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Miracles

On Thursday 21 September 1995 the news swept around the world of the extraordinary miracles of milk-drinking Hindu statues. Never before in history has a simultaneous miracle occurred on such a global scale. Television, radio and newspapers eagerly covered this unique phenomenon, and even sceptical journalists held their milk-filled spoons to the gods -- and watched, humbled, as the milk disappeared. The media coverage was extensive, and although scientists and 'experts' created theories of "capillary absorption" and "mass hysteria", the overwhelming evidence and conclusion was that an unexplainable miracle had occurred.

Thousands of devotees of the elephant god who visited temples for the morning pooja claimed that the deity actually drank the milk offered to it. However, not all idols were said to have obliged. The word spread like wildfire as excited people thronged temples to witness the `miracle'. Some were overwhelmed with emotion, others dismissed it as a hoax.

Prominent astrologer and Ganesh devotee Jayant Salgaonkar said: ``I myself witnessed it. I went early this morning to the Siddhivinayak temple at Prabhadevi, Ganeshji drank the milk.''

Scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research refused to comment on ``such religious matters.'' On the other hand, a leading rationalist in Calcutta, Prabir Ghosh, called it `absurd'. ``I can prove that it is no miracle''. Miracle or not, there were long serpentine queues outside temples in Calcutta, Delhi, Madras and Ahmedabad, leading to traffic bottlenecks at several places.

Said a senior government official of West Bengal: ``I have been trying to get through to Writer's Building for three hours. But the mass frenzy over Ganesh remains unabated.'' Chaos prevailed in Delhi's temples and out on the streets as devotees jostled one another to offer milk to Ganesh, Parvati and Shiva. Some even claimed that the idols drank a bucketful of milk.

In Madras, devotees who patiently held sweetened milk in silver spoons at the trunk of the god, said that the milk disappeared within minutes. Ms Shalini Binani, 16, who said that she had heard about the incidents from an aunt in Calcutta, tried about the incidents from an aunt in Calcutta, tried offering milk in a stainless steel spoon, but the idol did not respond. However, she claimed, when the milk was offered in a silver spoon, it was accepted. By noon, newspaper offices in Bombay were flooded with calls inquiring about the veracity of the claims. Other callers narrated their ``experiences'' in temples or at home.

``I was performing a Ganesh pooja early this morning,'' said Mr. Ravindra Mahadeo Rahate, an employee of the Bank of India. ``Suddenly I realized that the milk I had offered was disappearing slowly.'' Surprised by this development, Mr. Rahate offered the deity some more milk. ``That too disappeared,'' he claimed.

Rukmini Patil, an elderly woman from Girgaum, who offered milk to the Ganesh idol in her home, said, ``When I placed a spoonful of milk below the trunk of our glass idol, which we have had for years, the milk just vanished.''

The city police went around in vans denying the reports, but many office employees left work to rush to the nearest Ganesh temple. Some suburban schools even closed early. Said young Shilpa Salvi: ``This is confusing. One does not know what exactly is happening.'' said Shankar Kambekar, a taxi driver, ``The end of the world is near. The lord has come to save us.''

Miracle fever helped some persons to make a fast buck. Private milkmen had a field day. In Bandra, milk was reportedly sold at Rs 40 a liter. Roadside hawkers selling audiocassettes changed their tunes. Instead of the usual bawdy Hindi songs, they played Ganesh aartis in keeping with the spirit of the day. Cable operators too suspended transmission of their popular programs to telecast temple scenes.

Police headquarters received numerous calls requesting bandobasts. At some places, the police had to intervene to rein in frenzied crowds. Telephone lines at the police control room were jammed with calls. The mass hysteria did not leave the stock market untouched. Brokers said that there was brisk trading some companies with a small floating stock on the Bombay stock exchange. This was presumably because their names started with lord or Ganesh.

Market sources joked that a company -- named after the deity -- whose promoters had concealed material information about their forthcoming public issue, may well escape unscathed, thanks to the ``lord's blessings.'' Sociologists and psychiatrists, however, refused to accept the phenomenon as a miracle. ``One needs to explore this with the help of eyewitnesses. It is mob mentality to accept such incidents as a miracle,'' said Janaki Andharia, lecturer at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

``It is possible that a political party is behind this. A similar strategy was used to propagate religion in the past. People are swayed, but only for a while. This will not last,'' said Edwin Masihi, former professor of sociology at Gujarat University.

The Shrimant Dagduseth Halwai Ganesh Mandal at Pune, the richest and biggest mandal in the city, put up a board using devotees not to believe in the `strange occurrence'. It also closed the temple to avoid traffic jams in the heart of the city.

University of Pune vice-chancellor and former scientific advisor to the Union government Vasant Gowarikar has appealed to the state government to scientifically evaluate the issue before drawing any conclusions.

Maharashtra's Andhashradha Nirmulan Samiti president Narendra Dabholkar said in Satara that his organization would pay Rs 5 lakhs to anyone who could prove that the idols were actually drinking milk.

In Ahmedabad, word started spreading first about four famous Ganapati and Mahadev temples in the Shahibaug, Navrangpura, Nehru Nagar and Bhadral localities.

While the Rajasthan deputy chief minister Harishankar Bhabhra claimed he had offered milk to a Ganesh idol in the Udyog Bhavan temple complex, the Jaipur district administration contradicted such claims.

Many incidents of this miracle were reported in other countries.