Passage 7

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In plain words

Hanumān's ananya Bhakti

The jewel of character alone is the great jewel. When you have it with you, you can achieve any task, however great. Recently, at Kodaikanal, I showed the children the crest-jewel that Sītā Devī gave Hanumān. Hanumān held that crest-jewel as dear as his own life and kept it gripped in one hand. That is why he could accomplish so great a task. At the time of the coronation, Rāma presented many, many gifts to the heroes of the monkey host. Then Sītā: ‘Rāmacandra! How are you going to honour Hanumān?’

This is he, crest-jewel among the monkey kings, who carried out Raghupati's work; this is he, the guru Hanumān, who shone forth in the world when sins were rife; this is he who entered the city of Laṅkā again and again, the hero valiant in that great city; this is he, glorious in valour, who searched for Jānakī in every way.

‘What gift will you give so great a one in this great assembly?’ she asked. Then Rāma said: ‘Sītā! Hanumān's is not a mind that cares for gifts. There is one thing he likes. That I shall surely give him.’ Then Sītā took off the pearl necklace from her neck (the one her father, King Janaka, had given her at her wedding) and presented it to Hanumān. Hanumān bit the pearls one after another and threw them away. “I do not want pearls that do not hold Rāma's name,” he said. Then Rāma rose and embraced him: ‘Hanumān! This is the everlasting gift I give you. I will never leave you, nor you me; we will never part from one another. There will never be any separation between us. This is the gift for you that is eternal and true,’ he said. Hanumān, shedding tears of joy: ‘What more could I want than this, Rāmacandra! I want nothing other than You. Your name alone is my chief wealth. Your form alone is my life. These two are enough for me,’ he said.