Narayan Ravi - Mumbai

Pavanapuresha-Series

Pavanapuresha series part 10: The divine play of the Lord.

One unique feature of the Arattu puja(bathing of the Lord on the last day of the annual temple festival) is bathing the Lord with tender coconut milk. Once a brahmin boy appeared at the gates of the house of a family belonging to the depressed castes. He said that 'he' was extremely thirsty & asked for 2 tender coconuts to be sent to the temple tank where the Lord was being bathed. A man from the house who was an ardent devotee of the Lord soon arrived at the eastern gate of the temple with the coconuts which were offered to the deity. The man was overwhelmed by the Lord's love. Since then it has been the privilege of this family to offer tender coconuts for the last day of the festival.

Once a devotee wanted to arrange a feast for the Lord with a 100 measures of rice. On the day of the offering, one of the 2 assistant priests who were to prepare the offering was on leave. The temple trustee prayed to the Lord to help him out. In the morning he saw that the assistant priest had returned! By 10 am the feast was ready & the priest went for a bath. But he did not return. When he did not turn up the next day the trustee sent his men to look for him. He was found resting on his bed since he was ill. The trustee realised that it was the Lord Himself who had come in the form of the priest to help him out of the difficulty.

Mysterious are the ways in which the Lord reveals His love for His devotees. No sincere, heartfelt call to Him ever goes unanswered. May the ever-merciful Janardana bless one & all!

Hare Krishna