Hanuman: The Faith and Beyond

I am an atheist. A very pronounced one indeed and some believe it extremely Hippocratic of me to write on 'Hanuman' and his perception today. But then I am the little rebel everyone hates. On a more serious note, this article is more about the few faiths in Hinduism that are pure and undoubted. Faiths that aren't stained by personal gains, faiths that have purity and an essence of understanding. As much as I hate the misconception within them, I cannot help but applaud the extent of emotion and innocence that they bear.

The next thing that you might endure to ask will be, "why this all of a sudden?" and well, the answer lies in that fact that while I was introspecting upon the way I perceive my culture and the way I would preserve its integrity when it comes to presenting it to someone not from this background, I need to have a sound and unbiased understanding of what it stands for what what its original purpose is.

So let us start with the background of Hanuman for those of you who do not, or only partially know this India's first superhero! The story goes way back into the Satyug or the first Epoch of time in the Indian mythology. They tell me that there are 4 epochs in general and that there is a mass destruction after every fourth epoch ends (known as the Pralay: the destruction after the Kalyug). And the saints who have lived eons hence claim that there have been 27 pralays till date and so the cycle keeps going on the same way again and again and again. And so my loved ones, the concept of parallel universes is not so new to then Indian culture. Coming back to the point, the inception of Hanuman is said to be in the early Satyug when Ram was also born. Hanuman is said to be a Rudra avatar of Shiv or to be clearer, a vibrant incarnation of the god of destruction. Said to be born to accompany Ram in his voyage that was precast to enervate the evils of Ravan from the planet, it has a more interesting back-story of Parshads or the gatekeepers of Vishnu being cursed but that'll be too off track and i will talk about it some other day. For now, Hanuman was born to accompany Ram on a voyage. But our purpose here is not the story. Our purpose needs us to jump to the end of the Ramayan or the story of Ram's life. It was the time when peace had been established in the world and Ram had decided that his time had come and he must leave. Hanuman was the most devoted follower of Ram and the love they shared was beyond the scope of gauges we can understand. So when Ram declared to go to exile and then vanish, Hanuman lamented, begged him to stop, said he was incomplete without his lord. And he was right. The purpose of his birth was to serve Ram. And to be a savior of the weak. To be left like this would leave him without a goal to look at. That was the moment where he did what is today the pose of most of the pictures he is fabled in. He sat on one knee and tore apart his chest to show that Ram and Sita lived in his heart. As humbug as it may sound, it is deductive of love that we share in absolute devotion. To every human on planet, there is an entity that he wants, and needs more dearly than anything else that he has by any means. Now this is the time that we get to part of faith. Ram said to Hanuman, “while i go, you must live on, while i perish, you must continue to serve your purpose, a new purpose, the one of true humanity and true devotion." Hanuman stood baffled  Not exactly understanding the nuances of what was to come, but very certain that it will be the to the best interests of the universe as a whole. “You shall live till eternity, and protect my disciples, live on for every single person who believes in the truth and material of god, live on for every form of life that has conscious of our presence." The words aren't exact, but the meaning more or less is.

That is the reason Hanuman has such a huge number of followers on this planet. There is more to the ape-man than a simple devotion. He has been left on the planet as proof of the god particle. He has been left on the planet as proof that when you have faith and when you have the willingness to accomplish something, forces as strong as that of the creator himself cannot stop you, for you are in all terms his masterpiece.

This stature that Ram left Hanuman with, was taken very seriously by the Hindu religion and it is, in its solemnity the most secular following ever built. Requiring no or very less maintenance the temples of Hanuman are always built in the most unexpected places and crevices where people are most probable to face fear. Somewhere in the middle of forests, on lonely roads, on twisting and winding paths to mountain tops, whenever there is fear, we have seen Hanuman standing there. Waiting. They say that if you have faith in him, he WILL come. If you believe he is there, he will be. And for all practical purposes, he does prove to be right. Now I won’t tread into superstition, but the fact that you believe in something so basic and so down to earth, makes you realize the ground realities of your actions. When you go ahead and take a stand of accepting your fears, you look at the bigger picture. You do not directly find strength, but you certainly find peace. That is what Hanuman is all about. Finding peace in the reality of situations. When you do that, when the holistic image is clear in front of you, there is a sense of new found responsibility. And that is where you get your strength from .The acute punch of all the power you could ever imagine, channeled through your veins into your muscles is all because now you know, what you are fighting for. The truth of the matter and the humanity that lies within it, that is all that life is about.

The Ramayan or the story of Ram has 7 chapters or 'kands'. The fifth chapter is called the 'sunderkand' or 'the beautiful-chapter'. It is all about the relationship and adventures that Ram and Hanuman had together and it is the most frequently chanted part of the whole scripture. What is worth noting is that today, whenever devotees plan and sit for a chanting of this chapter, there is custom of putting a miniature pillow somewhere near the idols they pray in front of. The more life-size-liking people use a whole chair kept empty and near the place of prayer with a direct view of the idol of Ram. The purpose is, people believe so, to keep a place for Hanuman to sit. Pretty amusing at first look. But we can do so much to understand the deeper reason to it. They believe that whenever there is a chant of Ram, He comes, to hear and to indulge in the bliss of being reunited to his lord in the purest form of love. And the more interesting part is that they believe in it and arrange for it in very regard. It is beautiful, how they have respect for feelings more than that for actions. The sentiments of Indian men and women are tampered with at every stage of life and the only reason none fight back is that they are too vulnerable to possibilities of the negative outcome of an event. We as people, fall prey to prayers only because we do not see our fears in clear vision. The Ape who was meant to show people their fears and push them to overcome is today referred to as an eradicator of fear. One who shall protect you and your family against all odds and all that you need to do is pray. Faith has a bent meaning of being an umbrella to rain. No one enjoys dancing in the face of showers anymore. The easy life, people think is available in the chapters of the epics, why search for it in hard work and perseverance when you can get it in chants and idiotic conservatism. Religion is a virtue; it is never a physical attribute. It can influence your mentality and psych but never your potential.

This is all ladies and gentlemen. Hanuman: The Faith and Beyond was only meant to question. You shall give me the answers :)