Posted on 09/24/2002 6:41:30 AM PDT by dighton
GUNTUR SEPT. 23...Elaborate arrangements are being made for the 110th urs of Hazarath Kale Mastan Shavalia baba at Mastan dargah here. The dargah is being decorated with festoons and serial lights. Huge pandals were erected on the Grand Trunk Road in the town for the festivities.
The managing trustee of the dargah, Ravi Ramamohana Rao, told The Hindu here on Monday that the urs would be celebrated on Tuesday. He said that a colourful procession would be taken out from Kannavari thota. It would commence at 11 pm and pass through all the main thoroughfares of the city and culminate at a ritual in the dargah. "Naubatkhanas, kanaka tappetalu, phakeer bands'' and colourful crackers would mark the procession, he said.
He said ''chandini'' (sandal paste) would be applied in the mausoleum of the baba at 3 am on Tuesday and the "Chandal horse'' would be taken in the massive procession in the night. The sandal paste would be distributed to the devotees at 4 pm and "deeparadhana'' would be performed at 5 pm on September 25. "Germi'' would be performed at 6 pm on Thursday and "'prasadam'' would be distributed at 3 am on Friday. Poor-feeding and distribution of shawls would be held on Friday and the baba's throne would be put back in its place on Saturday. This would mark the culmination of the festivities.
Several stories are attached to the greatness of the baba by his devotees. Mastan Shavalia lived almost 118 years ago in Guntur. He used to rear a horse, a goat, a monkey and a cock. When the baba was not in Guntur, the cock was found missing by one of his devotees. When she was frantically searching for it, the baba also reached the place. By then, it was detected that somebody had killed it and made curry of it. When the devotee informed the baba about the incident, the baba told his devotee not to worry about it. The cock, which was cooked into a curry, got itself re-assembled on its own and came alive when the baba shouted: "bho...bho''.
There is another interesting story. One day it rained heavily when the baba was walking. Immediately, he sat there in "Yoga nidra''. Meanwhile, there was lightning and a thunderbolt claimed the life of the goat that was accompanying the baba.
After some time, the rain stopped. The onlookers noticed that the baba was not drenched in the rain and that the place around him remained dry. When the people around gathered to drag the body of the goat, the baba prevented them and prayed.
He moved around the body thrice and touched it gently. When the baba shouted "utho'', the goat stood up and went along with him. Soon, the people prostrated before him and offered worship. A woman, who lost her son by the thunderbolt in the same rain, prayed to him and urged him to give life to her son. The baba went to that place, prayed and touched the body of the boy gently. He got up, as if from deep slumber.
There are many stories doing rounds about the divine powers of the baba who led a simple life. There were occasions when he practised "khanda yoga'' -- the body gets split into bits and pieces and gets assembled on its own.
Thousands of devotees from Guntur, Prakasam, Nellore, Krishna and other districts throng the Mastan dargah on the "urs'' day to offer prayers to the baba.
© Copyright 2000 - 2002 The Hindu
Robert Lewis Stevenson was very wise.
regards
"then laying his finger inside of his nose
Utho he said to the goat and up the goat rose
regards
Unless the huge pandal is fully erect, we just don't feel like the festivities have really begun in this house...
Did "someone set us up the bomb..." start before 9-11 or after?
Just curious if anyone remembers.
(steely)
Doing some pop-culture linguistics work? ;)
No, I have a little hobby of trying to get straight in my mind exactly what was going on just before 9-11. I know it sounds odd.
(steely)
"KHANDA YOGA: In this practice, Baba extracted the various limbs from his body, and left them separately at different places in the Masjid. Once, a gentleman went to the Masjid, and saw the limbs of Baba lying separately at separate places. He was much terrified; and he first thought of running to the village officers, and informing them of Baba being hacked to pieces and murdered. He thought that he would be held responsible, as he was the first informant, and knew something of the affair. So he kept silent. But next day when he went to the masjid, he was very much surprised to see Baba, hale and hearty and sound, as before. He thought, that what he had seen the previous day, was only a dream."
In theory this article was written in the English language.
Still, the author does not manage to scale the lofty heights from which Lewis Carroll flung the words of Jabberwocky:
`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe....
this one is my favorite:
When I was a kid, we had some Japanese friends that belonged to this religion. Lovely dear people and very clean living, but their theology is mind-bogglingly bizarre.
-ccm
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