'Honey forms on marble Supreme Mother's hand'
11 November 2009, 09:13
By Fakir Hassen and Yogas Nair
The faith of two Hindu families, one a Johannesburg priest hugely sceptical of so-called miracles, and another in Durban, has been reaffirmed after both their homes were blessed with divine signs in recent days.
Scores of Lenasia devotees have flocked to see honey form on one of the hands of a solid marble murthi, imported from India, at the home of Pundit Yogesh Ayrga of Lenasia. This 'phenomenon' started on the first night of Navaratri last month and has continued every day since.
The owners of the Mother Durga murthi, Pundit Ayrga and his wife Usha, have been wiping off the honey daily, only to find a new thick strip on the deity's hand the next morning. Mother Durga is regarded by Hindus as the Supreme Mother.
Pundit Ayrga, originally from Mauritius, said even though he had been sceptical about such materialisation in the past, he believed this was a sign from a divine power that he should continue his life's mission of uniting people.
"The murthi was lying in the warehouse of Ambe Enterprises in Amalgam, Johannesburg, an import company, for more than a year before it caught Usha's attention. She instinctively knew she wanted it for our small temple at the back of our home, in Lenasia, Ext one," said Ayrga.
Close family and friends agreed to sponsor the R10 000 for the deity, if the Ayrgas agreed to take care of it.
"Because it was Navaratri, we took the deity to the Vishnu Mandir in Lenasia, where we normally do our prayers, and toward the end of Navaratri, when students were praying for their exams, we noticed the honey materialise on the hand of Mata (Mother).
"We had to taste it because there was something coming out. It didn't have the normal taste of honey, though, and was distinctly different in colour.
"Quite honestly, I've always doubted things like this, and now it was happening to me.
"I called a few people to find out what was happening. We looked at it and I put a foil below the hand to see if it would flow down, but it solidified as it came out. It was not the flowing honey you normally get - it was solidifying the moment it came out."
Although the couple left the murthi at the Vishnu Mandir for a while longer, they eventually decided to take it home - because many people wanted to see it and the temple was not normally open all the time.
"What amazes me, is that I've seen other murthis where ash or other substances like milk materialise from stone, but this is solid marble of the same type the Taj Mahal is made of.
"There is no way there are any crevices where the honey can be put inside to come out. That baffles me."
Conceding that no other religious leaders had come to see the deity, although it was open to all, Ayrga said: "Some may think I've done this to get some credibility, but I've been a priest and Mother devotee from the time I can remember. I come from a hierarchy of 36 generations of pundits and for me the message is pure and simple - sweet honey means getting together a message of uniting ourselves. The divine is telling me I'm on the right path."
People are welcome to see the murthi, provided they call first, at 011 854 9890.
In Inanda, just outside Verulam, home executive Surekha Moodley, 39, said she had completed her Friday morning chores of cleaning her prayer shrine, bathing the various deities and dressing them, when she offered sweet rice, a sari and milk to a statue of Mariammen, a day before Diwali on October 16.
Said Moodley: "I am a staunch Mariammen devotee and have been praying to Her for many years. On that day, I poured some milk into a teaspoon and held it to Her lips. A few seconds later, to my surprise, the spoon was empty. This was a ritual I had performed weekly, but it was the first time the milk had disappeared."
She called her husband Perry, 42, a roofing contractor and their children Shalendran, 17, and Roseanne, 15, to witness the "miracle".
"We contacted our local priest, who also offered milk to statues of Lord Ganesha, Lord Hanumanji and Lord Shiva. Amazingly, the milk disappeared moments after the spoon was placed at the statues' mouths. We are baffled by this phenomenon. Since then, curious onlookers have been flocking to our home.
"Our prayer shrine is more than 15 years old and we feel blessed by this miracle. I have been a staunch Hindu devotee from the time I was very young. We have also gone through some very challenging times, but this has reaffirmed our faith in God and I will never lose hope again."
She said they had been fasting since October 15 and planned to have a prayer on November 28 to give thanks for the divine blessing. The priest, who did not want to be named said this was a sign for all Hindus that "God did exist".
"Surekha has a lot of devotion and love for the Mother. This manifestation is a miracle to all who witness it."
He added that for Ganesha Chathurti a few months ago, a Ganesha murthi at his prayer shrine in Tongaat also "drank milk" for nine days.
Seema Reddy, 32, an administrative clerk at the Durban Magistrate's Court and a third year law student who visited the Moodley home recently, said she was "blown away" by what she saw.
Said Reddy: "I held the spoon to the lips of most of the statues and the milk just disappeared. It was unbelievable. I am sceptical by nature and even moved the clothes on the murthis, but found nothing sinister. This was truly divine intervention."
She said her children Linneson, 15, and Jekita, eight, were also awestruck and they had since returned twice to offer milk to the murthis.
