I was nearly stoned to death - Trishulam Aadheenam Under Attack
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“There were about 30 sannyasis at the Trishulam aadheenam and we were constantly disturbed and attacked. We were just female sanyasis working there with the community.
One day, myself and two other female sanyasis, Ma Sarada and Ma Pavitra, were in the temple container offering puja, while other sanyasis were doing their routine like cooking and cleaning. The temple and office containers were close to the street. Suddenly, large rocks were thrown at us. Those rocks were so large that they would have killed us if Swamiji’s grace had not protected us. We were unable to step out of the container for nearly 3 to 4 hours. Luckily one man, whom we believe was a devotee, closed the container door to keep us safe. The rocks fell on the deities and broke them. The container, where we were, was shaking and we feared it was going to tumble over. The window pane was shattered and debris was falling inside. We had to stay in the corners to keep safe.”
Suddenly, there was a loud scream of pain from a female sanyasi. Ma Sarvatma forgot about her safety when she heard that scream. “Immediately, the three of us ran to the temple container where the scream had come from. One of our sanyasi sisters was lying unconscious on the floor. She was bleeding in many areas of her body and she had scratches on her hands and legs. Her blouse was torn. She had nearly been raped by one of the attackers.”
I was so scared that I started crying. “We were holding each other, wondering why this was happening to us. Day in and day out, we only serve the community and we lead the simple life of Hindu monks. Why would someone do this to us? This attack happened in the presence of the police. There were about 20 to 30 police officers but none of them protected us. We managed to get our sister to the hospital where she remained recovering for a month. She was nearly raped and the police just stood there! Are they sick or mad?
Swamiji had taught us that our life was for others and that we should keep on doing our work. So no matter what the disturbance was, we decided to stay and face this illegal war. The physical attack reduced but the harassment continued and is going on till date.”