My experience with the Hanuman Chalisa

My introduction to the Hanuman Chalisa happened a few years ago, during a phone conversation with Shri Manish Pandit ji. I had never really recited it before, though I had been regularly doing some sadhana of Shakti, and my family has been bhaktas of Dattatreya in the form of Swami Samartha of Akkalkot. After Manish recommended Hanuman Chalisa (HC), I started with the Sadhana on immediately. I was anyway under dual influence of Saturn, with my sade-saati on, and my Shani Mahadasha on as well. I took care to ensure that I did not start on either a Chaturthi, Asthami, Navami, or Dwadashi.  

The sadhana required me to recite the HC, 11 times a day for 21 days. I had to ensure that it was recited at the exact same time, from the exact same place, along with a bunch of other restrictions such as vegetarianism, no alcohol, and complete brahmacharya. While I do eat non vegetarian food, and drink alcohol, both are very occasional as no one else in my family does so. As such none of these conditions were impossible for me. 

However it was a twist of fate, or perhaps Hanumana trying to drive home the point of the restrictions I was invited to a relative’s birthday about 6 days into the Sadhana. As I said almost everyone else in my family is vegetarian so it wasn’t such a big issue for me to eat out with them. However, for dessert, there was a dish which had eggs in it. I unknowingly had (literally) one bite of it. That same night, I had tremendous acidity as if that one bite was burning through me. I had to stay up through the night and bear the pain. I would like to say that I did the prayaschitta for my mistake immediately. 

After that I became extra careful about the restrictions and ensured there was no inadvertent slip even. There were a few things that I experienced during the process of my recitation daily, and without going into them, would only recommend that if you feel a sudden fear when reciting or you see or hear anything, just recite louder, and clearer. 

But the most interesting thing happened on the last day (21st day). It was a Saturday, Hanumana and Shani’s vaar, and since the time I had chosen for recitation was in the afternoon I was relaxing, watching some movie or the other. I live in an independent house, and a girl who lives in the villa opposite called me on the phone. She said “there is a dog outside your door”. Now this was the monsoon season and was pouring outside. So me and my wife went down to open the door, and lo behold there was this a of sweetness shivering in the cold right outside my door because the gate was ajar. The dog, whom we have named Cocoa, had an injured leg and god knows from how far he had limped to my house. For me it was an interesting occurrence, the 21st and final day of my sadhana, a Saturday, I being governed by Saturn, Hanumana being Saturn’s controller, Saturn has a limp, and a limping dog shows up at my doorstep. 

Yes of course, one can say it was coincidence. But aren’t all miracles? And life is how you see it. I chose to see it then (and now) as an acknowledgement of my sadhana. The coming of a new life at my home. And Cocoa has indeed been a protector in many ways. He has enriched my life in a way that it is now impossible to imagine it without him.

There was another outcome of this sadhana which involved me getting dreams revealing the meaning of some esoteric concepts. But it is too fantastic to write about here at this stage. Let’s just say that the adage “In Sanskrit there no sound that is not a beeja” was made absolutely clear to me.