The Missing Link

Shankar stopped the car near Ernakulam. He took out the tourist guide to check whether he was going in the right direction towards the temple town of Chottanikkara.
‘The temple is situated 10 miles to the south of Ernakulam,’ the pamphlet indicated. ‘The nearest railhead is at Trippunithura on the Ernakulam- Kottayam section of Southern Railway.’
So, he was following the correct route to the place, he knew, but he was not sure whether he was in the right track in his search for witnessing miracles. Once at Chottanikkara, he might as well be disappointed in achieving his objective.
As a social scientist, he had all along disputed the very capacity of any individual to show miracles, leave alone the power of a stone idol to cause the occurrence of such phenomena. He wanted to see them, examine them critically and then base his conclusions. Experience had proved to him that people overstated everything just for the heck of it and any ordinary event was clothed in the veneer of exaggeration. If any cynic like him became too inquisitive, they would be brushed aside as ignorant fools.
Still he persisted in his line of thinking that no one could bring about miracles. Faith healing was nothing but a hoax to hoodwink the poor and the illiterate for the survival of the temple priests.
It was his quest for truth that brought him face to face with Vishwanath, the professor, and Krishnaswamy, a District Officer. He met them in the local Officers’ Club where he had gone to lecture on the ‘Inexplicable’. In the course of his speech he quoted instances where people believed more through hearsay than by actually witnessing the occurrences.
Shankar did not have an easy time during the question hour . Many of the listeners grilled him seeking more clarifications. Some questioned his competence to talk on such a subject. The most vehement of them was Vishwanath, a learned theologist.
“I do not agree with your observations,” he commented. “for in the field of religious faiths there are many things which are least understood by man.”
“Such as what?” Shankar was sarcastic in his query.“May be that I have only a limited idea on such subjects, but as a scientist I would like to know this much- how can faith alone cause miracles? Is it not a fraud being perpetrated on gullible human beings?”
“There is nothing fraudulent about it,” Viswanath reiterated. “Unfortunately, we have been trained to think only in terms of materialistic ethics. We therefore forget the fact that old religious practices retreated to the background when people turned to scientific methods to get their afflictions cured. Even then, in times of great insecurity, the very same people seek the shelter of religions, such as in faith healing and in miracles.
“My reasoning is simple”, Vishwanath continued, observing the cynical look of Shankar. “There are unusual psychic powers such as telepathy and psycho-kinesis which cannot be just explained. The
2-
truth of these so much overwhelm you that you term them as fraud. Yet there are no scientific explanations to these occurrences.”
“I have ample proof in support of this,” Krishnaswamy intervened to say. “I have seen many people affected by what they call demoniac forces, getting their relief at Chottanikkara temple. You have to see for yourself to believe it- how they hammer nails into a tree with their bare heads in the process of getting rid of such spirits.”
“It is quite possible that the serene atmosphere of the temple and the pervading spirituality there creates an environment for concentrating one’s diffused feelings,” Vishwanath explained. “More- over, the psychological belief that ‘Mother would cure them’ brings about ultimate relief to these persons. Whatever be the case, I for one would say that we need not go on searching for explanations. There is the result and that is what everybody wants.”
“It is difficult to believe that most of the disorders are cured in such barbaric fashion, ”Shankar commented. ”This goes much beyond the comprehension of any educated man.”
“Do you think that such cases cannot be cured by present day knowledge in psychiatry?,” Shankar continued. “After all, you yourself agree that these disturbances are the outcome of an unbalanced mind.”
“I can authoritatively say that whatever be the advancement in the medical research, there are instances where medical knowledge failed and faith in ‘Mother ‘ helped,” Krishnaswamy emphasised.
“Have you experienced it?”, Shankar asked. “Or is this also a story passed on among relatives and friends?”
“It is from my personal experience”, Krishnaswamy replied. He ignored the biting sarcasm in the query.”By the way do you know what ‘amnesia’ is?”
“Yes, is it not something connected with the damage of brain- loss of memory or something like that?”
“Yes. It happened to my sister-in-law about three years ago”, Krishnaswamy said. “A car accident caused it. We took her to almost all the leading specialists in the country, but to no avail. Her memory had failed to such an extent that she could not even recognise her husband and her own children.”
“Oh! What a pity!”, Shankar gave vent to his feelings.
“You can imagine the mental turmoil of the family members,” Krishnaswamy continued. “They spent a lot of money going to specialists, moving from one hospital to another. But it was only disappointment that awaited them everywhere.”
