In the last blog on the Siddhars, I talked about Sri Hanuman. Hanuman-ji is beloved in India and in many parts of the world as well. I wish to thank Jim R. McClanahan for recommending Hanuman’s Tale: The Message of a Divine Monkey by Philip Lutgendorf. I managed to find a used copy on Amazon from Goodwill of all places and am now marking it up with colored Post it flags. Jim’s blog on the Journey to the West contains some of the most outstanding research I’ve ever seen but I did not know he had done a blog on primates!

Fascinating material but I digress a bit. Lutgendorf writes on page 45:

“The extraordinary beings who come to the aid of the human hero of the Rámáyaṇa beginning in its fourth subbook, Kiṣkindhākānda, are described with the usual Sanskrit terms for ‘monkey.’”

The next few sentences are the standard academese describing monkeys but then comes the wording I had hoped to find in the book and why I bought it.

“Yet the forest beings of Valmiki’s poem clearly are not ordinary simians: rather, they have certain of the supernatural powers (immense strength and ability to change their shape at will) and characteristic flaws (unbridled sexuality and unacceptable intersibling rivalry) of Rama’s demonic adversaries. But whereas Valmiki’s rakshasas (rākṣasa) have identifiable precursors in the Vedic literature of the preceding millennium, his vanaras apparently do not. Did the poet, then, ‘‘invent’’ them?

IMMENSE STRENGTH and the
ABILTY TO CHANGE THEIR SHAPE AT WILL!

Were the vanaras similar to the Siddhars but not as advanced in that they did not possess the entire array of siddhis?

And if you are not familiar with the Rámáyaṇa nor the Puranas nor any of the many stories/tales or ACCOUNTS (if you believe these events are historical and not fictional), then one must look at the asuras – a race of beings who are usually simply described as demons. They are far more complicated than the demons in Jewish, Islamic, and Christian literature (notice I avoid the word mythology because there are too many accounts of demons in each tradition to be lumped into the fiction section- plus I saw an entity standing next to my late mother’s roommate as that lady lay dying). Each asura was famous or infamous for having mastered a supernatural skill or set of skills.

The late physicist, M.A.Padmanabha Rao, PhD (AIIMS) born 19th Sept 1937, at Vemuluru, Kovvuru Mandalam, West Godavary District, Andhra Pradesh and who died in New Deli on 12 June 2020 according to a post on his Facebook page by his son was a huge proponent of the veracity of the Rámáyaṇa as an historical telling of real events and not an epic poem filled with fantastic tales.

Dr. Rao was a former Professor of Medical Physics (2001) at the Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences, Swamy Rama Nagar, Uttaranchal. India, a former Deputy Director, Defense Laboratory, Jodhpur, Rajasthan ,India (1983-1997), and a former Lecturer in Medical Physics, Department of Nuclear Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, (1964-1983). I trust his academic curriculum vita work experience puts him in the category of a SCIENTIST.

Physics aside, Dr. Rao was obsessed with drawing deities who he swore to his death visited him and sat for portraits. He also had the ability to see dead souls and the ability to pray specific mantras for them to pass over when and if they approached him for help. I kid you not!

We used to chat back and forth for several years on Facebook and we even emailed one another.

In case you’re now thinking I have veered off the road and am never going to talk about Sri Hanuman, you just wait. I recently learned that Mercury was in Gemini on the day I was born along with Gemini as my Rising and Gemini Sun sign! I promise, I will tie this together and you will be pleasantly surprised!

