pradoṣakāle hanumāṃstūrṇamutplutya vīryavān |
praviveśa purīṃ ramyāṃ suvibhaktamahāpathām
prāsādamālāvitatāṃ stambhaiḥ kāñcanarājataiḥ |
śātakumbhamayairjālairgandharvanagaropamām
The land we currently inhabit has its appealing aspects to it, especially the wondrous sights and aesthetically pleasing surroundings. But when placed in the proper context, the phenomenal world is one shorn of brilliance, as it is a mere shadow copy of the original realm that never knows decay, destruction, or temporary renovation. The allures of the visible world, which are enhanced by brilliance in the form of valuable jewels and gold, is not appealing in the least bit when separated from the most beautiful object to have ever graced this earth. Indeed, for one who has dedicated their life to serving such a benevolent master, the only appealing aspect of this world is the opportunity it brings for divine service. When not used to further solidify a relationship in the mood of service to the most loveable entity, any worldly object can be considered to be no better than an ordinary particle of dust.
Though stuck in a temporary realm that is governed by the illusory force known as maya, through the proper course of action, one which triggers a progressive shift in consciousness, the conditioned soul can return to the land that time never even touches, an area where space limitations are also nonexistent. Those whose vision is cleared through practicing divine love are able to see everything in the proper context and thus remain free from the tendency towards worldly sense gratification. Shri Hanuman, the faithful servant of Lord Rama, is an example of an individual possessing a pure vision. During the Treta Yuga, the Supreme Absolute Truth, the eternal proprietor of the spiritual kingdom, the only entity who is ever unchanging and undying in any form He takes on, descended to earth in the guise of a human being, or one that at least appeared to be mortal and the same in quality as everyone else. The living beings, who are linked to the Supreme Truth through the relationship known as achintya-bhedabheda-tattva, are also eternal forces, but due to their inferior nature they have a tendency to deviate from their original consciousness and fall prey to the allurements instigated by the senses.
“Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion-at that time I descend Myself.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 4.7)
Shri Rama appeared on earth out of His own desire to reclaim the sincere souls looking for a return trip back to the imperishable land. The divine lovers, those who have established and maintained a purified consciousness, actually have no explicit wish to return to the personal company of the Supreme. Instead, they take every opportunity to remain connected with God in thoughts, words and deeds. Because God is absolute, there is never actually any separation for the devotees. Indeed, a nice side effect of a purified consciousness is that those things which are detrimentally enticing for the conditioned souls who have turned their backs on the spiritual realm have no effect on the individuals wholly dedicated to the original and bliss-providing engagement, bhagavata-dharma. One’s occupational duty aimed at maintaining an essential characteristic constitutes their dharma. Since all perceived palatable conditions save the eternal link with God are temporary and subject to destruction, every dharma aside from the occupational duty aimed at serving the Supreme Lord is thus considered inferior. The humble sage, who may or may not take on a specific outward appearance, dedicates all his thoughts and deeds to remaining connected with Bhagavan, which is another name for the Absolute Truth that describes His mastery and full possession of the attributes of beauty, wealth, strength, fame, renunciation and wisdom. One who abides by the dictates of the supreme dharma always retains their essential characteristic of devotion to God.
Rather than just accept nice gifts and pleasant circumstances, the devotees prefer to always be actively engaged in the service of their object of affection. As such, Rama provided tasks for Hanuman to complete. Since Hanuman was no ordinary figure in terms of wisdom, strength, prudence and courage, the tasks assigned to him were not easy to complete by any estimation; the degree of difficulty of the work corresponded with the level of ability of the worker. While on earth roaming the forests, Rama’s wife Sita Devi was unscrupulously taken away by Ravana back to his island kingdom of Lanka. Hanuman, who lived with a band of celestial monkeys in the forest of Kishkindha, was entrusted with finding her whereabouts. After braving the elements and overcoming adverse conditions along his aerial path over the massive ocean, Hanuman made his way to the shores of Ravana’s capital city. Still, only the first part of the mission was complete. Now he needed to figure out how to infiltrate the city without being noticed. This way he could find Sita, inform her that Rama was coming to her rescue, and then return back to Sugriva, the king of the monkey-party serving Rama in Kishkindha.
