Usually, lamas lived in monasteries following a strict spiritual routine. However, some of them who didn’t like the monotonous life in monasteries became lama-hermits. They dwelt in caves doing rigorous meditation and prayers. Here is a story that underlines the divine nature of Sikkim’s lama-hermits.
Long ago, a lama-hermit lived in his sanctuary on a secluded hilltop. Hardly anyone ever walked up to the peak as the path up there was rugged and perilous. While everyone believed the hill was sacred to the goddess Dolma, pilgrims rarely visited the shrine to offer their prayers.
On the other hand, the lama-hermit prayed and meditated every day. For six months every year, he would give up eating and drinking, and spent his days in meditation. As a devotee of Dolma, he would get up every day before dawn and walk down the hill to fetch water from the spring.
Leading an ascetic life, he attained spiritual powers. He believed he would one day be blessed with the presence of goddess Dolma.
One day, when he went down the spring, he could feel an unusual silence around the place. The lama-hermit could sense a divine miracle. Even the spring was glowing brightly with the divine aura.
Goddess Dolma suddenly appeared before him with Her majestic brightness. When the lama-hermit knelt down to seek Her blessings, She presented him with a small jar. She asked him to keep the jar at the altar of the shrine. She also asked him to distribute the water from the jar to the devotees visiting the shrine to wash their sins away.
The lama-hermit did so. This practice continued even after his demise. Even today, all devotees at the shrine get the holy water to wash their sins away. Many devotees even view it as a remedy for all illnesses.
Kalai is passionate about reading and reinterpreting folk tales from all over the country. Write to her at kalai.muse@gmail.com to know more about her.
Folk tale adopted and abridged from Folk Tales of Sikkim by George Kotturan.