Swami Shivapadananda on the guilelessness of Hanumanji

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

DAILY READINGS

From Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji

Day 542

Sindoor in the form in which God displayed it in the story of Sri Rama's life is actually guilelessness. Guilelessness as far as duality goes, guilelessness as far as lust goes, guilelessness as far as attaching your body to someone else's body goes.

An incident from the Ramayana shows us this. One evening at the assemblage of Sri Rama, the Rishis [Sage-Seers-Saints] took leave of Sri Rama, the devotees took leave of Sri Rama and Sri Rama himself took leave to go and retire. Now when Sri Rama and Mother Sita were going to their bedroom Hanumanji also followed. (Hanumanji, you must remember, is like the first shadow, the brother and the servant of Sri Rama. Sri Rama's other brothers were the second, third, fourth and fifth shadows.) So Sri Rama told him, 'Brother, Hanumanji, I am going to retire now with Mother Sita. Please take leave and retire to your kutir [quarters/room/small hut].' Hanumanji said, 'But Lord, I do not want to go.' So Sri Rama said, 'It is late now, you must go and rest.' Hanumanji replied, 'But I want to come and serve you.'

Sri Rama thought, 'Well anyway, he will listen to my instructions.' Again he turned to go but after a few steps he looked back and found Hanumanji still following. So he said, 'Hanumanji, please go and have a rest.' And again Hanumanji replied, 'But I want to be with you.'

This was very awkward. Sri Rama tried again. He said, 'Please, you must go. You do not understand that Mother Sita has to go to sleep.' But Hanumanji said, 'Why must Mother Sita be here then? If Mother Sita is here I too must be here with you.' Sri Rama tried to explain: 'No. Mother Sita is all right with me. You see she has to stay with me.' 'But why? Why?' asked Hanumanji. (A very awkward question.) 'You see, we are wife and husband,' said Sri Rama. 'But how?' asked Hanumanji. Sri Rama said, 'You see, when we get married we put on sindoor and because she's got the sindoor on she must sleep here.'

On hearing this Hanumanji prostrated, took his things, and left. But fifteen minutes later he was back again knocking at the door. Sri Rama asked, 'Who's there?' 'It's your servant Hanumanji,' came the reply. When Sri Rama opened the door he could not believe his eyes. 'What is this Hanumanji?' 'Sindoor. Look, my whole body is covered with it. She has it only between the eyes and on the parting of her hair but I've got it everywhere. If she can be here with the sindoor, then I too can be with you.' [laughter]

Now Sri Rama was forced to give Hanumanji a realisation. He had to show him that he exists in Hanumanji, and that Hanumanji is not separate from him, Hanumanji is merely another body of his. So Hanumanji had this vision and understood that he was inseparable from Sri Rama. And yet he still retained his guilelessness. Hanumanji never had a wife in his life, so what did he know about it?

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