Hanuman

The name "Hanuman" derives from Sanskrit, likely meaning "disfigured jaw" or "having a jaw." This refers to a myth where the infant god, mistaking the sun for a fruit, was struck by Indra's thunderbolt, injuring his jaw. The scholarly form is Hanumān (हनुमत्).

The monkey {rod of the h'<ini<iti(in(i : the (ft mnilissinio of Kama's army; son of Vayu, the {rod of the wind, and of a virtuous she-demon. Hanuman was the faithful ally of Ranui and by his unparalleled audacity and wit, helped the Avatar of Vishnu to Hnally coiujuer the dem()n-kin{r of Lanka, Ravana, who had carried ofl" the beautiful Sita, Rama's wife, an outrage which led to the celebrated war described in the Hindu epic poem. Happy Fields. The nanu{riven by the Assyrio-C'haldeans to their Klysian l"'iel(ls. which were intermin{rled with their Hades. As Mr. Boscawen tells iiis readers — "The Kin{Tdom of the underworld was the realm of the pod Ilea, and the Hades of the Assyrian le{rends was placed in the underworld and was ruled over by a jroddess. Nin-Ki«ral, or 'the Lady of the Great Land'. She is also called Allat." A translated inscription states: — "After the g:ifts of these i)re.sent days, in the fea.sts of the land of the silver sky, the resplcJident courts, the abode of blessedness, and in the li{rht of the napi)y Fields, may he dwell in life eternal, holy, in the presence of the gods who inhabit Assyria". This is worthy of a Christian tumulary inscription. Ishtar, the beautiful goddess, descended into Hades after her luloved Taiiunuz. and found that this dark place of the shades had seven spheres and seven gates, at ea<-li of whieli she had to leave sometiiing belonging to her.

Hanuman, the divine monkey, leaps across the pages of the Ramayana not just as a character of myth, but as an archetype of the devoted spirit. His story, as recounted in Valmiki's epic, resonates deeply with the human yearning for purpose and the courage to act. Mircea Eliade, in his explorations of the sacred and the profane, would likely see in Hanuman a potent manifestation of the hero, one who bridges the earthly and the divine, the human and the animalistic, through sheer force of will and devotion.

His lineage, tied to Vayu, the wind god, imbues him with a swiftness and pervasiveness that mirrors the breath of life itself. This connection suggests a universal presence, a spirit that can traverse any obstacle. When Hanuman leaps across the ocean to Lanka, it is not merely a physical feat but a symbolic journey into the heart of darkness, undertaken with a singular focus on his master's command. This act of audacious faith, of believing in one's capacity to achieve the impossible for a higher cause, is a powerful lesson for any soul seeking to overcome its own internal and external limitations.

The very image of Hanuman, a powerful, agile being with the form of a monkey, speaks to the integration of primal energies with spiritual discipline. As Carl Jung observed, the animalistic aspects of the psyche, when understood and integrated, can become sources of immense power rather than hindrances. Hanuman doesn't deny his monkey nature; he channels it, refining it through devotion and service, transforming raw energy into divine action. His story is a testament to the idea that true strength is not the absence of fear or doubt, but the unwavering commitment to one's chosen path, even when that path is fraught with peril. He is the embodiment of bhakti, the path of devotion, a concept central to Hindu spirituality, where the ultimate realization is achieved through love and surrender to the divine.

RELATED_TERMS: Bhakti, Rama, Ramayana, Seva, Dharma, Moksha, Vayu, Anjana