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“Thus worrying over not being able to see Sita, with a mind seized with lamentation the Vanara began to consider: ‘As long as I have not found Rama’s illustrious wife Sita, I will explore the city of Lanka again and again.’” (
Oh sure, Hanuman almost did give up. He was on the brink of failure, trapped on the other side of the ocean of distress without a life-raft to save him. The situation was perhaps worse than being stranded on a deserted island. At least on an island there is the chance of doing some work to find rescue. You can construct a raft, figure out how to live happily, or just sit and wait to be rescued. The sea of mental distress, however, is more agonizing. The fear of failure and knowing that you let countless other people down cause so much pain within the mind that you don’t want to live anymore. This was how Hanuman felt.
Yet as wonderful as these gifts were, Rama granted Hanuman an even greater boon. It is said that the holy name of the Lord is more powerful than His impersonal aspect known as Brahman. It has also proven to give boons to those who are themselves capable of giving boons to others. Brahman is spirit, truth, the all-pervading spiritual energy. Every living entity is Brahman. Even the material substance is part of Brahman, the mahat-tattva, but generally Brahman is equated with the living entities. Understanding Brahman is very difficult; it takes many lifetimes for one to be fortunate enough to learn what it is, and then following procedures and guidelines aimed at realizing it is even more difficult.
For the sparks of Brahman travelling on the train of 
If this mission were related to his personal business, Hanuman might have quit. But since he was acting in Rama’s favor, he would not give up. Anyone who was rooting for Hanuman to fail would be disappointed in the end. In the above referenced verse from the 
Science Daily — Meticulous mapping and excavations at an ancient cave in the Yucatan Peninsula are revealing the vitality of the site to the ancient Maya -- for both religious ritual and human survival. The University of Cincinnati research will be a key topic of discussion on Feb. 24, at the annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers in New York.
Researcher Nicholas Dunning, a UC professor of geography, says the cave, located in the ancient ruins of the city of Xcoch, was used continuously from at least 800 BC until the 19th century, when it was still used for rituals. UC geography doctoral student Eric Weaver has led a team mapping Xcoch Cave, assisted by other experienced cavers including UC biology graduate students Beth Cortright and Jane Slater.The city is located in the elevated Puuc Region of the Yucatan in Mexico. The city -- featuring a great pyramid and other elaborate architecture -- was built above one of the few cave systems in the region that penetrates the permanent water table. Mapping and excavations of the ancient city revealed a network of cisterns and reservoirs that fed the community's water supply. The cave exploration has discovered hills of broken pottery and charred sacrifices, also indicating the cave was a key religious site that involved worship of the rain gods.
"This is in a region that has no surface water," says Dunning. "There are only a handful of caves that go deep enough to get to the permanent water table, so for anyplace that's bone dry for five months out of the year, this is a pretty special location."
Two large reservoirs are located in the middle of the city -- next to the monumental architecture -- and the smaller reservoirs and cisterns extend into the residential area and surrounding farm land.
Dunning says the area was by far the largest city in the region during the Preclassic Period around 800 BC to 100 AD, but adds that there are significant signs the city was abandoned between 100 AD and 300 AD, most likely due to drought.
"The Maya built a stairway to the cave entrance that we have to crawl in to enter and look for stalagmites -- cave formations," says Dunning. "Since this is a seasonal climate, the stalagmites act in the way that tree rings do -- recording the rainfall -- because they only grow during a part of the year when there's rain."
The field work is far from glamorous. Entering the deep cave involves a good deal of crawling through long, narrow tunnels. The summer expeditions also involve working in hot, humid temperatures that can rise as high as 105 degrees. "The oxygen content is so low, you can't even light a match," says Dunning.
"We found all kinds of broken pottery," Dunning says. "The Maya 'sacrificed' pottery by putting materials in it, then ritually killing it, as a means of releasing its essence, or to receive blessings from the rain gods with their sacrifices," Dunning says. Human and animal remains were also found, but researchers are still exploring whether those remains were sacrifices or burials.
Authors on the paper include Dunning, Xcoch project director Michael Smyth, an anthropological archaeologist for The Foundation for Americas Research, Eric Weaver and Philip van Beynen, professor of geography and environmental science at the University of South Florida.
Funding for the project was supported by a grant through the National Science Foundation Arctic Social Science Program awarded to The Foundation for Americas Research.
Defects in a protein that functions as a dietary fat sensor may be a cause of obesity and liver disease. (Credit: © Luis Louro / Fotolia) 
A University of Arkansas biologist has created a sketch of what the first common ancestor of plants and algae may have looked like. (Credit: Courtesy Preston Huey and Science) 
“To know one's constitutional position means to know also the sublime position of the Lord. One who wrongly thinks that the living entity's position and the Lord's position are on the same level is to be understood to be in darkness and therefore unable to engage himself in the devotional service of the Lord.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Bhagavad-gita, 2.51 Purport)
The Vedas are the true light of knowledge, so remaining in constant contact with them through the information presented by its most highly qualified teachers keeps the proper identity of the self intact. By following Vedic guidelines for abstention from material association, detachment from the constant ups and downs of life, and recitation of the sacred syllable om, which represents the Absolute Truth, one can become Brahman realized, or brahma-bhutah.
One famous divine figure during her time on earth had never met Parabrahman in His original position as Shri Krishna, but since she had heard about Him, she knew that He was the only person she wanted to marry. The sound vibrations she took in describing Krishna’s features painted the mental picture within her mind, which allowed this most beautiful princess, Rukmini Devi, to fully surrender herself to Him. Though she wasn’t a transcendentalist consciously looking to understand the self, simply by harboring attraction for Krishna, from hearing about His features, she was intimately familiar with her own constitutional position.