My husband likes to go to bed early. Somewhere between 9-11, preferably. My son likes to socialize, and he lives to play games. Depending on the time of year, he’s in golf leagues, bowling leagues, or pitch leagues. Sometimes several a week. Last week, he subbed in a darts league. Like many people, he enjoys sporting events at the Dome or the baseball stadium. Sometimes, he just meets friends out at a bar or brewery for some live music or pool. And there’s already been talk of this year’s Green Beer Sunday. All of these activities usually involve some drinking of beer.
Since our kids were teenagers, we always insisted that we would drive them or pick them up if they were drinking. We would much prefer that to them drinking and driving or getting in the car with an impaired driver. Since our son is living at home while he plans his grad school years, we drive him around sometimes. Ubers, though wonderful, are expensive on a tight budget, and they are not always available. Mostly, my husband drives him around. I would consider this an act of devotion. I just looked it up. Devotion is “love, loyalty, or enthusiasm for a person, activity, or cause,” according to Google’s Dictionary. When my husband gets a 2 a.m. call and has to get out of bed and drive to Tipp Hill or Syracuse, I consider that an act of devotion.
Sometimes, in classes, we explore the concept of devotion through the study of Hanuman and the practice of Hanumanasana, the pose more commonly known as a split or the splits. (Don’t worry. We make it doable for all.) Hanuman is a Hindu deity known for his devotion to King Ram, whose story is recounted in the Ramayana.
The stories vary slightly depending on the source, but I’ll share the version I remember. The story begins with a woman, named Anjana, praying for a child. Vayu, the god of the wind, hears her prayer, and he blesses some grains of rice and sends them to her. She eats the rice and becomes pregnant. When her son is born, she names him Anjaneya, son of Anjana. Because Vayu is the child’s father, Anjana is a demigod, and as such, he has many special abilities. He can shape shift into various animals, fly, and move very quickly. He’s also got amazing strength.
As a small boy, Anjaneya gets himself into a lot of trouble with these special powers. All of the people in his village are frustrated by the damage and chaos he creates. One day, the boy looks up at the sun, and he thinks it’s a giant mango in the sky. He loves mangos, so he flies up into the sky to pick that fruit! The sun god, Surya, has had enough of the boy’s mischief, and he throws a thunderbolt, hitting the boy in the jaw. Anjaneya plummets to earth with a broken jaw. Vayu, upset and angry about his son’s demise, sucks up all of the air on earth and, holding his breath, demands that his son is returned to life. He threatens to hold his breath until all living beings on earth have died unless someone does something. The Gods hold a quick meeting, and a compromise is reached. The boy will live. He will have a new name, Hanuman, which means “broken jaw,” and he will be sent to live with an army of monkeys in the forest. Because he is adopted by the monkeys, he will take the form of monkey as well. Most importantly, he is cursed with short-term memory loss so that he will never remember the powers he holds and will not be causing damage and mischief.
When Hanuman is old enough, he begins to travel in the forest. One day he meets Ram & Sita (a revered royal couple whose story must be shared another day). He immediately knows that it is his life’s purpose to serve them. He pledges love and devotion and becomes their trusted friend and companion.
While they are traveling together, a demon named Ravana, who is jealous of Ram, kidnaps Sita and takes her to island of Lanka (we know it now as Sri Lanka), and he declares war on Ram. Ram must lead his troops into battle, so he sends his trusted friend, Hanuman, to find Sita and offer any assistance possible. Ram heads off to war, and Hanuman heads to the ocean’s shore. Once there, he kneels to pray for help. He does not have a boat, and he doesn’t know how to get to Sita. Because of his undying devotion, however, he takes a giant step, a true leap of faith, over the water, and begins to fly across the ocean to the island. Once there, he is able to find Sita, keep her safe, and let her know that help is on the way.
Ram defeats Ravana, and when everyone is back together, they have a big celebration. Ram presents Hanuman with a gold bracelet covered in jewels to express his gratitude. Hanuman is not interested. He looks the bracelet over and even bites it. Ram asks him why he is not pleased with the gift. Hanuman declares that he has no use for it because it does not have Ram’s name on it. He rips open his chest to reveal Ram and Sita’s likeness in his heart and Ram’s name written on every surface of his heart. When his heart beats, they could hear the soft chant of “Ram, Ram.”
