Author: umashiv

Spiritual Diary: Chapter 26

October 1st, 2006 was Saraswathi Puja and provided an extremely auspicious start on the fifth day of our pilgrimage.
We started off with a visit to an ancient and little- known Navagraha temple in the village of Pallur, on the outskirts of Trichy . The unique and rare feature of this temple is that the nine planets, Navagrahas, appear on their mounts , with their respective consorts seated beside them and it is considered extremely auspicious to worship the navagrahas in this form or aspect.
The temple itself is a short detour from the main road leading out of Trichy in the direction of yet another famous shrine for Lord Vishnu at Gunaseelam.
Set amidst rice and sugarcane fields, Pallur Navagraha temple is an extremely old temple. When we visited it that morning, the temple was quiet and tranquil. An elderly priest had just come in to perform the morning rituals. We observed the abhishekam to all nine planets and prayed fervently that they should continue to bless us with good luck and spiritual strength.
Soon, we were off on our way to the Prasanna Venkatachalapathi temple at a place called Gunaseelam.
Sanctified by the Vaishnavaite saints called Nammazhwars in their hymns, the ancient temple at Gunaseelam is linked with a sage by the same name. Gunaseelar was an ardent bhaktha of Lord Venkatachalapathi and desired fervently to receive his darshan. It was here, at Gunaseelam that the Lord appeared in the form of a self-made or Swayambu Murthy called Prasanna Venkatachalapathi.
Gunaseelam is called the “Then” or South Tirupathi and those who cannot make a pilgrimage to the sacred seven hills of Tirumala, offer their prayers to this lord at Gunaseelam who is quick to grant boons.
The lord is seen in the inner sanctum in a standing pose similar to his famous counterpart at Tirupathi, decked with ornaments and with Sri Lakshmi residing in His chest. In his right hand, the Lord holds a sceptre which is supposed to drive away all kinds of mental afflictions and mental depression from people who pray devoutly to Him.
The influence of the Chola period is unmistakably present in this temple dating back over 5,000 years. The story goes that after the Sage Gunaseelar’s lifetime, the temple fell to ruin and was covered by termite mounds. King Gnana Verma, a Chola ruler was instructed by the Lord in a dream to reconstruct the temple at its present site.
We paid our respects to Lord Vishnu at this holy spot and carried on our journey.
The next stop was at Tiruvaasi, to re visit our family deity, Balambikkai.
It had been over four years since my first visit to this temple following the very powerful and vivid dream. As we walked into this ancient shrine on the penultimate day of Navaratri, I could not fail but to succumb to its mysterious charm. The resident priest of this Shiva Stala accompanied us to all the shrines within the temple complex starting with Lord Ganesha.
It was the first visit here for my friend and together both of us paid our respects to Lord Shiva in both his forms as a linga as well as the dancing Natarajar. Slowly we made our way to the powerful shrine of Balambigai.
The stone statue inside the inner sanctum seemed somehow a lot bigger than I remembered. I looked at Her for a long time and remembered the dream that had started me off in this spiritual quest in earnest in 2002.
I sat down for a while just in front of the inner sanctum, my eyes closed in meditation . As I got up to leave and neared the outer doorway of the Ambal sannidhi, I could not but help overhear the conversation between the priest and the man who had been our chaperone and tour guide for the trip so far. The priest was saying “ Oh, you do realise that this Goddess is very powerful. Why, so many of our patrons have requested us for a photograph of the main deity or at least a drawing or painting, but this lady is very stubborn. She has not given “uttiravu”- permission to any artist or photographer to take photos or make any portraits”.
The priest was just saying the last sentence when I happened to come near him. Instinctively, without thinking I said “ Oh, that’s a very curious feature. I like to paint religious deities. Do you think that this Amman would give me the permission to portray her in my art?”.
The priest seemed surprised and appeared a little reluctant. Perhaps he did not wish to offend me by giving a negative rresponse. So, instead I quickly filled him in on the details of my first visit and the events that had preceded it, i.e. my dream, and the fact that the left hand of the Goddeess had proven quite significant since it resembled that of an” old woman”.
The priest thought for a moment and then said “ Come inside. I will ask her permission if you can capture her in a painting”. So, once again I made my way to the inner sanctum directly in front of the goddess. The priest shuffled two scrunched up pieces of paper and threw them on the ground. He told me that one packet was filled with kumkum and the other- vibhuthi or holy ash. If I picked the one containing kumkum, then this was an indication that I was “given” permission.
I closed my eyes and prayed to my Guru. An instinct told me “ Pick up the packet near the left hand”.
I leaned over and picked up the paper packet lying near MY left hand – this was a mistake as the packet contained vibhoothi. The priest said I should try again since this must be a mistake. He shuffled the packets really well and threw them down. I thought to myself- “ Surely, the goddess could not have given me the wrong command”. Suddenly, the answer flashed across my mind—Of course, She had said- Pick the packet near Her left hand ( the significant hand of my vision), and NOT- as I had misconstrued, near MY left hand.
I leaned over again and this time picked up the packet that had fallen down in front of the gnarled, old, left hand of the Goddes.
There was kumkum inside this packet. The priest agreed that the Goddess had given permission.
As we left the temple that morning, I was both a bit exhilarated at the prospect of drawing Baala again , as well as a bit cautious. After all, I tried to reason to myself, there was always a 50%- 50% chance when you pick one event out of a total of two chances—
My friend was not so convinced by my mathematical explanation of probability,.
“ If you really didn’t get Her permission, you will never be able to draw her”.
Taking leave of this ancient temple we carried on our pilgrimage that morning with a visit to Uttamar Koil.
The Thirukkadambanaur Bhikshandar temple a.k.a Uthamar koil is of enormous significance as it is perhaps the only temple in India which houses the Trinity- Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
The story goes that Lord Brahma worshipped Vishnu at this place. Pleased by his devotion, Vishnu decided to test his faith further by appearing in the form of a Kadamba tree. Although Brahma knew the real nature of the tree through divine insight, he carried on worshipping the tree and watered it. Vishnu was greatly delighted and decided to stay on in the same location alongside Brahma and his consort, Saraswathi or Gnana Saraswathi as she is called here.
Our visit to the shrine of this Goddess of Wisdom could not have occurred on a more appropriate day.
As it was Saraswathi puja on the day we visited this temple, the shrines for Dakshinamurthy as well as Saraswathi were thronged with students. However, we did manage to get a good darshan.
Lord Vishnu is called Purushottaman at this temple and his consort, Poornavalli Thaayar.
There is also another interesting story that explains Shiva’s presence at this temple.
Legend has it that Lord Shiva became jealous of Brahma and plucked off one of his heads in a fit of rage. However, the sin of killing a brahmin immediately attached itself to him and Lord Brahma’s head or kabalam, became attached to Shiva’s hand .
Lord Vishnu despairing at the sight of Shiva, requested his consort, Mahaalakshmi to help him .
Lakshmi gave biksha or alms to Shiva at this holy spot and when the Kabalam was filled with the Biksha, the curse on Shiva was lifted.
Hence, Shiva is worshipped as Bhikshandar at this temple and his consort is the appropriately named, beautiful, Soundarya Parvathi.
It was mid morning by the time we were finished at this temple and we swiftly proceeded on to the famous Akhilaandeshwari Temple in Trichy .
We realised that given the fact it was a public holiday and an auspicious day, the temple would be very crowded. It was!. But we were able to observe some of the most unique rituals at this temple as well as relish the interesting legends peculiar to this ancient place.
This temple owes its origin to a famous Chola King- ThiruChengann. Built over 3,000 years ago, the fascinating architectural splendour, massive pillars, airy courtyard, sculptures and friezes, all denote the power and glory of a by gone era when art ruled supreme-
This temple is regarded as one of the important places for worship of Shiva representing the natural element of water- Appu Stalam. Indeed, in the main sanctum where the linga is housed a subterranean current of water keeps the holy spot perennially damp.
Being a shakthi peetam as well, the power of the goddess is extremely potent and Adi Shankara is generally attributed to establishing two Sri chakras in the form of earrings inorder to reduce the “ugra” or fierce power of the Goddess.
The story of the temple at Tiruannaikaa—is a curious one.
Apparently thousands of years ago an elephant worshipped Lord Shiva in the midst of a grove of “Jambu”- rose-apple trees. Everyday the devout animal would bring in water from the nearby stream in its trunk and perform abhishekam; flowers and fruits would be plucked from nearby plants and trees and offered to the Lord.
While this was going on, a spider also competed to win the favour of the Lord. It built a vast web over the Linga to prevent leaves and dust falling on top of it.
The elephant angered by the presence of the spider tore up the web , while the spider intending to teach the elephant a lesson clambered into the trunk and scuttled all the way inside the elephant’s brain and bit it. The elephant died instantly and so did the spider caught up inextricably inside the body of the elephant.
