Meaning: Intellectually developed people make you limited by saying that ‘You are sun, moon, wind, fire, water, sky, earth, and soul’. But, in this universe, we do not know anything which is not You.
Reflections: Hindus know that God is only one, called Brahman, and Brahman is infinite, formless, and free from all qualities. Since it is difficult to meditate on the formless Brahman initially, seekers of God are encouraged to meditate on various forms of Brahman (God) endowed with qualities according to one’s liking. There is total freedom in selecting the forms and qualities of God. That is why the Hindu religion has reached mythology. However, all the seekers of God are reminded again and again that these forms are limited, and they are just the representations of the infinite Brahman. This will prevent them to be fanatics about the particular forms of God. Pushpadanta, in this shloka, addresses this point in a very poetic way.
There are several lists of gods and goddesses available in Hinduism. One of the lists talks about eight manifestations of Brahman, namely, five elements (space, wind, fire, water, and earth), two illumined objects (sun, and moon, which are considered as the eyes of Brahman), and Atman (the inner consciousness). In Bhagavad Gita, Shri Krishna says that wherever one sees special power manifesting through a person or an object, one should know that it is the ‘Power of Lord Krishna’, meaning the power of Brahman. One can meditate first on that manifestation and then develop a way to meditate on the infinite, formless, and qualityless Brahman.
In this shloka, Pushpadanta poetically says that Lord Shiva as Brahman is not only the eight manifestations, but there is nothing in the universe that is not Brahman. Brahman is what we perceive in the universe and is beyond what we perceive. Actually, one who is searching for Brahman is not different from Brahman. Out of ignorance one separates oneself from Brahman and then looks for Brahman.
No one can describe Brahman. Whatever we describe becomes limited. Brahman is infinite and unlimited. Sri Ramakrishna says that everything in the universe has become ‘jhutha’ except Brahman. Whatever touches our mouth is considered ‘jhutha’. We think that we can describe all the objects and beings in the universe because they are limited. But Brahman is even beyond our comprehension because our mind is limited. Again, Sri Ramakrishna says that one cannot put ten gallons of milk in a one-gallon container.
The truth that ‘Brahman has become everything’ has been mentioned all over in the Hindu scriptures. The following are a couple of examples:
Ishopanishad, line 1 of mantra 1, says:
“ALL THIS – whatever exists in this changing universe – should be covered by the Lord.”
Lord Shri Krishna, identifying himself with Brahman, says the following in the Bhagavad Gita:
“O Arjuna! There exists nothing whatever higher than I am. All is strung on Me (Brahman) as a row of gems on a thread.” (Gita 7.7).
“One who sees Me (Brahman) everywhere and sees everything in Me, to that person I am never lost, nor he/she is ever lost to Me.” (Gita 6.30).
“At the end of many births, the person of wisdom, realizing that ‘Vasudeva (Brahman) is all’, worships Me (Brahman). Rare indeed to find such a great soul.” (Gita 7.19).
Meaning: The famous Ravana acquired great strength by worshipping Lord Shiva. But, with that strength, he started to shake your abode, Kailash. However, when you gently pressed the tip of your toe (on Ravana’s head), Ravana could not find a place even in Patala, the lowest plane in the universe. Truly, a wicked person loses a sense of right and wrong when he/she acquires wealth and power.
Reflections: Ravana worshipped Lord Shiva and acquired great strength and wealth. But he forgot that all his glories came from Lord Shiva. At one point he wanted to apply the same strength against Lord Shiva and started shaking Kailash, Lord Shiva’s abode. Lord Shiva gently pressed the tip of his toe and with that force, Ravana went down and down in space and became a laughable person. Pushpadanta writes that a wicked person really gets deluded by wealth and strength, and loses the sense of right and wrong. Wicked people have no sense of gratitude, and they learn their lessons the hard way.
Question: We know that when one realizes God, one gets liberated. Ravana performed severe austerities and realized Lord Shiva, but why then did he bring his own destruction?
This is my understanding:
Answer: God is called a “Kalpataru”, the wish-fulfilling tree. Ravana had a desire to conquer the world and acquire all the wealth of the world. With that desire in mind, he intensely performed austerity, much more than any ordinary person can perform. God must fulfill his desire. But that desire led him to destructive ideas which brought destruction of himself, his followers, and his kingdom.
The theory of Karma says that if we have a desire, then we will act accordingly, and we must go through the consequences of our actions. However, if we have a desire for knowledge of the Ultimate Reality and love for God, then this desire will liberate us from all other worldly desires, and make us free from all our bondages.
People whose minds are filled with tamas and rajas have desires to harm people or to acquire worldly gain. Many of them pray to God to fulfill their desires. The power which creates, preserves, and dissolves the universe gives strength to these people to fulfill their desires, but then they must suffer the consequences of their actions. Therefore, if we do not want to suffer anymore, and want to be liberated from all our bondages and experience infinite bliss within, then we must pray to God for Knowledge and Devotion.
One more lesson we learn from this shloka is to recognize all the help we have received and to be thankful to all who have helped us. Parents help us to grow, teachers help us to learn, and many people and objects of the world help us in various ways to survive, work, and for our achievements. We must recognize this help, be thankful to all, and do our best to return this favor in some way. Even if we live a decent life grounded by morality and spirituality, then all who have helped us will be happy for the sacrifices they have made for us.
The ego is the main obstacle to recognizing other people’s help. It wants to boast thinking that ‘I have done everything by myself’. Developing a sense of gratitude does not make us smaller, but it makes us humble, and it adds up to our self-dignity and awareness of reality.
Meaning: O Girisha (Shiva)! To measure your glories which appeared as a luminous pillar, Brahma went above, and Vishnu went below. Thus, they made lots of effort. But they could not measure your glories. Then, being filled with devotion and faith, when they sang your glories, you revealed yourself to them. A prayer filled with devotion and faith definitely leads to the realization of the Lord.
Reflections: This shloka tells us that no one can fully comprehend Brahman, the absolute aspect of God, even the divine forms Brahma, and Vishnu.
The story goes that a dispute arose between Brahma and Vishnu about ‘who is greater’. Each one claimed that he was greater. Brahma said that he is greater because he creates the universe and Vishnu said that he is greater because he preserves the universe and Brahma has been born from his navel. The dispute could not be resolved, and it became intense. Out of anger, each one threw a weapon at the other. Lord Shiva stopped both the weapons and thus stopped great destruction, and He appeared as the infinite luminous pillar.
