yathā rāghavanirmuktaḥ śaraḥ śvasanavikramaḥ |
gaccettadvadgamiṣyāmi laṅkāṃ rāvaṇapālitām ||
na hi drakśyāmi yadi tāṃ laṅkāyāṃ janakātmajām |
anenaiva hi vegena gamiṣyāmi surālayam||
The power of positive thinking is not a myth or a pipe dream. The chances for success in any venture are increased when the end-goal can be visualized, when the mind attempts to understand the potential feelings of elation that come after the proposed plans have been successfully implemented. In the absence of this picture, the visualization of victory, the chances of failure will only increase. But thinking positively is not easy, especially as the tasks increase in level of difficulty. Of all the jobs standing before us, none is more compelling and full of urgency than the gaining of release from the repeated cycle of birth and death. To picture perfect success in this venture, the mental image of the great warriors of the past, who, come hell or high water, never viewed defeat as an option, is required. Of all such warriors, none is more glorious, wonderful and beautiful to behold than Shri Hanuman, the faithful servant of Lord Rama.
If positive thinking was so easy, there wouldn’t be so many books written on how to succeed in life. Entering a library or bookstore, you can’t find a section on how to sit back and relax your way to financial freedom. There is no section of the store devoted to the great procrastinators in history. On the contrary, volumes upon volumes of books are written about positive thinking and the keys to achieving success through hard work and perseverance. If we study the famous success stories of the past, we’ll see that all of the climbs to the top involved highly motivated and perseverant workers. The successful weren’t going to tolerate failure under any circumstances, even if it meant suffering through defeat after defeat.
The pioneers take all the arrows. The trailblazers in any field of activity suffer the most in their pursuit for perfection and success. Others who follow in their footsteps often have an easier time because the path has been laid out for them, with the potential pitfalls already identified. A glaring example of the benefits of one man leading the pack is seen in the talk radio industry in America. Around twenty five years ago, AM radio, which features news, talk, weather and anything besides the playing of popular music, was deemed a dying brand. The only talk shows that did succeed were local ones that focused on providing recipes to housewives and giving basic news rundowns.
Fast forward to today and talk radio has become one of the most popular mediums for information exchange and discussion. It seems that everyone who has any fame wants to get their own show. The stark change in popularity came about primarily through the success of one man, a person who was determined to be on the radio since his very childhood. Rush Limbaugh’s parents were of the World War II/Great Depression generation, so they wanted their children to become educated and land steady jobs. Through earning a college degree, one could have the financial security they needed to avoid the pangs of economic depression. The Limbaughs’ eldest son Rush had no affinity for school though. After dropping out of college after a brief stint, Rush was determined to make it in the radio industry, his life’s dream.
Yet success wouldn’t come easy; he would be fired seven different times from different radio gigs. One station manager told him that he didn’t have the necessary skills to be on the radio. The natural inertia and penchant for negativity in the average human being would have caused most people to quit at this point. After all, nothing inflicts a stronger bruising to the ego than does getting fired. Yet Rush, driven by a passion, persevered and eventually landed a radio show that allowed him to do the program the way he wanted. The rest was history, as the popularity of talk radio surged as a result of Limbaugh’s tremendous success and unique model of syndication.
Rush is not the only success story to cause a dramatic shakeup to an industry, as similar triumphs over adversity are witnessed in virtually every field of interest. It is said that Wayne Gretzky singlehandedly made ice hockey popular in Los Angeles and the surrounding areas after he was traded to the Kings franchise. While entertainment, business, politics, and sports all require positive thinking and perseverance in order to attain success, the realm of spirituality is much tougher. Reaching the pinnacle of spiritual practice requires a change in consciousness, a drastic shift to the predominant thought processes. In the conditioned state, the individual takes itself to be the ultimate object of enjoyment; thus all activities are geared towards self-satisfaction. On the surface this makes sense. After all, we have to live with ourselves, so we might as well make sure we are happy. No one else is going to love us as much as we will. While it is certainly important to meet the needs of the self, how one can go about doing this is where problems arise, as the proper identification of the self is necessary in order to find lasting satisfaction.