Hanuman, in executing his mission for Rama, saw some of the most exquisite palaces and housing complexes ever created. This beauty was compared to that seen in the heavenly planets where the Gandharvas, or celestial singers, reside. Ravana had real wealth, not the kind that can quickly lose its value based on shifts in economic conditions. In the modern age, wealth is determined by one’s net worth, which consists of the aggregate value of the various assets that one possesses. Simply holding a large value of paper currency is enough to be considered wealthy, but as we all know, dramatic shifts in public policy can devalue a currency very quickly. It is for this reason that the workings of the Federal Reserve Bank in America are closely monitored. The chairman of this bank can be considered one of the craftiest speechmakers in the world, for if he makes one small slip up in his addresses, entire markets can drastically change in value. Therefore the content of his testimony before congressional committees is usually quite vague, with no direct endorsement for any specific policy given. Neither does he openly endorse or reject any particular sector of the economy.
Through his fervent desire to see real brilliance and beauty, Hanuman would end up finding Sita and temporarily allaying her fears. Due to his heinous act of trying to enjoy what rightfully belonged to Rama, Ravana and his opulence would soon be destroyed. On his way out of Lanka, Hanuman would be temporarily taken captive by Ravana and brought in front of his royal court. Setting fire to Hanuman’s tail, Ravana thought that he had taught the monkey a lesson; that he should never mess with Ravana and his Rakshasas. Hanuman, ever the resourceful warrior, took full advantage of his tail being set on fire by subsequently laying to waste the materially enriched city. Assuming a massive form and waving his fiery tail from place to place, Hanuman left Ravana with the most memorable parting shot, a gift that kept on giving, a warning of what was to come his way. Later on Hanuman would return with Rama, His younger brother Lakshmana, and the monkey army commanded by Sugriva. Ravana and his kingdom would be destroyed, and Sita would be rescued.
“At night, on the sun having set, Maruti [Hanuman] contracted his body. Becoming the size of a cat, he was a wonderful sight to behold.” (Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara Kand, 2.49)
The nature of the bhaktas, or devotees, is to attribute all their good qualities to the Lord and lay the blame for all their bad traits at their own feet. One may argue that this mindset is too narrow to be valid, for if God was responsible for the good things in life, surely He is also to blame for any bad situations and maltreatment shown to His fellow sons and daughters. Certainly every outcome can be traced to the cause of all causes, the Supreme Lord, but since the bhakta is a devoted lover, he overlooks any and all perceived flaws in his loveable object. Goswami 
Another quality mentioned by Valmiki during that meeting is that of deriving great pleasure from hearing of Rama’s activities. The ears of a devotee are compared to an ocean which is constantly replenished by hearing of the transcendental pastimes of Rama and His closest associates. It is also noted that no matter how many tributaries and rivers come rushing in, this ocean never becomes overfilled, thus indicating the differences between spiritual qualities and material ones. We may enjoy a particular film or television show and watch it over and over again, but after a certain point, a level of satiation will be reached. We can’t read the same books, watch the same movies, and hear the same songs every single day and not get bored. But the ocean-like mind of the pure devotee is so wonderful that it can absorb the same descriptions of the pastimes of the Lord and the same sound vibrations glorifying His transcendental qualities over and over again without ever being fully satisfied.
The qualities of a devotee provided by Valmiki apply to a large cross-section of individuals, especially those residing in the spiritual world. Though there are countless liberated souls engaged in 
Hanuman braved his way across the massive ocean for Rama. How did an ordinary monkey travel over such a large body of water? Why was this journey even required? Sita’s captor, Ravana, had set up camp on the island of Lanka. This kingdom was strategically situated so as to make it difficult for others to attack. Indeed, Ravana didn’t think that anyone would be capable of infiltrating his seemingly impregnable fortress of opulence. Even if someone did manage to make it over the ocean, they couldn’t do much by themselves. How could they stand and fight against the massive Rakshasa army, each member of which was well skilled in the art of illusion?
Hanuman could defeat anyone in battle, but his assigned task did not call for direct conflict, especially one instigated by him. The Rakshasas were also well on guard for enemy attack. Though their kingdom was strategically located, it is the nature of the sinful to always be fearful of losing their possessions secured through ill-gotten means. Hanuman finally decided on assuming a diminutive form, one that would allow him to enter Lanka unnoticed. As such, he anxiously awaited the nightfall, and when it finally came, he reduced himself to the size of a cat.
Goswami Tulsidas notes that the servant who properly serves the master exceeds the master in stature. As proof of this claim, Tulsidas points to how Hanuman leapt over the massive ocean to reach Lanka, while Rama would later walk across a bridge constructed of rocks by the monkeys. The purport is that the servant, through his loving service to the Lord, attains the highest stature due simply to the kind benedictions provided by the Master. As such, it is not surprising to see Hanuman held in such high esteem today. He is the perfect embodiment of love in separation and also humility. He is willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done in the transcendental arena. The garb he has to don and the size he has to assume are of no concern to him. Just as there is no proper way to measure the love felt by the Chatak bird towards its beloved raincloud, which is a metaphor for the Supreme Lord whose bodily hue is dark blue, there is no limit to the glories of Shri Hanuman. Just like an ocean that can never overflow with stories about the original Divine Being in the sky, the body of water that represents the glories of Shri Hanuman can never swell over, no matter how often it is replenished with kind words offered in his favor.
“Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also confirmed that in this age of Kali, Krishna has descended in the form of sound vibration. Sound is one of the forms which the Lord takes. Therefore it is stated that there is no difference between Krishna and His name.” (Shrila 
Even in areas not seemingly related to spiritual life and 
Not surprisingly, this key component of information exchange is well accounted for in the Vedas. In fact, all important Vedic information is passed down through sound vibrations, which make up various hymns, poems and songs. Even the most celebrated and widely read Vedic texts, such as the Bhagavad-gita, 
Yet just as the sound vibration produced from markup language is the key component of information transfer, it also serves as the most powerful, fastest and stable link to the spiritual world. Consciousness is driven by the mind, which is capable of thinking at speeds faster than anything seen in the outer world. With the speed of the mind, one can travel thousands of miles in distance and hundreds of years into the past. In a similar manner, when the mind produces the sound vibration representation of the Absolute Truth, it can travel immediately to the spiritual world, the land where time and space have no influence. As is so nicely pointed out by 
Faced with the neti neti problem, do the great Vedic seers, the saints who have understood the Truth by having an always active connection to the eternal realm, throw up their hands and spend their time doing nothing? Actually, the neti neti issue brings even greater impetus for serving. Though the Supreme Absolute Truth is considered indescribable, the Vedas and their followers try their best to identify some of His key attributes, features that, when understood, or at least acknowledged, can bring great pleasure to the wayward souls deluded by the pursuit of material perfection. Names like Rama, 
Krishna is the ultimate reservoir of pleasure and our original object of worship, but since He is God, He is considered above the need for adoration and fame. How do we worship someone who is considered atmarama, or self-satisfied? Again, we can look to the Bhagavad-gita for the answer. Shri Krishna says that if anyone offers Him a leaf, flower, fruit or water with love and devotion, He gladly accepts it. Though He is in need of nothing, the Lord kindly accepts whatever we want to give Him. Even if we are not capable of offering Him anything tangible, simply reciting His name in a loving way is enough to catch His attention. The sound vibration of Hare Krishna ignites a shift in consciousness, leading to a mindset where all thoughts remain focused on pleasing Krishna and swimming in the ocean of nectar consisting of His transcendental forms and pastimes.
“At night, on the sun having set, Maruti [Hanuman] contracted his body. Becoming the size of a cat, he was a wonderful sight to behold.” (Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara Kand, 2.49)
The observations of those who are skeptical of the accounts of the paranormal found in the Vedas, the ancient scriptures of India, can be compared to the remarks made by the frog who has spent his whole life in a well. If you were to try to describe the size of the Pacific Ocean to someone who has lived inside a well his whole life, it would be very difficult to do. The frog, who represents a person with a limited understanding, would ask, “So, compared to this well, how big is the Pacific Ocean? Is it two times the size? Five times the size of this well? Maybe one hundred times the size?” The frog doesn’t know any better; it is not intentionally being difficult in its attempts to understand the nature of this gigantic body of water, nor is it trying to trip up the person attempting to describe the size of one of the largest bodies of water in the world. The frog only knows what it has experienced; therefore it is incapable of truly understanding the size of any large body of water.
Shri Hanuman, the faithful Vanara warrior and servant of Lord Rama, wasn’t decorated with degrees in various sciences, but he did possess the highest level of love and respect for God. Due to his burning desire to always offer his services to the Lord, he was granted every skill necessary for performing his tasks. In relation to spiritual life, the foremost practice of which is known as bhakti-yoga, or 
Hanuman also had mastery over mystic yoga, the ancient art of linking to the divine consciousness through sense control practiced by the sages of the Vedic tradition. Yoga is generally practiced today as an exercise routine due to the health benefits it provides, but the original purpose of the system was to detach the mind from the senses. Just as one who can avoid anger and rage is considered superior to one who can’t, the ability to control the mind and detach it from all objects of sense interaction is considered a superior skill. One who practices the various breathing exercises and gymnastics poses properly can thus acquire what are known as siddhis, or perfections. Because perfections are so difficult to attain, most yogis typically choose to focus their efforts on one or two siddhis. An expert yogi can become larger than the largest object, have out-of-body experiences by travelling through outer space, and survive for long periods of time without breathing. Hanuman, not surprisingly, had mastery over all the siddhis without having to put forth any extra effort. He had no desire to change his shape or travel through space, but these abilities were given to him for a reason. His time to shine would come soon enough.
