Religion & Spirituality
Namaste and welcome to another episode of Neem Karoli Baba’s miracles of love and compassion. Neem Karoli Baba or Maharaj Ji said that every line of the Hanuman Chalisa, composed by the Indian poet Shri Tulasidas, is a maha mantra. Now, what exactly is a maha mantra? The word maha in Sanskrit and Hindi means the greatest and the most potent of all. So a maha mantra is the most powerful sacred chant for deliverance. As author Stephen Knapp explains in simple words, the chanting of a maha mantra uplifts a person’s mind and life condition in multiple manners. Every line of the Hanuman Chalisa is indeed such a mahamantra. In today’s testing times, when the world is battling a pandemic, intolerance, terrorism, fundamentalism and self-centered politicians, there’s plenty of negativity to shake our existence. The Hanuman Chalisa is the perfect antidote for that. Let’s take the pandemic caused by the COVID 19 virus. There’s a remarkable message hidden in two lines of the Hanuman Chalisa for all of us to acknowledge, realize, and celebrate. Tulsidas writes, Jam, Kuber Digpal Jahan te Kavi Kovid kahi sake kahan te. Did you hear that? The word Kovid is in the lines above. Although the Hindi meaning of Kovid differs from the English one, the overall message of finding refuge at the feet of Lord Hanuman from the fear of death is loud and clear. Let's understand the above lines from the Hanuman Chalisa. In Jam kuber digpal jahan te, kavii kovid kahi sake kahan te, Tulasidas says Oh Lord Hanuman, even Jam or the God of Death, Kuber, the god of wealth and Digpal, or the guardians of all 10 directions, have to surrender to your immaculate glory and sing your praises. No poet’s lofty composition or kovid in Hindi is good enough to describe your supreme power as the eternal protector of everything and everyone. Not even death dares to come close to you since Yama or the God of death falls at your feet, begging for mercy. Let's extrapolate that to the pandemic situation. The Covid19 Coronavirus has brought about the fear of death and loss from an invisible enemy, in everybody’s mind. While the scientific world races ahead to find a cure, we take the right precautions meanwhile and fall back on our devotion to Lord Hanuman to remove the fear of death from the COVID pandemic. Neem Karoli Baba always said be sincere and don’t hurt anyone. I am sure he would have wanted all his devotees to act responsibly and take the right precautions when moving in public. Everybody’s life is equal and no one’s life is lesser precious than yours. Just as Lord Rama built a bridge to Lanka with a massive army of monkeys, we all have to build a bridge over this sea of COVID pandemic by collaborating together with each other. And don’t forget Tulasidas ji’s precious lines from the Hanuman Chalisa, Jam kuber digpal jahan te Kavi kovid kahi sake kahan te, Let's all pray to Lord Hanuman and Neem Karoli Baba to give us the strength to defeat the COVID pandemic and keep Jam or Death away from near and dear ones. I’m your narrator, Sourav Roy and I’ll be back soon with more stories of Neem Karoli Baba’s miracles of love and compassion. Ram Ram === Follow us on @neemancipation on Instagram for more stories on the life and times of Neem Karoli Baba.