Your faith will be tested in various ways. However, even under extreme trials and difficulties you should not lose your faith, your sole anchor. Kannappa, the hunter of Kalahasti, had true, living faith in Shiva. His daily offering to God was the flesh of wild beasts. One day Shiva tested the sincerity of Kannappa. Tears fell from the right eye of the Shivalingam.
Kannappa was sorely moved. He plucked out his right eye and fixed it in the right eye of the lingam. The next day there were tears in the lingam’s left eye. Kannappa plucked out his left eye and fixed it in the lingam. At once Shiva appeared before him and blessed him. Kannappa immediately had new eyes and attained the kingdom of Kailash, Shiva’s abode of immortality and eternal bliss. You should possess the same unshakable living faith which Kannappa had. Then only can you enjoy the everlasting peace of the Eternal.
The story of Markandeya illustrates the power of faith. Markandeya was a great devotee of Shiva. His father Mrikandu performed rigorous austerities to get a son. Shiva appeared before him and said, “O Rishi, do you want a good son who will die in his sixteenth year or a bad and foolish son who will live for a long time?” Mrikandu replied, “O my venerable Lord, let me have a good son.”
The boy came to know about his fate and began to worship Shiva wholeheartedly with intense faith and devotion. The boy entered into deep meditation and samadhi on the day decreed as the day of his death. The messengers of Yama were not able to approach him. Hence, Yama himself went to take away his life. The boy prayed to Shiva for protection and embraced the Lingam. Then Yama threw his noose round the Lingam and the boy. Shiva came out of the Lingam immediately and killed Yama to protect the boy. Shiva was called Mrityunjaya and Kala-kala from that day.
Then the devas approached Shiva and said, “O adorable Lord, salutations unto Thee. Pardon Yama for his mistake. O ocean of mercy, bring him back to life.” Then Shiva brought Yama back to life at the request of the gods. He also conferred a boon to the boy Markandeya that he should live forever as a boy of sixteen years of age.
When Namdev was a child, his father would visit the temple of Vittoba or Sri Krishna at Pandarpur and offer worship with fruits, rice and other items. One day, he had to visit a neighbouring village on some urgent business and could not attend to the worship. Namdev’s mother gave the offerings to Namdev and asked him to go and offer them to Vittoba. The boy took the articles of worship and placed them before the image and requested Him to eat the same. When he found that the image was silent, he started weeping bitterly in acute agony. Then Vittal appeared before him in human form and actually ate the offering in order to please his child-devotee. Faith and devotion can work wonders, and God becomes a slave of the devotee.
True devotion will bring God to you. Shabari was a woman of the forest tribe of Bhils. She presented Sri Rama with some fruits which she had bitten to know if they were sweet. Rama accepted the offering with intense delight on account of the true spirit of devotion in which it was made. What is wanted is a loving heart. God does not want precious gifts. The prayer must be from the bottom of the heart. Love without attachment is needed. The self-surrender must be sincere, perfect, ungrudging and unreserved. When this is effected, one need not do any sadhana at all. Divine power will do everything.