At last she settled down here [in Nagercoil] so that she might go monthly to Cape Comorin to bathe in its sacred waters.* But neither did this bring the desired forgiveness. It was a long and sad tale of disappointed hope that she told to Santhyai and Ambudial, the two zenana teachers visiting in that district. But they were able to tell her of a more excellent way* — the Way of Life, which is Jesus Christ.* She said she had sought salvation through her own gods until she despaired of their ever giving it; she would now willingly make a trial of this new way. The Bible-women taught her a short prayer, “Jesus, my God, my Life, I am a poor sinner, save me!”* She has a different tale to tell now, for she is filled with joy and peace. She delights to speak of the great blessing that has come to her, and says that when she communes with God she seems to be lifted up and surrounded by light, so that she is able to understand many truths hitherto hidden from her.
* Cape Cormorin (Comorin), a corruption via Portuguese of the Indian name Kanyakumari, is sometimes dubbed India’s ‘Land’s End’ as it lies right on the southernmost tip of the subcontinent, in the waters of the Laccadive or Lakshadweep Sea, where the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the Indian Ocean all converge. Nagercoil is just a few miles away. Hindu legend says that the goddess Kanya Devi (Shakti) was jilted by Shiva on her wedding day, and ever afterwards remained a virgin and patroness of the unwedded.
* See 1 Corinthians 12:31.
* See John 14:6.
* An expanded form of the Prayer of the Publican (tax-gatherer) in Luke 18:13: “God be merciful to me, a sinner!”. It is closely related to the Prayer of the Heart or Jesus Prayer widely used in the Eastern churches since the fifth century or earlier, which may take several forms but in its most common runs “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me [a sinner]”. See The Prayer of the Heart.