Brahma had not created that pillar and Vishnu had not seen it before. Both were amazed by its luminosity and infinite nature. Both planned to check out the source of the pillar. Brahma went above and Vishnu went below. But they could not find its end and its source. They felt ashamed of their boasting. They found something higher than them. Finally, both forgot about their fight, their hearts got filled with faith and devotion, and with folded hands, they asked this divine force to reveal itself. At that time, Brahman appeared in the form of Shiva and told that Brahman is the Ultimate Reality of the universe and It appears as Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva.
We can learn from this that we boast about our worldly achievements and think that we are great. But, when we think of the infinite power and glories of God manifesting in the universe, then we look very timid. For example, when we see Himalayas, or an ocean, or Grand Canyon, or think of the infinite sky filled with planets, stars, and galaxies, or the infinite time, then we realize that we are nothing more than an ant or a very tiny creature walking on earth having a big ego which has a very little value.
Here is a practical way to reduce our ego, pain, problems, and quarrels in our life. Suppose I am sitting in a chair in my study room and a camera is showing only me. I occupy the whole picture. Then, the camera moves further away and shows me sitting in the whole room. Then, it keeps moving away showing me in my house, in the whole block, in the city, in the country, on the earth, and so on. Then, the camera goes out into space where the whole earth becomes like a green pea and then may become a small dot. In this infinite space, what is my existence? It is ridiculous that we walked around with a big worldly ego having achieved something which looks trivial in infinite time. In this perspective, our existence, our pain, problems, and quarrels in our life become insignificant, and we realize that we had mentally magnified them more than their actual reality. Thus, we get a proper understanding and inner strength to go through the adversities of life.
Now, let us look at it from the Vedantic point of view. A being with body and mind is an extremely limited person, but as an Atman, each individual is not different than Brahman. When we realize our true divine Self, Atman, then we become infinite by being one with the whole universe.
This shloka also teaches us that if we sincerely pray to God with faith and devotion, then God reveals Its nature.
Note: Last week, in a summer camp, I taught ‘Introduction of Shiva Mahimna Stotra’ to 8th and 9th-grade students along with a few high school seniors and alumni. I had five periods, and each was forty-five minutes long. For the introduction, I selected nine shlokas out of the forty-three shlokas of the Shiva Mahimna Stotra, namely, 1, 7, 10, 12, 26, 29, 30, 32, and 43. Therefore, I have decided to talk about these shlokas first and then fill in the other shlokas later. In the last blog, I covered the ‘Introduction’, ‘Pranam Mantra’, and ‘Shloka 1’ of the Shiva Mahimna Stotra. Here is the Shloka 7 of the stotra.
Meaning: Three Vedas, Sankhya, Yoga, Shaivite sect, Vaishnava’s sect, and others have described several paths to realize God. People say that ‘this path or that path is the best or more helpful’. But, as the ocean is the one destination of all the rivers’ water, all these various religious paths, created to match various likings of the people, straight or difficult they appear, they all lead to You (One God).
Reflections: There is only one God and people worship It with various names and forms. Sri Ramakrishna says that mothers cook dishes according to the digestive capacity and the liking of the children. Similarly, God has created all these religious paths to suit the needs of the people. It is futile to try to prove that one path is better than the other. I love my mother, but I cannot tell my neighbor that ‘my mother is the best and he/she should love only my mother’. My neighbor will say that he/she loves his/her mother and thinks that she is great. In essence, mothers are different, but the ‘motherhood’ is the same.
Rig Veda says, “Ekam Sat Vipra Bahuda Vadanti”, Truth is one, sages call It by various names. Sri Ramakrishna says that follow the path you like to realize God, but do not think that your path is the only right path, and all other paths are wrong. If we sincerely follow our path, we can realize God. Even if our path has some mistakes, if we are sincere and open-minded, then God will correct all our mistakes and guide us in the right direction. Only politicians and religious fanatics who are interested in power and other worldly benefits guide people into religious fights and differences. They are not really interested in realizing God. We hope people understand this truth that God is one and all paths lead to the same God. This way we can avoid hatred created in the name of religion.
As I had mentioned in the last blog, Swami Vivekananda, in his famous speech given on September 11, 1893, at the Chicago World Parliament of Religions, quoted this shloka saying:
“I will quote to you, brethren, a few lines from a hymn which I remember to have repeated from my earliest boyhood, which is every day repeated by millions of human beings: ‘As the different streams having their sources in different places all mingle their water in the sea, so, O Lord, the different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee’.”
Shiva Mahimna Stotra is a hymn filled with Lord Shiva’s glories and enlightening thoughts which help us understand the Ultimate Reality and build our character. It was written by Shri Pushpadanta. He was an angel and a devotee of Lord Shiva. He was well-versed in singing and literature.
There is a story telling us why Shri Pushpadanta wrote this hymn. Being an angel, he could remain invisible to human beings and fly around the world freely. His greatest joy was to offer beautiful flowers to Lord Shiva every day. Once when he was flying over the garden of King Chitraratha, he observed that there were very special and beautiful flowers growing there that he had not seen. He thought of offering these flowers to Lord Shiva. But the garden was protected by high security. He thought that he could be invisible, and he could fly, so he had nothing to worry about stealing the flowers. He invisibly entered the garden, quietly collected the flowers he liked, and offered them to Lord Shiva. This continued for a few days.
The king was also offering flowers to Lord Shiva. But he found that he was not getting the special flowers that he loved to offer. Upon inquiry, he found from the guards that someone was stealing these flowers lately and they were unable to find the thief. The king observed that there was no flow in the security. He was convinced that this was the job of an angel. He had an idea. He asked the guards to collect respectfully the flowers and the bilva leaves already offered to Lord Shiva in his temple and spread them around those flower plants from which the thief was stealing regularly. The guards did exactly what the king had told them to do and that night they remained awake hiding behind the bushes. Angel Pushpadanta came invisibly and started stealing the flowers. But he found that he was losing his power to remain invisible and now all can see who he was. The guards caught him and told him that he lost his power because he insulted Lord Shiva by stepping on and going over the offered flowers and bilva leaves to Lord Shiva. Pushpadanta’s heart was filled with pain knowing that he had insulted his beloved Lord Shiva and he was engaged in wrongdoing. In order to please Lord Shiva and regain His love, he started composing a hymn. With this hymn, Shri Pushpadanta became immortal and one of the most beloved devotees of Lord Shiva. Over a period of hundreds of years, by reciting this hymn, millions of devotees had a vision of Lord Shiva and their souls have been uplifted.