However, since they both died in the service of the lord, both were rewarded. The elephant attained liberation and the spider was reborn as a famous Chola King who built over 60 temples for Shiva during his lifetime, including the massive structure at Tiruannaika.
A note worthy feature of the temples built by TiruChengann as the Chola ruler was called is that many of the temples were built on a mound and the doors of the temple were deliberately narrow so that no elephant could gain access.
In fact, I came to understand that the ancient Shiva temple at Nalloor ( with the five-color LINGA) was also the work of the same ruler. The temple at Nalloor is also built at a height and there are internal staircases and narrow doors leading into the sanctum inorder to prevent elephants from gaining entry.
When we arrived at the temple it was noon and time for the “Ucchi” kaala puja. A priest dressed in a saree darted out to perform puja to the cow waiting patiently outside. After this ritual was over, the priest hastened inside the main sanctum to perform the midday worship for the Lord Jambukeshwarar. The legend goes that Parvathi herself performs puja or worship to Lord Shiva at this holy spot and this tradition is meticulously maintained to the present day.
The main shrine for Ambal/ Akhilandeshwari was extremely crowded. However, we were able to wade through the sea of people and caught a quick glimpse of this most beautiful and benign goddess.
There is no doubt that the Akhilandeshwari temple is an outstanding example of art and architecture and it is also for the spritual energy that it exudes.
It was well past midday by the time we finished our visit to the Tiruannaika temple and proceeded to make a quick stop at the nearby Vekkali Amman temple.
There is a peculiar feature at this temple that is not seen anywhere else. The main deity, Vekkali is seated in a central sanctum that has no roof covering. The story goes that the place where the temple is situated (Woraiyur) was once a prominent city during the reign of the cholas which nearly got ruined due to a downpour of sand and dust. It was Kali or Durga in the form of Vekkali that protected the townfolk who had lost their houses during the sandstorm. So, until today, in memory of those who had lost the shelter over their heads, Vekkali seems to prefer sitting in a spot that is left open at the top.
We stepped inside the temple just as it was closing for midday. However, I did manage to get a good look at this very powerful and potent goddess.
It is widely believed that letters written to the deity and placed on her spear or at her feet will beget an immediate response!
After some lunch and a short rest, we decided to round off our temple visit for that day by going to two Murugan temples within a short distance from Trichy.
The first was a visit to the temple at Vayalur. Vayal means a field in tamil. The temple sits in magnificent splendour amidst the coconut groves and fields that surround Vayalur.
Dating back to the 9th century A.D.. this temple is a grand illustration of Chola artistry at work. Lord Muruga resides in the inner sanctum seated astride his peacock with his two consorts, Valli and Devayanai beside him. Lord Shiva was worshipped by Agni at this sytalam, hence his name is Agneeshwara. Parvati is the Aadi Nayaki or the original force!
At Viralimalai, Muruga is seated on the top of a hill. He has six faces as Shanmuganatha , twelve hands, eager to protect the world from Demons and his two consorts are standing near Him.
There was a bit of a stiff climb up the hill to reach this abode of Skanda, but it was well worth the effort.
The image of Skandan in the inner sanctum simply takes your breath away. Here lives and breathes the most handsome, youthful warrior God who awaits to bless His devotees.
We arrived in the gathering dusk just as the evening arathi was taking place. The three glorious faces of Skanda lit up with a jubilant smile as the flames from the camphor were shown in front of him; and yet again, they glowed, as the priest moved behind the image and showed the flame, lighting up the three faces at the back of this magnificent stone image! We could see the three faces at the back reflected in a huge mirror positioned directly behind the Moolavar.
A curious feature at this temple is the offering of cigars as Naivedyam to the Lord.
Apparently, Skanda appeared in the dream of one of the local rulers- Ramachandra Thondaiman of Pudukkottai and requested cigars as an offering. The king was believed to have been cured of his afflictions after this was carried out.
Yet another story details that an ardent Murugan devotee – Karuppu Muthu Piilai, used to visit Viralimalai every Friday. On one occasion, he was unable to complete this pilgrimage due to severe rain. Now, it so happened that this bhaktha was a chain- smoker as well. As Pillai was about to return, dejected from not being able to have a sight of his Lord, Skanda appeared before him and personally escorted the devotee to the temple where he received an unique darshan and also gave him the prasadam of a cigar!
We left this temple after savouring the vision of this beautiful Lord and basking in the glow of his bountiful blessings!
The following day was Vijayadasami- auspicious for all new ventures and beginnings.
We were to begin our pilgrimage with a visit to the Bhuvaneswari Temple at Pudukkottai established by my Guru- Santhananda Swamigal.
As we were driving up in the car, I was listening to the melodious chants of Durga SapthaSathi parayanam and hoping in my heart to be blessed with the grace of a Guru.
My Guru had passed on four years ago and I felt rather sad that He was no longer a living guide who could help me along my spiritual path!
We entered the temple and had a quick darshan of all the shrines. I sat down to meditate in front of the samadhi of Judge Swamigal ( my Guru’s parameshti Guru) and silently requested His blessings.
When I opened my eyes a short while later, a temple priest came up to me and said “ Would you like to meet the Peetadipathi Shri Omkarananda Swamigal?”
I was quite taken aback, since I had no idea that the current head of this Peetam was in residence at the temple that day!
It was as if my prayers had been answered. A Guru had been provided for me so I could obtain his blessings on this auspicious day.
I went inside the small room where Swamigal was seated and prostrated myself.
Swami Omkaranada remembered vividly his visit to my London home and we had a brief conversation. As I was about to leave, I requested him to bless me in my latest venture- the new painting of Balambigai I was given “ permission” to undertake.
Before leaving the temple, I sat down in front of the Sannidhi of Goddess Bhuvaneshwari, took out a small sheet of notepaper and did a very simple, sketch of her. I wanted to start off the day with the blessings of my Guru at His favorite temple and it seemed appropriate that the very first drawing my hand should execute was the mother herself!
Soon we were off again, this time heading in the direction of the famous Pillayarpatti Temple for Lord Ganesha! Enroute, however we had an opportunity to marvel at another temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu at a place called TiruMaiyam.
Nestling under the folds of huge rocky outcrop on which an impressive fortress sits, are two cave temples – one dedicated to Lord Vishnu as Satya Girinathar and another one dedicated to Lord Shiva as SatyaGireeshwarar.
We had time just to visit the Vishnu Temple. Built by the Pallava Kings, Mahendravarnan and Narasimha varman , this magnificent cave- temple features some of the most outstanding works of art.
In the main sanctum, Lord Vishnu is seen in a reclining posture. Cut directly from the rocky hillside, this stone image of the reclining Lord is immense in size- probably the largest in Tamil Nadu.
Lord Vishnu is flanked by a host of clestial deities like Garuda, ChitraGupta, the sage Markandeya, Brahma, Devas and rishis.
The legend goes that Asuras or demons tried to steal the image of Vishnu from this temple. Therefore, we see in the rock- cut scene in front of us, the mighty serpent, Adi Seshan chasing away the demons by spewing out fire and poison from his fangs!
The Thaayar here is Uyyavanda Naachiyar and there are also separate shrines for Andal. Krishna and Lakshmi Nrisimha.
After a hurried visit to this temple we proceeded directly to Pillayarpatti reaching there just before midday.
The huge image of Lord Ganesha was decked out in his Gold Kavacham on this holy day. It seemed to me He was waiting for us to come and receive His blessings!
We returned to the hotel in Trichy for a late lunch and after a short rest headed out to the huge temple complex at SriRangam.
Boasting the tallest temple tower in the whole of India, the Ranganathar Temple in Sri Rangam is the foremost of the 108 sacred shrines for Lord Vishnu glorified by the Vaishnavaite Saints.
The origins of the main deity in the Sanctum remain shrouded in myth. The legend goes that the actual shrine- Sri Ranga Vimana sprung from the depths of the ocean- parkadal- as a result of Brahma’s penance. The Sri Ranga Vimana arose from the ocean borne aloft by Garuda with Adi Sesha spreading his hood over the idol and was taken to Ayodhya where it was worshipped by the dynasty of Surya Vamsa ( Ikshvaakus). As the story unravels, after the coronation of Lord Rama following his victory over the demon Ravana, Vibhisana was given this magnificent image of Lord Vishnu by Rama.
Vibhishana intended to take the idol back to Sri Lanka. However, on his way, he stopped at Sri Rangam and placed the idol on the ground where it remained stuck!
The disconsolate Vibhisana is supposed to travel every day and offer his prayers to the Lord in Sri Rangam, at mid-night!
It is said that Lord Vishnu assured Vibishana that he would assume the yoga- nidra posture at Sri Rangam and lie facing south—towards, Sri Lanka.
The temple clearly dates back thousands of years and parts of the temple complex were constructed during the early Chola period . Following the Muslim rule in India when the temple was sacked, the Vijayanagaram rulers ( 10th– 12th century) were responsible for a lot of restoration work while the Nayaka rulers of the 16th– 17th century made the temple certainly more prosperous.
