Miracle Man

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There were black clouds everywhere. Dust and rock particles flew around at furious speed. Anything and everything caught in the swirl will be blown apart, and swallowed by the eternal darkness. Siva was petrified and could not think of anything to do, except gape at the spectacle before him. He too would soon become part of this terrifying darkness. Just as he was about to be sucked into the chaos, he saw a faint glimmer struggling to pierce through the darkness, moving at great speed towards him. The light grew larger and brighter as it approached him and before it could hit him, burst into a million stars, falling apart in a tremendous shower of light and sparkle. Before the awesome spectacle could leave him, the Lord himself appeared. Siva knew this figure since he was a child. It was Lord Siva, doing his cosmic dance. A million drums thundered while the Lord danced away, his shaggy locks unbound and flying. The sparkling stars seemed to be drawn to the locks and the figure itself, making the spectacle more awesome and splendid.

Siva had witnessed such dreams since his childhood. The Lord would always appear thus in his dream and Siva would just dissolve, his entire being would be torn to shreds by the beats of the drums and the vibrations of the Lord’s feet. Siva would melt into the cosmic rhythm and lose his conscious being. Then he would suddenly find the Lord’s serpent breathing down at him. When he woke up from the dream, he would feel numb and pulsating all over.

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Chidambaram is like any other temple town in Tamilnadu. The temple of Lord Siva is much older than the city itself, with all kinds of tenements clustering around it in the most haphazard manner. Yet, the city has its symmetry and the unmistakable rhythm of the divine. Chidambaram holds its own importance amongst the many Shaivite shrines in the country. If you believe in the five universal elements of wind, water, fire, earth, and space, you would know that Chidambaram is one of the Panchaboota Stalams, and in particular, the one signifying space.

It is also believed that Chidambaram is one of the five dancing halls of Lord Siva, one where the Lord is enshrined in the Chitta Sabha or the Hall of Consciousness, in his eternal Ananda Tandavam, the cosmic dance of bliss posture. Even if you haven’t been to this place, you would have definitely seen the image of the Dancing Nataraja captured in bronze across homes around the world.

In this holy city of Chidambaram, the Lord is believed to have revealed a vision of his cosmic dance, symbolizing the Chidambara Rahasyam or the secret of nothingness to the Gods.

In a country where it is commonly believed that All that is good and All that is beautiful is God (Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram), Lord Siva is the God of contradictions. On the one hand, he is the perfect ascetic, and on the other, the eternal lover. His inseparable spouse, Parvati, is believed to be Shakti, and there can be no Siva without Shakti. What makes him so interesting and intriguing are the qualities he is said to possess. He can at once be loving and devastating. He can create and destroy in the same breath. He wears the robes of an ascetic and likes Bhang (cannabis). Devotees believe this to be the perfect example of a man being good and evil, with both extremes being harmoniously balanced.

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Siva, or Sivasubramaniam, if you want to know his full name, was born in Chidambaram some thirty years ago to parents who were part of the temple staff. It is said that Siva’s mother gave birth to him right in the temple compounds while she was cleaning the utensils. His father is said to have breathed his last, blowing into the Nadaswaram at the temple. Siva the infant was nurtured by hundreds of temple staff. He virtually grew up in the temple and became the favourite of all including the Lord. Only Siva could access the labyrinthine depths of the temple as he now knew it like the back of his hand. The priests taught him hymns and songs praising the Lord. So much so that by the time Siva was seven, he could recite everything in his sweet charming voice.

Siva did not care to go to school unlike many other friends and did not mind when they called him illiterate. For him, the temple was his Universe and knowing his Lord was knowledge. He hardly bothered about jobs or careers. He had plenty to do here in the temple and he was never left starving.

The Chitta Sabha or the Hall of Consciousness held his fascination. Sitting here, he would spend hours listening to the silence of the hall. At times, he would hear music and see the Lord Himself dancing away in cosmic glory. A sight that carried into his dreams and one which he would never share with anyone or talk about. He knew people would laugh it away as a product of his fertile imagination. Often, he would sit with groups of learned persons and listen to their discussions. He could barely understand what they said and discussed but would nevertheless listen to every spoken word about his Lord.

