A Den of Snakes, Tears of Joy: Hanuman the Remover of Distress
In the morning satsanga of October 17, 2026, Swami Jyotirmayananda taught that Hanuman's strength removes sankat, the distress born of ignorance, so that ears once filled with worldly stories hear of Rama and tears of sorrow become tears of ecstasy.
The satsanga opened with prayers to Sri Ganesha, Sri Saraswati, Sri Maha Lakshmi, Sri Durga and the Guru, and with the invocation to Lord Rama, whose complexion is like a blue lotus, with Sita seated at His left and a powerful bow and arrow in His hands. Then came the Hare Rama mantra and a short poem on a single question: who is truly prosperous?
Who Is Truly Prosperous
The poem answers in five turns. He is truly prosperous who can control the senses and master the mind, and who can dive deep into the heart to discover faith and trust in God; he is free of feverish impurities and blessed with supreme contentment. He is truly prosperous who is endowed with devotion to God and aspiration for Self-realization. He is truly prosperous who possesses the wealth of virtues and the crowning glory of wisdom, and who sees the Self in all and all in the Self. And he is truly prosperous who has ended the "mortality virus," is endowed with immortality, and has attained God-realization.
Nothing in that list can be counted in a bank. Each form of wealth it names is inward, and each one is the fruit of sadhana.
A Prayer to Sri Maha Lakshmi
Before the episode, Swamiji paused to give special insight into a prayer to Sri Maha Lakshmi, the verse that begins sarva mangala mangalye. O Goddess Narayani, he explained, You are the very embodiment of mangala, the bestower of every form of auspiciousness. You are Shiva, the consort of Lord Shiva. You bestow success in all the purusharthas, the aims of human life. "You are protector of all." You protect all who take refuge in You. You are Gauri, the embodiment of grace, with three eyes.
Sankat and Sankat Mochan
Then the theme of the morning: Hanuman as Sankat Mochan, the remover of distress. Sankat, Swamiji explained, is what the forces of ignorance bring. The distress people face is beyond imagination. But with Hanuman's strength, that sankat is removed.
Salty Drops and a Den of Snakes
Swamiji took up a line that speaks of speaking and hearing, and of water in the eyes, and explained it in two stages.
First, the state of distress. Drops come from the eyes when the mind turns to distress, and whenever one sees a person in tears, one knows that person is full of suffering. These are salty drops, and the slightest touch of salt in the eye goes on giving pain. In that state, all the stories one hears are worldly stories, mundane stories. The ears become a den of snakes, and the stories are "putting poison in your ears."
Then, the change. With Hanuman's strength that state is removed. The ears are no longer a den of snakes; they begin to hear of Rama. And the tears still flow, but now they are something else entirely. "The expression of sorrow brings tears." Great joy brings them too. The water in the eyes is no longer the stress type: "It's a joyous expression of ecstasy." The happier you are, Swamiji said, you dance, and tears flow from your eyes, and those who watch are drawn in as well. "They also become thrilled when the tears start falling."
Strength in Prayer and Sadhana
When that harmonious strength enters your prayer and sadhana, Swamiji taught, you view all adversities in a new way. Wait and watch, and see how Hanuman's strength makes those adversities, that sankat, completely eliminated.
He gave an allegory from health. For gaining good health, an Ayurvedic physician directs one to take avocados, bananas and other nutritional foods. These are not medicines; "They promote health." In the same way, Hanuman's strength is a powerful nourishment. It removes the demoniac forces, the sankat, that make one miserable.
Without that strength, he said, life becomes full of sankat: personal miseries and troubles. With it, all that obstructs one's success is removed. The life of every saint, Swamiji added, brings out how that strength of Hanuman works through each one until he becomes a sage. It brings about the revelation of Rama within the heart.
The satsanga closed in silence, with the Mahamrityunjaya mantra and the prayer sarve bhavantu sukhinah, that all may be happy, all may be free from disease, all may see auspiciousness, and with Shanti.
Terms in This Satsanga
- sankat — distress; the suffering the forces of ignorance bring.
- Sankat Mochan — the remover of distress; a name of Hanuman.
- mangala — auspiciousness; Sri Maha Lakshmi is its embodiment.
- purusharthas — the aims of human life, in all of which Sri Maha Lakshmi bestows success.
- sadhana — spiritual practice, which Hanuman's strength enters and nourishes.
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