HARI OM

Om Muruga

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 16:14:00 +0000

Vetrivel Muruganukku Arohara

We get what we deserve not what we desire: Even if our desires are spiritual or divine. My in-laws wanted to have a tour of the 6 sacred places of muruga along with my brother-in-law as soon as they came down to India. Sundar and I planned that we would join only to Pazhani and Thiruchendur as kids could not miss school. It was a much awaited trip which my in-laws and specially my brother-in-law looked forward to. During the fag end of their US stay, Air India goofed up with the travel dates.

There was big confusion regarding their return to Bangalore via Mumbai. The tickets from New Jersey to Mumbai were booked. Unfortunately, the air India officials booked the Mumbai to Bangalore trip on the very same day as the New-Jersey to Mumbai flight. This is how efficiently our officials work!!!!. When inquired, they expressed helplessness and with great difficulty, the New-Jersey to Mumbai trip was preponed by a day. It turned out that my brother-in-law could not travel on that day and had to cancel his entire India trip. It was a big disappointment for us that he could not join us for the trip.

We however, planned to visit Pazhani and Thiruchendur if not all. My in-laws also joined us for the curtailed trip.Why it all happennded is left to the lord’s own discretion. Yes, quite disappointing to note that though our want was spiritual and divine, it was rejected by HIM. Well, HIS ways are mysterious. There may be better reasons that my brother-in-law missed the trip. All is for Good.

Though Vishnu took several avatarams, Shiva is the official destroyer, Muruga is the favourite GOD for most of the tamilians. Muruga has 6 important places commonly called as “Aru Padai Veedu”. They are Palanai, Swami malai, Thiruchendur, Pazhamudir cholai, Thirupara kundram and Thiruthhani. All these places are extremely sacred to Muruga. One can find a treasure of information on these, I am giving a glimpse of the same.

Pazhani: Here is where Murugan chose to reside after he had a rift with his brother over a fruit. Murugan is called Dandayudhapani. He holds a dandam (stick) in his hand and hence the name. Standing as a young boy, this idol was made by a siddar named Bhogar. It is made of nava pashanas and has high medicinal value. The raja alankaram for the lord in indeed a treat to watch. His twinkling eyes, the majestic posture and the crown on his head is a picture that will stay in our hearts for a long, long time.

Pazhamudircholai: Muruga, here is along with two consorts – Valli and devayani. The vibhuti smeared on his face with red smiling lips increases our love and faith in him. He truly says.” Yamirakka Bayam Yen” (Why fear when I am here).

Thirupara Kundram. This is the place where Skanda married Devasena here. He gives his darshan along with his parents, brother, and maama (Lord Narayana).

Thiruchendur: Here is where Lord killed the demon called soorapadman. The temple is a magnificent one with huge pillars and pleasing architecture. This temple in located on the sea shore. As the waves hit the shore and recede, it reminds us that happiness and sadness, success and failure are like waves which keep coming to us and recede. We must be unaffected by them like the ocean.

We could not visit swamimalai and thiruthani as they were too far for us and could not make it. One striking aspect that I noticed is that all temples I visited were very clean. Though all temples were flooded with people, there were volunteers constantly sweeping and cleaning the place. This was something I have not seen in Tamilnadu temples, earlier. This indeed is a good and welcome change.

The two day trip was coming to an end. I had the opportunity to sing thirupugazh in all the temples we visited. This was a big blessing for me. Just like how I saw changes outside, I noticed a change within too. Generally, I have always wanted to see more and more, wait to re-visit the temples, crib about the regular grind we would get back to. But this time, I was welcoming the return. I was ready to get back to the Monday blues. No cribs, No complaints. And NO applications of favour too, only thanksgiving. All because of GURU anugraham and Murugan’s grace

RAM RAM

Satyagalam and madhyarangam

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 26 May 2014 14:13:00 +0000

Temples Less Known To Me

As we were sipping a hot cup of coffee, we saw two temple highlight that were close to shivana samudram. As summer was coming to an end and te grind was to begin, we thought it would be a divine beginning for children and for us.

We decided to have lunch and leave at around 1.30p.m. Satyagalam is around 140 kms from Bangalore. One has to take a right turn at the Maddur circle. A drive into the Kollegal road will take you direct to the temple. As you near Kollegal, you can ask the local people. It is around 50 kms from the Maddur junction.

The deity is the varadarajar perumal along with his consort Perundevi thayar. The specialty of this temple is the presence of Vedanta Desikan sannidhi. He has several compositions to his credit of which the "sri stuti" is very popular.

Legend says that when the muslims were creating atrocities against Hindus in Tamilandu, Vedanta Desikan escaped to this place to sought refuge. Here he found kaveri flowing in full serenity and decided that this was the right place for him. He stayed here for 12.5 years and composed several hymns in praise of the lord. everyday Everyday, a turtle followed him diligently from the river bed,and requested him to take a seat on its back. Desikan refused, but the turtle did not give up. It pleaded with him and when he gave consent, the next day, it turned into a hard shell on which he sat and did penance. In 1936, this turtle rock was brought to the temple and desikan's statue was installed on this stone. This utsava murthi of desikan was installed by his son. There is a beautiful idol of lakshmi narasimhar, and lakshmi hayagriva. This temple is maintained by parakala mutt.

The purohit was extremely courteous. He explained about the temple at length, offered us coffee and made it a refreshing evening. An extremely contented man who boasts of a salary of Rs.6000 per month with accommodation and other facilities. He seemed to be very happy with his job of service, something which most of us crib about. The temple provides a big room where one can stay and go around other temples nearby. But there are no beds or special accommodation. All you get is a room which is spacious and clean. The name of the purohit is Bagavan Battar: 9741617905. You can contact him in advance and inform of your travel plans.

We then drove to madya rangam, where Lord Vishnu is is sleeping posture just like as in shriranga patna. Lord manifested to Gautama rishi in shriranga patna,called adhi ranga, to Indra in Satyagalam, called madyaranga and to vibheeshana in shrirangam, trichy, called as antya ranga. All these places are along the river kaveri. The name of the goddess is ranganayaki thayar. The temple is big and well maintained. There is a beautiful description of the sthala puram of the temple.

There is a temple nearby called someshwara temple where adi sankara has installed the shri chakra. We could not go to this temple as it was too late.

Few tips: One can take the kanapura road too to reach kollegal. But there are no good restaurants in this route. An early departure can help one to cover many temples. The ideal would be to leave in the morning.

RAM RAM

Go to Goravanahalli

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 29 Apr 2014 05:47:00 +0000

Travel To Tumkur

It was a long pending trip to goravanahalli mahalakshmi temple. This temple is around 60 kms from Bangalore near Tumkur in otagere taluk. If one leaves at around 2 pm, we can first cover the devarayan durga temple of Lakshmi narasimha and then proceed to goravanahalli.

The road is quite good. One has to take deviation from tumkur road towards otagere road. It was almost 4 pm when we took the otagere road. And one of my friends had told me that the narasimha temple would get closed by 5.30 pm. So, it was like an indo-pak match. "will we make it or not".

We started to chant the vishnu sahasranama with the hope that HE will give us the darshan. Unfortunately, we took a wrong route and had to retrace the path. It was 5.pm. when we reached the foot of the hillock. We hurried up the hill. It is a steep climb of around 150 steps. We could hear the final bell indicating that the temple would be closed soon. With great enthusiasm and hope, we reached the top. It was 5.16 pm when we had the darshan of the Yoga Lakshmi Narasimha. The idol is small . Thayar is seated on Perumal's lap comfortably. He has his had on her shoulders and the other hand is a blessing. Though neivedyam was done, it was not distributed. We were happy athat we finally made. Sorry, a msitake..We didnt make it...HE made it possible.

The entire hill has an army of monkeys freely jumping and enjoying forest life. We drove down to the bhoga lakshmi narasimha swami temple. The posture here is similar to the one we saw atop the hill except that the lord was more relaxed posture. We had a nice kosumari prasadam followed by sweet panakam. There are many small temples around but we didn't have enough time to cover all of them.

We then drove to goravanahalli mahalaksmi temple where thayar sit and attracts huge crowd from all places. I have heard that she is very powerful and any prayer offered will be gratified in 40 days. The Lakshmi is a swayambu murthi installed by Smt. Kamalamma. This lady established the temple after having a series of divine experiences. The utsava murthi is very beautiful and is very well decorated. We had the great opportunity to have the darshan of maha mangalarathi. The temple is open the whole day on tuesdays, fridays, sundays and general holidays. They have anna danam arranged for devotees.