So this seems simple enough. Become a servant of God and all happiness will be achieved. Ah, but there’s a catch. Since time immemorial the soul’s aversion to divine love has steadily increased. The longer one remains in the material world, the stronger the aversion becomes. The more one drifts away from their constitutional position, the more they will take to serving other interests, such as those of their fellow man. Even sense gratification is a type of service, wherein the allegiance is to the senses.
While service to others may seem like a noble enough engagement, the enjoyment derived is inferior. Material nature is the cruelest of mistresses; she tells us that we’ll be happy associating with her, but her promises are as empty as the air. The illusion leads to a voluntary enlistment in her service, but all we get in return is a repetition of the miserable cycle of birth and death. Therefore, the aim of life is to gradually shift consciousness, moving away from serving unworthy worshipable objects, while simultaneously inching closer towards servicing that one person who never lets anyone down.
The quintessential act of bhakti is harinama-japa, or the chanting of the holy names of the Lord, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. Regular recitation of the sound vibration representations of Supreme Spirit is also the most effective spiritual activity because it can be universally instantiated; it can be practiced at any time and at any place. As such, our consciousness is eligible for purification at all times throughout the day. The more one takes to chanting, the more their consciousness gets fixed up.
To accept service from other sincere souls, Bhagavan must place Himself into apparently troubling situations from time to time. As mentioned before, it is the natural position of God to reign supreme over all. Yet if He appeared on this earth and simply pounded His chest and imposed His will on others, there would be no chance for anyone to offer their love. If a person is deemed extremely powerful and in need of nothing, others will not have any desire to show their love in the form of aid and assistance. Even in the arena of romantic love, it is seen that the greatest service is offered by those who view their significant others as downtrodden and incapable of maintaining themselves. A good wife is one who lovingly views her husband as being an idiot, a viewpoint often exhibited in the presence of others, wherein the wife will constantly correct and make fun of her husband’s shortcomings. Not surprisingly, husbands will not appreciate such behavior, but the actions of the wife are indicative of the highest loving sentiments. If the wife viewed the husband as superior and completely independent, she would have no need to come forth and offer assistance.
After allying with Rama, Sugriva dispatched a search party to look for Sita, with the lead group including Hanuman. Though initially faced with great difficulties, the monkeys finally made some headway when they learned of Sita’s whereabouts through the kind words of a bird named Sampati. The catch was that Sita’s location, the island of Lanka, was across a vast and deep ocean, one that couldn’t be crossed by any ordinary entity. Though at this point it seemed that all hope was lost, Jambavan, one of the elderly monkeys in the party, informed Hanuman of his divine lineage, the circumstances of his upbringing, and his immense powers.
From the above referenced passages from the Ramayana, we see Hanuman confidently declaring that nothing will stand in his way of finding Sita. These statements were uttered while Hanuman was standing atop a mountain peak, from which he was to make his giant leap across the vast ocean. Since he had assumed a massive size, many trees were destroyed and animals scared away in the process of his ascension to the top of the mountain. Others looked at the beautiful, giant figure with awe and reverence. Fear is the impulse reaction when witnessing such a phenomenal event, but the inhabitants of this land knew that Hanuman was performing devotional service for Shri Rama.
