Karuvelli - Navarathri Festival

During and after independence there were exodus of people from villages to cities in search of government jobs or in quest for upgrading their life style. This continuous migration of previous generation lead to huge vacuum in small villages and in turn it impacted the temples that prevailed for centuries before.

Even now the impact is being felt in several villages where we can see lot of temples in dilapidated and ruined condition. This according to me is no different from the ruins created by Moghuls and British during their reign where they demolished lot of Hindu temples and ransacked the available treasure.

The Current generation have realized the loss and started tracing the history of ancestors and their association with temples. Few of them have joined as part of the village team that reconstruct those temples which are good signs that will save and restore our culture and lost inheritance.

One such village is Karuveli near Kumbakonam and the temple is called “Sarguneswar Temple”. The presiding deity is Lord Shiva in the form of Sarguneswaran and his consort is Sarvanga Nayagi.

Similar to other temples this one too was in a neglected and was in ruined condition till 1990, then with efforts from Shri V Krishnamurthy former chairman of BHEL, Maruthi and SAIL and his brother Shri Vaidhyanathan president of Kalki group of publications took efforts to reconstruct this temple, whose forefathers hailed from this village. Mahakumbabishegam was performed in 1997 and slowly the temple is being restored to its past glory.

Recently got an invitation(refer the above picture) through a common friend of them asking to participate in the Navarathri festival where they perform LAKSHARCHANA for Goddess Sarvanga Sundari. Thought of sharing the invitation to a bigger group and help in mobilizing some fund that will help their efforts that are planned for ongoing temple maintenance. I would suggest not only to contribute but personally participate and get the blessing during festival.(Tap on the invitation to get enlarged picture and bank/contact details)

About temple – The temple is believed to be 1300 years old and according to the sthalapurana it is one among the 51 Shakthi Peedams. After the humiliation incident of King Daksha, the Goddess has to take rebirth and got united with Shiva in her next birth. During the time of separation Lord Shiva did severe penance and saw Parvathi here and they both danced in ecstasy. After marriage both stayed in this village and the story further states that whoever comes and offers prayers at this temple will not be subjected to next birth and get only Motcham. Worshipping in this temple will have the eternal happiness of total salvation. 

Hence the place came to be known as Karu Illai meaning that there would be no entering into a womb (Karu) again. In other words an unseen fence (VELI) will be installed to prevent one to become a fetus (KARU) again. Thus, the village got the name Karuveli. Even the divine Mother had to be born again to get back Her Lord so that she would not have to be born again.

The place is believed to help one to retain all his/her noble traits for ever and also reform him/her completely from previous wicked qualities. The Lord therefore is praised as Sarguna Nather. Sargunam-noble traits.

Lord Siva with the best of his known soft behaviors resides at the temple as Sarguneswarar (self-manifested lingam) and the most beautiful Parvathi as Sarvanga Sundhari. Mother Sarvanga Sundari, as the names suggests looks superlatively beautiful with four hands. 

The idol is 5.5 feet tall. The face of the Amman reflects only peace and a disposition to free you from all the stress or emotion. The mental status and inner feelings of any one who stand before the deity cannot be explained in a few words and it is to be felt in person to know it.

Sri Sarvanga Sundari, consecrated on Yogagni peeta, blesses all devotees.When Goddess Parvathi came to know that Lord Shiva is in penance at the forest on the banks of river Harisruta (Arasalaru) appeared before Lord Shiva in penance with all her beauty only in order to make Her Lord return to family life. She danced before Lord Shiva, married Him and at the request of all Devas and Rishis the divine couple stayed permanently at Karuveli where the present temple stands.Devas and Rishis prayed that whoever comes and offers prayers at this temple will not be subjected to the tangle of birth & death.

Yama Raja constructed a temple tank opposite to the temple and offered prayer to Lord Shiva after taking a dip in the tank to get solace and overcome a curse. The tank is still called as Yama Theertham.

The amount that has been fixed for this event is less than the cost we will incur if a family of 3 go out for a movie.Would request people to come forward and join hands in uplifting the old temples to regain its glory.

D(igital)- Connection

Off late you will be observing that a lot of writing from me, would like to reveal the secret behind this. The tutor role that is being played by me helps in discovering lot of spare time, where I give some exercise to Ananya and during her execution of those exercise will browse, read and write these blogs.

Since started with Ananya studies, will share some recent experience received from her school as part of this version.

In this electronic age if you are not adopting the technology that prevails in the market you will definitely succumb to your competition. In case of the education it is more relevant as these institutions are being set up with profit motive and survival depends on surpassing other schools.

Recently received a SMS from Ananya’s school which had a link that guided me to Google play store’s App. Leisurely googled about the details of the App before downloading, will share some of my experiences on this subject.

The App name is Tenoapp( Teacher’s note), this acts as a medium of communication between a school and parents. Later on realized that there are lot of such Apps available to cater this area and depends on the school to pick an effective one.

Let me drift away to a generic topic and return back to this particular App.Normally in our routine life we encounter lot of problems, we have options either to reside with the problem or identify solutions to those. These App developers are of second category where they identify and come up with a solution and use them to earn money(ATM machine). They develop an App with features that address the problem and market them, later with the feedback received enhance the product features.

The TenoApp developers too fall under this calssification, where they connect School and parents digitally and for every download they get paid.

If the problems of a parent or child are to be listed in relation to communication with school it will run into pages but few critical ones are

1. Teachers could be met only on a particular day and several hours are squandered in travel for a few minutes of meet.

2. Child misplacing the school diary due to which a possibility of not completing the project on the scheduled date.

3. Not able to reach school authorities to know about holiday in case of emergency like rain or bandh

Advantages are many in case of these Apps to both the parties, in case of school

1. Group Communication with resend option or communication targeted to specific group like higher class

2. One way and Two communication, can be used from Principal desk or from class teacher

3. Attachments both Voice and pictures can be sent

Primary advantage for parents is that the communication is made easy not only with Class teacher but with other Parent’s of same class to get more opinions.