An early depature like 2pm would be sufficient to cover these two temples. If, you want to cover other small temples, you may have to leave early. We returned to bangalore after having a decent dinner at kamat upachar. It was a great end to the week. Looking forward to the next trip.

RAM RAM

Ramana Calling

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 20 Apr 2014 04:13:00 +0000

A Revisit to the GURU's abode

A 100 thoughts hover around me!! There seems to be a competition among them. “Write me, Write me “ compete my thoughts. I finally took a deep breath and calmed myself. I slowed down my thought process and just forgot that I am going to blog my travelogue. After controlling my thoughts, and streamlining them, I sat down to pen a few lines.

Bharath , a land of brahma Jnanis is probably the most holy land on the earth. No other country has such a huge number of saints who have stepped onto this holy land and made it a spiritual destinations for millions of people irrespective of caste and creed. The contribution that our country has given to this world in a big way is her GURUS and their philosophies.

Lord shiva has 5 mains temples where he manifested as the 5 elements of creation. He represented agni in Thirruvannamalai as Arunachala, vayu in kalahasti as Vayu lingam , Space in Chidambaram as lord nataraja, Water in Trichy as Jambulingeswara and earth in kanchipuram as Ekambareswara. All these places are must see at least once in a lifetime.

Thiruvannamalai is one such place which has given a great GEM in the form of Bhagavan Shri Ramana Maharshi. Not only him, Seshadri swamial, Yogi ramsuratkumar are also from this holy place who have tried to preach love and brotherhood among fellow humans. They have elaborated about Amta Jnana and its importance to a great extent. The world only knows a few but there are several unknown saints and siddars in this place. When we went to the ramana ashram, it was a wonderful feeling of being one with the lord.

The main hall in the ashram where Shiva and Shakti are worshiped is a treat to watch. The dedication of the gurukal who does the puja is worth a mention. The garlands that adorn the lord are specially made and are of different lengths so that they can be arranged in a specific way. This gives a majestic look to the lord. The peacocks, the monkeys and the dogs that roam freely in this ashram are indeed blessed that they get to be in the company of satsang always.

The blessing bestowed on Ramana was instantaneous. He had a turning point in his life by which he transformed himself completely. I was just wondering, there are many such saints who have had such turning points in their lives, some incidences which changed their outlook and life drastically. I have read that even some non-believers are initiated and they go on to become great saints or bhaktas. Our lives seem to be going always in a straight line. There doesn't seem to be any turning point. Looks like the wait will be for long. This, was of course in a lighter vein that I was discussing with Sundar. A turning point for us is asking for too much. We must have done a million tons of punyam to feel realised which I am sure is not in our books of deeds. And this is possible by that one omnipresent alone. He must pick us to be so blessed. We must atleast start now so that after a few 100 births, we will feel realised.

The book shop and the library are adorned with numerous books. When we sit to read, the passage of time for a few hours seem to be a few minutes. It does not restrict to Ramana’s teaching alone but has a wide range of books on different philosophies and paths. The Anna danam or free food offered is extremely tasty. One noteworthy act is that anna danam is done everyday. Generally, we have food to our heart full and then give the remaining to the beggars. But here, destitute and beggars are first fed. It is only after them, we are given food. No one is high or low in HIS court.

The Arunachala temple with all its grandeur is a must see. Tamilnadu is known to have big temples. The prakaram, the deities, the gopuram, the temple tank are all huge and gives a sense of fullness when you see them. It also reflects the patronage that spirituality and religion were receiving from the kings who built these temples.

It was time to visit thirukoilur where we had been to the ashram of one more saint: Gnanananda. The ashram is quiet and serene. They too have a lot of rooms which are free. One must stay and spend time in the serenity of the GURU’s teachings.

The Arakandanallur Shiva temple is on a hillock with a cool breeze that beats the summer heat. The name of the swami is Athulanatheswarar and the name of the goddess is Soundaryakamalabikai. One of the popular nayanmars: Sundarar sang in praise of Lord Shiva in this temple. He had a darshan of the Thiruvannamalai hill from this place. Ramana also had been to this temple before venturing to thiruvannamalai.

The Ulagalanda perumal temple in the heart of the town in Thirukoilur is a again a testimony of the support that temples and religion received by the kings of pre independence period. We could not see the main deity as the kumbhabhshekam is scheduled for July 4^th. We could see only the presiding deities. This temple is one of the divya desams. The three alwars : Poigi alwar, Boothat Alwar. And Pei Alwar experienced the divine presence in this place and started to sing the divya prabandam. The divya prabandam is a collection of 4000 songs sung by the 12 alwars of the sri vaishnava sect in praise of Lord Vishnu. Time and again we are re-iterated with this tamil saying" katradu kai man alavu, Kallaadadu, Ulagau Alavu.". What is known is only a handful, what is yet to be knows is as big as the world."

It was 10.30pm when we reached the ashram hotel. The next day, we had just planned to spend time in the silence of the ashram. Though the ashram has a continuous stream of visitors, there is always silence. The meditation hall is absolutely calm. You feel totally disconnected with the world. A few minutes of meditation and concentration gives an untold happiness and bliss. “Pin drop silence” is a crude word. I would say “Feather drop silence”. The quietness and the positive vibrations felt at this place is immense and cannot be explained by words.

We left to Bangalore after having a sumptuous and tasty meal. The road from thiruvannamalai to Krishnagiri is pathetic and very badly maintained. It was the positive mood which kept us driving without cribbing.

Few Tips: If you want to avoid the bad road between thiruvannamali and Krishnagiri, you can take the more round path through katpadi. But this add anotehr 90kms t your distance.

If you wish to stay at the ashram and enjoy the serenity, you can write to them one month before your planned date. Write to stay@gururamana.org. The stay, food is absolutely free. But I am sure none of us would like to come back without offering anything. The donation that we make is very small compared to the bliss and blessings that we take back.

Of late, I have had the kripa of visiting a number of guru sthalams. It started off with Shirdi last year. I then started reading the teachings of Kanchi MahaPeriva. Then to Ramanashram, Yogi ramsuratkumar’s ashram, visit to the ashram of sheshadri swamigal and to thapovanam, abode of Gnanananda. I hope this anugraham continues. Thus begins the wait for the next call!!!

RAM RAM

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 05 Nov 2013 06:27:00 +0000

A much awaited travel to THE ASHRAM

Sundar and I were very excited with the fact that we were going to make it to the ashram this time by HIS will. This was our third trial to visit the ashram. The first one was cancelled because of cheeru’s health. The second time, we were unfortunate not to make it as I had official commitments. As Vedanta and sastras point out, getting guru’s anugraham is extremely difficult. One can get the darshan of the LORD, but to get a GURU’s blessings and approval, one should have a sense of total surrender. Probably if we had opted to stay outside the ashram, we would have seen Lord Arunachala sooner. The blessings of Ramana got a little delayed, hitting out on our ego and lack of absolute surrender.

The hospitality in the ashram is very good. People are pious, polite and helpful. The stay was very pleasant with neat and well furnished rooms. Food is sumptuous and tasty (On the lighter side, if one wants to get away from the kitchen cookeries for a day or two, then this is an ideal placeJ).

The Ashram

The ashram with the serene atmosphere has a constant flow of people for all walks of life that defies tradition, culture, race, colour, religion. All that speaks in the ashram is silence and faith. To add to the beauty are the majestic peacocks. You never get so close to them anywhere else. They also seem to have got greatly influenced by the Ramana way – absolutely peaceful and calm. As I get a closer look at their necks and feathers, I really feel that there can be no greater engineer than GOD. Even the best artist with all his creative brain cannot add up to the colours of the peacock’s neck and feathers.

The Narayana seva at 10.30a.m everyday is a part of the ashram program where the poor and hungry are fed. The food is of good taste and quality with chips, sambar rice, and others being served. This is a very noble act of feeding the needy. But sometimes I fear if it initiates people into laziness?? What if it does? How can one differentiate if a person eats free food because he is lazy to work or he is really forced into begging. Looks like we have to give the benefit of doubt to the other side!!.

The book shop inside the ashram premises has a decent collection of Shri. Ramana’s life, short stories as told by HIM and also philosophy in varied languages.

Girivalam

We also went for girivalam in our car. There are eight lingams around the hill which represent the 8 directions. However, we could visit only 6 of them as the road beyond was diverted and we had to bypass the remaining 2 temples.