The confidence and unwavering attitude that jump off the page while reading Hanuman’s statement are wonderful to behold. Hanuman was born of the wind-god Vayu, so by saying that he would travel to Lanka at the speed of the wind, he was honoring his father. The comparison to the wind is actually made in reference to the speed of the arrows shot from the illustrious bow of Shri Rama. Taking birth in a pious royal family, Rama was a warrior by trade. His arrows were no ordinary weapons; they were the most powerful agents of destruction for the targets they always reached. Not only was Hanuman faithfully serving Rama, but he had the good Lord always on His mind. He not only boldly declared that he would be successful in his venture, but he made sure to invoke Rama’s name and attributes. Krishna consciousness is not just exhibited through pledges of allegiance and the performance of rituals. It is a way of life. A pure devotee is incapable of deviating the mind from thoughts of Bhagavan. Rama’s arrows are also His dear servants, so when they are released from the bow, they are on their own to act for the Lord’s pleasure. Hanuman, adoring every aspect of his beloved Rama, kindly compared himself to the divine arrows that never fail to make their marksman proud.
Hanuman’s determination was so strong that even if he couldn’t find Sita in Lanka, he would boldly jump up to the heavenly region to look for her. The assumption here is that if Sita wasn’t in Lanka, Ravana might have already killed her. Even if she wasn’t in the middle planetary system, Hanuman was prepared to fly to the heavenly realm to safely return Rama’s wife to Him. Obviously such an action wasn’t necessary, as Sita is the most powerful divine mother, an incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi and the eternal consort of Shri Rama in the spiritual world. Ravana was as much capable of travelling back in time as he was of even touching Sita, let alone killing her.
“By proper utilization of thoughtfulness, one comes to the stage of thinking of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By thinking of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one becomes free from the contamination of the faulty association of the material world, and thus one becomes peaceful. The world is in a disturbed condition because of a scarcity of such peaceful devotees in human society.” (Shrila Prabhupada, 
Some will say the root cause of scarcity is greed. “Too many have nots and too few haves. The greedy take to hoarding all the resources for themselves, thus limiting the potential for production by others.” While there is no doubt that greedy businessmen are interested in only one thing, profit, their behavior alone doesn’t explain rampant poverty. From studying the most successful businesses in the world, we see that the majority of them can source their wealth to support from the common man. For instance, computer and software companies get rich off of people buying their products and using them. Apple Computer makes millions of dollars selling music players, computers and portable entertainment devices that aren’t necessarily inexpensive. Their latest high tech product, the iPad, is overpriced in the estimation of many, yet the device still sells extremely well. The truth is that a key factor in making millions of dollars is finding a product that appeals to the common man, producing it at a low cost, and then selling it at a price that will garner a profit. So in this sense, the greedy businessman has nothing to gain by forcing his customers into poverty. He is not benefitted by mass starvation and famine.
These perceptions indicate that the soul is very powerful, but where did it come from? Where does the spiritual spark go upon exiting the body? What are its properties? At the core, the soul has an affinity for God. Divine love is built into the spirit’s makeup; it is a property that cannot be removed. In fact, the desires to affectionately embrace the Supreme Soul and seek out its pleasure are the most dominant features of the individual soul, even trumping its properties of full knowledge and eternality. Just as fire is known by its heat and light properties, the soul is known by its pure loving propensity manifested through the service attitude. In order for there to be love, there has to be a beneficiary, an entity to whom affection can be directed. Since the soul is always in a state of existence, the ideal recipient of its service must bear the same property. Not surprisingly, that ultimate reservoir of pleasure is 
Though everyone, including the atheist, believes in God, they may not know who He is, what He looks like, or what their relationship to Him is. How can the atheists, who outwardly deny the existence of a Supreme Being, who despise every aspect of divine love and the worship of any entity aside from matter, be servants of the Supreme Lord? When the intrinsic loving property pushes activity towards Krishna, the soul remains in a purified state. Due to the resulting connection, which is known as yoga, all knowledge and proper behavioral characteristics are acquired. It is said that the soul is like a self-illuminating lamp of knowledge; therefore it never has to actually acquire any information. The education that individuals are subjected to in terms of schooling and instruction from higher authorities merely serves to remove the covering of nescience that envelops the spiritual fragment, which is resting comfortably within the heart. 
