Miracles - Connecting with Parmatma, our Guru's Grace
Sri Ramakrishna Parmahansa's experience
INSTANCES OF GRACE
This sections starts auspiciously with Shri Ramakrishna Parmahansa’s experience and this is the narration on that, We seek your blessings guru-jee in all our efforts.
Sri Ramakrishna Parmahansa
(to read more about him, click here)
The 'Siva-Mahimna Stotra' composed by Pushpadanta is the most popular hymn on Siva in North India. Sri Ramakirshna certainly knew it by heart. One day he was reciting this hymn in one of the twelve Siva temples at Dakshineswar when he came to the following verse:
Asitagirisamam syat kaijalam sindhupatre
Surataruvarasakha lekhani patramurvi;
Likhati yadi grihitva Sarada sarvakalam
Tadapi tava gunanamisa param na yati.
"Oh Lord, if the blue mountian be the ink, the ocean the ink-pot, the biggest branch of the heavenly tree be the pen, the earth the writing leaf and taking these if Sarada, the goddess of learning, writes for eternity, even then the limit of Your virtues will not be reached."
Reciting this above verse, Sri Ramakrishna entered into an ecstatic mood and cried out again and again,
"O Great God, how can I express your great glory?"
All came running towards that spot hearing the cries of Thakur. Mathur Babu was in the temple at that time. Hearing the uproar, he also came and prevented others from removing Sri Ramakrishna forcibly from the Siva temple. Mathur had already formed a high opinion about Sri Ramakrishna by that time. When Thakur came down to normal consciousness and saw the crowd, he asked Mathur whether he had done anything wrong. Mathur saluted him and said, "No, Ba Ba (father), you were reciting a hymn: I stood here lest some one should disturb you unthinkingly." Thus Mathur Babu protected and served Thakur in all possible ways for fourteen years like Nandi who eternally serves Lord Siva. Truly Mathur Babu and Hriday were to Sri Ramakrishna, what Nandi and Bhringi are to Siva. At another time, Mathur Babu actually saw Sri Ramakrishna as Siva and Kali alternately, as Thakur was pacing up and down.
This sections starts auspiciously with Shri Ramakrishna Parmahansa’s experience and this is the narration on that, We seek your blessings guru-jee in all our efforts.
Sri Ramakrishna Parmahansa
(to read more about him, click here)
The 'Siva-Mahimna Stotra' composed by Pushpadanta is the most popular hymn on Siva in North India. Sri Ramakirshna certainly knew it by heart. One day he was reciting this hymn in one of the twelve Siva temples at Dakshineswar when he came to the following verse:
Asitagirisamam syat kaijalam sindhupatre
Surataruvarasakha lekhani patramurvi;
Likhati yadi grihitva Sarada sarvakalam
Tadapi tava gunanamisa param na yati.
"Oh Lord, if the blue mountian be the ink, the ocean the ink-pot, the biggest branch of the heavenly tree be the pen, the earth the writing leaf and taking these if Sarada, the goddess of learning, writes for eternity, even then the limit of Your virtues will not be reached."
Reciting this above verse, Sri Ramakrishna entered into an ecstatic mood and cried out again and again,
"O Great God, how can I express your great glory?"
All came running towards that spot hearing the cries of Thakur. Mathur Babu was in the temple at that time. Hearing the uproar, he also came and prevented others from removing Sri Ramakrishna forcibly from the Siva temple. Mathur had already formed a high opinion about Sri Ramakrishna by that time. When Thakur came down to normal consciousness and saw the crowd, he asked Mathur whether he had done anything wrong. Mathur saluted him and said, "No, Ba Ba (father), you were reciting a hymn: I stood here lest some one should disturb you unthinkingly." Thus Mathur Babu protected and served Thakur in all possible ways for fourteen years like Nandi who eternally serves Lord Siva. Truly Mathur Babu and Hriday were to Sri Ramakrishna, what Nandi and Bhringi are to Siva. At another time, Mathur Babu actually saw Sri Ramakrishna as Siva and Kali alternately, as Thakur was pacing up and down.