The Skandaashram

The trek to skandashramam was another eventful journey. Though it was painful, as a great man quoted, there was no suffering. The entire path was rocky and narrow. Nature was at its best with rich flora and fauna. Trekking after so many years was giving me an elated feeling. I was so over whelmed at the beauty of the Arunachala temple from atop the skandashramam. The temple looked so grand with its 4 raja gopurams, and 5 inner gopurams. It was a typical photographic picture and it was difficult for one to lift eyes off the divine sight.

The ashram was in absolute silence with a small but constant stream of visitors coming there for mediation. Bhagavan ramana lived here for around 20 years and did a lot of meditation here. His mother served him here as a devotee and attained Samadhi. Words fail me to describe the ashram to its befitting nature. At one point, I felt, how great is ramana’s mother to having given birth to such a great and renounced saint. As you enter the small rooms where ramana lived, your hairs stand up giving you a feeling of divinity within you. You feel one with the Lord, in absolute calmness and can feel the peaceful nature of the self. Just imagine, if we, who, as mere mortals feel so ecstasy after experiencing the inner self for a moment or two, given the right environment, imagine a person who is in this ever blissful state irrespective of the environment for a whole lifetime. I wondered - “Will ever attain this state??, Will I ever be in paramanandam ?? - Probably after a few tens or hundred births

The Virupaksha cave

The virupaksha cave which is slightly away from the skandashrama is also very enthralling. Ramana meditated here in the dark rooms of the cave. It is so dark inside that you cannot make out if anyone is sitting inside or not. What a place to meditate and attain siddhi!!! Each and every place where he lived is so appealing and heartening that any atheist would be initiated into meditation.

Coming down was inevitable. We trekked down with a heavy heart. The body alone was going dowhill, but the heart and mind was still with ramana – wondering, curios and waiting to be one

Come to think of it, a visit to such places gives a feeling of where you actually belong. A sense of true knowledge engraves you, though for a short period. The spiritual vibrations are so strong in such places that it makes you think and introspect more about life and its goal.

But where is the starting point – Well, I guess for people like me, the starting point is Karma Yoga. I have duty calling me now and got to go!!!..

Refreshing Rendezvous with a Renounced Recluse

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 20 Aug 2013 04:43:00 +0000

The Shirdi Retreat

India – A land of great saints and acharyas. A land which is the birthplace of many religions. A land wherereligion and spiritual practices bind people together. Saints born in this land are innumerable. Every part ofthe country has saints to boast of. They have poured their vibrations into this soil making this a spiritual destination to millions across the world.

The saints of the previous yugas gave us the rich teachings of the Vedas and Vedanta – Valimik, Vyasa bagavan, patanjali, agastya, bharadwaja, vasista, vishwamitra, parashurama etc etc the list is endless. In this kali yuga itself, we have seen many saints making their presence felt. They have strived for human welfare and have always been a torchbearer of reforms. Adi Shankara, Ramanujacharya, madhwacharya, raghavendra, gyaneshwara, mukta bai, meera bai, namadev, eknath, tukaram, the alwars and nayanmars of the south – oh..This is another endless list. Among the recent years, we have Vivekananda, Ramakrishna paramanhamsa, Shirdi baba.

We were looking forward for this trip for a long time and it happened today. It had to be a long journey in the lokamanya Tilak express from Cantonment to Daund and another 3 hour travel from Daund Jn to Kopergaun, our final destination. Shiridi is around 20Kms from Kopergaon. Since we went during the monsoon season, the land was fertile and green.

After checking into the hotel room, and refreshing ourselves, we left for the dhoop arathi that we had booked online. He sure is a crowd puller. People for different parts of the country were there to have a glimpse of their sad guru. The arathi takes around 25 minutes with soulful arthi songs being rendered by the priest there. After having darshan of sai, we went to visit the museum, dwarakamai, chavadi, the dhuni and the neem tree. All these places have always been with sai. He is one of those souls who never travelled outside shirdi. He drew large crowd from where he was. His teachings spread far and wide and so do his blessings, When we see the utensils used by him, the cot he slept, the robes he wore, the place he made prasadam for all, it gives us a feeling of belongingness. Were we also a part of this in some birth of ours? Wouldn’t it have been nice if we were one of those simple, innocent and devoted people during his times?

The shirdi temple

Out the dwarakamai

The next day was supposed to be super exciting as we were going to panchavati in Nashik where we would be seeing few places which are important to Rama and Ramayanam. We began with a quick visit to the Birla temple (Ram kund) which houses all the GODs and important places like the 12 jyotir lingams, the Himalaya dharshan, the vaikunta dharshan.

The next stop was at the Godavari ghat which was flowing with full happiness. Though it looks serene, it was a bit polluted given the fact that it was flowing in the heart of the city. The triveni sangam i.e. the confluence of godavari, aruna and varuna takes places here. The Kumbh mela (held at Ujjain, nashik, Allahabad and dwaraka once a year) takes place once a year at this place and lakhs of people come here to take a holy dip. It was here when Ram performed the last rites for his father when in exile.

We then went to kapalesshwara temple. North India has a different way of worship in that devotees can enter the garbha gudi and perform abhishek for Lord Shiva unlike south India where we are not supposed to enter the sanctum Santorum.

We then proceeded to Sita Gupha. When surpanaka’s nose was cut off by lakshmana, she complained to her bothers khara and dhushan. The brothers along with 14000 rakshasas came to fight Rama. Rama then made a cave for Sita and kept her here in hiding. This entire region was the dankaranya forest mentioned in the Ramayana where Rama stayed for the last 2.5 years of his exile. The name Nashik is evolved from nasikah meaning nose. Since surpanaka's nose was cut off here, this place came to be known as Nasik. The cave initially is a very narrow one but then as we proceed down, it opens up to three beautiful idols of Rama, Lakshmana and Sita along with Hanuman. Children had fun time going into the cave a couple of times while I read the sankshepa Ramayana at this place.

We then went to Goraram temple and the Kalaram temple. The ram idol installed in the kalaram temle is a swayambu. Here Ram holds his right hand on his chest and his left hand downwards. If we surrender to his feat, he promises us full protection and happiness. The temple is very beautiful and is well maintained.

The Kalaram temple

When then proceeded to the tryambakeshwar to see one of the jyotir lingams. The crowd was huge with heavy rain too. We thought that we may have to come back without the darshan of the lord but a priest helped us at an extra cost. We were taken into the temple without any hassle and had a good darshan. The linga is quite unusual here that the mound is not seen outside but is dipped inside like a grinding stone. It was humbling to see that inspite of heavy rain, people didn’t lose hope or walked away, they were all patiently waiting to have a glimpse of the lord. The brahma giri hils at the backdrop with Godavari taking birth as small streams is a pleasant sight to the eyes. The entire belt between shirdi and nashik is green and green. We could see many sugarcane fields which seem to be the main produce here. All along the way, we could see small shops which have put adhoc swings for children to lay and have a nice natural cane juice. No maxhines are used to make the juice. Cows are used to trun a gear box which crushes the sugarcane to make juicy juice. It was a very nice experience to have a fresh breath of village life.

The next day was the visit to shani shignapur. This temple was not very crowded. Here Lord Shani is in the form of a huge stone. None of the shops have doors and the claim is that even houses don’t have doors. People believe that everything is taken care by Lord shani. Amazing!!!!

The next day was our return trip to Bangalore. Children thoroughly enjoyed this trip and want to come back to shirdi. What we want is a dream but what happens to us reality. I have always wanted to be under the guidance of a guru. I have heard people telling that having a guru is absolute bliss. You need not worry for anything. Everything is taken care of. But I still haven’t had the benevolence of a guru. How is my guru, how do I choose my guru? How do I know that I need to trust this person as my guru? Well, we are not elated souls to choose our guru. It is the guru instead who chooses us. I am still waiting for that moment when my guru will spot me and give me that absolute blissful experience.

RAM RAM

Dwarakamai Vruddhashram

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 13:06:00 +0000

We will also be old one day!!!

Thayagaraja Aaradhana - A yearly tribture to the trimurthis (Shri Thyagaraja swamigal, shri muthuswami dikshitar and shri shyama shastri) and also to the father of carnatic music shri purandara dasar. If we today we enjoy music at its best , it is because of the ragam, thanam, bhavam filled songs of these great saints of carnatic music.

Like every year, shriram's mrudangam teacher, Vidwan. Shri gopalakrishnan, also celebrated this festival but in a different way. People generally celebrate this in temples, big halls and other places but this man did it in his very own old age ashram called "Dwarakamai Vruddhashram" in chikkaballapur. It was attended by an elite group of people having a sound musical knowledge and lead by mrudanga vidwan Shri. T.S. mani and his wife Vidushi. Smt. Rama Mani

Now, this post is not to elaborate on the arrangements or grandeur with which it was celebrated. Neither it is meant to talk about the songs sang or about the vidwans who sang. It is about the people and the kind of care that they are given.