On December 7, 2018, Dr. Rao uploaded a YouTube video with this description:

Rare Sanskrit Slokas in praise of Hanumanji, a prominent Vanara leader of Ramayana period. Firstly, Slokas are on Hanuman ji then on Rama, the king of Kosala kingdom with Ayodhya as Capital, thousands of years ago. On request of Sita in captivity in ancient Sri Lanka, Hanumanji describes the abilities and nobilities of Rama. While reciting complex Sanskrit Slokas Hanumanji displays his supreme knowledge on mine Sanskrit grammars as Nava vyakarana Pandita. These Slokas are from Sundara Kanda in Valmiki Ramayana. At the end, you can also Mangalaharathi of Rama and his associates, on Venkateswara Swamy, Hanuman ji and Gurus. Sang by Dr.M.A.Padmanabha Rao, PhD (AIIMS) and Leela Devi Manchiraju (Damaraju)

The image on his computer or IPAD screen is of one of his portraits of none other than Sri HANUMAN who, Dr. Rao INSISTED appeared in his room or house, on a regular basis and who taught him this very rare sloka. Dr. Rao also wrote a paper claiming that his research showed that the blocks of stone between Rameswaram Island, off the south-eastern coast of Tamil Nadu, India, and Mannar Island, off the north-western coast of Sri Lanka were indeed the stones used to build the bridge used by Sri Rama and his army as documented in the Rámáyaṇa. I did not keep the paper he sent; as it was not as well written as I had hoped, but, I remember he calculated that the bridge was built around 200,000 to 164,000 years ago. I don’t speak Hinid but you can hear him in this interview.

In this post, Dr. Rao includes one of his portraits of Sri Ram himself. His writing is a bit awkward and Dr. Rao was VERY VERY passionate about injustice but take note of the last few words:

I wish the poor man had taken art lessons but he insisted in texts to me that the deities actually approved of his sketches.

DRAWN WITH MANTRA SIDDHI – and that’s the key. Dr. Rao chanted every day for hours on end ever since he was very small. He posted on Facebook about how, as a child, he had met this saint or that, or had spent time with this Brahmin or that. He wrote about (to be honest he kinda bragged) how he had lead this INCREDIBLE life of devotion, although, I must add, he was very bitter about never getting the awards in physics nor the international recognition for his discoveries that he had hoped to received before he passed on.

Dr. Rao never mentioned being able to heal anyone using a siddha power but he most definitely claimed he could “see” and “talk to” deities and dead souls. He also truly wanted to help people. He asked me specifically to test out his sloka to see if it improved my life. Not sure I can say that it did but it is hard to say. I can say that I am now more than just academically interested in Sri Hanuman.

TO BE CONTINUED

On Monday, April 26, 2021 during a Spring snowstorm with the daily moon moving from Libra to Scorpio, I posted on Yasmin Boland’s Subscriber Facebook Page that I wanted to create a GRATITUDE scrapbook page.

I started researching designs and was just about to create the page when the pain from hanging drapes became almost debilitating. It took a long time before I went to the Urgent Care and got injections for Gamekeeper’s Thumb. Today, my hand felt back to normal so I created this and will mail it tomorrow.

I’m still researching Siddhars so stay tuned.

I was delighted to find that Dr. Kulreet Chaundary included a brief description of the famous Siddhars in her new book, Sound Medicine. The word is not well known but their abilities have been portrayed in epics and in folklore and in sci/fi.  Huh?  You say?  Think back to the old Superman comics and the original TV series.  NOT that old, eh?  Well, I grew up watching Superman in black and white.

Superman was able to “leap to the top of tall buildings”.  And he could fly.  Always thought it looked odd until I watched how Lord Hanuman (Sri Hanuman or Hanuman-ji) has been depicted flying in the Ramayana.

Yes, yes.  I’ll talk about the Siddhars – just be aware that one of their abilities is FLYING!

George Reeves made Superman famous.  Unfortunately, it appears Reeves was murdered. Reeves’s death was a HUGE scandal when I was little. Oddly enough Christopher Reeve, who also portrayed Superman, had a nasty twist of fate. But if go into all the weird “coincidences” we find in history, I’ll never get this post published.

Take a look at how each actor is portrayed flying.  Now I understand we are dealing with actors but even in old illustrated manuscripts, this is how flying is depicted.  IF you have ever had a lucid dream where you’re flying, try to recall if this is the position you were in.

