Lord Guruvayoorappan's grace


In this modern age here are some unique incidents of the Lord's compassion

The late Dikshitar:
Upanyasa Chakravarti, Anantharama Dikshitar was cured of his leprosy by praying to Sri Guruvayoorappan. His disease was advanced that the watchman did not allow him to take bath in temple tank. 3 or 4 years later, Dikshitar came to pray to Guruvayoorappan to the amazement of all. The miracle was due to his faithful recitation of Narayaneeyam.

How Chembai Vaidyanatha Bagavathar regained is voice:
Sri Vaidyanatha Bagavathar called Chembai, was one of the greatest musicians in recent times. Here is an account by himself of his regaining his voice due to the Lord's grace.
"On January 7, 1952, I was giving a concert at holy Suchindram. An hour had elapsed and I was at the peak of my performance. All of a sudden, my vocal chords got stuck up, as it were, and my voiced totally failed me. THe concert broke up in confrusion. Many rushed up to the dais to render help. Doctors tried their best with pills and potions but to no avail."
"I went through life without any hope and no ray of hope seemed to come anywhere. In this state of desperation, in 1954, on the great Ekadasi Day in Guruvayoor, I stood before the Lord and wrung out my heart to Him. I could not give vocal utrterance to my anguish. Memories of tghe glorious days when I had sung His praises surged forward."
"O Lord, I cried out, will Thou not let me sing Thy praises? Will Thou let my heart break, for without this outward expression of my heart's agony, I can hardly live? Hadst Thou in the past not given the gift of speech to the great Muka Kavi? Had he not sung Thy praises in enchanting Sanskrit verses known so well as the Muka Panchasati Stotras?"
"In my agony and mute supplication to the Lord, I had not noticed a Numbudiri standing at a distance of some fifty feet from me. He divined my trouble and came to me. He had evidently heard my inarticulate prayer. He promised to rid me of my trouble, Guruvayoorappan willing."
"The Lord had sent his minister to help me and I regained my voice. In keeping with my promise I have since then been singing the praises of Bhagavan. Every year, I have the 'Udayastamana' puja performed at the temple fo Guruvayoor and the sum of Rs. 5,000 need for it comes from the concerts that Guruvayoorappan himself arranged".
Despite the infirmities of old age from which he suffered Sri Chembai was indeed blessed-for he gave recitals till the day he breathed his last-Oct. 16, 1974. Right from the age of 20, Chembai had been visiting Guruvayoor almost every year for the Ekadasi Festival there and giving concerts which were attended by a large number of devotees.

The Lord and the little Priest:
Once a little Nambudiri boy from Nenmeni Illam had to officiate as the temple priest in place of his father who had gone to a friend's house to attend a sraddha ceremony. The boy in all his innocence believed that the deity would actually partake of the naivedyam offered merely as a ritual.. He placed the cooked rice before the Lord and when He did not touch it in spite of all his entreaties, and even threats, he thought the Lord was averse to eating the naviedyam without butter-milk and mango pickles. So he brought these from a neighboring illam and placed them before the Lord. As the Lord still did not respond physically to the invitation, the boy said, sobbing, that his father would punish him, if the naivedyam was found untouched by Him. The Lord now relented and ate the entire naivedyam.

With great joy, the little priest placed the empty vessel before the Variyar attendant to have it cleaned. The latter whose perquisite it was to have the entire naivedyam flare dup at the boy thinking that he had eaten all of it. He waited for the boy's father to return and complained to him about his son. The father went in to a a rage and raised his hand to slap the son when an incorporeal voice was heard from the Srikoil: "The boy is innocent; I am the guilty one, not the unni"

The meaning of the fruit:
Once upon a time.. In Guruvayoor temple, the priest had kept beetle leaves, beetle nuts and 2 banana fruits for the day's pooja. Due to hunger, a poor boy who had come to the temple, took the fruits kept for offering to God. The priest had closed his eyes and was telling the shlokas. Without having the heart to eat both the fruits, the poor boy kept one before Gurvayoorappan and ate the other one.

The priest who opened his eyes and saw got angry and as a punishment asked the boy to go around the sannidhi 100 times.

While the priest was watching, in one round he saw the poor boy and in the next round he saw the Lord Sri Guruvayoorappan, again and again. He called the poor boy and enquired, to which Lord Guruvayoorappan Himself answered: "As one of the two fruits was given to Him, half the punishment was His". The priest realized the Truth and shed tears.