This ashram is entirely and solely run by Shri. Gopalakrishnan's son murali and his wife. Shri gopalakrishnan also is very much a part of it. This is around 14 years old (i think). Old people who are abandoned by children resort to this place and are taken care like children. There are actually two wings. One wing has all old people whose children have left them to be totally forgotten. Even if they were to die, it would be the ashram inmates who would perform their last rites. According the Shri. Gopalakrishna, in the last 10 years, he has performed rites to around 800+ people. We saw people who have no legs, some who were totally bed ridden, one who could neither hear, see or speak and was being fed by one of the volunteers. It nearly brought tears to our eyes. Time and again, we are reminded of how gifted we are and what we need to give back society.

The other wing is a more decent one where people live by paying some meager amount. So, this ashram is entirely run by donations. Money is not asked but flows -little by little. There is a shirdi temple within the ashram and everyone here believes that it is Baba who takes care of them and their needs. We could actually not spend time with the old people as the celebrations were ongoing and had to leave to our far destinations. But the underlying point is that this man single handedly runs the show with the help of family members. It is pure selfless service.

Many a times, parents are hurt by harsh words. Their advice is unwanted. They become people of boring speech as they grow old. They become a burden. But little do we realize that it were these same mother and father who taught us to face world, who held our hands when we were down, who patted our backs and lifted us when we failed, who rejoice more than us when we found small success in life. They lifted all our burden and made us what we are today and we when we are independent, we find them to be a burden. We don't even realize that we will also travel the same boat few years from now. We will also have to undergo the same treatment from our children because we set an example to our children. We plan so much for he future and claim to be so foresighted but ignore such human values and relationships which will reap the same harvest in future.

Through this blog post, I would like to tell people that if you are interested in donating to this sai ashram, you may do so. You can contact Shri. Gopalakrishna. (Mob: 9886275899). By the way, you do get a 80G IT exemption for your donations.

For many, this post will definitely be a matter of non-attachment and a casual read/comment. It would be like any other NGO who are doing yeomen service. I am not trying to promote this ashram or try to associate myself. This is only to create an awareness in people about this home, their selfless work and their commitment. Out of your many whole hearted charity that you do for varying NGOs, this can atleast be at the end of your wish list.

RAM RAM

This Time - it is Kukke

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 09:46:00 +0000

28/9/2012

Lights On.. Action 1 2 3…

Ooohhhhhhh….AAhhhhhh………jinka lakadi jinka lakadi ..Similar sounds and whistling rented the air. Girls, boys, men, women, senior citizens and all kids came together to enjoy the tunneling effect, something which was the first to many of us.

Dark and bright, dark and bright

Oh..is this day or is it night

one, two, three and four

Wow.. so good!! Can we have some more?

56, in all, counting one by one

A wonder in our face, once it was done

Amma, please, please, can we have a re-run

It was great, awesome and fun

For many years now, I thought that people got hyper and give such special effects only to a rajini starrer. No..This was NOT a endiran or a shivaji and none of the rajini starrers. It was a kudos to the engineering marvel created by man. The journey from sakleshwarpur to Subramanya road by the kannur express was just awesome. My son went on asking me "how did they do this"?"How did they do this" and solemnly took oath that he would become a train driver when he grew big and particularly in this train. :)

People went crazy and got so excited that whenever the train passed through a tunnel, there were huge shouts and cries. The bridges after every tunnel added to the oooo’s and aaahh…’s. They were such that one cannot see the track below and would give u a feeling that the train is actually flying across the rivers. With the "dadang dadang" sound, it surely sends a fear down your nerve.

There are 56 tunnels in this path with some being as long as ½ km. There are small creeks all along surrounded ofcourse, by the Western Ghats. There is only one colour that we can see all round - green , green and green. I really wondered. Many of us plan holidays outside

India

. It usually is in

Singapore

Malaysia

Thailand

, etc etc. and we proudly speak of it too. People fail to realize that our country has such rich beauty to relish and appreciate.

We got off at Subramanya road to drive to Hotel seshnag ashraya in kukke. The autowala charged us a whooping Rs.200 for 4 people. The hotel is a decent one and is very close to the temple. Got ourselves refreshed and started our pilgrimage with the visit to the Subramanya temple. We went at around 5.0.p.m and there was no crowd absolutely. The GODs are (in order) vasuki, adisesha and lord subramanya sitting on his peacock. The lord is not very clearly visible as it is heavily decorated and is very small too. We had to get this info from the priest present there who was extremely reserved and feared if pearls would roll down lest he opened his mouth. We then went to Adi Subramanya temple which has the main snake hill (putthu). It was here that lord Subramanya first appeared in the form of a snake.

The next day, we left to dharmasthala at around 8.30.am. . This place is nearly 50Kms from kukke. We reached dharmasthala at around 9.30 and had finished darshan by 10.a.m. We had a rare nirmalya darshan of Lord manjunatha. The crowd here also was not much. The cleanliness that is maintained here is worth a mention. Not only here, in all temples that I have visited in Karnataka, utmost care is taken to keep the premises of the temple clean and tidy. Many banners and videos depicting the expected behaviour of devotees are displayed making the public constantly aware of what they are expected to do.

By 10.30 we left to kateel. On the way, we stopped at a beautiful ram temple. Lord Ram along with his consort Sita , Bharath, shatrugna, hanuman, various forms of shakti, the nava garahas are all carved out in marble. It had the flavour of a north Indian temple.

We then headed to kateel to see Durga Ma. The roads are well maintained; they go winding and winding with a canopy of trees on both sides. As I said , you can see only one colour here and that is green, green and green.

She sits small with four arms. Her temple is amidst a river. The time was apt and we had the divine opportunity to view the maha mangala aarathi. The Goddess was decorated and decked with jewels giving a majestic yet motherly look. We had free lunch at the temple complex. We then left to udupi at around 1.30.p.m.

We reached udupi at around 3.p.m. The temple was absolutely free and it was like Krishna was waiting only for us. We went round and round three times to see the kutti hero. And what to talk of the cute, cuddly, chubby Krishna who sits there holding a gili gili toy in one hand and butter in the other. Black is beautiful but never in my life have I seen black being so mesmerizing and so enchanting. He is dark as the new moon. Yashoda had decorated him in full gold. His eyes are twinkling looking eagerly if mother will give him more butter to feast on. No wonder devaki veiled at the loss of the childhood pranks of Krishna. Though she gave birth to him, it was yashoda who had a great advantage of seeing him grow, of bathing him with her affection. I was reminded of oothukadu’s composition..”enna thavam seidanai yashoda..endrum nirainda para bramam amma endraikka” (What tapas did u do oh yashoda that the para brahmam himself calls you “amma”).

Frankly, I didn’t want to leave that temple. Krishna was so very attractive that you never feel like lifting your eyes off him. Oh my GOD…what a beauty, what a beauty!!! We left with a heavy heavy heart.

We left Mangalore to board the train to Bangalore. In Mangalore, we went to the gokarnatheshwara temple in kudroli. This temple is relatively a new one (around 20 years ) and is indeed very beautiful. Special mention of annapoornaeshwari is a must. The deity resembles the one in horanadu and is bedecked with rich jewels.

The train to Bangalore again went through the same tunnels. We were asleep but there was one soul who was awake and wouldn’t want to miss this chance even if it were to be night – shriram.

Note: The day train (Train no: 16515) YPR karwar express operates only on Mon, Wed and Fri. It leaves yeshwanthpur at 7.30 and reaches subramanya road at 3.10.p.m. The tunnels are built only between sakleshpur and subramanya road. So, if you wish to experience this, plan accordingly.

Kerala temple tour

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 06:20:00 +0000

Where do I begin? Should I start with the nail biting beginning or the thrilling end? Does back waters get to the front lines or the beauty of kerala houses and their living. Should the beauty of the temples take predominance or the deities residing in have their first go? How about the food here or should I be the neat roads?

Well, anything said is less. Our train was scheduled at 9.p.m and unfortunately, we left at 8.p.m which was pretty late. Not only have we got entangled in this smasara sagara, but also in these traffic jams and signals. My mother, father , aunt and shriram reached the yeshwanthpur station at 8.40.p.m after putting a brave fight to Bangalore traffic. We were worried if sundar and his parents would make it. It was 8.50.p.m and the tension was mounting. I called sundar and he said “You pepole carry on, don’t think we can make it”. My heart sank and shriram was almost in tears. Then I asked him “Where are you. I can request the TTR to delay the train by 5 minutes”. “I am in G15 coach” came the answer. “Oh god..there is a time to have fun and play” I thought and was relieved that they made it.