We marveled at this huge temple complex that is enormous in size. There are 7 prakaras / enclosures or Thiruveedhis as they are called encompasing 156 acres. The enclosures are formed by thick and massive stone walls pierced in 4 cardinal directions by towering gate ways or Gopurams.
Sri Rangam is architecturally unique and the sculptures found here are the finest examples of artistry and workmanship of the period.
The thousand pillared hall, the Horse Court, Garuda Mantapa with the enormous image of the sacred mount, the Seshadri Mandapa housing scupltures of the Dasavataras, etc are all singularly unique and memorable for the vast array of the most exquisite stone sculptures and frescoes they contain.
In the main sanctum, Lord Ranganatha is lying down on his serpent bed facing South. The sculpture itself is extremely beautiful and radiates a powerful energy!
There are many interesting shrines dotted around the temple complex for other deities like Andal, Krishna, Rama,Chakrathalwar, etc, . However, I found the Sannidhi of the Saint Ramanuja to be the most soul- stirring.
Saint Ramanuja is the founder of Vaishnavaite philosophy of Visishta Dvaita and was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu. It is believed he lived before the 10th century and his remains have been interred in a separate shrine within the temple complex itself.
Entering this shrine, one is confronted with an almost life- like image of this famous saint positioned just above the Samadhi.
The explanation given by the priest was that nearly a thousand years ago, the body of the Saint who had been buried in the tomb, rose of its own volition above the Samadhi and this image has been preserved ever since that time by applications of Camphor, etc.
In fact, as the arathi was being done and the flame was shown in front of the Saint’s eyes, an inexplicable tremour went down my spine. Those eyes were almost alive!
In fact one can see body hairs on the skin as well as nails on the fingers of this miraculous image!
Sri Rangam temple’s outer three enclosures almost contain an entire town replete with streets, houses and shops while the 4 inner enclosures are religious zones and house the various shrines.
Given the time constraints, we had to satisfy ourselves with just a quick tour of the main points of interest since we had another temple to visit that evening.
The Samayapuram temple of Mariamman is a very famous temple on the outskirts of Trichy and this is where we headed next.
Dedicated to Shakthi in her very potent form, this temple is indeed a magnet of attraction for hordes of pilgrims throughout the year who come to beseech the Great Mother to grant them a prosperous and healthy life!
Worship of Mariamman / Karumarriamman is very popular among those seeking to alleviate ailments and the Goddess here is considered to be extremely powerful!
There was a huge swarm of devotees near the main sanctum. However, we were able to catch a quick glimpse of the deity. The priest informed us that the Moolavar or main deity was fashioned out of clay; hence all abhisekhams were performed only to the idol placed directly in front of it.
The evening puja was nearly over and we were fortunate to get a good darshan as the camphor was lit and gently swirled in front of the Goddess. She seemed to smile benevolently and just as I finished my fervent prayer that Her presence should always continue within me, a small flower garland dropped from her left hand!

The following day, we departed from Trichy and finally headed back to Chennai. The pilgrimage was over and I said a small prayer of thanks to Nemili Bala for having provided me with such uplifting experiences in every temple we had visited and sought her blessings for the next painting I had been “ commissioned” to do!

Spiritual Diary: Chapter 25

On the fourth day of our pilgrimage, we started off by taking a quick car drive around the famous Mahaa Maham Tank near the Adhi Kumbeshwara Temple in Kumbakonam. Taking a dip in the holy waters of this tank is supposed to be very auspicious especially during the Kumbh Mela which occurs once every 11- 12 years during the full moon in the monthof Thai( January/ Februray).

Sadly, we did not visit any of the famous temples in the city of Kumbakonam itself due to paucity of time and instead proceeded directly to a famous Vishnu temple nearby called Naachiyaar Koil.
Lord Srinivasa and his consort Vanjulavalli ( Mahalakshmi) bless pilgrims in their Thirumana Kolam ( married divine state) at a temple called Nachiar Koil, located in a hamlet called Thirunaraiyur on the outskirts of Kumbakonam.
This ancient and elegant temple is said to be one of the 108 Divya Desams of the Lord Vishnu and it is also a Mukthi Stala ( where one can attain liberation).
The legend goes that there was a sacred spot here on the banks of the river Mani Mutharu, where a sage by the name Medhavi and his wife lived in an ashram.
Sage Medhavi prayed earnestly that he might be blessed with a daughter no less than the great Goddess Mahalakshmi herself. His prayers were soon answered when he found a little child one day under the boughs of a Vanjula tree. Overjoyed, Medhavi named the little girl Vanjulavalli and brought her up with great love and care.
The years sped by and one day Lord Vishnu came seeking for his consort Mahalakshmi. Garudan, his divine mount is said to have spotted the location of Thaayar and brought Vishnu to sage Medhavi’s Ashram.
Lord Vishnu/ Srinivasa married Vanjulavalli and at the request of his father-in-law, stayed on in the sacred place where a temple later came into existence.
The temple itself is massive with sprawling corridors and beautifully decorated towers. In the main sanctum a huge stone statue of Lord Srinivasa resplendent with his wedding ornaments greeted us. Next to him is the smaller statue of his shy bride. The Divine couple serem to positively fill the atmosphere with their blessings surrounded by a host of accompanying deities , Devas and Lord Brahma.
Directly next to the sanctum is the shrine of the Kal Garudan.
The Garudan is made of Saligrama stone and it is an unique feature of this temple that the mount of Vishnu does not face him directly as at most other Vaishnavaite shrines. Instead, here at Nachiyar Koil, the Kal Garudan sits right next to his Lord.
There are nine snakes carved in stone on the body of Kal Garudan; on his arms, around his shoulder, etc and it is widely believed that worshipping Garudan here is equivalent to worshippng all the Navahgrahas and will get rid of the harmful effects of these planets.
Another interesting feature of this temple, we were informed, occurs during Garuda Seva when Lord Srinivasa and his consort are taken out in procession around the temple.
When the Kal Garudan is lifted out of the main sanctum only 4 people are required to carry him out. However as the procession descends the steps of the temple, Kal Garudan becomes increasingly heavier to carry and almost in geometric progression, it takes 8 people, followed by 16, 32, etc to carry out the Garuda Seva. Finally, when the procession reaches the temple entrance, 64 people are required to bear the weight of KalGarudan with Lord Srinivasa and Vanjulavalli perched on top!
There is also a shrine for Chakrathalwar here with the special feature that it is found entwined with the image of Yoga Narasimhar. The story goes that Sage Medhavi found this idol while bathing in the river and was asked to install and worship it in the temple. The worship of the Chakra ( discus) of Lord Vishnu is a special feature at all Vishnu temples and usually this image of the Chakra has a sculpture of Lord Narasimha at the back of it. At Nachiyar temple, Chakrathalwar is singularly different and powerful.
We left Nachiyar Koil and proceeded on to another Perumal Koil at a place called Tirucherai.
Lord Saranathan as Vishnu is named here, stands regally in the main sanctum at Tirucherai surrounded by Pancha Lakshmis- Sri Devi, Bhoo Devi, Neela Devi, Maha Lakshmi and Saranayagi Thaayar.
The story goes that Lord Vishnu was worshipped here by both Sage Markandeya as well as Kaveri Amman ( River Kaveri).
Kaveri prayed to Lord Vishnu that she should be given a status similar to Goddess Ganga. Lord Vishnu pleased by her penance blessed Kaveri with a divine darshan along with his five consorts.
There is also another story that during the great pralaya or deluge, a pot of clay was fashioned to preserve the Vedas. However, none of the pots made by Brahma would last and he was directed by Lord Vishnu to come to Tirucherai and make a pot out of the clay in the banks of the river Kaveri. Thus, the Lord made sure that the river Kaveri was made to feel important!
In the inner samnctum, River Kaveri has been personified as a mother holding a child on her lap.! The importance given to forces of nature – i.e. the sun, moon, planets, stars, and every aspect of the universe like , rivers, trees, etc in our religion is indeed remarkable. Every temple honours the stala vruksham- a tree, a mount— e.g. Garudan or Nandi ( i.e. an animal); and at Tirucherai we can see the river Kaveri in her maternal status as a life- giver.
The temple at Tirucherai is ancient and the huge, imposing statue of Lord Saranathar is truly memorable.
We rounded off our visit to Tirucherai by going to a Shiva temple also located in the same village.
The legend goes that Lord Shiva as Saranathan/ senneriappan/ Gnana Parameswaran was worshipped by both river Kaveri as well as by the saint Markandeya.
There is a shrine to Amritaghateshwatrar said to have been worshipped by Markandeya . The Ambal sannidhi faces east and the deity is Gnanavalli.
