Showing posts with label sadhus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sadhus. Show all posts

9 December 2014

On the Streets -- 2014 Arunachala Karthigai Deepam Festival



The below photographs are a pictorial representations of some of the sights at Tiruvannamalai during the 2014 Karthigai Deepam Festival. 


Arriving at the main bus stand

Girivalam crowd taking both sides of the roadway

Crowds on Car Street

Crowd during a God procession

Girivalam crowds early in morning

Massive lamps in evidence throughout the Festival

Carrying large child in Karumpu Thuthi (sugar cane sling)

Ladies burning camphor in front of Temple

Barbers busy outside and inside Temple shaving heads

Hair shaving becoming traditional during Arunachala Karthigai Deepam

Flower sellers outside Raja Gopuram (East Gate) of Big Temple

Big Temple trying to keep up with garland demands for alangarams

Shops and stalls in Tirvannamalai full of lamps and lights

Priests during Silver Bull night at Temple

Priests and Brahmins throughout Tiruvannamalai

Sadhu inside Arunachaleswarar Temple

Sadhini with wonderful kumkum pottu at Big Temple

5 September 2014

An Ordinary Day in a Temple Town


The below video was shot in 2003, but is very topical, and everything looks much the same now as it does in the film. Below the film I have listed various activities and the time they appear on the video. Its a well shot film and gives an accurate idea of an ordinary day at this Temple town. 




0.00 Sadhus chanting at Ganeshan Temple, Pallakottu Tank with scenes off the girivalam roadway 

2.35 Sadhus bathing in Tank, sadhus 

3.40 Sadhus feeding Ramana Ashram 

3.45 to 5.10 Ceremony Arunachaleswarar Temple 

5.50 Creating Deepams Mahashivaratri, Arunachaleswarar Temple 

7.25 Rukku Temple Elephant 

7.45 Puja at Ramana Maharshi’s Samadhi, and Mother’s Shrine Ramana Ashram 

9.27 Big Temple 

9.30 Ladies, street scenes 

10.05 Hanuman actor performing on streets 

10.40 Bullock cart and street scenes 


22 January 2013

Meeting with Mooku Podi Swami


Vishesh a reader of Arunachala Grace recently sent me an email about his meeting and experience with Mooku Podi Swami here at Arunachala. I am posting the narrative in full below. The accompanying photographs were taken by myself some time ago while Swami was residing near Pavarthi Hill. 

“As you requested, I wanted to give my experience with Mooku Podi Swami. As I mentioned earlier, I live in the US and visited India on Vacation for three weeks. I got initiated into several Meditation techniques by Vethathiri Maharishi and then started to follow Sri Nithyananda Swami. There is a huge temple in the city where I live in the US. I did see some blog postings by you on Nithyananda Swami. I along with my wife, 10 year old son and my Father-in-law came to Tiruvannamalai on the evening of 5th January to be part of Nithyananda Swami's Birthday celebrations. I drove our car from Trichy and stayed in a hotel just outside of Arunachala temple. Because of worst traffic, I decided to take an auto rather than driving the car. That is when everything started. 



The auto driver who took us to Nithyananda Swami's ashram on our route started to talk about Mooku Podi Swami (MPS) and suggested us to attempt to see him once before we leave. Initially that thought did not get into me strongly. He mentioned that MPS stays in hotel called Arpana which is where we planned to go for Dinner on the 5th. He himself asked Arpana hotel's watchman about MPS whereabouts. The watchman replied that MPS no more stays in that hotel and moved to a place near the Srinivasan school on the Girivalam path. 

We had the dinner and then left to the hotel. I requested the auto driver to pick up again the next day to visit Nithyananda Swami's ashram. The next day on our way to the Ashram he stopped the auto at a place before to the Ashram and pointed out a old man and then said he is MPS. We just got out of the auto and stood on the other side of the road and paid our respects. I did not get any sort of opinions on MPS and prayed for his blessings. He had a look at our family and we felt really good about it. We had to leave to the Ashram as we had a Pada Puja scheduled with Nithyananda Swami. 