In his famous speech given on September 11, 1893, at the Chicago World Parliament of Religions, Swami Vivekananda said the following1:
“I will quote to you, brethren, a few lines from a hymn which I remember to have repeated from my earliest boyhood, which is every day repeated by millions of human beings: ‘As the different streams having their sources in different places all mingle their water in the sea, so, O Lord, the different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee.’” This is the seventh shloka of Shiva Mahimna Stotra.
The following incident from the life of Sri Ramakrishna2 gives us a clear picture of how people had a vision of Lord Shiva by repeating the Shiva Mahimna Stotra.
“One day, the Master (Sri Ramakrishna) entered one of the Shiva temples of Dakshineswar and began to recite the Shiva Mahimna, a hymn in praise of the Deity. He was beside himself in ecstasy as he recited the following verse: “O Lord! Imagine if the ink is prepared by dissolving a blue mountain into an ocean, the biggest branch of the celestial tree becomes the pen to write, and the earth the writing paper, and if by taking all these things, Saraswati, the goddess of Learning, writes your glories forever, even then she cannot describe your glories.”
“While the Master was reciting the above verse, he intensely felt the glory of Shiva in his heart, and he lost himself. He forgot the hymn, the Sanskrit language of the hymn, the order of the verses, and so on, and repeatedly cried aloud, “O Lord, how can I express Your infinite glory?” Tears poured down his cheeks, chest, and clothes, finally dampening the floor.”
Let us sincerely study this great hymn, Shiva Mahimna, and uplift ourselves spiritually and asked Lord Shiva to give us His vision to bless our life and be free from all bondages. With this vision our life will be meaningful, we will attain great fulfillment, and we will experience infinite bliss which cannot be obtained by any worldly object, person, or pleasure.
2: Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play by Swami Saradananda, translated by Swami Chetanananda, page 487.]
First, we will salute Lord Shiva with the following shloka:
Meaning: I salute Lord Shiva who is peaceful, auspicious, and the cause of the creation, preservation, and dissolution of the universe. O Lord Shiva! I surrender myself to you. May I realize you.
Reflections: Lord Shiva’s form is serene, peaceful, and auspicious. By meditating on this form, we also acquire the same qualities. Lord Shiva, as Brahman, the Ultimate Reality, is the cause of the creation, preservation, and dissolution of the universe. There is no other cause for these activities. This Brahman is our true identity which we refer to it as Atman.
For our spiritual development, we have to surrender our ego which is formed by our body and mind, and the fundamental ignorance of our true nature. We pray to God to realize that our true nature is not different from God.
Meaning: This is Shiva Mahimna Stotra composed by Shri Pushpadanta.
(Meaning of Shloka – 1): “O Shiva, the remover of all sufferings, I am ignorant of your infinite glories. If my hymn is improper, then even the hymns sung by Brahma and other knowledgeable people are also improper because no one has completely fathomed your glories. If the hymn sung by each one according to one’s limited intellect is permissible, then my effort to compose this hymn is not an exception.”
Reflections: No one can describe God’s infinite glories. Take, for example, our eyes. Go deeper to understand how the eyes function. The eyes take pictures that are registered inside us as upside-down images. Then the senses encode all the pictures into messages and then send them to the brain. The brain then puts them together as the things look outside and sends messages to the body to react according to the mind’s feelings. Cameras came from studying how the eyes function. Science has studied some parts of the functions of the eyes, but if we ask the experts, they will say that after some point they don’t know many things about the eyes.
The greatest mystery is how life appears in the mother’s womb. Every day several research papers are published. Each one solves a few problems but raises many other questions. As our knowledge grows, so does our awareness of our ignorance. Thus, God’s glories are infinite and our finite minds cannot fathom them.
If we pray to God sincerely, then God listens to our prayer. God will ignore all our imperfections in our language and expressions.
Kaivalyashtakam is one of my favorite hymns. Many saint-poets of India did not attach their names with their poems or hymns. This is one such hymn. The saint-poets think that God inspired them to write poems or hymns, or these poems or hymns revealed to them from within, therefore they are not the authors. It is a great example of selflessness.
Gita Press, Gorakhpur has done a great service to humanity by publishing Hindu scriptures with excellent printing and binding. Also, the prices of these scriptures are most reasonable. The Kaivalyashtakam is hymn # 72 in the collection of hymns, called “Stotra Ratnavali”, published by the Gita Press, Gorakhpur.
Kaivalyashtakam is a hymn with simple Sanskrit words, but it is very poetic and it expresses the fundamental principles of spirituality. The refrain in this hymn is “Harer Naamaiva Kevalam”, which means that ‘repeating the name of Hari (God) is the only important thing for spiritual life.’
Sri Ramakrishna learned Vedanta philosophy from a great spiritual teacher Totapuri. Following the Vedantic meditation under the guidance of Totapuri, Sri Ramakrishna attained the Nirvikalpa Samadhi within a couple of days. Nirvikalpa Samadhi is the highest state in spirituality. In this Samadhi one’s mind completely merges with the Ultimate Reality, called Brahman. In that state, one remains in a continuous blissful state and that person has no consciousness of his/her body and mind and space and time. Totapuri was amazed to find that what took forty years of spiritual practices for him, that Nirvikalpa Samadhi, Sri Ramakrishna attained in a few days.
However, next day, Totapuri was amused to see that Sri Ramakrishna was chanting Mother Kali’s name and clapping his hands. He was thinking why Sri Ramakrishna is behaving like a beginner in the spiritual path after attaining the Nirvikalpa Samadhi. Totapuri wanted to express this thought to Sri Ramakrishna, so he said to him in a light tone, “What? Are you making chapatis (Indian bread made by hands)?” Sri Ramakrishna said, “I am taking the name of God.” Totapuri believed in God without form and he did not find it necessary to go to the temple, or take the name of God with a form, or worship such God and perform any rituals for his spiritual progress. We know that later he had a severe stomach ache. He sat in meditation and started thinking, “I am not the body, I am not the mind, I am Atman, I am Consciousness, I do not have any pain.” But, his meditation on the formless Brahman could not lift up his mind beyond his stomach pain. Out of frustration, he decided to drown himself in the river Ganga. At that time, he had a vision of the Universal Mother who showed him that She is the power of Brahman and everything happens according to Her wish. His heart was filled with devotion. He understood the significance of chanting the name of the Mother. Thus, Sri Ramakrishna and Totapuri taught us the significance of chanting God’s name. Saints who have realized God say that chanting God’s name is enough to attain everything in the spiritual path.
