This image brings to mind portraits of Lord Hanuman, who was portrayed in the Ramayana as a monkey god , a form of Lord Shiva. He is known as a god of service. He was also particularly closely associated with my teacher Dhyanyogi Madhusudandas-ji.

Search for a monkey face in the bottom part of the photo, and then a large crown on the head part. Then keep staring to see if you get a sense of Hanuman.

Some Details

In the ancient sacred text of the Ramayana, the story of Hanuman’s service to Shri Ram and Sita—his wife and an aspect of the Great Mother—in the long years of struggle against Ravana, is recounted. Inside the events are illustrations of humility. There are also ingenious and bold deeds. In this text, which precedes by centuries the Christian tradition, the same qualities are extolled. (Shiva, as Shri Anandi Ma reminds, was in a humble ordinary human position, a shepherd “like Moses,” although also in the most amorphous, universal aspects, being the Godhead, intrinsically and inevitably formless, in human terms.)