When young, Hanumān mistakes the rising Sun for a ripe mango, and flies to heaven to devour it. He later realizes that this hunger was actually a thirst for spiritual knowledge and seeks out the Sun for spiritual instruction. What does this story teach about the spiritual quest? This story is embodied in the yoga posture Praṇāmāsana (reverence pose), the first step of Sūrya Namaskāra (sun salutation).

The Indian Wisdom Podcast is released weekly and covers traditional Indian wisdom through storytelling, Hindu mythology, jyotiṣa (vedic astrology), yoga, ayurveda, and Sanskrit. This show is hosted by Dr. Raj Balkaran, a Sanskrit scholar, storyteller and online educator. In addition to academic training, he was lineally trained by Mantriji, our sangha's parama-guru. He teaches at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies and at The Indian Wisdom School where he applies ancient Indian wisdom to modern Western life. He is also the author of "The Stories Behind the Poses: The Indian Mythology that Inspired 50 Yoga Postures."

Personal Website: https://rajbalkaran.com

Courses: https://indianwisdomschool.com

Podcast: https://indianwisdompodcast.com

Interested in studying with me? Check out my free course Goddess Stories: Telling Tales of the Sacred Feminine: https://www.indianwisdomschool.com/goddess-stories-1

Ep 23 Hanumān and the Sun: Where Monkey Mind meets Spiritual Seeking