Scene 1
(Hanuman is at the bank of a river. It is raining heavily. A man passing by comes up to him.)MAN: Ah, I have found someone who is also suffering from the rain. I thought that I would find nobody here. I came for the ferry, but no boatman is willing to carry me across to the other shore. All are afraid of this storm.
HANUMAN: I am not afraid of the storm. I am just thinking of my Lord Rama.
MAN: Hanuman! I have heard much about you. What has Rama ever done for you?
HANUMAN: Be quiet. What has Rama not done for me? Is there anything that he has not done for me? Or is there anything that he will not do for me? He has done everything and he will do everything for me. I have done hardly anything for him.
MAN: You have done so many things for him, Hanuman.
HANUMAN: True, but I still feel that I can please him much more than I have already pleased him.
MAN: O Hanuman, you are the incarnation of humility.
HANUMAN: I am the incarnation of sincerity. But if you say I am the incarnation of humility, I don’t accept that. I want to be the incarnation of humility. How I wish I could do something really great for my Rama! It seems the rain will never stop. But I shall go to the other side,
(Hanuman starts walking on the water.)
MAN: Hanuman, Hanuman!
HANUMAN (coming back): What is wrong with you?
MAN: I want to go with you.
HANUMAN: You want to go with me? Then come along.
MAN: But I am afraid.
HANUMAN: Don’t be afraid. Do you have a pencil?
MAN: Yes.
HANUMAN: And a piece of paper?
MAN: Yes.
HANUMAN: Now close your eyes.
(The man closes his eyes. Hanuman writes on the piece of paper, folds it and gives it to him. He starts to open it.)
HANUMAN: No, hold it. Don’t open it. I am going with you to the other side. But don’t open this paper. If you open it and see what I have written, then you will not be able to walk on the water. You will sink.
MAN: No, no, I will never open it.
HANUMAN: Then come along.
(They begin walking together.)
MAN: O Hanuman, I do not know what you have written on this paper. It has such magic in it. I never imagined in all my life that I would be able to walk on water! You can do everything, Hanuman. You have all capacity. For me to walk on water without your help would have been simply impossible.
HANUMAN: Everything is possible by Rama’s grace.
MAN: Where is Rama here?
HANUMAN: Rama is everywhere.
MAN: Hanuman, I am really curious to see what you have written there.
HANUMAN: Don’t open it. If you open it you will sink.
MAN: If you are beside me, it is impossible for me to sink. You will help me. I'll open it. (He opens the paper and looks at it. Inside is written the word “Rama”.)
MAN: “Rama!” it says. (Laughing.) Again Rama, even here!
(The man immediately sinks.)
MAN: O Hanuman, save me, save me!
HANUMAN: No. You sneer at my Rama, you ridicule my Rama. I won’t save you. He who mocks my Rama, he who criticises my Rama, can never have my compassion. I repeatedly asked you not to open it. You disobeyed me, and then, what is worse, you sneered at my Rama. This is your punishment. I have no love for you. If someone does not care for my Rama, I in turn do not care for that person. Sink! Let your life end. For me, a life without Rama is a life of misery. I want you also to feel that a life without Rama is of no use; it is simply a life of destruction. In fact, you shall learn that a life without Rama is meaningless, useless, impossible. A life with Rama is a life of constant achievement, constant glory, constant bliss.
