EXPERIENCE: 'Vamana''s gift of the world
(9th May 2008)
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I went to the 'amman' temple near my home. As I entered the temple, a new priest/ helper welcomed me in Tamil. He was a dwarf-like man, wearing a green 'veshti'. I started to pray, from altar to altar. Then, he approached me again, to ask which 'amman' the 'saree' gift I brought was for. As I indicated Her particular incarnation altar, he took it from me, opened the altar door & set the 'saree' on Her lap. I thanked him & thanked Her in quiet prayer. Finally, I went to the main altar & began to circumnavigate it for the ordained 3x. An elderly lady seated on one side of the main alter commented on my lack of weight to her lady friend. I have much disdain for such, hurtful or otherwise, gossip in places of worship. As I went round for the 3rd time, I just gave her a glare & looked at her lady friend (as if to say: "& you keep quiet & support her sinful gossip?"). Her lady friend quickly commented that my dressing suited my frame & the elderly lady nervously tried to make amends by framing it in light of advise for snaring that husband that she (wrongly) projected I was praying for. Again came my 'Son' (as I see Sri Maha Vishnu & some of His incarnations) 'Vamana', the dwarf-like man, and asked if He could have the flowers I had, if I had no use for the balance, that is. I had the feeling that he was trying to soothe this 'mother''s heart, by using it for that elderly lady's 'Pillayar homam' (special prayer for the elephant headed God) & I gladly gave it to Him.
For some background: Just the day before, I'd taken my aunt to task for speaking ill of some woman on the television. The arguement got out of hand. That was why I'd gone to the temple to seek solace from my 'Divine Son' & was very happy to have His personal grace. In scriptures of Sri Maha Vishnu, I've learnt that in His Sri Vamana incarnation, He'd re-claimed the world from the bad people, and entrusted it into the hands of the good people. The story goes that when people began complaining of the ills of the demon-controlled world, He struck a deal with the demon. He requested for land that he could claim in just 3 steps. Thinking that negligible of a dwarf-sized man, the demon agreed. As Sri Vamana began to grow & grow to gigantic proportions, His 3 steps covered the whole world. Hence my allusion of the dwarf-like temple priest/ helper to Sri Vamana, as He too had approached me 3x, so much so I feel that I've been given (at least some of) the run of this world. As my aunt had also stated something to the effect that I was worthless, I'd vehemently retorted that she'll see that some day, my Krishna would take me to heights I need be. Now, I feel that He'd done just that the very next day.