by Vanamali
His strength is proverbial, and thus he is the patron of physical culture. His image is enshrined in gymnasiums all over India and wrestlers worship him before commencing their practice. The yogasana (yogic position) known as surya namaskara, or salutation to the sun god, is a mixture of all the main yogic postures combined with devotion, and it was composed by Hanuman in honor of his celestial guru, Surya. Vayu, his celestial father, taught him pranayama, or the science of breath control, which he in turn taught to human beings.
The scriptures refer to several events where Hanuman exhibited his power over the celestial bodies, including the sun and Saturn. Hence he gained power over the navagrahas, or nine planets of Hindu cosmology. These planets are Ravi, the sun; Soma, the moon; Mangal, Mars; Buddha, Mercury; Brihaspati, Jupiter; Shukra, Venus; Shani, Saturn; the bodiless, Rahu (the north node of the moon) and the headless, Ketu (the south node of the moon). Their alignment in the astrological chart is supposed to decide a person’s destiny. In many of his images, Hanuman is shown trampling a woman and holding her by her braid. This woman embodies Panavati, or baneful astrological influences.
Sorcerers manipulate cosmic powers to invoke malevolent spirits. People normally call upon Hanuman to protect them from such people. When Ravana invoked two such sorcerers, Ahiravana and Mahiravana, Hanuman turned the tables on them and invoked the power of Kaali to subdue them. Many practitioners of Tantra worship him because he has many siddhis, or supernatural powers, such as the ability to change his size and the ability to fly, which he gained through his strict brahmacharya (celibacy) and tapasya (austerity). Thus he displays the dual characteristics of bhakti (devotion) and shakti (divine energy). Either one or the other is given prominence in his shrines.
He is also the patron of Ayurvedic healers, since he played a vital role in saving Lakshmana’s life by bringing him the magic herb from the Himalayas. He later saved Shatrughna’s life with the same herb. Lakshmana and Shatrughna were twins who were also Rama’s younger brothers.
As a warrior, Hanuman has no parallel. He uses both strength and guile to overpower the enemy. This was exhibited many times during the war with the king of the demons, Ravana. He used both brawn and brain to achieve victory over his enemies.
Hanuman was also a master diplomat. He knew how to speak sweetly and make others see his side of the matter without the use of force. Hence, he was the spokesman for Sugriva, the monkey king, when he approached Rama to find out his intentions. Again Sugriva sent him to try and subdue Lakshmana’s anger at his own lapse. Rama sent him as his envoy to Sita twice—once to the island fortress of Lanka carrying his signet ring, and again to fetch her after the war. He also sent him to his brother Bharata to find out his intentions before setting foot in Ayodhya. All those who came into contact with him were most impressed by his diplomatic method of talking and by his beguiling ways.
Hanuman impressed both Rama and his antagonist Ravana by his mastery over language: his impeccable grammar, his choice of the right word at the right moment and in the right context, and his perfect diction.
Strangely enough, he was also a great musician. He had been blessed by the goddess Saraswati and was thus able to play on the lute and sing lyrics in praise of Rama. He was the first to sing bhajans (songs of adoration) and kirtans (songs of praise). His music was an outpouring of his great love for his beloved master and hence even had the power to melt rocks.
Hanuman is the perfect example of a student. He was totally focused, hardworking, humble, determined, and brilliant. He flew to the solar orb in his determination to obtain the sun god, Surya, as his guru. However, he never flaunted his brilliance and scholarship but always sat at the feet of Rama—ever the humble servant.
Hanuman had no desire for name or fame. He preferred to live in mountains and caves. As mentioned, he practiced total celibacy, which was very strange in a simian. Even when he lived in the palace, he behaved like a hermit, never indulging his senses. This was what gave him so much spiritual power.
