Thursday, February 11, 2016

788. First ever Eye Donor recorded in the History!!!!!!



Prayer to Absolute is not something that comes by preaching, or teaching, or when just some slokas or mantras uttered. It is the immense connection that one realises when he gets aligned to Him. When this alignment takes place every word that comes out of the mouth becomes a prayer. We have heard the story of Moses and the shepherd where according to Moses there are a set of procedures while praying to Absolute which are called rituals, while for the shepherd the natural way he talks to Absolute is itself prayer. Natural prayer springs out of an attentive mind. 

It so happened in a forest a hunter by name Thimma could not catch anything for few days. His wife and kids were starving as they depended on what he hunted. The third as evening was approaching and he had not been successful, out of frustration he spoke to the Shiva Linga in an old temple and made a promise that he would offer half of what he catches the next day and went home.

Miraculously the next day at noon he spotted a rabbit and he shot an arrow at it. Since he had made a promise before the Shiva Linga he had to offer half. Innocently he left half of the rabbit meat on a leaf in front of the Shiva Linga and went home. The next day morning the priest of the temple arrived and saw the meat, got frustrated and he quickly cleared it away and washed the place up.

Next day at noon time the hunter returned and found the meat had disappeared and he assumed that Shiva had consumed it. He continued to offer the half of his hunted share daily. The priest was horrified to find meat daily, one day he stayed back and hid himself behind a pillar to see who was breaking the tradition in the temple. As usual the hunter came with the offer. The priest who was hiding got angry on this hunter and was just about to pounce on him when he observed that blood was oozing out from the place where the left eye of Shiva would have been on the Linga. Priest was taken aback and was sure that Shiva was angry and would punish the hunter for breaking the tradition. He was frightened and hid behind the pillar.

On seeing the bleeding Linga the hunter thought that the Lord had hurt himself and gathered herbs and leaves to apply on the wound. This treatment did not stop the blood flow, and then he decided to replace Shiva's eyes with his. He took out the eye from the eye socket and stuck it on the Linga where it was bleeding. Amazingly the bleeding stopped.

A few minutes later, the right eye of Shiva Linga started bleeding. The hunter now thought of replacing his right eye also, but there was a problem once he had taken his right eye out, he would be totally blind and how would he find where to place the eye? He pondered for a minute, and came up with a solution. Lifting his leg, he placed it on the place where the Lord had his right eye, and with his knife, proceeded to take out his right eye from its socket! Just then priest emerged out criticising the hunter for placing his foot on the Linga. He pushed the hunter calling him a fool for placing the foot on the Linga.

Even Lord Shiva could not bear to see this great sacrifice by his devotee and the utter foolishness of the priest; He appeared in front of them! At once, Thimma regained his sight, and prostrated before the Lord. Lord praised the hunter for his devotion and declared him to be a saint. To the priest, He said though he knew all the rituals of worship he failed to have the intense Bhakti which is most important to get aligned to Him. Since he had donated his eyes (kannu is eye) for the Lord, Timma was henceforth known as Kannappa.


Kannappa is the first ever eye donor recorded.

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