In general these paperless communication helps in saving environment as these will definitely get rid of School diary in the future.

See the attached picture from my phone where we have 1. Principal Message 2. Message from Class 7B teacher and 3. Message among parents of class 7.

You may ask about the disadvantages associated with these kind of Apps.

In general I do not see any disadvantage with this App, but fathers will have one, on a lighter note though, they will not be able have a glimpse of school teachers or can’t chat with class teacher of their kid. கடலை போடமுடியாது !!

Golden Rain

Recently during my internet browsing, I came across Sri Kannadasan’s “ பொன் மழை”, in that he explains Adi Sankaracharya’s Kanakadhara Stotram in his own style. Got motivated to share my learning in this forum.

Merely reciting these slokas will not help, personally I feel we will be able to relish if we understand the meaning of all the slokas that are written in Sanskrit. If that happens to be from the King of Tamil poetry then it will be a jewel in the crown. I will pick the best of the 21 slokas that I liked most and for the rest you can get a copy of his book.

For those who are not aware of the origin of this slokam the following hindsight will help.
Normally Sankaracharya will visit houses in Kalady to take bhiksha(food). On one such occasion, He came across a hut and asked for bhiksha. The women inside the house was embarrassed since she is so poor that nothing was available in her house. On her search she found an old Amla fruit. She thought that giving the amla fruit as bhiksa is not best but she had immense devotion and don’t want to send Sankara empty handed. She offered the amla fruit to Sankara with embarrassment.
Sankara realized the women’s devotion and accepted the fruit. He immediately started singing 21 slokas praising Goddess Mahalakshmi, praying her to bless the poor women and grant her riches.

Mahalakshmi response was that the lady has not done any good deeds in her previous birth so she doesn't deserve riches and is destined to suffer in poverty. Adi sankara accepted the argument about previous birth but said though the poor lady din't do any good deeds in previous birth whereas in this birth, she has such a kind heart and great devotion. Finally Goddess heeded to Sankara and blessed the old lady with showers of Golden amla fruit.Imagine, rain of golden fruit showering from sky

Adi Sankara has sung this "Kanakadhara stotra" for welfare of everyone who is suffering from their past karma and suffering in poverty.

I have attached Sanskrit version as a PDF file also the audio file for reference. For best results, after the reading the Tamil text go through the Sanskrit version with audio, you will relish in joy.Now let us travel to the book from Kannadasasan, once again I reiterate this is his translation and may not match the conventional translated version. So no fault finding exercise rather enjoy his skills as I did. 

These verses are beauty, that describes in getting a glimpse of Goddess Mahalakshmi and are my favorites and do not want to skip. Considering the space I have captured the rest in the attached PDF.
For Full Text file Click Here  

For Audio File click here - By MS

aṅgaṃ hareḥ pulaka bhūṣaṇa māśrayantī
bhṛṅgāṅga neva mukulā bharaṇaṃ tamālam |
aṅgī kṛtākhila vibhūti rapāṅga līlā
māṅgaḻya dā'stu mama maṅgaḻa devatāyāḥ ‖1‖

மாலவன் மார்பில் நிற்கும் மங்கலக் கமலச் செல்வீ!
மரகத மலரில் மொய்க்கும் மாணிக்கச் சுரும்பு போன்றாய்
நீலமா மேகம் போல நிற்கின்ற திருமாலுந்தன்
நேயத்தால் மெய் சிலிர்த்து நிகரிலாச் செல்வம் கொண்டான்!
மாலவன் மீது வைத்த மாயப்பொன் விழிஇ ரண்டை
மாதுநீ என்னி டத்தில் வைத்தனை என்றால் நானும்
காலமா கடலில் உந்தன் கருணையால் செல்வம் பெற்று
கன்ணிறை வாழ்வு கொள்வேன் கண்வைப்பாய் கமலத்தாயே

Lotus mother, who resides in the heart of MahaVishnu. He is thrilled with your grace and got showered with prosperity. Could you please set those golden eyes on me too that you grace HIM so that I will also get abundance in my life.

mugdhā muhur vidadhatī vadane murāreḥ
prematrapā praṇi hitāni gatāgatāni |
mālā dṛśor madhu karīva mahotpale yā
sā me śriyaṃ diśatu sāgara saṃbhavāyāḥ ‖2‖

நீலமா மலரைப் பார்த்து நிலையிலா(து) அலையும் வண்டு

நிற்பதும் பறப்ப தும்போய் நின்விழி மயக்கம் கொண்டு
கோலமார் நெடுமால் வண்ணக் குளிர்முகம் தன்னைக் கண்டு,
கொஞ்சிடும், பிறகு நாணும் கோதையார் குணத்தில் நின்று!
ஏலமார் குழலி அந்த இருவிழி சிறிது நேரம்
என்வசம் திரும்பு மாயின் ஏங்கிய காலம் சென்று
ஆலமா மரங்கள் போல அழிவிலாச் செல்வம் கொண்டு
அடியவன் வாழ்வு காண்பேன் அருள்செய்வாய் கமலத்தாயே !

Here Vishnu is being depicted as blue flower and Mahalakshmi’s eyes as bees that hover around the flower. On looking the face of Lord the feel of shy captures you but you are tempted to look again at HIM but shyness prevents. Hence you temporarily shift your glance at the moment of shyness, even that small divine glance at me during that time will bless me with prosperity.

