Why Is Hanuman Chiranjeevi (Immortal)?
Do you know the meaning of Chiranjeevi? If we break down the word in parts, we get "Cheer" which means "For many many years", "Anj" meaning "person", and "Jeevi" meaning "the Life that exists". The life that exists in a person for many many years and doesn’t end is a Chiranjeevi or an immortal person, who can never die.
Is Immortality A Reality?
Multiple examples exist of people debating whether immortality is a possibility or not. Many research labs are focused on creating a formula that makes immortality a reality and how to make living forever possible.
So does that mean immortality is inevitable? Absolutely no.
Immortality is not humanly possible in present times at least and even if it is an idea, it might be a very far-fetched dream which will take more time to materialize and then commanize. So why are we discussing immortality here?
That is because in Hinduism, seven people have attained the status of immortality or being alive, and around the end of the universe. This is why, these seven people are considered equivalent to God.
The Seven Chiranjeevis (Immortals) of Hinduism
1. Ashwatthama: Son of Guru Dronacharya, the coach of the Pandavas (refer to the epic Mahabharata)
2. Bali: The elder brother of Sugreev. Also known as King Maha Bali (refer the epic Ramayana)
3. Vyaas: The creator of Mahabharata and Ramayana as a literature format with the help of Ganesha. Also called Maharshi Ved Vyas or the one who created all the Vedas Upanishads and Puranas. (refer to Shrimad Devi Bhagavad Purana)
4. Hanuman: The devotee of Lord Rama (refer to epic Ramayana)
5. Vibhishana: The brother of King Ravana, the King of Lanka (refer to epic Ramayana)
6. Krip: The saint known for his bravery and intellect. Also known as Sage Kripacharya
7. Parshurama: The saint known for his anger and aggressive behavior covered the universe in three steps.
Out of these seven Chiranjeevis, today we will be discussing Hanuman, the ardent devotee of Lord Rama as per our epic Ramayana.
Who is Hanuman?
Lord Hanuman is the son of Anjana and King Kesari, the monkey King. King Kesari was the King of the monkey kingdom and he was married to human wife Anjana. They wanted to have a kid together who would run their kingdom so they performed penance together and pleased Lord Shiva, who wanted to serve his idol, Lord Rama. So Lord Shiva gave Anjana a boon to become pregnant with an incarnation of Lord Shiva and this child came to be known as Lord Hanuman.
So why did Lord Shiva want his incarnation to be born as Lord Hanuman? Lord Shiva worshipped Lord Rama and wanted to serve him as a devotee, but as the God of the universe with a duty to prevent the universe from evil and destroy the poor to keep good faith alive, Lord Shiva couldn’t afford to leave his responsibilities and fulfill his dream.
This is why Lord Vishnu decided not to involve Lord Shiva in his incarnation as Lord Rama, Lord Shiva agreed that he had to somehow find a way to approach Lord Rama and that as his devotee and server.
Lord Shiva convinced Lord Brahma to tell Anjana and King Kesari to worship Lord Shiva if they wanted a son. Thus, Hanuman was born to Anjana and King Keshari after Lord Shiva was pleased and gave a blessing that the child born would be his incarnation so that his wish could also be fulfilled and his duties would not be affected.
Then why is Hanuman called Vayuputra?
That is because when Lord Hanuman was born, he was born in a monkey form. So everyone was confused because the blessing was of a God form to a monkey King and a human lady conceived him, so why the form of a Monkey? There were a lot of people making a lot of theories and thus the God of Wind, Vaayu Deva, came to bless Lord Hanuman saying that since he was such a unique kid, he would also have the power to fly like a bird in the air even if he doesn’t have wings. Since Vaayu Deva blessed Hanuman with properties worth his son, so Hanuman also came to be known as Vaayu Putra or the Son of Vaayu Deva.
Why is Hanuman a Chiranjeevi?
