Hanuman in Chaitanya Lila
When Lord Krishna descended five hundred years ago as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, devotees of Krishna and His incarnations descended with Him to be part of Lord Chaitanya’s lila, or pastimes. One of those eternal associates of the Lord was Hanuman, who appeared with Lord Chaitanya as a physician named Murari Gupta.
In the incarnation as Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Lord Krishna taught the world how to serve Krishna, the original form of the Personality of Godhead. Yet Lord Krishna also has many other Vishnu forms, each with His own eternal devotees. And in the Chaitanya-caritamrita (Madhya-lila 15.142-156) Lord Chaitanya tests Murari Gupta and glorifies him for his exclusive devotion to Lord Ramachandra:
“I requested Murari Gupta, ‘Worship Krishna and take shelter of Him. But for His service, nothing appeals to the mind.’
“Murari Gupta heard from Me again and again. And by My influence, his mind was a little converted.
“He then replied, ‘I am Your servant and Your order carrier. I have no independent existence.’
“After this, Murari Gupta went home and spent the whole night thinking how he would be able to give up the association of Raghunatha, Lord Ramachandra. Thus he was overwhelmed. Murari Gupta then began to pray at the lotus feet of Lord Ramachandra. He prayed that death would come that night, because it was not possible for him to give up the service of the lotus feet of Raghunatha. Thus Murari Gupta cried the entire night. There was no rest for his mind; therefore he could not sleep but stayed awake the entire night.
“In the morning Murari Gupta came to see Me. Catching hold of My feet and crying, he submitted an appeal.
“Murari Gupta said, ‘I have sold my head to the lotus feet of Raghunatha. I cannot withdraw my head, for that would give me too much pain. It is not possible for me to give up the service of Raghunatha’s lotus feet. At the same time, if I do not do so I shall break Your order. What can I do?’
“In this way Murari Gupta appealed to Me, saying, ‘Kindly grant me this mercy, because You are all- merciful. Let me die before You so that all my doubts will be finished.’
“Hearing this, I became very happy. I then raised Murari Gupta and embraced him.
“I said to him, ‘Murari Gupta! Your method of worship is very firmly fixed—so much so that even upon My request your mind did not turn. The servitor must have love and affection for the lotus feet of the Lord exactly like this. Even if the Lord wants separation, a devotee cannot abandon the shelter of His lotus feet. Just to test your firm faith in your Lord, I requested you again and again to change your worship from Lord Ramachandra to Krishna.’
“In this way, I congratulated Murari Gupta, saying, ‘Indeed, you are the incarnation of Hanuman. Consequently you are the eternal servant of Lord Ramachandra. Why should you give up the worship of Lord Ramachandra and His lotus feet?’ ”
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