Ganesha is drinking MILK!!!!
From: venkatr@govonca.gov.on.ca
Date: 22 Sep 1995 01:10:42 GMT
Newsgroups: soc.religion.hindu,alt.hindu
Subject: rumours about Lord Ganesha drinking milk
Today, 21 Sep.95, we at the Hindu temple Society of Canada in Toronto,
received many calls, mostly from devotees from North India, that all over
India, in many Temples, the statue of Lord Ganesha in the altars started
drinking the milk put in as prasad and they wanted to know whether
our Ganesha is doing the same. These are not hoax calls. One of our
devotees, a sober businessman who is a devotee of Lord Ganesha also
claims that he got calls from India today that this 'miracle' is happening
in India and wanted to know what is happening at our Temple.
Can anyone throw some light over this news? Is there such incidents
happening in India ? Any specifics will be quite useful for us to answer
the enquiries.
Thanks.
Venkataraman
Secretary
Hindu Temple Society of Canada
From: pb019@csc.albany.edu (Partha Banerjee)
Date: 22 Sep 1995 19:34:14 GMT
Newsgroups: soc.religion.hindu,alt.hindu
Subject: Re: rumours about Lord Ganesha drinking milk
I challenge all thoughtful, unbiased, and intuitive Hindus to strongly
protest to this type of "miracle-mongering". These miralces never
happen. These rumors are almost always spread by the conservatives to impose
their beliefs on the innocent. And sometimes it is done to divert
people's attention from other important ongoing issues.
Let's ask the Hindu religious fundamentalist groups such as RSS and
Vishwa Hindu Parishad to object to this rumor-mongering. Loud and
clear. Now.
And let the milk be used for the hungry children of India instead of
the Gods and Goddesses.
From: "Neil J"
Date: 22 Sep 1995 19:34:11 GMT
Newsgroups: soc.religion.hindu,alt.hindu
Subject: Re: rumours about Lord Ganesha drinking milk
Apparently the same incident has also happened in London's major Hindu
temple (sorry - I don't know it's name). I'm sure MUCH more news about
this will appear in due course - currently our UK news (on SKY, the
satellite channels, at least) is going crazy about this story, and
apparently (if the reports are to be believed), it's happening around
the world.
My sole reason for accessing this newsgroup was to ascertain whether
there's any more news via the Internet (TV news has a tendency to
sensationalise). Yours was the first message I've seen on the subject
so far (at least in alt.hindu).
Incidentally, on SKY's news-footage, it does look as if the statues
are indeed making the milk disappear. Where it's going, or how, is
another question. Why, is an even DEEPER question, I'll leave to
others to answer.
Regards
Neil J
--
From: SAHI VIJENDRA VP
Date: 23 Sep 1995 16:55:14 GMT
Newsgroups: soc.religion.hindu
Subject: Re: rumours about Lord Ganesha drinking milk
Apparently the rumours are true, I got a call from my sister telling me that
it is on CNN and other news stations. I would also be curious to find out what
is going on.
Vinay
sahi@ecf.toronto.edu
--
From: Nick Kalsi
Date: 23 Sep 1995 16:55:16 GMT
Newsgroups: soc.religion.hindu
Subject: Re: rumours about Lord Ganesha drinking milk
Hi there,
I have heard the same story that in a hindu Temple in Southall
Ganesha was drinking milk, It's hard to belive seeing is beliving.
Nick Kalsi
From: Suri Durvasula
Date: 23 Sep 1995 16:55:09 GMT
Newsgroups: soc.religion.hindu
Subject: Re: rumours about Lord Ganesha drinking milk
But see here. In Montgomery County Maryland, At the Mangal Mandir,there
are thousnads of people comming to feed lord ganesha. This is no rumor.
Read the Wshington Post of today. There they shed some light on ths
subject.
They say you can try it at home...and that one reporter did and the milk
absorbed in to ganesh.
What is going on...can anybody say?
From: bluesman@bga.com (Brian Robertson)
Date: 23 Sep 1995 16:55:11 GMT
Newsgroups: soc.religion.hindu
Subject: Re: rumours about Lord Ganesha drinking milk
My understanding is that a group of scientists have done some looking into
this and have shown that the milk is actually being drawn to the surface where
it forms a nearly invisible coating.
So, it's not the miracle it seems to be.
Then again.
It seems to me that if those scientists watched me drink milk and tested me,
they'd find a nearly invisible coating of milk, too!
B
\\\|/// \\\|///
(-@^@-) "PEEK-A-BLUES" bluesman/storyteller/tarot reader
----o00--(_)--00o------
bluesman p.o. box 33367 austin, tx 78764
from austin's legendary 6th Steet
From: JAIDEV
Date: 22 Sep 1995 19:34:18 GMT
Newsgroups: soc.religion.hindu
Subject: GANESHA DRINKS MILK
GANESHA STATUES IN VARIOUS PARTS OF INDIA AND MALAYSIA DRINK MILK
The news papers have been carrying news of a "miracle" in India,
where statues of Lingam and Ganesha have been drinking up milk
fed by the spoonful. According to one report, a priest in New
Delhi had a dream, in which Ganesha requested for a drink of
milk. On awaking the next morning he left for the nearby Ganesha
Temple, and fed the Ganesha Statue with milk. To his surprise,
Ganesha drank up all the milk. The news spread, and hordes of
devotees descended on that and other temples, all eager to feed
Ganesha with milk. The report mentioned that the ensuing stampede
to buy and offer milk to Ganesha resulted in a milk shortage in
New Delhi and other areas.