He was also a hatha yogi since he practiced yogasanas (yogic postures) and pranayama (control of the breath). He was a laya yogi (one who practices the yoga of immolation, dissolving into the Supreme), since he knew how to control his mind with mantras (sacred sounds) and yantras (sacred symbols). Thus, as mentioned, he acquired many siddhis, or supernatural powers.
If yoga is the ability to control one’s mind, then Hanuman was the perfect yogi, having perfect mastery over his senses, achieved through a disciplined lifestyle and as discussed, by a strict adherence to celibacy and selfless devotion. He controlled his mind through absolute faith in the divine. Every event in his life was a gift from his master to be accepted without question. His life is a classic example to be followed by all devotees of God in any form. He shows us how a devotee should spend his or her life so as to reach the Supreme. He symbolizes the pinnacle of bhakti, and Hindus consider him to be the eleventh avatara, or incarnation, of Rudra or Lord Shiva. Once it is said that Narada asked Brahma whom he considered to be the greatest devotee of Vishnu. No doubt the sage was hoping that his name would be suggested. However, Brahma directed him to Prahlada, the king of asuras (demons) for whose sake Vishnu had taken a special avatara as Narasimha (the man-lion). Prahlada, who was himself a great devotee of Vishnu, with characteristic humility told him to go to Hanuman, whom he thought to be the greatest devotee of Vishnu since he chanted the name of Rama constantly.
Hanuman was a perfect karma yogi (one who practices the yoga of action), since he performed his actions with detachment, dedicating everything to Rama, his God. He was totally free from any desire for personal aggrandizement. In the whole of the Ramayana, there is no incident in which he did anything for himself. All his feats were for the sake of others. When he described the war to his mother, she chided him for not killing Ravana and rescuing Sita by himself, for that would have made him more famous than Rama. Hanuman replied that his life was not given to him to gain fame for himself but for serving Rama. His utter selflessness comes into great prominence when he saw how dejected the writer Valmiki was by his work. Without hesitation, he threw his own immortal classic into the sea.
Hanuman spent his entire life in the service of others. First he served Sugriva, then Rama. He personifies bhakti through dasa bhava, or the attitude of the servant. This type of devotion is the perfect instrument to destroy the ego. He performed his duties humbly, modestly, and with great devotion. He chose not to marry and have a family of his own so that he could devote himself entirely to the service of others. He never exceeded his orders even when he was capable of doing so. For instance, he could easily have killed the demon Ravana and conquered the island of Lanka on his own, as his mother said, but he refrained from doing so since he wanted to be a true servant and obey his master’s orders.
He is one of the seven chiranjeevis (those who live until the end of this cycle of creation). He is noted for his mighty intellect and is thought to be the only scholar who knows all the nine vyakaranas (explanations of the Vedas). He is thought to have learned the Vedas from the sun god himself. He is the wisest of the wise, strongest of the strong, and bravest of the brave. He had the power to assume any form he liked, to swell his body to the size of a mountain or reduce it to a thumbnail. One who meditates on him will attain power, strength, glory, prosperity, and success in life.
Hanuman is the epitome of wisdom, self-control, devotion, valor, righteousness, and strength. His indispensable role in reuniting Rama with Sita is likened by some to that of a teacher helping an individual soul realize the divine.
Rama himself describes Hanuman thus: “Heroism, cleverness, strength, firmness, sagacity, prudence, prowess, and power have taken up their abode in Hanuman.”
Sage Agastya endorses this view and said to Rama, “What you say regarding Hanuman is true, O Raghava! None else is equal to him in might, speed, or intelligence.”
He is easily reachable just by chanting the mantra “Rama.” Conversely, it is also held that the easiest
way to attain Lord Rama is to worship Hanuman.
He is worshipped on Saturdays and Tuesdays, which are associated with Shani and Mangal, or Saturn and Mars. Both these planets are associated with death and war and known to disrupt human life by their malefic influence. His offerings are simple—sindoor (red lead), til oil (sesame), husked black gram and garlands of a certain tree (Calotropis gigantica) in the north, and garlands of betel leaves in the south. Also in the south, his idols are often pasted with butter that, strangely enough, never melts, even during the hottest summer. He is also adorned with garlands of rice and savory lentil doughnuts (vadas).
