Today is Hanuman Jayanti, the birthday of Lord Hanuman, our dear monkey God who serves another God Lord Rama which is quite unique. He is the only deity who serves another deity and identifies himself as “Ram Doot” (messenger of Ram). This is also a very interesting aspect of his character. In fact, Lord Hanuman’s character study is an enlightening journey in dedication, selfless service and most importantly, absence of ego. His whole life revolves around his master. He helps Rama in searching Sita and bringing her back from Lanka. He is there with him at every step in his battle against the mighty King Ravana. He may not know how to go about the task he is assigned but he does it with the belief that his Lord’s blessings will get him the results. One example is the search for Sanjiveeni Booti when he is unable to locate it and therefore, plucks the entire mountain 🙂
Dutiful, selfless and innocent, he serves his lord with utmost devotion and the love is reciprocated by Rama who says in Hanuman Chalisa that he is as dear to him as his brother Bharat (Tum mam priya Bharat hi sam bhai). Interestingly, Lord Rama is the hero of Ramcharitmanas, the sacred and epic literary piece composed by Tulsidas but the fifth episode of the epic known as Sundar Kand (Pleasant episode) hails Lord Hanuman as the hero. This episode is also the most beautiful (Sundar) episode of Ramcharitmanas and narrates Hanuman’s journey to Lanka while looking for Sita.
Once I was talking to my father, an ardent Hanuman devotee, and during the conversation I asked him why is the Sundar Kand named so and he said that he does not really know and then as an afterthought he said that
kisi bhi cheez ki khoj bahut sundar hoti hai
(the journey of discovering anything is a beautiful exercise). Now this was some gyaan 🙂 Some sort of serendipity and when I thought about it, I realized that he was right. Hanuman’s journey made him realize his worth (he was not sure that he could cross the sea), earned him the love of Sita and brought him face to face with challenges which he overcame with his intelligence and physical prowess.
Right from my childhood, I have heard my father reciting Hauman Chalisa and couplets from Ramcharitmanas during his daily puja and I would say that I have grown up on them. I never learnt Hanuman Chalisa but I know it by heart and in all these years I have also developed somewhat of a connection with Lord Hanuman. He inspires with his devotion and instills faith with his dedication. His life teaches a very important lesson. It highlights the significance of devotion and service. It proves that when you are devoted to a person or cause, your life takes a very different course. Serving others helps you find yourself and ends up being a journey of self-exploration, and like the Sundar Kand, it becomes the most beautiful part of your life 🙂
Reflections 