Power to revive the dead:
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Power to revive the dead: |
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Hundreds of people had assembled at the Desai’s house to witness RAyaru’s pooja. As part of the food served to the guests, seekaraNe (a thick form of mango juice) was being prepared in a huge vessel. Unfortunately, when nobody was watching him, the Desai’s son fell into this vessel and drowned. When the Desai and his wife came to know about it, they were totally devastated. However, they wanted to hide the news because they did not want Rayaru and the assembled guests to starve. Being an aparOxa gyani, RAyaru sensed the tragedy and asked the grief stricken couple to bring the dead boy before him. When this was done, he sprinkled water from his kamanDala and revived the boy. The joy of the ecstatic parents knew no bounds.
There are some very important points to note in this episode. Our shAstras talk about the concept of "Ayushya", defined as the total amount of time that a being is allowed to live on earth, in a particular body. Any death that happens before this time is untimely and is called "apamRutyu". Our shAstras say that once "Ayushya" is over death cannot be prevented, since that is Divine Will. However, "apamRutyu" is a different aspect altogether. Life-histories of our saints and other great souls are replete with instances where they warded off untimely death in deserving cases. In this case, since the child had suffered apamRutyu, RAyaru used his divine powers to revive it.
RAyaru performed many such miracles in his life. He revived a disciple who died on the evening of his marriage because of an accident.
From Gadag, RAyaru proceeded towards Hubli. Since it was a hot summer day, he decided to rest in the shade of a tree at Krishnapuram (near Hubli). While resting, he saw the Nawab (Muslim king) of SavaNur area walking towards him, with a sad demeanor. The Nawab had heard of his powers and had come to him as a last resort. He stated that his young son had died from a poisonous snakebite and been buried in a tomb close by. After hearing this, RAyaru contemplated silently for a few moments and then asked the king to take the body out of the tomb. When the puzzled Nawab did as he was asked, RAyaru sprinkled holy water from his kamanDala and prayed to his ArAdhya mUrthy (favorite form of the Lord). Lo behold, the young boy woke up as though he was getting up from sleep. The Nawab was beside himself with joy. He prostrated before RAyaru with deep devotion and offered several villages to the maTha.