The reason for the vermillion paste will be given in the chapters below. But esoterically speaking, red is the color of strength and virility. Til oil is used by wrestlers and gymnasts to massage their body. Butter and dal are sources of protein and generate energy, stamina, and muscle.
The two scriptures that are read by all Hanuman devotees are the Sundara Kanda of the Ramayana, where he discovered Sita in Lanka, and the forty verses of the Hanuman Chalisa by Tulsidas, the great sixteenth-century poet. And as mentioned earlier, wherever the Ramayana is read, a special seat is always reserved for Hanuman since the belief is that he will always be present at such a reading.
What are his physical characteristics? Is he the black-faced langur or the red-faced bandar? Sometimes he is described as a golden monkey with a red face. His face is supposed to have turned black when he wiped his face with his tail after destroying Lanka.
His tail is arched upward and is the symbol of strength, agility, and virility. He wears earrings made of five metals: gold, silver, copper, iron, and tin. He came to the world already adorned with these. Normally, he wears only a loincloth in the manner of wrestlers and bodybuilders. His images usually show him saluting Rama or standing guard and displaying his strength as he holds the mountain in one hand and his mace in the other.
The Hanuman Chalisa declares categorically that there is no blessing that he cannot bestow. Sita granted him the power to bestow the eight siddhis and nine types of wealth on others. However, the greatest boon one can ask of Hanuman is the uplifting of the spiritual qualities that he himself is known for.
Having polished with the dust of my master’s feet the mirror of my heart,
I narrate the pure fame of Raghupati (Rama), who bestows life’s four desires.
Considering myself to be devoid of intellectual merits,
I invoke Sri Hanuman, the son of the wind god.
Bestow on me strength, intelligence, and knowledge.
Remove my bodily ailments and vicious qualities.
(And allow me to write this book.)
HANUMAN CHALISA BY TULSIDAS
Aum Sri Hanumathe Namaha!
Aum Mahaviraaya Namaha!
1
Mahavira
The Historic Hanuman
More man prabhu biswasa,
Ram the adhik Ram kar dasa.
My heart, Lord, holds this conviction,
Greater than Rama is Rama’s servant.
RAMACHARITAMANAS BY TULSIDAS
Our first meeting with Hanuman, the monkey god, is in the great epic of Valmiki, The Ramayana. It occupies a unique place in Hindu culture because of the representation of Rama as the ideal man and Sita as the ideal woman. Of all the great religious texts, it is one that has gripped the imagination of not only the Indian continent but of many other countries of the Far East, where it has had far-reaching effects on various cultures. In fact, out of all the numerous works of Hindu literature, the Ramayana is perhaps the only one that is known to every Hindu. There are many saints in India who have attained self-realization simply by chanting the name of Rama. Hanuman is the classic example of this intense devotion. He was the chosen messenger, warrior, and servant of Rama. He lived only to serve Rama. In fact, he is such an integral part of the epic that the saying, “Where Rama’s story is, there is Hanuman,” is commonly repeated.
However, it is a matter of conjecture as to how this remarkable “being” suddenly appeared in Valmiki’s epic without previous precedent either in the Vedas or Puranas. These extraordinary beings, which came to help Rama in the Ramayana, made their first appearance in the book of Kishkinda, a part of the Ramayana, and they were called vanaras, or monkeys. But most obviously, these creatures were not ordinary monkeys. They had immense strength, and some had supernatural powers and the ability to change forms at will. Though Valmiki’s rakshasas (malevolent, cannibalistic spirits) have precursors in Vedic literature, his vanaras do not. Ravana had asked for the boon that he should not be killed by the gods or any other superhuman beings, but he did not mention humans and monkeys in this list since he thought they were far below his consideration. So it appears that the vanaras were created to fulfill this particular necessity. Many of their leaders were begotten through vanara women by the gods in order to assist Rama.
