Once upon a time, there lived a hunter in South India named Thinna. He hunted in the forest and was very simple-minded and fearless by nature. He had no knowledge of worship or religious rituals.
One day, while hunting, Thinna saw a Shiva Lingam on a hill. Seeing the divine image of the Shiva Lingam, Thinna's heart filled with devotion, and he immediately accepted Lord Shiva as his deity. Such love for the Shiva Lingam welled up in his heart that he didn't want to leave Lord Shiva alone.
Thinna began to serve Lord Shiva according to his simple understanding. He would bring water from a nearby river in his mouth and bathe the Shiva Lingam. Then, still wearing his shoes, he would climb onto the Shiva Lingam and offer flowers. And the meat he hunted, he would offer to Lord Shiva before eating it himself.
The temple priests, who performed the rituals properly, were very saddened and angered by Thinna's impure worship. Every day they would clean the Shiva Lingam, perform new worship, and wonder who this wicked person was who was defiling the Shiva Lingam.
One day, Lord Shiva decided to test his beloved devotee, Thinna. When the priests had finished their worship and left, Thinna arrived. He saw that blood was flowing from one of the Shiva Lingam's eyes, and Lord Shiva seemed to be in great pain. Seeing this, Thinna wept loudly and began to search for a solution.
When no solution came to mind, he thought that if a wound occurs on one part of the body, it can be healed by replacing it with another part. Thinking this, without any hesitation, Thinna took out one of his own eyes with an arrow and placed it in the place of the bleeding eye. The bleeding stopped immediately. Thinna was very happy.
But then he saw that blood had started flowing from the other eye of the Shiva Lingam as well. Thinna understood that Lord Shiva needed his other eye too. He raised the arrow to pluck out his other eye, but knowing that he would be blind after removing it, he placed his foot on the Shiva Lingam to mark the spot (so he would remember the location). Just as he was about to remove his second eye...
Lord Shiva immediately appeared!
Lord Shiva held Thinnappa's hand and lovingly said, "Stop, Kannappa! You have won me over with your unique and true devotion. There is no devotee like you."
Pleased with Thinnappa's devotion and sacrifice, Lord Shiva granted him his divine vision and restored his eyesight. From that day on, Thinnappa, who came to be known as Kannappa (the one who offered his eyes), was counted among the 63 great devotees (Nayanars) of Lord Shiva.
The essence of this story is that Lord Shiva does not look at outward rituals, but at the true faith, devotion, and love of his devotee.
Read more : - The Power of Practical Thinking
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