We were informed by the temple priest that the worship of Lord Shiva at this temple would be sure to rid a person of all debts incurred during his or her life time whether the payment overdue was financial/ material or indeed spiritual, like the immense debt a disciple has towards the Guru for putting him on the path of self- realisation!
The next leg of our pilgrimage on the fourth day was to visit three temples honouring Lord Muruga.- Sikkal, Ettukudi and Ennkann.
These three temples form a trio as the image of Lord Subramanya in each was created by the same sculptor. The story goes that an ardent devotee of the Lord, received instructions in a dream to fashion the first image of Muruga at Sikkal.
The finished idol was so exquisite that the ruling Chola king did not wish the sculptor to make another one similar to it. So, he ordered that the sculptor’s right thumb to be cut off.
However, through theLord’s divine grace and command, the sculptor went on to create another beautiful statue of Karthikeya with six faces , astride his peacock for the temple at Ettukudi. The king was furious and ordered the scuptor’s eyes to be blinded.
Despite this handicap, the sculptor did create one last image of Muruga – this time for the temple at Ennkann, by giving precise instructions to a girl who helped him carry out the task. However, just as he finished the marvellous image of Skanda with six faces seated on his peacock, the artist’s chisel fell on the toes of the peacock and blood spurted out. The droplets of blood fell on the sculptor’s eyes and cured him instantly. Hence the first words of the sculptor were “ Ennkann”- My Eyes! Oh Lord You gave me back my eyes!
All the three images of Karthikeya are similar in style and represent Shanmugha seated on the peacock with his two consorts by his side. However, the last sculpture at Ennkann is breathtakingly beautiful and the young warrior god seems almost jubilant astride his mount. The sculpture is also a masterpiece of workmanship as the entire image seems to rest on the two slender legs of the peacock!
There is a shrine to Lord Shiva at each of these three temples. At Ennkann , Shiva resides as Brahmapureeswarar ( as Lord Brahma is said to have worshipped him here); at Sikkal, Shiva blesses his devotees as Vennaiperuman/ Navaneetheswaran( Sage Vasishta is supposed to have prayed to Shiva to recover the celestial cow, Kamadhenu whose flow of milk had frozen into butter. He fashioned a lingam out of butter- “Vennai” but found he could not move it as it had stuck – “sikkal” Hence , the Lord’s name at Sikkal is Vennaiperuman! At Ettukudi Shiva is worshipped as Sundareswarar.
There are some additional interesting facts associated with each temple. For example, the samadhi of the sculptor ( actually a Siddha) is found in Ennkann.
At Sikkal, Lord Muruga as Singaravelar is supposed to have been blessed with a spear by Parvathi and during the period that is currently celebrated as Skanda Sashti, it is observed that the stone idol of Singaravelar “ breaks out in sweat”!
By the time we had finshed visiting these three temples the afternoon was already well advanced. After a short break for lunch and some rest, we decided to move on to the famous temple town of Tiruvarur.
The famous Thiagaraja Temple at Tiruvar is perhaps one of the most ancient temples in the South and its antiquity predates the Pallava Period. This is a massive temple complex with over 7 prakarams or concentric circles containing innumerable shrines.
The architecture, sculpture and inscriptions found in the temple record the contribution and role of the Pallavas, Cholas, rulers of the Vijayanagar dynasty, Nayakas and Maratta rulers of Tanjore.
We arrived at the temple by 4.30 p.m. It was our intention to spend just over an hour here before proceeding onto visit another temple at Tiruvaiyyar enroute to our final destination , Trichy.
However, the Lord had decided otherwise!
The inner sanctum, we were informed , would not be open until 6 o clock. There is a daily “Nitya” pradosham at this temple- i.e. a special twilight puja for Lord Shiva, and this, the temple priest told us quite brusqely, would begin only around 6.30 p.m.
Well, we decided to make best use of our time and wandered leisurely around the vast fortress like temple precincts soaking up the atmosphere and learning more about some of the colorful legends associated with this powerful temple.
Tiruvarur Thiagaraja is one of the foremost among the 7 Vitanka Stalams ( already mentioned earlier associated with the legend of Muchukunda Cholan).
The story goes that Lord Vishnu was desperate for a son and worshipped Shiva, who, pleased by his ardent devotion granted Vishnu his request. However, Parvathi was slighted as Lord Vishnu had ignored her. So, she cursed the child with instant death. The heart- broken Lord Narayana had Vishwakarma, the craftsman of the Gods to fashion an image of the Divine family- i.e. Lord Shiva and his consort seated with their son, Skanda betwixt them. Lord Vishnu prayed to this idol and repented for his mistake in overlooking the importance of Shakthi / Parvathi in association with Shiva.
This image of Somaskanda as it came to be called was bestowed with enormous powers and it came to be used as a source of valuable support in defending the Heavens against the onslaught from Asuras/ demons.
On one such occasion, Lord Indra requested the assistance of Muchukunda Cholan in vanquishing an Asura warrior. In return for his help, the Chola king requested the Soma Skanda image.
With permission from Vishnu, Muchukunda received the original image plus 6 other similar icons which have been installed at various temples constituting the Sapta Vitanka Stalams.
However, since the original Soma Skanda image worshipped by Lord Vishnu resides at Tiruvarur, this temple is enormously significant . In fact, the rise and fall of Vishnu’s chest as he meditated on the image is evoked in the Ajapanatanam- a special dance that is performed when the main deity is taken out in procession.
The 63 Shaivaite Saints have sung the glory of Tiruvarur and numerous famous poets and musicians, especially the Trinity of famous composers, Tiagaraja, Syama Sastry and Muthuswami Deekshitar have sung praises to the presiding deities Thiagaraja and Kamalambikkai.
We learned that the shrine of Kamalambal, in the outermost precinct , is considered to be a tantric focus of Spritual power. In fact, Muthuswami Deekshitar, a Sri Vidya upasaka composed his famous Navavarana Kirtanas extolling some of the most occult powers of the Shri Chakra, while living at Tiruvarur.
We made a circumambulation of all the precincts and got back to the main sanctum. It was still closed.
I sat in front of a shrine to Lord Muruga just adjacent to the main sanctum and decided to meditate.
There was an inexplicable and yet tangible force or aura surrounding this temple. I closed my eyes and very quickly lost track of time. While thoughts and endless questions flashed in my mind, yet one part of it seemed unperturbed, almost as if held in a mystical trance.
A shaivaite devotee singing hymns loudly made me come back to reality and Tiruvarur. The evening puja was about to begin. There was already a small crowd of people at the temple door and I hastened to join the queue.
As I stepped inside this vast, ancient inner hall of the main sanctum, the elderly priest who had been singing those beautiful hymns stopped suddenly and beckoned to me. As I stepped up closer to him and looked at him questioningly, he said “ Welcome, welcome to this temple. The Lord is waiting to give you his blessings. You have erased all your sins by just coming here today”
Then, the evening pradosha puja began! This was a mesmerising sight. The priest performing the puja swayed from side to side making graceful movements with his arms as he placed roses and sweet smelling jasmine on the main idol. In fact, most of this icon is hidden behind masses of flowers, deliberately, so that the powerful and potent vibrations are contained within a small space. With this icon also resides the Sri Chakra- representing the unity between the micro and macrocosim in this universe- the union of Shiva and his Shakthi.
Also, nestled inside a silver casket near the Soma Skanda image and rarely visible to the public, is a Swayambu Lingam made of emerald which possesses unique powers. This swayambu linga is called “Vitanka”.
Following the conclusion of the twilight puja , we hastened to pay our respects at the shrine of Goddess Kamalamba.
The Goddess at Tiruvarur is seated regally on her throne in a yogic pose with her left leg draped over the right leg. Decorated with sweet smelling flowers and surrounded by myriads of oil-lit lamps, her face glowed brightly and exuded an aura of utter calm and tranquility on that warm evening.
The entire time we had spent at Tiruvarur seemed almost surreal and magical and we departed reluctantly as night was swiftly approaching and we had a long way to go before reaching our destination for that night at Trichy.

Spiritual Diary: Chapter 24

Certain work- related matters brought me back to Chennai quite suddenly, during the third week of September, 2006. However, the work related issues were quickly resolved and I suddenly found a lot of time on my hands. As luck would have it , almost immediately upon arrival I connected with an old friend I hadn’t met for a long while. She was on vacation as well and since I was there just in time for Navarathri, we decided to embark on a pilgrimage.
The itinery we planned was to include some famous as well as some of the less well known temples in the districts of Tanjore, Kumbakonam and Trichy.
We were to spend a week touring over 40 to 50 temples !
The natural starting point was of course Bala Peetam at Nemili.
We set off in the early hours of a damp and drizzly morning on September 27th, 2006. By the time we reached Nemili, the rain had cleared up. We walked inside just as the auspicious Rudram was being chanted . The abhishekam or routine bathing of this tiny idol was taking place. The atnosphere seemed charged with a mysterious force. During the break, when the mandap and idol were being re decorated, the small crowd that had gathered in the front hall started to sing bhajans and songs .
