Book review: An ode to the Hindu, Buddhist Monkey God

Travel to any part of the country by road and one is likely to spot tiny shrines in every street dedicated to the orange-bodied deity with the monkey head and tail. Likewise, travel by the railways (as the author did) or bus, and one is likely to find an increasing number of people reading a small chapbook with beatific expressions on their faces. While Hanuman and the prayers in the verses of the Hanuman Chalisa may have enjoyed immense popularity from times immemorial, never have they been as significant as now in these times of stress and strife. And who else could decode the enigma of Hanuman and the amazing powers of the Hanuman Chalisa, other than the high priest of mythology? Devdutt Pattanaik returns with My Hanuman Chalisa, a deceptively slim book that holds in its pages the wisdom of an entire civilisation.

A statement of purpose that usually marks the beginning of any Hindu ritual is contained in the initial verse, giving the book the scared touch of a devotee invoking his god. The author then proceeds to explain the structural split up of the 43 verses of the Hanuman Chalisa.

Explaining each verse in detail while taking frequent detours to plumb the riches of the ancient Hindu texts, Pattanaik gradually works his way towards creating a temple-like space in the mind of the reader.

The opening lines likening the mind to a mirror and touching upon the Hindu belief that all reality is perceived from the angle of the mind and are, therefore, illusory and subjective, is illuminating. Mind and matter are independent of each other. “We think we engage with the real world, when in fact we engage with the world reflected in the mind-mirror”, writes the author.

Other religions, mainly Buddhism, constantly weave themselves into the text as Pattanaik makes scholarly points of comparison.

The life-affirming and celebratory nature of the Hindu religion as against the life-renouncing austerity of Buddhism makes for a fascinating study and the fact that the monkey god straddles both these diverse philosophies effortlessly is even more astonishing.

A lot of mythology is metaphorical and the author puts forth his theory that “north” and “south” in the Ramayana are metaphors for Ram, Ravana and Hanuman, and the entire story could well be playing out in the arena of the human mind.

Thus, the north in the Ramayana, according to Pattanaik, is the highest potential to be, realised while the south afflicted by materialistic emotions, transforms into a person’s ego. In between the two is the land of monkeys — neutral elements — who could be drawn towards the northern region of self-actualisation (symbolised by Ram/dharma) or seduced by greed, negativity and destructive tendencies (symbolised by Ravana /adharma) of the southern region.

While one verse tackles the birth details of Hanuman, another sings paeans to his physical attributes; yet another pays homage to mental agility. The concept of Hanuman being the son of two mothers and two fathers could have been mind-boggling if the author’s easy, breezy prose had not explained the intricate details comprehensively.

Pattanaik outlines the two kinds of gods — the self-created ones, who exist beyond time and space and are, therefore, immortal and infinite, and the other ones who are born to parents, anchored in time and space and are, thereby, mortal and finite. The hierarchy and sub-sections of Hindu deities as per the scriptures are meticulously explained, but once again, Hanuman appears to turn every accepted category on their heads!

The various names of Hanuman — Pavan Putra, Maruti, Vajra-angi, Mahabali- pop up constantly along with their origins, expanding on the diverse stories about this multi-faceted persona.

The verse describing Hanuman’s physical description has to be the most forceful as it extols on the ubiquitous god’s radiance, strength, valour, vitality, loyalty, tenacity and astuteness. His mace, muses the author, could have its origins in a thunderbolt and be a metaphor for his incisive analytical abilities.

Though worshipped predominantly by Hindus, Hanuman’s personality holds many elements of Buddhist philosophy — his lack of personal desires and his perennial eagerness to help people in distress, likening him to the Bodhisattava. His ruddy colouring is against the stuff of diverse theories — while his golden hue indicates the golden fur of a monkey, another story depicts Hanuman douching himself in sindoor in a frenzy of Ram-love.

Hanuman has two births, a physical one and a psychological one, and this applies to every human being too, writes the author. What makes a brahmin, birth or actions?

Pattanaik throws open the argument to readers. While Ravana, the son of a brahmin, became a brute by his actions, Hanuman, a beast, rose to brahminhood by virtue of this compassion and wisdom, runs the author’s argument. Hanuman appears to harbour multiple divine connections, so while one verse celebrates his devotion to Vishnu’s avtaar, Ram, another links him to Shankara, the householder form of Lord Shiva.

One of the most fascinating parts is when Hanuman, existing solely for the purpose of serving Ram, by virtue of his extraordinary merits, detaches to become an independent god. Likewise, Pattanaik puts forth the idea that Hanuman with his ability to contract space and time, already knew the Ramayana in his childhood but allowed the story to play out to ensure Ram his moment of glory.  

The emphasis on “my” in the book title is significant for Pattanaik adopts a deeply personalised approach towards his subject. He is judicious in listing the merits of every other religion but underlying everything is his deep and blatant admiration for the Hindu philosophy.

The middle-ground writing is the kind that would appeal to devotees, sceptics, agnostics, fanatics, existentialists and the scholarly alike, and his crisp little dedication — “To the trolls, without and within” — is rather apt.

The author touches on fascinating topics like the individualistic versus the collectivistic ideologies in mythology, polytheism and monotheism, the cycle of time with its leitmotif of rebirth and re-death and explains Hinduism’s tricky quality of kathenotheism with great clarity.

Hanuman is an animal, he is god, he is a celibate-ascetic but he could be uber-virile with a healthy libido (as per the Hanuman of Southeast Asia). Hanuman effortlessly travels time zones and is yet anchored in the Ram-era. He is a vital part of Hindu mythology but harbours Buddhist personality traits, he possesses distinctive features but is capable of shape shifting, he is a warrior but also a keen psychologist who can alter his personality as per the demands of a situation, he is innocent, guileless and spontaneous, he is smart and savvy.

He could have one head, that of a monkey, or be five-headed with heads of an eagle, horse, lion and wild boar.

Any other author would have balked at the thought of capturing the essence of a deity riddled with so many paradoxes and contradictions but not Pattanaik who goes for his subject with all cylinders fired.

A treasure trove of mythological information, one marvels at the amount of research that has gone into penning the text; the illustrations in Pattanaik’s trademark strokes (well recognised by now) enhance the pages. Enlightening, informative, absorbing, lending itself to multiple debates and a metaphysical treat, the book is infinitely precious.

The entire Hanuman Chalisa carried at the beginning of the book renders it a double-bonus to the devotee-reader. That a collection of 43 short verses could hold within it a huge chunk of spiritual evolution and the multiple philosophies of an entire race is an amazing concept but there it is; some of the most profound things come in small packages. Emphasising Hanuman’s abilities to protect his devotes from every kind of danger and disaster, removing obstacles and restoring balance of mind and body, the author signs off by inviting readers to explore for themselves the magic of the Hanuman Chalisa. And proving once again that the greatest kind of movement possible for any human being is the leap of faith.

Kankana Basu is a Mumbai-based writer. Her published works of fiction include a collection of short stories, Vinegar Sunday, and a novel, Cappuccino Dusk.