There are several documented incidents of Hindu Gods and Saints responding to prayers and devotion of foreigners while staying in India and also blessing people of other religions residing in India. The few instances mentioned here show that God looks at something deeper in devotees than just race, religion or national origin.
1. Pazhani, Tamil Nadu (550 – 300 BCE)
Bhoghar Siddhar of Sri Pazhani Dandayudhapani Temple fame was considered by many to be of Chinese origin by birth. Lord Muruga appeared to him and bestowed him all yogic siddhis inspite of his Chinese origin. He crafted the idol of Lord Muruga at the Pazhani Temple and is widely respected as one of the famous 18 Siddhas (Perfected beings) in Tamilnadu.
[wp_ad_camp_1]
2. Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu (1750-1829)
Isanya Desikar (1750-1829) was a Siddha Sannyasin born in the Saiva traditions who lived his latter parts of his life and attained Samadhi in Tiruvannamalai. He exerted a strong influence on the then District Collector Ayton – an Englishman. Ayton lived and breathed the name of Isanya Desikar whom he affectionately called ‘Thatha’ (grandfather). His chronic tuberculosis ailment was cured instantly by Isanya Desikar. Once he crossed over a flooded river by the invisible hand of Isanya desikar and his faith in Him. Isanya Desikar heard his cries from his ashram at the same instant and showed his spiritual powers and moved him to safety. Ayton used to pull the chariot of Lord Arunachaleswarar by himself at the Deepam festival every year chanting Isanya Desikar’s name.
3. Mantralaya, Andhra Pradesh (1800)
It is recorded by the then British Collector of Bellary, Sir Thomas Munro that the great Saint Sri Raghavendra Swamy appeared before him in spirit at Swami’s Samadhi at Mantralaya in 1800, blessed Munro and cleared Munro’s doubts about the extent of land owned by the Swami’s Mutt, nearly 130 years after taking JivaSamadhi in Mantralaya.
4. Shirdi, Maharashtra (19th century)
Shri Sai Baba of Shirdi is said to have given a deserving British officer and his wife who were childless for a long time with the gift of child. Sri Sai’s whole life was filled with incidents of fostering spiritual awakening, human oneness and unity within India.
5. Agar Malwa, Madhya Pradesh (1883) (Baijnath Mahadev Temple)
When British Lt. Colonel Martin was delayed in Afghanisthan in 1879 with no news of his safety, his wife prayed to Lord Shiva at this temple for his safe return. A letter from Martin informed her that Lord Shiva appeared as a tribal warrior or yogi armed with Trishul (trident) and saved the British officer Martin from being killed by Afghans just when his wife finished a 11-day long chanting of Rudra Mantras with priests in this temple praying for his safe return. This temple was fully renovated by them in 1883 and is the only Hindu temple in India rebuilt or renovated by the British.
6. Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh (2005) (Sri Rudreshwar Mahadev Shiva Temple)
The Rudreshwar Mahadev Temple at Gangeshpur locality in Varanasi was built by Noor Fatmi, a devout Muslim widow and practising lawyer. She said that Lord Shiva had appeared in her dream and instructed her to construct a temple for Him. This temple was constructed in just three months with full support of both Hindu and Muslim leaders and communities in Varanasi and opened to devotees for worship in March 2005.
Author’s Site: bharathkumark.simplesite.com
I don’t like the above articles, but I love them. Great.
Aravindan. P.
.
much impressed with your rare collections really it is very essential to build faith, oneness and peace for all
it very true all are equal before god
pry the almighty to prevail peace, harmony amongst all
It is said that there was a Siva temple in Colorado in USA some two lakhs years ago. Please try to publish the details of it.
It happens in all religions. Persons of one faith get blessings from God of another faith.This proves God is one for all faiths and you can worship in any form.This has to be followed by all and will make all humans to live happily without wars.Five fingers have to join as one to live.
dhanyavad for enlightening us with such real facts which we must beleive and preserve and spread to all our world citizens and publish as specyil class on History in our Schools and Management Institutions.
this thought(subject line) itself is childish
as for GOD Almighty – there is no one a foreigner or something except a human being & HE loves all
HE is for sure ONE for all, is not under the boundaries of any particular religion – as all religions been created by humans with their belittle know-how
HE is the Creator of Heaven & Earth and everything that is in it
we humans are fools who try giving him space in small/big temples/churches/mosques/mat’ths/gurudwaras etc etc etc
because we should imagine HIS size by the size of the whole universe – which HE created —- so naturally HE is bigger than that & is the sole owner of everything……………
I think to call the God hindu-God is misleading, The God does not belong to any one ,thou is for all creatures.I do not think you will call other relegion -God by their community identity .
