Ahalya, Anjana Devi, Vali, Sugreeva and Hanuman

Parts of this story are narrated in the Ramayana, but somehow no one seems to link them. I am just doing that. Swamiji confirmed parts of this story.

Ahalya was sage Gautama’s wife. She was famous for her beauty all over the worlds. Anjana Devi was the daughter of Gautama and Ahalya.

The Sun god was enchanted by the beauty of Ahalya. Being a ‘Kaamaroopi’ – one who can take any form as per one’s will - he took the form of Sage Gautama when the sage was not at the ashram and made love to Ahalya. Ahalya consented as she mistook him to be her husband. Vali was born to the Sun god and Ahalya. It was only when the Sage returned to the ashram later that Ahalya realized she was tricked. Indra, the king of Gods, was also enchanted by Ahalya’s beauty and played the same trick as the Sun god. Sugreeva was born of this relationship. Anjana Devi who was a child by then understood that her mother was cheated by Sun god and Indra. Sage Gautama was not aware of the cheating and took Vali and Sugreeva to be his children and all the three children were growing up together.

Once, Sage Gautama set off on a trip along with his family. It was midday when they were to cross the Thunga-Bhadra river. Sage Gouthama was carrying the two boys Vali and Sugreeva on his shoulders and his wife Ahalya and daughter Anjana Devi were following him. The sand on the banks of the river was hot from the sun and burnt little Anjana Devi’s feet as they had to walk quite some distance on it before actually getting into the waters. Unable to bear the heat, she suddenly shouted at her father, “Father, this is not fair. You have left me - your own child - to walk on the hot sand and you are carrying Vali and Sugreeva – who are not even born of you - on your shoulders. You seem to love them more than you love me.”

Anjana Devi’s revelation shocked and enraged the Sage. He threw both the little children into the waters of the river saying, “If they are my children, they will return to me. If not, they will turn into monkeys and get washed away into the forest.” Cursed thus, the two brothers were washed ashore, turned into monkeys and grew up to be the rulers of the monkeys in the forests on the banks of the river Thunga-Bhadra, which were part of the ‘Dandakaaranya’.

Ahalya was grieved by the separation of her two sons from her and cursed her daughter Anjana Devi saying, “You failed in preserving the secret of your mother and it is because of you that my children have turned into monkeys and have been separated from me. Let your child too turn into a monkey.”

The Sage, in his anger, cursed his wife Ahalya to turn into a stone as she behaved unintelligent as a stone. Ahalya fell on her husband’s feet and asked for forgiveness pleading innocence saying it was not her fault, but she was cheated by the gods. Finally, Gautama took pity on her and said, “My curse will come true. You will turn into a stone, but you will regain your human form when Lord Rama’s feet touch you.”

Later, when Anjana Devi was married to Kesari, Hanuman was born to her. But, due to his own grandmother’s curse, he was either born as a monkey or turned into one. That should explain why Hanuman is called ‘Aanjaneya’, ‘Anjani Putra’ as well as ‘Kesari Nandhana’. We know that he is the son of the Wind God (see box below) – ‘Vayuputhra’, ‘Vaathaathmaja’. Apparently, Hanuman the monkey, went and lived with his uncles Vali and Sugreeva who were also monkeys and ruled the monkeys with the city of ‘Kishkindha’ as their capital. Swamiji confirmed that a village by the name of Anegundi, close to Hosapet in Karnataka about 100 Kms from Bellary, was the birth place of Hanuman when HH visited Hosapet. When I Googled for Anegundi, I found there is a trust named Kishkindha Trust near this village.

Evidently, all this happened before Lord Rama, at the age of 16 years, set out to the forests along with Sage Vishwamitra and his younger brother Laxmana to help protect the yagna from Thaataki the lady demon and other rakshasas including Mareecha and Subahu. It was on that trip that Lord Rama’s feet touched the stone that was the cursed Ahalya and she regained her beautiful human form.

People tell us that when Hanuman saw Lord Shri Rama roaming in the forest much later, after Sita was kidnapped by Raavana, he did not know Rama. I can’t believe that because Rama was the one, the mere touch of whose feet turned Ahalya - his grandmother, from a stone back to human form. Hanuman’s grandfather – Sage Gauthama was a devotee of Rama (even before Rama was born) as were several other sages and knew all about him. Therefore, Hanuman was a third-generation devotee of Lord Rama - like some of us whose grandfathers and/or grandmothers were Swamiji - Shivabalayogi’s devotees.