Only when the burning desire to perform service is directed at the Supreme Object of Pleasure can the right system of knowledge be revealed. One may question that since everything is created by God, what is wrong with worshiping matter or other temporary objects. The answer is that the Lord’s influence is certainly seen in everything, but direct service, one that leads to perfect yoga, can only be offered to His personal self or one of His representatives. The feet, hands and legs are different parts of the human body, but if we want to feed ourselves, we have to go through the mouth and eventually reach the stomach. If we offer food to our foot, nothing will come of such service, regardless of how devoted we are. Indeed, such a method of worship is rooted completely in ignorance. In the same way, serving matter, which is Krishna’s external energy, does nothing to further our knowledge, enhance our bliss, or purify our behavior.
This output of effort is actually a waste of time, as the Supreme Lord is capable of providing for simple acquisitions of matter and much more. History has shown Bhagavan to be the greatest benefactor, bestowing kingdoms upon the most downtrodden who had the good sense to chant His name regularly. Yet when one ignores Krishna’s helping hand and instead worships matter, they are essentially searching for tiny food grains within heaps of garbage. A grain is typically an abundant commodity, so it is not very valuable. Searching amidst rubbish for something as ordinary as a food grain isn’t a very wise use of time, but when deluded by ignorance, the conditioned entity takes the grain to be more valuable than the eternal kingdom capable of being bestowed by the ruler of all worlds material and spiritual.
What about the food problem? How does worshiping God remove the fears pertaining to putting food on the table? In the conditioned state, man lives to eat, sleep, drink and be merry. On the other hand, the purified devotee lives only to perform bhakti. Hence they automatically acquire the knowledge necessary to provide for their sustenance. Whatever food is procured in the home is prepared and offered to Krishna first, with the results turning into 
What is the quintessential act of bhakti? What is the one activity we can take up that will aim our natural loving propensity at the right target? Which engagement will help us make the best use of our God-given freedom? Shri Gaurahari, Lord Chaitanya, inaugurated the sankirtana movement, the congregational chanting of the holy names of the Lord, to save the fallen conditioned souls of this age. God is the same for everyone, but explicitly reciting His names found in the maha-mantra, “
“Then, that most powerful and brave monkey, like the smooth water roamed with ease across the grass that had the hue of a vaidurya stone. That sagacious monkey, like an agitated lion swept aside many deer and other animals, scared away the birds, and crushed down trees with his chest.” (Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara Kand, 1.3-4)
Understanding the limits of piety and sin is a little tricky. Typically, virtue is attached to activities that we are supposed to perform and sin is anything we shouldn’t. If you abide by piety, you will be rewarded in the future, and if you take to sinful life, you will be severely punished. Some preachers will even openly declare that everyone who takes to sin and ignores the desires of a specific spiritual personality will be forced to suffer eternal damnation in hell. “Repent for your sins, or forever suffer for your transgressions!” In actuality, hell and heaven are simply areas with severe temporary conditions resulting from ordinary acts of goodness and ignorance. Piety can be thought of as the right way to do something, so it doesn’t necessarily have to apply to religion. The same holds true for sin. Since the outer covering of the soul is temporary and destined for destruction, no condition that leads to flickering happiness or distress can be taken to be eternal or the final fate of the soul. The individual soul, or atma, remains in existence forever. As such, it is closely tied at the hip to another entity that never perishes: the Supreme Soul, or Paramatma. No action can cause any spiritual entity to die or change in quality.
With respect to the protection of the environment, say that we have the most beautiful surroundings, where no trees are ever knocked down and no animals are ever hurt. What will we do after that? Will the mind stop thinking? Do our desires stop? Since individuality is an intrinsic property of the soul, the penchant for activity never ceases. Therefore, to elevate to the highest platform of transcendental existence, one must rise above mundane piety. Caring for other forms of life surely is noble, but activities that deal strictly with temporary bodies do not represent the upper limit of the soul’s engagement. The individual spirit, jivatma, is the functioning unit of the body, so the future well-being of the soul is what really matters.
