishna, a more complex avatar of Vishnu? The whole song of the Lord (Bhagavad Gita) is the testimony of His attempt at psychotherapy of a commander who turned cold feet on the eve of a decisive combat.

Firstly, Hanuman is no monkey but of a member of a clan of hirsute people from the southern part of the subcontinent. He is cocksure that his dharma is to serve Rama. He chooses his wars carefully. He observes and learns from the sideline like a third person. This attribute must be the one that draws people to salute him. Knowing exactly what to do in any adversity is one quality Man yearns to have. He does not base his decisions on emotion or creed. He even refused to help fellow Monkey King, Sugriva, as Hanuman thought his course was not just. Devotees hope that His nature of doing the right thing at the right time without fear or favour would rub off on them. His tenacity and undevoted loyalty to the task at hand is another plus point. HanuMAN, the world's first superhero.

The learning process goes on...

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