Sri Ramakrishna also said that when a person sings musical notes ‘Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni, and upper Sa”, then one cannot stay on the upper Sa note for a long time. After some time one has to come down to the lower notes. Similarly, one cannot remain in the Nirvikalpa Samadhi for a long time. After some time, one has to come down to the body-mind level. Now, when we are aware of our body, our name, and form, then God also has a name and a form. At that level chanting of God’s name is the most effective way to focus our mind on God.
Name and form are inseparable. This way ‘Nama’ (God’s name) and ‘Nami’ (the form of God represented by that name) are inseparable. If we chant ‘Rama’ then the form of Lord Rama comes to our mind and if we think of the form of Lord Rama, then the name ‘Rama’ comes to our mind. In India people chant ‘Rama Nama Satta hai’, meaning the name of Rama is the Ultimate Truth. Since Rama as God is the Ultimate Truth, the name of Rama is also the Ultimate Truth. This is also the meaning of “Harer Nmaiva Kevalam’.
Now, let us look at the meaning of the eight stanzas of the Kaivalyashtakam and develop a love for chanting God’s name. The word ‘Ashtakam’ means a collection of eight stanzas. Many hymns have been composed with eight stanzas and we find the word ‘Ashtakam’ attached to the title of the hymn.
Stanza – 1:
Meaning:
God’s name is the sweetest among all the sweet things,
God’s name is most auspicious among all auspicious things,
God’s name is most purifying among all purifiers,
Chanting God’s (Lord Hari’s) name is most important in the spiritual life.
Comments:
In life, all sweet things lose their sweetness at some point. Change of the situations or change in the things themselves or change of the mind-set makes the worldly things lose their sweetness. Only chanting God’s name with proper understanding makes it sweeter and sweeter every day.
Chanting God’s name brings all the good in our life. It brings us peace of mind, gives us the inner strength to go through the sufferings of life, and brings inner satisfaction.
Chanting God’s name develops a love for God and this love for God destroys lust, greed, anger, jealousy, and other impurities from our mind.
Chanting God’s name gives us everything that spirituality offers.
Stanza – 2:
Meaning:
Everything from Brahma, the creator of the universe, to the blade of grass is covered by Maya.
Chanting God’s name is the Ultimate Truth, that is the Ultimate Truth, and again I repeat, that is the Ultimate Truth.
Chanting God’s (Lord Hari’s) name is most important in the spiritual life.
Comments:
Whatever we perceive through our senses have a beginning and an end. They are constantly changing. Worldly things look different than they actually are. We get trapped by their external glories. These temporary things cannot give us permanent happiness. If we consider the worldly things or worldly situations as permanent, then we suffer when these things change or we lose them. If we understand that the worldly things and situations are impermanent and they may change at any moment or vanish, we prepare ourselves to accept the change, and then we can live in the world with sanity.
Our body and mind constantly change, but our Atman under whose background we perceive these changes is permanent. It is the support of our bodies and mind. Similarly, in the world, all things are constantly changing, but the support of the world, Brahman, is not changing. It remains the same and in the background of Brahman, we perceive the changes in the world. Our true nature is that Atman which is the same as Brahman. That is the only truth.
We can directly realize this Atman or Brahman by focusing our mind within ourselves in meditation. But, it is very difficult for most people. The other way is to focus our minds on the forms of God, or the forms of incarnations of God, or the forms of the realized beings. Since the name and form are inseparable, by chanting God’s names, or incarnations’ names, or realized beings’ names, we become one with them and through them, we realize our true divine identity. Thus, chanting God’s names lead us to the highest goal of spirituality.
Stanza – 3:
Meaning:
One who teaches us to chant God’s name, he/she is our spiritual teacher, our father, our mother, and our sibling.
Chanting God’s (Lord Hari’s) name is most important in the spiritual life.
Comments:
Father, Mother, spiritual teacher, and siblings think for our good. They wish that we are in good health; we study well, have an excellent job, earn lots of money, have a happy family life, and acquire name, fame, power, and the highest position in the world. No doubt, these are good wishes. But, all these things give us temporary happiness. Since the worldly happiness and miseries go together, we cannot have happiness without miseries. This stanza says that among them those who teach us to chant God’s names are the best well-wishers. Because, chanting God’s name will give us eternal happiness, satisfaction, and everything that we are actually looking for in the world.
Stanza – 4:
Meaning:
There is no guarantee which one will be our last breath.
Therefore, chant God’s name from childhood.
Chanting God’s (Lord Hari’s) name is most important in the spiritual life.
Comments:
Life is unpredictable and very short. Time flies very fast. So, we have to start chanting God’s name from childhood, if we really want to enjoy the precious fruits of our spiritual efforts. If we have missed it in our childhood, then we have to start chanting God’s name as soon as we have realized its importance. People think that when we finish our worldly duties and retire, at that time, we will take the name of God. But, it does not work that way. As Swami Brahmananda has said that it is like on a hot summer day, a person is waiting on the shore for the waves to stop, so that he/she can jump in the ocean to cool down. Waves will not stop. We have to jump in. Also, whatever our interests are at present, the same interests will continue when we retire. We cannot all of a sudden develop spiritual interest when we retire.
Stanza – 5:
Meaning:
God always resides where the devotees chant God’s name with devotion.
Chanting God’s (Lord Hari’s) name is most important in the spiritual life.
Comments:
Sri Ramakrishna said that a devotee’s heart is God’s dwelling place. This stanza simply tells us where we can find God. We can truly feel God’s presence where sincere devotees chant God’s name. God, residing in the hearts of such devotees, manifests even outside in that environment. When we truly love God, we can feel the spiritual vibrations in such an environment.
Stanza – 6:
Meaning:
Oh! It is painful, it is terrible, and it is most painful when we give up chanting God’s name for short-lived worldly pleasures. It is like giving up a jewel, in order to get a mere piece of glass.
Chanting God’s (Lord Hari’s) name is most important in the spiritual life.
