by Vanamali
Aum Sri Ganeshaya Namaha!
Salutations to
Lord Ganesha!
May He remove all obstacles on the path of this scribe
and enable her to write this book on
the lilas of
Sri Hanuman.
Aum Anjaneyaaya Vidmahe.
Vayu putraaya deemahi,
Tanno Hanumath prachodayaath.
I contemplate on Anjaneya,
I meditate on the son of Vayu,
May He give me enlightenment.
♦
Dedicated to my dearest friend, Nilli,
one of the greatest bhaktas of Sri Hanuman.
Benediction given by Sri Neeb Karoli Baba
as conveyed by his chief disciple Sri Siddhi Ma.
Hanuman sama nahi bad bhagi
Nahi kou Ram charana anuraagi,
Pavana tanaya bala pavana samana
Buddhi viveka vijnana nidhana
Kavana so kaaj katthin jaga maahi
Jo nahi chod tatha thum pahi.
There is no one as fortunate as Hanuman,
No one who has as much love for the feet of Rama,
Son of the wind god, who equals him (the wind) in strength,
Repository of intelligence, discrimination, and understanding.
O Dear One! If you shower your grace
No task is difficult in this world.
HANUMAN CHALISA BY TULSIDAS
HANUMAN
“Vanamali Devi has done a beautiful and inspiring job of making Hanuman a palpable life, worthy of love, devotion, and respect.”
NAYASWAMI KRIYANANDA, AUTHOR AND SWAMI
OF THE GIRI (MOUNTAIN) BRANCH OF
THE ANCIENT SWAMI ORDER
“Vanamali’s work is Universal and helpful for people in all walks of life.”
SHIVARUDRA BALAYOGI MAHARAJ
Contents
Title Page
Dedication
Foreword by Sri Krishna Das
Introduction
Chapter 1. Mahavira—The Historic Hanuman
Chapter 2. Anjaneya—Son of Anjana
Chapter 3. Kesari Putra—Son of Kesari
Chapter 4. Vayu Putra—Son of Vayu
Chapter 5. Maruti—Flight to the Sun
Chapter 6. Kesari Nandana—Hanuman’s Education
Chapter 7. Jitendriya—Conqueror of the Senses
Chapter 8. Sugriva Mitram—Friend of Sugriva
Chapter 9. Ramadasa—The Famous Encounter
Chapter 10. Pranadeva—The Killing of Vaali
Chapter 11. Ramadhuta—Messenger of Rama
Chapter 12. Sundara—The Book of Beauty
Chapter 13. Pavana Putra—Search for Sita
Chapter 14. Sankata Mochana—Dispeller of Sorrow
Chapter 15. Bajarangabali—The Burning of Lanka
Chapter 16. Shoora—The Faithful Servant
Chapter 17. Mahatman—Ravana’s Council of War
Chapter 18. Bhaktavatsala—Rama Gives Sanctuary
Chapter 19. Mahatejasvin—The Siege of Lanka
Chapter 20. Vatamaja—The War Continues
Chapter 21. Daityakulantaka—The Fall of Kumbhakarna
Chapter 22. Lakshmana Pranadhata—Savior of Lakshmana
Chapter 23. Kapindra—The End of Indrajit
Chapter 24. Mahabala—Journey to Patala
Chapter 25. Rudrasya-Soonu—Fight to the Finish
Chapter 26. Virupa—The End of Ravana
Chapter 27. Uttaman—Trial by Fire
Chapter 28. Sahasravadana—Return to Ayodhya
Chapter 29. Shubangana—Dharma Triumphs
Chapter 30. Veera—Sita Abandoned
Chapter 31. Ramapriyan—The Ramayana
Chapter 32. Lokabandu—Ashwamedha Yaga
Chapter 33. Tapaswin—Dwapara Yuga
Chapter 34. Bhima—The Mahabharata
Chapter 35. Shubham—Kali Yuga
Chapter 36. Mangala Murti—The Auspicious Form
Appendix One. Poems on Hanuman
Appendix Two. Names of Hanuman
Appendix Three. Names of Other Characters in the Hindu Pantheon
Appendix Four. Alphabetical List of Mantras
Glossary of Sanskrit Terms
Bibliography
About the Author
About Inner Traditions • Bear & Company
Copyright & Permissions
Aum Sri Ramaaya Namaha!
