Call and Response Special Edition Conversations With KD October 10 2020

Taking time to look back and move forward. Conversations With KD episodes are derived from the recordings of KD’s online events from his home during the 2020/ 2021 days of social distancing and quarantine from the onset of COVID and beyond.

Call and Response Special Edition – Conversations With KD October 10, 2020

“You are the protector of sadhus and good people. You are ever a support to devotees.

You even fulfill the desires of wicked people when they take refuge in you.

Why should anyone be surprised by this? It is simply the nature of a true saint.

So please now have that kind of compassion on me and purify my mind and heart.” – Krishna Das, reading from the Vinaya Chalisa

I’m taking over.  Good morning, everybody. It’s always morning somewhere, and that’s usually wherever I am.

So, we’re still here. Amazing. How’s everybody doing? I hope everybody’s okay.

Let’s just do the Hanumat Stavan, as we start. As you know, this is a prayer to Hanuman, a short prayer, and it describes many of the qualities that he has and many of the things that he’s accomplished and the things that he did. First, I’ll sing it, and then and then I’ll point another thing out to you at the end.

Pranawun Pawanakumaar khala bana paawaka gyaana ghana

Jaasu hridaya aagaar basahin Raama sara chaapa dhara

Atulita bala dhaamam hemashailaa badeham

Danujawana krishaanum gyaaninaama graganyam

Sakala guuna nidhaanam vaanaraa naama dheesham

Raghupati priya bhaktam vaata jaatam namaami

Goshpadee krita vaareesham mashakee krita raakshasam

Raamaayana mahaamaala ratnam vande neelaatmajam

Anjanaa nandanam veeram Jaanakee shoka naashanam

Kapeesha makshahantaaram vande Lankaa bhayankaram

Ulangya sindho salilam saleelam

Yah shokarvahni janakaatma jaayah

Aadaaya tenaiva dadaaha lankaa

Namaami tam praanjalir aanjaneyam

Manojavam Maaruta tuulya wegam

Jitendriyam buddhimataaåm warishtam

Vaataatmajam vaanara yuuta mukhyam

Shree Raamaduutam sharanam prapadhye

Aanjaneya mati paatalaananam

Kaanchanaadri kamaneeya vigraham

Paarijaata taru moola vaasinam

Bhaavayaami pavamaana nandanam

Yatra yatra Raghunaatha keertanam

Tatra tatra krita masta kaanjali

Vashapawaari paripurna lochanam

Maarutin namata raaksha saantakam

Bolo Bajrangbalee Hanumana Ki Jai

I don’t have the book here, but the last couple of verses really struck me very strongly, powerfully one time, many years ago.  It describes Hanuman sitting at the foot of this tree, a special tree called the Parijat tree, which I think is, it’s supposed to be up in heaven somewhere. And it describes him as sitting there with his eyes full of tears, of bhava, of love for Ram, and I understood that this is how he is. He’s always in that feeling, in that flow of grace with Ram. With Ram. And it’s only when he has to do some service that he manifests whatever’s necessary to serve, and to serve Ram, to serve and to destroy suffering, but when he’s not being asked to serve or there’s nothing to do, he’s sitting there, lost in love, all the time.

This prayer is really like a visualization, like they have in Buddhism, Vajrayana, where you visualize a Being and you commune with that Being. So, this is really very much a visualization for Hanuman.

But for me, Maharajji is Hanuman, and someone once asked me, some Baba in India asked me, you know, who’s your Ishta Devata, who do you worship? And I said, “Well, Guru.”

“Oh, very good. Very good.”

So, we see Maharajji as Hanuman. He’s always engaged in helping people, all the time, everything. Dada used to say he has two blankets, an outer blanket, and an inner blanket. The outer blanket hides his body from us,