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The Hanuman Chalisa is a well-known and beloved Hindu devotional hymn in praise of Hanuman. The hero of India’s epic story the Ramayana, Hanuman symbolizes the perfect servant and devotee of the Divine, personified as Rama in this tale. The Ramayana is full of adventure and fascinating characters, and is rife with meaning for our own lives and spiritual journeys. The Hanuman Chalisa draws from this legend, focusing on the deeds, qualities, feats, and virtues of Hanuman, through forty verses written by 16th century Indian saint and poet, Tulsi Das.

We come together as kindred spirits in our desire to scratch a little deeper beneath the surface of this powerful and evocative song. We begin each meeting by chanting a Hanuman mantra to invite Hanuman into our hearts. We sing two Chalisas each time, one at the beginning. Then we look into one or more verses to explore the pronunciation and meaning of the words, as well as how the message affects our hearts, our lives, our own relationship with the Divine, and our perspective on life and existence in general. We finish by singing another Chalisa.

While I’m not a Hanuman Chalisa expert, I’ve been singing it since I learned it in 1976. I have always been interested in looking more deeply into the meaning, and as a result I decided to offer this chanting and study group. We have completed it two times so far, and my intention is to keep offering this group again and again. Having gained so much insight the first couple of times around, I’m excited to keep peeling back the layers of meaning and understanding.

There are certain verses in the Chalisa that I did not understand until I began studying Vedanta some years ago, which gave me a greater frame of reference. Other verses seem somewhat obvious—but we all have some insight and understanding to share about what this “magic mantra” means, how singing it affects us, and how the meaning can be applied to our spiritual perspective and daily lives.

In Hindu culture, Tuesday is the day of the week dedicated to Hanuman. Our group meets every other Tuesday evening—check the event calendar for dates. This is an excellent way to learn and practice the Hanuman Chalisa, and/or just to come together and sing it with others. You are welcome to join us!

Download Sri Hanuman Chalisa in pdf format