Hanuman and Ramachandra

Hanuman's only desire is to serve Lord Sri Rama. His activities, therefore, are uttama-bhakti. He cannot forget Sri Rama for even a moment. Which high-class Vaisnava is he under the guidance of, in his performance of all his services to Sri Rama? Can you decide? Hanuman is the incarnation of Sankara, Lord Siva, and Sankara. Sankarsana is Balarama, and in rama-lila Balarama appears as Laksmana. So Hanuman is always serving under the guidance of Laksmana.

When Lord Rama was looking for Sita devi, Hanuman disguised himself as a brahmana, and by questioning both Rama and Laksmana and thus realizing their identities, he told them both, "Come and sit on my shoulders. I will take you to Kiskinda, there Sugriva is very upset. I think it will be very important for you to be friends with him. He told Rama, Sugriva will discover your Sita and somehow bring her to You, but you will have to kill his enemy who has taken his kingdom and very beautiful wife.

Another time, when a sakti weapon was thrown by Meganatha at Laksmana and Laksmana became unconscious, as if he was dead, it was Hanuman who brought sanjivani (a powerful life-returning herb). While looking for that plant, Hanuman could not recognize it. He had been told that he would be able to recognize it because it would be situated on a certain mountain and was illuminated like light, but it so happened that the demons made all the plants in that mountain illuminate. He therefore took the entire mountain on his head and returned to Laksmana on the very same night.

Susena was Ravana's ayurvedic doctor and he was not willing to come to help. Therefore, Hanuman lifted up his whole house, brought him there, and convinced him to serve. He told the doctor, "Your business is to serve all, without any prejudice. For a doctor, there is no consideration of enemy or friend. If an enemy comes to you, you should help him. So you should cure Rama." And he did so.

Once, Sri Rama and Laksmana were bound by naga-pasa (snake-ropes). They had fallen unconscious and were about to die. By the instruction of Narada Rsi, Hanuman brought Garuda from Vaikuntha. When Garuda arrived, just by smelling the scent of his body, all the snakes fled. Garuda then had a doubt. He thought, "Who is this person? Can it be Rama, the Supreme Personality of Godhead? No, this person can never be Rama. I'm the servant of Lord Rama. By the mere glance of Rama those snakes would have all left immediately. They would not be able to even come to Rama, yet they were binding this person. When I came, by my influence, they quickly gave up this person. So who is He?"

Garuda went to his Gurudeva, Sankara, but his Gurudeva told him, "I have no time; I'm going just now. You should go to Kakabhusundi. You are the king of birds, so you should go to the most wretched among all birds a crow. You should go there."

Sankara gave this instruction in order to remove Garuda's pride. Garuda approached Kakabhusundi. He heard from him the glory of Sri Rama for many years and all kinds of doubts went away. This was only due to Hanuman.

Hanuman was doing "anukulyena krsnanu-silanam." As honey flows from a jar without obstruction, Hanuman served Lord Rama day and night. We should learn how to serve from him.

Sita devi, Bharata, Laksmana and Satrughna are all servants of Lord Rama. Sita devi is His wife and the others are His brothers. They had a meeting and complained to each other, "Hanuman is always serving Rama, from the beginning of the day to the end of the day. He gives no time for us to serve. He is fanning with a camara, massaging, bringing food, and performing a multitude of other services. When can we serve? We four, combined together, should take over all of Ramas services, day and night Hanuman should have no time to even enter the palace." Thus they divided all Rama's services amongst themselves.

They decided that at night time, no one would be allowed to approach Rama, for that was Sita devi's time to serve. In the daytime sometimes Bharata, sometimes Laksmana, and sometimes Satrughna would serve. In this way they divided all the services of the eight yamas (parts of the day).

Hanuman began to weep, and prayed to them, "Please don't do this to me. Please give me any insignificant service otherwise I cannot survive. I will die." Can you be like Hanuman, thinking that without service you will die? When you think like that you will actually be a servant of Sri Krsna. Hanuman was always meditating, always performing kirtana, always hearing hari-katha from the gandharvas, and always offering pranama.

Hanuman told Sita, Laksmana, Bharata and Satrughna, "Please give me any service. It may be a third class bogus service, but I want it." They thought, and they discussed amongst each other, "What service can we give him?" "Nothing," they decided. Then he said, "I have a suggestion. Sri Ramacandra has never yawned but it may come. I will stay outside his room, and when He will yawn I will snap my fingers. This service should be given." Snapping of fingers when a person yawns is a message to "take care" and to remember Krsna. The four discussed Hanuman's proposal and decided that, since in His whole life Ramacandra had never yawned, there would be no harm in Hanuman taking that service.

Hanuman remained sitting on the outside of the house. He sang, "Jaya Rama, Jaya Rama, Jaya Jaya Rama," and snapped his fingers continuously. Lord Ramacandra then began to yawn only yawning throughout the entire day and night and all services by Sita, Laksmana, Bharata and Satrughna had to be stopped. They began thinking, "What to do now? This Hanuman is the root of all evil." They went to Rama, and Rama advised them, "Oh, please give him service; otherwise he will not be able to remain alive."

We should try to be like Hanuman always serving. We cannot directly serve Sri Rama. You can serve Them in Their deity forms, but not directly. Hanuman was a brahmacari from the beginning of his life. He never married because he thought, "My energy will then go towards family members. He remained as a great devotee of Lord Rama.

Once he saw Sita devi, whom he considered to be "Mother Sita," when she was in the dressing-room. She had already bathed, and now she was decorating herself to prepare for entering the assembly of Sri Rama. She had put on all of her ornaments, and now she was placing sindu (vermilion) powder on the part of her hair. This is the symptom of a chaste lady whose husband is alive, and this is considered a very fortunate condition for a woman. Hanuman said, "Mother, I was searching for you. What are you doing here? What is this red color, and why are you anointing your head with it?" She replied, "I am wearing this so that your Prabhu, my husband, will be always glorious, have a long life and always be happy. By this he will surely be benefited."

Sita devi then left and Hanuman entered in the dressing-room. He took all the red powder, mixed it with oil, and colored himself from top to bottom. When he reached the assembly of Lord Rama, all those present laughed when they saw him.

Lord Rama asked him, "What have you done?" Hanuman replied, "Oh Prabhu, I have done this because, if by Mother Sita keeping a small amount of this reddish powder on her hair You will be happy and have a long life, then I should put it everywhere on my body." This is how he serves Lord Rama.

He also becomes the chariot of Rama. He creates a fort by his tail and no one can enter the gate. He sits as a heroic guard, protecting Rama. He brings fruit and everything else required by Rama, Laksmana and Sita devi. Thus, in all ways, he is Lord Rama's most obedient servant and he can give his life for Rama.

By his hands, Hanuman massages and brings Rama whatever he requires. By mind he always remembers Sita and Rama. By his tongue he always sings kirtana of Rama, and by his ears he hears Ramas glories. Moreover, by feet he jumps here and there and serves in that way. He hears the very sweet words of the gandharvas, the celestial demigod singers, and watches their many drama plays. Those gandharvas are far less than him in bhakti; nevertheless as a father and mother hears from her child, Hanuman hears from the gandharvas.

When Rama came in Dvarapa-yuga as Svayam Bhagavan Sri Krsna in Dvaraka, all the princesses of Janaka-puri became gopis and queens like Rukmini and Satyabhauma. There, Hanuman, in the form of Bhima, is serving in a still greater way. Therefore, when Sri Narada Rsi came to Hanuman to glorify him as the greatest devotee of the Lord, Hanuman denied the glorification and sent him to the Pandavas in Dvaraka.