Foreword
Sri Vanamali is a rare being. She is a Devotee of the Lord in all his forms who has been blessed with the compassionate desire to communicate his lilas (divine acts of play) to the English-speaking world.
In the West, there are many new devotees who desperately need access to the revered ancient Scriptures of India. Sri Vanamali comes as the cool breeze of grace, filling the hearts and minds of the thirsty devotees with the stories of the Lord’s joyous play. In this book on Sri Hanumanji, as in all her other books, she gives us access to the inner worlds of our Beloved’s lilas.
Sri Hanuman is the greatest of all devotees of the Lord. He is a jnani (one in complete knowledge) in the fullest sense of the word. He has merged with his Lord, Sri Rama, in his own being, and he sees his Lord in everything and everyone. His realization of the truth does not end there.
As Sri Krishna says,
And when he sees me in all and sees all in me,
Then I never leave him and he never leaves me.
And he, who in this oneness of love
Loves me in whatever he sees,
Wherever this man may live,
In truth, he lives in me...
BHAGAVAD GITA, CHAPTER 6
This is the key to understanding Sri Hanuman. He serves Sri Rama in all beings by removing the obstacles to those beings realizing the truth in themselves. He sees that, in fact, there ARE no “other” beings, only Rama. Motivated by love born of Truth that manifests as compassion for beings who believe themselves to be separate, he works tirelessly to remove their suffering.
Another mystery of Sri Hanuman was revealed by Sri Neem Karoli Baba to one of his great old devotees, Dada Mukerjee. A small party of devotees had, along with Maharaji, climbed to the top of Hanuman Dhara in Chitrakut. They rested by the spring that comes out from the rock at the top of the hill.
Maharaji said to Dada, “This is where Hanumanji came to calm himself and to cool himself off after burning Lanka.”
Then after a few seconds he said very softly, as if to himself, “Of course, Hanumanji was always at peace.”
No matter what he was doing—burning Lanka, destroying the demons, singing Ram Naam, or serving the devotees—Hanuman was never outside of Sri Rama’s being.
May the Lord be gracious to all.
SRI KRISHNA DAS
Sri Krishna Das is well known to all lovers of music, especially in the West, for his numerous recordings of heartrending devotional lyrics. Even though he is known as Krishna Das, he could just as easily be called Ram Das or Hanuman Das, since he is a devotee of both.
Aum Sri Hanumathe Namaha!
Aum Sri Ramachandraaya Namaha!
Introduction
Yatra Yatra Raghunatha Kirtanam
Tatra Tatra Krita Mastaka anjalim
Bashpavari pari purna lochanam
Marutim nammascha raakshasantakam.
I bow to Maruti, the destroyer of demons,
Who stands with folded palms,
In all the places where the glories of Sri Rama are sung,
Shedding tears of devotion and joy.
RAMACHARITAMANAS BY TULSIDAS
Modern science may claim to have traced the mechanical laws of evolution, but the ancient rishis (sages) of India discovered the spiritual law of eternal values called the Sanatana Dharma (eternal law), the divine thrust inh
erent in the human psyche that enables it to attain greater heights of evolution. This is the great contribution that India has made to the world, one that inspires in human beings a strong desire to shake off their humanity and bring to light the inherent divinity within. This is what is known as enlightenment. Age after age, India has produced enlightened souls who have continuously renewed and refreshed this great dharma—the Sanatana Dharma—and made it available to the whole of the human race. The sages wanted our country to progress not just materially but through a constant inner renewal of the cosmic law of righteousness that is guided by the wisdom embedded in our heritage.