The dreams began when Siva was barely into his teens. They still continued at the age of thirty. Siva’s mother passed away when he was twenty, after a prolonged illness. Siva would spend hours praying to his Lord to cure his mother, but to his dismay, his prayers were not answered. Yet, he did not give up faith. He had heard the wise men at the temple talk about death, birth and rebirth. Nothing ever dies. But it is God’s decree that everything must decay, to give way to new life. Imagine the earth without death or decay. Trees and leaves wither, bur new trees always spring forth. Fruits and vegetables are eaten away only to keep growing afresh. Life is thus everlasting and death is only a milestone to be crossed as and when the Lord deems fit. Young Siva explained his mother’s death thus, but his only regret was that he would perhaps not recognize his beloved mother in her new life. That, he firmly believed, was how the Lord wanted things to be on earth.

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Siva should have died at a very tender age. A very venomous snake had bitten him, almost taking him close to where his mother had gone. It happened well before she had taken fatally ill and died. Sivagami had prayed for her son’s life even as she watched the venom spread rapidly into his system. Desperately, Sivagami asked the Lord himself to appear and save her son, and if required, take her away in exchange. As if in reply to her prayers, the Healer of Chidambaram appeared to rescue Siva.

Natarajan was famously known as the Healer of Chidambaram. That he possessed miraculous curative powers was known to all in the town and beyond. People thronged to him for cures from as frivolous as a calf’s indigestion to as grave as cancer. The healer prepared his potions from the herbs he would collect from woods afar, medicines that defied science and medicinal logic. Legend has it that the fame of the Healer had transcended beyond the holy city to places across the globe. A team of scientists from America, Russia, Germany, and Japan once visited Chidambaram to meet and know the Healer. They had heard a story, amongst others, about how he had cured a native of cancer.

It so happened that the native was in the last stage of cancer. He had gone to Madras to the Cancer Institute where he was declared terminal and sent home. As a last resort, his family sought the Healer’s help. The healer, it is said, asked them to locate an anthill, housing red ants. They did it with some difficulty. The healer is said to have gone to the anthill and put his hands into the sand full of ants. He picked up a fistful of sand and mud and asked the patient to eat it in three equal portions over three days. Those who were witness to this say that everyone around was struck with disbelief at this strange treatment. Nevertheless, the family, which had anyway given up hopes, administered the sand as instructed. On the fourth day, the healer asked the patient to be taken to the Madras cancer institute to be checked up one last time by the doctors.

The doctors could not believe what they read in the reports after the tests. There were no traces of cancer. To confirm the tests, the patient was taken at the expense of the institute to Delhi where the tests again came up negative. They then took him to Bombay with the same results. The Madras doctors then rushed to Chidambaram and to the anthill. The mud sample was tested and bore no clue to any curative ingredients. The case was carefully recorded and filed as unexplained recovery.

The healer himself believed that the medicines he gave were natural and nothing special. The team of overseas experts concurred with him, but they did believe, though without any substantive evidence, that there could be something more to it than can be explained. There was something that the healer did to patients which caused cures that could only be termed as “miracle”. The team went back to chronicle the cures of the healer and classify him as a “psychic healer”. The healer was unconcerned about the team and its findings. Nor did he care to tell them about the rudraksha strings that he wore during the treatments. 

Coming back to Siva, the healer’s intervention in Siva’s case was something of an unexplained mystery, just as his other cures were. Nobody had called for him. Sivagami was in a silent prayer to the Lord even as she was steeling herself for the imminent death of her son. It was late in the night and the weather inclement. The healer’s knock on Siva’s door startled Sivagami, and even more his appearance at this hour of the night. The healer, fully drenched, walked into the house, cast aside the big black umbrella which apparently failed to save him from getting wet, and before the lady could utter a word, proceeded to where Siva lay. He looked carefully at the boy on the bed and knew that the venom had begun its final journey to Siva’s heart. He snapped open his medicine bag and took out a brown powder which he mixed with water into a paste. He then applied the paste over the wound where the snake had bitten the boy. He then forced open Siva’s mouth and forced another pack of powder into his throat, ensuring that the powder found its way into Siva’s system. The task accomplished, the healer sat at Siva’s feet, eyes shut and mind in meditation. The rudraksha necklace hung around his neck, swaying with his breath.

After hours, Siva broke a sweat. The sweat ran like rivulets all over his body. Sivagami hastened to dry him with a towel but the healer stopped her. In silence, they watched as the boy appeared to be throwing out water through every single pore in his body. At the crack of dawn, Siva broke into consciousness with a loud groan. The healer opened his eyes and felt Siva’s pulse. Siva looked at the healer, eyes wide open, with a look of utter amazement. Without notice, Siva jumped up from the bed and fell at the healer’s feet, weeping and wailing aloud “You have come. You have come. Siva Siva. Siva.” Sivagami, already confounded by the turn of events led by the unheralded entry of the healer, was now overwhelmed with relief. She could barely understand what was happening but was overjoyed at seeing Siva alive and kicking!