Though it can take many lifetimes’ worth of pious behavior to gain release from the playground known as the phenomenal world, there is a much simpler way that is flawlessly effective. The same objects that are viewed as the source of personal enjoyment can be used for the pleasure of the Supreme Lord. This is the vision the saints, the celebrated 
The prescriptions offered by the Vaishnavas are pretty straightforward. “Devote yourselves to God and think of Him at all times. Spend as much time as you can hearing, worshiping, remembering, and offering prayers to the Lord.” Those who make this type of devotion to God their way of life practice the ancient art of bhakti-yoga. As a form of yoga, there is an explicit attempt to link the soul with the Paramatma, but the loving sentiment towards Supreme Spirit actually exists naturally in the soul. There would never have been a desire to imitate God were it not for the intimate relationship that exists between the individual soul and the Supreme Lord. Since bhakti is the ideal consciousness, all impurities from the activities adopted are removed. The divine consciousness automatically brings knowledge of the proper course of action for any and all circumstances.
Rama and Lakshmana eventually forged an alliance with a band of monkeys living in the forest of Kishkindha. Their chief warrior was Hanuman, who after being apprised of his divine powers, took to leaping across the giant ocean that separated the monkey search party from the island of Lanka, where Ravana had taken Sita. From the above passage, we see that Hanuman, who assumed a massive size to make his way across the giant ocean, initially destroyed many trees that were part of the surroundings and scared away animals that were in his path. Based on the rules of mundane piety as they pertain to caring for the environment, this was surely an abominable act. Hanuman, in preparing for his launch off of a mountaintop, essentially blistered the earth by tromping over it. The modern day environmental movement is fueled by the viewpoint that mankind is an evil force responsible for pollution and the destruction of its surroundings. So under this mindset, Hanuman would be labeled as one of the greatest sinners, a person surely worthy of punishment.
But to this day Hanuman remains one of the most widely revered spiritual figures in the world. As mentioned before, all objects of this world, including the pristine surroundings provided by Mother Nature, belong to God. The beautiful property in the form of trees, rivers, parks, and forests have been kindly lent to us for the purpose of rekindling God consciousness. How to go about utilizing everything around us for the pleasure of Krishna is not simply left to a theoretical exercise. True God consciousness can be exhibited in outward symptoms recognized by the nature of the activities that result. As bhakti is akin to transcendental love, the affection for the Supreme Lord must be shown in the activities of the devotee; otherwise the claims of attachment through consciousness are meaningless.
Whether he is offering kind words of advice, killing enemies, humbly approaching Sita, or destroying trees and forests as a result of assuming a massive size, Hanuman is always beautiful. Regardless of the preventative measures we adopt, this earth will ultimately be destroyed, for that is the destiny for anything that is created. The aim should be to act in Krishna’s interests at all times. Such behavior will not only purify our own consciousness, but it will also help everyone around us, including future generations, in their quest for spiritual freedom. When there are evil elements in the world such as Ravana, there is bound to be incidental destruction resulting from the heroic efforts of the servants of Bhagavan. Such action need not be apologized for. Hanuman’s glories know no end, and the beautiful form that made its way to Lanka is something to be celebrated forever and ever.
“Being beyond the range of limited sense perception [adhokshaja], You are the eternally irreproachable factor covered by the curtain of deluding energy. You are invisible to the foolish observer, exactly as an actor dressed as a player is not recognized.” (Queen Kunti speaking to Lord Krishna, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 1.18.19)
The idolatry directed towards famous actors and actresses can only be rooted in a flawed identification. After all, just because an individual plays a doctor on television doesn’t mean that they know how to practice medicine in real life. Yet this precise illusion envelops even members of the highest levels of government and politics, which is often humorously referred to as “showbiz for the ugly”. There have been instances in the past where actors who played a prominent role championing some social cause in a film were then later called to testify before Congress to lend their “expertise” to the matter. It is undoubtedly true that the most popular actors are treated like royalty, for they are offered great respect and attention in a wide variety of public circles. In many cases the worshipers visibly exhibit their pure ignorance by offering obeisances in a manner similar to the way worship is performed in a traditional house of spirituality, or temple.
