Most of you might still remember the "Milk Drinkng Vinayagar" somewhere a decade ago. For those who wasn't able to see it then enjoy the videos now.
It was a world-wide phenomenon. In India, it took by surprise until the milk price went to the point where the poors could not afford to provide to thier children.
Never before in history has a simultaneous miracle occurred on such a global scale. Television stations (among them CNN and BBC), radio and newspapers (among them Washington post, New York Times, The Guardian and Daily Express) eagerly covered this unique phenomenon, and even sceptical journalists held their milk-filled spoons to the statues of gods - and watched as the milk disappeared.
It all began on September 21st when an otherwise ordinary man in New Delhi dreamt that Lord Ganesha, the elephant-headed God of Wisdom, craved a little milk. Upon awakening, he rushed in the dark before dawn to the nearest temple, where a skeptical priest allowed him to proffer a spoonful of milk to the small stone image. Both watched in astonishment as it disappeared, magically consumed by the God.
Word of the event spread quickly, and by mid-morning it was found that statues of the entire Hindu pantheon in temples all over North India were taking in milk.
By noon the news had spread beyond India, and Hindu temples in Britain, Canada, Dubai, and Nepal among other countries had successfully replicated the phenomenon, and the World Hindu Council (an Indian Hindu organisation) had announced that a miracle was occurring.
The apparent miracle had a significant effect on the areas around major temples; vehicle and pedestrian traffic in New Delhi was dense enough to create a gridlock lasting until late in the evening. Many stores in areas with significant Hindu communities saw a massive jump in sales of milk, with one Gateway store in England selling over 25,000 pints of milk, and overall milk sales in New Delhi jumped over 30%.
Within hours news had spread like a brush fire across India that Ganesha was accepting milk offerings. Tens of millions of people of all ages flocked to the nation's temples. The unworldly happening brought worldly New Delhi to a standstill, and its vast stocks of milk - more than a million liters - sold out within hours. Many minor temples struggled to deal with the vast increase in numbers, and queues spilled out into the streets, reaching distances of over a mile.
The unworldly happening brought worldly New Delhi to a standstill, and its vast stocks of milk - more than a million liters - sold out within hours. Just as suddenly as it started in India, it stopped in just 24 hours. In some place it was reported the incident continued for a few more days.
But it reoccured again 11 years later on 20/21 August 2006 in almost exactly the same fashion, all though initial reports seem to indicate that it occured only with statues of Ganesh, Shiva, and Durga. The first reported occurance was on the evening of the 20th in the city of Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, from where it spread throughout India like wildfire. It was reported that the incident occured again on 12th January 2008.
Seeking to explain the phenomenon, scientists from through-out the world offered capillary action as an explanation; the surface tension of the milk was pulling the liquid up and out of the spoon, before gravity caused it to run down the front of the statue. Fearing loss of faith among non-Hindus, some religious factions of Christianity and Muslim even came out with documentaries to prove thier theories.
This reasonings still could not explain some major questions among Hindu devotees namely
1. If surface tension is the likely cause why it happened to all the statues (including those made of plastic, bronze, silver) .
2. Why this phenomenon did not occur in any other non-Hindu religious statues?
3. Why did they stopped "drinking" at the same time?
4. Does surface tension occur through out the world at the same time?
It remains a mystery and miracle of Hinduism.
Sarvam Siva Mayam!
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