Murkha Nayanar history

This saint was a Vellala by caste and he belonged to Tiruverkat in Thondai Nadu. He was a great devotee of Lord Siva and was doing Maahesvara Puja by regularly feeding His Bhaktas at any cost. He had spent all his wealth in such feeding.

So, he resorted to a strange way. He used to gamble and use the money for feeding Siva Bhaktas. He went away from his village in search of gamblers! He would not spare anybody if someone refused to gamble with him, he would resort to violence! (So the name Murkha Nayanar which means wicked Nayanar!) But, he would never utilise the money for his own expenses. It was all for His Bhaktas. So, the Lord, the Indweller, showered His blessings on him.

This is an extraordinary illustration of the nature of supreme devotion or Para Bhakti. It is its own law. The devotee knows nothing but God and is actually oblivious of the world and its manners. He lives in God, for God and he is of God. At such a stage, God Himself takes charge of him! The completeness of the surrender is severely tested before this.

It is the extreme difficulty of this path that made Sage Narada exclaim that even a saint should not violate the canons of morality. Hence, so long as you are aware of your own individuality, stick to the code of right conduct do not foolishly imitate the sages who dwell in a plane of consciousness, to which you are a complete stranger.