The great verse epics of our country called the Mahabharata and Ramayana, and the massive assemblage of narratives known as the Puranas, are thus storehouses of wisdom, and by reading them, our spiritual evolution will be hastened. Truth is a matter of direct realization by our own individual efforts, but the sages gave us many different methods to attain it. These saints were great souls who were far above the vulgar herd who merely want to see their names emblazoned in anything they write. Thus, their names remain a mystery. We can show our gratitude to them only by trying out the many paths they gave us.
We find a great urge on their part to share their vital experiences with all those who have the hearts to understand. This experience is the highest available to the human psyche and is known as brahmajnana (knowledge of Supreme Spirit or Brahman). The knowledge by itself is not the aim of life. It has to become a living understanding in which we actually experience the unity of life underlying all living beings—in fact, the entire cosmos. From this is born an overwhelming love for the whole of creation and a burning desire to see human beings free themselves from the strangling limitations and illusions of this waking world of our common experience. This type of love is totally unselfish, characterized by a deep desire to share one’s most cherished possession with the whole of humanity. Thus, we see that the rishis tried every means in their power to enable our tragic and ignorant human race to acquire that which was the sumum bonum of human life. Every human being is nothing but a reflection of the divine. Involvement in the illusions of this world alone stops us from realizing our divinity.
The Upanishads give us the path of jnana, or spiritual wisdom, which is difficult for many to follow. They appeal only to those who are already endowed with great spiritual leanings. However, it is said that the Absolute, Timeless, and Formless Presence descends to this mortal plane in the form of the gods for certain mysterious purposes of Its own. This is known as the lila, or the play of god. The sages who came after the age of the Upanishads were determined to cater to the majority of human beings who might not have had any spiritual leanings at all. They resorted to bringing the truths of the Upanishads forcibly to the minds of the average human being in the form of stories. The sage Vyasa, author of the Mahabharata, was the greatest of these storytellers. He said that if we listen carefully to a story, we will never be the same again. The story, especially if it has some spiritual basis, will worm its way into our heart and break down our self-constructed barriers to the divine. Even if we start off by reading these stories as entertainment, one or two of them will eventually slip through our defenses and explode the hard shell of our humanity to disclose our divinity. These stories have an inexhaustible vitality in them so that people are never tired of hearing them. They can be listened to or read and pondered over, and thus are capable of promoting in the listener a deep understanding of life, death, and destiny. Every story had implicit in it a moral value that is likened to the fragrance of a beautiful flower. The rishis taught us that all forms are the letters of a form-word-power alphabet of a language that can help us to realize our spiritual reality, unconditioned by any form yet the supreme source of all forms.
The path of bhakti, or devotion to a personal God, is forcibly brought out in the epics and Puranas, which tell stories of the great incarnations and of the numerous gods of the Hindu pantheon who are completely in tune with the truth of life. The culture of the Indian subcontinent was developed in the climate of these great epics. Every child was taught to emulate the classic examples given therein and thus bring his or her own life to perfection. The Hindu mind had no difficulty in picturing the Supreme in the form of either animal or human. Thus we find Ganesha, depicted as a human being with the head of an elephant, and Hanuman, who was a monkey.
Hanuman is one of the most beloved figures in the Hindu pantheon of gods called Kimpurushas, mystic beings that are half-human and half-animal. He is the symbol of utter and selfless devotion to his supreme deity, Sri Rama, the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu, scion of the solar race, the pinnacle of human perfection. Hanuman’s entire strength came through the repetition of the name of Rama, the greatest mantra for this age of Kali, which if chanted with devotion, is said to give liberation from the coils of mortal life. Every temple of Rama has a figure of Hanuman seated at his feet and bowing to him. Wherever the Ramayana is read or recited, a seat is left vacant for Hanuman, since it is believed that he is always present at the reading of the story of his beloved master.
