Trinidad-born Canadian Mahantji Dr Balliram Chadee has been spreading the message, ideals and work of Lord Hanuman throughout the world for the past 15 years.
His spiritual journey, which took flight at the age of 40, inspired him to establish the first Hanuman charity organisation in Canada, the Hanuman Mission, where he has been able to reach and help thousands of people.
Born in Fyzabad, Chadee also has the honour of being the only known Trinidadian who can legally officiate marriages in three countries, Canada, T&T and United States.
Summing up in a few words his incredulous journey in the last 15 years which saw him healing, praying and helping thousands of people around the world, Chadee, 57, said, “Miraculous, unbelievable, mind-blowing. The impossible becoming possible, changing lives and doing what I never thought I could never do.”
His spiritual calling came when he was just a young boy, but it was overshadowed by his commitments in life, including his education, work and family.
He migrated to Canada at age 22 and returned to Trinidad on June 6, 1991, where he got married to his wife Merle.
They returned to Canada where they had their two children Aarti and Avesh.
Chadee said, “The driving calling force for Hanumanji started when I was a young kid, but it propelled over the years and it intensified on the birth of my daughter. As a result of that, I embarked on this spiritual journey in my late 20s and early 30s.”
Working as a quality insurance, project management and compliance consultant, Chadee said he finally decided that as a gift to himself on his 40th birthday on April 9, 2002 was to accept the calling of Lord Hanuman and serve him. “I accepted to take on the role of the Lord to start his mission called Hanuman Mission on my 40th birthday,” he said.
Chadee registered the organisation in 2002 and in 2005 it was officially launched before an audience of 1,200 people and carried on radio and television.
Chadee, who subsequently graduated with a masters degree in Hinduism and Hindu Studies coined the word Hanumanism when he started to do his outreach work, healing, curing and humanitarian work.
He explained the word means serving Hanuman with his ideals, values and principles to serve humanity. “And so we have engaged in a lot of outreach programmes to everybody, race, religion, colour and creed it did not matter because the principle of Hanumanji was that he was a selfless servant. He did everything without looking for rewards and my mandate was to also to do everything without reward, without judging anyone.
“On his 50th birthday, after he attained his PhD, Chadee where he was ordained at Sankat Mochan Hanuman temple in India. That is where he got the auspicious title Mahantji. “As far as I know I am the first Trinidadian to have the title Mahantji. Others in the Kabir panths faith carry just Mahant, which identifies them as a priest, but Mahantji is a title given to religious and spiritual administrators who are blessed by Shree Hanumanji to oversee his missions.”
Chadee launched Hanuman Mission in Trinidad in 2015 at the temple in the sea in Waterloo after it was recognised by the government of T&T.
The event was carried live across three radio stations in Canada, the United States and Trinidad and the feature address was done by then-attorney general Anand Ramlogan.
Eleven is the number associated with Hanuman as he was the 11th manifestation of Lord Shiva on earth. As a result, he also donated 11 wheelchairs individuals. Gifted with four lots of land in Tobago, Chadee’s vision to build a religious retreat and Hanuman temple to help cure people around the world.
He said, “On Plymouth Road, there is a small mountain about 165 feet above road level, undeveloped. And we are hoping we can get help to build the temple and retreat and education centre and a place of worship where we can heal people under the blessing, guidance and tenants from Hanumanji. That is his mandate and that is my goal and I hope to achieve that before my life ends.”
One of his outreach initiatives was the circulation of 5,000 booklets of the Hanuman Chalisa around the world. For the past 15 years, the group has been airing the Hanuman Chalisa (a devotional hymn to Hanuman) has been airing on a television station in Canada and the past four year on T&T’s Radio Jagriti.
His group also coordinated an international day of kindness to have one person in 11 countries around the world to simultaneously feed, help, cloth, give money and a gift to 11 needy people.
For his birthday in April, Chadee returned to India where his group coordinated, with the help of sponsors, free eye surgery for 207 people at the Sankara Hospital, Bangalore.
“We use Hanuman power, ideals, message and teachings to serve humanity and that is what I do,” said Chadee who pledged to continue his service to Hanuman and mankind as long as he has breath in his body.