Comments:
Chanting God’s name gives us inner peace and strength of mind. It also keeps our minds clear about what we think, speak, and act. Thus, we can live a sane life with awareness. Our life will be a blessing to ourselves and to others also. A person finds a big difference between a life lived on the spiritual background compared to a life lived to fulfill worldly desires without any spiritual background. One is like living in a nice, cool, comfortable place and the other is like living in a hot scorching sunny place having no shelter. A life lived only to fulfill worldly desires is more filled with problems, anxieties, dissatisfaction, sorrows, and frustration than joy and satisfaction. When people get used to the sufferings of life, they think that it is the only way to live. It is true that only fortunate people develop a love for God and love to chant God’s name.
Stanza – 7:
Meaning:
O my ears! Always listen to God’s name.
O my tongue! Always repeat God’s name and sing God’s glories.
Chanting God’s (Lord Hari’s) name is most important in the spiritual life.
Comments:
We have to occupy all our senses and mind to think of God. This can be done in various ways. This stanza indicates that let our ears listen to God’s names, tongue sings God’s glories, hands clap giving rhythm to our singing, eyes visualize God’s form, and legs take us to the holy places or to our prayer-room or to a quiet place where we can sing God’s glories. We can offer all our work to God and make them as worship to God. We can offer our whole life to God by doing God’s work.
Stanza – 8:
Meaning:
God’s name gloriously dwells above all in the world as ever pure Sat-Chit-Ananda (Existence, Knowledge, and Bliss Absolute) making the joy of the whole world as mere straw.
Chanting God’s (Lord Hari’s) name is most important in the spiritual life.
Comments:
Upanishad says that the joy of the whole world is a very small fraction of the bliss of God-realization. Even by going a little bit closer to God, we can feel a big positive change in our life. It is like on a hot summer day if we got closer to an ocean we feel the cool breeze and experience joy.
Sri Ramakrishna says, “’ Distaste in taking the name of God!’ Because of the ignorance and impurities of the mind if distaste develops in taking God’s name, then there is no chance for us to save ourselves from the miseries of the world. On the other hand, if in our life we develop a little bit of taste in taking God’s name, then there is a great hope to save ourselves from the miseries of life. So, develop taste in taking God’s name. Repeat God’s name regularly. Repeat the name of Durga, Krishna, Hari, or any name of God which you like. By repeating God’s name, ‘Anuraga’, (intense love for God) develops day by day. Then one experiences bliss and becomes fearless. This intense love for God definitely will remove the ignorance and impurities of the mind and definitely one receives God’s grace.”
Let us sing this hymn, reflect on its meaning, mold our life accordingly, and enjoy the unlimited eternal bliss in our life.
I thank Jyoti and Chintal Shah for singing Kaivalyashtakam hymn and a dhoon for this post. Listen to it, sing it, think about its meaning, and experience spiritual joy.
Last week in a five-day summer camp 10th-grade high school students requested that they want to learn Shri Hanuman Chalisa. I was very happy to teach them because it is the best opportunity for me to learn and think more about Shri Hanuman Chalisa. Since this was one of the four topics of their camp, we only had five online classes. But, to my amazement, they enjoyed learning its text and meaning, and most importantly singing it. A few students learned the whole Hanuman Chalisa and most of them learned 24-28 chaupais out of 40. Almost all the students told me that during these days their minds keep repeating the Hanuman Chalisa. Students enjoyed remembering Sri Hanumanji’s character, vigor, intelligence, love, and devotion and his eagerness to do any work for Lord Rama.
The poet-saint who wrote Shri Hanuman Chalisa
Saint Tulsidas (1532 – 1623) was a Hindu poet-saint who was a great devotee of Lord Rama. He had a vision of Sri Hanumanji, the ideal servant of Lord Rama. Sri Hanumanji helped Saint Tulsidas to have the vision of Lord Rama.
The great epic Ramayana was originally written by Sage Valmiki. Saint Tulsidas wanted the Ramayana to be known by all in Northern India whether they knew Sanskrit or not. He rewrote the Ramayana as “Rama Charita Manasa” in the people’s language Awadhi which is close to Hindi. Today almost all Hindus in North India are familiar with or have heard of The Rama Charita Manas and they have been inspired by the virtues and devotion described in the book. The Rama Charita Manas has seven Kands (sections) in which the Fifth Kand is called the “Sundara Kanda”, meaning it is an excellent, wonderful, and most appealing Kanda. It describes courage, intelligence, humility, and the mighty power of Sri Hanumanji.
Saint Tulsidas wrote separately “The Hanuman Chalisa”, a forty-line hymn describing the glories of Sri Hanumanji. Each line of the hymn is called a “Chaupai”, a verse with two parts which rhyme. Chalisa means forty. Besides the forty lines, the Hanuman Chalisa also consists of two ‘Dohas’, in the beginning, to pray Sri Hanumanji and one Doha at the end asking Sri Hanumanji to reside in the heart of a devotee along with Lord Rama, Mother Sitaji and Lord Rama’s brother Sri Lakshmanji. Doha is a verse with two lines.
The Hanuman Chalisa describes various heroic acts of Sri Hanumanji along with his virtues and his various names. It also mentions the benefits of reciting this hymn. Today, millions of Hindus in India and all over the world are reciting this hymn regularly.
Before we go over the text and the meaning of the Hanuman Chalisa, I wanted to go over the associations of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda with Lord Rama, the Ramayana, and Shri Hanumanji. These are inspiring incidents and thoughts which may help to appreciate the Hanuman Chalisa.
Sri Ramakrishna’s worships of Lord Rama and Hanumanji:
Sri Ramakrishna’s family deity was Lord Rama. It is inspiring to see how Sri Ramakrishna gave his hundred percent mind, intellect, and heart in each of his spiritual practices. His spiritual practices were very natural. He had no inhibition and not the slightest trace of worry about the people’s opinions. The following two descriptions can give us some idea of how he had a vision of Lord Rama and Mother Sitaji and how he became one with Sri Hanumanji.
Worship of Ramalala:
About the year 1864 (when Sri Ramakrishna was about 28 years old) a wandering Vaishnava monk, called Jatadhari (one with matted hair), went to Dakshineswar. He was a devotee of Lord Rama. He had a small metal image of Lord Rama which he was daily worshipping it by giving a bath, feeding it, playing with it, taking it for a walk, and making it sleep. For the monk, it was not an image but a living Lord Rama. The monk was calling it Ramalala, out of love. Sri Ramakrishna loved this Ramalala.
