'Faith' to me, is a
hard nut to crack! The following two narratives from 'Aithihyamala'
will bear me out. Incidentally this collection of true stories by
Kottarathil Sankunni, exemplifies Kerala's gifts to humanity like
Ayurveda, Astrology, Magic, Martial Arts, Temple architecture etc.
In one story, a servant
asks his master, a Brahmin: ''Who does God look like?'' Pointing to a buffalo, the master quips: ''Like him. Worship as I do, and you
will see Him''. The servant does so. And God appears before him in
the form of a buffalo. The Brahmin refuses to believe, but when
convinced, realises how powerful true faith is.
The second narrative is
about Alathur Nambi, a descendant of one of the eight families,
Dhanwanthari the god of medicine blessed with knowledge of Ayurveda.
Nambi's prescription of snake oil offends a Brahmin suffering from a severe skin disease: ''How could you ask a chaste Brahmin to drink
snake oil?'' Disgusted, he walks away to a nearby temple, and falls
asleep. That night, he dreams of a remedy in 'Sandhya vandanam',
the ritual of chanting mantras and sipping water at dawn, noon, and
dusk. He starts performing it in the river behind the temple.
Within days, he is cured. When told about this miracle, Nambi
accompanies the Brahmin to the temple. There, he spots the carcass
of a python entangled on a fallen tree, and fat from it dripping into
the river. By sipping this water, the Brahmin was unknowingly consuming the medicine that Nambi had prescribed!
'Faith is taking the
first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.'
- Martin
Luther King Jr.
Have faith in the Lord
but use sulphur for the itch.
- Anonymous