Very good information this must be published in all the news paper all over the world
Very useful about Hindu religion thank u. 🕉. 🙏🏾. 🌷
I’m surprised to hear that anyone was wondering whether God discriminates on the basis of race, religion, or national origin.
Very interesting , good to be making our devotion stronger through all this information which is very ancient
Very good collection and a unique effort. “Documented incidents” are what is important.
Similar events have happened at 1. Bhadrachalam Ramadasu Swami – Sri Rama and Lakshmana appeared to the Sultan and repaid the debt of the Saint. 2. Maduranthakam Eri Kaatha Ramar koil- Sri Rama and Lakshmana appeared to Collector Lionel Blaze while guarding the lake bunds.
Thanks for sharing everyone’s knowledge or experience through this site about India’s spiritual or mythological heritage. I think life and work of our great saints also deserve to be published here.
Very informative. Liked reading.
Yes. I agree with some of the observations made herein. The heading is misleading. The Almighty, God, Paramatma or whatever you call is one and same. Sanatana Dharma consists of various ways and means to attain the knowledge about Brahmam and people can chose any individual or acharya (Guru, who in turn can be the worshipper of any deity). The ultimate aim is to realise that all come from one source and therefore ought not to indulge in discrimination of any human being. Anyone who practices this principle will be blessed by God.
No religious scripture talks about discrimination on the basis of religion, caste, land or language. Hence kindly change the heading to ‘Miracles or Prayers experienced by individuals’
Sarva lokhah sukhino bhavantu
This provides some information, but not enough. God does not belong to any sect or race or language group, though sectarian claims are made. Likewise, true saints are also beyond all man-invented distinctions., As Coleridge says:
Saints will aid if men will call
For the blue sky bends over all.
This apart, there are many, many instances of Britishers and other foreigners and Muslims being blessed by the Deities in our temples and our Sadhus and Saints. Perhaps, the most famous instance in Tamil Nad is Sri Rama blessing a British Collector at Madurantakam, by stopping the breach of a huge lake. Many such instances are recorded by Sri A.M.Rajagopalan in his columns in a Tamil weekly, with dates and other references. There are also instances of Muslim Nawabs / their families being blessed by Sri Rama/ Hanuman. The most famous instance here is Rama and Lakshmana appearing before Tani Shah to secure the release of Gopanna ( Bhadrachala Ramadas). Instances of Hanuman blessing Muslim devotees are recorded by Swaminatha Atreya in his Tamil book “Jaya Jaya Hanuman.” The instance of Tulukka Nachiar at Srirangam is also known. Unfortunately, we Hindus lack the instinct to compile detailed and authoritative chronicles and the information lies scattered. Consequently, even historical instances get viewed as mere legends or grandmother’s stories.
During Ophthalmologists international gathering it was told “eye transplantation” was performed by the tribal man name “Tinnadu” became with changed name now as “Kannapa” to the loard of Sri Kalahasti which is existing close to Tirupathi. Where legendary Classical Karnatak Musician sung the hums of god in 5 languages .
Very informative.This proves the doctrine that God is one and different people call by different names.Thanks
Brilliant article Pl keep them coming. TO those confused sepoys who landed here by mistake and now try to give gyan on Hinduism thanks but no thanks Pl move on.
i am very much interested in religious photos and stores, hence please post the same.
Superb article very important collection of instances, more need to be found and publicized. This shows the core difference in Sanatan(Hindu) or Eastern philosophy and Abrahamic (West-Christian,Islam etc). Where by Sanatan God is universally accepting,loving but Abrahamic God is (as per their scriptures) full of prejudice and jealousy. True spiritualism.
God is one. He is the ruler for all the universal area. Society only created lot of communities and castes. By birth no body having different categories.
May a detailed article on KALIYUGA be provided.Views of dignitaries be also included.Quotes of Swami Vivekananda -According to hindu philosophy and s scriptures,K.J.is considered as the age of vice and sin and in this period men become the most selfish and cruel. Predictions of Vedavyash are found to be more or less correct.Some of them are-Men will no longer protect their parents.,Wealth alone will be considered the sign of a man’s good birth,proper behaviour and fine qualities.And lA andjusticewill be applied on the basis of one’s power etc.Refer BHAGAVATAM.
Very enlightening information useful for harmony amongst various religions. Please restart your e mails on health and wellbeing.
B K DHIR
Good Information. But we know only very few, there are so many incidents. It is difficult to explain about sanatana dharma.