One day, the monk came to Sri Ramakrishna and said that he had a vision of Lord Rama by worshipping the Ramalala and he wanted to give it to him to continue the worship he was doing before he moves on. Sri Ramakrishna was overjoyed. Afterward, Ramalala became a favorite companion of Sri Ramakrishna. Later on, he described to the devotees how the little image would dance gracefully before him, jumps on his back, insist on being taken in his arms, run to the fields in the sun, pluck flowers from the bushes and play pranks like a naughty boy. A few days later Sri Ramakrishna was blessed through Ramalala with a vision of Lord Rama. He realized that the Lord Rama of the Ramayana pervades the whole universe as Spirit and Consciousness; that He is its Creator, Sustainer, and Dissolver. He is the transcendental Brahman, without form, attribute, or name.
Worship of Shri Hanumanji:
Once, during his stage of spiritual practices, Sri Ramakrishna began to worship God by assuming the attitude of a servant towards his master. He imitated the mood of Sri Hanumanji of the Ramayana, the ideal servant of Lord Rama, and the traditional model for his self-effacing form of devotion. When he meditated on Sri Hanumanji, his movements and his way of life began to resemble those of a monkey. His eyes became restless. He lived on fruits and roots. With his cloth tied around his waist, a portion of it hanging in the form of a tail, he jumped from place to place instead of walking. He became one with Sri Hanumanji. After a short while, he was blessed with a vision of Mother Sitaji, the divine consort of Lord Rama, who entered his body and disappeared there with the words, “I bequeath to you my smile.”
Thus, Sri Ramakrishna identified himself with Shri Hanumanji and as Shri Hanumanji had found Mother Sitaji, he had a vision of Mother Sitaji.
(The above mentioned two descriptions are based on the biography written by Swami Nikhilananda in “The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna”.)
Let us learn more about Sri Hanumanji from Swami Vivekananda.
Swami Vivekananda telling the story of Ramayana:
“When Rama and Lakshmana returned to the cottage and found that Sita was not there, their grief knew no bounds. They could not imagine what had become of her. The two brothers went on, seeking everywhere for Sita, but could find no trace of her. After long searching, they came across a group of “monkeys”, and in the midst of them was Hanuman, the “divine monkey”. Hanuman, the best of monkeys, became the most faithful servant of Rama and helped him in rescuing Sita, as we shall see later on. His devotion to Rama was so great that he is worshipped by the Hindus as the ideal of a true servant of the Lord.”
A great Bhakta (Hanuman) once said when asked what day of the month it was, “God is my eternal date, no other date I care for.”
Swami Vivekananda’s love for Ramayana and Hanuman:
In boyhood, Swami Vivekananda had a great predilection for hearing the chanting of the Ramayana by professional singers. Wherever such chanting would take place in the neighborhood, he would attend it, leaving the sport and all aside. Swamiji related how, while listening to the Ramayana, on some days, he would be so deeply engrossed in it as to forget all about home, and would have no idea that it was late at night, and that he must return home, and so forth. One day during the chant he heard that the monkey – god Hanuman lived in banana orchards. Forthwith he was so much convinced that when the chant was over, he did not go home straight that night, but loitered in a banana orchard close to his house, with the hope of catching sight of Hanuman, till it was very late in the night.
Hanuman (Mahavir) is the great ideal:
A disciple asked Swami Vivekananda: What ideal should we follow now?
Swami Vivekananda: You have now to make the character of Mahavira your ideal. See how at the command of Ramachandra he crossed the ocean. He had no care for life or death! He was a perfect master of his senses and wonderfully sagacious. You have now to build your life on this great ideal of personal service. Through that, all other ideals will gradually manifest in life. Obedience to the Guru without questioning, and strict observance of Brahmacharya — this is the secret of success.
As on the one hand, Hanuman represents the ideal of service, so on the other hand he represents leonine courage, striking the whole world with awe. He has not the least hesitation in sacrificing his life for the good of Rama. A supreme indifference to everything except the service of Rama, even to the attainment of the status of Brahma and Shiva, the great World of gods! Only the carrying out of Shri Rama’s best is the one vow of this life! Such wholehearted devotion is wanted….
The Damaru and horn have to be sounded, drums are to be beaten so as to raise the deep and martial notes, and with “Mahavira, Mahavira” on your lips and shouting “Hara, Hara, Vyom, Vyom”, the quarters are to be reverberated… Through the thunder – roll of the dignified Vedic hymns, life is to be brought back into the country… If you can build your character after such an ideal, then a thousand others will follow. But take care that you do not swerve an inch from the ideal. Never lose heart. In eating, dressing, or lying, in singing or playing, in enjoyment or disease, always manifest the highest moral courage. Then only will you attain the grace of Mahashakti, the Divine Mother.
Hanumanji’s attitude:
“Hanuman, the devotee of Rama, summed up his philosophy in these words: When I identify myself with the body, O Lord, I am Thy creature (servant), eternally separate from Thee. When I identify myself with the soul, I am a spark of that Divine Fire which Thou art. But when I identify myself with the Atman, I and Thou art one.”
Hanuman’s example of Eka(One)-Nishtha which leads to Serva(All)-Nishtha:
Swami Vivekananda: “During his lifetime, Rama came again as Krishna; and Hanuman, being a great Yogi, knew that the same God had come back again as Krishna. He came and served Krishna, but he said to him, “I want to see that Rama-form of yours”. Krishna said, “Is not this form enough? I am this Krishna; I am this Rama. All these forms are mine”. Hanuman said, “I know that, but the Rama-form is for me. The Lord of Jânaki (Lord Rama) and the Lord of Shri (Lord Vishnu) are the same. They are both the incarnations of the Supreme Self. Yet the lotus-eyed Rama is my all in all”. This is Nishtha–knowing that all these different forms of worship are right, yet sticking to one and rejecting the others. We must not worship the others at all; we must not hate or criticize them, but respect them.
This is indeed the most poetical and forcible way in which the theory of Ishta – Nishtha has ever been put. This Eka – Nishtha or devotion to one ideal is absolutely necessary for the beginner in the practice of religious devotion. He must say with Hanuman in the Ramayana, “Though I know that the Lord of Shri and the Lord of Janaki are both manifestations of the same Supreme Being, yet my all in all is the lotus-eyed Rama.” Or, as was said by the sage Tulasidasa, he must say, “Take the sweetness of all, sit with all, take the name of all, say yea, yea, but keep your seat firm.” Then, if the devotional aspirant is sincere, out of this little seed will come a gigantic tree like the Indian banyan, sending out branch after branch and root after root to all sides, till it covers the entire field of religion. Thus will the true devotee realizes that He/She who was his own ideal in life is worshipped in all ideals by all sects, under all names, and through all forms.”