The train journey as usual was a pleasant one but this time it was more enchanting because it was kerala’s greenery everywhere and drizzle all the time. We reached Bagavat gardens in chenganur and halted there to get ready for our first DD in kerala.

There are totally 11 DDs (divya desams) in Kerala. We covered only 8 which are in close proximity. Since the tour was specifically to see the divya desams, we started from chengannur which has the most number of DDs. Else, one can start from trisur too and come down to chenganur.

Some common information about the temples in kerala.

All the Vishnu temples that we saw have swami in standing posture and four armed – shankam, chakram, gadha and padmam. There is no separate thayar sannidhi except in thirupuliyur. In all the others, Swami has locked mahalakshmi in his heart.

Every Divya desam we visited, we saw people reading ramayanam. I am not sure if it was because that it was the last day of the adi month. But all said and done, people here are very pious and more devoted. The temples are spic and span and very well maintained. All of them have the dome shaped gopuram. None of them have mosaic flooring or artificial lighting. The entire temple and specially the garba gudi is fully illuminated with lamps. This gives a special aura and devotion to everyone in the temple. People maintain pin drop silence unlike other temples where a lot of gossip and loud talking is done.

All temples in kerala open in the morning by 5.am and close by 11.30 a.m. The evening timing too are from 5.p.m to 7.p.m. Since 16^th was the beginning of the avani month for them, we were lucky that all temples remained opened till 8 to 8.30.

All Men must remove their shirts, vests before entering the temple. ladies usually are in sarees. Though salwar is allowed in most of the temples, it is better to wear sarees while visiting guruvayur. Rules may change any time.

Usually the temples dont accept any kind of offering from devotees. Everything is done from the temple. Also, the only prasadam one gets is fresh and original chandanam.

Each of the pancha pandavas have built a temple for Maha Vishnu in and around chengannur.

15/8/2012 – The Chenganur train (Kochuveli Garib rath epress) reached chenganur at 10.30. We halted at Bagavath gardens, a decent hotel.

We visited three temples on 15^th evening. I have given the name and details according to the order in which we vsitied

Thirupuliyur (DD No.86)

Swami here is called by the name of “Mayapiran”, Thayar is called “Porkudi nachiyar”, Thirtham is Pragya Saras and Vimanam is called Prushotaman. This temple was build by the second of the pancha pandavas, Bhima.

Thiruchenkundroor (DD No. 87)

The Swami is called by the name of “Imayapiran”. Initally, built by the devatas, the first pandava, Yudishtra renovated this temple. Yudishtra was very depressed when drona, his guru died because of his lie. In order to do paschatapam, he renovated this temple.

Thiruvanvandoor (DD NO. 89)

Swami here is sung by the name of “Pambanai appan”. Nakula, the fourth pandava is said to have built this temple. One can see lord krishna doing kalinga mardanam on top of the gopuram. Namma alwar has sung pasurams here

16/08/2012 Morning:

Aranmulla (DD No.88)

Swami here is called “Thirupuralappan” and thayar is called padmasini. The thirtam is pampa tirtham and has vamana vimanam. Arjuna after killing karma felt bad in the way he killed karma and did penance here. He then built this temple for mahavushnu. Lord ayyappan’s jewels are stored in this temple and are taken to sabari malai when needed. There is a “banni” tree, where the pandavas hid their weapons when they were in the 13^th year of their exile in incognito.

Sine it was the last day of the month of Adi, a grand alankaram or decoration of lamps with flowers and other material was done which looked great and divine.

Thiruvalla (DD No. 90)

Swmi here is called “Sri Kolapiran Perumal Temple” We also saw abhishekam to the lord here.

Thirukadithanam (DD No. 91)

Swami here is called “Adbutha Perunal” built by the last pandava, sahadeva. It is said that at the end of kali yuga, perumal here will vanish which was lead to deluge of the entire world. Also, kunti devi breathed her last here.

Chenganur is a lovely place with narrow roads and houses all along the road. You can never see any deserted place. All houses have a big garden showing their love for mother nature. The constant rain with occasional drizzle gave a mystic feeling and one wondered how can a place be so unpolluted and so serene.

16/8/2012 Evening

We checked out of the hotel and left to ernakulam which has the remaining two DDs. We hired a scorpio. The journey is something to remember and relish, All through we could see back waters. It sure lives up to the name as “God’s own country”. Surprisingly, the number of apartments are quite few in ernakulam. Most of them are independent houses with a lot of space for garden and greenery. We had booked rooms in Vedanta Wakeup but the attitude of the people here was more foreigner friendly. So, we took a home stay nearby called rampart homestay which was cosy and well equipped. This is very close to the Arabian see backwater.

To visit the other two DDs, we took a ferry from our place to ernakulam. The ferry ride was enjoyable specially for the kutties. It is better to take aferry from here. A Taxi would mean a waste fo time and money. From ernakulam, we hired 2 taxi to reach the two DDs. Time was ticking and we were not sure if we could make it to the last DD. Sundar, kids, myself and my mother-in-law came by one of the taxi and when we were almost close to the temple, there was a block in the road which was very disappointing. But HE lives up to his word. If we try climbing two steps for his sake, he climbs down 10 steps to lift us and this proved it. The temple remained opened till 8.30.p.m that day due to celebrations for the last day of the adi month. HE not only gave us darshan but also gave us an opportunity to see the seeveli and we also got s special blessing in the form of a garland from the lord. Our intention was only to see the lord but he blessed with more than what we asked for.

Thirukarkarai, Edapally (DD No.92)

Swami here is called by the name “Sri katkarai Appa Perumal temple”.

Thirumoozhikalam, (DD No. 93).

This is situated near cochin Air Port.

Swami here is called “Moozhikalathan Perumal”.

With this, we ended the Divya desam tour and thank GOD for having givn a good and satisfactory darshan at all places.

17/8/2012 Morning: Chotanikare, Kalady

17/8/2012 Evening: Trissur

We staryed at the home stay. On 17^th morning, few of he ladies visited chotanikare.

An important note: If you want to cover chotanikare, kalady and trisur in one day, one has to start as early as 6.a.m

We checked out at 8.a.m. and left to the abode of he great jagadguru, Shri Adi Shankara. It was pouring constantly all the way. We reached kalady at 12.00. noon. The ashram is maintained by shringeri sharada mutt. One can see the Samadhi of Sri Shankara’s mother Aryamba, the exact place where he was born and the poorna river which flows just behind his house. The vibration here is something which one must experience. A small temple for shringeri sharade is established here. Guru anugraham is something not all get. The guru has to identify his shisyas and it is a bhagyam if one gets a guru. With the hope and faith of getting this anugraham in life…we proceeded to thirusur to have a darshan of Lord shiva who is known by the name of vadakum Nathan.

Trissur Vadakum Nathan temple is spread over a huge area which is maintained in an excellent manner. The lush green lawns gives a serene look. The Lord here is Lord Shiva which is fully formed of ghee and doesn’t melt at all. The alankaram is great and definitely is a treat to the eyes. This place has a great history.

Parashurama wanted to do tapas and aimed his arrow. The arrow fell at this temple. Since, there was no temple or GOD installed there, he requested Lord Shiva to come down and give darshan. Lord Shiva along with his consort parvati, blessed parashurama and ordered him to build a temple here. Since the lord himself chose this place to reside, kerala is called “God’s own country” and Thiru Siva Perur came to called as Trissur. And since Lord Shiva who resides in kailash came down all the way to the south, he is called vadaka Nathan (Lord of the north) here. There is a particular order in which open has to go round the prakaram which is displayed at the west entrance. Over one lakh lamps are lit in the temple during shiva rathri. The temple is open till between 4.a.m to 11.30 a.m in the morning and from 5.p.m to 8 pm in the evening.

After this satisfying darshan of the lord, we proceeded to the place that all were looking forward to - guruvayur. We checked in at Gokulam resort. There ar emnay hotels available around the temple. We took the hotel at west nada which is around 5 minutes walk from the temple. East nada also has many hotels and are very close to the temple.

Sundar and I had planned for the nirmalya darshan of Lord guruvayurappan on the next day.

