When someone does the extraordinary or a miracle, she or he is placed on the table to be studied. They end up being a specimen. The press wants a story. The religious authorities begin to monitor for any possibility to decree it as a hoax or a miracle. The person and those close to him are accused of making money out of his feats. A medical officer who read my blog walked up to me and asked if I could be hallucinating after reading the stories that I posted. I told him to walk the path I did and find out for himself. When there are some who would see miracles in everything there are yet others who find it difficult to believe in it. Why do men of science need to prove the authenticity of religions and spiritualism, I wonder? Men professing the latter, and steeped in tradition, don't explore the former and are quite contented in believing and practicing what has been handed to them for ages. Why do the former want to shake the faith of the latter and prove them as hoaxes and frauds? Agathiyar chooses to let things be though he knows the truth. He never jeopardizes the lives of people for the sake of truth. Hence many truths are buried to this day.
Would surrendering to the divine on the onset result in us not making any effort as in feeding that some claim would encourage them to drop all efforts to make a living? In the movie "Wonder" a journalist wanting a story lays the questions to a nurse engaged and paid to watch the miracle girl who has not eaten for some four months. A nun too is employed to watch her, but both the nurse and nun are not to exchange notes. The movie raises the question if we should intervene and if yes, when, or settle for prayers to save a life.
Nurse: Love requires some action, some intervention at some point not just standing by.
Journalist: His (the father of the child) faith, his prayer is his action.
Nurse: This isn't some philosophical point that we can debate. This is a child's life.
The journalist helps the nurse move the child and escape eventually saving her from the impending death that was a result of her fast, and avoidance of solids.
A humane person would try his level best to help another first. Only if all our attempts fail do we turn to the Almighty and wait for a miracle to happen. This reminds me of a story often told about a man caught in the rising floodwaters. Help comes his way in many forms but he rejects them. He adamantly wants God to come directly and save him. He eventually drowns in the floodwaters. Standing before God now he blames God for not saving his life. God answers that first he sent a boat but the man refused to board it. Then he sends a helicopter but still refused to board it. So how else was he to help he asked.
Knowing the reasons behind continuous birth and rebirth, Ramalinga Adigal cries his heart out, asking if he had done any of the following that warranted a rebirth. Reading through his list gives us shivers. We end up asking if we too had done them.