Hanuman -The Icon of Surrender and Strength

Hanuman

The Son of Vayu, an outstanding and exemplary personality, a great adviser, a discreet diplomat, an intelligent speaker and a profound philosopher, the one who has a speed equal to the wind God, who has complete control on his senses, who is messenger of Lord Rama, who is the repository of incomparable strength, one who is the destroyer of  forces of demon.

Hanuman who is endowed with all these ideal traits is naturally an icon of ‘Surrender & Strength’ to all.

Today and forever Hanuman stands as a perfect example for devotion and bravery in all the epics of the world. He is a symbolic representation of virtues and ethics and a true friend who comes in time of crisis to help and save the pure hearted person. The surrender that He showed towards His master Lord Rama remains exemplary for the one who wants to become a disciple of a master. Though He is the strongest in both mind and body, there is not even a slight stint of ego in Him. Thus He displays the highest quality of an ascetic who has dropped his mind.

One’s strength lies not in the display of it, but in the modesty of the person- that is revealed in the humble surrender of Hanuman to Lord Rama and Sita. Like that, to prove His surrender to Lord Rama, Hanuman opens His chest to show the presence of Lord Rama! One who drops his mind can only become a true disciple to a master and in turn he only can become a true guru. This is very evident from various illustrations and descriptions of Hanuman’s character in one of the two great epics of the world The Ramayana.

According to Hindu mythology Hanuman was born to Kesari and Anjana Devi. He is also known as the son of Vayu (Vayuputra or Pavanputra). As the son of Anjana Devi, He bears the name Anjaneya. Hanuman shows us the grand truth that if one takes efforts tirelessly to refine and transform himself through consistent devotion to God, one can become stabilized in God. Hanuman is an incarnation of Lord Shiva and still He worships Lord Vishnu who is in the form of Lord Rama, when He takes the form of Anjaniputra (son of Anjana Devi). This instructs the relationship between man and God irrespective of the peripheral or surface level aspect of the incarnations or avatars.

Hanuman is omnipresent like Vayu or Wind He can go and be present anywhere and everywhere because He is the son of Vayu. His speed is that of Vayu or Wind and that is why it is said to denote the high speed as the speed of Vayu or Mind. Here Mind is compared to Vayu because one cannot see Mind as Vayu cannot be seen Further we can note that Anjaneya Swamy represents subtle levels of being like the breath body (Life energy), the mental body (Chitta or Consciousness) and the intelligence body (Buddhi).

Exemplary Energy

Hanuman is a deity who cannot be troubled by distressing and negative energies. He destroys all evils and all hurdles. This is evident from His success in finding out the place of the holy woman Sita, the wife of His master Lord Rama, in danger. He is more remembered for His immeasurable love for His master Lord Rama. Where there is the chanting of Lord Rama’s name, there He will appear for the needy people. His sharpness of knowledge is well understood when He gave right opinions at the right time to Lord Rama- it was very useful and wise (including Vibhishan on their camp).

He is worshipped for His strength, knowledge, devotion, self-sacrifice, modesty and loyalty. He is admired as the Chiranjeevi (living long) and anyone who wishes for good health and long life should pray to Him. Another important aspect of Hanuman is victory; He is a personification of Jayam (victory). It is said that Arjuna’s victory in the Kurukshetra war was confirmed because he had the flag bearing the picture of Hanuman in it. One who worships Hanuman cannot be defeated-that is the message.

When Anjaneya Swami is worshipped, our animal temperaments come to a halt and our senses come under His divine control. Total surrender removes the ego totally and then there is no pain for an individual in his life- we need total surrender to Hanuman.

In the Tirumala Temple

The beautiful Idols of Sri Rama with Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman are being kept after Snapana Mandapa in the Srivari temple on the sacred Tirumala Hills. This place is known as “Ramar Medai“. One particularly interesting bronze idol is that of a vanara god holding his right forefinger on the tip of his nose in a pose of complete wonderment.

Listen to Hanuman Chalisa