I am in Penang, Malaysia. This morning I had an urgent call from my
wife while I was at the office. (I had not read about the Ganesha
story yet ). She said that he had heard news of Ganesha Deities in
several temples drinking up milk, and when she tried to offer milk
to our own Ganesha Statue at our home, He drank up ! She was so
excited, and insisted that I come home immediately to feed some
milk to Ganesha. I did. Although a lot of the milk was apparently
spilling, there seemed to be a general sucking action, and there
was a general reduction in the quantity of milk. Later we proceeded
to a nearby temple, where a large crowd, which included some curious
Chinese persons, queuing up to feed the Ganesha deity. We too joined
the queue, and sure enough Ganesha drank up the milk offered.
Has this phenomenon been observed elsewhere ? What do you people
think about it ?
I would also like to touch on the snide remarks which the news
agencies could not help adding when reporting on the above story.
One (AFP) said that the priests in the temples concerned would not
let anyone examine the bottoms of the statues for hidden tubes/pipes
which could be used to suction the milk. Another (Reuters) mentioned
that the devotees had to leave their shoes outside the temple when
entering the temple to watch the milk disappear, and when they went
outside again, a lot of the shoes had disappeared.
NDORAI
From: vijia@pop.jaring.my (Singam)
Date: 22 Sep 1995 19:34:15 GMT
Newsgroups: soc.religion.hindu
Subject: Ganesha Miracle
You would have read/heard about the mracle of Ganesha drinking milk
offerings. This is for real. I have seen it.
Over lunch, we were talking religion and I explained a little about
Sai Baba. Then I offered to take one of my guests to the Sai Baba
Centre in Penang so that he could see for himself the vibuthi,
kumkumam and chandanam that had appeared on the photos and walls.
At the Centre there was a lot of excitement about Ganesha drinking
milk. Some of those at the Centre had actually seen it happen at one
of the temples. They had also heard from Hong Kong, Australia,
Singapore and England. They were about to try on a statue at the
Centre.
After abishegam, the statue was lifted up and placed on another tray.
There were no tubes or other gimmicks. The priest performed a simple
puja. Then he used a spoon to offer the milk. When he had finally
placed the spoon correctly we could all see the milk being sucked up.
After he had finished, I was offered the opportunity. I did the same
thing. I could actually see the milk being sucked from the spoon.
There was some spillage but most of the milk was disappearing. I
offered 3 spoonfuls and then moved back for the others to proceed. The
rate of absorption varied but the milk was consistently sucked up.
This phenomenon is happening all over the world. It must have some
significance. What that is I have no idea. But I am prepared for some
profound occurance.
Aum Sai Ram
Aum Shivaya Namaha
SV Singam
Minden, Penang
From: ritu@wam.umd.edu (Maverick)
Date: 22 Sep 1995 19:34:26 GMT
Newsgroups: soc.religion.hindu
Subject: Idols consuming milk ???
Details. I want to get more details on this subject. What's up? What's
happening?
Has anyone gotten the God to consume milk first-hand?
Love to hear you opinions.
Thanks
Ritu
--
A cool sig to be added, but until then...
Resetting line and disconnecting.
From: Hindunet@aol.com
Date: 23 Sep 1995 16:55:06 GMT
Newsgroups: soc.religion.hindu
Subject: Bangla Deshis excited about Milk Offering
DHAKA, Sept 22 (Reuter) - Hundreds of Bangladeshis flocked to a home in
the country's southwest after rumours spread that a statue of the Hindu diety
Gopal Thakur had drunk milk from a spoon, a newspaper reported on Friday.
In a report headlined ``Unbelievable,'' the Ajker Kagoj newspaper said
people converged on the house of Jayprakash Agarwala in Narail after hearing
on Thursday night that a brass-made Gopal had accepted offerings of milk.
Agarwala was not available for comment but police in Narail said they
were investigating the report.
In the district of Brahmanbaria, east of Dhaka, Hindus said they were
shaken by reports from India that idols of the Hindu god Shiva, his consort
Parvati and their son Ganesh, were sipping traditional milk offerings.
``I have washed my cow and milched fresh milk, but have yet to make the
offering,'' Kamalnath Ghosh said.
``I'm in a dilemma, in a sort of fear that if the offering is refused it
may bring bad things for my family,'' he said.
In Chittagong, home to many Hindus, devotees said they tried
unsuccessfully to feed milk to Hindu statues.
``Whenever we tried...the jaws remained tightly clipped and the milk just
spilled down,'' one said. ``But we believe (that) if it's true in India today
maybe it will be true in Bangladesh tomorrow.''
Some residents in the capital Dhaka were sceptical about claims by
frenzied Hindu worshippers in India who claimed stone idols had begun
drinking milk offerings.
``It doesn't seem to be the case here,'' said a Hindu devotee.
``We are not in that (race),'' said a Hindu woman, hinting that she did
not believe the reports emerging from India.
Reut05:03 09-22-95
From: venkatr@govonca.gov.on.ca
Date: 23 Sep 1995 16:55:05 GMT
Newsgroups: soc.religion.hindu
Subject: Ganesha drinking milk
This is in continuation of the posting done on 21st Sept.
Yesterday, there was a lineup of about 1000 people at the Ganesh Mandir
in Toronto, where I spent about 5-6 hours in controlling the crowd, offering
milk to the metal statues of Sri Ganesha. Most of them offered a spoonful of
milk to Ganesha through the left tusk (tusk immersed in the milk) and over
a period of few minutes - some faster, some slower - the milk disappeared.
It was true a lot of milk came at the base and accumulated in the basin.
All sorts of explanations and discussions on news reports were going on.