You could include in this list the Ram temple in Madhuranthakam, Tamil Nadu. Built next to a tank bund, one night due to heavy rains, the bund was to break and flood the town. Lord Ram appeared that night in the dreams of the British Collector and assured him he will save the town. The rains miraculously stopped and the town was saved. The Collector then built the temple for Lord Ram. The Lord is known thereafter as ‘Eri katha Ramar’ in Tamil meaning’ The Ram who saved the Tank’
The Universe is all that the eye can see and what there is beyond that which you cannot see. The system and its synchronization within and without the boundaries of our limited minds extend to universal geographies that are yet to be discovered by man. We intelligently call the force that we believe conceived this spectacular picture ‘GOD’ . We call the source of all energies ‘GOD”. We see no end in the program of existence as each day brings forth the newness of a dynamic tomorrow.
There has to be a ‘power’ of exactness and supreme intelligence who and which allows for the navigation of each item of existence and it’s placement in the world. You and I are those items that are continuously navigating within the ambit of the amalgam of life and the protection of a generous creator whose joy is in the making of all things. The ‘God ‘of creation and the timekeeper of the Universe…. ‘God” is of no gender and cannot be heard nor can ‘God ‘ be seen but the influence of the force of the Creator is omnipresent in the continuation of the Universe. How much the night longs for the day and the sun dictates the light it will showcase as the minutes’ pass by to dusk. There is , I believe no altercation in the space used by ‘God ” God is one for all. Called by many names that suit the ages and the man made religions of human emotions ‘God ” is only one and ‘God ‘ will stay that way forever till humanity exists ad the planets in the Universe play their game in synchronicity .
When a prayer beseeching the Almighty from the core of the heart surely reaches and God does not discriminate whether such prayer is from a Hindu or from other faiths.
One can also add Nizam Muslim Ruler Tanisha’s experience of Lord Rama appearing in his dream repaying the treasury funds “misused” by Bhakti Ramadasa, the Tahasildar of Bhadhrachalam in the construction and making gold ornaments for Lord Rama, Sita and his parivar. The repayment though received in his dream are very real with Lord Rama’s inscriptions.
It is said that even if god is willing to bless everyone without bias, the guru may not allow the same. Thats one of the drawbacks of Hinduism. Even today, in Brahman dominated areas, the people of the lower caste are looked down upon, and not allowed to enter temples, partake in the prasad or satsangs etc. So where is this all encompassing Gods then? Aren’t they ready to correct the folly of such low minded people ever. I remember once I was at a temple, and when the priest knew I was not a Brahmin, he literally threw the prasad in my hand, scared that if he touched me by mistake then he would loose his purity!! We had food at a brahmins house once, but once we had completed the meal, while others were allowed to enter the kitchen and leave their used plates, our plates were taken out directly to be washed, less they would loose the sanctity of their kitchen!!! This is rather scornful and purely racist, and our Gods powerless for letting these people to behave in such a manner!! These so called priests and Brahmans forget the fact that Krishna and Rama were also born in Kshatriya families, so was Siddhartha.
In Sanatana Dharma is it mentioned “Yah” means he whoever he may be. No religion is attached. If anyone follows the dictum he will reap the benefit. irrespective of caste, gender, colour etc.
Thanks to all for reading and appreciating the article. I used the word ‘foreigners’ in subject header only to illustrate that even at height of oppressive outsiders rule in India, divine was still active and blessing all – even deserving foreigners staying here.
Am thankful for the interest generated by the article. Certainly many more reliable incidents of blessings are surely there. Two most famous incidents were mentioned by people who read this -namely Madurantakam Sri Ram and Bhadrachalam Ramadas. I will add these to set and god-willing if more are found may send for publishing later. Diwali greetings to all!
VERY GOOD COLLECTION AND INFORMATIVE.ARE THERE ANY PHOTOS ALSO. M.K.RAO
All Hindu Gods have great power. Only thing is to have faith in them. Results will come positively as observed by me and millions of others including people of different faiths.
That’s sokay great. Thank for sharing such an interesting history
I think but do not know that we as humans, although from other lands than India, may be contacted by the Hindu Gods possibly because we have had previous lives connected with them.
For example, someone might have grown up catholic in a far away country but in previous lives he or she might have been a Vishnu devotee. Therefore, with no knowledge of such a god in the present life, Vishnu appears in a vision and in subsequent ones.
This same occurrence for someone else might take place with Greek Gods or other religious and mythological figures.
The most important aspect of life is whether we are open enough to understand the door that has been open for us and to be wise about it.
We must pray to God in order to be blessed.
Our mind and soul should be surrendered to god if one wants to be blessed.