Hanuman is an 'amsha' of Lord Shiva

This is a story related by Swamiji – Shri Shri Shri Shivabalayogi Maharaj to me Dasari Jagadish Kumar.

When Lord Shri Rama, Mother Sita and Laxmana returned to Ayodhya from Sri Lanka along with Hanuman, the citizens received them with immense joy. Then there were celebrations all over for several days for Lord Shri Rama’s coronation. Mother Sita was so pleased with all the love and respect she received from them that she wanted to host a meal for all the citizens in return. Lord Rama agreed to her proposal and she started preparing for the massive event. Hanuman supported her through all the activities of procuring the groceries and making all the arrangements working hard day and night. Mother Sita was very pleased with Hanuman’s service. She was already grateful for all the help she received from Hanuman over the past few months and was looking for an opportunity to express it. Finally, when the food was ready and the citizens were arriving to have the meal, she felt that Hanuman must be very hungry. She was concerned that Hanuman will get busy in serving the guests and he may not get the chance to eat for a long time. Besides, she wanted to serve him herself as he was like her child. She asked him to be seated and have his meal first and offered to serve him.

Hanuman obeyed mother Sita and sat down to have the meal. As she served the food one dish after the other, Hanuman kept eating. To her surprise, she found that Hanuman did not appear satiated. He kept on eating. He was eating so much that that she started wondering if he would eat all the stuff that was cooked for the thousands of citizens. She started worrying but could not stop serving him. She excused herself and ran to Lord Rama and explained her fear to him. Lord Rama asked her, “Who do you think Hanuman is? He is an ‘amsha’ of Lord Shiva. Therefore, any amount of either food or any material stuff - however precious will not satisfy him. The only thing that satisfies him is devotion.” Mother Sita agreed, “I thought he was your obedient devotee and I consider him my child. Thanks for disclosing who he really is. But please tell me how to satiate him now. Otherwise I will be in trouble. We will have to start procuring all the groceries and begin cooking again and the citizens won’t be able to wait for long.” Lord Rama responded, “Sita, you will have to prostrate to Hanuman to satiate him. But, because he also considers and respects you as his mother, he won’t tolerate it if he sees you prostrate to him. Prostrate to him from behind him so he does not see you, and pray to him.” Mother Sita rushed back, and quietly prostrated to Hanuman from behind him and prayed to him, “My lord, forgive my ignorance. I realize who you are now. It is my mistake to think that I could feed you enough to satiate you.” Within a few moments, Hanuman burped and got up saying, “Mother, I had enough of this wonderful food. Thanks. Let me now make sure that all the guests are served properly. They must be waiting.”

Destiny

Question on facebook: Did Swamiji talk about Destiny?

 

Jagadish: Yes. Swamiji did talk about destiny. Before we proceed, what do we mean by Destiny? Do we mean God’s will? Or do we mean ‘karma phala’ often just called ‘karma’ to mean the result of past actions?

 By ‘Destiny’, I am trying to address here the issue of whether the occurrence of events is predetermined. In the context of Swamiji’s life and teachings, the ‘nadis’ – ancient astrological scriptures that predicted Swamiji’s prior births and tapas definitely point to such destiny. It is surprising to note that even names of the numerous incarnations of Swamiji are correctly mentioned. In this life time, Swamiji’s name is mentioned as ‘Sathya Raat’ ‘Raat’ in Sanskrit is the same as ‘Raju’ in Telugu, meaning King. Don’t we all think that the parents of a child just think of a name to be given to the child? How could such minute details be predicted with such accuracy? Isn’t that destiny?

The prediction of ‘Kalki Avatar’ – the tenth incarnation of Lord Vishnu, which is estimated to be revealed any time now, is also another clear pointer to the legitimacy of ‘destiny’. Swamiji confirmed the veracity of Kalki Avatar many times.

Swamiji Himself often said “The (right) time has to come for it to happen (or occur)…” in contexts where devotees asked Him whether and when a certain event would happen. One example is about Sathyaraju being initiated into tapas. Swamiji used to tell us, “The time was ripe for Shankar Bhagwan to initiate Sathyaraju.” Such “right time” is beyond cause and effect. It is but destiny.