Siva, exhausting his reservoir of tears, now loosened his clasp over the healer’s feet. The healer smiled knowingly, ruffled Siva’s tousled hair and told him to return to bed. They were looking at each other with eyes that seemed to be making a silent conversation. That day onwards, Siva would meet Natarajan every single day.

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Siva’s relationship with the healer grew in leaps and bounds. The healer rarely visited the temple, and when he did, it was with Siva. They would sit in silence in the Chitta Sabha. Siva would then speak to the healer about his Lord, his dreams. Natarajan would speak of the Lord’s glory and mercy.

On one such occasion, the healer proposed to Siva that he should join him for a visit to Mount Meru. Siva had heard about Meru and had thought of it as a mythical location. Natarajan explained to him that the mountain was indeed real and was located in a far off land called Tibet. Siva was confounded. Why should his Lord make his abode outside his country was difficult for him to understand. Natarajan told him that Gods have no boundaries or countries like men do. They are indeed universal. Human beings divide themselves into villages, towns, states and countries for their own convenience. Being separated by water and mountains, they develop their own tongue and culture. And they develop their own Gods. Meru is known as Kailas in Northern India and the Jain worshippers know it as Ashtapada. The natives of Tibet, before they became Buddhists, were called Bons. They know Meru as Tise, and the Buddhists call it Kang Rinpoche. All these different people of different religions believe that their main Gods have their abode at Meru. Meru is therefore visited by all these religions and considered as a very sacred place. Scientific studies suggest that Meru is perhaps the centre of the earth and therefore possesses strange powers.

Located in the vicinity of the mountain, explained Natarajan, is the beautiful and sacred lake of Manasarovar. Lord Brahma is believed to have created the lake from his mind (manas). It is an age-old belief that a visit to Kailas and a dip in the lake would wash away karma of several lifetimes. Climbing the mountain is forbidden; and therefore, pilgrims perform a parikrama or circumambulation of the mountain, an arduous task.

Not all can go there, the region now being under Chinese control. But for the selected few, the pilgrimage is rewarding. Natarajan explained to Siva the objective of pilgrimage. In his wisdom, the Creator created a whole diversity of living beings, all programmed to evolve into the best of their species. Man is no exception. Every being is endowed with intelligence and intellect, helping it to survive, adapt and innovate. The objective of life is to embark upon the quest of the ultimate state of being. Man, in his present state of being, is more tuned to the gross world dictated by everything material. The material does not only mean the possession of goods and wealth. In its broadest sense, material means the urge or attraction to posses everything gross. Even knowledge gained in schools and books is gross. In this state of being, the objective of life appears to be survival, social acceptability and prosperity. This causes strong tendencies to rely more upon sensory perceptions and other skills that belong to the lower regions of the intellect. The urge to look beyond the material (gross) lies at the heart of every human being, waiting and biding its time to be released. Gods, temples and religion are all aimed to strengthen the desire of man to reach out of the state of illusion (Maya) for the state of ultimate being.

A pilgrimage, said Natarajan to Siva, acts as a catalyst for the transformation of the gross into subtle. The transformation is actually within us, in the state of our consciousness. The more arduous the journey, the greater the transformation. Most holy places of pilgrimage are located in difficult places, atop hills and mountains, amidst woods and forests, making it most difficult for the seeker to reach. As the pilgrim overcomes the challenges that confront him in his quest for God, he feels the transformation within him and his consciousness transcends the material, drawing upon the vast inner reserves, to reach higher and subtler levels, till it reaches the point of One Being, of which all of us are part of.

Siva was fascinated with these insights and wondered what that state of One Being would be like. Natarajan explained to him that it is a state that defies every description, just like the dreams and visions Siva experienced. Can you quantify happiness? Can you explain satisfaction fully? Such is the experience one undergoes when he is one with Creation.

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The two of them journeyed to Madras where they were joined by two more elderly and wise men. They were surprised to see young Siva. From Madras, the four pilgrims reached the capital city of Delhi, where another group of four, including two women, joined them. Together, they headed further up north of India reaching the Kumaon hills and finally crossing into Tibet. Siva could not conceal his joy at the awesome sight of the snow-clad Himalayas. He had already started losing consciousness of the world he had left behind him.