After we had our time at the Ashram we came back to see him and could not find him. Then we went to Ramana Asramam and Visiri Samiyar Ashram and spend the whole day. The next day (7th January) we were planning to return back to Trichy and I started to have a very strong urge to meet MPS once more before I leave. So we checked out of our hotel and headed out on the Girivalam path by 7.30 am. To our surprise, MPS was sitting on the same spot (it was a Police booth). We parked the car on the road, left our sandals in the car and got out of the car and sat on a bench which was around 30 foot away from him. It would have been around 20 minutes we just sat and got his darshan. He started to walk around and then came and stood near our car. I turned to him in the sitting position and we were looking at him for blessings. I was praying inside to get me initiated into Atma Vidya (Ramana Maharishi's “Who Am I” self introspection). Other than that, I did not have any other feelings. 




After seeing MPS standing near our car, the people around that place started to scream asking to open the car door as MPS wanted to sit inside. I immediately rushed and opened the door and requested him to sit in our car. He hesitated and did not sit. There was one small boy around (15 years old) and urged us to remove all the sandals out of the car. I removed everyone of them and then MPS came around and sat in the passenger side. I took my son and then sat in the car. He did not talk anything to me and used sign languages and gave me directions. I finally ended up in a hotel called Udupi. 

He went inside and showed sign language to me to make the chair available for him to sit. I did it and then me and my son wanted to sit on the floor near his foot. He urged us to sit on the chair in the nearby table. After he had some Dosa and coffee and he left and we again headed out of the hotel. I wanted to go around girivalam (anticlockwise-as you had mentioned in one of your posting) and came to the same spot where we started. He wanted to stop and then he got down. The same small boy asked me to do namaskarams and touch his feet. I did and when I tried to touch his foot, he nodded his head and signalled me as not to touch. I obeyed his instructions and said good-bye. He gracefully nodded and gave me his send off. Then there were people around who came got his blessings. 


Parvarthi Hill, off Girivalam Roadway


My wife after getting his blessings wanted to donate some money for Anna Dhaan at the Ragavendra Ashram. It was just across the road. After visiting Ragavendra Ashram, I had the feeling again to take a photo of him so that I can have in my Puja area for worship. We returned back to see him and he was not there. When I asked the people around that place they asked us to check at the Srinivasan school. 



Girivalam Roadway where Swami stays


We went there and found him sitting at the hallway. I walked up to him and asked him if I can take a photo. He nodded his head stood up and walked out of the school straight to our car. So we had him seated again and this time all of our family sat inside. He again signalled me to go anticlockwise. I started to drive. We went two full rounds this time and Swami by then started to take a nap. During the middle of the third round, the police had put some barricade and blocked the road. Then he signalled to take a diversion and then we ended up to go clockwise again. When the car came near the school, he signalled to stop and got down. I once again asked if I could take a snap and he nodded no again. That was the end. He walked straight inside the school and I did my namaskarams again and headed out. 

He was uttering two words again and again for 5 to 6 times: They were "ஆபிசு....ஆபீஸ்"” 

18 October 2011

Significance of Vibhuti


Although Shiva is worshipped primarily in the form of Arunachala, at this premier Shiva Sthalam, He is also worshipped in other significant forms, such as: Lingodbhava,
inside the Lingam', Ardhanisvara ‘the androgynous deity’, Dakshinamurti, ‘the one facing south’ and Bhikshtana, ‘the enchanting mendicant’. However, in whatever form Lord Shiva is worshipped, Vibhuti (sacred ash) is an integral part of that worship.

Vibhuti is the residue from sacrificial fires where special woods (mostly sandal or shami) along with ghee and other herbs have been offered as worship. Vibhuti represents Lord Siva and denotes destruction of illusion by reminding one of the transience of all created things. Sacred ash indicates time and reminds the devotee to reach the Lord who is the destroyer of time

Sacred ash has several symbolic meanings: When eaten, Vibhuti imparts the blessings of the Divine. Placed on the forehead of devotees, it serves as a sectarian mark (tilaka). In worship connected with Lord Shiva it is a symbol of purity and a main prasad given at pujas in Saivite temples and shrines.