We all know the story of Goddess Sita being captivated by Ravana, the King of Lanka so that he could get back at Lord Rama and attain Moksha (Nirwana). Lord Hanuman helped a lot to Lord Rama find Sita Maa and then free her up. After defeating Ravana, when Lord Rama came back to Ayodhya from Lanka, he called for a Darbaar or court session as the King of Ayodhya.
The agenda was to praise all the people and army men who aided their best in the war and help them with appropriate rewards. Lord Hanuman was also summoned and everyone collectively believed that Lord Hanuman worked maximum in those days and thus he deserves a rest. So everyone told Lord Hanuman that he can select the time duration of rest he wants and he will be granted that. Even Lord Rama agreed to this.
Lord Hanuman went all teary-eyed and started crying because he thought he made a mistake and that was why he was being asked to stay away from Lord Rama for some time. This turned poorly on everyone else and Goddess Sita couldn’t take this any further.
She asked Lord Hanuman to not be upset and select a reward of his choice to which he replied that he just wanted to serve Lord Rama and Goddess Sita forever.
Pleased with the answer, Goddess Sita convinced Lord Rama not to send Lord Hanuman on a break and to respect the fact that he wanted to be in service. So as an appreciation, Goddess Sita took out her necklace of Moti (Pearl) and gave it to Lord Hanuman.
Lord Hanuman accepted the mala and went to a side of the court to inspect the entire thing. He started breaking every bead into smaller and smaller pieces and tried to search for something.
Even if he was sitting in a corner doing this, everyone had their eyes fixated on him as to why he was doing what he was doing.
Upon inquiry, he revealed that he said he wanted to have Lord Rama and Goddess Sita in his heart forever. He didn’t ask for any materialistic gift. He was trying to search for them in the Pearl when when he didn’t find them, he broke all of it to look inside.
Hanuman was almost teary-eyed because he hated the fact that he broke something given to him and he still didn’t find Lord Rama and Goddess Sita in that. He felt as if his work wasn’t true and honest and that’s why he didn’t deserve to see his worshipped God.
Upset with everything, Hanuman decided that he would restart everything and redeem himself.
All this made Lord Rama and Goddess Sita very sad that they made a very good devotee doubt himself when in reality nobody could understand him.
So Lord Rama and Goddess Sita said that they would make up for this and asked Hanuman once again for anything more than that.
Lord Hanuman again said that he only wanted to be everywhere there was Lord Rama and be able to serve him, sing praises of him, and be there around him.
Lord Rama looked at Goddess Sita and said that this wasn’t possible. This meant that Lord Hanuman had to be pronounced as a Chiranjeevi or an immortal to be always living and always around Lord Rama and Goddess Sita to sing their praises.
So he said that he will, along with Goddess Sita, reside in the chest of Lord Hanuman and that’s how in Hanuman’s chest, you see Lord Rama and Goddess Sita.
Lord Hanuman still looked at Lord Rama with loads of hope and Goddess Sita couldn’t bear the disappointment in her beloved Hanuman anymore.
She requested Lord Rama to use his boon of making one person immortal in his entire life, and that is how Lord Rama finally pronounced Lord Hanuman as Chiranjeevi or immortal.
It is believed that even today, anywhere anyone pronounces the name of Rama in any manner, happy or sad, angry or pleased, in excitement or pain, Lord Hanuman reaches the person in an instant, listens to the person’s prayers, and solves the matter at hand. If he is unable to do something, he takes all the prayers to Lord Rama and thus, he is immortal.
This is also why you will find the idol or image of Lord Hanuman everywhere you will find an idol or image of Lord Rama.
Conclusion
His devotion, love, affection, and care made Lord Hanuman a God and immortal wherein he can be present with anyone in times of need and help them in getting over their agony. Blessings of Lord Rama are always available for Hanuman and thus, he is also referred to as Lord Hanuman, equivalent to God. So if you feel you don’t have a great representation, you need to find a reason to resonate yourself with, a cause you want to stand for, and a way to justify your existence, and who knows, your memory becomes immortal for everyone who knows you?
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