The Flight of Hanuman

Hanuman dedicated his entire life to the service of Sri Ram. By diligently fulfilling the will of the lord, he came to be known as ‘Ramdoot’, the messenger of Sri Ram.With his single-pointed devotion to the lord, he overcomes the greatest of obstacles and achieves the impossible. The moment he accepts Sri Ram as his master, he recognises his full potential, enabling him to perform unthinkable feats, like carrying an entire mountain or burning Lanka to the ground.When the vast ocean stands as a barrier between Lord Ram and his beloved, it is Hanuman who is entrusted with the responsibility of locating Sita and giving her the message that Sri Ram is on his way to rescue her. Sri Ram gives his ring to Hanuman to present to Sita, as proof that he is Sri Ram’s messenger. Holding the ring in his mouth, Hanuman overcomes all obstacles to reach Mother Sita. This symbolises our ability to achieve whatever we want, if we have the lord’s name on our lips. When we love something, our whole focus is on the object of our love. Love gives us the strength and ability to go beyond our limitations and reach our goals. Hanuman loves Sri Ram dearly, and his unwavering focus on carrying out Lord Ram’s instructions endows him with supernatural abilities.For a seeker, the ocean represents identification with the body and the selfish ego that we must cross in order to achieve our goal. When we rise above egocentric thoughts, our actions revolve around a higher goal, and we start identifying with the lord within us. In doing so, we exhibit our true potential, as we become available for the divine to manifest through us. Just like a flute has to be hollow, to produce melodious tunes, we too must be devoid of all selfish wants, likes and dislikes, for the lord to express through us. The extent to which we can free ourselves from the stubborn clutches of the ego and identify with the lord as our true self is the extent to which we would find the brilliance of our innate divinity shining forth through us.

The Flight of Hanuman

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