Vibhuti also serves as a reminder to the believer to cast away selfish and worldly desires that wrap the self in maya, and calls to mind the story of how Shiva burned Kama (the god of desire) to ashes when Kama attempted to break Shiva's focus on the Divine Truth




Shiva Kolam at Arunachaleswarar Temple




According to Hindu mythology Vibhuti is said to be highly favoured by Lord Shiva and that's why He is often called Vibhuti Bhushan (the one having ash as his ornament). Shiva devotees apply Vibhuti as tripundra (a form of three lines). When applied with a red spot in the centre, the mark symbolises Shiva-Shakti (the unity of energy and matter that creates the entire seen and unseen universe).



Sadhu wearing Vibhuti



Fire which is inherent in all objects becomes visible only in objects consumed by fire. It is Formlessness manifested amidst forms. In the Arunachala Mahatmyam, it is said the Lord gives his form to one who attains Him in the fire of meditation and merging in Him remains as infinite Wisdom.

Sri Shankaracharya of Kamakoti Peetam says of sacred ash, that:

“Vibhuti is held as most sacred and one should necessarily have it smeared over the whole of the body. In Sanskrit, Vibhuti also refers to the glorious attributes of the divine, and (in this context) is translated as 'all pervading', 'superhuman power', and 'wealth', and gives all types of wealth to the one who wears it.

The very colour of Vibhuti, which is white, signifies nothing less than the Supreme Self. As the Bhagavad Gita states: ‘Just as fire reduces firewood to ashes, jnana destroys all karma.’ Vibhuti symbolises the jnana (wisdom) which remains after all karma is burnt out. Anything put into a fire may turn black for a while but eventually it has to turn white. So whiteness is the ultimate state. God is the great Vibhuti and has the same quality as the Vibhuti we smear over the body. Hence the Vibhuti we smear over the body will take us to Him.

The wearing of Vibhuti emphasises the reality of the Self and the unreality of the world and its objects. The smearing of sacred ash reminds us of the great principle: that whether one is a prince or pauper, one will end up as a handful of ash.”




22 February 2009

Shivaratri Festival


I am reproducing below a narrative compiled by William Forbes that explains the mythology of Shivaratri and also the grand association of the
Pashupatinath (Lord of Animal Life) Temple at Kathmandu, Nepal. For more information about Shivaratri -- The Eternal Festival and more about this Temple, check out this earlier posting. To find out more about Shivaratri and also specifically how it is celebrated at other significant Shiva stalams, read on.

"This year, on the 23rd of February, Mahashivaratri is celebrated throughout India, Nepal, and the world, by devotees of Lord Shiva. Mahashivaratri means "the great night of Shiva". It is celebrated on the 14th night of the waning moon, (the dark moon night before the new moon), during the month of Phalgun. There are a number of legends connected with the origin of Shivaratri. One is that Goddess Parvati and Lord Shiva were married on this day.

This is also the day that Lord Shiva appeared as a luminous Jyotirlingam before Brahma and Vishnu. All the twelve Jyotirlingams of Bharat (India) are said to have manifested on this day.



Jyotir Lingam Stalams


The Shiva Purana relates a story of Maha Shivaratri's glory –


In ancient times, a Bheel (forest inhabitant) named Gurudruha trudged through a forest to hunt deer. At night, without having sighted a single animal, he climbed a Bilva (Aegle marmelos) tree on the banks of a lake. Later at night, a doe arrived to drink water. Gurudruha aimed his bow and arrow at her. While aiming, he unknowingly dropped some Bilva leaves and his drinking water below on a Shivalingam that happened to be under the tree. The deer then requested him to allow her to entrust her fawns to her husband, after which she would return. After much haggling he agreed.


While awaiting her return, he stayed awake by aimlessly plucking leaves and dropping them below. Again they fell on the Shivalingam. Thus he unknowingly performed its puja (worship) while remaining awake all night. Finally the doe returned with her family, She informed him that along with her, he'd have to kill her family too. As he aimed, some more leaves fluttered down on the Shivalingam.


