June 2017 archive

The weight of Hanuman’s strong powerful diamond body caused the mighty Mountain Mahendra to be reduced into tiny pieces! When Hanuman was flying to Lanka, the Mountain Mainaka rose up from under the seas. It is impossible to describe the strength contained within this massive and mighty Mountain Mainaka. Even such a mountain trembled fearfully when Hanuman gave it a single blow. It is said that Mainaka’s head reeled completely and he fell down due to the effect of this blow.

Likewise, Hanuman hit Lankini Devi (deity who zealously guarded the impregnable gates of the city of Lanka) with his fist and caused her to collapse. Who do you think was Lankini? She was a Devata; a yaksha (celestial being). It can be said that she was a cursed illusory being who appeared as a Devata yaksha. One blow from Hanuman’s fist was enough for this illusory being to collapse. It is another matter, however, that with this blow, she was rid of her curse.

Hanuman could get this strong and healthy body due to never-ending practice of Pranayama and meditation (dhyana). Endlessly He meditated upon Rama- ‘Rama, Rama, Rama, Rama…’. That’s all. There is no other thought and no other talk. Rama is included in each and every word spoken by Him. As devotees of Lord Hanuman, we too should practice this at least a bit. Every word spoken should have reference to Lord Rama. Be it in mind or speech, the eagerness to complete Lord Rama’s task should exist within us.

Hanuman sang the glories of Lord Rama every minute and in every situation. At the time of flying across the ocean, when he met Sita Devi, at the time of meeting Rama’s devotee Vibhishana, when seated in Ravana’s court, when carrying the Mountain Sanjivini, and even when Demon Indrajit left the powerful weapon Brahmastra, Hanuman only sang the praises of Rama. All the demons whom he came across when flying over the ocean were told the glories of Lord Rama.

Hanuman has fixed the mantra ‘Rama’ into every breath of His. It is a noiseless repetition of the name. During inhalation the word ‘Ra’ is uttered mentally and during exhalation it is the word ‘Ma’. Thus every breath automatically states ‘Ra….ma…’ We too should put this into practice. When listened carefully, the mantra is audible.

From the very moment Hanuman undertook to execute Lord Rama’s task, His fame began to spread in all the worlds. Even before this, Hanuman was famous. But now, after undertaking Rama’s task, his fame enveloped all the planes of existence.

His fame enveloped even the Deva loka (plane of Gods)! It evoked discussions even among the Gods. His marvelous deeds and his fame brought him the support as well as the protection from all the Gods. The fact that a Vānara was performing so many marvelous deeds, that too in the form of a service towards his master, stirred the Gods to move and come to his aid. All the 333 crore Devatas helped Hanuman in his mission that was undertaken in service of Lord Rama. It can be said that to ensure success in execution of Rama’s task, each and every God transferred his energy and strength to one strand of hair in Hanuman’s body!

Destruction of the massive Ashoka Vana (Ravana’s private garden) in Lanka, killing singlehandedly the ferocious, terrible demon Aksha (son of Ravana), standing at the centre-most major crossroad in Lanka and singing loudly the glories of Lord Rama, boldly sitting in Ravana’s court and advising him are instances that prove the courage of Hanuman.

Standing boldly amidst crores of demons, in the centre of the city of Lanka, Hanuman had the guts to loudly shout victory slogans glorifying Lord Rama. What better example than this is needed to display his courage? Not just Ravana, but also his sons and his entire set of ministers, were terrible demons with limitless magical powers. Remember that there are two kinds of supernatural powers- good and evil. The demons of Lanka possessed unlimited evil supernatural powers, not to forget that they possessed tremendous physical strength as well. Hanuman was a one-man army. Yet, the courage he displayed by loudly and boldly shouting victory slogans praising Lord Rama, sitting in the centre of Ravana’s court and preaching Ravana are praiseworthy. His commanding language and the manner in which he opposed Ravana is amazing. How much ever it is spoken of, it will never suffice.

The manner in which he ultimately brought peace to Mother Sita, and the way in which he set fire to the city of Lanka are praiseworthy. When his tail was torched, he fearlessly flew across the city setting all the buildings on fire. Remember that these magnificent buildings in Lanka were magical and illusory. Even such buildings melted like wax. For containing the power to burn down the entire city, his tail is glorified.

Every part of his body, be it his eyes, nose, heart, tail, ears, or even the tip of the tail is as strong as a diamond. He has a Vajrakaya i.e. body that is as strong and hard as a diamond. Even many Vajrayudhas (diamond weapons) collectively could not have injured, even minutely, any part of his body. As we all know, Vajrayudha is the weapon held by Lord Indra (Lord of Heaven). Akin to the Brahmastra this powerful weapon when struck cannot miss its mark. If Hanuman’s body itself is compared to this diamond weapon Vajrayudha, then how powerful would he be? He is a moving thunderbolt, a flying thunderbolt, a thunderbolt whose strike will never miss its mark. He is a thunderbolt who crushes the demons and zealously protects his ardent devotees.

His body glows with infinite divine radiance. His radiance dazzles like a diamond. Each and every hair on his body is as large as the city of Ayodhya and possesses infinite power. On his vast body there are crores of such hair. Each hair eternally vibrates with the name of Rama- ‘Rama, Rama, Ram, Rama…’. When Hanuman says ‘Rama’ once, each and every hair vibrates with the name ‘Rama’. Thus his whole body vibrates with the divine name ‘Rama’. Just listening to this makes every hair on our body stand up.

Om Namo Hanumate Namaha.