Dakshinamurthi's grace on NAGARAJ
ith that auspicious beginning…we have other instances of Lord Shiva’s grace
NAGARAJA Sincere thanks to Nagaraj for sharing his experiencing the grace of Lord Shiva…This is what he writes (2/24/03)
---- START NARRATION by NAGARAJ -----
The prelude to the experience was that at the age of 24, I was prepared to forego all that this life had to offer for the sake of God Realization. I was virtually mad after higher things. The thought of God and God alone was in my mind all along
This experience happened in 1992. I had just then finished my graduation and searching for a job. It was about six months since I had listened to the Hymn to Dakshinamurti (Sri Dakshinamurti Stotra http://lavanya.aros.net/sanskrit/all_pdf/dakshina.pdf and also at http://www.hindunet.org/stotras/shiva/dakshiNaamurti_stotra.pdf) from my revered uncle, a rare householder Jnani. I kept contemplating on the meaning of the hymn almost always when the mind was not required to focus attention on a specific task.
I attended a relative's marriage and met many relatives after a long time. Many said that I had changed a lot ever since they had seen me in my boyhood. Few days later, walking along the street, contemplating on the seventh stanza of the Hymn to Dakshinamurthi:
Balyadishvapi Jagradadishu thatha Sarvasvavasthasvapi
VyavruttasvaNuvartamanMahamityantaha Sphurantam Sada.
Svatmanam Prakatikaroti Bhajatam Yo Mudraya Bhadraya
Tasmay Shri Guru Murtayay Nama Edam Shri Dakshinamurtaye
"To Him who, by means of the blessed symbol, manifests to the disciples the True Self that always shines within as 'I', constant in all the varying states of infancy, (manhood and old age), of jagrat (swapna and sushupti) and so on; to Him who is incarnate in the Teacher, to Him in the Effulgent Form Facing the South, to Him (siva) be this bow!"
I kept telling myself that those relatives said that I had changed. But I see that this body has grown, no doubt, but I do not feel that I have changed. I am the same all along....and immediately after that reciting the above verse over and over waited for the traffic signal to cross the road. While crossing the road, there was alertness and no thoughts. After crossing I leaned against the piller of bus shelter and suddenly something happened.
I could not see my body at all. I was light, consciousness, with blue hue, bright as sunlight but cool as moonlight on a full moon day. That was my Being. The pillar could be seen, so were the vehicles on the road. All the activities happening around derived the power from this light. There were no thoughts, no sense of belonging to anyone. I was Ananda, not rapturous ecstacy, but a steady stream of unconditioned bliss. All that was around was not different from the light. It was as if the light had its allotropic forms in the manifestation around. After a couple of minutes I could see the body but there was no feeling. I could see the footwear but not feel it. A bus going towards my place came and I boarded it. Paid the fare...all along no thoughts - (worldly activity can happen without mind) - alighted in the right place and walked back home. It took another hour after reaching home to get the body consciuosness and feeling back.
Then onwards, there is no doubt that I am not this body though every happening about this body is similar to any other normal human body.
The steady stream of Ananda - Sahaja Ananda continues on account of which I have not felt the difficulties and mental turbulence that came in way of my life ever since. Most of the time this Ananda makes me humming some song even during my office work. This, perhaps, was a foretaste of Awakening by sheer Grace of Sri Dakshinamurthi.
This event may not be useful to anyone, but while reading "unchanging, birthless, deathless and Divine consciousness", I felt a strong urge to narrate this incident.
---END NARRATION by NAGARAJ -----
NAGARAJA Sincere thanks to Nagaraj for sharing his experiencing the grace of Lord Shiva…This is what he writes (2/24/03)
---- START NARRATION by NAGARAJ -----
The prelude to the experience was that at the age of 24, I was prepared to forego all that this life had to offer for the sake of God Realization. I was virtually mad after higher things. The thought of God and God alone was in my mind all along
This experience happened in 1992. I had just then finished my graduation and searching for a job. It was about six months since I had listened to the Hymn to Dakshinamurti (Sri Dakshinamurti Stotra http://lavanya.aros.net/sanskrit/all_pdf/dakshina.pdf and also at http://www.hindunet.org/stotras/shiva/dakshiNaamurti_stotra.pdf) from my revered uncle, a rare householder Jnani. I kept contemplating on the meaning of the hymn almost always when the mind was not required to focus attention on a specific task.
I attended a relative's marriage and met many relatives after a long time. Many said that I had changed a lot ever since they had seen me in my boyhood. Few days later, walking along the street, contemplating on the seventh stanza of the Hymn to Dakshinamurthi:
Balyadishvapi Jagradadishu thatha Sarvasvavasthasvapi
VyavruttasvaNuvartamanMahamityantaha Sphurantam Sada.
