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Jai Hanuman gyan gur
sagar Jai kapis tihu lok ujagar....
Praise be to Hanuman who is an ocean of wisdom and virtue Praise be to the monkey god.
He embodies strength. He
can do anything. Nothing is impossible for him. He is yet very
modest and humble, satisfied to be the servant of Lord Rama. He is
unaware of his own strength. He is charming in his thinking. He is
courageous in his action. Hanuman is a god almost every Indian
believes in. it is customary to call out to Hanuman at all times of
need and the devotee is confident that his prayer will be answered.
Hanuman is believed to work miracles even today.
If one were to tell the
story of Hanuman chronologically, we being with researchers pointing
in different directions as his possible place of birth. Many people
feel he was born in Nasik, in Maharashtra. The people of Karnataka
feel he was born there while the Kokru tribe in Madhya Pradesh who
claim to be descendents of Hanuman say he was born in their village.
A village in Bihar is named Anjana and there are some who believe
Hanuman is a native of this place. There is also great discussion on
whether Hanuman came from pre Vedic times or if he was a folk god or
if he was originally a tribal deity. Many feel it was Valmiki who
immortalized Hanuman in his great epic, the Ramayana.
According to the
Ramayana, monkey heroes were sons begotten by nymphs who had been
sent down to earth for the purpose of helping Vishnu in his
incarnation as Rama. Each god sired a monkey and Hanuman came from
the Wind God. some sociologists say this was just mythology’s
way of marking the process of evolution. Others says this was a
manner by which pre Vedic deities could be incorporated into the
Vedic pantheon.
The story goes that
Hanuman was born to Kesari and Anjana. Some versions says Kesari was
none other than Shiva Himself. Other versions say that Anjana, who
was actually a nymph called Punji Kasthala, was cursed to be born on
earth. One day, as she was leisurely roaming the countryside, the
Wind God beheld an apparition of beauty. He fathered her son with the
promise that none would know and that her son would be strong, wise,
brave and swift. And so he was.
Hanuman was no ordinary
child and for the baby sitter created problems difficult to even
imagine. He was extremely hungry the moment he was born and nothing
could satisfy his hunger. When he looked around he saw the orange
glowing ball called the sun and the stunned fireball took some time
to realize what was happening. He hurried across the sky to reach
King Indra’s abode. Indra was the King of Heavens. He protected
the sun by
hurtling his thunderbolt
at the baby monkey so keen and determined at his first job! Poor
little Hanuman was injured and feel to the ground. Vayu, the Wind
God, was enraged. He shook the worlds with his anger and indignation.
The gods realized they had wronged the newborn babe and immediately
assembled to assuage the father and comfort the child. Each one of
them gave the child gifts: one promised immortality and another
psychic powers by which he could alter his size and shape at any
time. The sun accepted him as his student and taught him the Vedas
(ancient scriptures) and gave him one hundredth of his brilliance.
Kubera the god of wealth gave him wealth while Yama the god of death
gave him a life free from disease. In this manner Hanuman collected
many gifts. One among them was his name. Hanu means the chin and mana
means hurt so he got his name due to his hurt chin. Hanuman then
returned home with all his gifts and grew up as a mischievous child.
Hanuman’s story as
told by Valmiki does endear one greatly to the God. the
Sundarakandam, s section of the Ramayana, is in itself greatly
inspiring. This section deals with the story of how Hanuman crossed
the ocean to reach Lanka in search of the abducted Sita. It ends with
the story of how he came back after finding her. To the reader
unfamiliar with the Indian ethos it may seem a little far fetched to
go into rhapsody on the manner in which a monkey crosses an ocean,
and that too flying. To the Indian, however, in fact that he was a
monkey or that flying across the ocean cannot but be a figment of
imagination do not come in the way of admiring and falling in love
with the bachelor monkey or that flying across the ocean cannot but
be a figment of imagination do not come in the way of admiring and
falling in love with the bachelor monkey deity. What emerges of great
significance is Hanuman’s character: it is etched beautifully in
mythology. The character portrayal is consistent in the epics, the
Mahabharata and the Ramayana and all other literature where Hanuman
is mentioned. There is strength in his character at all levels: he is
brave and courageous physically. He is mentally of very fast. He has
conquered the emotions of desire, anger lust and so on.
When Hanuman was flying
over the ocean, a giantess accosts him. Her name is Surasa. Actually
she has been sent by the gods to test Hanuman’s capability,
whether he will succumb to small obstacles or will overcome them.
Surasa says that whosoever passes this way must enter her mouth.
Hanuman requests her to let him go as he is going on a very important
errand. Surasa is unreasonable. So Hanuman expands his body a little.
Then a little more and still more. Surasa too opens her mouth larger
and larger. Suddenly in a trice, Hanuman reduces himself to the size
of a fly an quickly goes into her mouth and out of it again.
Similarly he combats
other demonesses with his intellect. When he reaches Lanka and begins
his search he assumes a very small size. He searches the whole of
Ravana’s palace and around the city. He does not find Sita. He
falls into extreme depression. A deity known for his strength becomes
depressed. Yes, he does and that is what shows that he is unaware of
what he himself can achieve. This aspect of him is charming. Then
Hanuman reasons to himself that depression has never really helped
anybody. In fact it has come in the way of achievement. So he rises
out of it and decides once again to search the universe if need by,
but find Sita he must. There are many passages where he decries the
emotion of anger. An angry man can destroy himself and others he
says. Every situation has a unique solution, thinks Hanuman and
carefully weighs each situation before facing it.
Hanuman is a favourite
figure all over South-East Asia and his most celebrated quality is
his total devotion to his master, Lord Rama. It thus stands as the
most important lesson in Hindu philosophy: absolute surrender is the
secret to reach the Almighty.
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