Last week I came across a little known parable from the Ramayana that offered a great insight into this.
The scene is the coronation of Lord Rama after His victorious return from exile. Since this was a great occasion in their lives, Sita and her 3 brothers-in-law decided to personally take care of all arrangements that auspicious day. They divided the tasks among themselves, each more eager than the other to spend time with Lord Rama and win His favor. In their fervor to serve Him, they forgot to include Hanuman in the event management activities and did not want to give up any of their tasks to Hanuman.
When they finished planning , they approached Lord Rama to obtain His approval. Confident that they had covered all possible aspects, Sita and His brothers announced all the different activities that they were managing in the presence of Hanuman. The wily Hanuman realised they had missed one small aspect – the task of snapping fingers when Sri Rama yawned. ( I was quite amazed to know that the practice of snapping fingers when someone yawns dates back to the days of the Ramayana!)
Since Lord Rama was the Emperor, He could not be expected to snap His fingers if He yawned – protocol dictated that a servant had to do it for Him! Hanuman staked his claim to that task and was promptly awarded the same. Furthermore, since no one could predict when Sri Rama would yawn, Hanuman got the honor of spending the whole day with Him, gazing upon His divine face, ever ready to snap his fingers if He would yawn. Thus Hanuman, with his simple task, achieved more than Sita,Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrughna – spending all day in the divine presence of Lord Rama.
I guess that will be my motto in choosing New Year resolutions – small, simple and doable. I will also pray that Lord Hanuman gives all of us the gift of perseverance and unwavering faith as we pursue what we believe to be right and good.
Happy New Year !
