HINDUISM

Sri Hanuman - Embodiment and personification of physical prowess

Chelvatamby Maniccavasagar

Our ancient Hindu culture has been known since time immemorial for the spiritual wisdom, the knowledge about the highest dimension of the human personality. Many a time in the past whenever this perennial river of spiritual knowledge was showing signs of drying up due to exigencies of historical condition, a great spiritual master appeared to rejuvenate and replenish the springs of spirituality in the land.

Swami Vivekananda and Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda stand in the forefront among the great and glorious men who deluged the Holy Bharatha with spiritual ideas.

Prompted by the inspiring faith in the divine, spontaneous unselfish urge and truly voluntary effort combined with spell binding united action cutting across religious denominations and political ideologies, an idea to build a temple for “Sri Hanuman” (“Anjenayar”) came to the mind of Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda when he visited Ramboda, a hamlet 4000 feet above sea level in the District of Nuwara Eliya.

This village is considered to be the place where Sri Hanuman set foot in his search for Sita. Gurudev Swami Chinamayananda was tremendously fascinated by the scenic beauty and serenity of the location that he felt that the site was ideal for Sandeepam Lanka and Chinmaya Mission of Sri Lanka with the consent and blessings of Gurudev purchased a plot of 10 acres. Swami Chinmayananda named it “Rambodha” to signify its association with “Ramayana”. At this place, Sri Hanuman Temple was built in 1997.

Physical powers

Sri Hanuman is the embodiment and personification of physical prowess of mental and spiritual discipline, intellectual uprightness, emotional balance and moral splendour. According to Sage “Valmiki” Sri Hanuman is the best of all characters.

To him Sri Hanuman represented the most cultural youth of his times. He expressed maturity, intelligence, alertness, calmness, smartness, nobility, humility, honesty, sincerity, valour, boldness, devotion, respect, courtesy – all bundled together, Sage Valmiki never missed an occasion to show how Sri Hanuman promptly responded to the needs of “Sugriva”, his master as well as to every spoken orders of his “Lord Sri Rama”.

His command over the language fascinated Sri Rama when he introduced himself to his beloved Lord Rama. He also exhibited extraordinary tenacity and sustained enthusiasm, during the apparent failures he faced while searching for Sita in Lanka. After a long search, when he was about to give up, he said to himself: “Enthusiasm is the root of prosperity and it is the highest joy”, which promotes all endeavours.

Further, Sri Hanuman was praised as the best of servants by Sri Rama, while he handed over the “Chudamani”, Sri Rama held it close to his heart and extolled Sri Hanuman as Purushottama. He is the best among men, who did much more than the different task entrusted by his master.

Even as a messenger of Sri Rama, Sri Hanuman was very competent in communicating with Sita in Asoka forest and devised some means so that Sita may listen to his words without any fear. He addressed her in gentle words praising the noble qualities of Sri Rama.

Hearing these words from Sri Hanuman, Sita was extremely delighted at the news of Rama. To Sita the heroic Hanuman appeared like the Asoka Flowers and she was deeply amazed and took Sri Hanuman to be a formidable being.

The Hanuman, the effulgent son of “Wind God”, humbly approached Sita, worshipped her and said that he had come as a messenger at Sri Rama's command. Hanuman fully realizing Sita's thoughts about Sri Rama, began to speak in words pleasant to the ear, causing immense delights to her. He said that Great Rama is spirited like the Sun and beautiful like the moon. Everyone is warmly devoted to him. He is prosperous like “Kubera” and heroic like Lord Vishnu.

Further, in order to create confidence in Sita's mind, Sri Hanuman gave a ring with Rama's name engraved on it. Hanuman said that Sri Rama has made it and he had brought it for her confidence. He comforted Sita by saying that her sorrow would soon be over. Sri Hanuman is one of perfection, a personification of erudition, culture, competency and efficiency.

Swamy Iyappan CD releasing ceremony

K Eashwaralingan

The well-known Tamil devotional singer Chidambaram Thiyagarajah will release his new CD containing Iyappan devotional songs on December 8 at 4.00 pm at Iyangaran Hall in Kotahena under the patronage of Navodaya people front and Navodaya Youth Front President Dr S K Krishnan Swamy Iyappan is the powerful Hindu Lord whose temple is situated at the height of Sabarimalai.

The special feature of this CD releasing ceremony is the distribution of school stationery and equipment to 200 nearly students. A special pooja will be conducted by Deshabandu Sivasri Bala Ravishankara Sivadichari.

The CD with Iyappan devotional songs will also contain ten songs about Iyappan too.

All the songs were sung by Chidambaram Thiyagarajah. Child singer Akshiya Thiyagarajah had also contributed.

Music is by popular musician M S Selvarajah, lyrics by K Selvarajah and S Mohenraj.

The main singer Chidambaram Thiyagarajah is a well-known businessman and a social worker.

He has already released 13 CDs and several cassettes which contain more than 85 songs praising the fame of Swamy Iyappan. Thiyagarajah songs can be heard in the Iyappan temple in Sabarimalair and London also.

Next to the songs of well known singer K J Jesudas, only Chidambaram's songs can be heard at Iyappan temple during great Iyappan season.

Stories of Shiva

Subhamoy Das There are a number of mythological tales and legends surrounding Lord Shiva. Here're a few popular ones:

Ganga comes down to earth :

A legend from the Ramayana speaks of King Bhagirath who once meditated before Lord Brahma for a thousand years for the salvation of the souls of his ancestors. Pleased with his devotion Brahma granted him a wish. He requested the Lord to send the river Ganges down to earth from heaven so that she could flow over his ancestors’ ashes and wash their curse away and allow them to go to heaven.

Brahma granted his wish but asked him to pray to Shiva, for he alone could support the weight of her descent. Accordingly he prayed to Shiva and he allowed the Ganges to descend on his head, and after meandering through his thick matted locks, the holy river reached the earth. This story is re-enacted by bathing the ‘linga'.

The tiger and the leaves:

Once a hunter while chasing a deer wandered into a dense forest and found himself on the banks of river Kolidum when he heard the growl of a tiger. To protect himself from the beast he climbed up a tree nearby.

The tiger pitched itself on the ground below the tree fostering no intention to leave. The hunter stayed up in the tree all night and to keep himself from falling asleep, he gently plucked one leaf after another from the tree and threw it down.

Under the tree was a Shiva Linga and the tree blessedly turned out to be a bilva tree. Unknowingly the man had pleased the deity with bilva leaves. At sunrise, the hunter looked down to find the tiger gone, and in its place stood Lord Shiva. He prostrated before the Lord and attained salvation from the cycle of birth and death.

Why Shiva is worshipped in His Phallic Form:

According to another legend, once Brahma and Vishnu, two other deities of the holy Trinity, had an argument as to their supremacy. Brahma being the Creator declared himself to be more revered, while Vishnu, the Preserver, pronounced that he commanded more respect.

Just then a colossal ‘lingam’, known as Jyotirlinga, blanketed in flames, appeared before them. Both Brahma and Vishnu were awestruck by its rapidly increasing size. They forgot their quarrel and decided to determine its size.

Vishnu assuming the form of a boar went to the netherworld and Brahma as a swan flew to the skies. But both of them failed to accomplish the self-assumed tasks. Then, Shiva appeared out of the ‘lingam’ and stated that he was the progenitor of them both and that henceforth he should be worshiped in his phallic form, the ‘lingam’, and not in his anthropomorphic form.

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