Who was the Guru of Hanumanji?

Anjana Devi used to tell Rama Charita to young Hanumanji. She would narrate the greatness of the Lord, how He had a great devotee called Hanuman who served Him, and how the Lord destroyed the evil Rakshasa king Ravana. This is from the previous Mahayuga.

The events that happen in all Mahayugas are the same; they just keep on repeating. Every Treta Yuga, a Lord Rama takes Avatara, a Ravana is there, and he is destroyed. These are Shashwata (eternal); they just keep on repeating. Anjana Devi is telling the young Lord Hanuman how it all unfolded in the previous Mahayuga or Chaturyuga, and she told him, 'You are going to be Hanuman this time.'

The Lord was really excited. He wanted to go to Ayodhya and meet his Swami. Anjana Devi said, 'But for that, Lord Rama has not even taken birth. You will have to wait. But for serving Lord Rama, to be His servant, are you good enough? Do you know anything? Have you learned anything? You are just whiling away your time, playing and disturbing the Rishis.'

'No, I want to learn. Send me to a Gurukul. Get my Upanayana done,' Hanumanji said. He started becoming impatient. He wanted to become the hero, Hanuman, that he heard about in his mother’s stories. The Lord’s Upanayana was done, but he wanted to learn from the best Guru, so he asked the Mahatma who did his Upanayana.

'Who is the Guru of you all?' Hanuman asked.

The Mahatma replied, 'All knowledge comes from Prajapati Brahma.'

'But who did he learn from? Who taught Brahma?' Hanuman inquired.

'Narayana is Brahma’s Guru.'

'Who is Narayana’s Guru?'

'Narayana doesn’t have a Guru. He Himself is all knowledge.'

'Where can I find Him? Where is His Gurukula?' Hanuman asked eagerly.

The Mahatma pointed towards the sun in the sky. 'That is Narayana, Surya Narayana. Each and every one of His crores of rays is knowledge. When a Rishi gets to see one such ray within himself, when one such ray is revealed to a Rishi, that is what we call a mantra. And Surya Narayana has crores of such rays.'

Lord Hanuman jumped up in the sky and approached Surya Deva.

'I want to be your Shishya. Please accept me,' he prostrated before Surya Deva.

Surya Deva said, 'That is fine. I understand your earnestness to learn; you have braved the heat and come to me. But how will I teach you? I am always traveling. I am not allowed to stop even for a moment. And see my charioteer, Aruna. Even though he is supposed to be in charge of my chariot, he doesn’t have hands or legs. He can’t control these horses. He just sits there as if he is in control, but in fact, even he can’t stop this chariot for a moment. If it stops, then time stops, and everything will come to an end. This whole Prapancha (universe) will come to an end. And see, there is so little space in here. This is not enough for two of us; I barely manage myself here.'

Hanumanji thought for a while. 'Don’t worry, I will just follow you, and you teach me.'

Surya Deva had no excuse this time. So, Lord Hanuman started following Surya Deva’s chariot and began learning everything from him—Vedas, Vedangas, Upavedas, Shastras, Puranas—everything. He equipped himself to be a worthwhile servant of the Almighty when He takes Avatara as Lord Rama.

After the teaching was over, Hanumanji humbly requested Surya Deva, 'You are the life giver for the whole universe. What can someone offer to you? But as a Shishya, I am duty-bound to offer Guru Dakshina to you. What shall I offer?'

Surya Deva said, 'My own Amshavatara will be there on earth in some time. His name will be Sugreeva. You be of help to him when in need. That will be your Guru Dakshina to me.'

Knowledge Bank

What is Aksha?

In Vedic rituals such as Agnyadheya and Rajasuya, the game of dice is played. This is called Aksha.

Religion vis.a.vis Dharma

The word Religion contains only about one-third of what the word Dharma contains.