āmīli tākṣa madhigamya mudā mukundaṃ
ānanda kanda manimeṣa manaṅga tantram |
ākekara sthita kanīnika pakṣma netraṃ
bhūtyai bhaven mama bhujaṅga śayāṅga nāyāḥ ‖3‖

நற்குடி பிறந்த பெண்கள் நாயகன் தனைப் பார்த்தாலும்

நாணத்தால் முகம்புதைத்து நாலிலோர் பாகம் பார்ப்பார்!
பற்பல நினைத்தபோதும் பாதிக்கண் திறந்துமூடி
பரம்பரைப் பெருமை காப்பார் !
பாற்கடல் அமுதே! நீயும் அற்புத விழிகளாலே
அச்சுத முகுந்தன் மேனி அப்படிக் காண்பதுண்டு
ஆனந்தம் கொள்வதுண்டு !
இப்பொழு(து) அந்தக் கண்ணை என்னிடம் திருப்பு தாயே !
இருமையும் செழித்து வாழ இகத்தினில் அருள்வாய் நீயே !

Pure women who are born in good family will feel shy if their husband look at them continuously. Normally these women will have subtle look at their husband with half closed eyes when he is not noticing and get delighted. You will also do the same with Vishnu. It is enough if you could look those momentary look at me to get blessed with abundance and auspiciousness in my life.

Once again would like to quote that these may be different from conventional version. The intent of this sharing is "யாம் பெற்ற இன்பம் பெருக இவ்வையகம்"meaning I got Pleasure and making that available to all is the motto here.

Change = k

The intent of writing in this forum by me is to share my experience on topics of my interest, this one too falls under that category but of a different classification.

Recently one of my ex-team member called me for a career guidance on his forthcoming new employment offer and off-late I am getting calls seeking direction on their presumption ( better term is ignorance) that I will be able to add value.

Normally I will never influence a person’s decision whereas discuss all the positives and shortcomings and leave the art of decision making to the owner.

During and after the discussion, I find a common issue among seekers,where the resistance to change supersedes the decision making of the individual, here the change not only refer to new job but all those that requires any shift from present. Thus arose this under the header borrowed from Greek philosopher.

Vairamuthu in Kochadaiyan" மாற்றம் ஒன்றுதான் மாறாதது ; மாறுவதெல்லாம் உயிரோடு; 
மாறாததெல்லாம் மண்ணோடு"

Change is necessary for ALL, that includes Living, Non-living and natural things. Is required both at work and at home. But you can feel the change only if you change.

Everything and everyone experiences change at some point of time and with respect to something. I agree that destiny determines but that alone cannot retard this major decision making exercise.But before indulging the current state, we need to ruminate lot of questions like

How to Change? Why to Change? And When to? These questions helps to embrace change and its impact. Let me identify some generic answers…that does not restrict to..

Change is fused with time and time stops for no man it marches forward and drags change along with it and if you fail to follow then you have to repent the decision. I believe that we must adapt better, if we are to succeed else the failure is inevitable. Of course, it’s difficult to change our routines initially but, once we take the first courageous steps to change, a bright and challenging future awaits. Once you are ready and completed your upskilling you have to march ahead. Embracing change without upskilling is asking for failure.

Numerous examples can be cited where big organizations have nosedived due to the failure in identifying solutions for the above 3. These have to live on their past glory. Nokia is great example.

So when we probe further on the failure to identify the need for change, the foremost one to prop up is fear associated with change. Everybody likes permanency in their life, often permanency is marked with stability and change is marked with mystery. But usually what follows permanency is monotony and what follows change is revolution. I agree that with permanency, an air of stableness is maintained but for how long does that stableness last?

Embracing and welcoming change is what makes people leaders and winners. Because they understand the fact that nothing stays forever and even if it stays forever it loses its charm it once had.

Change at first instance may not seem good, but it has hidden treasure. We need to be a little braver and a little more experimental you would find yourself at ease with change. Change brings people together, makes us smarter, opens up our minds and broadens our vision. Change brings with it opportunities to rise and shine. Change is good, so embrace it, love it and make it yours.

The best example for change which we all embraced throughout our life is our own physical change. We undergo various change physical, mental, social etc. We don’t look the same all our life. We grow in height till a certain age, intelligence, changing waistlines, greying hair etc., we learn and experience a lot with time. Socially we change a lot, meet new people every day and with present day socializing ways (Facebook), our social status changes by leaps and bounds. Some changes are by nature and some we equip ourselves and some we get infused knowingly or unknowingly.

I quote myself as an example, if someone had told me about my present stature a decade ago the first one to laugh would be me followed by my teen hood associates . Even now some heart specialist can try by sharing my current state with my teachers, sure they get lot of customers.

Options are vested with us, it is we who decide. A larva cannot taste a honey if it was to stay forever as larva or associate with change process and become a beautiful butterfly from an ugly larva. The premium we pay for the jewelry when compared to gold bar is the price for the change it embraced from goldsmith.

We will be compelled to adopt some changes, for example the oldies have started adapting to computer, smart phone and applications associated with it. Though various reasons are associated for these adoption the primary one being the fear of left in deep jungles in this communication era.
“Change is difficult not changing is fatal”.

When they can adapt for few why not experiment more to embrace?

Would like to end with Thirukural
செய்தக்க அல்ல செயக்கெடும் செய்தக்க
செய்யாமை யானுங் கெடும்.

Meaning- செய்யக்கூடாதவற்றைச் செய்தாலும் செய்ய வேண்டியவற்றைச் செய்யாமல் விட்டாலும் அழிவு வரும். One will perish if he/she does, what is not fit to do by them and also perish if they fail to do what is fit for them.

எண்ணித் துணிக கருமம் துணிந்தபின்
எண்ணுவம் என்பது இழுக்கு.