And not to belabor the point but Peter Pan teaches Wendy to fly the same way.

Now let’s quickly jump or take a flying leap to see Sun Wukong, the Great Sage of Heaven. He uses a magical cloud as a flying skateboard.  This clip is from my favorite version. Here in the opening scene of the 1986 CCTV Journey to the West starring Zhang Jin Lai as Monkey* and Xu Shao hua as the Tang dynasty monk, Sanzang, also called Tripiṭaka. Sanzang has been charged with traveling to India to bring back the Buddhist sutras. In this clip, we see Sun Wukong doing multiple somersaults at first and then skateboarding or surfing on a cloud.

This is far different from just levitating.  Both Hanuman-ji and Sun Wukong were able to fly great distances.  They were also both able to shrink to very tiny, TINY sizes – even as small as a fly or gnat or even a grain of sand.  The first of the eight Siddhas translated as supernatural powers is called Aṇimā.  Hanuman-ji was a master of Aṇimā.

Both Hanuman-ji and Sun Wukong were masters of Mahima – the ability to assume a gigantic form.  Hanuman-ji expanded his form multiple times.  In this scene Rama’s brother, Lakshman, stands on Hanuman-ji’s shoulder in order to battle a gigantic asura (demon) called Kumbhakarna.

I can’t find the scene where Sun Wukong matches Erlang’s cosmic size but it is well described by Jim R. McClanahan who writes one of the most well researched blogs on any subject I have ever found.

Although not on the list of the 8 Siddhis, shapeshifting into everything from an animal, insect, other person or “being”, or even something like a teapot or plant is one of the transformations described in the Taoist tales. 

Oddly enough, Sadguru (Jaggi Vasudev), founder of the Isha Foundation, was asked about Hanuman-ji and here is the clip of his answer. 

I watched this and had flashbacks to reading every single book by and about Carlos Castaneda and a rabbit hole I went down in the archives of the University of Texas El Paso where I found Daniel G. Brinton’s 1894 86-page manuscript.  Back then it was not a well known work so I made a photocopy.  Today you can download it.  Nagualism: A Study in Native American Folklore and History by Daniel G. Brinton.  Naguals were reported to be able to shapeshift into animals. 

If you want to lie awake at night, watch this video of Navajo Ranger Jonathan Dover. At the moment I can’t find the one where two rangers are describing HOW someone becomes a skinwalker but it involves brutally killing close relatives and loved ones.  Murder as a means for obtaining “powers” is not unlike how Bhandasur was told to throw his very young daughter, Rashmiprabha, off a cliff into a pit of fire in order to obtain a weapon that would resurrect several demons and an arsenal of weapons to try to kill Goddess Parashakti.

Now that you have watched Sadguru talk about shapeshifting and why you should not choose to become a chicken or you might end up as someone’s tandoori lunch, take note of how Sun Wukong almost ended up as a fried fish!

If you think this topic is just too strange for words, keep in mind that Dr. Chaundhary is working with the avatar of Narayani, Amma, translating palm leaves written by the siddhars about MEDICINE! Plus, there are multiple websites describing siddhis – some look like they have cut and pasted but others like this one seem “grounded” enough to share.

TO BE CONTINUED!

*If you are a fan of Sun Wukong, I highly recommend you watch this video. It is AMAZING!

In case any of you thought I had writer’s block I did but it was in the form of an inflamed, stomach churning painful tendon in my wrist. Wanting to be self sufficient, I tried to unscrew the knob on a drapery rod while standing on a step ladder. Being only 5’1″ with osteoarthritis, it was a wrong turn (get it turn of the screw).

Well, I didn’t feel the pain right away. And I wanted to believe it was tendonitis and I could treat it myself.