I sat with my eyes closed and ardently prayed to Baala that my temple tour should proceed smoothly. After the final arathi, I took leave of the head priest and we started our temple tour in earnest.
Next on the itinery were the famous temples at Kancheepuram. Known as the city of Gold, Kancheepuram is supposed to house over a 100 temples. It was the most important city during the Pallava and Chola periods and the temples reflect the art and architecture of an era where artisans and scultptors reigned supreme.
The oldest temple is the Kailasanathar temple deicated to Lord Shiva, Built over 1000 years ago, this temple reflects the Dravidian style at work in the frescoes and statues.
An interesting and not often mentioned secret at this temple is that it is possible to carry out a pradakshina of the inner sanctum which is said to be the equivalent of doing a circumambulation of the holy Mount Kailash, the abode of Shiva!
The priest at the Kailasanathar temple showed us what appeared to be a small opening or gap in the rock just to the left hand side of the inner sanctum. This is called the Garbha ( womb) entrance.
In order to enter this little cave- like space I had to make the body extremely compact and literally double it up , almost similar to the position a child inside the womb might adopt. On the other side of the opening, one had to exit by manipulating with the feet first , followed by the body and hands and then jump down on to the ground. The whole process of entering and passing through this small opening symbolically indicates the difficulty of child birth as well as descent of the human into the vast ocean of samsara.
After walking around the inner sanctum, the way out is through another small creviche in the rocky wall called the Moksha Vayil or gate of liberation. This is located to the right hand side of the main shrine. Here, the rocky path slopes upward and it is only possible to exit by lying flat on the stomach and slowly squirming and moving the body , inching it up the incline towards the exit hole.
The symbolism here is that it is very difficult to obtain final salvation!
The Ekambareshwarar temple that we visited next is also dedicated to Shiva and is famous for having the tallest temple tower in South India. Built during the Pallava period this temple is one of the five major abodes of Shiva, each representing a natural element. Here, the element represented is Earth. ( Others include Chidambaram- Space; Sri Kala Hasti- Air; Tiruvanaikaval- Water and Tiruvannamalai- fire). The hall of a thousand pillars is a stunning feature at this temple as are the array of 1,008 lingams decorating the inner walls. The Sthala Vriksham or tree is a 3,500 old mango tree whose branches are said to yield four different types of mangoes ( these represent the four Vedas).
While we did not visit the famous Kamakshi Amman temple on this particular trip, it must be mentioned that this temple represents the very centre of the whole universe. In fact, the seat of the powerful Goddess Kamakshi represents the Bindhu or epicentre of the powerful Sri Chakra, which in turn is a depiction of the unity between the microcosm and macrocosm in the universe.
Since I had visited this temple fairly recently and due to time constraints, we did not venture inside.
The Varadaraja Perumal Koil that we visited next is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. Built by the Cholas in 1053 A.D., this temple is breathtakingly beautiful with myriads of beautiful sculptures, a hundred pillar hall , as well as frescoes. There is also a marriage hall where the celestial wedding of Lord Vishnu and his consort took place. Hence worshipping the Lord here is supposed to bring good luck, wealth and fortune!
A special note worthy feature at this temple are frescoes of lizards; particularly those carved on the very top of the temple tower and plated in gold and silver. Touching these lizards is believed to cure people of the evil effects that might ensue if one accidentally falls on them!
After a quick lunch in Kancheepuram, we headed off in the direction of Pondicherry.
Enroute we visited a famous Kali Temple called Vakkara Kali Temple.
Situated in a village called Thiruvakkarai, this is actually a Shiva temple built in the 12th Century and the stunning frescoes reflect the art of both the Chola as well as Pallava period. There are also some sculptures inside this temple that indicate more antiquity and perhaps Indo- Greek influences.
The main deity is Sri Chandrasekarar and his consort is the beautifully formed mother- Vadivambigai.
However, the centre of attraction in this temple is the shrine of a very powerful potent Kali. This is a marvelous sculpture of an angry goddess with 8 arms, standing in a curiously tilted posture. The legend goes that Kali or Parvathi vanquished a demon by the name Vakkrasura and hence the title Vakkara Kali.
The staue of KALI is adorned with a crown with a skull mounted on the top of it, surrounded by an arc of flames. In her right ear, she sports a Pretha Kundalam or ear ornmament of a dead body and in her 4 right arms carries weapons like a rope, knife, sword and wheel. In the 4 left hands are a shield, a drum, and a human skull. One of the hands is stretched downwards with the index finger pointing to the ground.
Worn like a sacredd thread on her left shoulder is a garland of vanquished human skulls.
The awe inspiring image of Vakkara Kali is one I shall remember for a long time.
It is common belief that people who worship her here get significant relief from mental worries and stress!
We were soon on our way to Pondicherry . This elegant city has a unique charm , a remnant of the 300 year old French rule over this Union Territory. While the Aurobindo Ashram is the most important tourist stop in this city, we headed first to a temple housing Lord Ganesh called Manakula Vinayaka Temple.
Built over 300 years ago, this temple is small and attractive with lots of interesting sculptures and paintings on the inner temple walls depicting the various forms of Lord Ganesha as well as stories and legends associated with him. The stone sculpture of Lord Vinayaka in the main sanctum was adorned with fragrant flowers and garlands and just as we walked in there was a truly memorable spectacle of the evening arathi taking place.
Having prayed whole heartedly to the elephant- headed God, we headed to a nearby hotel to take a well deserved rest.
Early on the morning of the following day, we set off for the famous Shiva temple at Chidambaram.
This temple is perhaps one of the largest and grandest temple complexes I have ever seen. Sprawling over 40 acres and boasting four immense gopurams or intricately carved towers located in the respective cardinal directions, Chidambaram is the most celebrated and ancient temple in South India.
The temple itself dates back to the early 500 A.D. However, the development and growth of various portions of the temple have been attributed to the rulers of the Chola. Pandya and Vijayanagaram dynasty, all of whom contributed benevolently. The result is seen and enjoyed in the outpouring of sheer poetry/ art/ skill as exhibited in the frescoes and sculptures adorning the many terraces , soaring towers, pillars and inner chambers.
Here, in Chidambaram Lord Shiva reminds us of his existence in three different forms. In the inner sanctum He performs his great cosmic dance of bliss ( Ananda Tandavam), with his consort Sivakami at his side. He is clearly personified and with an enchanting Form.
He is also worshipped in the adjacent hall in the form of a Spatika ( crystal) Linga, i.e. in a phallic form; as well as Ratna Sababathy- a ruby Linga. These lingas are extremely old and it is generally accepted that they have been gifted to the temple by Aadi Shankara.
Finally, directly to the right of the dancing Lord in the inner sanctum is an empty space in front of which is suspended a curtain of golden bilva leaves. This depicts the famous Chidambara Rashasyam, i.e. God exists in empty Space or in nothingness. Therefore, here HE resides in his Formless- Form.
The hall where the main sanctum is housed is called the Chit Sabha; the adjoining hall where pujas are conducted is named the Kanaka Sabha. The whole structure housing these two sabhas is slightly raised and is made entirely of wood. The roof is made up of 17, 500 small, interlocking gold tiles and representing the number of breaths an average human being takes each day!
The other halls ( sabhas) in Chidambaram are: the Nritta Sabha- richly sculptured and in the form of a chariot; the Deva Sabha- which houses the festival images of the main Murthis; and the famous the Raja Sabha- featuring the 1,000 pillared hall.
We walked around the temple for several hours soaking up the atmosphere and admiring the fabulous architecture. In the Nritta Sabha images seemed to compete with each other to gain space on the many intricately carved pillars. Here Shiva can be seen in his Urdhva Tandava pose- i.e. where he raises his leg straight up into the air , above his head. Apparently, there was a dance competition between Lord Shiva and Parvathi ( Kali) in this dancing hall and the latter had to ultimately accept defeat after Shiva performed his Urdhva Tandava. A Kali temple, located on the outskirts of Chidambaram marks the spot where she retreated after the defeat in the dance competition.
Our tour around the temple was made more interesting by a temple priest who seemed to be a fount of knowledge. Entertained by his insightful rendering of temple lore, we paid our respects to the massive statue of Lord Ganesh and Subramania. In the outermost prakara ( precinct) of the temple is the shrine dedicated to AMMAN. Here, dancers and musicians frozen in stone seemed to welcome us inside. I marveled at the friezes on the ceiling, dating back to the Nayaka period, depicting the legends and stories associated with the temple .
Definitely, Chidambaram weaves a magic spell on the visitors. Not only is there so much that is visually fascinating, but there is an intangible , mystical element that fulfils the innermost needs of the senses!