It took them several days to reach Mount Meru. The first sight of the mountain took the breath away from Siva. Standing tall at over 22,000 feet, centred between two smaller mountains, the black body of the mountain draped in a white sheet of snow, Mount Meru defied Siva’s wildest imaginations. It was summer elsewhere, but freezing here. The chill cut into the frail bones of his body and sent constant shivers. He could hardly distinguish whether the shivers were due to cold or due to the spellbinding spectacle before him. He could not understand his laboured breathing, caused by the lack of oxygen at these heights.

There were monasteries where pilgrims from Tibet and elsewhere crowded in reverence. The circumambulation of the mountain was daunting, needing over 32 kilometres to be covered. Strangely, the Tibetans did the parikrama counter-clockwise, such was their belief. The sun shone brightly in the day but did nothing to kill the chill in the air.

The healer was having problems, it was apparent. He hardly spoke now. Already, three of their team had dropped out citing health problems. But before they left, they engaged locals to complete the parikrama on their behalf. It is believed that the benefits of parikrama could be split half and half by proxy circumambulation. 

Kailas gives birth to four great river bodies--- the Indus, Bramhaputra, Karnali and the Sutlej. These rivers are anything but their majestic self up here where they trickle as a rivulet. Siva could not help noticing the deep gash on the face of Kailas. To Siva, it seemed to be Lord Siva’s serpent climbing up the Lingam.

The healer got worse in health even as they reached the sun shaped Manasarovar lake, which is about 18 miles south-east of the mountain. This freshwater lake, Siva learnt, is over 80 kilometres in radius, 90 feet deep and spans all of over 3000 square kilometres. Large, turquoise and still waters, Siva could barely behold the sight, overwhelmed by the beauty and atmosphere. Was it the Vishwaroop Darshan or something like that, that Lord Krishna gave Arjuna? He could not believe that such a place existed on earth.

Already, Siva’s consciousness had transcended the mundane. He no longer felt the pain and suffering of his body, immersed as he was in this divine atmosphere. It was as if he had left the bounds of his body and was now one with something more boundless and infinite. As he dipped into the holy sun-shaped Manasarovar, he could feel the last vestiges of his earthly being getting dissolved into the tranquil waters of the lake. He could stay immersed forever in this ocean of serenity.

The healer, meanwhile, much against the protestations of his team and the guides, chose to bathe in the lake. He took a deep breath and dived into the waters with a gusto that belied his poor health, never again to return. He had finally found his peace in the lap of the Lord. Siva and the others waited as the search for the body was undertaken. It was then that Siva remembered that before the final parting, the healer had pressed his string of beads into Siva’s hands. As if by impulse, Siva put it on.

An explosion of lights inside his mind startled Siva. His eyes were shut tight. The image of his Lord slid into his inner eye. Lord Siva was sitting cross-legged. His hair fell on his shoulders even as the top was tied in a need truss. A crescent moon shone from the left of his forehead. His eyes were serene, lips in a smile, forehead smeared with ash. He was wearing the serpent which slithered over the rudraksha string of beads. Clothed in tiger skin, his left arm was gracefully resting on an armrest, wrist dropped, even as the palm of the right hand was raised up outwards in blessing. To his left stood the Trishul and lay the drum. Even in the trance, Siva could not help noticing the unmistakable resemblance the face had with that of the healer; and then he heard the voice of the healer whispering to him: “ Siva. The snake shall be your guide. Heed what it says.”

Siva was brought out of the trance by the calls of his teammates. The body was found. The search had ended. They proceeded with the final rites, in the best possible way the conditions would allow. Everyone felt sorry for the healer, except Siva.

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The crescent-shaped Ravana Lake, a saltwater lake where Ravana and other demon Gods are believed to have done penance, reminded Siva of the crescent moon on his Lord’s head. Even as Siva went on to complete the pilgrimage, he could feel the change in him. He was no more the Siva he knew.

At one of the many holy spots, pilgrims tied pieces of clothing, cut their flesh to shed blood and some even cut up bits of their body to make an offering. Many pilgrims cut their locks as an offering. It is believed that such offering helped to understand death, our mortal being and rebirth.

