Under the able leadership of our most dynamic, sagacious and youthful Guruji Pujya Shree Bhupendrabhai Pandya, affectionately and respectfully called Bhai by many devotees, numerous people attended a meditation camp along with an in-depth discourse on Shree Hanuman Chalisa. Pictures of Lord Shree Rama, Seeta, Lakshman and Shree Hanumanjee depicting various incidents of Ramayana adorned walls of the conference room. A lamp was lit to commence the seminar, which illuminated the hall and symbolically the minds of the devotees continuously for all three days. A small pooja was also performed to mark the auspicious beginning of the discourse. We were enlightened by Guruji about the Hanuman Chalisa being a Siddha mantra - one that has tremendous power. If one chants it with faith, all his prayers will be answered. He described the history of events that led Goswami Tulsidasji to compose the Hanuman Chalisa. He told us that the power of a mantra as also the image of God worshipped by people, increases in direct proportion to the number of times it is repeated and the number of people viewing and worshipping the image. This has been scientifically proved by western research scholars and professors with the help of Kirlian photographs and highly advanced and sensitive machines. The Hanuman Chalisa has been widely known and recited all over India for over 400 years and Shree Hanumanjee has been devoutly worshipped by millions of people since ages.

Shree Hanumanjee is brilliance and glory incarnate and every line of the Hanuman Chalisa reflects the same brilliance. Even His conception is Divine. Due to His mother Anjana’s devout penance and worship, Lord Shiva’s brilliance and the elements of Agnideva, the God of Fire, entered her womb through the medium of Vayudeva, the God of Wind. Therefore, Shree Hanumanjee has the power to create, protect and destroy life. He is very simple and humble in his conduct. His main purpose of life and his mission is to fulfill successfully all the wishes, work and visions of Lord Shree Rama. He has the capacity to take any form, be it as small as a mosquito or as gigantic as Mount Sumeru. He possesses the qualities of brilliance, bravery, wisdom, piety, patience and valour. He is a master of effective, very powerful yet soothing speech. He learnt and mastered many skills from Suryadeva, the Sun God. Shree Hanumanjee has many names such as Pavansut, Ramdoot, Anjaneya, Kesarinandan, etc.

Pujya Guruji also enumerated the qualities that a true devotee and a messenger or an ambassador must have, which are all visible in Shree Hanumanjee. A devotee may use these as a bench mark to check whether he is a Ramadoot, a messenger of Lord Rama in the true sense.

Pujya Guruji enlightened the devotees about three important Anushthans, ways of worshipping Shree Hanumanjee, to successfully overcome all the difficulties and sorrows of life.

The significance of the dust of the Guru’s feet was also very simply and lucidly explained. The Guru makes his life exemplary for his disciples to follow as aptly declared by Mahatma Gandhi, ‘My life is my message’. All we need to do is observe and examine the Guru’s thoughts and behaviour and then compare our own thoughts and conduct. Guru is an inexhaustible source of inspiration that helps us face challenges and problems in our lives.

When we read the Hanuman Chalisa we see that though it was meant to praise Shree Hanumanjee, it appears as though it actually praises Lord Shree Rama. The reasons for this were also explained at length by Pujya Guruji. Another noteworthy feature of Shree Hanuman Chalisa is that the fruits of reciting it with faith are stated right in the beginning contrary to most other mantras or prayers where they are stated at the end. It denotes that recitation of Shree Hanuman Chalisa gives immediate results to the faithful disciple.

Every line of Shree Hanuman Chalisa was explained very simply and in depth. Pujya Guruji gave us vivid references from Ramayana by Maharshi Valmiki, Adhyatma Ramayana, Shree Rama Charit Manas and Kavitavali by Goswami Tulsidasji and various other scriptures. The devotees were very grateful for the depth of knowledge and clarity of thoughts experienced through this Shibir.

Meditation was conducted by Pujya Guruji under his expert and compassionate guidance on all three days of the camp. Many participants had divine experiences. Pujya Guruji patiently answered the queries raised by participants regarding their experiences. Through a very interesting and practical exercise, Pujya Guruji made the seekers realise the intense hatred or intense love they held in their hearts and showed the way to create a balance as both the extreme emotions are detrimental to their well being. On 28th February, it being Saturday, a significant day to worship Shree Hanumanjee, the participants as a group recited Shree Hanuman Chalisa 1100 times followed by aarti. It was a moving experience for all. The participants appreciated the care taken by the volunteers of Samakti Seva Parivar for making the seminar a wholesome experience. Each detail, from the transportation to accomodation and the meals, was well planned and most satisfactory. On Sunday afternoon the devotees parted with Hanuman Chalisa on their lips and love in their heart !

Report by : Mahabanoo Contractor and Paulomi Sheth