Someone involved in conducting pujas/bhajans, explained that this is 'sign'
about a 'Great Soul (MAHAN)' being born somewhere on earth and this
phenomenon will last for about 48 hrs. Reports from Delhi about the
Scientists' explanation that it is all surface tension and obsorbancy by
marble/ceramic body etc is taken with a question - 'where was this
surface tension for all the 1000's of years Ganeshji was offered milk?'
what is significant about yesterday? '
Personally, I could not give a definitive answer. Even if it is really the
imagination of the devotee and not really the milk going through the
body of Ganesha, I take it as a matter of faith and if it helps the
devotee in his 'faith', I am satisfied in serving the community by providing
the facility. I am disturbed by the excess zeal shown in some cities in
India, where this phenomenon resulted in milk prices skyrocketing and
milk not being available for the sick and the young. Also, on a light note,
I feel that in future the devotees will think twice before preparing elaborate
prasad and offering to God. Right now most people do prepare a great variety
of prasad and 'offer' with the confidence that God will not eat it and it
will be a feast for the devotee!
I am told that this will be a 48hr phenomena and heard news by phone from
India that the 'drinking' has stopped in many centres.
Hope the Hindu devotees take the event as another reminder that there is
a power beyond our rational cognisance and we have to the faith and
work with the community to pass on the faith to the next generation.
As one of the devotees standing in line remarked, 'this is a good opportunity
for the children growing up in different environment (Hindu Children growing
up in Canadian environment) to have a better interest in Hinduism and the
traditions and beliefs'. Thathasthu. (Amen)
Venkataraman
From: Hindunet@aol.com
Date: 23 Sep 1995 16:55:07 GMT
Newsgroups: soc.religion.hindu
Subject: Indians and Others Flock to Thai Temple over "Milk Miracle"
BANGKOK, Sept 22 (Reuter) - Hundreds of ethnic Indians from Thailand
along with Buddhist Thais and other Asians rushed to a main Hindu temple on
Friday after reports that idols of Hindu gods were drinking milk poured at
sacred offerings.
``It's a matter of faith, if you have faith in it you can see it with
your eyes,'' said one ethnic Chinese woman from Singapore offering milk to an
idol of the god Ganesha, the elephant-headed deity.
A large puddle of milk had formed on the floor at the base of the idol.
The priest of the Hindu Samaj temple in central Bangkok said he was told
in telephone calls from India and the United States on Thursday night about
the apparent miracles taking place at temples elsewhere.
``Faith is a matter of the heart, not the mind,'' said Sawami Odejsi
Maharaj, when asked if the phenomenom was real.
A long queue of worshippers, many of them ethnic Thai and Chinese, were
waiting to pay their respects at the temple. Many told Reuters they believed
the idol was drinking the milk.
In India, frenzied Hindu worshippers claimed on Thursday that stone idols
had begun drinking milk offerings.
Reut04:56 09-22-95
Newsgroups: clari.world.asia.india,clari.news.religion
Subject: Reported Miracle Stirs Hindus
Organization: Copyright 1995 by The Associated Press
Date: Thu, 21 Sep 1995 12:10:26 PDT
NEW DELHI, India (AP) -- Millions rushed to Hindu temples across
India on Thursday after reports of a miracle -- the statues of one
of their gods were drinking milk.
The faithful -- bearing milk in everything from earthen and steel
pots to tumblers and jugs -- converged on temples that had
reproductions of the elephant-headed Lord Ganesha.
``It is a miracle,'' said A.K. Tiwari, a priest at a temple in
southern New Delhi.
Scientists dismissed that explanation, saying the offered milk
trickled down the granite or marble idols in a thin film that was
not easily visible.
Crowds thronged temples in dozens of cities, including New
Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. There was no way to estimate
the overall number of people going to the temples. But a city such
as New Delhi has about 5,000 roadside temples, and crowds of up to
300 per temple were reported.
Police and paramilitary soldiers were called out to guard
temples across India. In the northern town of Jamshedpur, police
waved bamboo canes to control a crowd of 500 that tried to storm a
temple.
Milk shortages were also reported. In Calcutta, cafes stopped
offering customers milk with tea and instead sold the milk for 10
times the normal price.
Tiwari, the priest, said the excitement began early Thursday
when a devotee dreamed that the deity wanted milk. When the man,
who wasn't identified, held a spoonful of milk near the statue's
trunk, the milk disappeared.
Word spread quickly and people began lining up at temples as
early as 4 a.m. Many were late for work because they stopped at
temples first.
One of the more popular gods in the Hindu religion, Ganesha is
credited with bringing prosperity. The faithful dismissed
suggestions of a hoax.
``It cannot be a hoax. Where would all the milk being offered
go? It is such a small idol, it can't take in so much,'' said
Parmesh Soti, a business executive who stood in line. ``The gods
have come down to earth to solve our problems.''
So widespread were the reports of a miracle that the federal
Department of Science and Technology was asked to investigate.
Their scientists offered milk mixed with colored pigments to an
idol in a New Delhi temple. Although it disappeared from the spoon,
it soon coated the idol. The scientists credited the ``miracle'' to
surface tension, saying molecules of milk were pulled from the
spoon by the texture of the statues.
The federal minister for welfare, Sitaram Kesari, accused two
right-wing groups of starting the rumors to capitalize on Hindu
nationalism and win next year's general elections. The two groups
are allied with the Bharatiya Janata Party, the main opposition in
parliament.
Indian folklore is replete with tales of miracles, and many in
this predominately Hindu nation of 900 million believe
extraordinary events can occur.
Newsgroups: clari.world.asia.india,clari.news.religion
HONG KONG, Sept 22 (Reuter) - Hong Kong's Hindus spent a
second day on Friday offering milk to Hindu gods in the hope
that their wishes would come true.
``I felt it (a figurine representing Ganesha) drank the
whole spoon of milk,'' said Neelam Gupta, who visited a Hindu
temple in Happy Valley on Hong Kong island on Friday.