Asked when a disciple will find his/her Guru, Swamiji used to say, “The correct time has to come.” – irrespective of the effort or sincerity of the disciple. At the right time they will find each other “automatically”. That word automatically was used by Swamiji often to refer to destiny.

Having written all the above I need to stress that Swamiji gave a lot of importance to our own personal will and effort too. Tom writes in ‘Swamiji’s Treasure’: When Swamiji told stories of his childhood, Swamiji was making a point. In the subtle play between destiny and free will, there is a role for individual effort.

A devotee from Agra narrated his discussion with Swamiji to me and Tom in 1996. One evening when Swamiji was in Agra, this devotee was tired on returning from work and lied down on the bed. He would not miss even a single evening program during Swamiji’s visits to Agra. His wife made some tea for him. A while after having the tea, he dressed up, took a bus and reached the Badawar House where the program was being conducted. After the bhajan that evening, during the course of the usual discussion between Swamiji and devotees, the subject somehow turned to destiny. This devotee argued with Swamiji that everything was destined. He told Swamiji, “I was not in a mood to come here tonight. However, you willed that I be here. You called me, that is why I am here.” Swamiji argued, “It is true that Swamiji called you here today. However, you are here also because on your part, you got up from bed, dressed up, walked to the bus stand, took a bus, got off the bus and walked to this venue. Therefore, while destiny plays a part, the individual has to act. He has a role to play.”

There is a whole sub-section in Swamiji’s Treasure dedicated to the discussion between Swamiji and devotees on Destiny = Karma. Here is an extract to encourage you to read the whole chapter

Q       What is the role of free will and destiny in our lives? What if one’s astrology predicts something bad?

Swamiji: “You have the power to change your destiny. You can avoid the danger that astrology predicts by using your intelligence [buddhi]. Let us say an astrologer tells you that you might be involved in a car accident. While driving the car, if you are very cautious and if you use your intelligence then you can avoid the accident. If you think the accident is going to happen anyway and hence you close your eyes and drive, then you will definitely meet with an accident.”

Shiladitya, who interpreted for Swamiji in 1989, and who was well versed in Astrology told me, “Knowledge of Astrology is like being able to glow a torch on the path in the dark. It lets you see the pit so you may go around it.”

Parvatamma Function, Hyderabad

All are welcome to attend and participate in the function at the Hyderabad ashram in honor of Parvatamma Allaka garu, Sri Swamiji's mother.

As Swamiji himself designated, this function is observed each June 15.

This is the printed invitation from the Hyderabad ashram. (Click to enlarge the image.)

The Passing of Chinakka, Swamiji's Sister

Dear Fellow Devotees of Swamiji Shri Shri Shri Shivabalayogi Maharaj,

We wish to inform you of the sad demise of Swamiji’s elder sister (the younger of His two elder sisters) at 12:30 AM on Monday the 3rd of March 2014 at Adivarapupeta. Her name was Sathyam Bondu, however she was known to devotees of Swamiji as "Chinnakka." She was about 88 years of age and died of old age. She was the last surviving sibling of Shivabalayogi.

She was doing quite well until the last few days and used to participate in the mass feeding being conducted at the ashram every fortnight – on the full moon and new moon days.

I had been to Adivarapupeta, along with forty other devotees from Bangalore, to participate in the Mahashivaratri celebrations on the 27th and 28th of February. We missed Chinnakka at the ashram during the Mahashivaratri. We were told that she was at the ashram towards the end of January but later fell sick due to high blood sugar levels and was hospitalised for a couple of days. She was discharged from the hospital two days before she passed away. We were at Adivarapupeta when Chinnakka passed away. Early in the morning we went to the house of "Annavaram," one of Chinnakka’s sons, to pay our last respects to her by garlanding her body and performing a puja to it. Later, her body was taken around the village in a procession as per the local custom and was also brought to the ashram to Swamiji’s Samadhi. All her surviving sons and daughters-in-law were with her during her last days as they had been informed about the deterioration of her health.

She is survived by four of her sons, daughters-in-law and several grandchildren. Chinnakka and her children served Swamiji for several years traveling with Him and attending to His personal needs. May Swamiji bless her soul with peace!

Regards, Jagadish.

Mahashivaratri in Adivarapupeta

79th Birthday Celebration, Jhansi

You are invited to join the celebration of Shivabalayogi's 79th birthday this Friday, January 24, 2014, as the guest of the Dhyan Trust in Jhansi.