Hanuman Jayanti: The Power of Devotion in Action

Each year on Hanuman Jayanti, celebrated this year on April 12, we’re invited to remember something most modern minds forget: Devotion is a power beyond sentimentality. It’s prana in action. It’s breath directed by love.

Devotion is a transcendent feeling that lifts us beyond ourselves and compels us to support, protect, and serve a beloved cause, person, ideal, or deity. Dedication is the channel through which that devotional feeling flows into action. And no being embodies love and duty more purely than Hanuman.

Hanuman is the yogi of devotion, the original bhakta. He is the embodiment of refined prana, awakened through unwavering love and surrender. As a monk who became a warrior, his power arose from egoless devotion, allowing divine energy to move through him with absolute clarity and purpose.

Hanuman’s fearlessness came from serving something greater than himself: Lord Rama and his mission to reunite with Sita. Rama embodies love, truth, and dharma. In the Ramayana, the great ancient Indian epic, Hanuman’s unwavering loyalty and steady devotion support Rama through exile, loss, and war.

Sita is the soul’s radiant essence, taken by the forces of chaos. Rama’s quest is to restore dharma by reuniting with her. For Hanuman, devotion to Rama meant helping return the soul to its rightful place in the greater cosmic order.

We tend to think of prana as energy, but it is also a devotional force. When you breathe with purpose, when you act from deep sincerity, prana rushes to help you. Hanuman didn’t lift mountains or leap oceans because he was superhuman. He did it because he was super-devoted. It’s not hard to see how Hanuman’s life is a living metaphor for how prana moves when unhindered by self-doubt or self-importance. He is the breath that serves the heart and the vital force that becomes unstoppable when offered in love.

What Does This Ancient Myth Mean for Us?

So what does this mean for us, as seekers navigating the demands of chaotic modernity while trying to stay aligned with what truly matters?

It means that when we act in alignment with what we truly revere, when we offer ourselves wholeheartedly to something larger than our personal drama, we become conduits of a power that exceeds us.

This is what the world needs now: more connection and intention behind each breath, word, and gesture. We should not seek more power but offer more of ourselves to what we know is right, to our own dharma.

In this way, devotion becomes radical power, a sacred activism of the soul. It softens the nervous system, clarifies our focus, and reorders our actions. It cuts through harmful illusions, deepens the breath, and refines the life force so that we no longer chase validation but flow with intention, simplicity, and the fire of the divine.

A Personal Encounter: Recognizing My Devotional Nature

I can personally attest to the power of Hanuman.

Many decades ago, before I knew his name or form, I encountered him in an Indian spice shop.

At the time, I was feeling low. A chapter of my life was ending. A role I had identified with for over a decade had run its course, and although the decision was mine, the release was painful. Something in me was unraveling, and I hadn’t yet found what would take its place.

As I wandered through the spice shop in this unsettled state, I accidentally knocked something off a shelf. I caught it with my left hand so effortlessly that two of the staff applauded. It was a statue of Hanuman.

I didn’t know who he was; I simply liked his look. This earnest and endearing monkey figure intrigued me, so I bought him.

That night, I looked up “the monkey god.” His story of strength and devotion wasn’t just inspiration for me; it was recognition. I had always possessed a devotional nature: to my esoteric studies, to the people in my life, to the work I poured myself into. But I hadn’t fully seen this as a strength. I hadn’t valued it as the root of my resilience.

I learned to chant Hanuman Chalisa. I also learned about prana, a concept I had previously only known as chi from my Daoist studies. Like chi, prana has many layers, from the physical and energetic to the subtle and spiritual. Creating physical prana through exercise and breathing meditations is relatively easy, but accessing spiritual prana requires more from us.

Spiritual prana is activated through virtuous actions, the most powerful of which is devotion to something greater than ourselves and our ego-driven desires.

Hanuman’s story reminds us that to become powerful, we must become clear—clear in what we serve, clear in where we place our life energy, clear in what we give our attention to, and especially clear in what we bow to. 

Most importantly, the story reminds us that we each have our own Rama to protect and pursue and that each of us can embody Hanuman, the great devotee. We all carry an inner sense of right action that calls for our service. Devotion isn’t always to a deity. It can be to the soul’s unfolding, to the call of beauty, truth, and healing.

A Ritual Meditation to Awaken Your Devotional Nature

This practice is ideally done on Hanuman’s day, April 12th, but it can be used anytime you feel you’ve lost your way or been pulled off course by the complexity and busyness of life. It will bring you back to yourself and help realign you with your deeper purpose.

Whether you celebrate Hanuman Jayanti or simply long to connect with something greater within yourself, this meditation is designed to help you touch the flame of devotion within. You only need a willingness to listen inwardly and bow to what calls you most deeply.

This practice can be done in 10–20 minutes. Let it be simple and sincere.

1. Create a space of reverence.

Find a quiet place. You can prepare a small altar if you like: a candle, a flower, a stone, or a symbol of something you revere. You may include an image of Hanuman or leave the space open for the unknown divine to emerge.

2. Connect with your breath.

Close your eyes. Begin to follow your natural breath, not changing it, just watching. Feel it move through your body like a subtle breeze. Let each breath be an invitation to arrive more fully where you are.

3. Whisper your intention.

Quietly speak or think:

“I open to the force of devotion. Let it show me what is worthy of my love, my breath, my life.”

4. Reflect: What do I bow to?

Ask yourself:

– What is sacred to me?

– Who or what do I serve, even when I forget?

– What principle, presence, or purpose would I give my life energy to if I were fully clear?

Allow answers to arise in images, feelings, or silence. There is no need to name it right away. Let the question be your offering.

5. Breathe with devotion.

Breathe in gently for a count of 4, hold for 2, and exhale for 6. With each exhale, imagine offering your breath to what you love — even if you don’t yet know what that is. Repeat for 9 rounds.

6. Speak a devotional phrase or mantra.

You may repeat a mantra like “Om Ham Hanumate Namah” or say:

“May my strength serve what is true.”

“May I live in devotion to what matters.”

Feel the vibration of these words. Let them carry energy through your body.

7. Place your hands on your heart.

Inhale. Exhale. Whisper:

“Thank you for showing me what I belong to.”

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Let this ritual be a beginning or the rekindling of your devotional nature.

You don’t need to define it. You only need to listen and respond.

Each day, you can return to this practice to feed the flame — with breath, with presence, and with simple acts of offering.

May your devotional nature rise up, take hold, and guide your life.

Jai Hanuman 🙏💛