Ganesha is the elephant-headed deity who is the son of Lord
Shiva and Goddess Parvati.
Like thousands of other Hindus in the colony, Neelam
received a call from her parents in Bombay, India, telling her a
``miracle'' was taking place as idols of Ganesha and Lord Shiva
drank milk.
``I tried feeding the Ganesha statues at home with milk but
it didn't work, so I came to the temple this morning,'' said
Neelam, who conceded that some of the milk she fed the Ganesh
idol at the temple may have spilled.
Hong Kong is home to more than 20,000 Indians, many of them
Hindus.
The devout believe their wishes will come true if an idol
accepts an offering of milk.
Head priest Prakash Sharma said that 700-800 devotees had
flocked to the temple since Thursday morning when the reports
first surfaced in India and spread to Nepal.
He claimed that most of the ``milk-drinking'' in Hong Kong
was by statues of Ganesha, Lord Krishna and Lord Brahma.
``I was praying at about 4 p.m. (0800 GMT) yesterday when I
had a hint that maybe we should try feeding Lord Krishna,'' he
said.
Five minutes after a little girl started feeding the statue
with milk using a spoon, the idol started drinking, he said.
Idols of the deities are given milk as offerings each day
but this was the first time the idols had ``drunk'' milk, said
the priest.
Another devotee said the temple was filled with hundreds of
people who trooped in until 3 a.m. (1900 GMT Thursday).
Late on Friday morning, there were about twenty women
devotees at the temple trying to feed the idols there with milk.
Much of this splashed around the statue.
``It doesn't drink milk fed by everybody,'' said one woman
as she walked away.
From: Hindunet@aol.com
Date: 23 Sep 1995 16:55:10 GMT
Newsgroups: soc.religion.hindu
Subject: Lord Ganesh "Drinking Milk" Along the World
By Nelson Graves
NEW DELHI, Sept 22 (Reuter) - Feverish Hindu faithful around the globe
converged on temples on Friday as word spread that stone idols in India were
drinking sacred milk offerings.
From Long Island to London and Hong Kong to New Delhi, thousands of
worshippers and the merely curious thronged temples hoping to witness what
Indians were calling the ``milk miracle.''
``It is a miracle,'' said Srikant Ravi, the priest at Delhi's Hanuman
Temple. ``The gods have come down to earth to solve all our problems.''
The frenzy started early on Thursday with wildfire rumours that idols of
the Hindu god Shiva, his consort Parvati and their son, the portly
elephant-headed Ganesh, were sipping traditional milk offerings in Delhi.
Word quickly spread through India.
Indian offices and homes were abuzz as even well-heeled businessmen,
politicians and journalists dropped what they were doing to join the frenzy.
But by Friday the fever had abated in India, though devotees were
reported to be continuing to feed milk to the gods.
``It cannot be a hoax,'' said business executive Parmesh Soti. ``Where
would all that milk go?''
One Delhi resident claimed the milk in his refrigerator had vanished,
swallowed by the statue of Ganesh poised on top.
Indian scientists said the marvel was mass delusion, explained by
elementary physics. ``It may be a politically motivated stunt,'' Sanal
Edamarukku, head of the Indian Rationalist Society, said.
The Pioneer newspaper carried a photograph of a man collecting milk in a
bucket placed under a spout leading out of the back of a Delhi temple.
But the excitement quickly spread across borders. Hundreds of Hindus
flocked to a temple in London's Southall district as word spread through the
capital's large Indian community.
``I held the spoon out level, and it just disappeared,'' said Anila
Premji. ``To me, it was just a miracle. It gave me a sense of feeling that
there is a god.''
On Long Island and in New Jersey in eastern United States, devotees said
Hindu deities were swallowing milk. One worshipper told the Press Trust of
India he had kept a saucer of milk in front of idols in his home. The milk,
he said, had disappeared.
In Indonesia, housewife Ritu Garg said she and her two children were left
speechless when her family's small silver idol of Ganesh, god of good luck
and wealth, began drinking.
``My two children were urging Ganesh to finish his milk, just as I tell
them to finish theirs,'' she said.
In Bangkok, hundreds of ethnic Indians along with Buddhist Thais rushed
to a Hindu temple. ``If you have faith, you can see it with your own eyes,''
an ethnic Chinese woman said.
Hundreds of Bangladeshis flocked to a home in the country's southwest
after hearing that a brass-made statue of the diety Gopal Thakur had taken in
milk. In Hong Kong, home to more than 20,000 Indians, thousands of Hindus
joined in the rite.
Scientists in India debunked talk of a miracle. ``An organised conspiracy
is behind such reports, to work up popular religious sentiments,'' said Sudip
Bhattacharya, head of the Paschimbanga Vigyan Mancha, a rationalists' forum.
Scientists said simple physics had an explanation. Liquids like milk can
appear to be absorbed into stone but actually molecules in the rough surface
create a ``capillary channel'' that sucks in droplets which then spread in a
thin layer.
``It is difficult to spot the thin layer, especially if the marble is
white,'' physicist V. Das Bangia said. ``But it can be detected if the marble
is black.''
Reut08:12 09-22-95
Newsgroups: clari.world.asia.india,clari.news.religion
NEW DELHI, India - Miracle, mass hysteria or hoax?
A day after frenzied Hindu worshippers claimed stone idols
had begun drinking milk offerings, Indian scientists said Friday
the marvel was just mass delusion, explained by elementary
physics, perhaps with a dash of politics.
They said liquids like milk can appear to be absorbed into
stone but actually molecules in the rough surface create a
``capillary channel'' that sucks in droplets which then spread
in a thin layer.
``It is difficult to spot the thin layer, especially if the
marble is white,'' said physicist V. Das Bangia. ``But it can be
detected if the marble is black.''
