Incinerating Evil Spirits
Akilattirattu speaks of this act of incinerating the evil spirits as an important event in the incarnation of Ayya Vaikundar. It took place when he was performing his great penance, which had been announced by him to be the means of destroying the kalimayai - the illusory evil force. He, then, gathered the people around, and caused some of them, both male and female, to get possessed of the evil spirits (peyattam). The possessed ones came and danced in front of the crowd as if the evil spirits had come upon them. Vaikundar, then, ordered these evil spirits to make an oath, in front of the people, to surrender their powers and get burned up in flames. When he had finished his orders, those dancing under the duress of possession got exhausted and fell flat on the ground. Thus the evil spirits were incinerated.
Read more about this topic: Ayya Vaikundar
Famous quotes containing the words evil and/or spirits:
“No, no. God will not damn a lunatic’s soul. He knows that the powers of evil are too great for those of us with weak minds.”
—Garrett Fort (1900–1945)
“Piety practised in solitude, like the flower that blooms in the desert, may give its fragrance to the winds of heaven, and delight those unbodied spirits that survey the works of God and the actions of men; but it bestows no assistance upon earthly beings, and however free from taints of impurity, yet wants the sacred splendour of beneficence.”
—Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)