Why would someone who is intended to be our ultimate object of worship take to acting? The cause relates directly to desire. Just as the audience member purposefully puts himself under illusion to enhance the enjoyment derived from watching their favorite actors, the conditioned entity purposefully forgets the sublime and powerful nature of the Supreme Lord to take to a lower class of enjoyment. Indeed, this really isn’t any enjoyment at all, just a perceived level of happiness brought on by forgetfulness of Supreme Spirit and association with an inferior energy. Since the entity lacking true God consciousness is fooled into thinking it will be happy in the absence of Krishna’s association, the resulting behavior is one based completely off illusion.
There are two aspects to maya. The illusory force is justifiably viewed in a negative light by the elevated transcendentalists, but there is still some beauty in maya’s effects. She is so great that she can fool an individual into thinking that they are God. Taking oneself to be equal to Shri Krishna, who as the Supreme Person is known as Purushottama, represents the nadir of material existence, the lowest level the thought processes of the human being can descend to. Such an individual, being the greatest victim of illusion, works under the dictates of mahamaya. Krishna is so powerful that even His illusory forces are a sight to behold.
Influenced by yogamaya, most devotees were not able to accurately perceive Krishna’s unique and unmatched transcendental position during His time on earth. But Kunti Devi, the mother of the five Pandava brothers, cousins and friends of Shri Krishna, was able to see the Lord for who He was. On one occasion she offered nice prayers to the Lord, wherein she declared that He is adhokshaja, or one who is not perceptible to the external senses. We can recognize that an actor is a human being by studying the workings of the film industry and watching interviews of the actor when he is outside of his particular role. But with the Supreme Lord, we can never understand His fixed position unless we hear from devotees like Kunti Devi. No amount of experimental knowledge, theoretical or practical, will lead the human brain to properly conclude that God exists and that His original form is the all-blissful Krishna. This evidence must initially be accepted on the faith of the words of authority figures, those who know Krishna and who kindly pass down information pertaining to the Lord’s transcendental features to their descendants.
The miscreants, on the other hand, are under the influence of mahamaya, so their misidentification of Krishna is based solely on their desire to compete with God. Even with all the evidence provided by the authority figures and Krishna Himself in the Bhagavad-gita, the non-devotee will not see the Lord for who He is. Indeed, if such an acknowledgment were present, it would be an open admission that a painful death was on the horizon, for the deviant soul’s heart remains always set on ascending to the top of the materialistic platform, something which has no relation to the personal aspect of the Lord. As the Supreme Person, God supplies orders and accepts worship from subordinates. The grossly foolish think that by acquiring enough material objects and amassing enough power, they can usurp this position, one that is never even up for grabs. In a democratic country, the head positions are always up for election, which means that any person can ascend to the top post of the government. As soon as an individual assumes the top post, they get treated completely differently. The President of the United States is just an ordinary man after all, for before being elected to office, he wasn’t treated all that well. Yet as soon as he gets sworn in, he travels on Air Force One and hears Hail to the Chief wherever he goes, and he gets wide respect from people around the world.
