MONKEY GOD SEIZE SCHOOL

[Potoooooooo]

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/06/07/India.god.ap/index.html
Hanuman, the popular god known for his strength and valor, has been named official chairman of the recently opened Sardar Bhagat Singh College of Technology and Management in northern India, a school official said Saturday.

[aupmanyav]

What do you mean by seize, Potoooooooo, the management has chosen Him to be the Chairman. It is nothing new. The king of Mewar (Udaipur, the lake city in Rajasthan) was Eklingji (the deity, Shiva) whose temple is some 16 miles away in the hillocks in a peaceful place. The Maharanas only administered His state. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eklingji) :)

Mewar: http://tdil.mit.gov.in/e_tourism_cdac/TOURISM1/images/mewar_map.jpg

[Potoooooooo]

I just thought it was a cool thread title:redface:

[pescifish]

Okay, I can kinda get behind having a ceremonial office, desk and chair.
But... laptop computer for a mythical entity?

[aupmanyav]

He may want to correspond with the Board or the students (gmail, etc.), or may want to exchange views with other devotees of Lord Rama. I will not be surprised if He does so. :)

[hinduwoman]

Indian deities get regularly summoned at court...

[apatura_iris]

Hanuman is one of the most popular gods in the crowded pantheon of Hindu deities. His most famous feat, as described in the Hindu epic the Ramayana, was leading a monkey army to fight the demon King Ravana and rescue a kidnapped princess.

Why didn't I get to grow up with gods like that? :(

[Kharakov]

Indian deities get regularly summoned at court...
Here in the USA, they make you swear on a bible.
Here's the swearing in for Pennsylvania:
"You [and each of you] do swear by Almighty God, the Searcher of all hearts, that the evidence you shall give this court [and Jury] in this issue now being tried shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth and as you shall answer to God on the last great day."

Some states have something along the lines of:
"Do you swear to tell the whole truth, nothing but the truth, so help you God."

A majority (maybe all) have you swear on the bible, which I will now give you a quote from:

""Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.' 34But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; 35or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one."

Nice that the book you swear to God with your hand upon it says never to swear, ehh?

[GenesisNemesis]

Silly superstition at its finest! :grin:

...Or its worst? :huh:

[Will.L]

It definitely caught my attention potooo!

I agree that all cultures seem equally willing to do silly things in the name of superstition.

[aupmanyav]

I do not think this is silly. The ruler of the earstwhile State (Mewar) or the Board of the School pledged that the State or the School belong to the deity. The king or the Board has the responsibility for administration, and the administration must be done to the best of their ability in a way that it benefits the people or the students; and they are not in it just for personal gain. It is a statement of intent for all involved. Gandhi said the same when he said that the rich have a responsibility to the poor, and they are only guardians of their riches which should be used for the benefit of the poor. Actually, providing sustainance to all the other three varnas (Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Shudras) was the responsibility of the Vaishyas (Traders, etc.). That is how hindu society was constituted.

[Will.L]

Hm... I suppose I see where you are coming from. Just curious though, do you see such beliefs as benefiting the school in general? Do you in any way wish that this situation were different? I admittedly don't know the exact way in which individuals in that context view Hanuman as a deity. Do they believe he is real in an anthropomorphic sense? Is it merely a symbolic archetype? (maybe no different than a school's mascot in the United States?) I could imagine there being pros and cons of each... Regardless of how they interpret it, do they take it very seriously? Or does it not play into their minds much as far as the running of the school goes in a practical sense? I guess these are questions which might shade how things play out there very differently...

[aupmanyav]

Hanumana is a mascot of devotion to God and strength to the week. He is the patron of body builders, and a life-long brahmachari (celebate). Every tradition gym (akhara) in India will have his idol or image. Unmarried, because he does not have space for anyone else in his heart but for his Lord, Rama. He is a devotee turned into a deity because of his one-track devotion. One would expect such one-track devotion in administration of a State or a college. Can anything be better than that? For the Board as well as for the students. One-track devotion to what they have come to the school for, studies and personal development. That was the guiding line in the traditional Indian 'gurukulas' presided over by Rishis and their wives, who cared for the students as their children. Every one went to them, even the avataras. Rama went to Sage Vasishtha's gurukula, Krishna went to Sage Sandipani's, Kauravas and Pandavas went to Dronacharya's school. To the devotees, Hanumana is anthromorphic, and taken very seriously, the leader of the people of the forest (perhaps that is what he was, people who painted themselves in monkey fashion). One of his names is Vanachara (Vana + Chara = one who walks in the forests). To historians, he could be a myth signifying the help Rama might have received from the aboriginals in his fight against Ravana. Arjuna's flag is supposed to have featured Hanumana, hence Kapi+dhwaja (with the monkey on his flag).

http://travel.webshots.com/photo/1453756199075513150cqbSsQ
(you would find such statues scattered all over North India)
http://content.cdlib.org/xtf/data/13030/04/ft6n39p104/figures/ft6n39p104_plate11.jpg
(Hanuman shrine in a traditional gym with the teacher (dressed) and pupil)
http://siddharths.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/hanuman.jpg
(for today's children, Hanuman as hero in animation)

[Will.L]

Thanks aup! I vaguely knew who he was before (monkey thing, helping out w/ his army, etc.), but now I have a much better understanding... So based on that, depending on how religious the individuals are, the act of making him official chairman could be interpreted in many different ways it seems... Still, I wonder if the laptop could see better use in someone else's office ;)

[aupmanyav]

What is a lap-top? Is it working or is it only for show? :)

[premjan]

Well, they bought it for Hanuman but someone else (his deputy who has to be a person) will probably use it is my guess.

[aupmanyav]

Or his daughter or son. :)

[Will.L]

haha yes. the article was vague about that...

[aupmanyav]

Monkey God in news again. Obama keeps a trinket (http://www.indiajournal.com/images/1213311576-Obama%20-%20Hindu%20God.jpg). He probably picked it up in Indonesia. A Delhi Hanuman temple is sending a 14 kg gold-plated idol of Lord Hanuman to him (http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/images/fullimage/ver1/i/idol.jpg).

[aupmanyav]

Anybody noticed - Obama's Hanuman has four hands.

[premjan]

I thought it was a monkey king trinket - this is from the TV series based on the Chinese myth Journey to the West. Maybe that has something to do with Hanuman too.