``If the scientists are saying it's a capillary action, then
why it is not happening today?'' asked Onkar Bhave, a leader of
the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) a right-wing religious
organization close to the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) in the northern city of Lucknow.
VHP saw in the events a prophesy for an upcoming Hindu age.
``This is not an ordinary event but a divine one and a
prophesy,'' VHP leader Acharya Giriraj Kishore said.
Welfare Minister Sitaram Kesri claimed the miracle rumor was
floated by the VHP, joining rationalists who blamed priestly
propaganda.
Ruling Congress party spokesman Vithal Gadgil blamed the
BJP. ``Having exhausted Lord Rama, the BJP is now trying Lord
Ganesh to win the Lok Sabha elections,'' he said. The elections
are due by mid-1996.
The BJP wants to build a temple at a disputed Muslim mosque
site at Ayodhya in the state of Uttar Pradesh, believed by
Hindus to be the birthplace of god-king Rama. The mosque was
razed by Hindu zealots in 1992.
Despite the political cross-currents, devotees were still
agog.
``It is a miracle,'' said Srikant Ravi, the priest at
Delhi's Hanuman Temple. ``The gods have come down to earth to
solve all our problems.''
The furor started early Thursday with wildfire rumors that
idols of the Hindu god Shiva, his consort Parvati and their son,
the portly elephant-headed Ganesh, were sipping traditional milk
offerings.
In Delhi, excited worshippers rubbed elbows with the merely
curious until late in the night. Businesamen and journalists
were seen tipping spoonfuls of milk onto marble statues.
At a temple in central Delhi, some witnesses said the milk
disappeared into the statue of Ganesh while others said they
could see the liquid dripping down the statue and seeping out
around it.
``It cannot be a hoax,'' said business executive Parmesh
Soti. ``Where would all that milk go?''
The Pioneer newspaper carried a photograph of a man
collecting milk in a bucket placed under a spout leading out of
the back of a Delhi temple.
Milk was selling for as much as $3 a quart in Delhi,
agencies said. The government ordered an emergency shipment of
100,000 quarts.
In the eastern state of Orissa, the chief minister ordered
emples closed because of ``milk hysteria.''
Newspapers including the financial press devoted large
swaths of their front pages to the fever. ``A day of devotional
frenzy,'' The Hindustan Times said in a banner headline.
The excitement quickly spread across borders. Hundreds of
Hindus flocked to a temple in London's Southall district as word
spread through the capital's large Indian community.
``I held the spoon out level, and it just disappeared,''
said Anila Premji. ``To me, it was just a miracle. It gave me a
sense of feeling that there is a god.''
In New York and New Jersey, devotees said Hindu deities were
swallowing milk. One worshipper said he had kept a saucer of
milk in front of idols in his home. The milk, he said, had
disappeared.
In Indonesia, housewife Ritu Garg said she and her two
children were left speechless when her family's small silver
idol of Ganesh began drinking.
``My two children were urging Ganesh to finish his milk,
just as I tell them to finish theirs,'' she said.
In Bangkok, hundreds of ethnic Indians along with Buddhist
Thais rushed to a Hindu temple. ``If you have faith, you can see
it with your own eyes,'' an ethnic Chinese woman said.
Hundreds of Bangladeshis flocked to a home in the country's
southwest after hearing that a brass-made statue of the diety
Gopal Thakur had taken in milk. In Hong Kong, home to more than
20,000 Indians, thousands of Hindus joined in the rite.
Jet-setting Hindu holy man Chandraswamy, in the eye of a
political storm in India for the past week after a government
minister ordered his arrest for alleged misdeeds, wasted no time
suggesting he could be behind the miracle.
``I invoked Lord Ganesh yesterday. It could be his
blessing,'' the high-flying holy man said. ``This is only the
beginning of godly miracles.''
From: Hindunet@aol.com
Date: 23 Sep 1995 16:55:08 GMT
Newsgroups: soc.religion.hindu
Subject: "Milk Miracle" Spreads to Indonesia
By K.T. Arasu
JAKARTA, Sept 22 (Reuter) - Indians in Indonesia crowded Jakarta's main
temple on Friday after claims by Hindu worshippers in India that stone idols
had begun drinking sacred milk offerings.
Housewife Ritu Garg said she and her two young children were left
speechless when the small silver idol of Ganesha began drinking the milk she
fed the elephant-headed deity at the shrine in her house.
``It was amazing. Ganesha drank nearly half of the quarter cup of
sugar-added cold milk I offered him,'' she told Reuters.
``My two children were urging Ganesha to finish his milk, just as I tell
them to finish theirs,'' she said.
Garg said her friend, also an Indian and who like Garg was told of the
milk offering by relatives from India, brought her idol of Ganesha to Garg's
house and fed the deity.
Believers in India have been packing temples across the country as word
spread that milk offered to lingams (phallic symbols) of Lord Shiva or his
son Ganesha disappeared.
An official of the Shiva Mandhir temple in Jakarta said some 200 Hindus
visited the temple on Thursday and stayed until early on Friday morning.
``The crowd today has been smaller as many of them are trying to feed the
idols in their homes,'' said the official.
An official at Jakarta's Gandhi Memorial School, which caters to children
of Indian expatriates, said she, too, had heard of milk offerings being
consumed by the idols.
But Kapil Garg, Ritu's husband and marketing manager of cocoa power
producer Indo Cocoa, was not convinced and said he didn't believe his wife
when she told him of the incident.
``I didn't believe her because it defies logic. But so many people (in
India) are saying it is happening. It's crazy and absolutely amazing,'' he
said.
Kapil tried feeding the Ganesha idol in his house, but his offering was
not accepted.
