The Power of Hanuman

The stories and myths of the monkey god Hanuman stretch across the centuries. Hanuman is the son of the wind, the divine incarnation of service in his role as the faithful servant of Ram. We inhale, a small wind, and invite the playful and powerful spirit of Hanuman in with each breath.

The lessons of Hanuman are vast, and here I will focus on just a pair of key insights Hanuman has offered me in my own monkey-wanderings through the years. As a child, Hanuman, like all monkey children, was playful, bordering on mischievous. His constant pranks ands meddling finally upset the forest sages so severely, they beset upon him a life-long curse. Although Hanuman was able to keep his almost limitless power, the sages’ curse erased his memory of this power. Only when reminded of his power by someone else is he able to unleash this hidden potential.

Later in his adventures, Hanuman found himself stuck at the end of the Indian sub-continent, looking across the vast sea to the island of Lanka, a demon-ridden land where the wife of Ram lay captured. Alone, Hanuman was at a loss for solution. And yet he is reminded by Jambavantha of his powers, and with this recall, leaps into the air, crossing the sea in one jump.

Is this not a wonderful description of human nature? Here we are, “playful monkeys” moving through our worlds, meddling and creating unintentional trouble, usually oblivious of our actual hidden potential. As Nelson Mandela said in his inaugural speech, quoting Marianne Williamson, “our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure”. As human beings, we have an incredible wealth of untapped potential, and yet usually it is only through someone else’s eyes, someone else’s encouragement, through service to a greater good, that we can realize this. Isn’t your yoga practice usually more refined when in class, encouraged by a teacher, constantly reminding you of your full potential? Is there not always just a little more energy you find deep inside when taking care of your children, when giving back to your community of friends and family?

”Hanuman faces many intense challenges along his path, and each time he is able to rise above the obstacle, finding new strength, new abilities and skills he had forgotten. When we see life through the eyes of Hanuman, we realize the challenges of life—the lost love, the passing of a parent, even the inconvenient flat tire—all these are actually opportunities to find our own wealth of power. Obstacles, in this Hanuman perspective, become opportunities. This is true service work for the world, because as Mandela and Williamson conclude, “as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same….