God demands, “Just that; and no other”?

God demands, “Just that; and no other”?

At some time or the other we all must have heard or lucky few may even have experienced the incredible power of prayer in healing and redeeming. A vow (a sort of promise) (Vazhipaadukal) is kept with a request for help when faced with a problem that seems to have no solution and later followed up with Thanksgiving (returning of thanks for benefits received). It helps us to appreciate that one shouldn't be too quick to think God doesn't have an answer. It helps to remind that God not only is abundantly able to meet our needs, but willing to work in exceptional ways to do so when necessary. Prayer therefore, means recourse to God. So much of Scripture, it seems, is written to lift us to this higher conviction about God's role in our lives. Even the Christians quote their holy Bible: ‘Ask and it shall be given to you. Seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you’ etc. etc. It's a pervasive theme of Scripture that the God, who created the rules of nature, can bend them when needed to accomplish his purposes. Time and again we see Him performing miracles in people's lives. Reflecting on these examples can help move us beyond the limits we tend to place upon how God might choose to work in our own life. It helps us, too, not to think too narrowly about what constitutes a miracle. It's easy enough to regard some events as miracles. When someone's cancerous tumour disappears overnight without explanation, even an agnostic physician will concede that a miracle has taken place.
Miracles come in many forms. But when ………………Hear this:

“Anybody who has offered the Tulaabhaaram prayer to Guruvaayoorappan will know what an effective prayer it is! There are many miraculous events associated
with that. Let me convey one instance which is known personally to me......
A widowed mother who was advised by her family priest to offer Tulaabhaaram to protect her ailing child prayed accordingly. The family was in dire straits and so she offered coconut husk as the material to be offered in Tulaabhaaram to save the child thinking God will not make a difference between costly materials or coconut husk! Her sincere devotion saved the child from danger. The mother died soon after, but the child remembered the promise about the offering. Being an orphan who was at the mercy of other relatives, he could not however perform the offering as a child....Soon after his basic education, he ran away and joined the armed forces, and gradually rose to the post of a Major in the Indian Army winning many laurels and medals for his gallantry. Due to professional commitments or Divine Design, though he remembered Guruvayoorappan, he could not actually make the offering during his service years. In his 60th year, he
wanted to offer the Tulaabhaaram. But being a man of higher status now, he did not want to offer mere coconut husk....So, he instead wanted to donate Ghee......When he sat in the Tulaabhaaram, much to the surprise of everybody around, the scales were not balanced even after more than 100 kg of ghee tins were placed! Then the authorities asked him whether this was the vow that had been made.....He sheepishly replied "no! My mother had actually made a vow to offer coconut husk equal to my weight when I was 9 years old because we were able to afford only that. But, before she could complete the offering, she died and it took so many years for me to come here and offer the prayer. So, I thought I will offer something that befits my current status!” The authorities advised him to prefer the offering of coconut husk only as that was the thing that was promised to Guruvayoorappan.
When they started placing the coconut husk on the opposite scale, another miracle happened. Only coconut husk weighing about 20 kg. were required to balance the well-built man who must have weighed at least 75 kg! Maybe, this man would have weighed only 20 kg. at the age of 9 years when the prayer was made on his behalf.... Probably, Guruvayoorappan wanted to show that it is devotion that matters to Him. This is not a mere hearsay story...... I can say this with confidence because, it was I who was the young child who was saved from death bed and the man who wanted to offer ghee instead of coconut husk was MYSELF!................

Charana sparsham.

Best regards,
M……………”

Post Script:

Before you charge at me with hammer and tongs and come down like a ton of bricks let me clarify that this real life incident is posted after I got the permission to do so from ‘M….’ a very elderly member of yet another Yahoo-group. (On my request he had agreed thus…., “Regarding the permission to post this in another forum, I wholeheartedly allow you to do that. Glory be to Shri Guruvaayoorappan. My blessings, etc. etc.”)

So when I read this amazing ‘posting’ of that member it left me bewildered no end and thought I could share with the members of this forum as well. Thanks for your time.

Rgds
V V R
02 May 06