``Maybe it works only for those who believe,'' he said.
Reut05:51 09-22-95
From: Hindunet@aol.com
Date: 23 Sep 1995 16:55:07 GMT
Newsgroups: soc.religion.hindu
Subject: Shiva Fever Spreads Across Britain
(Updates with reports from temples across Britain)
By Alan Wheatley
LONDON, Sept 22 (Reuter) - Anila Premji didn't have the slightest doubt.
It was a miracle.
Premji was one of hundreds of Hindus who flocked to the Vishwa temple in
Southall, west London, as word spread like wildfire through the capital's
large Indian community that religious statues had begun drinking milk
offerings.
After waiting patiently in a long queue on Thursday night, Premji
described the moment when, her hand quivering, she held a spoonful of milk up
to the temple's 15-inch (38 cm) high marble idol of Nandi, the bull ridden by
the Hindu deity Shiva.
``We were told to hold the spoon still because some people had been
anxious to feed it quickly and the milk was spilling.
``Another lady sitting next to the idol was holding my hand so it didn't
shake. I held the spoon out level, and it just disappeared,'' Premji, who
describes herself as not particularly religious, said. Her verdict?
``To me it was just a miracle. It gave me a sense of feeling that there
is a god, a sense of spirit on this Earth.
``My daughter was with me and she just couldn't believe it.''
By mid-morning on Friday hundreds of happy worshippers, young and old,
had returned in the autumn sunshine and waited to enter the ornate shrine.
Attendants hurriedly shunted the devotees up to an onion-domed
centrepiece where the white marble icon was set in front of an artificial
running stream.
Some brought their own milk in bottles and jugs. Others, kneeling to make
the offering, filled their spoons from bottles that temple officials had put
next to the tiny icon.
Hundreds of faithful carried bottles of milk into temples across Britain.
Workers at the enormous Swaminarayan temple in London said they had to
turn away worshippers armed with milk cartons.
The furore started on Thursday in India with rumours that idols of the
Hindu god Shiva were sipping traditional milk offerings.
Scientists said the marvel was just mass delusion, explained by
elementary physics.
They said liquids like milk can appear to be absorbed into stone but
actually molecules in the rough surface create a ``capillary channel'' that
sucks in droplets which then spread in a thin layer.
But believers, in Britain as in India, were having none of it, insisting
that a miracle was at hand.
``I believe that some great soul has descended on earth,'' Roshan Lal
Bhanbari, chairman of the temple, told London's Evening Standard newspaper.
Hasmukh Shah of the World Council of Hindus told the Daily Telegraph
newspaper that more than 18,000 people had visited 18 temples in West
Yorkshire, northern England.
``There are allegations against the miracle, claiming blotting paper has
been used or a porous cavity created,'' he said.
``If that is true, a massive organisation with universal power is doing
it because it's happening all over the world -- India, Hong Kong and Kenya.''
Anila Premji tells of her mother's amazed reaction after she left the
temple, on an unassuming suburban street in west London. ``She was absolutely
astounded. ``There is a God, Anila, there's no doubt about it. I've witnessed
it myself.''''
Reut19:12 09-22-95
From: Hindunet@aol.com
Date: 23 Sep 1995 16:55:05 GMT
Newsgroups: soc.religion.hindu
Subject: Sri Lankans Flock to Temple to see Miracle
By Mohan Samarasinghe
COLOMBO, Sept 23 (Reuter) - Thousands of Sri Lankans flocked to Colombo's
Sindhi temple on Saturday to witness what worshippers said was the miracle of
two Hindu gods sipping milk.
People of all ages and religions streamed into the Sindhi community
centre, a seaside temple patronised mostly by Hindu devotees, where the
marble statues of the deities Lord Ganesh and Lord Shiva, were placed
wreathed in flowers.
Devotees offered milk in spoons to the trunk of elephant-headed Ganesh
and to the mouth of Shiva and sang their praise as the liquid disappeared
slowly.
``Do it slowly,'' a temple guardian told a female devotee as she
awkwardly held the spoon to Ganesh's trunk. ``You have to feed him like you
feed a baby.''
Suresh Pesumal, the centre's secretary said Colombo got word of the
miracle from a devotee in New Delhi on Thursday night.
Thousands of Indian devotees were reported to have claimed the miracle
happened to them, although Indian scientists said it was all just mass
delusion.
``Immediately our head priest offered milk and the gods accepted the
offerings,'' Pesumal told Reuters.
Thousands of devotees and curious onlookers have flocked to the temple
since Friday morning after hearing of the miracle, Pesumal said.
The temple's head priest Pandit Jaidev Sharma said this was traditionally
the time of year when alms were offered to the gods.
``This is the period in which we feed our ancestors. That particular
Thursday was when we were to feed them milk,'' Sharma said.
Pesumal said he believed it was a heavenly gesture towards mortals.
``I feel that the gods are showing their power, specially to the younger
generations who will now start believing,'' he said.
Reut09:30 09-23-95
From: Deepak Khurana
Date: 22 Sep 1995 01:10:54 GMT
Newsgroups: soc.religion.hindu
Subject: Oh My God...!
Would you believe this? I couldn't until I saw it with my own eyes...
September 21st. Thousands of people thronged the temples all over
Delhi with the word going around that Lord Ganesha was accepting
milk from devotees. Initially, I thought it was a rumor. Being a
software engineer, it was obviously hard for me to digest.
Then I visited a local temple myself and yes... it is happening.
The milk just vanishes from the spoon. How and why I just don't
know. This is happening all over Delhi in every temple even now as
I write this at 10:30 in the morning. I'm not sure about other parts of
India. Many of my friends who have relatives in the US and other
countries have confirmed this with them too.
