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Hanuman
 “Hanuman
is one of the most popular gods of Hinduism. People from all
wakes of life worship him and admire him. As a devotee of
Lord Rama, he has become very popular for his devotion and
great qualities. Like Ganesha he commands respect and
veneration from children and elders alike. Any one who is
familiar with the Ramayana, cannot but appreciate his divine
nature and super human personality, shaped by the strength
of celibacy, humility, selflessness, unsurpassed devotion,
determination, fearlessness and an extraordinary commitment
to work for the divine.
His
temples are found everywhere in India, in towns and cities,
on the hills, in the forests and most difficult places.
Millions observe fast on Tuesdays and refrain from drinking
and smoking as a mark of respect for him. Sita found in him
a friend, a son and a loyal servant. Impressed by his
loyalty and commitment to the cause of Rama, she blessed him
to remain immortal in his existing form till the end of
creation and help the loyal devotees of Rama.
People
believe that he is very much active on earth even today.
Wherever the name of Rama is uttered or chanted, Anjaneya
said to go there and become an invisible part of the scene.
People pray to him for courage and confidence, freedom from
sorrow and for protection against evil spirits and bad luck.
Hanuman is a terror to evil forces. Because of his intense
purity and devotion they are afraid to appear anywhere near
him.
When
people pray to Hanuman, they generally chant the chalisa for
boons and protection. The chalisa is a verse of 40 lines
containing pure adulation. It describes the great qualities
and adventures of Hanuman. It is said that because of his
complete humility he would not stir into action, unless one
reminds him of his true greatness and his divine purpose.
Hid devotees therefore chant the chalisa, to remind him of
his greatness and prompt him to wake up from his devotion
and help them. Hanuman's chalisa has become a modern mantra,
more popular, perhaps, than the Ramacharitamanas itself.
Many of his devotees may not know Hindi. But they would
chant chalisa with sincerity and faith.
In
appearance Hanuman looks like a well built monkey with the
strength of a gorilla. His gait is very much human, despite
of his monkey features, and he conducts himself admirably,
without the clumsy movements of an ape. Physically he is
half human and half monkey. He probably came from a race
that had become extinct. Hanuman lives in the hearts of
people through his exemplary devotion and surrender to God.
Physically he is endowed with unlimited powers. Being the
son of Vayu, the wind god, he has the ability to increase or
decrease his size at will and also fly into the air and
travel to far away regions of the earth and the solar
system.
 According
to the mythology, he was born to Anjana and Vayu. Vayu is a
vedic divinity who is mentioned in several vedic hymns and
worshipped along with Indra, Varuna and Agni. Anjana was
originally a celestial nymph. She was extremely beautiful
and agile. Due to some unfortunate circumstances, she was
cursed to become a monkey and live on earth. She married a
monkey called Kasturi with whom she lived for sometime till
she came into contact with Vayu. Hanuman was born to her
through Vayu.
As a
child Hanuman earned notoriety by his various acts of
mischief which even annoyed the gods. Once he tried to
swallow the sun believing it to be a fruit. He terrified
the demon Rahu by shocking him out of his stupor. He fought
with Indra and was badly hurt. His connection with Vayu
saved him from further disaster. To cool down his
temperament Vayu took him to Kailash and left him to the
care of Lord Siva.
Siva
blessed him and endowed him with divine bent of mind and
enormous powers. Nandi, Siva's vehicle and his humble
servant, taught Hanuman all the Vedas and the scriptural
knowledge, besides imparting to him the qualities of
humility and egolessness. We understand that because of
these qualities Hanuman does not remember his true powers
and would not stir to action unless someone reminds him, as
it happened before he flew into the air to find Sita.
Knowing
his abilities and his dexterity, Sugriva made him his
minister. When Rama reached Kishkindha in search of his
estranged wife Sita, Hanuman saw Rama for the first time.
That was a momentous occasion. It changed his life and the
course of Ramayana for ever. In that one moment Hanuman
realized who his true master was and surrendered to him with
his heart and soul. The thought of Rama never left his mind
from then onwards.
In the
imagery of Rama, we generally see Hanuman, standing
reverentially on a side, sitting or standing in a humble
manner with his hands joined in reverence. When he is shown
alone, he appears in different ways, sitting cross legged,
kneeling, standing or flying. In all cases we see him
holding his weapon, the mace. When he is shown as flying in
the air like a superman, he carries a mountain with one hand
and the mace with the other. In some temples we see very
tall and imposing images of Hanuman reminding us of his
immense strength.
 Hanuman
is known by many names. When he is cheerful he is called
Prasannanjaneya. When he is in a ferocious mood he is
called Veeranjaneya. When he is in a meditative mood he is
called Dhayananjaney and when he is absorbed in devotion he
is called Bhaktanjaneya. He is called Anajaniputra or
Anjaneya because his mother's name was Anjana. He got the
name Vayuputra because of his connection with Vayu. He is
called Kesarinandana, though he was not actually the son of
Kesari, because he was brought up by his step father. He is
called Ramaduta, because he acted as the messenger of Rama
to deliver a message to Sita. He is called Baladhama,
because of his prowess, gnanagunasagara because of his pure
qualities and bhajarangi because of his devotion. There are
several other names. He played his dutiful role as a servant
of God in the epic Mahabharata also. He taught a few lessons
in humility to his step brother Bhima and also agreed to
appear as an emblem on the flag of the Pandavas to boost
their morale in their fight against evil.”
Hanuman
http://hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/hanuma.htm
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