Siva’s return to Chidambaram was uneventful. Those who knew the healer mourned his death. The temple staff surrounded him for a detailed description of Meru and Siva never tired telling all that he saw and felt there. For Siva, life was not going to be the same again. He went to the healers’ quarters and wondered what he should do with his belongings. Not that the healer had anything of value. Siva gave away all that could be used, and then, in consultation with the temple authorities, the house of the healer was taken over by the Temple trust as trust property.

One evening, as he sat in the easy chair in the healer’s house, a young lady approached and sought an audience with the healer. Siva told her what had happened and the lady burst into tears. She despaired what would happen to her ailing infant. Siva sought to see the child who seemed to be suffering from severe dehydration and fever despite medicines. The doctor had recommended hospitalization which the mother could not afford.

Siva went back to the healer’s home and opened a chest containing powders of different descriptions and colour. He looked at them and wondered how the healer could pick the right one. He remembered the string of beads that the healer had given him and which caused visions in him when he had worn it at Meru. He took it out from his pocket and wore it around his neck. His eyes shut closed and he could hear the snake whispering in his ears. When he opened them again, he had a bottle of red powder in his hands. He poured some into a piece of paper and gave it to the mother of the child. Two days later, the mother came to him with the child, to report that the baby was fine and cured. Soon enough, the news spread that the healer had somehow been reborn as Siva.

The universe locks within its folds, mysteries of a myriad nature. It is not that it does not want to reveal its secrets to anyone. One has to just make the right efforts to discover them. Man, in his long history of creation, has unlocked many such mysteries. He discovered fire and put it to use. He discovered how to use the vast natural resources and make useful things from it. Metals, ore, oil, and coal, mineral---all lay in the depths of the earth till man discovered and used them. The man also discovered electricity, learnt to use rivers and seas and succeeded in sending waves across the space to transmit sound, data and pictures.

Everything in this creation has more use than what we can feel or see with our limited sensory abilities. Deep within us lies locked, the great powers which many could discover and know. While scientists use these powers to explore the external world, the seers and sages plumb within to unlock and channelize hidden energies.

One day, Siva discovered the secret of being as he sat in the Chitta Sabha. The snake, as usual, was whispering to him. He realized that there was no truth to be known which we do not know. There was nothing to be acquired which we do not possess; and there was no God to be searched for, apart from the one universal being. And that every one of us is already that universal being. There is no place to go, no time to be spent and no space to be covered. The finite mind sees only limitations and sets boundaries according to its own understanding. Once the finite mind is transcended, we become the universal being. Lord Siva symbolized the seemingly eternal contradiction within us. All of us are deeply religious, yet, at the same time firmly rooted in the world of illusory being. The finite mind creates illusions so that we can carry on with our earthly life-survival, acceptance and wealth. With no limitations, we cannot correlate to our immediate gross world. But the finite exists within the infinite—just as Siva the man resides within Siva the Lord. As the Lord, he is the creator, preserver and destroyer. As the man, he is the tantric, the lover and the consumer of intoxicants. There are no two Sivas. There is only one Infinite one. So it is with all of us. What we perceive we are, is just a part of the whole, the infinite self. We limit our understanding of ourselves to the understanding of what our name carries with it. We forget we are all nameless infinities. And forever believe that the Infinite One is someone apart from us.

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Meenakshisundaram was the son of a temple staff, who, unlike Siva, chose education and career to the temple chores. The third offspring of the temple cook; he went to school and college and studied commerce. He then took up a job with a bank at Salem. As he progressed in life, he got married and had a son and a daughter. Later, he got an official assignment abroad in Tokyo where he served for four years.

Wherever he was, Meenakshi made it a point to visit his hometown, Chidambaram, at least once in a year. When home, he saw to it that he met every single person known to him. Siva was one of his childhood friends, and the two would meet whenever Meenakshi was home. It was during one such visit that Meenakshi heard about the healing powers of Siva. That was the time when he was trying for the overseas assignment. He was one of the many candidates to be interviewed for the assignment. There was but one vacancy for which strong competition came from candidates placed at Metros and bigger towns. Meenakshi asked Siva whether he stood a chance of being selected for the overseas posting. Siva told him that he would be selected and he would definitely go there. He also told Meenakshi that he would serve with the bank abroad for four years, then resign to take up a job with another multinational bank abroad.