“We were all puzzled. We did not know what to do next. There seemed to be nothing to look forward and the future appeared dark.”
3-
“One day , one of my subordinates suggested to me to take the patient to Chottanikkara for ‘Upasana’ . I had faith in the grace of the Divine Mother, but not so her people, i.e. my sister’s-in-laws. They did not want to waste time in such foolish pursuits, they said.”
“’But you do not have anything to do at present,’ I told them. ‘You are not going to lose anything by giving it a trial.’
“ Unwillingly they agreed and without much hope, they took her to the temple.”
Krishnaswamy heaved a sigh of relief.
“Did she recover?” Shankar asked. “Or did it turn out to be a futile experiment?”
“The prayer had its effect on the patient. To-day, they are a happy lot,” Krishnaswamy said.
For some time none spoke.
“You are still not convinced?” Vishwanath suddenly asked breaking the silence. “Even now-a-days, miracles occur at Chottanikkara Kali temple. Why can’t you go and see for yourself and draw your conclusions?”
The discussions had its effect on Shankar. The very next day saw him driving towards Chottanikkara in pursuit of the truth about miracles.
The ‘Gopuram’ presented an imposing sight with its gabled roof towering into the clear blue sky. Once inside, it looked like any other Kerala temple. The courtyard with a paved path for circumambulation, the cloister and the ‘Srikoil’ where the presiding deity of Chottanikkara was installed- all proclaimed the master craftsmanship of the temple architects of an era bygone. There were smaller temples dedicated to Sastha, Ganesh and Siva within its precincts. Then there was the temple tank facing the Srikoil.
Shankar headed straight to the Kali temple where, according to his friends, miracles occurred almost daily.
The Kali temple was located adjoining the tank. It had its own courtyard enclosed in a masonry wall and a paved path for circumambulation. A tree virtually covered with nails of various sizes stood in a corner. It was the spiked tree, Shankar remembered, where the devils were pinned down so as not to disturb the mental peace of the devotees.
Suddenly, he heard a shriek, a hideous scream arising as if from fear through intolerable pain. He turned back only to see that it was the agonised scream of a woman standing behind him. Again, the woman opened her mouth to yell, but the sound did not emanate. It collapsed as an awful gurgle as if strangled half-way.
People crowded around her to watch what she was upto.

4-
The woman started dancing, lifting her arms towards the sky and swaying her head sideways. It was a dance without rhythm, without any accompaniment. She then leapt and circled the Kali shrine in wild abandon, all along mumbling brief, unintelligible sounds.
The blabberings of the woman took the form of a conversation. It became more intelligible. Surprisingly, the words emanating from the same mouth had different intonations. Probably a case of split personality, Shankar presumed.
“Yes, I am going, Mother,” he heard her saying. “I wo’nt trouble her any more”
Then, even before he had time to realise what she intended to do, he saw the woman hammering a nail into the tree. First she drove it with her fist and then with her forehead. After it had gone sufficiently deep, she fell back.
Those standing around her laid her slowly to the ground. Some one sprinkled holy water on her.
Shankar noticed that there was not even a drop of blood on her forehead with which she had driven in that nail. There was something inexplicable in the action and so in the result, he thought. What had happened there was beyond his reasoning capacity. It could be called even mystical.
“She was a patient of hysteria,” one of those present told him.”For the last 11 days, she was here on an ‘Upasana’. Today is the last day and I am sure that she will be her normal self by the time she takes the ‘Prasad’.”
“Is there any specific ritual to be followed?” Shankar asked with growing interest.
“Yes, such patients have to stay within the temple premises during the entire period of the puja. All through the day, they have to be in prayer.”
A sort of concentration, Shankar thought. But what about the feat- the lack of blood or injury after driving in a couple of inches of a metallic peace?
“Faith in the Mother,” the onlooker said as if reading his thoughts. “An ardent, unshaken belief in the supremacy of the Mother- that is what helps them.”
Shankar wanted to see what happened to that afflicted woman. He wanted to make himself sure that the particular claim of faith healing proved a genuine one.
He proceeded to the main temple.
Inside the cloister, a small crowd was watching the antics of a young lady. She was well dressed and could be around 20, Shankar observed. From her appearance, she seemed to come from a well-to-do family.
“What is happening? “ Shankar asked one of the onlookers. “Why is she behaving like a circus artiste twisting her limbs and body as if she has no bones in her?”