Svatmanam Prakatikaroti Bhajatam Yo Mudraya Bhadraya
Tasmay Shri Guru Murtayay Nama Edam Shri Dakshinamurtaye
"To Him who, by means of the blessed symbol, manifests to the disciples the True Self that always shines within as 'I', constant in all the varying states of infancy, (manhood and old age), of jagrat (swapna and sushupti) and so on; to Him who is incarnate in the Teacher, to Him in the Effulgent Form Facing the South, to Him (siva) be this bow!"
I kept telling myself that those relatives said that I had changed. But I see that this body has grown, no doubt, but I do not feel that I have changed. I am the same all along....and immediately after that reciting the above verse over and over waited for the traffic signal to cross the road. While crossing the road, there was alertness and no thoughts. After crossing I leaned against the piller of bus shelter and suddenly something happened.
I could not see my body at all. I was light, consciousness, with blue hue, bright as sunlight but cool as moonlight on a full moon day. That was my Being. The pillar could be seen, so were the vehicles on the road. All the activities happening around derived the power from this light. There were no thoughts, no sense of belonging to anyone. I was Ananda, not rapturous ecstacy, but a steady stream of unconditioned bliss. All that was around was not different from the light. It was as if the light had its allotropic forms in the manifestation around. After a couple of minutes I could see the body but there was no feeling. I could see the footwear but not feel it. A bus going towards my place came and I boarded it. Paid the fare...all along no thoughts - (worldly activity can happen without mind) - alighted in the right place and walked back home. It took another hour after reaching home to get the body consciuosness and feeling back.
Then onwards, there is no doubt that I am not this body though every happening about this body is similar to any other normal human body.
The steady stream of Ananda - Sahaja Ananda continues on account of which I have not felt the difficulties and mental turbulence that came in way of my life ever since. Most of the time this Ananda makes me humming some song even during my office work. This, perhaps, was a foretaste of Awakening by sheer Grace of Sri Dakshinamurthi.
This event may not be useful to anyone, but while reading "unchanging, birthless, deathless and Divine consciousness", I felt a strong urge to narrate this incident.
---END NARRATION by NAGARAJ -----
By SV SWAMI - Darshan of Nataraja and messages from the divine
Miracles strengthen faith and they make interesting reads for devoted hearts. Here is a humble sharing of a devotee who experienced divine intervention in the form of a vision of Lord Shiva, a true miracle indeed.
Sai Ram. While listening to some good devotional Stotras in praise of Lord Siva today morning, I was suddenly reminded of His divine grace and how He comes to us in our low moments to give us strength and assurance that He is always there at our call. In the year 2001, I was on a pilgrimage to Tirupati, Sri Kalahasti etc. After visiting Tirupati, I went to Sri Kalahasti. I was feeling very low because I fell from self imposed high moral standards (details are not important) and was really miserable. He then gave me solace through two incidents - first through a good book that described the Sthala Puranam (the ancient history of that place) in which it was mentioned that Lord Brahma Himself had to do penance for some temporary deviation from Dharma and He did it at Sri Kalahasti...
The second incident was even more direct. Adjacent to Sri Kalahasti temple is a small hillock where Bhakta Kannappa, one of the greatest devotees of Lord Siva did penance and offered his eyes to mitigate the suffering of his beloved Lord (whose eyes bled voluntarily-in order to test devotion of Kannappa). I went to the hillock and was chanting Om Namah Sivaya closing my eyes and suddenly was overpowered by grief at my repeated failures to lead a dharmic life. Suddenly 'grace' comes in the form of a divine vision - Lord Siva, as Nataraja, dancing. The vision was very clear where the 'Third Eye' is supposed to be located - I was very happy but was left wondering why Nataraja of Chidambaram should give me darshan at Sri Kalahasti. Then He sort of gave a message that the whole world is a stage for His dance and He is the dancer and we are just puppets! The message did not come in clearly immediately but slowly seeped in...
The divine grace of Lord seems to really pour when we are down. When the ego is down, He comes and teaches us.
