Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 26 Meaning in English

Hanuman Chalisa Meaning serves as a reminder of the boundless love between Lord Hanuman and Lord Rama.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 26 in English with Meaning & Analysis

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 26 Aligning with the Divine

संकट से
हनुमान छुड़ावै।
मन क्रम बचन
ध्यान जो लावै ॥

Sankat se
Hanuman chudavae
Man, kram, vachan
dhyan jo lavai

Problems
Hanuman takes away.
When the beart, action and word
are fixed on him.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 26 Meaning in English

In this verse, we discover how we can get the grace of Hanuman: he will remove our problems provided we concentrate on him, aligning mind (man), action (karam) and speech (vachan). The key word here is dhyan. It means focus or concentration and is a kind of mental exercise that is part of the yogic tradition. This word became chan in China, and zen in Japan, as Buddhism spread to the Orient.

Concentration may have been a part of Vedic rituals, however it was the Buddha who, nearly 2,500 years ago, transformed it into a technique to awaken the mind so that one could witness the truth about the world, that it is impermanent and our desire for it is the cause of our suffering.

By the Bhakti era, 500 years ago, concentration had become a tool to invoke Hanuman to solve one’s problems-whether psychological (stress, fear, ghosts), physical (ailments, pain), or social (danger, misfortune)-and take away our suffering (sankat). Sankat Mochan, or the remover of problems, is a popular form of Hanuman; it is the name by which he is revered in the city of Varanasi.

While monastic orders are all about withdrawing inwards into the mind by shutting the senses, Hinduism functions from the premise that not all humans can go through life simply by withdrawing inwards; they need external support. This consideration for diversity, and avoidance of homogeneity, is a hallmark of Hinduism.

The average human being needs a god out there who listens and cares. We realize this need clearly when we trace the history of Buddhism. As Buddhism spread, the concept of the Bodhisattva-who was very different from the Buddha emerged. While the Buddha shut his eyes and trained his mind to concentrate on the truth, training others to do the same, the Bodhisattva kept his eyes and ears open to hear the suffering of the people, and stretched out his hand to help them.

The suffering concentrated on the saviour Bodhisattva, rather than the teacher Buddha. The Theravada (original school) Buddhists, who preferred focussing on the Buddha’s way, broke away from Maha-yana (elevated school) Buddhists, who encouraged worship of the Bodhisattva.

In Hinduism, there was no such breakup between the intellectual and the popular. The Gurus of Vedanta who wrote in Sanskrit and discussed complex theories of truth-such as Shankara, Ramanuja, Ramananda, Madhwa, Vallaha-all saw the value of devotion as complementing the intellectual and meditative approach. At one level they spoke of abstract Vedic ideas; this was Nigama parampara. Simultaneously, they spoke of the worship of various Hindu deities, Hanuman included; this was Agama parampara.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 26 Meaning in English 1
Hanuman becomes a form through which a devotee in stress can regain hope and strength. The act of praying to him, concentrating on him, gives strength-strength to be patient until fortune arrives, and strength to face misfortune when it arrives. Hinduism turned the act of prayer into simultaneously an external theistic practice (invoking God) and yogic practice (decrumpling the mind crumpled by stress).

The word dhayan in this verse reveals an implicit understanding of yoga, the de-crumpling of the crumpled mind through restraint (yama), discipline (niyama), breathing (pranayama), postures (asana), withdrawal (pratyahara), concentration (dhayan), awareness (dharana) and immersion (samadhi).

Yoga also means alignment. By asking the devotee to align his concentration on Hanuman in mind, action and word, there is an implicit reference to Sankhya (Hindu metaphysics) that forms the canvas on which yoga is based. In Sankhya the world is divided into soul (dehi, or purusha) and body (deha, or prakriti).

The body in turn is constituted by elements (mahabhutas), sense organs (gyan-indriyas), action organs (karma-indriyas), the heart (chitta), intelligence (buddhi), imagination (manas), memory (smara) and ego (aham). Problems arise when there is misalignment between what we think, what we do, and what we say-when we are forced to repress our feelings and pretend. Hanuman grants us the strength to cope with these everyday issues.

