Invasion of Lanka
Hanuman flew by aerial route and reached his friends
Angad, Jambuwant, Sugreev and others who were eagerly
waiting for his return. The news of Sita was received
with jubilation. Immediately, they all started off to
inform Ram and Laxman about their discovery so that
future plans could be drawn to seek her release.
In Southern India at the base camp, Ram, Laxman,
Hanuman, Sugreev, Jambuwant, Angad and others met to
chalk out their plan of action to seek release of
Sita, now that the whereabouts of Sita were known. It
was sure that Ravan was adamant and would not release
Sita without force. It was imperative to wage war
against the mighty army of Ravan to achieve their
goal.
But Ram and Laxman had no army of their own, hence
Hanuman appealed to all monkey leaders to rally behind
Ram in this noble war of righteousness. A huge army of
monkeys and bears was thus formed and Angad was chosen
its leader. Ram and Laxman had divine and supernatural
powers. They could have easily defeated Ravan and his
army, but the lord Ram wanted to unite various clans
into one unified people.
The division of society into lower and higher caste
and superior and inferior races was a taboo that Ram
wanted to erase from the face of Bharat -ancient
India. Therefore, he sought help of monkeys and bears
(lower clans) in his mission.
All the well-wishers, full of enthusiasm, participated
in the noble cause lead by Ram. The monkey brigade
marched on towards Lanka. They once again reached the
southern tip of India and faced the mighty sea ahead!
It stood as a mighty obstacle in their march ahead.
Only Hanuman was able to cross it, but it was not
possible for others to do the same. How could the
whole army reach the shores of Lankan kingdom?
This almost impossible task forced Ram to end the
problem, but no solution was in sight! Everyone became
depressed and despondent. The enthusiasm of having
found the whereabouts of Sita was lost in their
inability to rescue her.
Bridge over The Sea
Hanuman was restless. Constantly thinking of Ram and
Sita, his mind was immersed in the depths of
contemplation. He was sure that solution to this
problem must be available as Ram was with them. But
what would be the solution! He did not yet know.
Can they all swim across the sea? No. Can they all fly
over the sea? No. Engrossed in such deep thoughts and
constantly taking the holy name of Ram, he threw a
stone in the water in front of him. To his utter
disbelief he saw that the stone was floating over the
water!!!
He threw another stone and was puzzled that it sank
down in the water, it did not float. He could not
fathom the secret of this peculiarity: One stone
staying afloat and the other sinking! He tried many
times but in vain, all the stones subsequently sank
down to the bottom of sea.
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