The Name of God

This is a story from the Rāmāyan (an epic about the life of Sri Rām). Sri Rām and His vānara senā (monkey army) had set out to rescue Sri Rām’s wife, Goddess Sitā, from the clutches of Her kidnapper Rāvan, the evil ruler of Lanka (an island kingdom). In their quest, they reached the shores of the sea that would have to be crossed in order to get to Lanka and rescue Sitā. It was decided that a stone-bridge must be laid across the sea, so that the entire army can cross over to the other side.

The monkey-soldiers set to work briskly. They ran here and there to gather all the rocks, stones and slabs they could find. All the stones were brought to the great servitor and devotee of Sri Rām, Deity Hanumān, Who instructed His companions to inscribe the Name of Sri Rām on each stone and throw the stone into the water!

The monkey-soldiers followed His advice, wondering how throwing the heavy rocks and stone slabs into the water would build a bridge! However, as they threw in the first few stones with the Lord’s Name on them, a miracle unfolded before their very eyes! The heavy stones, instead of sinking floated on the surface, starting to arrange themselves into a bridge!

The monkeys were taken aback. How was this possible? The stones they threw into the water floated miraculously! They turned to Hanumān for enlightenment.

The great devotee of Sri Rām smiled at them. “Why are you so surprised?” He asked them. “The stones you threw into the water floated because they were in the grasp of the Lord’s Name that you had inscribed on them.”