Meaning - ஒரு செயலைச் செய்து முடிக்கும் வழியை அறிந்து தொடங்குக. தொடங்கியபின் அது பற்றி எண்ணிக் கொள்வோம் என்பது குற்றம்.. Consider and then undertake a decision; after having undertaken it, to contemplate is stupidity.

August 2nd Sunday - Friendship Day

On the eve of Friendship day 7th Aug’16 , I was travelling and received a lot of greetings through all the social media I am associated with. Typical to the lonely train travel my thoughts contemplated on the reasons for India picking the first Sunday in August as Friendship day.

When Googled, there was no evidence for this uptake by India and different countries had different dates. Also learned that in 1930 Joyce Hall founder of hallmark cards invented this day with an intention of promoting his business.

At that moment a thought erupted to do a deep dive on this subject and should share my thoughts and learning as part of my blog. Had back to back travels during almost all weekends kept me busy and was able to assimilate after a month and hence this one.

During that time lot of questions exploded to me and also found answers to most but not to the primary one why India adopted 2nd Sunday.

Q1. Why there is a need for a friend?
Friendship and companionship are inseparable aspects of an individual’s life. Companionship is crucial as it wards off loneliness and distress. This sense of companionship holds a lot of significance in any relationship. Companionship is inherent in nature and it is needed for all living organisms. This process of companionship commences right from the early stages and the friends will be accumulated in each and every stage till our life. The names allied to it might be called as Father, Mother, Brother, Sister, Friends, Spouse and Kids.

Our experience will tell us that friendship often takes precedence over blood relations. Everyone tends to heed their friends more than the relatives. The trust towards companions is more than their own kin.

Q2 What are the Qualities of Good friend?
Immediately one is reminded of proverbs, ‘A man is known by the company he keeps’ and “A friend in need is a friend indeed”.

According to one tradition, true friendship is acknowledged in moments of affliction and anguish. For indeed a true friend is always at hand in adversity. In other words one who brings to your notice your defects and flaws is indeed your true friend.

When we wish to point out certain shortcomings to a friend, we must do so with a degree of respect and sincerity. Our sole intention must be to reform the friend and there should be no hint of any malice and self-righteousness. Likewise, when a friend highlights for us, our defects, we must acknowledge the same with respect and gratitude without any ill will and hostility.

Having answered the need and qualities but not the main which got linked to India in this century. But, Is celebrating friendship something new to us? Certainly not.

We have evidence that we have defined and answered all these questions several thousand years ago through various stages of history from the epic period to the modern Thiruvalluvar period and have celebrated the relationship in a grand way.

The visionary Valluvar has defined each in separate heading like நட்பு(Friendship),

நட்பாராய்தல்(Investigation in forming Friendships), தீ நட்பு(Evil Friendship), கூடாநட்பு (Unreal Friendship)

Let us travel further in the history to the epic period of Mahabharatha, here the qualities are defined by the characters. According to me the best friendship are those between Krishna and Arjuna, Krishna and Sudama, Karna and Duryodhana where the last one can be termed as my favorite.

When everyone disowned Karna including his Mother, Duryodhana stood by him not only by considering him as an equal but also bestowed him a kingdom. All through his life, Duryodhana never insulted or made fun of Karna and always respected him and defended him against his ancestors.

This undisputed friendship between Karna and Duryodhana is often considered not so genuine because Duryodhan, the selfish and jealous befriended with Karna so that he could easily challenge Arjuna. Well, agreed the initial intention was this but then the trust, love and the feelings of faith which Duryodhan had for Karna can never be questioned and vice versa. The incident during the game of dice between wife of Duryodhan and Karna is an evidence of his immense faith on both. He never pointed a finger on Karna as he trusted him more than anybody else. He wasn’t angry and neither suspected his wife or Karna, such was his faith in his love and his friendship.

In return Karna stood beside his friend till his death that reminds me of a kural

அழிவி னவைநீக்கி ஆறுய்த்து அழிவின்கண்
அல்லல் உழப்பதாம் நட்பு. Meaning True friendship turns aside from evil ways, makes walk in the good way and in case of loss shares the sorrow with friend.

In the other two, Krishna vs Sudhama, I love that part where a friend is being accepted from his level and in case of Arjuna, if chosen correctly your friend can be your Guru or Guru can be your best friend.

If we travel further to the previous yuga that is Treta, where the definition of friendship is evidenced with several characters but to me the best three are Rama with Guha, Vibeeshana and Hanuman. In these again each of the characters stands for the association with Lord Ram.

In the current scenario where we could seldom find friendship between siblings, several thousand years ago we have proved to the world that a friend can be inducted as your brother. Rama’s acceptance of Guha,Vaali and Vibeeshana as brother acts as a testimony.
Would like to quote Kambar here, where Rama shares his feelings to Vibeeshana.
குகனொடும் ஐவர் ஆனேம் முன்பு பின் குன்று சூழ்வான்,
மகனொடும் அறுவரானேம்.எம்முழை அன்பின் வந்த
அகன் அமர் காதல் ஐய நின்னொடும் எழுவர் ஆனேம்.
With Guhan we became five in number. Later in Kiskinda with Sugriva we became six .Now with your friendship we all siblings became seven. That reminds me of another Kural

புணர்ச்சி பழகுதல் வேண்டா உணர்ச்சிதான்
நட்பாங் கிழமை தரும்

Constant association and meeting is not required for a true friendship, all that is needed is unison of feelings and understanding. நட்புச் செய்வதற்குத் தொடர்பும் பழக்கமும் வேண்டியதில்லை, ஒத்த உணர்ச்சியே நட்பு ஏற்படுத்துவதற்கு வேண்டிய உரிமையைக் கொடுக்கும்.