Text, transliteration, and meaning of Shri Hanuman Chalisa:
Shri Hanumaan Chaalisa
Dohas
Shri Gurucharana saroja raja nija manu mukuru sudhaari Baranau Raghuvara bimala jasu jo dayaku phala chaari Buddhihina tanu jaanike sumirau pavankumaar Bala buddhi vidyaa deho mohi(n) harahu kalesa bikaara.
After cleansing my mind with the holy dust of the lotus feet of my teacher, I engaged myself in describing the untainted pure glory of Sri Ramachandra by knowing which we get all the four fruits of life – Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha.
I am devoid of intelligence. With that awareness, I remember Sri Hanumanji, the son of the wind god, and humbly ask him to give me strength, intelligence, knowledge which destroy all the miseries of my life created by the ignorance.
(1) Victory to Sri Hanumanji who is an ocean of knowledge and virtues. O Kapisha! You illumine all the three worlds – Heaven, earth, and hell (the whole universe).
You are the messenger of Sri Rama having immeasurable strength. You are the son of Mother Anjana and named as the son of the wind god.
Having a strong body like the vajra which cannot be destroyed by anything, you are Mahavira, the valiant and brave. You remove the impurity of the intellect and in your presence, we feel the wisdom and our intellect becomes pure.
Your complexion is golden of a yogi. You are adorable with your outfit, curly hair, and earrings.
(2) You carry in your hand a mace of a lightning bolt and a flag of renunciation and victory of Sri Rama. You are wearing a sacred thread, a symbol of purity and commitment to God-realization. You are a descendant of Lord Shiva and the joy of Shri Kesari. The whole world bows down to you.
You are endowed with the highest knowledge and possess all virtues. You are extremely smart and skillful. You enjoy singing the glories of Sri Rama and all the three, Sri Rama, Sri Lakshmana, and Mother Sitaji, always reside in your heart.
Sukshma rupa dhari siyahi(n) dikhaavaa bikata rupa dhari Lanka jaraavaa Bhima rupa dhari asura sau(n)haare Raamachandrake kaaja sau(n)vaare Laaya sajivana Lakhana jiyaaye Shri Raghuvira harashi ura laaye Raghupati kinhi bahuta badaai tuma mama priya Bharatahi sama bhaai.
(3) By taking a subtle form you found Sitaji and talked to her with humility. On the other hand, you became a giant and burn the whole city Lanka and with the mighty form, you destroyed demons. Thus, you did Sri Rama’s work.
You brought sanjivani to save Sri Lakshmanji’s life. For this act, Sri Rama embraced you with a lot of love and praised you by saying that “You are as dear to me as my own brother Bharat.”
Sahasa badana tumharo jasa gaavai(n) asa kahi Shripati kantha lagaavai Sanakaadika Brahmaadi munisaa Naarada Saarada sahita Ahisaa Jama kubera Dikpaala jahaa(n) te kabi kobida kahi sake kahaa(n) te Tuma upakaaraa Sugrivahi(n) kinhaa Raama milaaya raaja pada dinhaa.
(4) Sri Rama embraces you saying that the Shesh Naga with thousands of mouths praising your glories and so do Sanak, Brahma, Munis, Narada, Saraswati, Ahisa, Yama, Kubera, the gods who protect all directions and others.
Compare to this, how a mere poet can describe your glories adequately? You rendered a great service to Sugriva by introducing Sri Rama to him and making him a king.
(5) It is well-known that Vibhishana accepted your counsel and became the king of Lanka.
You flew to swallow the sun which was millions of miles away thinking that it is an apple.
It is no wonder that you put Sri Rama’s ring in your mouth and in one jump crossed the ocean. With your grace, all the impossible-looking works of the world can be made possible.
Raamaduaare tuma rakhavare hota na aagnyaa binu paisaare Saba sukha lahai tumhaari saranaa tuma rachchhaka kaahu ko daranaa Aapana teja samhaaro aapai tino(n) loka haa(n)ka te kaa(n)pe Bhuta pisaacha nikata nahi(n) aavai mahaabira jaba naama sunaavai.
(6) O sentinel of the Lord! No one can enter Sri Rama’s abode without your consent. By your grace, one can enjoy all the happiness of the world and need not have any fear under your protection.
When you roar all the three worlds tremble. Only you can control your own might. When your devotees repeat your name saying ‘O Mahavir!” the evil spirits cannot come near them.
Naasai roga harai saba piraa japata nirantara Hanumata biraa Sankata te(n) Hanumaana chhudaavai mana krama bachana dhyaana jo laavai Saba para Raama tapasvi raajaa tinake kaaja sakala tuma saajaa Aura manoratha jo koi laavai soi amita jivana phala paavai.
(7) O mighty Hanumanji! One who constantly repeats your name can overcome all the diseases and suffering. One who at all the times aligns thoughts, speech, and actions and meditates on Hanumanji becomes free from all the troubles.
The austere king Sri Rama is the ruler of all and you help accomplish all his missions. One who surrenders to you gets all his/her desires fulfilled.
Chaaro(n) juga parataapa tumhaaraa hai parasiddha jagata ujiyaaraa Saadhu santake tuma rakhavaare asura nikandana Raama dulaare Ashta siddhi nau nidhike daataa asa bara dina Jaanaki maataa Raama rasaayana tumhare paasaa sadaa raho Raghupatike daasaa.
(8) Your glory is acclaimed in the four Yugas and your radiance is spread all over the universe. You are a protector of Saints and a destroyer of demons. Sri Rama has great affection for you.
Mother Sitaji granted a boon to you so that you can give anyone the eight Siddhis and the nine Nidhis. You have a great remedy for all problems which is the name of Sri Rama. You are always ready to serve Sri Rama.
Tumhare bhajana Raamako paavai janama janamake dukkha bisaraavai Anta kaala Raghubara pura jaai jahaa(n) janma Haribhakta kahaai Aura devataa chitta na dharai Hanumata sei sarva sukha karai Sankata katai mitai saba piraa jo sumirai Hanumata balabiraa.
(9) By chanting your name one can realize Sri Rama and thus becomes free from the sufferings of many lives. After death, he/she enters the eternal abode of Sri Rama and remains his devotee whenever he/she takes birth on earth.
Other gods may not take care of you, but whoever serves you enjoys all happiness. O Hanumanji! Those, who remember you, the mighty god, become free from all problems and sufferings of life.
