Hanuman, Beloved Monkey God

His childhood and emergence as an adult,

and transformation to a deity.

A new perspective on an ancient tale.

Carolyn Hancock

Hanuman, the "heroic monkey deity" is best known for his superhero efforts and devotion to Rama.  When I think about Hanuman I cannot help but focus on his childhood and rather chaotic start he had in life. Certainly, the unruly child he once was did not seem indicative of the special and extraordinary being he was to become.

Very often we have heard that in all myths or legends there is a seed or fragment of truth that is the basis for development of the legend.  It also appears that stories in the Bible have in them some basis, or some reality that has been expanded to legendary or miraculous proportions.  Thus, years later these incidents have taken on the appearance of a miracle, an amazing superhuman feat, or are just plain unbelievable.  Let us examine the birth and childhood of Hanuman from the perspective of contemporary child development and let us see if we can merge reality and myth.  For this writer, the story of Hanuman's childhood is a story that I find more interesting and more enticing that that of the adult deity he was to become.

Hanuman's story first appears in the "Ramayana" of Valmiki, a sage who lived and wrote in ancient India.  This child was born to Anjana who it appears was a woman already in disfavor at the time of Hanuman's birth  There is mention of an "absentee" father, but of course we don't know it there ever was even a marriage between the two parents.  Perhaps Anjana was not married and had become pregnant and was being shunned by her community or village.  If the baby's father had run off and left her, then certainly depicting Vayu, god of the wind as the father, (as the legend tells us), would be quite fitting.  Actually it lends a bit of irony!!

So little Hanuman was born with a "cloud" over his birth and quickly began to develop into an unruly toddler.  Perhaps he inherited his poor impulse control from his impulsive mother or from both parents.  Today we understand so much more about genetics and personality traits that it appears that Hanuman may have inherited both impulsivity and great physical strength from his parents.  He also seems to have inherited simian looks, as he very much resembled a monkey.  From time to time there have been instances recorded where children have been born with a heavy brow and facial hair, giving them a monkey-like appearance.  (Unfortunately these occurrences often are recorded in volumes such as "Ripley's Believe It or Not").

Poor little Hanuman, descriptions of his behavior as a child portray him as having a classic case of ADHD, attention deficit hyperactive disorder.  Today this is a very common diagnosis, and is marked by a high level of frenetic energy, poor impulse control, and poor judgment often accompanied by destructive behavior.  Hanuman seemed to have ever symptom.  Legend describes him as breaking things, getting into other peolpes' property, and even trying to take a bite out of the sun.  His mistaking the sun for a piece of fruit was surely a huge mistake in judgment!  The story says that Hanuman was knocked down by Indra, the king of heaven, after he tried to take a bite from the sun.  In reality I suspect some poor soul was just so tired of this child getting into everything that he decided to discipline Hanuman himself, resulting in a broken jaw for Hanuman.  According to the legend the child's name comes from the word "hanu", meaning jaw.  Hanuman, I would guess by now was somewhere the age of eight and eleven and becoming too big in size to be considered "cute".  I would also assume that the incident of the broken jaw, (which also could have been caused by a fall during one of his more reckless escapes), really had people worried.  What would become of this child if no one intervened on his behalf.  Obviously there were no special education classes, no child therapists, and no medication available during this time.  But there were priests, monks, yogis and other wise people.  The legend says the priests cast a spell to erase Hanuman's powers, but I would guess that the child was sent away to live with the monks or other cloistered and learned men.  I would like to hypothesize that it was the intervention of yoga, meditation, study and devotion that "cured" Hanuman of his ADHD.  I have actually seen the students in my school during their yoga class being calm and peaceful on their mats.  Some of these children are classified ADHD, but do extremely well in yoga class.  Many of these children are also very bright and it is often their abundant curiosity that gets them into trouble.  Possibly Hanuman was not only very physically strong, but also an intellectual genius.  Left unguided, that combination would have caused him great trouble as a child.  if we assume that rather than his powers being taken away, that Hanuman was actually sent to live with some very special people, then it would follow that as Hanuman grew older he might possibly mature into a very extraordinary man.  If through meditation and devotion he harnessed his intellect, then we might be able to picture that the adult Hanuman as a man that people would turn to for advice and help.

I like to think of Hanuman returning to his community "cured', physically strong, and intellectually brilliant.  I believe that because of his own course of devotional study Hanuman became devoted to helping those in need.  According to the legend he had become the king's advisor and clearly was trusted on all important matters.  Rather than leaping across continents, Hanuman may used his intellect to devise a route to sail or travel to distant places.  Using all of his skills, and knowing the true power of devotion he was able to rescue Sita.

Contemporary history has given us examples of others who were shunned by their school or community, but who turned out to be brilliant individuals.  Thomas Edison spent three months in a formal school setting.  He annoyed his teacher so much by asking questions that she told him he was "addle brained".  He did some studying at home with his mother, but was largely self taught, and went on to become one of the most famous inventors ever known.  He also became an advisor to many and mingled with presidents.

Carolyn is a 2005 graduate of Naturally Yoga's Teacher Training Program