18/8/2012 – Guruvayur

Got up at 1.30.a.m, had bath and went to the temple for nirmalya darshan of the lord. The temple opens at 3.a.m. It is better to be there at 2.30 itself. The crowd is not much at this time and we get to see the lord without any alankaram. Small made and four armed, your hair stand up with awe and devotion. This happens without your knowledge and involuntarily. Such is the megic of HIS presence there. That Lord who sustains the whole world, That kid who played wonders in his childhood, that krishna who gave the world the knowledge of gita, that damodara who played rasa kreedai with gopis, that lord who is a friend of friends, a lord of lords, a child of children was attracting people from far and wide in his small garba griha illuminated with only lamps. This is another beauty of temples in kerala – no artificial lighin whatsoever. The radiance is just magnificent and divine.

After having the nimrlaya darshan, sundar and I went to another round of darhsna where we got to see the shankabishekam (abhishekam with the conch). We bathed the Lord with tears of Joy and thanked him for having given this wonderful sight.

We returned to the hotel and got kids ready for another round of darshan. And this time it was the lord fully decked and dressed up. What we thought was only nirmalayam but he gave a better one. Time and again he re-instates that when we aspire to see him once, he gives us double/triple the joy. It is very true too that one should not ask favours from the Lord. When we ask for something material, he grants our wish but when we don’t ask him, he will give 100 times more than what we wished for. And as the saying goes, we don’t get what we desire, we only get what we deserve.

The rudra theertham is the temple pond is of significane and also the Shiva temple at mammiyur is a must see after seeing guruvayurappan. It was at the instruction of lord shiva that guru and vayu installed guruvayurappan here. Hence, this temple must be visited. Just ½ km from the temple, we can walk upto this temple. One can also get fresh banana chips near the temple.

In the evening, we went to the elephant camp which is around 3kms from the temple. There are around 63 elephants in the camp which is fully maintained by the temple. It is a good attraction for kids to see so many elephants at one place. Then we visted the Venkata perumal temle and parthasarathy temple which are close to the railway station.

Whatever I write or say is short of words to express the happiness and the ecstacy in me. One has to experience these feelings by actually going to these places. I hope this blog will give some guidelines to people who read it.

Fully satisfied and happy . we left to our destinations on 18^th night.

Mulbagal - A weekend getaway for temple freaks!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 11:54:00 +0000

It is a two hour drive from bangalore north to mulbagal. We left at 7.a.m - sundar and myself leaving the kids at home. After constantly listening to the alapanai of hari and shriram at home, their non-stop talk and fights, it was a different tune in the car - the songs in the raagam of purvikalyani, hindolam and shankarabaranam straight from AIR was pleasing treat to our ears. A breakfast break at kamat upachar, kolar , took us exactly two hours to reach mulbagal. My father-in-law had given us details about main temple sin mulbagal.

1. We went to koodumalai - now called as kurudu malai (which is a misnomer). Legend says that the trimoorthis - bramha, vishnu and shiva came together here to install lord ganesh. Hence the name koodumalai. (coming together). This was a growing structure since kruta yuga and when the tempe strucutre was built by the vijayanagar king, shri krishnadevaraya in kali yuga, it stopped growing. Visited by all stalwatrts like rama in treta yuga and krishna in dwapara yuga, is quite popular landmark in mulbagal. One has o take a diversion to the left from the NH-4 and travel towards srinivasa pura. The big arch and the yellow boards are neatly laid down giving the right directions. The Lord is majestic and is well maintained. This is one of the protected monuments coming under the archelogical society of India.

Then we headed to the temple nearby dedicated to someshwara and kshamadamba. The priest here was very well informed and gave s a lot of information about the temple and in general. This temple had 31 prakarams when constructed but was destroyed by hyder ali when he attched the place. This temple was built by the great dakanachari under the patronage of the chola king. One can notice that the carvings here are typical mimic of what one can see in belur and halebeedu.

Some general info that the priest gave us. Generally people are not allowed too close to the god. This is because, the entire region between the garba ruha and where we stand is divided into 4 portions. The first ofcourse is the garba gruha, The second is called the nava kusha mandapam. Here the jewels and belongings of the Lord are stored which again is a restricted area. The next comes the sukha-naasi. The people who recite the vedic mantrams for the lord are made to sit here and chant. It is made sure that there is maximum sunlight and breeze to make the people comfortable in chanting the mantras. The last protion is called the ranga mandapam which is the place for devotees to have a view of the lord. This was new to me and was indeed a good piece of info.

After this, we went to the Anjaneya temple which is very close to the mulbagal bus stand. Looked like the Anjaneya is a swayambu and very powerful. Many people flock to this temple and today being a saturday was all the more crowded. Purchased a few books of bhakti sudha and purandaradasa kritis and started off to yet another important place - the madhwacharya mutt for our lunch ofcourse.

The madhwa mutt contained the brindavanam (samadhi) of Sripadaraju swamigal who attained samadhi at this place. He was born in 1404A.D and became the mutt head of mulabagal. The food was good with a typical tinge of the karnataka style brahmin food.

It was time to get back home putting an end of the short yet sweet trip. Once a while, we have to take time off for ourselves. This really rejuvenates and gives a better frame of mind to get back to your routine. Listening to all hindi sons on our way back took me back to my good old school days of chitrahaar, and saturday evening movies.

It was HIS day

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 07:44:00 +0000

To be born as a human being is a very special gift of GOD because it is we who can relate ourselves and our relationship with HIM. And if the realisation of HIS presence and power is strong in us, then the path to liberation becomes more easy because when we realise that eveything is because of his iccha and than we are just puppet dolls in HIS hands, he comes down to lift us to his abode.

For a brahmin, specially a boy child, the upanayanam is a very important milestone in his life. He is called "dwija or twice born" as his bramhopadeshan is considered to be his second birth. Elders say that the right age is between 8 to 16. It is said that before kamam (desire) creeps in, one should have his upanayama conducted so that his thoughts become pure and his mind is trained in the right direction.

For me personally, I consider the transition of a boy from kumara to bramhachari as a very very special one. He becomes eligible to know bramha gyanam. A child who does his nitya karma with shraddha and bhakti is considered to be next to the sun god.

Shriram our first son is blessed to have this anugraham and to have his upanayanam done at the tender age of 8. Not all get this bhagyam. We are happy that he has been chosen to take this bramhacharya vratam early in life. We only hope that he lives upto it.

We decided to have this fucntion at home. It is recommended that all functions be undertaken at home because of this auspiciousness and goodness to the people at home. So, we decided to have this function at home with selected people attending it. Both, me and sundar were very excited about this. It is hard to believe that the kid who use to hold my dress and cry while going to his kinder garden, the kutti boy who used to play imaginary games like "auto-auto" and train games is going to have a huge responsibility of his shoulders. That kid for whom 24 hours is not sufficient for his playtime is going to be eligible for great studies. But shriram right from childhood has a good interest in listening to mythological stories and slokas. He has a good clarity in his pronounciation and an interest in learning. touch wood!!! This is the reason that triggered me and sundar to have his upanayam done early.

Since, we decided that the poonool kalyanam be done at home, it was a big job of co-ordinating everything. The catering, the flower decoration, the video, the invtiations etc etc. The preparations started well in advance , I think, from the month of December. My parents took care of all purchases like silver puchase, the veshtis for the bramins, the gifts for badil maryadai, the gold/silver poonool for shriram and bakshanam.

At this point, I will be failing in my duties if I don't express my gratitude to my parents. They have been amazing source of strength and moral support to me right from the beginning. If not for them, I would not have been so confident in doing things. My father, an extremely disciplined man who has a never-say-no attitude. Even if it is lifting a mountain, he would do it in spite of his age of 68. A person of amazing positive attitude, I have never seen him using words like"cannot", "will not", "difficult" etc. There is a lot to be learnt from this man.

And my mother - she is an embodiment of patience. An equal match for my dad, always positive in her approach, a pious and a great hearted lady. Even a golden statue made like her will not have as much patience as herself and this is surely not an exaggeration.

My in-laws also have been a great source of support to me and sundar. Pious and spiritual in their out look - I am happy that my children have the right environment to grow in. Encouraging and appreciative in whatever we do, I am blessed to get in-laws like them.

The function was conducted for two days. The first one called Naandhi and the actual upanayanam on the second day.Naandhi for fixed for 25th february, 2012 and the upanayanam was sheduled for 26th feb. As days were nearing it was getting all the more hectic and tiring and tense. As I have mentioned before,the local arrangement were completely taken care of by me and sundar. It was an enjoyable experience when you do things for your child all by yourself. I don't quote this with a sense of pride but with a feeling of happiness. After all, whatever we do is GOD initiated and GOD executed. So, I have nothing to be proud of.

