A Tribute To Hanuman The Beloved Yogi

"Veer Asana or Hanuman asana" declares our yoga educator consistently, "Right leg forward, left in reverse, hands outstretched, eyes centered to make you brave and ready." Elderly individuals cherish doing this asana planning to get Hanuman's childhood and quality. 

Stories of Hanuman's youth tricks make youngsters snicker with joy for they see themselves doing these shenanigans. As a tyke Hanuman was an irritation for rishis in woods - pulling their facial hair, dousing yagnas, binds them to trees, bringing lions into their cottages. Because of which they reviled him to overlook his grit and enthusiastic soul, till the needful time. In this way, it is in adulthood that Hanuman blooms into an adorable character for both youngsters and grown-ups. 

Youngsters cherish him for his solid body; wrestlers venerate his quality and speed that is enhanced with lowliness; yogis adore him for his triumph over psyche and sense organs; fans appeal to him for unflinching dedication, laborers love Hanuman for his resolute endeavors that made the hardest mission fruitful and the shrewd love him for his keenness. 

At the point when Rama asks Hanuman what he looks like upon Rama, Hanuman says: "When I consider myself to be body, then I am your dependable worker (dasa), when I consider myself to be Atman, then I realize that I am a piece of your interminable light, when I have the vision of truth, then you and I, my Lord, are one and the same.

” The answer reveals that Hanuman is aware of the spiritual journey taking one from dvaita to advaita.  

Initially, a seeker is in a state of duality wherein he feels God is the doer and he is God’s servant, friend or child. Hanuman sees himself as God’s servant.  Then a seeker rises to visishtadvaita state (I am You) where he feels he is part of the same God. Through his devotion Hanuman realises God and constantly stays in union with Him.  Lastly, a seeker negates mind and ego and reaches the last state of realising that all is illusion and all is Brahmn, Pure Consciousness. Then there is no difference between God and himself and he reaches the advaita stage in which God does not have a form. Form is seen due to ignorance -- the world is in the seer’s mind. When mind dissolves, the world dissolves, too. Hanuman is acceptable to all because he assumes dvaita, visishtadvaita and advaita according to circumstances without exhibiting any pride.

Not once does Hanuman take credit for his achievements. Even when Rama says, ‘I am greatly indebted to you, son’, he bows his head in genuine humility. When Rama asks how he managed to cross the ocean and burn Lanka, Hanuman replies that it was Rama’s name and grace that did everything.

Hanuman’s popularity can be seen in various forms -- kneeling with joined palms before Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, towering through the sky with a mountain in his hand, sitting cross-legged and meditating…. The five-headed Hanuman is believed to ward off evil from all five directions.

Hanu means jaw and man means prominent or broken. Hanu also means to kill and man means pride. So Hanuman means one with prominent or broken jaw, and one who has destroyed pride. Physically Hanuman’s jaw was broken when Indra gave him a blow for gobbling up the sun. Spiritually, Hanuman’s biggest achievement is that he did not have an ego thus making him the best karma, bhakti and jnana yogi.