Raymond
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Drinking StatuesThe Hindu milk miracle was a phenomenon reported to have occurred on September 21, 1995.
Before dawn, a Hindu worshipper at a temple in south New Delhi made an offering of milk to a statue of Lord Ganesha. When a spoonful of milk from the bowl was held up to the trunk of the statue, the liquid was seen to disappear, apparently taken in by the idol.
Word of the event spread quickly, and by mid-morning it was found that statues of the entire Hindu pantheon in temples all over North India were taking in milk, with the family of Shiva (Parvati, Ganesha, and Kartikeya) apparently the "thirstiest".
By noon the news had spread beyond India, and Hindu temples in Britain, Canada, USA, Dubai, and Nepal among other countries had successfully replicated the phenomenon, and the World Hindu Council had announced that a miracle was occurring.
The apparent miracle had a significant effect on the areas around major temples; vehicle and pedestrian traffic in New Delhi was dense enough to create a gridlock lasting until late in the evening.
Many stores in areas with significant Hindu communities saw a massive jump in sales of milk, with one supermarket in Britain selling over 25,000 pints of milk, and overall milk sales in New Delhi jumped over 30%. Many minor temples struggled to deal with the vast increase in numbers, and queues spilled out into the streets.
To those who believed in the miracle, further proof was offered when the phenomenon seemed to cease before the end of the day, with many statues refusing to take more milk even before noon.
A small number of temples outside of India reported the effect continuing for several more days, but no further reports were made after the beginning of October.
The story was picked up, mostly as a novelty piece, by news services around the world, including CNN, the BBC, the New York Times and the Guardian.
The 'miracle' occurred again on 20-21 August 2006 in almost exactly the same fashion, although initial reports seem to indicate that it occurred only with statues of Ganesh, Shiva, and Durga.
The first reported occurrance was on the evening of the 20th in the city of Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, from where it spread throughout India like wildfire.
Television, radio and newspapers eagerly covered this unique phenomenon, and even skeptical 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.
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.
At the Geeta Bhavan Temple in Manchester, UK 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."
In Southall, London at the 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.
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."
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