BHAKTA KANNAPPA :
There is an interesting story that describes how Boya Kannappa became Bhakta Kannappa. Kannapa was a devoted follower of Lord Siva and one of the 63 Nayanars. The unique feature of this temple is that there is a bronze figure of the hunter saint, Kannappa, who removed his own eye as an offering to the Lord.
Kalahasti is a holy Saivite (worshippers of Lord Siva) place and an important temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is situated in Chittoor district of Andra Pradesh in the state. The river Suvarnamukhi takes a northerly course at Kalahasthi almost washing the west wall of the famous Kalahasthi temple. Inside this very large temple situated between two steep hills-Sripuram and Mummidicholapuram-is the Siva Linga said to represent the element Vayu (air or wind), whose presence is evidenced by a continuous flame which flickers though there is no loophole for air to enter the temple.
There are five temples of Lord Siva in five different places representing the five elements, viz. fire, water, air, ether, and earth. This holy shrine represents air (vaayu). Lord Sri Kalahastheeswara is also worshipped as Vayulingeswara. The purana (history) of this place says that a spider worshipped Kalahasthinathar, the presiding deity. The holy river Swarna Mukhi runs in this place. Atop the mountain in this holy place there is a Siva temple. Devotees throng the temple town in good numbers from Venkatagiri and Sullurpet areas of Nellore district and Tiruvallur and Tiruttani taluks of Tamil Nadu on Shiva related festivals.
Shiva here was worshipped by a spider,snake & elephant as in Tiruvanaikkaval. Kannappa Nayanar a hunter is also associated with Kudumidevar-Shiva atop the adjacent hill.
In the ages gone by a Tribal Hunter lived in this mountain forest. He was an ardent devotee of Lord Siva of this temple. After spending the whole day in hunting, at nights he used to visit this temple to worship Siva. Having seen a priest perform worship to the Linga on an earlier occasion, Thinnan also started doing so with great love, but with offerings considered sacrilegious.
A deep desire developed in him to do pooja and abhishekha to Siva. But he did not have in his possession any pot to carry water, any basket to carry flowers or any vessel to cook food for offering to Lord Siva. So, he would place the flowers on the matted locks of his hair, carry as much as water as possible in his mouth and the meat of the animals hunted during the day in his hands. Arriving at the temple he would just spit all the water onto the Siva Linga, shake the flowers off his hair onto the Linga and offer the meat as Naivedya. At day-break he would leave the temple.
In the mornings when the priest of the temple came up to do pooja and abhishekha he found that someone had offered fresh flowers and meat for God every night. This upset him greatly. He would clean the whole place, do pooja and abhishekha and leave the temple sorrowfully. Since this strange night worship continued, the priest not knowing how to stop this , prayed intensely to Lord Shiva to give him an answer. That night the Lord appeared in his dream and instructed him to hide himself in the temple the next night and watch all that would take place. The priest hid himself in the temple and anxiously awaited the night happenings.
The hunter arrived at the temple as usual and conducted the abhishekha and pooja. Suddenly one of the eyes of the Linga started bleeding. Immediately, without a second thought, the hunter plucked out one of his own eyes with the help of his arrow and fixed it onto the Linga. He was happy to find that the bleeding stopped. However, blood started oozing out of the other eye. Immediately he decided to fix his other eye there but stopped a while wondering how he would be able to locate the right spot to fix it as with both eyes gone he would be blinded. The idea then struck him to place his foot on the bleeding eye. He plucked out his other eye and fixed it on this spot.
The priest was totally awe-struck and broke down witnessing the deep devotion of the hunter. He realized that his own devotion to the Lord was only superfluous compared to the hunter's. Just then Lord Siva appeared on the Rishaba (bull) and blessed the hunter. The priest felt a sense of fulfillment of his life being blessed with Lord Siva's darshan. The hunter was none other than Kannappa Nayanar, one of the sixty-three Nayanmars (Saivite Saints) who are worshipped by all.