Yoga is also the process by which we discover the divine within us; bhoga is the indulgence of desire that seeks to ignore the truth of our body, our mind and our world. Yoga helps us place bhoga in perspective, recognize that pleasure is temporary, addictive and delusion-inducing, and not let desire sweep away all good sense. Hanuman is a yogi but not a bhogi.

He has full perspective on the nature of desire, and desires nothing. We are bhogis, but not yogis. We seek his help in giving us the mental faculties we lack, and taking away the mental afflictions we suffer from.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 26 Analysis in English

sankata te hanumana chhudavai l
mana krama bachana dhyana jo lavai ||26||

Hanuman removes all hardships
For those who meditate on him in thoughts,
words or deeds. (26)

Hanuman is supposed to be pratyaksha devata, or the most efficient living deity of the present age of Kali, since he is ever ready and ever eager to help his devotees out of trouble. He alone is said to be capable of bestowing all the four aims of life (dharma, artha, kama, and moksha) and for those who desire, he also gives the fifth fruit, i.e. bhakti.

Sambhasadan, the demon, had been killed by Kesari. His fellow demons were still mourning his death. Without him, they were a defeated lot. Their energies had seeped out and so had their motivation – like orphans with no one to care for them.

Mean while, Anjana was angry with little Hanuman for all the mischief that he always did. All the sages had been complaining to her about how he disrupted their meditation. How he interrupted their rituals. How he played pranks on them. Unable to control the little prankster, Anjana decided to tie up Hanuman physically so he wouldn’t go anywhere. There was no other way this bundle of energy could be restrained.

Thus, Anjana tied him up using iron shackles. Satisfied that Hanuman was now restrained, she relaxed and went back to her chores. At the other end of the jungle, demonic followers of Sambhasadan were in for a shock of their lives when they saw him alive, walking towards them. They rubbed their eyes, unable to believe what they were seeing. Some demons fled, thinking it was a ghost. However, the figure turned out to be not Sambhasadan but Kumbhasadan, his brother.

“Where is Sambhasadan?” he thundered at the assembled demons.
“Oh! Have you not heard?” they wailed. “Your brother Sambhasadan is dead. Killed mercilessly by the vanara king Kesari.” Kumbhasadan staggered and nearly fainted, roaring with pain on hearing the news. How could his brother be dead? “I will avenge my brother’s death!” he avowed.

Now all the demons came back to life. They were fully inspired to do what they did best. Fight! Flushed with excitement, they began to make a plan to eliminate Kesari. Hanuman, who was all tied up, could perceive that evil forces were plotting against his innocent father. He had to do something to stop it. He broke open his shackles and in one leap crossed the vast jungle to land on Kumbhasadan.

Although he was a baby monkey, small in size, he could be really heavy in weight. Hanuman’s landing imbalanced Kumbhasadan and he fell flat on the ground. Hanuman simply did not allow him to get up. The other demons came to lift him but he flung them far away with one flick of his finger. Soon the entire area was clear of all demons and Kumbhasadan was left alone.

Then Hanuman lifted him with one hand and punched him hard with the other. That was the end of Kumbhasadan. He dropped dead like a lifeless doll. There was no danger for Kesari now. sankaia te hanumana chhudavai Guhasura was sleeping peacefully in the cave. No one dared to disturb him because if he woke up, they were dead.

This was one cave everyone was scared of entering, including the vanara friends of Hanuman. They never ventured to play out there. One day when Hanuman was playing with them, he asked them why they stayed away from the big cave that seemed like an inviting place to play to their heart’s content.

“We can’t go there,” they all shouted in panic, “because Guhasura is sleeping there!” Hanuman looked at them blankly, unsure of who Guhasura was. “Guhasura is a demon who sleeps for six months. And when he wakes up he breathes so hard that all the surrounding insects get pulled towards him and he gobbles them all. So if he wakes up and we also get pulled by his breathing then we’re dead!” his friends explained. “From last time’s experience, we know he ate up many of our friends.”