The news is being wired on cable networks all over Delhi. It will probably
feature in papers tomorrow and then we'll have a better idea asto what is
going on...! I'm still dazed over all this.
This is not an attemt to spread a rumor... I'm just sharing what
I and thousands of other people have witnessed.
Anybody who wants can write to me at delaaa15@giasdl01.vsnl.net.in
Newsgroups: clari.world.asia.india,clari.news.religion
NEW DELHI, India (AP) -- Devout Hindus are calling it an
unprecedented miracle. Scientists say it was a gigantic hoax. Some
politicians see it as a nationalist plot.
One thing is certain. Whatever happened Thursday, when tens of
thousands rushed to Hindu temples across India because statues of
Lord Ganesha were said to be drinking offerings of milk, it was a
one-day wonder here.
Few people in India showed up Friday expecting the god of
prosperity to produce a ``miracle'' once again.
Some who did were disappointed. Subhash Kumar, a caretaker at a
temple in New Delhi's Jor Bagh neighborhood, said the Ganesha
statues did not drink milk offered Friday.
The reported miracle came a day late to London, where 10,000
people flooded into the Vishwa temple Friday in the northwest
suburb of Southall.
``It is a divine miracle. Our history books says that wherever
evil prevails, incarnation comes,'' said temple chairman Roshan Lal
Bhandari.
``Some great soul has come on this earth to remove bondage and
evil and reveal righteousness,'' he said. ``It signifies some
rising star, a great soul who has descended on earth.''
In Hong Kong, hundreds turned out Friday at the temple in Happy
Valley.
``Holy cow, this cannot be happening!'' said Reenita Malhotra, a
marketing consultant, clasping her face in disbelief. ``Did they
rig all the temples in the world, or what?''
From before dawn until late Thursday evening, Hindus bearing
milk converged on temples across India to feed them to
reproductions of the elephant-headed god. The frenzy caused milk
shortages, work stoppages and forced police to send out
reinforcements to control mob scenes at temples.
The excitement began when a devotee in New Delhi dreamed that
the deity wanted milk. When the man, who wasn't identified, held a
spoonful of milk near the statue's trunk, the milk disappeared.
The federal minister for welfare, Sitaram Kesari, accused two
right-wing groups of starting the rumors to capitalize on Hindu
nationalism and win next year's general elections.
Indians called and e-mailed relatives and friends in England,
the United States, Canada, Australia and Hong Kong, asking them to
present spoonfuls of milk to Lord Ganesha idols.
Indian folklore is filled with tales of miracles. Many in this
mostly Hindu nation of 900 million keep small statues of a deity
from the large Hindu pantheon in their homes and cars, and carry
out rituals in search of good luck for their families.
But few people can remember the last time rumors flew so fast or
stirred so many.
Scientists scoffed at the alleged miracle, saying surface
tension caused the milk to trickle down granite or marble idols in
a thin film that was not easily visible.
Newsgroups: clari.world.asia.india,clari.local.nyc,clari.news.religion
NEW YORK (Reuter) - Thousands of U.S. Hindus tried Friday to
reproduce an Indian ``milk miracle'' at home or by lining up at
a New York temple to feed milk to brass statues of a reputedly
thirsty elephant god.
``My friend said, 'I'm afraid he is not going to take the
milk from me. Does that mean I am not going to be blessed?' I
said 'No, that is not the way it works,''' Nargis Sharma said.
Sharma was one of hundreds Friday who passed through the
Hindu Temple Society of North America in the New York borough of
Queens, home to one of the largest Indian populations in the
United States, after word spread that religious statues in India
had begun drinking milk offerings.
``Did it happen for you?'' devotees asked each other. Many
decided they were uncertain what it all meant, then marveled at
how little milk was draining off the statue compared to what had
been fed.
After hearing the news many of the worshipers had headed out
on Thursday afternoon to buy milk and spoons to feed their home
statues or to bring to the temple.
The temple, which normally closes at nine, stayed open until
4 a.m. Thursday, with lines snaking outside and people waiting
up to four hours for their chance to feed the brass elephant
statue of Ganesh.
Delicatessens did not know what hit them.
``I walked in this morning and said, 'What, was there a run
on milk?'' said Anthony Pennisi, owner of a deli that, because
of purchases of milk by the crate, was running out of a stock
that should have lasted all weekend.
In Manhattan, Prahlad Beeramangala, 36, saw a report on CNN
and then tried to feed milk, with limited success, to his statue
at home.
``When I put a spoon by the trunk, the whole spoon was not
sucked out, but I did feel a little sucking process,'' he said.
On Friday morning at the temple, the milk seemed not to
disappear anymore, but then started again by afternoon, said
businessman Sethu Narikot.
``At first I didn't believe it. I've heard the stories about
a crying (Virgin) Mary,'' he said, now convinced. ``Many people
here are highly educated. They are not illiterate people or
stupid people.''
Newsgroups: clari.world.asia.india,clari.world.asia.south,clari.news.religion
DHAKA, Sept 23 (Reuter) - Thousands of Bangladeshi Hindus
flocked to Dhaka's Narayan Jiu temple on Saturday to witness
what worshippers said was the miracle of an elephant-headed
deity sipping milk.
People of all ages streamed into the temple's enclosure
where the marble statue of the deity, Lord Ganesh, was placed
wreathed in flowers.
The devotees offered milk in spoons to the elephant-head
Ganesh's small trunk and the liquid vanished in seconds.
Gouri Benarjee, a 20-year-old spinster, said she was happy
that Ganesh had accepted her offer. ``This will bring me his
blessings,'' she said.
The temple's chief priest, Nitai Benarjee, said at least
2,000 people fed the Ganesh fresh milk on Saturday morning.
