Everybody needs a miracle

Given how freely the word is used it would appear that miracles are not as uncommon a phenomenon as one would...

Given how freely the word is used it would appear that miracles are not as uncommon a phenomenon as one would think. A superhuman athletic feat, the rescue of a child from a well, or the recent news out of Mumbai that a stillborn infant8217;s funeral was interrupted by the sound of her drawing breath to cry unfortunately the joy was short-lived: the baby died a few days later 8212; have all been breathlessly described as 8220;miracles8221;. Similarly described are happenings that are strange or inexplicable: supposed alien sightings or emanations from the human body, people crying tears of crystal, spitting out insects, and other such alarmist tales from the world of tabloids and junk television.

But are these really 8220;miracles8221;? The Oxford English Dictionary defines a miracle as 8220;an extraordinary and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws, attributed to a divine agency8221;. It would seem that an element of the sacred is an essential part of the experience, required to produce the awe and reverence conventionally associated with the word 8220;miracle8221;. It could be the birth of a white buffalo calf chance: 1 in 6 million in Wisconsin, read by Native Americans as a sign of a spiritual awakening; multicoloured beams suddenly appearing in a Buddhist monastery in Myanmar.

In truth, however, it does not matter if the phenomenon could possibly be found to have a simple human or scientific rationale. Mathew Arnold claimed that it was near impossible 8220;to exaggerate the proneness of the human mind to take miracles as evidence, and to seek for miracles as evidence8221;. How right he was can be seen from the general reluctance to accept simple explanations: there were few takers for the capillary action theory at the time of the frenzy over milk-sipping Ganesha statues, for instance. And not just in India, but all over the world it takes but the slightest suggestion of a divine presence 8212; a light beam in the shape of a cross, an oil formation on a statue 8212; to spread wild hope among the faithful.

Is it our weakness and need for hope that makes us so vulnerable? 8220;The happy do not believe in miracles,8221; Goethe said. Is it why even Mumbai, modern city that it is, is still hopelessly optimistic when it comes to believing in miracles? A couple of years ago, a rumour claiming that the sea water had turned miraculously sweet brought crowds thronging to Mahim creek; people cheerfully cupped and sipped till various explanations were put forward 8212; chemical waste, rain water, etc 8212; and scientists declared the water unsafe to drink.

The irony of course is that even ordinarily the water in Mumbai can be said to be fairly unsafe to drink. Indeed, given the trials faced daily by Mumbaikars 8212; the rush on the local trains, the pollution and so on 8212; many would maintain that the fact that life goes on under these circumstances is in itself a miracle. That, however, is not what most people want to hear: as the bishop Synesius of Cyrene wrote in the 5th century, 8220;what is easy to understand we despise; we need prodigies and miracles.8221;

It is understandable then why people have been flocking in thousands to St Michael8217;s Church in Mumbai since Friday night. The rumour that a red patch had mysteriously appeared on an icon, staining the area around Christ8217;s chest in a manner reminiscent of the familiar image of the bleeding heart of Jesus, spread quickly in the vast city. Crowds descended on the church famous for its Wednesday novenas. Catholic functionaries refused to term the incident a miracle, as the church requires a battery of tests before a miracle can be 8220;authenticated8221;. The possibility of moisture has been raised, not an unlikely probability in the monsoon season. None of this has stopped the faithful from visiting.

On Saturday, the crowd is estimated to have swelled to 70,000, blocking traffic for hours on the main arterial road connecting the western suburbs to the city. The magnitude of the delays can be gauged from the fact that a particular gentleman, in frustration, disembarked from a bus headed downtown and walked to his bank. Having finished his business there, he walked further, almost two kilometres, to pay his telephone bill. Then he reached a bus stop and, to his surprise, found himself getting on to the very same bus he had left behind. Miracles come in many forms.

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Mumbai-based Shah is the author of 8216;Hype, Hypocrisy and Television in Urban India8217; amritareachgmail.com