Hanuman knew that Rama was someone special, but through the workings of nature and the desire to evoke the natural loving sentiments from His devotee Rama enveloped a cloud of ignorance around His closest associates. While Rama was residing in the forest of Dandaka with His younger brother 
Hanuman always chooses whatever form is necessary to accomplish his task. His mastery over yoga isn’t even used for sense control or the ability to perform gymnastics feats. He has no concern over living very long, though the duration of his stay on earth is fixed for as long as Rama’s story continues to be told. Indeed, there is no end to the glories of Hanuman; we can only begin to understand them by studying his behavior described in the Ramayana and other texts. While the different forms assumed by Hanuman in service to Rama are amazing to behold, his love and devotion to the jewel of the Raghu dynasty are far more awe-inspiring. Not surprisingly, Hanuman would successfully find Sita, temporarily allay her fears, set fire to the city of Lanka and return to Rama’s camp. The entire Vanara army, led by Rama and Lakshmana, would then march to Lanka and soundly defeat the enemy. Sita would be rescued, Rama would be made happy, and Hanuman would be forever glorified. To this day, he is always associated with Sita, Rama and Lakshmana. One can hear of his exploits over and over again and never tire of appreciating his glorious nature.
“Thus the inhabitants of Vrindavana do not care who is God, and who is not. They love Krishna, that's all. Those who think of first analyzing Krishna to determine whether He is God are not first-class devotees. The first-class devotees are those who have spontaneous love for Krishna.” (Shrila 
As upstanding citizens of the community wholly adherent to the orders of their varna, or caste, the citizens of Vrajabhumi are cowherds by trade, so they take special care to ensure that the cows are protected and happy. In this wonderful town no animal is ever killed unnecessarily, and due to the purity of thought enveloping everyone’s consciousness, even the accidental deaths of the insects caused by walking on the bare ground are mourned, for the kind-hearted citizens understand the essence of life and the fragile nature of everything in the world around them. The men and women of Vrindavana are the epitomes of virtue, and they staunchly abide by the traditions passed down to them, law codes, rituals and regulations that have as their origin the spoken word of the original form of Godhead, the supreme object of all religious practice.
There was the female demon Putana, who though possessing a hideous form, came to Vrajabhumi in the guise of a nurse ready to administer poison to young Krishna. Despite her motive, the sweet 
It is the opinion of 
As Lord Chaitanya so nicely points out, the residents of Vrindavana are the purest of the pure, and of the pure residents, the gopis represent the pinnacle of spiritual enlightenment, for they swim in the ocean of nectarean bliss that is Krishna-bhakti. More than any other factor, consciousness is what determines our state of being, whether or not we are happy. Let’s say for instance that we enjoy watching movies and television shows. Since life involves much struggle and work simply to maintain the body, leisure time is greatly anticipated. The arduous worker wants to make the best use of their free time, so watching television and listening to music are considered relaxing exercises.
Since consciousness serves as the key determining factor in mental outlook and happiness, if it has something tangible to focus on, that one object or person that brings about the highest pleasure, the stream of pure thoughts will never end. Indeed, Maharishi 
Does this mean that the intelligent shouldn’t analyze Krishna? Should we not describe Him as God? Since our consciousness has been fixed on so many things not personally related to Krishna for so long, any knowledge pertaining to His qualities, features, pastimes and desires is very helpful. The residents of Vrindavana can be worshiped, but there is no need to imitate their behavior without properly conditioning ourselves through steady spiritual practice. Just as Mother Yashoda would derive great pleasure by singing about the pastimes of her dear son throughout the day while working, if we simply chant, “
“Having made up his mind thus, that heroic monkey, Hanuman, eager to see Vaidehi, wished for the sun to set.” (Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara Kand, 2.48)
These events transpired in the Treta Yuga, the second time period of creation. The Supreme Absolute Truth is meditated upon by yogis and discussed by scholars of transcendentalism looking to negate the various illusory aspects of the phenomenal world. But despite how this original Divine Being is approached, His position as the supreme object of worship remains unchanged. Irrespective of how one views God or addresses Him, His actual position is forever fixed. And what exactly is this position? There are three aspects to the Supreme Energetic Personality in the spiritual sky that are helpful for the conditioned entity looking for respite from their toils in the temporary world full of misery and heartache to know. The first property is self-evident: God is the original proprietor of everything. We may purchase a piece of land from someone else or settle upon an area of earth and proclaim it to be ours, but all objects of matter have an original creator. As man is incapable of creating life without the hand of spirit, the proof of ownership of the entire creation naturally falls into the Lord’s hands.