Naandhi is like a vratam where nine bramhanas chant vedic mantras and tie a sacred thread on the boy's hand. We have to honour each of the bramhanas as they signify the gods, the nine planets, the nine directions (I am not very sure of the exact significance)

The upanayanam is important in the sense that the bramhopadesham is done on this day. I will not elaborate on the rituals done as it is a known one and the sastrigal will direct accordingly. The gayathri mantram is taught to the boy in secrecy. This being a very very sacred mantra should not at any cost be told in public. These days people play the mantra as a song, teach these is schools which a very very great sin. One who doesn't not know the significance of any mantra should not chant them as it will show its ill-effect on the person who chants and on the one who teaches also. So, whoever reads this blog - you may or may not know it. Please spread the word that gayathri mantra should not be told in public, cannot be taught by anyone to anyone. Spead this meaage even if it comes to being a bit harsh. It is better to get a few rude words onto you rather than have wrong vibrations around you.

The biksha is another important and enjoyable sight to see. Shriram has to ask for bhiksha from people. In those days, boys were supposed to go from house to house and beg for alms and live only on them. Today the world is changed. It was a very cute sight to see when shriram said "bhavati biksham dehi".

The tiredness set in when all people left. The work of all those one week's of hard work was taking its toll on me and sundar. The task is not yet over, there is another one now to get shriram sit and do his daily duties.

People feel proud that their children do well in studies, in music, in dance, in sports etc etc., but when it comes to reciting daily prayers, it always takes a back seat and is compromised. If a child sings well or is good at any sport, it is easily recognized because this is something that gives you a material benefit like name, fame, money etc. But when it comes to chanting slokas or doing your daily duties, parents also compromise. Since these things don't give a direct visible material benefit, we do not know the impact of these in our lives. The name and fame we get is only for this life but the prayers that we do is going to save us for all our future births.

The very purpose of dividng the society into 4 sets of people is that the everyone is benefitted from this. All people in the world be happy.

So, as a bramhin, one is supposed to do his nitya karma. One is not a bramhin just by birth but by his karma. He has to follow the rules laid out for him. He has to somehow do his duties in spite of his busy schedule. That is the commitment one has to show towards the almightly. Only if bramhins do their nitya karma and their duties, will the world be more happier place to live in. Like mentioned before, he is one who is entitled to get bramhagyanam. So, he has to make use of this opportunity and use it to the best of society.

I hope shriram realises this and lives upto what he is supposed to be.

Ram Ram

Come To Kumbakonam

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 06:16:00 +0000

It seemed to be an inauspicious beginning for an auspicious journey. Added to the foggy and depressing chill weather, the news of the delayed arrival of sangamitra express by at least 5 hours was adding salt to the wound. It was a test for our patience. With hari and shriram growing impatient every minute, it was becoming difficult to manage them and their restlessness. There was a sigh of relief and our faces lit up when we saw the train from the far end. It was like we had reached Chennai.

26^th December morning was full of excitement. The kids were very trilled that they will be travelling by a day train. The adults were anticipating to see many temples in the temple city of kumbakonam – our final destination for this holiday.

My father-in-law had done his homework and had a list of prominent temples to be seen. We reached kumbakonam at late evening and checked into ARK international – truly un-international. Well, the less said, the better.

Kumbakonam temples are really huge. It would not be an exaggeration if I say that some temples could even contain a town within its compound. I wondered as to how those kings built such huge temples – was it out of love to GOD or for political reasons. All said and done, we are now benefitted with such rich divinity. It gives us an opportunity to channelize our thoughts towards spirituality - atleast for sometime.

We lost no time and started off on our pilgrimage with the first one being the city GOD – Adi Kumbeshwarar. I have listed down the details of temples that we visited. I have tried to put as much details as I could gather.

The photos of all temples can be found at:
https://picasaweb.google.com/108652278193462214677/20111230?locked=true

Day 1: 26/12/2011 Evening

1. Swami: Adi Kumbeshwara

Ambal: Mangala Ambikai

This is situated in the heart of the temple city.

Some background about Kumbehswara temple:

Tradition goes to say that during the “Mahapralaya” (Great Floods) after “Dwaparayuga”, a ‘Kumbam’ (Pot) full of Amritham (also spelt as Amrit) and seeds for creation was set afloat by Lord Shiva. It was proclaimed by Shiva Himself that the place where the pot touched theground and had its rest would be considered as the holiest places in the world.
Since the said Kumbam, as announced by the creator of the world, had its rest in this place, this ancient place is named as “Kumbakonam” after that Kumbam. Immediately after its rest Lord Shiva appeared in the guise of a hunter and broke thesaid Kumbam full of Amritham with his arrow.
The nectar settled at two places one of which became the famous Mahamaham Tank. Out of the pieces of the broken pot Lord Shiva made out a ShivaLinga and entered into it. This is now enshrined in the temple, and hence the name Adi Kumbeswara, meaning – one who entered the Kumba or vessel long long ago.

The entire complex is so huge that one can find many shops inside the temple prakaram making for many a livelihood.

2. Perumal: Saarngapani

Thayar: Komalavalli

This tempe is very close to the kumbeshwara temple. There was some mass chanting of divya prabandams going on when we went to the temple. It was very nice to see small boys wearing the sacred thread chanting the prabandams. It was also an indication to me as to how much time I have wasted in this life not knowing what is to be known.

3. Perumal: Chakrapani

Thayar: Sudarshana Valli and Chakravalli

This temple also is in the heart of the city. Perumal gives his darshan in the form of the chakra. Like Lord Shiva, here perumal has three eyes.

4. Koorathazhvar sannithi: This is a small temple dedicated to koorath Alwar on bazaar street.

5. Dashavataram temple: Perumal’ along with shredevi and bhoodevi gives darshan here. The speciality is the panchajanyam and the sudarshana chakram are inter-changed.

Day 2: 27/12/2011 Morning

6. Padaivetti mariamman temple: My mother wanted to start her day with a visit to this temple dedicated to the mother of parashurama – renuka devi. It happens to be her father’s kula deivam too.

7. Place: Tribhuvanam
Name: Sarabeshwarar

Ambal: Dharma Samvardhini

This GOD is a combination of Lord Siva, Kali and durga. In order to tame lord narasimha’s anger after he killed hiranyakashipu, lord shiva along with kali and durga took the form of a peculiar animal called sarabeshwara and tamed narasimhar. The former took narasimhar to the skies and took out the anger from the stomach of lord narasimhar. The creature has a garuda nose, kali and durga as wings, teeth of lion and bairava in his chest. This is a rare sight of the lord and is a must-see temple.

8. Place: thiruvidaimarudur

Name: Mahalinga Swami

Ambal: Bruhat Sundara Kuchambigai

Famous for eradicating bramha hathai dosham, it has an entrance which people don’t use for exit. The entrance and exit are separate doors.

9. Govindapuram Vittala: A temple built in the north Indian style by shri. Vittal das. It has vittala and rukmini giving darshan. The goshala I heard is maintained very well. It was unfortunate that we could not go as it was closed.

10. Bogendra Swamigal Ashram: One of the famous acaryas of the Shri Adi sankara's lineage and one who popularized rama nama chanting is Shri Bogendra swamigal. Set is a quite and serene environment, it has the Samadhi of Swamigal. It also has a very well maintained go-shalai. The calves (kannu kutties) look so innocent. Shriram and hair had a great time petting the calves. One could see the anxiety of the mother cow when we were spending time with the calves.

Day 2: 27/12/2011 Evening

11. Thirunageswaram

Poojas to rahu are very special during rahu kalam. Also called Rahusthalam

Ambal: Nagavalli, Nagakanni

The legend says that when there is an abhishekam of milk being done for he rahu bagavan, it turns vblue in colour. However, we did not see any such phenomenon.

Swami: Naganattha Swamy

Ambal: Artha Chandra Bimba Kuchambikai

A separate small temple present for durga, Lakshmi and saraswati – called as giri Kuchambikai

12. Perumal: Uppili Appan

Thayar: Bhoodevi .

Here there is no separate sannidi for thayar. It is here that Perumal married bhoomadevi under the supervision of Markandeyar. When thayar married perumal, she was very small and so young that she did not know how much salt to add while cooking (typical of grown up girls these days :)). Since perumal accepted her as she was, prasadam here is served without salt. It was a tasty treat indeed. This is one of the important divya desams.

