The journey of the disciplined mind is always one of one-pointedness, focus and resilience in its quest towards its goal. Never one to surrender, never one to be kept back from its mission by whatever obstacles or delays, the well-trained and controlled mind keeps the image of his focus in constant view at all times, both for himself and others. Shri Hanumanji is the personification of such characteristics and this is clearly seen in the following lines of Sundar Kaand of Shri Ramcharitramanas, where He heads towards Lanka in search of Sita Mata:
‘Raam kaaj keenhe binu mohi kahaan vishraam’ – How can I rest till I have accomplished Shri Ram’s work?’
Briefly tracing his journey from the shores of India, across eight hundred miles of ocean to Lanka, Hanumanji encountered the mighty Mynaak mountain, Surasa and the demoness, Singhika. All of them were treated with dispatch. He was then blocked by Lankini, the female guard of the city gate of Lanka who attempted to debar him from entering. She was dealt a cuff on her nose, which drew from her lips, significant words of advice that hold good for all times. Finally, after a thorough search through every nook and cranny of the city that was bathed in wealth and grandeur, Hanumanji met Vibheeshan who directed him to Ashok Vaatika, the garden where Sita was kept captive.
The journey from Mynaak to Ashok Vaatika symbolizes the journey through the five states of mind. Mynaak is representative of the raving mind; Surasa, the forgetful state; Singhika, the oscillating; Lankini, the one-pointed state and Vibheeshan, the restrained mind. It is instructive to note that the first three obstacles appeared from within the ocean. These signify the ocean of mundane existence or lower states of mind. On meeting Lankini, Hanuman had cause to remove her physically from his path, thereby knocking her down. This brief interaction, despite being a physical knock, was a moment of satsang, since realization dawned upon her, and from her lips much words of enlightenment emanated. Her attitude is one of one-pointedness.
Vibheeshan, the brother of Raavan, was an ardent devotee of Shri Ram even though he lived in Lanka. Amidst a wealth of opposition, a forest of negativity through which he had to manoeuvre his life and increasing walls of stagnation to personal uplift, he maintained his stand of purity, piety and truth. Such an attitude is descriptive of ‘sattvic’ piety and representative of the restrained mind. Endowed with such a state of mind, victory is assured.
The search for Sita represents the search of the powerful mind for the intellect that is imprisoned by ‘rajas’ (arrogance, egoism, false pride) in the garden of negativities. The garden is named ‘Ashoka’ – free of worry, yet Sita Mata is captive there, drowning in a sea of ‘shok’ or worries, caused by separation from Shri Ram.
Continuing on his search, Hanuman, the disciplined mind, remains steeped in spirituality. He does not derive any source of motivation from external sources. His reference point is His Master, Shri Raam and as such, is self-motivated. That is all that he needs in fulfilling his master’s wish. Such is the search of the mind in man’s journey through the world process and in the quest for realization of the true self.