Among the 63 Saiva saints whose lives have been chronicled in the Periapuranam by Sekkhizhar, Kannappa Nayanar occupies a unique position as his action has won universal acclaim. Sekkhizhar does not mince words while portraying Kannappas parentage and traditional occupation of hunting and killing for livelihood. Born to an aboriginal hunter-chief he was named Thinnan at birth. His pastimes included roaming in the wild and as for training he knew only to wield the bow and arrow. There was no inkling about the destiny in store for him till his youth.
n her discourse, Smt. Jaya Srinivasan said the Supreme Being who was an adept at redeeming His devotees came in the guise of a hunter just as He had had before Arjuna, when He had an altercation over a boar when the Pandava was engaged in penance to obtain the Pasupatastra from Him. Similarly, He lured Thinnan to His shrine at the top of the hill at Kalahasti by using a boar as a decoy. Thinnan along with his friends chased a boar and felled it and when he went in search of a stream for quenching his thirst in the hill to which the animal had led him, he found to his astonishment that a change came over him as the vibrations around the shrine of Lord Siva there affected him in a strange manner.
According to Swami Sivananda's book, Sixty-Three Nayanar Saints, pg. 44, some Saivite traditions believe that Kannappa was the reincarnation of Arjuna. Arjuna, worshipped Siva for seeking the Pasupatha Astra and failed to recognize Him in the form of a hunter. Thus, according to this tradition, Arjuna had to be born as a hunter and adore the Lord before attaining final liberation. This belief is not adopted by all Hindus.
Boya Kannappa thus drew near to the three-eyed god and became beatified. Purity of heart is the root of all acceptable worship. Devotion to Shiva had been expressed in all sorts of ways by His devotees. The Lord sees only the sincerity and intention behind the expression. This is amply proved by the story of Kannappa.
What prayer did this hunter know? What sort of worship did he perform? The Lord was bound by the devotion of a hunter who knew no prayer but had only affection. It is only love that binds God.
It is not necessary to learn all the rules and sasthras of an eloborate pooja before performing one. As an example, an illiterate hunter, Sri Kannappa Nayanar saw the Divine after three days of prayer.
According to the Nayanar tradition, true devotion is all what God wants. For example, Kannappa, the hunter, illustrated this ideal. He was totally ignorant of Saiva doctrine, philosophy or worship, but attained within six days, the highest place possible for devotees of Siva through the intensity of his devotion. The nature of Kannappa�s devotion was quite different from that of the ordinary worshippers of Siva. Adi Sankara names him as the role model for all devotees, in his Sivananda-lahari.
Kannappar was about to sacrifice his second eye also when the Lord appeared on the scene and hailed him 'Kannappa!' (that dear devotee who gave his eyes to replace the Lord's bleeding eyes!) . Till then, this hunter-devotee was known as 'Thinnan' only and the Lingam-Lord as 'Kudumitthevar'
December 12, when this was written was a Monday, a day considered very holy for worshipers of Lord Siva. I am glad that He made me recall this episode today. Om Namah Sivaya.From here
MILK MIRACLE
The MILK MIRACLE "...a sign that a great soul had descended"
There still exists a great deal written about a world-wide milk miracle that happened in 1995.
On Thursday 21st September 1995, the news swept around the world of the extraordinary miracles of milk-drinking Hindu statues. Never before in history has a simultaneous miracle occurred on such a global scale. Television, radio and newspapers eagerly covered this unique phenomenon, and even sceptical journalists held their milk-filled spoons to the gods -- and watched, humbled, as the milk disappeared. The media coverage was extensive, and although scientists and 'experts' created theories of "capillary absorption" and "mass hysteria", the overwhelming evidence and conclusion was that an unexplainable miracle had occurred.
It all began at dawn in a temple on the outskirts of Delhi, India, when milk offered to a statue of Ganesh just disappeared into thin air. Word spread so quickly throughout India that soon thousands were offering milk to the gods and watching in amazement as it disappeared. Life in India was brought to a virtual standstill as people rushed to temples to see for themselves the drinking gods. Others claimed that small statues in millions of homes around the country were also drinking the offerings of milk.
At one of Delhi's largest temples, the Birla Mandir, Pandit Sunderlal was just coming on duty at 5.30am when he got a call telling him of the miracle in the suburbs. "I went and took a spoon of milk and put it to Ganesh's mouth. He drank it and it became empty. Then I gave Shiva a drink too."
Traffic in Delhi was halted as police struggled to control crowds who gathered outside hundreds of temples with jugs and saucepans of milk for the marble statues of Ganesh, the Hindu God of wisdom and learning, and Shiva, his father, God the Destroyer in the Hindu trinity. Across Delhi, society ladies with silver jugs and tumblers full of milk were standing alongside uneducated labouring women in mile-long queues, awaiting their turn.