13. Place: Tirunaraiyur

Perumal: Srinivasan

Thayar: Vanjula Valli

Srinivasan gives darshan with sreedevi nachiyar here. Thayar is given more importance in this temple. Perumal is a bit sidelined. One can see aniruddhan, Pradyumnan, Purushottaman, Balaraman and bramha in the garba gruha. The separate thayar sannidi is made for vanjula valli thayar.

Here, perumal is seen only with two hands. He is in the form of acarya to thirumangai alwar. Alwar has sung 100 pasurams in this temple for perumal. Perumal stands tall and majestic smiling at his devotees.

There is another speciality here - the Kal Garudan. Garudan is in all grandeur here. Heard that when he is taken out for procession, his weight keeps increasing and more people are needed to carry him. This kshetram is also a Divya desam

14. Place: Thirucherai

Perumal: Saranathar

Thayar: Saranayaki

The lord is saranathar, pond is sara pushkarani, Gopuram is sara gopuram, and thayar is sara nayaki.

The LORD here is present with 5 goddesses – sreedevi, bhoodevi, mahalakshmi, neeladevi and saranayaki. Saranayaki is given a separate place. One can see perumal having mahalakshmi in his chest and saranayai holding mahavishnu in her chest. We can also see Cauvery doing penance to the lord to prove that she is greater than ganga. It is because of this penance that Cauvery is known to be the most sacred river in south India. This is 12^th divya desam.

The gurukal was extremely patient in explaining the importance and story of the place. He was quite old and it was evident that he did not do his duty as a mundane job but out of a true devotion to the lord.

15. Engan Subramaniyan:

Ah!!!After a long stint of meetings with Siva and perumal , it was now time to meet the kid super star – lord muruga. It is also called ashta netra puram. A beautiful idol of lord muruga with valli carved on a peacock – the peacock's legs bearing the entire weight of the carving. The lord is at his beauty’s best. Legend says that this was carved by a sculptor who was blind and had his thumb fingers cut off. He got his lost sight back after he carved the lord. Was wondering, to draw a straight line by closing (rather by opening)our eyes itself is such a herculain task. How did he sculpt so many cuts and curves of the lord. That is the power of true bhakti.

The same scultor had carved lord murugan in two other places - puruvacheri and ettukudi. The chola kind who was supervising the work gave him enoigh wealth and took a promise that no other idol of lord muruga would be cared to sucha beatuy. It was unfortunate that the thumbs of the sculptor were cut off. The scuptor had is eyes also taken away at etthukuzhi byt he same king. Lord muruga then took pity on him and sent a kritika kanya to help the scultor carve a similar one at asta netra puram now called engan.

It was quite dark when we returned and had to end the day with lots of temples to dream about.

28/12/2011 – Morning

16. Vijayendra Mutt: Guru of Shri Raghavendra

Started off the day with guru’s blessings. Visited the vijayendra mutt for a soulful morning

17. Thiruvilliyangudi

Perumal: Kola Villi Rama

Thayar: Maragada valli

Ramar is sayana posture but without the sanku and chakram. HE is two handed here. This was built by the asura sculptor mayan. Sukracharyar prayed to this Lord and got his eye sight back. So, this place is very special for eye sight., People who have deficiency in eyes or eye sight may visit this temple to benefit from his blessing. One can see chatur bhuja garudan here

18. Thirumangalakudi

Swami: Prananatheswarar

Ambal: Mangala Ambikai

19. Swami: Soorya Narayana

The temple dedicated to one of the navagrahas – the sun god. But it also has the other 8 grahas in separate sannidis. Soorya gives darshan her with his consorts – chayadevi and ushadevi. Guru bagavan is seen facing surya.

20. Swami: Pattabhirama

Last but not the least, we had been to the rama temple. Here rama is present in a sitting posture with sita during pattabhishekam. Shatrugna is holding the chamaram while bharata the chatram. Lakshmana is hold rama’s bow. One can see anjaneya sitting below holding veena in one hand and the great divine book of ramayanam on the other hand.

Utsava murthy is kothandarama.

Rama is in full grace apt to his qualities.

The holy pilgrimage was coming to an end. I did not feel bad that we could not see many. I had a sense of satisfaction that with two naughty boys, we were able to cover some of the important ones. Of course, we cannot take credit for what we saw or what we got. It is purely by HIS grace that we got a very good darshan and blessing at all places we went.

I hope he gives us more opportunities to see him again and again at different places in different forms.

After all the perumals and shivas and murugans and ambals, we went to one of the most anticipated place – the home of mathematics genius Srinivasa Ramanujam on Saaranga pani sannidi street. As I entered it, the hairs in my hands stood up. There was an emotion of happiness, a sense of awe and a feeling of sadness that there was not one to continue his lineage. There were proofs of ramanujam displayed, few photographs of his, his mother ,komalat ammal and his wife, janaki ammal. It is maintained by sastra university. I felt that there could have been few books or some kind of autobiography of his which people could refer or buy. It is well maintained. I was discussing with sundar that India has so many genius but very few get recognition. One tends to get lost in the vast expanse of people and causal attitude. If India would have recognized this genius early, we would have gained so much. Even the recognition that he got was not given by India by but Europeans. Such is the sad state of our country. Even today, I am sure there are many people who can excel in various fields but it is the lack of opportunity that has deprived these people from coming forward. We are mostly lost in the world of fantasy, hollywood, kollywod and others.

Anyway, I don’t want to end this blog in a low note…let us hope for the best. With so many temples and a rich divinity here in our land, there is definitely hope that we will produce many more genius.

A few general information. Most of the temples open at around 8a.m and close by 12 noon. The evening timing is from 4.30.p.m to 8.30 p.m. The road condition on the whole is good but the road to engan murugan is a little bad. Food in kumbakonam is not very good for brahmins. Mami's mess is supposed to be a brahmin's house who cook and cater for food. Otherwise, hotel archana near the kumbeshwara temple in bazaar street is quite good. The tiffin varieties is tasty.

So, have a great spiritual tour to kumbakonam.

Ram Ram

Beauty of Belur and Heaven of halebeedu

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 13:17:00 +0000

Sundar was very eager to see belur and haleebeedu. He has not seen the beauty and glamour of karnataka. So, we decided to look at belur and halebeed as it is close and a good destintion for a weekend.

Well, I need not detail about the history or the type of architecture. One can find them in the numerous websites.

Though I have seen it a couple of times during my school days, each time you see, it is an enthralling experience. What is so enthralling about this? A temple which is 900 years old?A temple which took 3 generations to build? The admiration of the kings for the ladies?

I wondered? what did I wonder?
Which engineering college did those artisans go to? How intricate were the carvings? Their imagination was a wonder. Is it ever possible to have a marvel in this age?

Everything that girls use these days -pony tails, bob cut, boy cuts, skirts, middies, minis, skirts - You name it, you can find it here.

The various mood of ladies are depicted in an exemplary way.
The famous scenes of ramayana and mahabharatha are carved to perfection. various moods of GOD, the avatars of maha vishnu are true to life and attractive. The star shape of the temple ,the balcony system shows the depth of imagination and intellectual thinking

What struck me the most were some of these - you can typical look for these when you these places...

Beautiful strings on the drum that is held by ladies. It looks like a rope tied around the drum though it is not. The nails carved are so true to life, the curves on sole of the feet, the carving of the intestine of hiranya kashipu which lord narasimha wears as a garland, the water drops dripping froma ladies hair after she has a hair bath, a lizard trying to catch an insect on the jackfruit, the scorpion carved below putana who tried to kill krishna, shiva's dance inside the stomach of an elephant, varaha swamy, vamana avatar, ravana lifting the himalayas. govardhana giridhari krishna. The jewels carved are so exhaustive and detailed. The 64 pillars inside the sanctum sanctoram of belur have varied designs and no two designs are the same.

It seems the small chain on the head of Shantala, the queen, can be seen to be still moving, her bangles can be still felt to be moving. The guide there says that there was a pillar which used to rotate but because of the beam weight , crashed and now is immovable. All said and done, each carving is a wonder and a marvel in its own and every artisan who has contributed to this wonderful piece of architecture is surely a reason to put India in the world map as a country which is rich in history and creativity.

Now, to the flip side - There are statues which are either stolen or disfigured specially in halebedu. Some were robbed many years back, some stolen to foreigners for petty thousands of rupees. We, as Indians, have to know the value of our art and heritage, be proud of it and protect it. It is the duty of every INDIAN.

I am BACK

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 12:41:00 +0000

After a long long stint, so long that I even forgot the password of my first blog site. Now, I am back in action and hope not to hibernate again. For those, who want to see my earlier blogs, visit
http://sundar-bengaluru.blogspot.com/

Hopefully, will be posting more regularly