After all, it was in Chidambaram that all the four Shaivite Saints- Appar, Sundarar, Sambandar and Manikkavachagar have sung their famous hymns ; here, a great saint, Nanadanar attained salvation; also, it was in Chidambaram that Lord Adi Sesha ( serpent lord), came down to earth in the form of the saint- Patanjali to witness the cosmic dance of Lord Shiva. Another great saint Vyagrapadha , the one who was granted tiger –like feet by Lord Shiva so he could climb trees and pluck rare and beautiful flowers for His worship, also accompanied Patanjali to glimpse this wonderful dance spectacle! Lord Vishnu was also present to witness this Cosmic dance and continues to bless devotees, reclining on his serpent bed even today.
The Vishnu sanctum faces east and Lord Nataraja in the main shrine is south- facing.
Consequently, there is a certain spot in the temple where one can stand and simultaneously get a darshan of both Lord Nataraja in his sanctum as well as Lord Vishnu .
As we reluctantly left Chidamnbaram, and bade farewell to the priest who had helped us, he turned around to me and said something that immediately struck me as very strange. The priest said “ I am assuming you are on your way to see Abirami Amman at Tirukkadaiyur?”.
Now, until that moment neither my friend nor I had discussed our specific itinery for the day or where we were headed to next. Since our car driver seemed incredibly efficient we had actually allowed him to take charge of taking us to some of the important temples in the area. In fact, since I had already made a journey to the Abirami temple earlier in the year with my daughter, I was not really planning on making a repeat visit on this trip. Instead, I figured there were many other ancient temples in the area that were worthy of a visit.
So, the priest’s words to me that morning, standing inside the sanctum of Lord Shiva, seemed strangely like a command invitation.
We said our farewell and as we walked towards the car my friend, also remarked about the sudden and abrupt nature with which that order had been made.
I was still not sure whether we would have time to visit Tirukkadaiyur, so we left the topic and moved on.
We departed from Chidambaram following a visit to the Thillai Kali temple situated nearby.
As it was the festival season of Navarathri, the temple was very crowded, but we were able see the powerful Kali. Dressed all in white and with blood- red kumkum splashed all over her, this deity looked fierce with her spear in hand! For a moment, I recalled the verses in Devi Mahatmyam which propitiate her as the vanquisher of the demon Mahishasura!
Located in the same temple, but facing the direction opposite to that of Kali is another Durga, but she is in her peaceful disposition here.
We proceeded swiftly onwards to our next temple- stop, Sirgazhi.
By the time we reached the temple, it was already coming on to midday and this meant that the temple would be closing soon. My friend and I walked fast on the hot stone pavement surrounding the temple courtyard so we could get inside the main sanctum on time. That was when we encountered a very strange man!
As we rushed past the temple tank, I was hailed by a very loud voice . An old man dressed in the fashion of a Siva Thondar ( devotee of Siva), wearing colossal rudraksha beads around his neck, called out loudly “ Why are you running? The temple hasn’t closed as yet. You look like the Goddess Parvathi herself; please come here I have to tell you something”.
My friend and I looked at each other. Apart from the obvious flattery, we did think this man might be a bit mad; but then to ignore him might be considered rude. So we went up towards him.
The old man put up his hands to shield his eyes from the midday sun. Then , looking directly at me, said “ Did you think I was mad? No, indeed—There, do you see that little dent on the wall of the temple? That was where the saint Thirugnana Sambandar’s father flung the cup containing the milk of wisdom in anger, without realising that it was indeed Goddess Parvati who came down to feed the wailing, young child- saint. “
I glanced at the spot he indicated. There in the wall was an indentation, the size of a large cup.
The man continued “ You have finished doing all the pariharams that have caused you suffering in this life thus far. Your life will definitely take a turn for the better from now on—you will see. You had the problem of anger- control in your last birth. This will get over in this birth. Carry on with your journey with good fortune. “
I was stunned hearing these words from a perfect stranger.
He had illustrated his point with the perfect example as well!
The father of the child- saint Sambandar had flung the cup in anger! The story goes that the father , a devout worshipper of Lord Shiva had been doing his morning rituals when his little son who was seated nearby started crying out in hunger. Since the father was busy, GODDESS Parvathi herself came down to offer the Milk of Wisdom to the child who later became the most famous of Shaivaite saints- Thiru Gnana Sambandar.
As I still reeled in amazement, the old man turned towards my friend and told her certain past events which happened to be true. He also suggested certain remedies ( pariharams), to rectify these obstacles which were causing her a great deal of current problems.
As we were departing, the old man said as an after thought directly to me “ Don’t forget to go to Abirami Amman Koil at thirukkadaiyur”.
That command again! I thought to myself as we hurried inside.
Lord Shiva is worshipped at Sirgazhi in three different forms and under three different names.
The legend goes that during the great deluge or pralaya when the whole world was submerged under water, Lord Shiva and his consort Parvathi assumed human form and sailed on a raft ( Thoni), carrying with them all the important vedas and knowledge pertaining to the 64 arts and sciences. Here, at Sirgazhi, the waters abated their anger and the raft floated peacefully into this serene abode.
The temple itself is built on three levels. At the lower level, Lord Shiva is his form as a linga worshipped by lord Brahma. He is called Brahmapureeshwarar.
On the second level reached by climbing a short flight of stairs inside the temple, there is the second form of Shiva in a human form as the Lord Thoniappar or Lord Periyanayakar along with his consort Periyanayaki. The idols of Shiva and Parvathi are immense and amazingly life- like.
After paying our respects to this second image of Shiva, we climbed yet another steeper flight of stairs to reach the third and highest level of the temple. Here, Lord Shiva is resplendent in his Sangamam Moortham or form as Sattainathar or Bhairavar.
The story goes that Lord Shiva assumed this form to quell the arrogance of Vishnu after the latter’s incarnation as Trivikrama or ruler of the three worlds. Lord Shiva defeats the “ego” of Vishnu and wears his flesh as a “ Sattai” or shirt!
Much as I was fascinated by the history and legend surrounding this temple, we had to move on swiftly to see another great Shiva temple nearby- Vaitheeswaran Koil. We were hoping that the temple would not be closed for lunch time.
As it turned out, the temple had extended its afternoon hours that day and we were indeed lucky to get a good darshan here as well.
LORD Shiva is worshipped as the Divine Physician at Vaitheeswaran Koil. It is said that Lord Angaraka ( one of the Navagrahas- Mars) got cured of his ailment after praying to Shiva at this temple. The consort of Lord Shiva at this temple is Baala or Thaiyalnayaki.
We first proceeded to the temple tank whose water’s are said to have curative powers. After dutifully sipping a few drops of this water, we proceeded to visit the main sanctum followed by the shrines of Lord Muruga known here as Selva Muthukumaraswamy. The sculpture of Lord Muruga is indeed a beautiful work of art and awe inspiring. The sandal paste smeared on his feet are also said to treat and cure diseases.
It was at Vaitheeswaram that Lord Muruga received his Vel from his mother.
We visited various other shrines in the temple complex, especially that of the navagrahas, particularly Lord Angarakan.
The importance of this temple stems from not only the legends and stories associated with it but also the fact that it is a heritage site and represents one of the masterpieces of temple architecture.
By the time we had finished our rather hasty tour of this temple it was time for a late lunch stop at Mayavaram.
We decided that after a short rest, we could perhaps see a few more ancient temples en route to our night destination of a hotel near Swamimalai.
We requested our extremely knowledgeable chauffeur to plot the journey while we took a short break for lunch.
Having refreshed ourselves a bit, we started off around 4 p.m. The driver informed us that he would take us first to Tirukkadaiyur.
I looked at him perplexed. “ I had not really intended visiting this temple”, I said. “I have already been there before. Perhaps we can see some other temple on the way, instead?”. However, the driver insisted that Tirukkadaiyur was directly on the way to our final destination. The choice was mine. I thought about the directives I had received at two different temples that morning by total strangers asking me to see Goddess Abirami. And here again, for no apparent reason, the driver is insisting on us visiting the same temple .
“All right”, I said “Let’s go to Thirukkadaiyur”.
Within a short time we were speeding off towards the temple. In the car, I explained to my friend the events that had happened on my last trip and the bad news we received while travelling there. Immediately she looked at me and said that she now understood why I had to go there again.
I looked at her questioningly. Apparently, since I had entered the temple after having received news of a death, the palan ( or fruit) of the visit would not accrue to me. So, I was being summoned here again!
It was late afternoon when we reached Tirukkadaiyur. We went into the main sanctum to pay our respects to Lord Shiva as Amritagateeshwarar as well as Kala Samharamurthy.
Just as the arathi was being shown to the awesome figure Lord Shiva crushing the Lord of Death under his left foot, there was a distinct and ominous roar of thunder!
Promptly, we moved on to the shrine of Abirami that is located just to the right hand side of the main sanctum.
The moment my friend and I stepped inside Goddess Abirami’s shrine, there was a power failure and all the electric lights in the temple went out.
I stood there in the gloom. There was utter silence inside the sanctum. Contrary to my earlier visit that year when I was jostled by teeming crowds, there was absolutely no one except us and the Goddess.