At one Delhi temple a priest said more than 5,000 people had visited his temple: "We are having a hard time managing the crowds." A Delhi housewife who had waited two hours to feed the white marble statue of Ganesh said: "The evil world is coming to an end and maybe the Gods are here to help us." Even the cynical professed amazement. "It's unbelievable. My friends told me about it and I just thought it was rubbish," said a Delhi business woman, Mabati Kasori. "But then I did it myself. I swear that the spoon was drained." Parmeesh Soti, a company executive, was convinced it was a miracle. "It cannot be a hoax. Where would all that milk go to? It just disappeared in front of my eyes."
Suzanne Goldenberg, a Delhi-based journalist, reported that: "Inside the darkened shrine, people held stainless steel cups and clay pots to the central figure of the five-headed Shiva, the destroyer of evil, and his snake companion, and watched the milk levels ebb. Although some devotees force-fed the idol enthusiastically, the floor was fairly dry."
India was in pandemonium. The Government shut down for several hours, and trading ground to a halt on stock markets in Bombay and New Delhi as millions in homes and temples around the country offered milk to the gods.
Very soon the news spread to Hindu communities in Singapore, Hong Kong, Nepal, Thailand, Dubai, the United Kingdom, the USA, and Canada. Reports were flooding in from all over the world. In Hong Kong more than 800 people converged on the Hindu temple in Happy Valley to witness the drinking statues of Krishna and Brahma alongside the small silver statue of Ganesh which priests claimed had drunk 20 litres of milk.
In the United Kingdom, Hindus reported miracles taking place in temples and homes around the country. At the Vishwa Temple in Southall, London, 10,000 people in 24 hours witnessed the 15-inch statue of the bull Nandi and a bronze statue of the cobra Shash Naag drinking milk from cups and spoons. Sushmith Jaswal, aged 20, said she was sceptical at first but her doubts vanished with the milk. "It was like a blessing," she said. Nita Mason also witnessed the statue and said, "It is a miracle -- God is trying to show people that he is here." Girish Desai, a bank worker from Edgware said: "I had heard reports but didn't believe it. But I experienced it myself. I held a spoonful of milk to the lips of one of the idols . . . and the statue started sipping it. The milk disappeared as I watched it."
At the Geeta Bhavan Temple in Manchester a 3-inch silver Ganesh lapped up the milk. Rakesh Behl, 35, fed the silver elephant several times and said: "Did you see how quickly Ganesh drank? How can anyone not believe this miracle? This has really inspired my faith." At the Southall home of Asha Ruparelia, 42, a clay statue of Ganesh was drinking the milk in her living room: "It has drunk 20 pints of milk since last night. Nearly 600 people have come round to see it."
Another amazing manifestation occurred at a major Hindu temple in Wimbledon, South London. There, milk offerings to the statue of Ganesh disappeared, and, simultaneously, in a shrine room containing a large photograph of Sai Baba, vibhuti (holy ash) poured from Sai Baba's forehead, and amrit (nectar) flowed from His feet.
Many journalists actively participated in these miraculous events. Rebecca Mae, a DAILY EXPRESS journalist, wrote: "I had a good view from the side and all I can say is that the statue appeared to suck in half a spoonful while it was held level by the worshipper. The rest was sipped reverently by the devotee. A photographer from a national tabloid newspaper was right in front of the statue. And he was convinced it was drinking the milk. He said he could see no mechanism to explain the phenomenon, after scrutinising it at length. As a lapsed Catholic I don't believe in stories of the Virgin Mary shedding tears. Indeed, I would say I was as sceptical as anyone -- but it's difficult to dismiss something you have seen for yourself."
Journalist Suzanne O'Shea also witnessed the miracle. "Following the example of others I knelt on the floor beside the statue of the bull and placed a dessert spoon filled with milk beside its mouth, steadying it with both hands. Within seconds the milk had virtually vanished, leaving just a drop in the spoon that was emptied into my hands so that I could bless myself. I tried a second time, and again the milk seemed to vanish from the spoon within seconds."
Rikee Verma, a journalist from THE TIMES newspaper, wrote: "Being a religious person, I first went to the upstairs bedroom .. . . and placed a spoonful of milk against a photograph of Ganesh and was astonished to find within seconds that the spoon was half empty. I checked to make sure that the glass frame of the photograph was not wet. It was dry. I could not believe what I was seeing. This was clearly a message from the gods saying: 'We are here, here's the proof.' I then went to the Sri Ram Mandir [Temple] in Southall. .. . . I placed a spoonful of milk underneath the trunk and within seconds the spoon was empty. . . . Others who had witnessed the miracle were filled with emotion. 'Our god has finally come to us,' one said."