Jai jai jai Hanumaana gosaai kripaa karahu Gurudevaki naai Jo sata baara paatha kara koi chhutahi bandi mahaa sukha hoi Jo yah padhai Hanumaan chalisaa hoya siddhi saakhi Gaurisaa Tulsidaasa sadaa Hari cheraa kijai naatha hridaya ma(n)ha deraa.
(10) Victory to Sri Hanumanji. Please be gracious to me as my Supreme Teacher. One who recites this prayer a hundred times becomes liberated from the earthly bondage and enjoys the highest bliss.
One who recites this Hanuman Chalisa attains the highest state and Lord Shiva becomes the witness for that. Tulsidas is the eternal disciple of Lord Hari and prays, ‘O Hanumanji! Please reside in my heart forever’.
Doha Pavanatanaya sankata harana mangala murati rupa Raama Lakhana Sitaa sahita hridaya basahu sura bhupa.
O Hanumanji, the son of the wind-god, remover of the problems of life, the embodiment of the blessings, please reside in my heart with Sri Rama, Sri Lakshmana, and Mother Sitaji.
Siyaavara Raamachandraki Jai Pavanasuta Hanumaanaki Jai Siyaavara Raamachandraki Jai sharanam.
Victory to Sri Rama, the husband of Mother Sitaji!
Victory to Hanumanji, the son of the wind-god!
Victory to Sri Rama, the husband of Mother Sitaji!
I surrender to you.
Reflections:
Why Shri Hanumanji is a great ideal?
Swami Vivekananda said that Shri Hanumanji is a great ideal for a devotee because of (i) Shri Hanumanji’s one-pointed love for Lord Rama and (ii) Shri Hanumanji was an ideal servant of Lord Rama and he was always ready to do Lord Rama’s work. We should remember that Shri Hanumanji had the highest knowledge of Advaita Vedanta, but he chose to be a devotee and a servant of Lord Rama as long as he has a body-consciousness.
Why do I recite Shri Hanuman Chalisa?
When I recite Shri Hanuman Chalisa,
(1) I join with Saint Tulsidasji in his beginning prayer consists of the two dohas and request Shri Hanumanji to help me (i) purify my mind by surrendering to my spiritual Guru, (ii) remember the untainted glories of Lord Rama, (iii) understand that my intellect is limited and (iv) develop strength, pure intelligence, and acquire spiritual knowledge with which I can remove my fundamental ignorance which creates all the problems of my life. The fundamental ignorance is that I forget my true divine nature and start thinking that I am nothing but my body and mind.
(ii) While reciting Shri Hanuman Chalisa, I try to imagine all the life incidents of Shri Hanumanji which have been described in it.
I enjoy singing the glories of Shri Hanumanji and remember that Shri Hanumanji is a great ideal. Thus, I pray to develop one-pointed love for God and be ready to do God’s work.
(iii) After completing the recitation of Shri Hanuman Chalisa I join again with Saint Tulsidasji in the last doha to pray to Shri Hanumanji to reside in my heart along with Lord Rama, Mother Sitaji and Shri Lakshmanji and manifest their divinity through my thoughts, speech, and actions.
Reciting Shri Hanuman Chalisa for the worldly gain:
Many hymns have a few lines which say that if we recite the hymn then our sufferings will go away and we get worldly benefits.
In this hymn also we find similar lines like “One who remembers Shri Hanumanji, then disease and all the sufferings of the person goes away, ghost and evil spirit don’t come near him/her, and all the desires of the person get fulfilled”.
I think we have to understand these lines in a proper perspective. We have to read and emphasize other lines that bring the deeper meaning of these lines. For example, the same Hanuman Chalisa says that “By chanting your name one can realize Sri Rama and thus becomes free from sufferings of many lives.” This clearly tells us the purpose of reciting the Hanuman Chalisa, namely ‘Realization of God’ which removes all the problems and sufferings of this life and the future lives.
If someone is sick or in trouble, then there is nothing wrong to pray to God for the recovery of the person from his/her illness and being free from the trouble. We love God and we can tell all our troubles to God and pray to God. But, after the prayer, we have to surrender to God’s will. This way we will acquire inner strength and fearlessness which allow us to go through the difficult challenges of life and would be able to bear all the sufferings. There is no other sane way to live our life.
Our prayer is not a business contract like ‘O God! I pray to you and in return, you remove my sickness or trouble.’ God is the creator, preserver, and the dissolver of the universe. There is a divine plan behind this whole universe that we cannot fully understand. In the infinite universe of God, even the whole earth is a tiny little dot, then how can we demand God for our little selfish needs! We cannot tell God what to do. We can only pray to God and then leave everything to God’s will.
Sri Ramakrishna said that he had never asked God for anything except knowledge and devotion. He did not ask Mother Kali for his recovery from his throat cancer. He taught us that we should only pray to God for knowledge and devotion. Swami Vivekananda, as Naren, also did the same thing. He could not pray for his family’s financial crisis to the Divine Mother. He went to pray for it, but instead, he prayed for knowledge and devotion. This is exactly the main purpose of all the hymns – to develop a love for God and realized God. Then all our problems will be solved.
People, who just pray to God to fulfill their worldly desires, may lose faith in God when these desires are not fulfilled. Ultimately they lose all the great benefits of spiritual development.
Let us enjoy reciting the Hanuman Chalisa to develop one-pointed love for God and to become a true servant of God like Shri Hanumanji. May Shri Hanumanji bless us all.
Melodies of Shri Hanuman Chalisa:
Several great artists of India have sung Shri Hanuman Chalisa in various melodies. All these are available on the internet. Several of the melodies are based on the Indian Classical Ragas. There are many melodies based on folk tunes.
A few years ago, singing Shri Hanuman Chalisa, a melody based on the Bhairavi Raga came to my mind. I am so grateful that Shri Ghanashyambhai Senjalia sang for this post the Hanuman Chalisa in Raga Bhairavi. Here is the audio of this recording:
I wanted to add audios of more popular folk tunes. I requested Chintal and Jyoti Shah to sing the Hanuman Chalisa in the folk tune that they are familiar with. I sincerely thank them for this recording which I am presenting here.
There was another popular tune that I had heard from many people. I found that Devika Gadhavi sings in that tune. So, upon my request, Devika sang for this post in short notice. I sincerely thank her for this audio recording which I am attaching here. I hope you enjoy all these recordings.
mahendrajani 