Myths of the Hindus & Buddhists

Myths<?of the HindusBuddhistsqualities for which he stands. It may be questionedwhether there is in the whole of literature anotherapotheosis of loyalty and self-surrender like that ofHanuman. He is the Hindu ideal] of the perfect servant,ithe servant who finds full realization of manhood, offaithfulness, of his obedience; the subordinate whoseglory is in his own inferiority.Hanuman must have been already ancient when theRamayana was first conceived. What may have been thefirst impulse that created him it is now useless to guess.But he is linked to a grander order than that of Sugrivaand Bali, the princes whom he serves, inasmuch as he, likeJatayu, is said to be the son of Vayu, known in the Vedasas the god of the winds. In any case the depth andseriousness of the part assigned to him in the great poemassure him of unfading immortality. Whatever may havebeen his age or origin, Hanuman iscaptured and placedby the Ramayana amongst religious conceptions of thehighest import. When he bows to touch the foot ofRarna, that Prince who is also a divine incarnation, wewitness the meeting-point of early nature-worships withthe great systems that are to sway the future of religion.But we must not forget that in this one figure those earlysystems have achieved the spiritual quality and made alasting contribution to the idealism of man. In ages tocome the religion of Vishnu, the Preserver, will neverbe able to dispense with that greatest of devotees, themonkey-god; and even in itslater phases, when Garudathe divine bird, who haunted the imagination of allearly peopleshas taken his finalplace as the vehicle, orattendant, of Narayana, Hanuman is never really displacedThe wonderful creation of Valmiki will retain to the end oftime his domination over the hearts and consciences of men22