OH, NO after 3 weeks of no sleep and waking up unable to grip anything or use my right hand without tears and wincing, my husband demanded I get an x-ray. Oddly enough the bones looked HEALTHY – except for the calcium on my fingers (something called Heberden’s nodes I inherited from all the women on my mom’s side).

As the physician assistant assessed the look of horror on my face with the diagnosis of Gamekeeper’s Thumb (De Quervain’s tenosynovitis), a wave of terror washed over me. Oh, that’s right, you are a medical librarian so you know about the injections. I did NOT faint. I didn’t shake – not externally – and let me tell you the pain of the FIRST needle going into the tendon to numb it triggered a past life memory of snake poison cursing up the hand. The second shot was equally painful despite the first being an anesthetic. The third just felt like ice. I had my eyes closed. This wasn’t something I wanted imprinted in my mind.

Today is the first day I feel like typing. The worst of the ugly bruising from the injections is almost gone. The horrible feeling in my finger tips is gone.

When you have Mercury in Gemini and you can’t express yourself – IT SUCKS!

My next blog post or page will pick up where I left off about Siddha Medicine and siddhis only I’ll tie in a comparison between Hanuman-ji and Sun Wukong!

Drapery rod injury – Sunday, April 18, 2021 – Moon in Cancer

PAIN started to become unbearable – Thursday, April 22 – Moon in Leo and Scorpio

URGENT CARE – injections – Tuesday, May 11, 2021 – Yasmin’s New Moon Ceremony – left and drove to the clinic

Wednesday, May 19,2021- Moon in Leo and Scorpio- I’d say I’m 95% back to normal

Please let me leave a comment if you’ve ever had this injury AND definitely post if you know about the moon and injuries and recovery.

• in the form of Lakshmi, killed Mahishasura (episodes 96-107)

In Vighnaharta Ganesh it is the goddess Katyayani who slays the buffalo asura (demon).  However, you might have heard the same tale told except that it is the goddess Durga who slays the demon.  In the TV series Maharakshak Devi, it was a revived (restored to life), Mahishasur, as a high school senior, that tries to woo Gauri (who is also a high school student) only to reveal his true form towards the end and be defeated once again. 

• in the form of Saraswati, killed Shumbha and Nishumbha. (episodes 217-255)
  
  

In Vighnaharta Ganesh it is the Goddess Kaushik with the help of the shakti (female) form of Ganesha – Vinayaki  – that defeats Shumbha and Nishumbha.  

Ramachander goes on to say that in “South India, this text is known as Devi Mahatmya. It is known as Chandi in West Bengal and as Durga Sapthasathi in the northern parts of the country including Varanasi”.

Going back through my notes on documentaries and films, I finally found the temple which had 108 statues of the Divine Mother.  And this is where it gets confusing – VERY CONFUSING!  Several more posts are needed JUST to discuss the many avatars.  In the series Vighnaharta Ganesh, the actress (Akanksha Puri) who portrays the goddess Parvati, also portrays all of her avatars.  The actress Madiraskshi Mundle took over the role in episode 743. The same holds for the actor (Malkhan Singh) who portrays Lord Shiva. 

Actresses Anshu Malik and Deblina Chatterjee portray the goddess Lakshmi (often spelled Laxmi).  Actresses Preetika Chauhan and Bhawna Kanwar Hada portray the goddess Saraswati. 

The Goddess Mahalakshmi Narayani is “unification of Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati”.  So, if you have not immersed yourself in the metaphysics of how multiple personages emerge out of one deity as depicted in the famous paintings of Lord Krishna manifesting all of his “forms” to Arjuna, the idea that you are given the opportunity to connect to whichever manifestation you need is truly remarkable.

(1) Note:  Amma is a very interesting word.  It has almost the same meaning in many languages.  In Chinese amah is what you call a nanny.  In India someone who is thought of as a spiritual mother is called Amma. During the Tang dynasty in China, the word amah was used as an informal and poetic title for the Taoist goddess, the Queen Mother of the West!

To be continued