Great Devotees of Lord Siva 9

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Om Namah Sivaya Tiru Neelakanta Nayanar Tiru Neelakanta Nayanar

black"> In South India, there once lived an ardent devotee of Lord Siva. He

was a potter by profession. He had the highest regard for the devotees of Lord

Siva, too. He was evereager to serve them. He was leading an ideal household

life. He made beautiful begging bowls of clay and offered them free to the

devotees of Lord Siva, with great joy.

Siva, in His aspect of Neelakanta was his sole refuge and prop. Hence, he was

called Tiru Neelakanta Nayanar. He would always tell others how, for the

protection of the world the Lord drank the virulent poison, and he would assure

his friends that they who took refuge under His feet would be purged of all sins

and would finally be taken to His Abode.

14.4pt"> In spite of his virtuous qualities, once he fell a victim to lust. One

day, he visited the house of a prostitute. When he returned home, his dutiful

and pious wife understood this. This irritated her, though she did not show

this and continued to serve him, as before. But, she had decided not to have

any sexual relation with him. Nayanar could not understand the reason. One day,

as he approached her with passion, she took an oath and said: ‘In the name of

Neelakanta, I ask you: do not touch us.’ Though she only meant herself, she had

used the word us. Since she took the Name of the Lord and since she had used the

word us, Neelakanta Nayanar decided that from that day he would not touch any

woman in the world (not even in dream!). Such was his sincere devotion to the

Lord. They continued to live together. They did not want to make a fuss over

their own resolve. No one knew about it. Years rolled by and they had grown

old. Lord Siva wanted to reveal the greatness of His devotee and thus to

immortalise his name. So, in the guise of a Siva Yogi (a Saivite

mendicant) the Lord came to Tiru Neelakantar’s house. Neelakantar welcomed him

and worshipped him. The Yogi gave him a begging bowl and said: ‘Oh noble soul,

kindly keep this in your safe custody, till I come back for it. To me it is

extremely precious. It has the wonderful property of purifying anything that

comes into contact with it. So, please protect it with the greatest care.’ Then

the Siva Yogi left the place and Neelakantar kept the bowl in a very safe place

in the house. After a long time, Lord Siva came to the house of

Neelakantar, as the same Siva Yogi and asked for the bowl. The Lord Himself, by

the power of His Maya, caused it to disappear from the house! Neelakantar

searched for it, but could not find it. It was a mystery to him. He was ashamed

of himself. Trembling with fear, he fell at the Yogi’s feet and said that he

could not find it. At this, the Yogi got very angry and accused Neelakantar,

calling him a thief and cheat. Neelakantar offered to replace the bowl with a

costlier one; but the Yogi would not accept. Again and again Neelakantar

pleaded that he had not stolen the bowl and that by a divine mystery it was

missing from the house. The Yogi demanded that if that was the truth,

Neelakantar should say so on oath, holding his wife’s hand. When Nayanar, who

had resolved, in the name of the Lord, not to touch anyone, declined this, the

Yogi attributed this unwillingness to the fact that Neelakantar had in fact

been guilty of theft. They went to the court. The Brahmins heard the case. They

asked Neelakantar to promise, as desired by the Yogi. Neelakantar got into the

tank, along with his wife; they had a stick in their hand, and each of them was

holding one end of it. The Yogi objected to this and wanted that Neelakantar

should actually hold his wife’s hand with his own. Neelakantar could not hide

the secret relationship that existed

between him and his wife any more, and so, related the whole story to the court.

After this narration, Neelakantar and his wife caught hold of the two ends of

the stick and took a dip in the tank. A miracle happened. As they emerged from

the water, they shone with youth and beauty. The Siva Yogi disappeared from

their midst and Lord Siva and Mother Parvathy appeared in the sky, blessing all

of them. The Lord said: ‘Due to the merit of having lived a life of self-control

and devotion, you will live in My Eternal Abode, forever youthful.’

Arial"> The Lord thus revealed the glory of supreme devotion to Him (which

alone made it possible for Neelakantar to refrain from lustful thoughts or

actions, after his wife had sworn in the Name of the Lord) and a life of

celibacy which bestows eternal youthfulness on you. Sivaya Namah

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