Unforgettable Experience

It was 9th June 1969.I was in my native village, i Tiruchirapalli. My daughter was 22 days old.
She was sleeping in a bamboo cradle in the hall.My parents had gone to the temple. As I was busy in the kitchen I felt the haphazard swinging of the cradle.When I rushed to the hall I saw a big monkey sitting on the rim of the cradle and jumping & rejumping over and over again giving a vertical bumping motion to the cradle.

When I went near the cradle and tried to drive away the monkey with vociferous signals, the monkey didn't move. In stead it took away the baby biting the araignan rope with its teeth,with the baby's head and feet hanging on both the sides.Immediately it jumped out of the cradle and started running towards the backyard.

My imagination ran riot.The most favourite place for the monkey used to be the concrete slab on the well, the top of coconut trees or the madhil suvar( compound wall ) of the temples. since there was nobody at home, I was nervous.The monkey was nearing the well which was just 20 feet away.

Suddenly I got a flash. I remembered the words my mother had spoken on an earlier occasion. " Monkeys think that they are the most beautiful creatures in the world. They would like to see and admire their own form in the mirror'.Without wasting a second I took the mirror from the shelf and ran towards the monkey, & by some sounds attracted its attention. It was just 2 steps to reach the well. With prayer in my mind, & posing to be brave I just went infront of the monkey and showed the mirror just against its face. Immediately the monkey became too happy or inquisitive and dropped the baby on the mud floor just adjacent to the parapet wall.I just threw the mirror near the monkey in which it seemed to enjoy its beauty.Everything happened within one minute.

I took the baby inside, bolted the doors.It took nearly an hour for me to regain my normal breath.Luckily the child had no problem except a mark of the monkey's teeth.As she was just an infant she didn't feel panicky.It was a rebirth to her.

The valuable information which had been received by me casually, helped me in a crisis.Our education, degrees, intelligence or our official position may not be of help on such occasions. Only our commonsense,samayochitabuddhi and swiftness matter a lot.By divine grace we should get strength of my mind to get at the right idea and implement it in right time, right speed and the appropriate manner.

Actually the information was given to me when I was just 8 years old when my mother used to tell about the Ramar Pattabhishekam when the monkeys were decorating Sita for the festival.They decorated themselves also and stood before Sita & told her with pride that they looked more beautiful than Sita herself and that if Rama had seen them earlier he would not have thought of Sita.
Things that look little and insignificant ,assume the greatest importance in our life.
Due to Hanuman's grace, my daughter, 45 now lives happily in Singapore with her husband and two children.
An unforgettable experience indeed!

Jayasala42