Happy Hanuman Jayanti
A small-ish but important post for me today. Carefully written because I am not an expert and still learning here (story of my life, ha!).
Hanuman Jayanti falls on different days across India's regions, which I learned only this week. In the north, it was observed last month. April 2 this year, on the full moon of Chaitra. In Telugu tradition (Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and diaspora communities here in the US), today caps a 41-day festival that began that same April morning. In New York specifically, it is being celebrated today (May 11th/12th 2026). Other regional traditions mark it later in the year. So to anyone reading who is celebrating today (myself included!), or who has already celebrated, or who will in their own tradition: a respectful hello to you!
I am not Hindu, and I would never claim to speak for a tradition that belongs to over a billion people. But my understanding of the story of Hanuman has stayed with me, and I wanted to say so plainly.
The piece I keep returning to is this. As a young child, Hanuman is cursed by a sage and forgets most of his supernatural/inner strength. He carries that forgetting through much of his life, sadly. Then, in the middle of a critical mission, his spiritual brother Jambavan reminds him. He remembers. His full power comes back. It was never gone. Hanuman forgot.
Wikipedia describes it more fluidly than I am able:
"the fusion of 'strength, heroic initiative, and assertive excellence' with 'loving, emotional devotion' to his Lord."
Source: Wikipedia entry on Hanuman
What I myself read in that, in plain words: selflessness, humility, devotion, real strength (not the shallow kind, the real inner kind), and a clarity that comes from complete and radical acceptance. Those qualities are not mine to claim. They belong to a beautiful tradition I continue to admire and learn from. As I said, to me and many others, they are beautiful, and I think they are worth holding up.
Here comes the part that may sound cliché. I mean every word.
If no one has reminded you lately, here is the part I most want to say:
You (yes you, the one reading this my friend) are more powerful than you give yourself credit for. You have more inner strength, more compassion, more capacity for selflessness, more resilience, perserverance, and devotion than you usually let yourself see. Maybe you forgot. Most of us forget at some point. I forget all the time. Perhaps consider this a gentle reminder of how all of that has always existed inside of you and always will.
To those who celebrate Hanuman Jayanti, wherever and whenever your tradition observes it: I wish you joy, peace, and the full force of remembrance. To everyone - if I have gotten something wrong in this post (and I am sure there is something), please reach out. My contact link is at the top. I will read it and would love to learn more from you!
— Drew 🪷