She glowed inside the inner sanctum lit by just the old oil lamps. I felt immediately transported to another time and age!
Slowly we walked up to the sanctum and made our way as close as possible. Today, it seemed to me that the Goddess was giving me a special darshan. There was an ethereal and indescribable look of beauty in her face and a smile on her lips. For a long time I stood there, eyes closed, thinking of nothing—just savouring the moment.
Finally, and reluctantly weleft the sanctum, still under the spell of this most powerful and potent Goddess.
We emerged into the late afternoon daylight. However, just as we stepped into the car and were about to set off, the heavens opened and it started to pour with rain. It was almost as if the Goddess had decided to rain down her blessings to us on cue!
Following this amazing experience we drove through the sheeting rain towards a town called Ananthamangalam to visit a famous Anjaneyar Temple there.
An ancient temple dating back thousands of years, Lord Anjaneya is depicted here as “ Thri Nethra Dasa Bhuja Veera Anjaneyar”.
The legend goes that Lord Rama and his wife Sita were returning to Ayodhya after the victory over Ravana. While they were passing this particular spot, Naradha Muni informs Rama of impending danger in the form of two demons who were from Ravana’s family and had not been killed in the great battle. These two asuras had undergone severe penance and were seeking revenge for the killing of their family by Rama.
Immediately, Lord Anjaneya offers to fight these asuras in order to allow Lord Rama carry on his journey un interrupted. Considering the fact that his brother Bharathan would commit suicide if Rama did not make himself present at the given time in Ayodhya, Lord Rama reluctantly agrees to allow Anjaneya to fight the battle with the demons and gives Anjaneya his bow, arrows and a weapon (Navaneetham) to help him in his fight.
Similarly, other Gods give various weapons/ powers to enable Anjaneya to vanquish the two demons.
Lord Shiva gives his third eye and Trishul; Lord Vishnu gives his conch and chakra as well as a weapon called Mattaksham; Brahma donates his Ankusha; Parvathi, her whip; Lakshmi her lotus and Garudan, his wings.
Armed with all his weapons in his ten hands and the third eye resplendent on his forehead, Anjaneya leaps forward with a quiverful of arrows strapped on his back.
This is the powerful image we could perceive in this ancient temple. The power and presence of Lord Anjaneya is unmistakable.
We carried on our journey despite the heavy downpour towards a famous Navagraha temple nearby. The temple at Tirunallar dates back to the Chola period, about 12th Century A.D . Here, both Lord Shiva as well as Saturn, Lord Sani are worshipped. It is generally brelieved that those who are experiencing difficulties and obstacles in life due to the malefic glance of Lord Sani will obtain relief by propitiating Saturn at this temple and by taking a dip in the temple tank called Nala Tirtham.
According to the legend, King Nala, who was undergoing trials and ordeals in life due to the unfavourable aspect of Sani, found relief by worshipping the Lord here.
At Tirunallar, Lord Shiva is called Darbaranyeshwarar/ Adi Pureeswarar/ Naleeswarar.
Darba refers to a special variety of grass used for most hindu rituals. The Shiva Lingam was found as a self- made or Swayambu Lingam in the middle of a dense forest of darba grass; hence the Lord’s name here is Darbaranyeshwarar.
This ancient temple is also famous as one of the Sapta Vitanka Stalams generally associated with the king Mutchukunda Chola who propitiated Lord Shiva in the form of an unique idol called Thiagarajar.
The story goes that Lord Vishnu worshipped Shiva and then gave this distinctive idol to Indra. This was called a Somaskanda Image and has images of the divine couple, Lord shiva,his consort Parvathi, with little Skanda or Murugan, their son, seated betwixt them. Indra had 6 other images made exactly like the original. The image at Tiruvarur temple is the foremost of the SomaSkanda icons. However, it was here , at Tiruvarur, that Lord Indra wished to test the King Mucukunda Cholan by asking him to pick the original from the duplicate copies. When the King did indeed pick out the correct image, Indra was pleased and gave him all the seven as a gift.
The temples where these Somaskanda images called Thiagarajar , are installed came to be called the Sapta Vitanka Stalams.
At Thirunallar, there are two separate sanctums for Lord Shiva both in his form as the lingam, and also as Lord Thiagarajar along with his consort Pranambigai.
Of course, it is Lord Saneeswara who is the main attraction for hordes of pilgrims coming in to Tirunallar.
Lord Sani influences a person’s financial status and is therefore considered extremely important. Here, at Tirunallar, Lord Saturn is in a very mellow and benevolent mood and raises his hand in a gesture of protection to his devotees.
Surrounded by thousands of ghee or oil lit lamps, Lord Saneeswara seemed to send his silent blessings to us on that rain- swept day!
The last temple we visited that evening was the Lalithambigai Temple at Tirumeeyachur.
The evening was well advanced by the time we reached this ancient temple dating back to the Chola period. It was still raining, incesantly and the thunder clouds appeared dense and thick in the sky.
We hurried inside the main sanctum to worship Lord Shiva appropriately named, as Meghanathar. The stor goes that Surya worshipped Shiva as Gajaruda i.e. seated on an elephant , among dense clouds, hence the name.
The Shrine of Lord Shiva’s consort Lalithambikai is a separate one to the right of the main temple. Beautiful sculptures and frescoes from the Chola period provide a feast to the eyes.
However, when we entered the inner sanctum of the Goddess, there was almost no one there except for a solitary singer. We were greeted by some of the most soul- stirring verses of the Abirami Andhadi. It was as if the goddess was welcoming me back again and again!
Lalthambigai gives darshan to her devotees at this temple seated regally on her throne, right leg folded over and the left leg dangling down gently. An immense Sri Chakra is at her feet.
The priest at the temple told us an interesting story about the manifestation of the Goddess’s power in recent times.
Apparently, Lalithambikkai appeared in the dream of one of her ardent devotees, a young lady in Bangalore and requested a pair of anklets to be placed on her staue in this temple.
However, the priests at the temple said this would not be possible as there was no provision in the sculpture to accommodate a pair of anklets.
However, the lady from Bangalore persisted and upon close inspection a tiny hole was found in the left leg near the ankle that would permit this ornament to be fastened on.
Standing there in the gathering night, eyes closed and listening to the melliflous rendering of the Goddess’s hymns , I was quickly transported into a totally different world where huge circles of light seemed to glow brightly in rapid succession and disappear into a vortex of blinding flames.

It was with great difficulty that I came back to reality. We left this most beautiful temple and made our way to the hotel where we were to take rest that night.

Spiritual Diary: Chapter 22

There is also another shrine for Lord Yama directly opposite the Kala Samharamurthy Sannidhi where he is shown as having been brought back to life by lord Shiva at the request of Mother earth because she could not withstand the burden of accomodating too many human beings who continued to remain alive. The lord of Death is re appointed to maintain the correct balance between life and death in the universe.
We hurried on to the sanctum of the Goddess Abirami. When I stepped inside this shrine, I did not feel anything. This was a strange feeling. The Goddess appeared uninspiring. It was hot and crowded inside and perhaps at the back of my mind there was a nagging worry that we had to return to Chennai quickly.
After all the expectations and the build up before reaching this famous temple, I felt a bit let down and disappointed. In any case, I prayed to Abirami fervently and we left the temple shortly thereafter.
Directly after this temple tour, my daughter returned to Boston and I elected to stay on in India for a few more months. It was my hope that I could visit a few more temples in the deep South during this period. Sadly, that did not happen. However, I was able to make two trips to Tirupathi as well as two repeat visits to Nemili.
The first repeat visit to Nemili took place on February 14th, 2006. I took my niece with me this time and another old college friend as well. This was the first visit for my friend. We were courteously greeted at the Peetam and the priest Ezhilmani gave his usual introductory speech that he reserves for first time vistors to Baala Peetam.
We sat for a while with our eyes closed listening to Lalitha Sahasranamam. It was truly a divine experience listening to this familiar hymn in Baala’s presence. We got up to leave and I wandered over to the little bookshop in the corner, to buy a few photos and cassettes for my niece. We requested Ezhilmani to place these purchases at Baala’s feet in order to sanctify them before we took them back. As he was doing this , my eyes wandered over to the photos that were kept on either side of Bala in the little mandapam.
There was this particularly enchanting photo of Baala seated on a lotus with a mishievous smile on her lips. I stared, somewhat mesmerised. This was the same image that would float into my mind when I sat down for meditation. Without thinking, almost impulsively , I said loudly “ I would like to do two paintings of Baala. One, seated, just like she is there in that photo; and another one standing with the book and japa mala in her hands. I would like to give this to the Peetam .”
After having said this, I felt a bit uncomfortable. After all, any offering or contribution to this peetam is at Baala’s request. Who was I to volunteer any thing, either a gift or painting?