Like most of the Hindu stories, this one gives us plenty to ponder. Who in your life are you devoted to, and who is devoted to you? Who would you leap over the ocean for? Hanuman has all the qualities of a devoted yogi, and his story is much like each of ours. Bhakti yoga is the path of devotion. Bhakti yogis often chant a mantra to focus their attention on an object of devotion like Hanuman, who spent countless hours chanting Ram’s name. Mantras are meant to free us from the fears that keep us small and help us reach our fullest potential.
Since our kids were teenagers, we always insisted that we would drive them or pick them up if they were drinking. We would much prefer that to them drinking and driving or getting in the car with an impaired driver. Since our son is living at home while he plans his grad school years, we drive him around sometimes. Ubers, though wonderful, are expensive on a tight budget, and they are not always available. Mostly, my husband drives him around. I would consider this an act of devotion. I just looked it up. Devotion is “love, loyalty, or enthusiasm for a person, activity, or cause,” according to Google’s Dictionary. When my husband gets a 2 a.m. call and has to get out of bed and drive to Tipp Hill or Syracuse, I consider that an act of devotion.
Sometimes, in classes, we explore the concept of devotion through the study of Hanuman and the practice of Hanumanasana, the pose more commonly known as a split or the splits. (Don’t worry. We make it doable for all.) Hanuman is a Hindu deity known for his devotion to King Ram, whose story is recounted in the Ramayana.
The stories vary slightly depending on the source, but I’ll share the version I remember. The story begins with a woman, named Anjana, praying for a child. Vayu, the god of the wind, hears her prayer, and he blesses some grains of rice and sends them to her. She eats the rice and becomes pregnant. When her son is born, she names him Anjaneya, son of Anjana. Because Vayu is the child’s father, Anjana is a demigod, and as such, he has many special abilities. He can shape shift into various animals, fly, and move very quickly. He’s also got amazing strength.
As a small boy, Anjaneya gets himself into a lot of trouble with these special powers. All of the people in his village are frustrated by the damage and chaos he creates. One day, the boy looks up at the sun, and he thinks it’s a giant mango in the sky. He loves mangos, so he flies up into the sky to pick that fruit! The sun god, Surya, has had enough of the boy’s mischief, and he throws a thunderbolt, hitting the boy in the jaw. Anjaneya plummets to earth with a broken jaw. Vayu, upset and angry about his son’s demise, sucks up all of the air on earth and, holding his breath, demands that his son is returned to life. He threatens to hold his breath until all living beings on earth have died unless someone does something. The Gods hold a quick meeting, and a compromise is reached. The boy will live. He will have a new name, Hanuman, which means “broken jaw,” and he will be sent to live with an army of monkeys in the forest. Because he is adopted by the monkeys, he will take the form of monkey as well. Most importantly, he is cursed with short-term memory loss so that he will never remember the powers he holds and will not be causing damage and mischief.
When Hanuman is old enough, he begins to travel in the forest. One day he meets Ram & Sita (a revered royal couple whose story must be shared another day). He immediately knows that it is his life’s purpose to serve them. He pledges love and devotion and becomes their trusted friend and companion.
While they are traveling together, a demon named Ravana, who is jealous of Ram, kidnaps Sita and takes her to island of Lanka (we know it now as Sri Lanka), and he declares war on Ram. Ram must lead his troops into battle, so he sends his trusted friend, Hanuman, to find Sita and offer any assistance possible. Ram heads off to war, and Hanuman heads to the ocean’s shore. Once there, he kneels to pray for help. He does not have a boat, and he doesn’t know how to get to Sita. Because of his undying devotion, however, he takes a giant step, a true leap of faith, over the water, and begins to fly across the ocean to the island. Once there, he is able to find Sita, keep her safe, and let her know that help is on the way.
Ram defeats Ravana, and when everyone is back together, they have a big celebration. Ram presents Hanuman with a gold bracelet covered in jewels to express his gratitude. Hanuman is not interested. He looks the bracelet over and even bites it. Ram asks him why he is not pleased with the gift. Hanuman declares that he has no use for it because it does not have Ram’s name on it. He rips open his chest to reveal Ram and Sita’s likeness in his heart and Ram’s name written on every surface of his heart. When his heart beats, they could hear the soft chant of “Ram, Ram.”
Like most of the Hindu stories, this one gives us plenty to ponder. Who in your life are you devoted to, and who is devoted to you? Who would you leap over the ocean for? Hanuman has all the qualities of a devoted yogi, and his story is much like each of ours. Bhakti yoga is the path of devotion. Bhakti yogis often chant a mantra to focus their attention on an object of devotion like Hanuman, who spent countless hours chanting Ram’s name. Mantras are meant to free us from the fears that keep us small and help us reach our fullest potential.
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