God exists where pure devotion exists | Power of devotion | Ramayana-Story of Rama, Hanuman and Vanara Sena| Rama Setu | Why Indian palm squirrels have 3 stripes on their back

Sri Rama and Hanuman

Following is a snippet from Ramayana. It is an incident that happened during the days when the Vanara Sena (Monkey Army) was building Rama Setu (bridge), from Rameshwaram to Lanka in order to cross the sea and rescue Rama's wife Sita who was kidnapped by Ravana - the demon King of Lanka.

Background:

Hanuman is the greatest devotee of Lord Rama as known to all. He was the key helper of his Lord in this mission of rescuing Sita from Lanka. Lord Rama along with his brother Lakshmana, Hanuman and the Vanara sena reached the end of land (Dhanushkodi in Rameshwaram) while looking out for Sita. Now, they had to cross the sea to reach Ravana's Lanka where Sita was held hostage. Rama called out to the Sea Goddess seeking help to cross the sea. Seeing that he got no response, Rama shot arrows into the sea in order to dry it up. This caused havoc and disaster, causing the sea creatures to struggle for life, causing heavy storms, disturbing the water bodies such that it could drown the surrounding land areas. A startled Sea Goddess then appeared before Rama and pleaded to stop the disaster and to return it to its equilibrium. Rama did as requested. She then suggested them to build a bridge across the sea to cross it, with the help of two vanara brothers Nala and Nila.

Building the Rama Setu

Building the Rama Setu took five days to complete. During these days, the Vanara Sena including Hanuman built the bridge by inscribing Rama's name on the rocks and then carrying them uttering their Lord's name with heartfelt devotion and throwing them in the sea where they planned to make the bridge. The rocks thus thrown floated over the waters.

Story:

On one of those days, in the early morning, Hanuman was walking by the sea shore when he heard someone chanting Rama Rama Rama... He wondered who was chanting it as they were not yet working with the rocks to build the bridge. He looked around, walked amidst the trees and found a vanara squatting and defecating. It was he who was chanting the Lord's name. Hanuman being a staunch devotee of his Lord got furious instantly at the sight of the vanara and thought it to be very disrespectful and awful to chant his dear Lord Rama's name while doing such a chore.
He immediately kicked the vanara from behind. The vanara fell down and hurt his limb. With a wobbly voice, he asked Hanuman as to why he kicked him. Hanuman questioned the vanara in anger, "How dare you take my Lord Rama's name while defecating?! Such disrespect towards my Lord!?". The vanara left the place stumblingly after apologising to Hanuman.

Later in the day, Hanuman was doing Sandhya Vandana on the sea shore under the setting sun when he heard somebody moaning while walking. He turned to see who it was, and gosh, it was Lord Rama himself.
Hanuman ran towards his Lord and asked Him worriedly, "What happened to You my Lord? Why are You limping?"

Rama said, "What do I tell you Hanuman..? Today morning, when I was defecating, somebody kicked me from behind very hard. I am hurt badly and have sprained my knee. That's why I'm limping."

Hanuman realises Rama's omnipresence

Hanuman was shocked and replied saying, "I'm so sorry my Lord. I did not know it was You. I saw a vanara chanting Your name while excreting and so I kicked him."

Rama said, "Dear Hanuman, I'm always there, wherever my devotee utters my name with devotion. I always exist with the pure hearted devotee."

Hanuman knelt down and bowed to his Lord in agreement and realisation. Thus, Rama taught Hanuman how His name could be chanted boundlessly and also illustrated His omnipresence.




A few deets:

Rama caressing the squirrel

• During the bridge building, a palm squirrel saw the vanaras' activity and started imitating them. It took tiny rocks and by chanting Rama's name, it carried them, stumbling and rolling in the sand and threw the rocks into the waters with great effort. Rama who was sitting by the sea observed the squirrel and with doting affection, He caressed it by running His hand on it's back. It was so tiny that only three fingers covered it's back, leaving behind three white stripes. Based on this fact, it is believed that the Indian palm squirrels have three white stripes on their back as a mark of blessing from Shri Rama.

• Nala and Nila were the architects who planned the Rama Setu. These brothers were one among the vanaras. Nala was the son of Vishwakarma (architect of the Gods) and had inherited the skills from his father. Under their supervision, the vanaras built the bridge in 5 days.
• While building Rama Setu, the strong muscular vanaras inscribed Rama's name on the gigantic rocks and then carried them to throw them into the sea where the bridge plan was laid out. Their devotion made the rocks float on water. Rama who watched over, thought, "They are writing my name and throwing rocks into the sea which is making the rocks float. What if I do it myself too? The bridge can be built faster". So, He just wrote His name on a rock and threw it into the sea, but, alas, the rock sank. He was taken aback. He wondered and thought as to what would have caused it. Soon He realised that the vanaras did it with great devotion which made the rocks float. That intense pure devotion was missing when Rama himself did it. This event depicts the power and energy of devotion.
• This is my personal experience. I had been to Rameshwaram with family and from there we travelled to Dhanushkodi which is the starting point of Rama Setu. This point of India is the closest to Sri Lanka. It was just 30Kms (18 miles) away from here. This town of Dhanushkodi was destroyed in a cyclone in 1962 and stays uninhabited since then. We could see the remains of the town's last railway terminal and a Church. Though the Rama Setu is now submerged in the sea, we could notice a dark line from a distance in the place of the epic bridge. There was a small temple by the sea which had a floating rock kept in a small tank. This is the same rock which was used by vanaras to build the bridge. We were free to inspect the rock. It weighed at least 10kgs but floated on water. It was dark and porous. Considering its weight, it was a wonder to see it float.