The faith of two Hindu families, one a Johannesburg priest hugely sceptical of so-called miracles, and another in Durban, has been reaffirmed after both their homes were blessed with divine signs in recent days.
Scores of Lenasia devotees have flocked to see honey form on one of the hands of a solid marble murthi, imported from India, at the home of Pundit Yogesh Ayrga of Lenasia. This 'phenomenon' started on the first night of Navaratri last month and has continued every day since.
The owners of the Mother Durga murthi, Pundit Ayrga and his wife Usha, have been wiping off the honey daily, only to find a new thick strip on the deity's hand the next morning. Mother Durga is regarded by Hindus as the Supreme Mother.
Pundit Ayrga, originally from Mauritius, said even though he had been sceptical about such materialisation in the past, he believed this was a sign from a divine power that he should continue his life's mission of uniting people.
"The murthi was lying in the warehouse of Ambe Enterprises in Amalgam, Johannesburg, an import company, for more than a year before it caught Usha's attention. She instinctively knew she wanted it for our small temple at the back of our home, in Lenasia, Ext one," said Ayrga.
Close family and friends agreed to sponsor the R10 000 for the deity, if the Ayrgas agreed to take care of it.
"Because it was Navaratri, we took the deity to the Vishnu Mandir in Lenasia, where we normally do our prayers, and toward the end of Navaratri, when students were praying for their exams, we noticed the honey materialise on the hand of Mata (Mother).
"We had to taste it because there was something coming out. It didn't have the normal taste of honey, though, and was distinctly different in colour.
"Quite honestly, I've always doubted things like this, and now it was happening to me.
"I called a few people to find out what was happening. We looked at it and I put a foil below the hand to see if it would flow down, but it solidified as it came out. It was not the flowing honey you normally get - it was solidifying the moment it came out."
Although the couple left the murthi at the Vishnu Mandir for a while longer, they eventually decided to take it home - because many people wanted to see it and the temple was not normally open all the time.
"What amazes me, is that I've seen other murthis where ash or other substances like milk materialise from stone, but this is solid marble of the same type the Taj Mahal is made of.
"There is no way there are any crevices where the honey can be put inside to come out. That baffles me."
Conceding that no other religious leaders had come to see the deity, although it was open to all, Ayrga said: "Some may think I've done this to get some credibility, but I've been a priest and Mother devotee from the time I can remember. I come from a hierarchy of 36 generations of pundits and for me the message is pure and simple - sweet honey means getting together a message of uniting ourselves. The divine is telling me I'm on the right path."
People are welcome to see the murthi, provided they call first, at 011 854 9890.
In Inanda, just outside Verulam, home executive Surekha Moodley, 39, said she had completed her Friday morning chores of cleaning her prayer shrine, bathing the various deities and dressing them, when she offered sweet rice, a sari and milk to a statue of Mariammen, a day before Diwali on October 16.
Said Moodley: "I am a staunch Mariammen devotee and have been praying to Her for many years. On that day, I poured some milk into a teaspoon and held it to Her lips. A few seconds later, to my surprise, the spoon was empty. This was a ritual I had performed weekly, but it was the first time the milk had disappeared."
She called her husband Perry, 42, a roofing contractor and their children Shalendran, 17, and Roseanne, 15, to witness the "miracle".
"We contacted our local priest, who also offered milk to statues of Lord Ganesha, Lord Hanumanji and Lord Shiva. Amazingly, the milk disappeared moments after the spoon was placed at the statues' mouths. We are baffled by this phenomenon. Since then, curious onlookers have been flocking to our home.
"Our prayer shrine is more than 15 years old and we feel blessed by this miracle. I have been a staunch Hindu devotee from the time I was very young. We have also gone through some very challenging times, but this has reaffirmed our faith in God and I will never lose hope again."
She said they had been fasting since October 15 and planned to have a prayer on November 28 to give thanks for the divine blessing. The priest, who did not want to be named said this was a sign for all Hindus that "God did exist".
"Surekha has a lot of devotion and love for the Mother. This manifestation is a miracle to all who witness it."
He added that for Ganesha Chathurti a few months ago, a Ganesha murthi at his prayer shrine in Tongaat also "drank milk" for nine days.
Seema Reddy, 32, an administrative clerk at the Durban Magistrate's Court and a third year law student who visited the Moodley home recently, said she was "blown away" by what she saw.
Said Reddy: "I held the spoon to the lips of most of the statues and the milk just disappeared. It was unbelievable. I am sceptical by nature and even moved the clothes on the murthis, but found nothing sinister. This was truly divine intervention."
She said her children Linneson, 15, and Jekita, eight, were also awestruck and they had since returned twice to offer milk to the murthis.
- This article was originally published on page 1 of The Post on November 11, 2009
Pretoria
