The boy who turned a siddha

It was a small hamlet near Kollimalai. It was habituated mainly by tribal population. The people had no education, they were absolutely innocent. Their occupation was collecting dry twigs from the forest and selling them to the people in the village. Money circulation was very limited.

Muni, a small boy in that village didn’t like this style of living. He wondered why not go into the forest and live there with all the freedom like animals. One day, when he went into the forest for collecting twigs, he went deep inside. But when it was getting dark, he became panicky. When it became dark, the wild animals started roaring in high pitch and started roaming in search of preys. The boy trembled with fear. And, to add to his misery, he felt extremely hungry also. He couldn’t find food there. When he moved through, he heard the flowing noise of a canal. When he moved towards the canal for water, he stumbled on something. He found it to be a fruit. It smelt deliciously. When he ate the fruit, he found it very tasty. His hunger was satiated. Then, he drank the water from the rivulet. He fell asleep immediately. When he opened his eyes, it was full sunlight. He decided to return to his village. Before leaving, he drank the canal water again. At that time, he heard a voice from the sky ordering him not to return to his village but to stay-put in the forest. He also heard the voice telling that it was Kollimalai siddha who was talking to him. Puzzled, the boy looked at the direction of the voice, but he could see none. The voice again asked him whether he was feeling hungry. To this, the boy answered in the negative. Then the voice asked whether he was afraid to be in the forest. When the boy said ‘yes’, the voice told him to look at the plant with red flowers at his right side. The voice asked him to eat three fruits of that plant and then massage his body with the leaves of that plant. When the boy asked for the reason, the voice said that if he ate the fruits of that plant, he would not get hunger or thirst for another forty years and the scent of the leaves on his body would keep the wild animals and insects in the forest away from him. The Kollimalai siddha asked the boy to continue in the forest and meditate on Lord Siva and assured him that Lord Siva would bless him with His vision. And the boy’s name would become Mooligai siddha thereafter, the voice told.

The voice also told that the boy would be able to identify the herbs in the forest in course of time. After learning about the herbs in the course of twenty years, he should go to the nearby villages and treat the people with the herbs, it was the order of Lord Siva, the voice added.

Munian followed the instructions of Kollimalai siddha to the letter. He came to be known Mooligai siddha after he became adept in herbal medicine. He earned fame by saving many lives through his herbal therapy. Even today, Mooligai siddha is believed to be roaming inside the forest and the villagers look at him as their God.

Siddhas are living amongst us though we are not aware of their presence. If we pray to them earnestly, they’ll certainly rush to our help. We should never lose faith in them. It is an indisputable fact that God has allowed siddhas to be with us for our sake only.