Hari
OM
Story-day is for cultural exploration, puraanas and
parables and finding out about leading lights in spiritual philosophy.
This
week we take a look at Sri Hanuman. This year, हनुमान-जयन्ति/Hanuman-jayanti is celebrated
on April 4th, but is being noted today, as that date is also Easter and is
therefore being reserved for an article related thereon. Why not next
Story-day, which is at least a week closer?
Ah, March 28th this year is reserved for celebrations of Sri Rama… Sri
Hanuman, of course, was his most devoted and beloved of courtiers, so it is not
at all improper to tell you something of this sainted personality first.
Many
who will be reading this will, perhaps, wonder at the purpose of worshiping a
monkey (or, for that matter, an elephant…) What needs to be remembered at all
times when learning about the various spiritual figures in Hinduism, is that
they are all representations of virtues and etiquette and are held up as
examples to follow (or in some cases, what not
to follow!)
As
a baby, this little monkey felt hungry enough to reach for the sun, which he
thought was a fruit. This proved too
great an ambition, however, and he was struck on the jaw ( हनु/hanu) by Indra's
thunderbolt for his trespass. Hanuman's father, Vayu (the Wind), revenged him
by giving colic to all the gods. Indra apologised and as recompense agreed to
Hanuman becoming an immortal. This brought with it a variety of super powers;
the teenage monkey, as you might expect, rather misused his powers, proving
himself pesky and disrespectful to others.
Seeking a solution, the gods prayed to the creator, Brahma, father of
them all, for help. Brahma-ji cursed Hanuman such that his powers were
diminished and would only come forward again at a time of proper need.
This
they did when Jambavaan, king of the bears, reminded Hanuman of his
abilities. This was during the battle
between Sri Rama and his allies and the misguided king of Lanka, Raavana.
Hanuman-ji's powers included being able to alter his size from an atom to the
greatest of giants; to fly like his father the wind; with strength of many
elephants and so on.
These
talents and all the virtuous aspects of Sri Hanuman are related in the famous
hymn (chalisa). You can listen to and read the transcript/translation on this post.
We
learn most about Hanuman in his association with Sri Rama. His part in the
great adventure of the avataar king is that, initially, he was suspicious.
Relations between the monkey kingdoms and the humans could be fraught and
Hanuman, initially, went as spy on behalf of Sugriiva, king of the tribe, to
check out the prince. Rama saw through his disguise however and Hanuman saw the
brilliance before him. He devoted himself to the cause and service of Sri Rama.
For this, he is often depicted baring his chest, whereupon lies the image of
Sri Rama (and sometimes the queen Sita).
It
is for his physical prowess and unwavering courage that Sri Hanuman is
considered as 'patron saint' for the armed forces of India. He is called upon when embarking on any new
journey, so that the traveller will be protected. Also, many who have physical ailments, will chant the chalisa.
What are the key aspects of
Hanuman-ji to be learned? Devotion; absolute faith; alert service; courage;
trust; unparalleled honesty.
To
carry within us even a fraction of Hanuman-ji's qualities would be great
indeed!
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| Sri Hanuman murti at Chinmaya Mission, Sidhbari, Himachal Pradesh |