While the media and scientists still struggle to find an explanation for these events, many Hindus believe they are a sign that a great teacher has been born. Journalist Rebecca Mae writes: "Most of the worshippers said they only went to the temple occasionally and were certainly not religious fanatics. But they were adamant that a new god had been born to save the world from evil." Krishna Anratar Dubey, a respected Indian astrologer, explained that according to Hindu mythology such miracles happen when a great Soul arrives in the world.
At the Southall temple in London where thousands had witnessed the miracles, the chairman Mr Bharbari offered his explanation. "All I know is that our Holy Book says that wherever evil prevails on earth then some great Soul will descend to remove the bondage of evil so that right shall reign. We believe this miracle, and those happening at other Hindu temples, may be a sign that a great Soul has descended, like Lord Krishna or Jesus Christ."
(Sources: THE GUARDIAN; THE INDEPENDENT; THE TIMES; THE TELEGRAPH; THE DAILY EXPRESS; THE DAILY MAIL; UK)
There still exists a great deal written about a world-wide milk miracle that happened in 1995.
On Thursday 21st September 1995, the news swept around the world of the extraordinary miracles of milk-drinking Hindu statues. Never before in history has a simultaneous miracle occurred on such a global scale. Television, radio and newspapers eagerly covered this unique phenomenon, and even sceptical journalists held their milk-filled spoons to the gods -- and watched, humbled, as the milk disappeared. The media coverage was extensive, and although scientists and 'experts' created theories of "capillary absorption" and "mass hysteria", the overwhelming evidence and conclusion was that an unexplainable miracle had occurred.
It all began at dawn in a temple on the outskirts of Delhi, India, when milk offered to a statue of Ganesh just disappeared into thin air. Word spread so quickly throughout India that soon thousands were offering milk to the gods and watching in amazement as it disappeared. Life in India was brought to a virtual standstill as people rushed to temples to see for themselves the drinking gods. Others claimed that small statues in millions of homes around the country were also drinking the offerings of milk.
At one of Delhi's largest temples, the Birla Mandir, Pandit Sunderlal was just coming on duty at 5.30am when he got a call telling him of the miracle in the suburbs. "I went and took a spoon of milk and put it to Ganesh's mouth. He drank it and it became empty. Then I gave Shiva a drink too."
Traffic in Delhi was halted as police struggled to control crowds who gathered outside hundreds of temples with jugs and saucepans of milk for the marble statues of Ganesh, the Hindu God of wisdom and learning, and Shiva, his father, God the Destroyer in the Hindu trinity. Across Delhi, society ladies with silver jugs and tumblers full of milk were standing alongside uneducated labouring women in mile-long queues, awaiting their turn.
At one Delhi temple a priest said more than 5,000 people had visited his temple: "We are having a hard time managing the crowds." A Delhi housewife who had waited two hours to feed the white marble statue of Ganesh said: "The evil world is coming to an end and maybe the Gods are here to help us." Even the cynical professed amazement. "It's unbelievable. My friends told me about it and I just thought it was rubbish," said a Delhi business woman, Mabati Kasori. "But then I did it myself. I swear that the spoon was drained." Parmeesh Soti, a company executive, was convinced it was a miracle. "It cannot be a hoax. Where would all that milk go to? It just disappeared in front of my eyes."
Suzanne Goldenberg, a Delhi-based journalist, reported that: "Inside the darkened shrine, people held stainless steel cups and clay pots to the central figure of the five-headed Shiva, the destroyer of evil, and his snake companion, and watched the milk levels ebb. Although some devotees force-fed the idol enthusiastically, the floor was fairly dry."
India was in pandemonium. The Government shut down for several hours, and trading ground to a halt on stock markets in Bombay and New Delhi as millions in homes and temples around the country offered milk to the gods.
Very soon the news spread to Hindu communities in Singapore, Hong Kong, Nepal, Thailand, Dubai, the United Kingdom, the USA, and Canada. Reports were flooding in from all over the world. In Hong Kong more than 800 people converged on the Hindu temple in Happy Valley to witness the drinking statues of Krishna and Brahma alongside the small silver statue of Ganesh which priests claimed had drunk 20 litres of milk.