The collective punya (spiritual merit) accrued from the puja performed unknowingly, eradicated all his sins. This purified his heart. Repenting his flawed life of sin, he set the deer free. As he sat repenting, Lord Shiva manifested in front of him and granted him a boon, "You shall be born in a town known as Shrungver, as a man named Gruha. Lord Vishnu will grace your home as Lord Rama and redeem you." (This event is described in the Ramayana.) Shiva also blessed the deer, which attained a better destiny.


On this day it is easy to please Lord Shiva by fasting and prayer. The main prayer is usually conducted during the night. Ever three hours the devotee worships Lord Shiva in the form of a Shiva Lingam. the Lingam is bathed with milk, ghee, honey, curd, rose water, etc. Lord Shiva is also greatly pleased by the offering of Bilva leaves. One also devotes time to chanting the Vedic Rudram, or the five-syllable mantra of Shiva - Om Namah Shivaya - and to meditating on Him, by remembering one's ultimate goal, which is God Realization, the purpose of human birth. Ascending to the top of Mount Kailash within oneself, and trying to experience the presence of God Shiva within as one's very own self, and simultaneously as the Universal Self permeating the entire universe, one draws close to Lord Shiva. on this night.


For more than a week before and after Shivaratri, the area around Pashupatinath Temple is transformed into a mammoth fair of sorts, with food stalls, pavement markets and clusters of temporary shelters where life-styles and human activities of a mind-boggling variety can be witnessed. Colorful costumes of the many different ethnic and tribal pilgrims from India sporting intriguing headgear, ranging from turbans to towels around the scalp; long flowing dresses, pantaloons and loin cloths, along with the women's colorful sarees, all form a fascinating contrast to the many Sadhu-Babas and Yogis in their birthday suits. People fill the roads - holy men, some half clad, some covered in ash but entirely nude; pilgrims in their distinct and colorful tribal costumes; vendors selling practically everything from vermilion powder, Rudraksha beads, monkey nuts, to Coca Cola and snacks. Foreign tourists also form part of this vast collection of humanity.



Pashupatinath Temple, Katmandu, Nepal


During Shivaratri, the temple of Pashupatinath, dedicated to Lord Shiva, becomes all spruced up in anticipation of the arrival of Sadhus, Yogis and other holy men as well as the hundreds of thousands of devout Hindu pilgrims. All devout Hindus believe that a visit to the holy Pashupatinath temple will absolve them of all past sins and the preference to make this pilgrimage during the time of Shivaratri, and assure them of a good human birth in their next life.


Hindu sadhu burns cowdung cakes to perform some holy rituals in the revered Pashupati area in Kathmandu. Hundreds of devotees from different parts of Nepal and India have been coming to the area to celebrate Maha Shivaratri festival that falls on February 23rd.



On the day of Mahashivaratri, people gather on the hillside across the river from the Pashupatinath temple as well as around the vicinity of the temple complex in groups around campfires and in makeshift shelters, singing Bhajans, reciting Sanskrit verses, discussing various religious topics while maintaining a fast and a vigil in anticipation of the religious ceremonies. Marijuana smoking mendicants, many with long matted tresses, dot the area, serene and trance-like, emulating Lord Shiva himself, in their consumption of the sacred herb, either by smoking it in clay chillum pipes, or by eating bhang.


At midnight Shivaratri festival officially begins with the priests inside the main temple making offerings of the auspicious Pancha Amrit to the Lingam of Lord Shiva. All day and throughout the night, devotees in an almost never-ending stream, file through the gates of the main temple to sprinkle milk, flowers, coins and rice offerings on the Lingam of Lord Shiva to be followed by a ritualistic bath in the river every few hours as dictated by the rituals.


At about six o'clock in the morning priests start the recitation of sacred texts which can be heard for miles around being amplified through loud-speakers strategically spread all over the Pashupatinath temple complex. This chanting of prayers continues till mid-day followed by the singing of Bhajans. The mammoth turnout of pilgrims is such, that devotees and believers are still involved in the elaborate religious activities many days after the actual night of fasting. As is inevitable after a period of fasting, there is the ritual partaking of food and sweetmeats following the festivities of Shivaratri. Naturally there are vast numbers of food-stalls selling many varieties of food and sweets.