The Lord is always present in this universe, even when His original form remains in the spiritual sky. As the greatest actor, Krishna conceals Himself through His energies. The sunshine, the wind, and nature are all Krishna. Even the taste of water is a manifestation of the Lord’s energy. Though there is only one energetic, the reservoir of all potency, there is still no difference between the energetic and the energy. Krishna’s energies are all around us. Even the most illusioned person, one who is addicted to 
One who tries to worship the Lord in His seemingly invisible form, alakshya, which is imperceptible to the blunt senses [adhokshaja], while willfully neglecting the worship of His outward forms, such as the deities, incarnations and original form in the spiritual land of Goloka 
“Then, after seeing the newly risen sun in the great forest when you were a boy, taking it to be fruit and wanting to catch it, you jumped up and flew towards the sky.” (Jambavan speaking to Hanuman, Valmiki Ramayana, Kishkindha Kand, 66.21)
Pure love for God, or bhakti, is the constitutional position of the soul. Though we tend to identify with our outward features, it is the spirit soul inside which forms the basis of identity. “I” and “Mine” really refer to the soul and not the body. We may have the form of a human being in the present life, but in a future one we may be born as a 
Material activities, those actions that aim to satisfy the senses of the temporary body, are deemed conditioned and thus leading to bondage. The binding aspect shouldn’t be difficult to understand, as the body is temporary and subject for destruction, so any activity which aims to satisfy it will also end in destruction. Since such engagements also do nothing to purify consciousness, the soul remains bound to the cycle of birth and death. The Supreme Lord, the one and only God for all of humanity, is very kind. Through His separated energies, He gives those who do not worship Him personally what they want, even if their desires won’t lead to eternal freedom. If the individual wants to remain tied to the repetitious activities of sense gratification based off false identification, they are free to do so.
From the time of His birth, everyone was enamored by Rama’s activities and also those of His three younger brothers: Bharata, Lakshmana and Shatrughna. When one rises above the animalistic stage and gains a basic understanding of spirituality but still hasn’t achieved pure God consciousness, there are four rewards in life that are deemed most precious and worthy of attaining: dharma [religiosity], artha [economic development], kama [sense gratification] and moksha [liberation from birth and death]. They say that during Dasharatha’s time, these four rewards manifested in the forms of his four young children. In fact, these beautiful boys, who were all non-different forms of Vishnu, were rewards far greater than anything anyone could ever ask for. Devotion to the feet of these sweet children would bring the greatest gift of all: bhakti, which is an eternal flame of love that illuminates any form the soul happens to assume.
As part of His pastimes, Rama roamed the forests of India alongside His beautiful and chaste wife Sita Devi and Lakshmana. On one unfortunate occasion, Sita was kidnapped from the forest while not in Rama or Lakshmana’s presence. In their subsequent search for her whereabouts, Rama and Lakshmana forged an alliance with a Vanara king named Sugriva, who was living in the forest of Kishkindha. Vanaras are usually taken to be monkeys, but the Sanskrit word itself means “one of the forest”. Based on the descriptions of their activities and their notably strong penchant for 
Jambavan took the opportunity to inform Hanuman of his tremendous prowess inherited from his father. Not knowing the circumstances of his birth, Hanuman was told the beautiful story about the early years of his life. There once was a celebrated celestial nymph who was exquisitely beautiful. Due to a curse imprecated by a sage, she was subsequently born as a monkey. Given the name of Anjana, she was later married to a monkey named Keshari. Though she was in the form of a Vanara, Anjana still retained some of her celestial powers, one of which included the ability to assume any shape at will. One day she decided to assume a human form and roam the top of a mountain which had a beautiful cloud amassed around it. The wind-god, Vayu, then saw her and became enamored.
When he was still a child, the young boy one day saw the sun in the sky and mistook it for a fruit. Wanting to grab the fruit and eat it, the child leaped into the sky and made his way closer and closer to the sun. His jumping ability and swiftness weren’t remarkable considering Vayu was the boy’s father. Even though the child was eventually repulsed by the massive splendor of the sun, he did not get discouraged in any way. Indra, the king of the heavenly planets, saw the child approaching his realm, and possessed by anger, he hurled a thunderbolt at the young boy. Being struck by Indra’s vajra, the child in the sky was throttled back and subsequently collided with a mountain. Since his jaw was broken by the impact with the mountain, the child was thenceforth known as Hanuman.
This means that anytime we say the name of Rama, or anytime we chant the glorious names of the Lord found in the sacred maha-mantra, “