Originally appeared in The Cross and Lotus Journal; 2005 Vol. 6 No. 1 by Greg Hough
Lucky for us we were under David’s wing and we were shown the story of St. Thomas, doubting Thomas, a direct disciple of Christ. Thomas is known to have ministered first on the west then the east coast of India from 54–72 A.D. Growing up a pragmatic protestant in Minnesota (close to Lake Wobegon) it was never important whether you truly believed in the life and miracles of Jesus. If the closest you could come was accepting the Bible as a very well told myth, that was okay so long as you did your best to live by the Golden Rule.
In India I was confronted with THE artifacts of Thomas: a cross he carved into stone with his own hands, the 2000 year old altar painting he brought from Israel of Mother Mary and Baby Jesus, and the spear tip a Brahmin priest thrust into his chest to end the teachings of this heretic to Hinduism. We first visited San Thome Cathedral where Thomas was buried (until being moved to the Vatican) and the adjacent museum, and St. Thomas Mount, a rock outcropping at the edge of the city where Thomas was martyred after fleeing there in hopes of finding sanctuary. Our last visit to Little Mount Caves was on the spur of the moment as we headed out of town toward Sri Ramana Ashram.
Here near the Adyar River, Saint Thomas first sought refuge from the Brahmin priests in a large cave. Legend has it he was trapped in the cave as the Brahmins approached, and he escaped by pushing on the back wall of solid rock, which miraculously gave way to provide his escape hatch.