Whereas in the other relationship between Hanuman, Rama showed there can be a good friendship between Master and Assistant, that is missing in today’s corporate world which is full of egos. Seldom we could find a good friendship between a Manager and subordinates.

Learnt in this journey that friendship is not those counts in your social media contacts but it is much more to cherish and if you are still in touch with your childhood or school or college or previous office friends you are blessed like me.

Ending this edition with a sad note of not able to find an answer to my initial question of why India adopted friendship day from western world when so much legacy was contributed to this relationship by us.

Tour de Epic-2

After publishing the part 1 of this tour in the previous edition there were few eyebrows raised and some even posted questions asking the reason for these kind of frequent tours. Would like to use this forum to pass the message that I am just trying to practice what is being told in Chapter 12 of Bhagavad Gita. In that he lays down the path towards Bhakthi and I am just trying to follow the same.
Now back to the Travel.

Rameswaram
Reached early evening to our hotel that was booked with the help of Trip advisor, after an hour of relaxation, headed towards Ramanathaswamy temple with all the inputs provided by front office guy in the hotel.

Had our bath in Agni theertham and from there to temple where we need to bath in the rest of the 22 well, all completed in less than 30 mins. We would not have achieved this without the help of an agent. We were able to by-pass the long queues, with the agent taking us to those who draw water from the wells and requested them to pour on us and in some cases he did on his own.

On completion of this we removed our wet clothes and changed to the one we carried, since darshan with wet clothes are not allowed. Had a wonderful darshan of Ramanathaswamy and Parvathavardhini, One of the Jyothirlingam of India.  

On the left side of main deity you can find a sannidhi for Vishwanathar that was brought by Lord Hanuman, whereas the main one was created was Sita. Even today Viswanathar gets preference when compared to main deity since Lord Rama promised the same to Hanuman. Each deity in the first and second prakaram has some HIS(story), you have siva in the form of salt and one associated with sage pathanjali's mukthi etc.,

Returned to hotel after a heavy dinner and had a wonderful slumber. Early morning around 4.00 am got up and prepared ourselves for Spatiga Linga Darshan. This one was installed by Sri Adi Sankara and they perform abishegam and pooja to this first and then only to Ramanathar and the timing is 5.00 am to 6.00 am, so you have to be in queue to get tickets that cost Rs 50/-

With a sense of fulfillment walked out of temple premises and on our way back to hotel called a driver and worked out a deal for a sightseeing and dropping us finally at Ramanathapuram bus stand. We all had a quick breakfast and before we check out the driver was there at the agreed time of 7.00 am.

Headed towards the 2 most prominent places that need to be covered before noon but on the way covered some local places too that include Ramar Patham etc., but the note worthy was Villoondi Theertham which is close to Dr. Abdul Kalam memorial. Legend states that on the way back to Ayodhya the crew felt thirsty and to quench Lord  shot an arrow from where this spring erupted. In the mid of sea the water was so sweat to taste, Miracle nothing else to describe.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS

Thirupullani

Let me start with a quote from KambaRamayanam,If I fail to mention Kambar during this write-up then I will not be doing justice to my mother tongue. In Yudha Kandam,

அழிந்தது பிறவி என்னும் அகத்தியல் முகத்துக்காட்ட , வழிந்த கண்ணீரின் மண்ணில் மார்பு உற வணங்கினானை

“Vibeeshana fell at Rama’s feet, his chest was on the dust, his face was delighted with the fact that he got instant salvation of his soul at the same time uncontrollable tears were flowing from his eyes”.Hope you got it now, this is the place where Vibhishanan saranagathi happened. This place is also called Saranagathi kshethram.

The Adi Jaganatha Perumal temple in Thirupullani which is considered to be one among 108 Divya Desams and thayar is known as Sri Padmasani. He is also called Dakshin Jaganathar or Kalyana jaganthar.

This place was sanctified twice by HIS feet, one on his way to Lanka and other on his return.Here Rama is seen in a reclining posture and is referred to as Dharbasayanar Ramar. The beauty of this is to seen to be believed. In other kshetharm, in sayana posture the eyes of perumal will be looking upwards but here it will be towards us. From HIS naval a lotus emerges and Lord Bharma sits on top of lotus accompanied by other devas.

The victorious Rama, after killing Ravana returns to Ayodhya with Sita. He rests for a while at his place, where it is said,He recounts to Sita the events that had happened during their separation. The belief is that limitless blessings will be bestowed to the devotees who worship PattaabhishegaRamar after taking a bath in the Adhisethu.

A small shrine dedicated to Santhana Gopalan can be found between Sayana Ramar and Pattaabhisega Ramar. It is a lovely sculptural wonder. Lord Krishna sits on the Adisesha who rests on the ‘kurmam’ (tortoise) surrounded by eight elephants and eight serpents. It is believed that the childless couple will be blessed with a child, if they worship the deity offering ‘paalpayasam’ (sweet-milk porridge) to Him. This is a famous offering in the Thiruppullani temple.

This temple was at the very centre of the epic as it was connected to Rama’s birth. King Dasaratha had apparently come here with his queens to worship the deity Adi Jaganatha Perumal. Legends say that this is where he was given a bowl of payasam or kheer and was asked to give them to his wives. Even today childless couples pray to the deity here and the custom includes installing a statue of the snake god here. Devotees believe that the original idol of the Naga or the snake deity was installed by King Dasaratha himself.

The reference however to Dharbasayanar Ramar comes much later in the epic when he arrived here looking for a way to reach Srilanka. Rama apparently prayed to the God of Sea by lying on a bed of grass and meditating on it asking the Lord of the Seas to show the army a path . The bridge was eventually built from here and Rama returned to pay his respects after defeating Ravana in the battle.