In the United Kingdom, Hindus reported miracles taking place in temples and homes around the country. At the Vishwa Temple in Southall, London, 10,000 people in 24 hours witnessed the 15-inch statue of the bull Nandi and a bronze statue of the cobra Shash Naag drinking milk from cups and spoons. Sushmith Jaswal, aged 20, said she was sceptical at first but her doubts vanished with the milk. "It was like a blessing," she said. Nita Mason also witnessed the statue and said, "It is a miracle -- God is trying to show people that he is here." Girish Desai, a bank worker from Edgware said: "I had heard reports but didn't believe it. But I experienced it myself. I held a spoonful of milk to the lips of one of the idols . . . and the statue started sipping it. The milk disappeared as I watched it."
At the Geeta Bhavan Temple in Manchester a 3-inch silver Ganesh lapped up the milk. Rakesh Behl, 35, fed the silver elephant several times and said: "Did you see how quickly Ganesh drank? How can anyone not believe this miracle? This has really inspired my faith." At the Southall home of Asha Ruparelia, 42, a clay statue of Ganesh was drinking the milk in her living room: "It has drunk 20 pints of milk since last night. Nearly 600 people have come round to see it."
Another amazing manifestation occurred at a major Hindu temple in Wimbledon, South London. There, milk offerings to the statue of Ganesh disappeared, and, simultaneously, in a shrine room containing a large photograph of Sai Baba, vibhuti (holy ash) poured from Sai Baba's forehead, and amrit (nectar) flowed from His feet.
Many journalists actively participated in these miraculous events. Rebecca Mae, a DAILY EXPRESS journalist, wrote: "I had a good view from the side and all I can say is that the statue appeared to suck in half a spoonful while it was held level by the worshipper. The rest was sipped reverently by the devotee. A photographer from a national tabloid newspaper was right in front of the statue. And he was convinced it was drinking the milk. He said he could see no mechanism to explain the phenomenon, after scrutinising it at length. As a lapsed Catholic I don't believe in stories of the Virgin Mary shedding tears. Indeed, I would say I was as sceptical as anyone -- but it's difficult to dismiss something you have seen for yourself."
Journalist Suzanne O'Shea also witnessed the miracle. "Following the example of others I knelt on the floor beside the statue of the bull and placed a dessert spoon filled with milk beside its mouth, steadying it with both hands. Within seconds the milk had virtually vanished, leaving just a drop in the spoon that was emptied into my hands so that I could bless myself. I tried a second time, and again the milk seemed to vanish from the spoon within seconds."
Rikee Verma, a journalist from THE TIMES newspaper, wrote: "Being a religious person, I first went to the upstairs bedroom .. . . and placed a spoonful of milk against a photograph of Ganesh and was astonished to find within seconds that the spoon was half empty. I checked to make sure that the glass frame of the photograph was not wet. It was dry. I could not believe what I was seeing. This was clearly a message from the gods saying: 'We are here, here's the proof.' I then went to the Sri Ram Mandir [Temple] in Southall. .. . . I placed a spoonful of milk underneath the trunk and within seconds the spoon was empty. . . . Others who had witnessed the miracle were filled with emotion. 'Our god has finally come to us,' one said."
While the media and scientists still struggle to find an explanation for these events, many Hindus believe they are a sign that a great teacher has been born. Journalist Rebecca Mae writes: "Most of the worshippers said they only went to the temple occasionally and were certainly not religious fanatics. But they were adamant that a new god had been born to save the world from evil." Krishna Anratar Dubey, a respected Indian astrologer, explained that according to Hindu mythology such miracles happen when a great Soul arrives in the world.
At the Southall temple in London where thousands had witnessed the miracles, the chairman Mr Bharbari offered his explanation. "All I know is that our Holy Book says that wherever evil prevails on earth then some great Soul will descend to remove the bondage of evil so that right shall reign. We believe this miracle, and those happening at other Hindu temples, may be a sign that a great Soul has descended, like Lord Krishna or Jesus Christ."
(Sources: THE GUARDIAN; THE INDEPENDENT; THE TIMES; THE TELEGRAPH; THE DAILY EXPRESS; THE DAILY MAIL; UK)
