🙏Lore of Hanuman

Hanuman is known as the monkey god in the ancient pantheon of Hindu deities. Sacred stories & artwork depicting colorful gods & goddesses provide humanity w/ relatable forms & personalities that can help us to better understand & commune with the One, formless reality.

Hanuman's legend is chronicled in the great Hindu epic, known as the Ramayana. There is a demon king named Ravana who was terrorizing the 3 realms. He was seemingly unstoppable due to a boon that he had earned, which made him invincible against all gods & demons.

In his arrogance, the demon king didn’t include humans or animals when demanding his boon of invincibility. Knowing this, the God of preservation, called Vishnu, decided to take birth as a man named Rama to destroy this incarnation of evil & to restore the balance of goodness.

Meanwhile, the Great God Shiva, was deeply meditating on Lord Vishnu & became aware of his plans to take birth on Earth. Not wanting to miss out on this chance to serve his Lord, Shiva transmitted his essence through the wind god, & a beautiful Vanara woman gave birth to Hanuman.

The Vanaras are said to be a hybrid race of part human & part monkey. Hanuman’s birth signaled the release of a curse that had been placed on his mother long ago that had been keeping her trapped on Earth. So, after his arrival, she ascended back into the heavens.

Even at birth, Hanuman was endowed w/ extraordinary powers, & immense strength. As a mischievous, young monkey, he often disturbed the Sages during their fire ceremonies. Tired of his pranks, the Sages put a curse on Hanuman, that he would forget his powers until he was reminded.

The great avatar Rama grew up w/ his 3 brothers & was wed to the beautiful maiden Sita, (his eternal consort) who was an incarnation of the goddess Lakshmi. Owning an unfortunate debt from the past, his father the King, was forced to banish Rama to the forest for 14 years.

Eager to serve the king, Rama, Sita & brother Lakshmana left for the forest w/out complaint. During their exile, Sita was abducted by the demon king Ravana. While on their rescue quest, Rama encountered Hanuman, who was a high-ranking advisor to the Vanara King Sugriva.

Hanuman introduced the 2 brothers to King Sugriva, who pledged the service of his entire army of demigod monkeys & bears to join Rama’s quest. Knowing that Hanuman would be the one to find Sita, Rama gave him his ring, w\ a message to deliver when he found her.

W/ the help of a giant vulture, Hanuman & his battalion learned that Sita was held captive on the island of Lanka, 800 miles across the ocean. While gazing out from the shore, Jambavan, the king of the bears, reminded Hanuman of his powers & he immediately leapt over the ocean.

On the island of Lanka, Hanuman found Mother Sita who was imprisoned by the demon king. Relieving her sorrows, Hanuman revealed Rama’s ring, delivered his message, & jumped back across the ocean to report the news to the army that was awaiting his return.

Upon Hanuman’s return, the army of monkeys & bears built a floating bridge across the sea by writing the name of Rama on stones & tossing them into the water. Because Rama’s name is written on the stones, they do not sink & allow the army to cross the sea to Lanka & rescue Sita.

The legend of Hanuman is the tale of courage, strength, wisdom, self-mastery, loyalty & friendship, in the service of Love. Hanuman was reminded of his superpowers when his help was needed. Just like Hanuman, we have forgotten our true potency & this story exists to help us remember.