5-
“Don’t you know about her?”, a devotee standing near him asked. “She is Leela, the only daughter of that rich chap, Damodar Shenoy. She has been afflicted since childhood by epilepsy and there is no treatment left either in allopathy or ayurveda which they have not tried. Now they have turned to seek the blessings of the Mother and today is the culmination of her month-long ‘vratha.’”
Shankar watched the girl writhing in agony.
In the beginning her actions were slow and erratic without following any specific pattern. For some time she kept rolling her eyes as if she was watching invisible forces. Gradually the movements became faster and her eyes remained closed. She looked more like a puppet moving her body hither and thither in all directions, in all sorts of manner.
A couple of young men tried to hold her down but they were thrown away as if they were young kids playing with a rogue elephant. The attempt only aggravated the fierceness in her movements.
Shankar was amazed to see such a show of unmatched strength. On her own, such a delicate, slim woman could not have pushed away even a single man. But then, who gave her the strength? Granted that mad people had immense strength in the face of an apprehended attack, how could such a bad case become normal by a month-long prayer in that temple? He reserved his judgement.
All of a sudden, he heard a thud. He saw Leela lying flat on the ground and slowly moving her limbs at random.
A priest came and sprinkled holy turmeric powder on her face. The movements quietened down and she lay motionless for some time.
Gradually she opened her eyes, as if she was waking up from a deep slumber. She got up, folded her hands and started mumbling her prayers to Divine Mother as if nothing had happened. She looked as fresh as anyone else in that crowd.
Shankar tried to collect his thoughts. He felt that he had lost sight of something important in his analysis. What could be that missing link?
A woman with two kids brushed past him. Even before he could mumble his protests, he noticed some familiarity in the face. Where and when had he seen her?
Yes, he could locate the place. She was the same woman who, an hour ago was dancing in frenzy in front of the Kali temple! She was moving towards the Srikoil. Shankar followed her.
She stood with folded hands in front of the Sanctum Sanctorum. She closed her eyes chanting the prayers to the Mother, seeking Her blessings. She appeared normal.
There was something unique about the place, Shankar thought. Strange phenomena were occurring there right in front of him. Without even spilling a drop of blood, a woman could drive a nail into an almost dry tree with her forehead! The same woman was standing there in front of him as if she was

6-
questioning his very right to exist! And then there was that epileptic woman ,who after having exhibited the strength of a rogue elephant waking up from her slumber as fresh as a lily!
What had happened to him? Where did his calculations go wrong?
The place was unique, he agreed- unique in such occurrences. But what gave it that distinction? Certainly not the wood and masonry work which went into its construction. Could it be the presence of that stone idol which bestowed an exceptional supremacy to that place?
Shankar looked into the Srikoil seeking an explanation.
Something stirred within him. It was an unusual voice, a voice which he had heard very rarely, a voice which asserted its supremacy as it rose within him.
“Could you not learn anything by witnessing these incidents, you silly man?”- it questioned. “If not, listen. It is nothing but Faith, faith in themselves, faith in the Divine Mother. It is this motivating force that made them seek their refuge here.”
The words rang within him, shaking up his very mental processes. He felt that there was something candid about the statement. The history of mankind testified to it. The lives of the great authenticated it. All the difference between man and man emanated from it- from the existence and nonexistence of that faith.
Suddenly, he realised that inside the Srikoil what he saw was not just a stone idol. Instead ,he saw before him the Divine Mother, the all pervading mass of spirituality that vitalised the Universe through Her Cosmic Energy. He saw there the nerve centre of creation, the primal force of life underlying all existence. The mighty Mother revealed before him as the energy in the sun, as the life force pulsating in every living being, as the authority controlling every activity in the macrocosm.
Shankar stood there dazed and his hands remained folded in silent prayer.
Realisation dawned on him that he was part of that energy comprising many powers, containing many forces. He never knew that such a tremendous power existed within him.
The recognition came as a bomb shell exploding on his ignorance, shattering into pieces the ego-centred edifice he had built within him since ages. And then out of the shambles rose a new ego, manifesting the ‘Divine within’, unfolding the truth of the ‘Hidden Self’
He was getting a new direction in life, a new orientation to his philosophy. He knew why Vishwanath asked him to visit the place, why many people gathered there to have a ‘darsan’ of the Divine Mother. For, he had found the ‘missing link’ in the chain of his analytical thoughts- the Faith in the Supreme Power.
(Bhavan’s Journal- November, 1977)