Passage 32

Hanuman, the supreme devotee

In the hall, all the vassal kings and allies sat on one side, and the ministers sat on the other side. The sages and hermits were seated in another enclosure. Rama’s sense of honour and respect were impeccable. He bowed humbly toward the sages, indicating His humility. He saw the kings and gave them a smile - that was His gift bestowed upon them. He then saw the citizens and raising His hands, blessed them. He saw some ladies as well and gave a short nod of His head. In this way, He showed His respect to everyone in different ways. On that day, He handed over to Sita an exquisite pearl necklace that could be valued at several crores. He told her, “You can give away this necklace to whomever you like. I know that you like Me. But I would like you to give this necklace to whomever you like in this congregation.” Sita gave the necklace to Hanuman, who was pressing Rama’s feet, and praised him thus, “You are the supreme devotee who faithfully carried out every command of Rama. You are the one who strained so much to search for me.” In this way, she praised Hanuman. But Hanuman was not listening to any of these praises. Instead, he was busy taking out each pearl from the necklace, keeping it near his ear, biting into it and then throwing it away. Rama saw this and asked Hanuman if his old habits had still not died. Hanuman replied, “Not at all, O Rama! I am constantly immersed in the feeling of Rama. I repeatedly chant the name of and hear the name of Rama. Amongst the nine paths of devotion, this is most important for me. That is why I have become Your servant. The nine types of devotion are sravana (listening), keertana (singing), vishnusmarana (contemplating), padasevana (pressing the Lord’s feet), vandana (offering obeisance), archana (worshipping), dasya (servitude), sneha (friendship) and Atmanivedana (offering oneself to the Lord). Hence, by qualifying to be Your servant, I have also become Your confidant. Without this servitude to You, I could not have become Your friend. After becoming Your friend, I am now offering myself to You. I do not like to listen to anything other than the name of Rama. Therefore, I am listening intently to see if the name of Rama is resounding in these pearls.” In order to show to the world the great devotion of Hanuman, Rama said, “Foolish one, can there ever be Rama’s name resounding in the pearls?” Hanuman replied, “Even the pearl must have Your name in it. A pearl without Your name is as good as stone to me. Hence, I have thrown it away. My entire body vibrates with Your name, Oh lord Rama.” He then plucked out a hair from his arm and kept it close to Rama’s ear. Even that hair was chanting ‘Ram, Ram’! Such was the great devotion of Hanuman. That is the reason why he could become such a close confidant and trusted friend of Rama. Anybody else may be far away, but Hanuman was never far away from Rama. Rama, Lakshmana, Bharatha, Satrughna, and even Sita were, at sometime or the other, a little distant. But never was Hanuman away from Rama, even for an instant. What was the reason for this? It was the constant chanting of Rama’s name and constant service of Rama that elevated Hanuman to lofty heights. He constantly served Rama with body, mind and soul.