Thousands had made offerings since midnight on Friday after
hearing claims of similar miracle happenings in India. Indian
scientists said the marvel was just mass delusion.
Panna Dey, 32, said at first he did not believe the reports.
``I thought they were just rumours but now I have seen it
myself. I firmly believe it now,'' he said.
``Initially we fed clay idols of Lord Ganesh at our homes.
Then we came to the stone idol at this temple and it too drank
the milk,'' said Pradip Kumar Ganguly, 56.
``Normally, offerings are made to the Hindu deities by
priests only, but since Friday it's everybody's business,'' said
priest Harekrishna Ganguly.
Asked why the Ganesh was drinking milk now for the first
time, one priest said: ``This is apparently to reinforce
people's faith in religion. People had started neglecting
religion.''
Worshippers said they believed the literal acceptance of
offerings by deities including the Ganesh, Parvati and Shiva was
an indication of ``good things happening again.''
Many temples have opened their gates, allowing people in
without restriction.
Newsgroups: clari.world.asia.india,clari.news.religion
NEW DELHI, Sept 24 (Reuter) - Indian politicians girding for
general elections have charged headlong into a debate over
whether Hindu statues drink milk.
In the world's biggest democracy few issues escape the grip
of politicians and pundits, and what Indians were calling the
``milk miracle'' was no exception.
What started as uncanny reports of Hindu idols in Delhi
sipping sacred milk offerings snowballed last week into a
worldwide phenomenon as frenzied Hindus converged on temples to
see for themselves.
Some swore it was a miracle. Others said it was a ruse.
But the debate between believers and scientists over the
plausibility of the ``miracle'' was quickly overtaken by charges
and counter-charges by politicians jockeying for an advantage
ahead of general elections due by mid-1996.
``There is the seed of mischief here,'' The Statesman
newspaper said. ``The attempt to make political capital is
painfully obvious and the air is heavy with foreboding.''
Editorialist M.J. Akbar wrote in The Asian Age newspaper:
``The issue in every such instance is not god but man; not faith
but votes; not piety but power.''
Right-wing Hindu parties wasted no time in claiming the milk
marvel had political significance. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad
(VHP), a religious organisation close to the main opposition
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said the devotional excitement
showed a Hindu age was in the offing.
``This is not an ordinary event but a divine one and a
prophecy,'' VHP leader Acharya Giriraj Kishore said.
Secular parties led by Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao's
Congress party accused the Hindu right wing led by the BJP of
perpetrating a huge hoax to whip up religious fever to win
votes.
Welfare Minister Sitaram Kesri said the Rashtriya Swayam
Sevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu fundamentalist organisation, had
spread the rumour with midnight phone calls that Lord Shiva and
his rotund, elephant-headed son Ganesh were sipping milk.
Congress spokesman Vithal Gadgil blamed the BJP, which has
led a controversial campaign to build a temple to the Hindu god
Ram at a disputed Moslem mosque site in the northern town of
Ayodhya. The mosque was razed by Hindu zealots in 1992.
``Having exhausted Lord Rama, the BJP is now trying Lord
Ganesh to win the Lok Sabha (lower house) elections,'' he said.
Communal tensions can have awful consequences in India,
where reports and rumours spread like wildfire through
close-knit, extended families and densely populated cities.
Thousands of Sikhs were killed after former prime minster
Indira Gandhi was gunned down by Sikh bodyguards in 1984 as
bands of enraged citizens took out their frustrations on the
religious minority.
After the mosque at Ayodhya was razed, thousands were killed
in ensuing Hindu-Moslem riots.
``In the last 24 hours, the fires of faith have been relit
in the Hindu community,'' The Asian Age said in an editorial.
``We shudder to think of the consequences which may accrue
if such strong emotional responses are manipulated by forces
inimical to communal amity and unity of the Indian people as a
nation,'' The Pioneer newspaper said.
The Asian Age said politicians with a vested interest in
religion ``are already predicting a Bharatiya Janata Party
victory in the next general election, thanks to what happened on
Thursday.''
Newsgroups: clari.news.religion,clari.world.asia.india,clari.world.europe.italy
ROME (Reuter) - Roman Catholic Italy, more used to
``weeping'' statues of the Virgin Mary, joined the latest
``miracle'' wave Monday -- Hindu idols that sip milk.
A store in Rome that sells Indian wares said a small
metallic idol of the elephant-headed Ganesh, son of the Hindu
god Shiva and his consort Parvati, had begun sipping milk from a
spoon.
``We got a phone call from India and they told us the Ganesh
was drinking milk. We tried over here and he was drinking
milk,'' said Sanjay Daswani, whose family owns the store.
``We were all surprised and astonished,'' he told Reuters as
a relative fed the idol a spoonful of milk for television
cameras.
India has been gripped with reports that sacred statues were
sipping traditional milk offerings. Thousands of Hindus around
the world, including in Britain and the United States, have
flocked to temples in the hope of seeing the same phenomenon.
Scientists have spoken of mass delusion while secular Indian
political parties have accused the Hindu right wing of
perpetrating a hoax to whip up religious fever and win votes.
``We think in New Delhi a baby was born with the head of a
Ganesh and a human body, and that's why he's drinking the
milk,'' Daswani said.
``There's too much bad stuff happening in the world, and
this baby was born to help us, to make the world a better
place,'' he added.
There are very few Hindus in Italy but reports of purported
miracles are common.
Earlier this year, miracle fever swept the country with a
rash of reports of statues of the Virgin Mary weeping blood or
tears. None has been verified by the Roman Catholic Church.
Last week, the substance Neapolitans believe is the blood of
the city's patron saint, Gennaro, liquefied in a repeat of a
600-year-old ritual miracle they believe brings good luck.