Naren, a little boy in Kolkata about 155 years ago, listened to the stories of Shri Hanuman from the mouth of his beloved mother. He not only began to love Shri Hanuman, but he also wanted to have a vision of his beloved Hanuman with his own eyes.
He learned from the narration of the Ramayana that Shri Hanuman is immortal and lives in a banana grove. Coincidentally. Naren's family had a banana grove in their backyard. One evening Naren sat quietly, patiently waiting to have the darshan (seeing a holy person) of Shri Hanuman. He waited and waited, and it was getting late. Becoming disheartened and disappointed, he returned home. His mother was curious to know about his absence that evening.
Naren loved his mother dearly, so he described his adventure and his failure. Why didn't he have a vision of beloved Hanuman? The wise and intelligent mother did not want to shake the young boy's faith; therefore, she said, "My sweet child, it is true that he is immortal and gives darshan to ardent and sincere seekers, but he might have gone to help a devotee with an urgent need who was seeking his help." Little Naren was happy to hear this.
Do you know who little Naren is? He became the world-renowned monk Swami Vivekananda.
Naren wished that he and all the youth of the world could have muscles of iron and nerves of steel. All children and youths should hold onto Shri Hanuman as their ideal for discipline, determination, and devotion.
Describing his love and appreciation for Shri Hanuman, Swami Vivekananda later said, "On one hand Hanuman represents the ideal of service; on the other he represents a lion's courage, striking the whole world with awe." He also said, "He did not hesitate to sacrifice his life for the good of Lord Rama. He had a supreme indifference for everything except serving Rama. Carrying out Rama's behests was the one vow of his life! Such wholehearted devotion is wanted."
As a young child born in a remote village in Odisha, I grew up in a devotional environment mostly dedicated to Shri Krishna and Radharani. Our ancestral family deity was Shri Radhakanta (Shri Radharani and her beloved Shri Krishna). My mother's sweet and melodious voice singing songs about Shri Radha and Shri Krishna affected me greatly, especially in the evenings when no one but me was at home. Reading the Puranas aloud was her pastime, and because of this she never felt lonely. She was always active and busy. I would sit near her listening to the Puranas such as the Shrimad Bhagavatam, the Ramayana, and the Nrusingha Purana, looking at the colorful pictures. A few of the pictures related to the life and activities of Shri Hanuman were awe-inspiring, for example, when he leaped toward the sun, when he flew across the ocean, when he burned the city of Lanka, and when Lord Rama and his brother Shri Lakshmana sat on Shri Hanuman's shoulders.
Slowly, my mother introduced me to the marvelous story of the Ramayana. I learned about the life and unimaginable activities of Shri Hanuman. In my childhood home there was a picture of Shri Hanuman as a giant monkey. In our village, every fortnight, a troop of monkeys visited, led by a very strong and sturdy male. He would sit atop huge trees, keeping an eye on everyone's safety and security. My mother told me that these monkeys were the descendants of Shri Hanuman. Their faces were black due to the burning of the city of Lanka. Needless to say, I had a deep love and adoration for these monkeys, but the villagers did not like them because they often destroyed their gardens. Observing their strength as they jumped from branch to branch and watching their agility and the way they ran created an image of Shri Hanuman in my mind as a child, and I imagined how he would have performed his wondrous work.
The life of Shri Hanuman is undoubtedly an inspiration for everyone.
During my childhood, the play of Rama Leela on the stage for weeks from the middle of March to May great source of entertainment and education. At that time there was less work on the farms, and most of the farmworker communities participated in the enactment of the Rama Leela. One such group was near our village. For many evenings they rehearsed this play. We, the little children returning from our evening tuition, would usually stop for a few minutes to enjoy their instrumental music, singing, dialogues, and enactment. During the rehearsals the troupe wore their regular clothes. The person playing the role of Shri Hanuman was undoubtedly a muscleman, but in my childhood innocence I was surprised that he had no tail like Shri Hanuman or the monkeys.
The month of Chaitra (March-April) is the time of Navaratri (the nine-day worship of the Divine Mother). The ninth day is Lord Rama's birthday, and soon after it is Shri Hanuman's birthday. During the nine days of Navaratri, an enactment of the Rama Leela was usually performed in our local town. It was performed for many hours every evening. In the act where Shri Hanuman was in Lanka, the stage was decorated with tree twigs, fruits such as bananas and tender coconuts, and flowers. His jumping and playing were very lively.
I had heard from many friends that there was always an outdoor play about Shri Hanuman in their villages as well. The actor playing Shri Hanuman accepted the role and fasted and prayed to Shri Hanuman. Then he put on an age-old mask of Shri Hanuman that was worshipped in the village temple and donned an artificial tail on his waist. The actor would become so absorbed in the thought of Shri Hanuman that he no longer felt he was human. He would perform many extraordinary feats such as jumping from the trees, removing the coconut skin with his teeth, breaking coconuts with his fist, and so forth.
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