November 10, 2003

For the past three weeks, I’ve had a very painful ulcer that persisted in my mouth. There were located on my tongue, my gums, and on the buccal mucosa. It was erythematous (red) and tender (painful) to the touch; so much so that it hurt tremendously whenever I had anything to eat.

Having tried vitamins, etc. I decided to try something that has always worked in the past for me — vibhuthi (sacred ash).

So, I took a pinch of vibhuthi and sang the 10 verses of Thirualavaay pathigam (“Manthira maavadhu neeru…”) and then applied it on the affected areas.

On the first day, the pain went away. Second day, the swelling subsided. Third day, it was no longer visible to my naked eye.

I was amazed by how much the pain had subsided and also how quickly the ulcers disappeared — in three days (compared to the three weeks of suffering I was enduring). All it took was a little vibhuthi and faith!