The most significant prayer in this holy place is to pray for begetting issues. The belief is that our sins will be absolved if we take a bath in the Sethu Thirtham. Moreover, all the impediments caused by the planets will be relieved if we worship here. Those who have difficulties in getting marriage will pray to the Utsavar, Kalyana Jagannathar.

Sethukarai

Very important sacred place is the ‘Sethukarai’, the seashore about 3 kms. from Thiruppullani. This is also called ‘Adhisethu’. Sethu means ‘Bridge’. This is the place where Lord Rama built the bridge to cross over the ocean to reach Lanka, to retrieve Sita. We found lot of people offering prayers to their ancestors in this place.

Utharakosamangai

Sri Mangalanathar-Mangaleswari is the temple, The presiding deity is a self manisfested from the Ilandhai tree which is 3000 year old and Mother Mangaleswari helps removal of obstacles in marriage alliance efforts. This is the place where Siva transferred the secrets of Vedas to Parvati. Uthiram means ( updesham ) kosam( secrets) Parvati (Mangai ) hence this place is known as Uthira Kosa Mangai.

The antiquity of Sri Mangalanathar-Mangaleswari temple dates far back. Mandodhari (wife of Ravana) was very adamant that she would marry only a Shiva devotee and did not mind waiting for the choice. She prayed to Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva, graced Mandodhari’s wish and helped her wedding with Ravana.

The Emerald( Maragadha)Nataraja 51/2 feet tall Idol in this temple is the rare one not to be seen in any other temple and the deity is always covered with sandal paste. Only in the Tamil month of Margazhi on Tiruvathira nakshtram the sandal paste gets removed and there is abhishekam for the idol and on the next day again the idol gets smeared with sandal paste.

Generally, it is believed worshiping here in the morning will remove the sins brought from the previous birth, praying in the afternoon removes sins of the present birth while worshipping the Lord and the mother in the evening grants the devotee longevity, progress in profession and profitability.

Travelled back to the center, Ramanathapuram had a lunch and proceeded towards to Madurai to catch our train for Bangalore. CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS

Tour de Epic-1

Starting my travelogue after a brief period, In this travel I was able to feel that every place in the district of Ramanthapuram in Tamilnadu has lineage to the Epic (HIS)story Ramayana. Each temple will echo some episodes from the epic and hence the title of this blog.

Similar to my previous travel  on this occasion too, the places that got picked are those that crept during my reading about Mahaperiva and Ramanar. Additionally these places were flashed at me through some medium. For example when I decided Thiruchuzi  to be part of the list, the next week  cover story in Kumudham Jyothidam by AMR was about this temple. Similarly others in the list too has its own relevance to be part of the list.

Normally I decide based on my inner voice and also sternly believe those are clear directions from HIM. Always would love to travel alone that helps in planning and pacing the schedule according to my need but this time the wish(direction) was to take two of my cousins along with me and it was accepted by both on my first request.  I have never been to this district and hence the planning has to be near perfect to accomplish during a weekend, therfore the Itinerary was prepared 1 month in advance and shared with them.

The following list of temples ( in order of flash) and finally Rameswaram was included in the list.

Devipattinam, Tiruchuli, Uthrakosamangai, Thirupullani, Uppur and Rameswaram, but some adjustments were required considering the proximity of one another and also the fact that there is no direct train from Bangalore to Ramaeswaram thus changed to the following order.

Since Tiruchuli is 33 kms from Virdhunagar, got down in that railway station and refreshed in the retiring room. Able to get into a passenger train at 6.00 am and the second station was Tiruchuli.

You can view some of the pictures and Sthala Puranam in the album below.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS

Tiruchuli

Presiding deity is Lord Thirumeni Nathar or Bhuminateshwara and the goddess is Thunai malai Nayagai or Sahayamba Devi. It is believed that Lord Shiva descended to this place as He considered this to be glorious than Mt. Kailas. Worshipping Lord Shiva in Thiruchuzhi with just one piece of Vilwa leaf is considered equal to worshipping Lord with 1000 vilwa leaves in all sacred places of the country. Lord will ensure that the thought and talk of Thiruchuzhi itself will provide the devotee total salvation.

This massive temple that is known to have existed in all yugas and prior to the origin of Vedas. Lord Shiva is a swayambumurthi in this temple and mythology links it to the ‘deluge’. Lord Siva rescued the earth from the deluge by throwing his trishul or Trident on the earth here, whereby the waters whirled into the hole – giving the place its name ‘Tiruchuzhial’. By planting his trident into the earth, Shiva created a hole for the water to flow into. At the place where he planted his trident stands the large temple of Bhoominatheswara. Unique thing in the Ambal sannidhi is the Srichakra is on top normally it will in the ground in front of Her.

According to history, Lord Shiva appeared in the dream of Sundarar with a golden bouquet and tuft in the head as a young lad with Goddess in His wedding posture, hence devotees conduct marriages in the temple.

This is the place where Sri Ramana Maharshi was born. Ashram of Ramana Mahararshi is opposite to the temple. The house where he was born has been constructed as ashram. On our request the caretaker explained the details and allowed us to do namaskaram to Ramanar's Padhuka. In total 3 rooms are there, one where he was born and other a pooja room and a big meditation hall.

Swamy Vivekananda stayed in this temple for three days. Devotees visit this temple to seek fulfillment, to attain salvation and removal of obstacles.

Though there are few direct bus services to Ramanathapuram, on the advise of locals we did an interchange at Parthibanur and reached R'puram.

Uppur

Though one need to cross Devipattinam to reach here from Ramanathapuram, this was given preference since Devipattinam is an open temple whereas Uppur gets closed around noon. Uppur is 30 kms from Ramanathapuram and on the 15th Km we have Devipattinam.

