Hanuman Jayanti

Chaitra Pournima (16th April 2022)

Hanuman Jayanti is celebrated on the Pournima (Full moon day) of the Hindu lunar month of Chaitra. On this day, the Hanuman Principle is more active than on any other day of the year.

Deity Hanuman’s mother, Anjani, had observed penance like the queens of King Dasharath (Prabhu Shriram’s father) and had received payas (Rice boiled in milk with sugar, distributed as the sacrament from sacrificial fires). It was through the blessing of this Holy sacrament that the queens conceived. Hence, Deity Hanuman is also considered as the brother of Shriram.

Special features of Deity Hanuman

Deity Hanuman is Omnipotent yet an ideal servitor of Prabhu Shriram because of His supreme devotion. The combination of these two features is unique. The special features of Deity Hanuman are :

1. Omnipotence : Deity Hanuman is the only Deity who cannot be troubled by negative energies. He was born of Vayutattva (Absolute Air Principle). Human beings are born of the Five Cosmic Elements – Pruthvi (Earth), Apa (Water), Tej (Fire), Vayu (Air) and Akash (Ether).

The well-known story of baby Hanuman leaping to devour the Sun implies that the Vayutattva (signified by Deity Hanuman in the story) is subtler, and hence, more powerful than the Tejtattva (signified by the Sun in the story).

2. Supreme bhakti (Devotion) : Hanumanji’s devotion and service unto Shriram is the best example of the devotion of a servitor (known as Dasyabhakti) unto God. He was ever-ready to sacrifice even His life for the sake of His God. Service of His God was more important than the attainment of Moksha (Final Liberation). Hanumanji is an ideal combination of a servitor and a warrior !

Divine qualities of Deity Hanuman

1. The one who has immense bhav towards Prabhu Shriram : Deity Hanuman is always present in the subtle form wherever Prabhu Shriram’s bhajans and kirtans are sung. By listening to the praises of Shriram, Deity Hanuman goes into a state of bhav (Spiritual emotion). Seeing His intense bhav, Shriram is also present there in the subtle form. Their subtle presence leads to the activation of the devotee’s Sattva (Spiritual purity) component.

2. The one who has the right balance of immense attitude of surrender and intense yearning : To progress in Spirituality, one needs to have a constant attitude of surrender and intense yearning. By having the right balance between the two qualities, a seeker will always be able to obtain the Guru’s grace. This will help in consistent increase in bhav and reduction of ego. Deity Hanuman always had an attitude of surrender. He had the constant thought that ‘Whatever is happening is due to Shriram’s grace’, and surrendered every action unto Him.

Deity Hanuman had intense yearning to merge with Shriram’s feet (Become one with Shriram’s form). This quality was not only at the psychological level, but also seen in all His actions. Whenever He was performing satseva (Service unto the Absolute Truth) of Shriram’s physical as well as subtle forms, He would forget Himself; hence, all His actions (satsevas) were 100% effective and perfect. Deity Hanuman was always successful since He always had Shriram’s constant grace on Himself.

3. Always loyal to the Principle : Deity Hanuman did not get caught in Shriram’s sagun (Materialised) form, but merged with His Principle. Due to this quality, He was able to guide Shriram’s sons Luv and Kush to rule their kingdom after Shriram renounced His body.

4. The best disciple without ego : Unless the ego of a disciple dissolves completely, he cannot merge with His Guru. Deity Hanuman’s ego was completely dissolved; hence, He could merge with Shriram’s form. He had put Himself in Shriram’s care. He always had the thought that Shriram is getting everything done.

Worship of Deity Hanuman

Since the manifest energy of Deity Hanuman is more, He is worshipped in the context of Shakti (Divine Energy) in the following two ways :

1. To overcome the negative energy that is causing distress : To overcome problems due to evil spirits, black magic, departed ancestors’ subtle bodies, the influence of the planet Saturn, etc.

2. To control positive energy: To overcome any obstacle in the path of the Kundalini (Activated spiritual energy system) and to channelise it appropriately, so that the seeker can continue in his spiritual practice smoothly.

Celebration of Hanuman Jayanti

On this day, spiritual discourses are started before dawn and ended at sunrise along with the distribution of Prasad (Holy sacrament) in all Deity Hanuman temples (Deity Hanuman was born at Sunrise).

On the day of Hanuman Jayanti, chanting of ‘Om Ham Hanumate Namaha’ is recommended especially during the birth-time (that is, 6-7 a.m.) of Deity Hanuman, and during the rest of the day as well. To get maximum benefit of the Hanuman Principle, let us all chant His Name on this day.

Let’s pray to Deity Hanuman to guide us in offering our lives for establishing the ‘Hindu Rashtra’ (Divine Rule).

(Reference : Sanatan’s Spiritual Text – Holy festivals, Religious festivals and Vowed religious observances; ‘Shri Vishnu, Shriram and Shrikrushna’)