The Powers of Hanuman
The powers that Hanuman acquired through this process of his development gave him supernatural god-like powers. There are eight primary powers that are mentioned in the scriptures in relation to Hanuman. Those who have studied Kundalini Yoga, Gnosis, or Tantra will recognize these powers because these are the same powers that one acquires when the Kundalini awakens. They are:
Anima: the ability to shrink ones size
Mahima: the ability to increase ones size
Lagima: the ability to be weightless
Garima: the ability to increase ones weight
Brapti: the ability to travel anywhere and acquire anything
Parakamya: an irresistible willpower
Vastiva: mastery over all creatures
Istiva: the ability to become godlike with the power to create and destroy
Clearly, this is an impressive list of powers, and throughout the stories of Hanuman he uses all these powers in service of Rama, always in service to God, never for himself. This is precisely what is interesting about these powers and about the stories of Hanuman.
When we hear about spiritual powers, when spiritual people study spirituality, yoga, Tantra, we immediately begin to imagine, "That would be so cool if I had that ability. If I could shrink myself tiny or make myself huge or leap to the sun..." Yet notice that we want powers for ourselves, for our pleasure, and so others will admire us, fear us, and envy us. That is our first impulse. We want spiritual powers for ourselves. This is a very important thing to notice about ourselves. If you are practicing genuine spirituality in a sincere way, you will acquire powers like that—it is natural, it is part of spiritual development.
The powers that Hanuman acquired through this process of his development gave him supernatural god-like powers. There are eight primary powers that are mentioned in the scriptures in relation to Hanuman. Those who have studied Kundalini Yoga, Gnosis, or Tantra will recognize these powers because these are the same powers that one acquires when the Kundalini awakens. They are:
Anima: the ability to shrink ones size
Mahima: the ability to increase ones size
Lagima: the ability to be weightless
Garima: the ability to increase ones weight
Brapti: the ability to travel anywhere and acquire anything
Parakamya: an irresistible willpower
Vastiva: mastery over all creatures
Istiva: the ability to become godlike with the power to create and destroy
Clearly, this is an impressive list of powers, and throughout the stories of Hanuman he uses all these powers in service of Rama, always in service to God, never for himself. This is precisely what is interesting about these powers and about the stories of Hanuman.
When we hear about spiritual powers, when spiritual people study spirituality, yoga, Tantra, we immediately begin to imagine, "That would be so cool if I had that ability. If I could shrink myself tiny or make myself huge or leap to the sun..." Yet notice that we want powers for ourselves, for our pleasure, and so others will admire us, fear us, and envy us. That is our first impulse. We want spiritual powers for ourselves. This is a very important thing to notice about ourselves. If you are practicing genuine spirituality in a sincere way, you will acquire powers like that—it is natural, it is part of spiritual development.
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