Sadhus


For the devout Hindus who come from far away to experience the Shivaratri festivities and take a dip in the holy waters of the Bagmati river, it is often a once-in-a-lifetime experience.


For non-Hindus, Shivaratri offers a fascinating insight into a very important religious event as well an opportunity to see diverse cultures, peoples and costumes with the most gawked at and photographed being the Hindu holy men - the Sadhus and Yogis, smeared in ash, their foreheads striated with many different and intriguing designs under many different types of hair-do. Completely naked ascetics, with rings in their genitals roam through the crowds, mindless of the stares and glances and to the intense cold of the Himalayan winter, having mastered their minds to withstand the heat, cold and inhibition of all types."

27 April 2007

Subhalakshmi Amma

This is the view of Arunachala from the gate of Sadhu Om Colony which lies south of the Hill.





The next photograph is of the outside of the house in which Sri Tinnai Swami lived for over 40 years.





The below is of Subhalakshmi Amma, widow of the late C.P. Nathan, in whose home the atma-jnani Sri Tinnai Swami lived on a verandah masonry bench (tinnai) for over 40 years; attaining samadhi on Deepam Day, 7th December 2003. Subhalakshmi (who now lives with her daughter-in-law, Radha, in the Sadhu Om colony), for most of her life was in the blessed position of being able to serve and cook for two atma-jnanis; Sri Tinnai Swami and Sri Sadhu Om.


When I met Subbhalakshmi Amma this week, she told me of some of her experiences at Tiruvannamalai and memories of the saints living in her compound. She also recalled that the first time she came to Tiruvannamalai, with her husband C.P. Nathan, to take blessings from Ramana Maharshi was in 1946. At that time Subbhalakshmi was just 20 years old, and did not speak to Bhagavan, in its place she bowed to him.




In 1947 the C.P. Nathan family were able to make a permanent home a short distance south of Ramana Ashram, and were then able to offer a home to both Sri Tinnai Swami and in the family's adjacent home, Sri Sadhu Om. Subhalakshmi's two sons Arunachala Ramana and Amritalingam (and their wives) were also committed to the service of the saints living in their home. As well as serving the two saints, Subhalakshmi Amma has also been fortunate to be able to cook for many of the saints who occasionally visited her compound including such luminiaries as Yogi Ramsuratkumar and Sri Muruganar.

Subhalakshmi's daughter Radha (widow of Subhalakshmi's youngest son Arunachala Ramana) maintains the tradition of cooking for sadhus and pilgrims in her home at Sadhu Om and at her sattwic kitchen, Tamil food is served three times a day to visiting pilgrims and sadhakas.

The below photograph is of the pretty and serenely peaceful Sadhu Om Colony.




The current Sadhu Om Colony now comprises the samadhis of both Sri Sadhu Om and Sri Tinnai Swami. The below photograph is of the samadhi of Sri Sadhu Om.




And below is a photograph of the samadhi of Sri Tinnai Swami. As in life both saints lived in two adjacent homes of the same family, in death (samadhi) the tombs of both great atma-jnanis are positioned next door to one another.



The colony is also comprised of several beautiful cottages maintained by the Subhalakshmi family and occupied by visiting sadhakas and pilgrims.




"During the many years that he lived on their tinnai, C.P. Nathan, and his family were blessed with the good fortune of providing him with the little food, clothing and shelter that his body required, and in the early years in spite of their then state of poverty they performed such service not only to him but also to Sri Sadhu Om and other sadhus and devotees of Sri Bhagavan. Sometimes they even had to sell their cooking vessels in order to purchase provision to feed visiting devotees. All of us who had the good fortune to know Sri Tinnai Swami will be very grateful in particular to Mrs. C.P. Nathan, who in spite of many hardship serviced him with great devotion in every way she could especially providing him food, as she did till the end in spite of her advanced age and physical weakness."