Ancient name for this town was Suryapuri or Lavanapuram and the presiding deity is Veyil Ugantha Vinayagar.

There are many versions attributed to this temple.

Sun was one among the participants in the Yagna conducted by King Daksha and was punished by Lord Shiva. Sun came to earth to seek remedy for his folly. He came to this place and performed penance on Lord Vinayaka. Pleased with Sun’s penance, Lord Vinayaka graced him from the sins he accrued. Sun prayed to Lord Vinayaka to grant the same grace to all people. Lord Vinayaka also granted Sun the boon that his rays would fall on Him when he worships. As Lord Vinayaka accepted Sun’s rays on him (sun rays – veyil in Tamil) He is named Veyil Ugantha Vinayaka.

It's normal for anyone to start their work by worshipping Lord Ganesha. No wonder that Uppur Ganesha guided Lord Ram to emerge victorious over Ravan and get his Sita back to Ayodhya.

When Sri Rama came to know about the place of captivity of Sita through Anjaneya, He set out from Prachravana hills with His monkey army to Vanni forests through the eastern coast. He worshipped Veyil Ugantha Vinayaka in a serene environment and sought His blessings for victory in his efforts and proceeded towards Lanka.

Lord Rama also performed marriage to Ganesha with Sidhi and Budhi. In India only in this temple such a event can be witnessed, since we visited during the eve of Ganesh chaturthi the entire village was in festival mood. During the Ganesh chathurthi, a 9 day event will be celebrated and on 8th day the marriage will be performed.

Miracle which you can even witness today is that the rays of Sun fall on the southern side of Vinayaka during Dakshinayana period covering the six months July-August to December-January and on the northern side during the Utharayana period covering the six months from January-February- to June-July. 

The lord is so powerful here that our prayers will be answered and any obstacles in marriage, child boon, excellence in education will be answered.

I have the mobile number of Chief priest Sri. Ravi and can share on request. 

Devipattinam

According to the scriptures, pujas should be performed to Lord Vinayaka and the Navagrahas. Following this rule, Before undertaking the journey towards Lanka to free Sita from Ravana’s captivity Sri Rama performed the Vinayaka Puja in Uppur and the Navagraha puja in Devipattinam by installing each of the 9 with a handful of sand and calmed the high tides by raising his hand. 

The Navagrahas installed by Sri Rama himself are the Nava Bashanas (stones) gracing the devotees in Devipattinam. After installing the deities Sri Rama worshiped the Navagrahas installed by him along with Lord Siva for removal of the troubles from his life.He was blessed by Lord Shiva and Parvathi here who are known as Thilakeswarar and the Goddess Soundaryanayaki. This is also the place where Rama Himself was relieved of Saturn effects. 

The idols may not be visible at all times depending on the water level in the sea.During low level of water the idols will be clearly visible. Some of them are very much above water level as the height of the stones are not identical. There is a bathing ghat close to the Thilakeswar Temple which is also known as Navagraha temple.This temple is dedicated to Lord Siva in the form of Thilakeswar with goddess Parvathy (known as Soundaryanayagi). There is also an idol of Goddess Durga with eight arms with weapons in each of the arms. The deity is worshipped with ellu - tila or gingelly seeds.

Any devotee touching this soil is blessed for life.The temple is said to relieve one of all the past and present lives sins. One more notable feature is that the devotees can perform puja on their own. A very visit to this holy soil would relieve the devotee from all his sins.
Devotees visit for relief from the sins accompanying from the past birth, to offer prayers for the salvation of the departed ancestors and perform Srardha for them.This is a very important center for performing Tarpan (offering of water with till seeds) to the ancestors. People also seek boons for children, marriage, education, longevity and prosperity.

We were able to cover the above in our forenoon on Day-1 and headed towards Rameshwaram after a lunch at Ramanathapuram. Will try to cover the rest in my next one.

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS

Fundraising for Surai Temple

To Begin with, would like to quote Chapter 12 Verse 9 &10 of Bhagavad Gita which refers to service.

"If you cannot fix your mind upon Me without deviation, then follow the regulated principles of bhakti-yoga In this way you will develop a desire to attain to Me."

"If you cannot practice the regulations of bhakti-yoga, then just try to work for Me, because by working for Me you will come to the perfect stage."

It was an overwhelming response from most of you to my earlier communication about my association with this temple authorities of Mannatheswar Temple of Surai Village for building Gopuram for Sivan Sannadhi and Separate sannadhi for Murugar. Most of your responses were towards getting the bank details whereas some sought more details about temple which prompted me to write this article.

The above temple is situated in a village called Surai, near Thirumalaivaiyavur on the way to Vedanthangal from Chengalpet.

The delay in getting this article out is due to the search of an old picture that was taken at this temple to compare the same with current, the intent is not to prove the accomplishment or developments but to render information about this temple and how HE and SHE takes care of not only the devotees but also themselves. Earlier the roofing was with mangalore tiles that has paved way for a concrete hall and completely rejuvenated gopurams and structure to stay for several years to come is not only pleasing to eyes but also to heart.

Same place after a decade

 
Little drops make the mighty ocean or in the modern terminology the same can be refurbished like Little statements/codes make powerful Software.

Similarly all these Sanathana Dharma activities can be easily carried only when we have the synergy of like minded people. In those days we had designated people to carry out these tasks, say for example the Emperors took the responsibility of building the place of worship for the religion they are associated. In this century the Industrialist are coming to the rescue but mostly their association are with medium or mighty temples. Still the needy tiny temples in some hamlet require attention where common people’s synergy is required for the upliftment.

Plans for 2016 are

1. Construction of Gopuram for Sivan sannadhi 
2. Sannadhi for Murugar 
3. Construction of toilets 

Benefits of doing these things have several dimensions apart from HIS blessing.