The interview was held in Bombay. Heavy rains flooded the city on the day of the interview. Meenakshi had taken up a room near the office and could reach there at ten in the morning. There was no one to be seen in the office as the railway lines were affected and roads submerged in water. The interviews started at twelve. Till two in the afternoon, seven candidates had been interviewed. There was some talk of the interviews being canceled as many candidates could not reach. Meenakshi was tense and desperate. He closed his eyes and locked his hands in prayer. Soon he had slipped into a reverie. To his amazement, Siva had appeared from nowhere and was telling him not to be tense or worried. The interview, Siva was telling him, will begin at seventeen minutes past four pm and he would come out at exactly twenty-five minutes past four pm. He would be selected. Siva was patting him on his back! Meenakshi woke up with a start to find the peon waking him up and telling him to go in for the interview. Meenakshi hurried, brushing aside his dream as wishful thinking.

It was exactly sixteen minutes past four when he sat down in the room before the panel. He glanced at his watch. When he finished the interview and came out, it was exactly twenty-five minutes past four pm. He could not believe it. Siva had done it!

Exactly a month later, Meenakshi got his selection letter. He rushed to Chidambaram to tell Siva about his dream. Siva smiled. Meenakshi insisted that Siva should keep a telephone with him in the house so that he could talk to him from anywhere. In the next two days’ time, Meenakshi had organized a phone line for Siva.

Meenakshi faced problems settling down in Tokyo and decided he would come back to India one year after he landed in Tokyo. He spoke to Siva about it and Siva would have nothing of this. He should stay back. One year extended to two as Meenakshi got over problems and settled down comfortably.

One morning, three years after Meenakshi had gone to Tokyo, Meenakshi received a call from his brother in law in Madras. His sister was in a coma and the doctors said that she was suffering from some rare ailment. She was given zero percent recovery chances. It would be nice if Meenakshi could come over to meet her before she was gone.

In the night, Meenakshi spoke to Siva and told him about his sister. Siva listened carefully, asked a few questions and then asked him to call again in the morning. Meenakshi was puzzled but called up in the morning again. Siva told him his sister would survive the disease and live a long life. For the next twelve days, however, she will undergo great pain and suffering. He told Meenakshi that no one should pray for her or sympathize, for it was her time to suffer pain to understand it completely. Meenakshi informed all concerned exactly as he was told by Siva.

On the thirteenth day, Meenakshi received a call from Madras. His sister had survived against all odds. As predicted, she had undergone immense pain and suffering for the last twelve days, and doctors had advised that she be put down to relieve her of pain. However, the family chose to believe Siva and Meenakshi and refused permission.

Siva had worked his miracle yet again!!

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The Lord appeared in Siva’s dream one day and beckoned him to come to Meru again. With the help of friends and well-wishers, the trip was arranged. The temple had decided to foot the expenses for Siva. The trustees also wanted that Siva should take up the position of temple priest when he returned. For long Siva had demurred, but this time he agreed. He was thrilled to be finally part of the temple where he spent his entire life. 

That year, the weather was terrible in the hills. Everywhere there was snow, thick and deep. Winds blew at high speeds and he had difficulty reaching even the base camp. They would have to spend the night in the camp before leaving for Meru in the morning.

As he lay inside his sleeping bag, Siva heard the rumble in the mountains. The sound reminded him of his dreams when he could hear such noise in the chaos of darkness. He closed his eyes in prayer. The healer of Chidambaram floated in his thoughts. He recalled his first trip to Meru with Natarajan. Memories of his childhood at the temple flashed by. Thoughts became like clouds and dust particles, flying around at furious speed. Anything and everything caught in the swirl would not survive and would forever be consumed in the darkness. Siva was petrified and could do nothing but watch the spectacle with awe. He too would soon become part of this terrifying dark blanket of darkness. The rumbling in the mountains was now getting menacingly loud. 

He could now see the light coming at him, and break into a million stars before it could hit him. The Lord had appeared for he could hear the beat of a thousand drums. The cosmic dance had begun. Siva would just dissolve; his entire being would be torn asunder by the drum beats and vibrations of the Lord’s feet. Siva could now feel the rumble in the mountains bearing upon him. He somehow knew that the Lord had called him yet again and he would go. 

Outside the camp, the rumbling in the mountains was now very near. Very soon the avalanche would roll up the camp in white sheets of snow and move on. Siva was still dreaming when the fury of the avalanche caught up with him enveloping his entity into one large white ball.

Meenakshi got information about the accident a couple of days after it happened. He wondered why Siva let this happen to him. Was he not supposed to have seen it coming? Was he not the miracle maker? Pity, that the maker of a thousand miracles could not work one for himself.