There was a merchant who was exhorted by his teacher to repeat the Name of the Lord; he pleaded he had no time to sit and repeat it; the shop took up all his time and energy. He had to go a little away from the village every morning for answering calls of nature. He spent about half an hour for this. So the Guru asked him to use this time for the daily Smarana.
Hanuman, the great Ramabhaktha, was passing through the sky when he saw the merchant defecating and heard him repeat "Ram Ram Ram" while so engaged. Hanuman was incensed at his impertinence; he was desecrating the Name by pronouncing it while unclean. So he gave him a hard blow on the cheek and continued his journey to Ayodhya.
When he reached the Divine Presence and looked at the splendour-filled face of Rama, he noticed the swollen red print of a hand upon His cheek. Hanuman was shocked and his grief was too deep for words.
Rama told him, "Hanuman! Do not ask Me the name of the person who dealt this blow. I always dissipate the moment of a calamity for my Bhakthas and I intercede in time to save them. That poor merchant, sitting outside the village, who was repeating My Name when you were coming here, could he withstand the terrible onslaught of your angry palm? The fellow would have collapsed on the spot. So I intercepted the blow and received it on my own cheek, my dear Hanuman."
(Quoted from the Divine Discourses of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba)
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