s that illustrates his superiority among all the warriors fighting in Ram. He had tried gaining access to Ravan- King of Lanka’s city, and had made it right up to the palace walls before he was captured despite the armies of Rakshas’ guarding the city. Even when he was captured, he kept his head. Ravan had ordered that he be paraded through the city with his tail on fire as a lesson to Ram. Hanuman allowed himself to be tied up, and his tail to be burned, because this allowed him to assess his enemies strengths and weaknesses. Only afterwards did he shrink down, escape his bindings, transform himself into a giant, kill his captors and set the city on fire. His strengths and loyalty also went unchallenged among the ranks of the army. During the course of the battle against Ravan, Laxman, Rams brother, had been wounded. Hanuman offered to fly to the distant Himalayan Mountains in order to procure a particular medicinal herb necessary for the recovery of Laxman. Unable to identify the Sanjeevani, he uprooted the entire mountain and carried it back to the battlefield, where Ram found the plant and healed Laxman. While all of Hanumans strengths are very impressive and are to be respected, it is his personality that people really worship. They look at his example when trying to lead the life of a devout Hindu. He is looked upon as the perfect Bhakta, or devotee. The Shivapurana states that Hanuman is a form of the Lord Shiva, the Lord of Consciousness. In tribute to this great monkey God, people visit temples dedicated to him and pray to him. They ask that he bless them with good health and spiritual prosperity....