Thus Hanuman was a vanara, or monkey. He represents a stage of evolution lower than the chandala, or outcaste. He rose to the stature of a god through sheer strength of character and one-pointed devotion.
In the story, we see that Hanuman combines simian agility and energy with human sagacity, eloquence, and devotion, and he eventually emerges as one of the epic’s most complex and fascinating characters. Was he a creation of Valmiki’s genius, or is there mention of him in the Puranas or in the ancient Vedas, held to be the storehouse of all lore concerning the gods?
Some people might say that he owed his greatness to the fact that he was the son of the wind god. If this is true, then in the Mahabharata, all the Pandavas who were sons of the gods should have been deified, but none rose to Hanuman’s heights. We consider the Pandavas to be mortals, but no one thinks of Hanuman as a monkey or even a human. He is a god! Actually, Valmiki does not give us a portrait of his early life, a depiction of which might have led to an understanding of his deification. We are left to conjecture this from his perfected portrait. Hanuman himself explains the secret of attaining spiritual perfection:
Na mantradikritastata,
Na cha naisarngiko mama,
Prabhava esha samanyo,
Yasya yasyachutho hridi.
Neither by the repetition of mantras
Nor by inherited tendencies,
Did I gain perfection,
But only through unwavering concentration of the mind on god.
Hanuman states very clearly that his greatness was due to his constant effort and not due to his inborn character, that of an ordinary monkey. Brahmajnana is possible for all. Moksha, “liberation,” is everybody’s birthright. In his case, Hanuman declares that his entire spiritual development was attained by single-pointed devotion to god. He who constantly thinks of the Supreme becomes Supreme. Absolute surrender to god is the secret of spiritual perfection. Spiritual transformation cannot be brought about by the mere chanting of mantras or offerings in temples and other superficial rituals. It is also not something that can be inherited. An infant, whether begotten by god or man, is still an animal. Evolution only aids its physical growth. Spiritual growth is impossible without effort. Learning and discipline must be present if one is to reach this higher form of evolution. An imperfect body is made perfect when it is made into an instrument of god. Then even our shortcomings will turn into advantages. When the entire personality is molded into the Supreme, even shortcomings become helpful. So we find that it was his monkey nature that helped him to cross the ocean, reach Lanka, discover Sita, and bring the message back to Rama. He had no private enjoyments. The good results of his actions always went to other people. Thus, Valmiki portrayed a remarkable character in Hanuman, a model for all those who aspire toward liberation.
In his technique of creating real, down-to-earth beings who are nonetheless capable of deification, Valmiki exceeds Vyasa, the author of the Mahabharata. The characters of the Ramayana are a happy combination of historic realism and religious symbolism, appealing both to the religious-minded and secular person. With the sole exception of Kr
ishna, none of the other characters in the Mahabharata lend themselves to deification. In order to prove his divinity, Vyasa allows Krishna to perform miracles and exhibit his cosmic form many times. However, Valmiki’s portrait of Rama is in black and white with no embellishments. He never allowed his poetry to become the handmaid of mysticism. Rama is the Maryada Purusha, or the perfect human being, who by his exemplary adherence to the cosmic dharma became a god, and Hanuman is an ordinary simian who, by dint of his unflinching devotion to Rama and extraordinary attention to his duty, also became a god.
According to the Hindu point of view, there is no objective world out there. The whole manifested world is a subjective phenomenon created by our own selves. As humans, we have the unique ability to condition our minds. In other words, we have the power to change the way we perceive life. And by changing our perception of life, we have the power to change our world. When Hanuman entered Rama’s life, he changed Rama’s world. He transformed a crisis (the loss of Sita) into an opportunity to rid the world of Ravana. He transformed a victim into a hero.