But nothing could stop the fearless Hanuman from playing in that cave. “Come with me and I will see what Guhasura can do.” All his friends followed him inside. It was pitch dark. Slowly their eyes adjusted to the darkness. Guhasura lay like a big truck there, snoring away joyfully. Hanuman devised a new game of jumping over Guhasura to see who could jump

the farthest. One by one the playful vanaras jumped over him, giggling and laughing. Playing with Hanuman was so exciting. Some vanaras even fell on Guhasura. His huge abdomen made for a soft landing and then they would roll down on the ground and stand. It was good fun. Guhasura seemed unconscious, undisturbed by their play. The vanaras got bolder with every minute and some started jumping on him. Soon not one or two but the entire gang was playing on top of him.

Suddenly Guhasura stirred. He was coming back to consciousness. Oh, what now? The monkeys panicked. It was too late to escape. They looked helplessly at Hanuman who was keenly observing Guhasura. As soon as Guhasura woke up, his breath would be fatal for all. Should he allow him to wake up? Hanuman wondered. Or should he kill him in sleep, before he took a single breath? Deciding on the latter, Hanuman jumped on Guhasura. Before Guhasura could react, he jumped again.

And again. Guhasura had no chance of escaping. Traumatised by Hanuman’s weight, his body started bleeding internally and slowly, he bled to death. All the monkeys were now dancing ecstatically, without any fear of the dangerous enemy. They could play in the cave without any cares.

Hanuman had come to their rescue once again, sankata te hanumana chhudavai “Call the saint to court immediately,” ordered the Mughal king. He was eager to meet the saint Tulsidas whose name and fame had reached his ears. Every person in his kingdom was queuing up to meet him and take his blessings. The king wanted to see what was so extraordinary about him.

When Tulsidas entered the court, the king was shocked. He was shocked to see how every person in his court stood up on seeing the saint. How could a mere mortal command so much respect? More than a king? Envy stirred the king’s heart and he felt his chest burning. Meanwhile, the saint was indifferent to all that was going on. Turning beads on his fingers, he was immersed in chanting the holy name. “Rama . . . Rama . . . Rama…”

Without showing any respect, the king ordered the saint, “I have heard that you have mystical powers. Show me what you can do. Let me see what the truth behind your fame is.” The king crossed his arms and sat back on his throne, expecting to see some entertainment program. But he was in for some disappointment. Tulsidas replied, “I have no magical powers.

I only know how to chant Rama’s name which has the power of purifying hearts. That’s the only magic I know and believe in. The holy name is not chanted to show off or to acquire name and fame. Neither am I looking for any instant publicity.”

The king was taken aback by the saint’s answer. He felt humiliated in front of the entire court. “Throw him into the dungeon!” he barked at his guards, swallowing the insult. The guards jumped into action and caught the saint. Without any fear, the saint folded his hands and started chanting Hanuman’s names. Then he sang out a prayer to Lord Hanuman; the intensity and purity of his prayers was both stunning and soothing. Everyone present there had a supremely spiritual experience hearing his divine voice.

Suddenly the atmosphere was disturbed by shattering of glass. Not just glass, but everything in the court seemed to be shattering. Within moments, an army of monkeys had entered the guarded premises, breaking everything they could lay their hands on. Total chaos prevailed. They plundered the chairs, tore down the curtains and even pulled away the weapons and beards of soldiers.

The king sat dumbstruck. He had no idea what had happened and how to handle the catastrophe. He trembled at the scene unfolding in front of his eyes. Then he noticed the saint. He was calm and composed, still standing there with his eyes closed. Unbelievably, the monkeys had not touched him. In fact, a few monkeys had formed a protective circle around him, sitting at his feet.

Now the king realized how he could save himself. He climbed down his throne and ran to him, falling at his feet. “Save me, O’ saint,” he begged with tears flowing down his cheeks, “save me from these dangerous monkeys.” When the king pleaded again and again, Tulsidas opened his eyes. As soon as he stopped chanting, the monkeys quietened down and walked away.

Soon the courtroom was empty. The monkeys had gone and so had the king’s pride and arrogance. What remained was the saint, untouched by any harm. When one remembers Hanuman sincerely, chants his names, meditates on him, Hanuman does everything to protect his devotee, sankata te hanumana chhudavai/mana krama bachana dhyana jo lavai.

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