Hanumanji

What a perfectly lovely way to spend an hour... chanting the Hanuman Chalisa with friends at my friend Prajna's house. Blissful.

Hanuman is the hero of the Ramayana, the Indian epic which tells the story of Rama and Sita. The matchbook cover version of that story: Rama loses his throne and is banished; his wife Sita is kidnapped to Lanka by the demon-king Ravana; Rama, his brother Lakshman, and an army head for Lanka to rescue her. Hanuman plays a pivotal role in the story - he flies ahead to Lanka with Rama's ring to tell Sita that help is on the way. With his tale ablaze, he sets Lanka on fire. When herbs are needed for healing, he flies to the mountain to the the herbs... and brings back the entire mountain. Many of the images of Hanuman show him flying, carrying the mountain back to Rama. After Rama rescues Sita, they all return to Ayodhya. (Fair warning -- the story does not have a happy ending... )

Hanuman is the perfect servant of God... living only to serve Ram.

Some of my favorite Hanuman things...

The Hanuman Chalisa, available on many chant CDs. (Particularly recommend Flow of Grace by Krishna Das)

"Where did you get that ring?" Delightful contemporary song about Hanuman - on Flow of Grace, and also on other Krishna Das CDs.

Hanuman's Tales -- fascinating book of His stories.

I have a lovely batik of Hanuman, which I think I found in Benares.

Hanuman is just... sweetness. Hanging out with him, reading about him, chanting about him -- bliss.