In the Vedic tradition, the Supreme Lord is known by thousands of names, the most complete, concise, and pleasurable to recite of which is Krishna, a Sanskrit word which means all-attractive. Not only is Krishna’s position fixed in the spiritual world, the realm situated far above our current abode, but His residence within our hearts is also permanent. There is not a single form of life that does not have this divine expansion residing within them. Since this form of the Lord, which is known as the Paramatma, or Supersoul, is not visually manifest to the conditioned eye, it can be addressed as the nirguna form, or the form of the Truth that is without attributes. The nirguna aspect is also sometimes described as alakshya, or invisible. These descriptions are entirely from the perspective of one who doesn’t have the vision to see the Lord. Just as sometimes we’ll say that the sun is not out today, Krishna, as remaining firmly locked inside of our hearts, can be considered to not be manifest before us in a form that has identifiable attributes. But just as the sun’s position remains completely unchanged irrespective of how we describe it, the Supreme Lord forever retains a transcendental body which is full of form, bliss and knowledge.
The dry renunciate, he who has yet to understand the personal nature of the Supreme Absolute Truth, will only take to worshiping the Lord’s unmanifest form. Not understanding that Krishna possesses a transcendental body, the yogi inclined towards meditation will at best be able to contemplate on the exterior effulgence beamed off the Lord’s immeasurably large transcendental body. Since this jyoti, or light, is full of Truth, it is also considered a representation of Krishna, an energy known as Brahman. For one who exclusively worships Brahman, which itself is formless and thus not a candidate for being considered an object, the renounced order of life, or sannyasa, is a requirement. It is for this reason that parents of children who take an interest in the spiritual traditions of the Vedas often get frightened that their beloved offspring will abandon worldly life at an early age and take to begging and destitution. From studying the example of Shri Hanuman, who wasn’t a formally acknowledged sannyasi but still exhibited all the qualities of one, we see that the renounced order of life, when taken to properly, actually has nothing to do with giving up passion. Since the Lord’s personal form is the reservoir of all pleasure, simply meditating on His associated effulgence has no possibility of bringing lasting happiness. One who directly worships Krishna or one of His non-different personal expansions always keeps the flame of devotional service alight. In such a state, there is always eagerness to serve the fountainhead of both the manifested and the unmanifested forms. Indeed, the pure devotee understands the true nature of the expansion of Krishna residing within the heart; thus the worship they perform through remembrance and contemplation on the nirguna form is just as potent and pleasure-giving as their outward worship.
Regardless, the purpose of the Lord’s incarnation is much more intricate than that of saving people from the perils of impersonalism. Indeed, as the supreme object of pleasure, Bhagavan creates situations that allow others to offer their kind service to Him, a practice that every individual, as a spirit soul, is naturally inclined to perform. Divine love, or bhakti, is a characteristic of spirit that can never be removed. In the conditioned state, this loving propensity can be clouded or misdirected to other areas. Even hatred is a product of the bhakti mindset, as it is simply the inversion of the divine loving propensity.
Hanuman put his qualities to good use by leaping his way across a massive ocean and reaching the outskirts of the capital city of the most powerful ogre, Ravana. Hanuman, in addition to being tasked with finding Sita, was also asked to give her the precious ring belonging to Rama as an indication of the authenticity of his purpose. Sita was surely in a grief-stricken position, so she wouldn’t be overly trusting of anyone approaching her, let alone someone in a monkey form. Rama’s ring would serve as Hanuman’s offering to Sita. In the Vedic tradition, when there is worship of the deity or the 
It should be noted that Sita Devi was considered the most beautiful woman to have ever roamed the earth at the time. This is what led Ravana to hatch the ill-fated plot to take her away from Rama’s side. This plot is correctly identified as ill-fated because even though he was able to successfully take Sita away while Rama was not by her side, this move would prove to be fatal to Ravana, as his opulence, position of power, and kingdom would be destroyed as a result. Even though Hanuman had never met Sita, he was still very anxious to see her. He had no desire to enjoy her beauty or take her for himself. As a pure lover of God, he naturally held great affection for any and all of Rama’s immediate family members; such is the glorious nature of Hanuman. Though he is capable of worshiping the Lord perfectly within his heart and mind, Hanuman is just as anxious, if not more, to serve the visual manifestations, the personal forms of the Lord.
We should all take full advantage of both inward worship through meditation and