Perhaps the Western reader can best be introduced to the Ramayana by recalling Homer’s Odyssey, another well-known ancient epic, in which the Greek hero Odysseus goes through many trials and adventures before reuniting with his faithful wife Penelope. But Rama, as an incarnation of the god Vishnu, second of the Vedic triune gods, is on a divine quest. He subdues the demon king Ravana and restores the balance of good and evil on Earth. The lecherous and prideful Ravana represents the monster we can become when we give our baser instincts full reign. By contrast, Rama is seen as the supreme glory of mankind and teaches us how to behave with valor, dignity, compassion, and chilvalry. He is the epitome of a great ruler and husband. His wife Sita is the embodiment of earthly grace, beauty, and virtue. Rama has been described as the sun, or divine consciousness, and Sita as the light of its warming rays on Earth. As Sita says in Valmiki’s Ramayana, 5.21.15, “I am as inseparable from Rama as radiance is from the sun.” Together, they make up the ideal couple and the verses describing their love are some of the most beautiful ever written. Hanuman, son of the wind god, is the breath that unites them. As a lowly simian, he would not be expected to embody total self-control and discipline, and yet by concentration of mind, he accomplishes just that, ever steadfast in helping his lord Rama to defeat the demon king and rescue Sita. He shows the reader that if he too concentrates his mind on the divine and never wavers, he can control his baser instincts and merge with supreme consciousness. Hanuman is sometimes described as the world’s first Superman and, as such, his stories can be appreciated even by young children. He accomplishes feats of amazing strength, but it is his personal commitment to principles of valor and justice, along with his humble demeanor, that help make him such an admired figure. In India today, there exist popular cartoons depicting the many breathtaking feats of Hanuman. However, as stated, the figures of Rama, his wife Sita, the monkey god Hanuman, the demon god Ravana, and others who figure prominently in the Ramayana are all part of a most profound philosophical and religious allegory that can be appreciated on a variety of levels, and this is why these exciting stories have endured through many millennia.
The Sanskrit word sadhana refers to any method by which the aspirant, or sadhaka, can establish contact with the inner realms of being. One of the easiest methods of sadhana is known as japa, or the repetition of the name of God in whatever form we picture him. Hanuman gives us the image of an animal that attained perfection solely by chanting the name of Rama, his personal deity, and of the utter and complete self-abnegation of his interests to that of his Lord and god Rama. Humility and selflessness are measures of our knowledge. The more we know, the more we realize how little we know and how little we can do by ourselves.
As stated, according to legend, Hanuman is the son of the wind god. Air sustains all living beings. One can exist without food, spend days without water, but it is impossible to exist even for a short time witho
ut air. Air is life. Therefore, Hanuman is also called Pranadeva, or the God of Breath or Life.
Vaishnavites, or followers of Vishnu, believe that the wind god Vayu underwent three incarnations to help Lord Vishnu. As Hanuman, he helped Rama, as Bhima, he assisted Krishna, and as Madhvacharya (1238–1317), he founded the Vaishnava sect known as Dvaita.
In Hindu symbolism, a monkey signifies the human mind, which is ever restless and never still. This monkey mind happens to be the only thing over which man can have absolute control. We cannot control the world around us, but we can control and tame our mind by ardent discipline. We cannot choose our life, but we can choose the way we respond to it. Truly, Hanuman is symbolic of the perfect mind and embodies the highest potential it can achieve. He is the true picture of the sthitha prajna (man of steady intellect) of the Bhagavad Gita (literally, Song of God) and had perfect control over his mind. The name Hanuman gives a clue to his character. It is a combination of two Sanskrit words, hanan (annihilation) and man (mind), thus indicating one who has conquered his ego. According to yoga (a physical or mental technique practiced to facilitate union with the Divine), the body is only an extension of the mind. Hence Hanuman, with perfect mastery over his mind, had the most developed body. He is sometimes called Bajarangabali (one whose body is like a thunderbolt and whose movements are like lightning). He is so strong that he can lift mountains, so agile that he can leap across the sea.
