Faith That Nothing Can Shake: Hanuman, Angada and the Grace of Shiva and Parvati
In the morning satsanga of October 28, 2026, Swami Jyotirmayananda read Hanuman and Angada as faith standing against Ravana, taught the art of appreciation, named forgiveness as real heroism, and explained why a story is worth reading again.
The satsanga opened with prayers and the Hare Rama chant, followed by a reading on the Divine Name sounding through all creation: in the warbling of birds, the rustling of leaves, the rumbling of clouds, the racing of the winds, even in the cries of babies. The reading closed on the Self. "The veil of ignorance is lifted." So hum, verily, I am He.
From there the reading of the Ramayana continued with the Angada episode.
Hanuman and Angada, Both a Terror to Ravana
Swamiji paused in the story to look at the roles of Hanuman and Angada. Both, he said, create terror for Ravana. Hanuman, he taught, is the embodiment of faith: "It's the embodiment of faith." Angada stands beside him as the embodiment of a second quality, and the two belong together.
Swamiji tied the pair to the grace of Shiva and Parvati. When both are present, he explained, Shiva and Parvati both come to the seeker, "Showering their grace on you." And for one who stands in that grace, "No demoniac force" can shake him. He called the whole episode an allegorical picture, a story that points past itself to the seeker's own struggle.
The Art of Appreciation
In the story Angada is praised, and Swamiji used the moment to teach the art of appreciation, a gracious appreciation of other people. When you truly appreciate someone, he explained, you let that person know that he is the only one, that there is no one like him.
The Guru does exactly this for each aspirant who comes. Every one is the only one, "Because you are Brahman." No one has been like him in the past, and no one will be in the future. This gracious way of looking at things has one condition: "You don't compare." Comparison is the habit he answered directly: "No, every one of you is a Brahman."
Real Heroism Is Forgiveness
Next Swamiji asked what a real hero is. The usual picture of heroism, he said, is taking revenge. Real heroism is kshama, forgiveness. Even when one has been injured by enemies, the true hero meets them "Instead of revenge" with goodwill and wishes that they all grow gracious.
When the enemy is met this way, Swamiji taught, the enemy becomes deeply grateful, because he came expecting revenge and is welcomed instead. "Enemy is forgiven." Kshama is first a state of mind, "The characteristic of Dharma," and it keeps company with patience and many other good qualities.
Why the Side Stories Matter
Turning to the shape of the Ramayana itself, Swamiji spoke of the upakatha, the many sub-stories woven into the main story. The basic story is already suspenseful, he said, and each upakatha adds more of that suspense. He compared it to eating: with spice, "Food becomes more delightful."
He then taught the value of reading a story again. One may read it once, and one already knows what comes next, yet the mind should approach it again as if "For the first time." He gave a picture of a nail driven into a wall: strike it with a hammer, shake it to test it, and go on doing that until it becomes unshakable, until "And we are sure the nail is well fixed." In the same way a teaching read again and again becomes fixed in the mind.
The Closing Blessing
The satsanga ended with a prayer that the grace of God shower on all. Swamiji returned to Hanuman and Angada once more: neither was shaken, and each dealt a terrible blow to ignorance. He closed with the blessing "So, may you all be blessed."
Terms in This Satsanga
- Brahman — the one Reality; what Swamiji said every aspirant is, and the reason no one can be compared with another.
- kshama — forgiveness; what Swamiji named as real heroism.
- upakatha — a sub-story woven into the main story of the Ramayana.
- dharma — here, the right way of living, whose characteristic Swamiji said is a forgiving state of mind.
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