These villagers do not have the privileges like us where we have several options for a get together with friends or relatives. It is always delightful to see the happy faces of the villagers when they assemble at the temple during festival time. They spend time with friends, neighbors and relatives and have lunch together cooked at the temple premises and finally disperse at the end of the day. Some come from far off places to their own village only for that day and for that event. I have spent time on these occasions in this temple to see the delighted faces.Some sample pictures taken during one such occasion.

 Secondly we can prevent conversion of these people to other religions who are enticed by the offers and the richness of the place of worship from other religions. We can make the poor, innocent villagers to come back to the temples rather than to the other places of worship. All these will fall under sanathana dharmam and to me even the 3rd in the list will also fall under the domain.

During our last visit to this temple, we found that the people particularly women are in the state of discomfiture when there is a need to attend nature call. So the idea of construction of toilet erupted but it is not treated as same as the construction of the other two. Due to the lack of response to this project, whereas good support for the others made us to amalgamate all into one and go for funding.

A group of Masons who visits this temple from Chennai has agreed to spend their time and effort with no cost for the 3rd project.

Hardship in getting support for toilet construction is not a surprise since PM Modi’s Swachh Bharat mission has many challenges in making India “Open defection free” by 2019.

Click here for the Challenges faced by Swachh Bharat

If you intend to be part of all these project and would like to contribute whatever that is possible you can transfer to the below mentioned bank account. Please mention your name in the reference that will help us. For example  Your Name - Surai      

Account Number :- 50100005123491

Name :- Ananya GB

Bank and Branch :- HDFC KK Nagar

IFSC Code :- HDFC0001052

It would be fitting to end with a quote since the start also had one

“Change is permanent and constant. Existence is ephemeral. If existence has age then there will be no “change”. The universe is evolving at all times because of change. Without change there is no universe. -- from Bhagavad Gita”

Panchayatana Pooja @ 29 May 2016

Life is full of desires, even Buddha desired to be free from desire.

In my desire catalog, Panchayatana pooja was the one that was waiting for the prearranged time. He knows when to prescribe and to/by whom. Finally the wait was over and came in the form of LOKA KSHEMA SEVA SAMITI which organizes several events and this one is part of their list. As soon as I heard about the event, registered for the same.They have their criteria in selecting the couples for the event. Due to His blessing I was part of the list and would like to share about the event and the professional approach carried throughout the process. As a prologue would like to throw some light on this pooja.

Panchayatana Pooja is the system of worship in a systematic laid down procedure by Smarta Sampradaya of Hinduism which involves both physical and mental discipline that requires inner and outer cleanliness.

It is said to have been re-introduced by Adi Shankara, yes people mistake that Shri Shankara actually started this Panchayatana puja system - which is wrong. Deva Puja and Archana is one of the most important duties imposed by the Shastras. The Shastras are filled with details of the Panchayatana puja details and Shankra only prescribed us to follow it without fail and made popular.

It consists of the worship of five deities namely Sun, Ambika, Vishnu, Ganapati and Shiva all on the same pedestal meaning no Beda Bhava(discrimination).This emphasized the idea that these are not five different Gods, but they are the one God worshiped in five different forms.

Some wrongly think Adi Shankara taught only Jnana and had no place for Karma. Shankara held that the place of Jnana was all-important but he knew equally well that many could not give up Karma and so they should be taught the most beneficial forms of Karma and this is one among them.

Thus the Panchayatana Puja came into Smartha homes and are represented by small natural stones from various parts of India which is worshipped in its own pure form.

1. Ganesha – Red Sonabhadra stone from river Sone in Bihar 
2. Surya – Crystal from river Vallam in Tanjavur 
3. Vishnu – Saligrama from river Gandaki in Nepal 
4. Shiva – Banalinga from river Narmadha from Madhya Pradesh 
5. Ambikai - Swarna Muki from river Swarna Muki in AP

Now back to the event, the entire event was excellently organized from the start to end where professionalism was evident in all activities. The best part was the amalgamation of technology(Video Conf with Periva) with the event and all those hard efforts manifested into great gala event.

Initial process is those who are interested should call the designated people and in turn you will be asked some questions and finally some personal details to be shared by email. If you get selected based on the criteria, you will be informed by email and SMS about the venue and things to carry on that day. 108 couples were selected for this particular event.

On the previous occasion too they got the blessing from Kanchi Perivas and this year too they met both Periva and got their blessing for this event. Please find the video link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQp-vS6ThvQ

People were present well in advance of the start time(Sunday 7.00 am) and this showed the commitment, almost 80% of the population was well before start. Another thing that was evident is the age group mixture where undeniably people of less than 45 age were higher compared to other age group, good signs for Sanatana Dharmam.

 

At the start, the entire schedule was presented to the audience and everything was followed as per the schedule without any variance.

Rituals and Pooja to Murthis followed by carnatic music to keep audience engaged till Balaperiva’s Live video conference was awesome. Post that every couple was presented with new traditional attire and above videos was played in the screen for those who did not had the opportunity to pick this up in the YouTube earlier. Also a Pooja was performed and the same was telecasted in the screen so that the participants get an idea on the procedure was an awesome amazing idea.

 

 

Finally for each of them Panchakshari Japam was rendered followed by handing over of Murthis to every individual. On the way from the stage before each of them get seated, 2 bags were given that contained items for pooja, also a book on how to do this pooja with mantras. Yes each one of us performed our first pooja there to get accustomed to the practice. Finally awesome feast ended the event around 14.00 hrs for that day.

A follow up event(week later) to clarify the doubts that might sweep across our mind when we perform the pooja at home is the best ending note I have come across recently.

The entire event can be summarized in the below video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=26&v=Gajm7KUhh7c

Kudos to entire team.