India: Priests sit in water drums to appease rain god
August 31, 2009
RAIN, rain, don't go away.
PRAYING FOR RAIN: Hindu priests sit inside barrels containing water as they perform special prayers in order to appease Varuna, the Hindu rain god, in a temple in Mumbai. PICTURES: AP, REUTERS
With rainfall desperately scarce recently, desperate times call for desperate measures.
DNA India reported that with the rainfall not being up to the mark this season, people are trying every possible way to please the rain gods.
On Wednesday, 11 priests sat neck-deep in water in 90cm wide drums for over three hours, chanting mantras from the Vedas at the Sri Sankara Mattham in Matunga, Mumbai.
Venkataraman Shastri, 65, the head priest of the temple and one of the priests who sat inside the drum, said: 'We do this to gain the goodwill of the rain god Varuna for abundant rains in the city and the country.'
The belief is that the mantras help create vibrations which bring abundant rains.
'The success depends on the concentration, discipline and the pronunciation of those chanting them,' said Mr A N Sheshan, the president of the Mattham.
With this belief, the 11 priests recited mantras in one tone.
Water was being poured regularly into the drums to maintain the level as the drums had leaks.
HANDS UP: A Hindu holy man performing the Varuna Yajna ritual in Mumbai.
'The priests who took part in the ritual have undertaken training from a guru for 15 years. They practise for 15 hours every day to reach this stage,' said Mr Sheshan.
Delhi faced a similar problem in June when the Indian Express reported how some residents were doing their part to bring rain.
They included Mrs Sinha and her friend Madhu Singh from East Delhi who have grown up with tales of sin and repentance.
They believe that if they seek the blessings of Lord Indra and please him by doing a yagna, he will send rains their way.
Chant
In 40.2 deg C heat, they sat in a circle around a fire and chanted slokas from the Rig Veda to please the rain god.
As the pundit chanted mantras on the microphone, Mrs Sinha and Mrs Singh repeated them along with 50 others.
After every chant, the group would pour ghee into the fire, which burnt with a fresh lease of life, making the people gathered around it sweat profusely.
The heat inside was a reflection of the burning heat outside the temple.
Mrs Singh said: 'Science does not have all the solutions. When you cannot irrigate your land on time, you have to turn to God for help.'
Source:
http://tnp.sg/news/story/0,4136,212193,00.html? 
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