Themes for a new year and beyond
This month, in all of my classes we’ve been exploring themes embedded in the mythology of Hanuman, India’s great Monkey God.
If you are not unfamiliar with this mythology, let me give you a quick recap:
There was once a beautiful vanara (forest dweller) by the name of Añjanā. Añjanā was a dutiful yogini, dedicated to her practices. Añjanā deeply desired to become a mother and one day during her prayers, as she held her opened palms skyward, ready to receive the grace of God, she was surprised when a few grains of rice fell into her upturned hands. Knowing not to question what she received in prayer, Añjanā quickly ate the grains of rice. What Añjanā didn’t know was that the rice she consumed was blessed rice. You see the rice had been blessed by her longtime admirer, the god of the wind, Vāyu. Upon learning of her desire, and having witnessed her committed dedication to her practice, Vāyu blessed the rice, and with a quick puff of breath sent the rice, on the wind, to Añjana’s praying hands. Upon consumption of this blessed gift, Añjanā became pregnant and later gave birth to the part monkey-part man that we know as Hanuman.
Being conceived by the grace of God, Hanuman was half mortal (vanara) and half divine. His divine nature meant that Hanuman possessed many powers that the mere mortal part of him often forgot about. His forgetfulness was often getting him into trouble, but in times of crisis, Hanuman’s divine nature always shone through. He was able to leap across the entire ocean to save the wife of his best friend, Lord Rama. He was able to soar to the top of the Himalayan mountains to bring home an herb that would save his own brother’s life. And when he wasn’t able to remember which herb to harvest, he was strong enough to lift the entire mountain top and carry it on his back just to be sure he brought back the right plant.
Hanuman’s many adventures required taking a leap of faith, fearlessness, dedication, believing in himself, and calling on his inner strength. Like all mythology, the tales of Hanuman, are meant to illustrate the human condition, help us understand our deeper essence, and dissolve our limiting beliefs about ourselves and others. The stories of Hanuman’s life remind us that with faith, fearlessness, and dedication we can draw forth our own inner strengths and soar to new heights as we pursue our goals, dreams and ambitions.
Many of us begin a new year with resolutions, that often get left by the wayside before the end of January. We approach these new years resolutions with the attitude that there is something wrong with us, something we need to change, improve, or do better. This kind of thinking inherently sabotages our best efforts and we never fulfill our potential because we believe we don’t deserve good things.
What if, instead, we approached our goals, desires, dreams, and aspirations with a different attitude. What if, like Hanuman, we took that leap of faith and ACTUALLY believed in ourselves? A leap of faith such as this requires fearlessness and faith - a trust and confidence that the Universe is supporting our efforts. When we approach our goals with this kind of attitude, with a strong belief in what we are capable of, making the required commitments to achieving those goals becomes easy. When we actual believe that we deserve all that we dream of, the effort to attain our dreams feels effortless.
So as we close out the first month of the new year, let us not leave our hopes and dreams by the wayside. Let us fearlessly and faithfully draw on our immense strength and dedicate ourselves to the effort required to achieve all of the good things we deserve.