The Lord Who Humbles His Own

Lord Shri Ram ruled the kingdom of Ayodhya a few million years ago. Hanuman, the eternal servant of Shri Ram served Him, while He lived on this earth for 11,000 years. Before leaving for His divine abode, Lord Ram instructed Hanuman to continue to stay on earth to propagate the message of devotion to God.

Lord Ram descended again on this earth, this time as Lord Shri Krishna in the holy land of Braj about 5000 years ago in the age of Dwapar yuga.

God has neither an enemy nor a friend. Yet ego is his greatest enemy and humility his greatest friend. God cannot tolerate ego or pride in anyone.

Once Lord Krishna’s Divine weapon Sudarshan Chakkra (the disc), became proud of its unmatched brilliance. At the same time His Divine carrier Garuda (the eagle) became proud of its speed and His favorite and most beautiful queen Satyabhama, became proud of her beauty. Shri Krishna decided to humble their pride.

One day, He called Garuda and asked him to fetch Hanuman from the mountains. He told Garuda that Hanuman was a great devotee and was very old, and should be treated with utmost respect. Garuda flew to the mountain where Hanuman lived and after paying due respect to Him, passed on Shri Krishna’s message to Him. Hanuman was in a playful mood, he refused to go and said, “I am a servant of Shri Ram. Tell your Lord that I do not go anywhere, unless Shri Ram instructs me to do so”.

Garuda flew back and gave the message to Shri Krishna. Shri Krishna told Garuda, “Tell Hanuman Shri Ram is calling”. Garuda flew back to the mountains and communicated Lord Krishna’s message to Hanuman. Hanuman said, “I am old, it takes me a while to get up and go anywhere. You go ahead and let Him know I am on my way”. Garuda, wanting to please his master, did not want to go ahead of Hanuman. He wanted to take Hanuman along with him. But Hanuman insisted that Garuda go ahead and that He would follow. Garuda did not want to take no as an answer. Being proud of his speed he insisted on Hanuman accompanying him. He even offered to carry Hanuman on his shoulders in order to reach Lord Krishna as soon as possible.  Hanuman got irritated by Garuda’s insistence and wrapped him up in his tail and threw him at the bottom of the ocean.  

Meanwhile Shri Krishna sat down on his throne with Shri Ram’s demeanor and asked Satyabhama to array as Mother Sita as Hanuman was visiting them. Satyabhama to array as Mother Sita as Hanuman was visiting them. Satyabhama  sat down on the throne next to Shri Krishna.  

When Hanuman Ji reached Dwarika, Sudarshan Chakra that was guarding Dwarika,  stopped Him from entering the city and wanted him to identify himself and state the purpose of His visit. Hanuman was in a hurry to see His Lord and did not want to waste his time in answering Sudarshan Chakra’s questions. He caught Sudharshan Chakra and kept ji, in his mouth. Doing so, he reached the lotus feet of Shri Krishna and paid his obeisance. Shri Krishna was happy to see Hanuman and asked about His well-being.

Meanwhile Garuda flew as fast as and reached Dwarika as fast as he could. To his utter dismay he saw that Hanuman was already present there. At the same time, Shri Krishna observed a bulge in Hanuman's cheek. He asked Hanuman, what was He hiding in His mouth. Hanuman replied how the guard (Sudarshan Chakra) was trying to stop Him from entering the city, so he decided teach him a lesson and shoved Chakra him in His mouth. Hanuman asked Shri Krishna, where is Mother Sita, I can’t see her . Also, why is this maid servant sitting next to you? Needless to say that Satyabhama was offended. 

Thus Shri Krishna taught all three of them a lesson. Garuda who was proud of his speed was humbled by the speed at which the really old Hanuman could travel. Sudarshan who was proud of his radiance, was humbled by Hanuman who thought of him as nothing more than a toy. Satyabhama, who as proud of her beauty, was humbled when Hanuman, whose external appearance was that of a monkey, called her a maid servant.

Thus, Shri Krishna humbled their pride and taught them a lesson in humility.

MORAL

God is faithful friend. Also, He loves humility. He does not leave when one is prideful. He intervenes to squash the vanity. This is His grace.