Later, in a subdued manner, I told Ezhilmani and his nephew, Murali, ( who runs the book shop), that if Baala so wished it and I had the ability to portray her, it would be done.
Ezhilmani simply looked at me and said “ I’m sure you can do it.”. He also gave me a tiny post card sized picture of Baala seated on the lotus so I could use that for guidance.
I thanked him for that as well as his words of encouragement
On the way back, in the car, I continued to ponder over my hasty suggestion. I prayed that Baala should help me in my attempt to do her painting. I remembered my unfinished pencil portrait of Baala in a standing posture . I requested my husband in London to mail it to me and in the mean while, I started work on the painting of Baala seated on a blue lotus.
I worked steadily for one week on this painting . While drawing this image , I kept getting repeated mental suggestions that said “ Do not copy my face from any other photo or image. Draw it using your own imagination “.
Thus, within one week, the pencil portrait was finished. However, the face of Baala in this picture , as in the earlier work done in London, did not resemble that of a nine year old. Instead, the young lady seated majestically on the lotus seemed a lot older, perhaps a young woman about to get married.
As is my normal custom, I did not worry too much about the visual impact of the image. I concentrated on Baala at all times and willed her to present herself on paper. The finished image was her wish and command!
By early March, I completed this huge painting and took great care to embellish Bala with colored stones and sparkling rhinestones.
We had it framed locally and in my mind, the finished work was beautiful!
Shortly after this first work was over , I received by courier the pencil drawing of Bala I had done in London.
This second painting seemed to take no time at all to finish. With the chants from Devi Mahatmyam and Lalitha Sahasranama, Trisathi and Bala Tripurasundari Sahasranamam echoing in the air, I finally ceased work on the painting. Baala glowed with a mysterious inner light and seemed to exude peace and happiness standing on her shining lotus pedestal!
This painting too, was duly framed and one day in the third week of March, 2006, I re- visited Nemili to give the paintings to the temple. A few family members accompanied me on this trip.
Since the paintings were massive in size, a truck was hired to transport them and we set off by car.
While I was happy that I had been able to carry out the task of painting Baala, a deep sadness lingered. This had indeed been a labour of love. I had sat day and night executing the two paintings and the thought I had to part with them forever made me feel intensely dejected.
However, I consoled myself that the paintings would be capable of giving so much more happiness to a lot of other people visiting the Peetam and would indeed remain in perpetuity at the temple long after my life on this earth was over.
We reached Nemili on a Friday morning at 9 a.m. The priest and his nephew, Murali were awaiting the arrival of the paintings and helped to carry them inside. They decked the Mandap and paintings with the flowers we had brought with us and did a small puja and arathi.
It was over. Soon, it was time to leave. I was a little surprised that Ezhilmani had not overtly praised the paintings or even mentioned that they were good.
Chastising myself for even entertaining these thoughts, I departed.
However, a small portion of me remained a bit unhappy. For example, I wanted the painting to be placed right next to Baala, near the mandap. Instead, it was placed against a wall on the far side as if to denote its lack of esteem or value. All these thoughts were coursing through my mind preventing me from remaining calm and peaceful.
I earnestly prayed to Baala that she keep my work as close to her as possible.
I hoped she would pay heed to my request.
We returned via the temple town of Kancheepuram and had an opportunity to visit the famous Kamakshi Amman temple.
Just as we stepped inside the main entrance of the temple, my attention was caught by a huge portrait of Baala!
Upon enquiry, I was told this had been done by a local artist. Here Baala is depicted as a young child of perhaps 8 or 9 years. She is seated on a white lotus, her face aglow with a sweet smile.
My first thought on seeing this lovely work was that my painting was so inadequate by comparison. But then, I am not a trained artist, I reasoned to myself. However,the feeling of low esteem and inadequacy continued to plague me that day. Why did I think my painting had been so perfect when it seems to pale into insignificance compared to a master work like this one in Kanchipuram?
Sighing, I walked inside the temple to get a darshan of Raja Rajeshwari, or Kamakshi as the Great Goddess is called here.
My family members and I were in for a pleasant surprise for we walked in just as the milk abhishekam was going on.
Hardly believing our luck, we stayed on to witness the whole ceremony and prayed to the great mother for guidance and protection. It seemed to me that she was saying “ You have given my child Baala a gift today. She is so happy with it and so am I !”.
These two visits to Nemili in the early part of 2006 were indeed of great significance as revealed by later turn of events.
During the period that I was doing the Baala paintings, I also got the opportunity to visit Tirupathi twice, as well!
The first occasion was in late February 2006 . I visited Tirupathi along with my second brother and his family. I remember the sactum being extremely crowded during the early morning Suprabatham. There followed a chaotic scene of people shoving and pushing each other to have a darshan of the great Lord of Tirumala. I was swept along with other members of my family in the massive human tide and barely got a meaningful glimpse of the Lord. Sorely disappointed, and leaning against the walls of the sanctum I implored the Lord to call me back for a good Darshan.
We returned to Chennai soon after and I carried on with my painting of Baala. To my enormous surprise, hardly one week later, I had another opportunity to visit Tirupathi. This time I accompanied my elder brother who was a trustee of the Tirumala Temple.
In sharp contrast to my earlier visit our family was treated with a royal welcome and I was able to stand right near Lord Venkatachalapathi for a few whole minutes in utter silence!
The Lord had heard my request and called me back!
Soon after the Tirupathi episode and just before I left Chennai for London, I experienced a lot of mental suggestions asking me to understand more about Shirdi SAI Baba. Along with these mental impressions or thoughts, as I have no other way of describing them, I seemed to be meeting people in every day life who reinforced these messages. As a result I decided to read the Sai Sat Charitra. I purchased this huge volume at a book shop one day and spent a lot of time trying to understand the significance and gospel of Shirdi Sai Baba.
Somehow, despite my best efforts, I was not pulled strongly towards the teachings of this great Saint. Also, as Vedanta preaches, the Lord is not outside you; He is inside you, guiding you and filling you with love. It is this cognitive change that is important in shaping how we deal with people around us. Going to temples and worshipping gods is important; however more important is to practise the good values and show patience, tolerance and love to people around us. No doubt the lord of Shirdi was a truly mysterious and remarkable man. However, there have been loads of great self- realised souls in our country- Ramana Maharishi, Sri Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, etc .
I decided to focus instead on my daily prayers to Baala and on improving my concentration through meditation.

I set off to London in mid- April and then onwards to Boston to stay with my daughter who is a student there.

Spiritual Diary: Chapter 20

I had spent most of the time during the long flight, praying to the Goddess Baala. Somehow, visiting Nemili was the foremost in my thoughts. I decided to make a trip to Shri Baala Peetam on the following Sunday. However, as it turned out, I was summoned to see her much earlier.
In fact, on the very evening of the day I arrived, I called up the Baala Peetam and asked them if the temple would be open for visitors the next day, i.e. Friday. Since the answer was positive, my daughter and I set off the following morning.
From the moment I entered the peetam a feeling of complete and utter peace came over me. It was as if all my problems and worries slipped off quite effortlessly. I prostrated this very tiny yet most powerful goddess and lapsed into a few minutes of meditation, while awaiting for the priest to come into the room.
I was seeking answers to many questions at this point in my life.
“ Could you please enlighten me about my role in life”, I beseeched Baala. “ Can you tell me why you appear in my dreams and tell me to go to various places and meet people?” “ Why are you playing games with me?”.
As hard as I tried, no answers were forthcoming. I slowly opened my eyes just as Nemili Ezhilmani came into the room. He remembered me instantly and as if answering my unspoken question said “ Oh, don’t search for that black and white drawing of our Baala that you gave us 3 years ago. I had initially placed it right beside her mandapam in this puja room, but my son who performs the daily puja and abhishekams wanted the painting to hang in his room. Do you know your drawing of Baala on a swing is the first image he sees in the morning before he comes down to perform the puja?”.
I was stunned. It was true, I had been quickly seeking out where this man had positioned my painting. Since I didn’t see it anywhere, I was overwhelmed by a feeling of inadequacy. Perhaps, my drawing wasn’t good enough to be displayed!
The priest’s answer filled me with joy. I should never have doubted myself ; this was merely Baala’s mischief at play.
As if to emphasise this last point further, the priest carried on “ If you had come just one hour later today, you would have found the peetam closed. We are all leaving the house for a few days and will not be here over the week end”.
I suddenly remembered my original plan of visiting the temple on Sunday. It was only a fleeting thought that had made me come earlier! That lightening suggestion in my mind was Baala. This was the first time she had spoken to me. Over the course of the coming year, many more similar episodes were to unfold!
After the ritual arathi and prayers were over, just as I was about to take leave, I approached Ezhilmani and told him about Baala’s command for me to meet up with “ Aiya” of Rochester, a person whom I had never met . “ I don’t understand why she has asked me to go there”, I looked at him questioningly.
The priest could hardly conceal his smile. “ Why, Amma, this Haran Aiya and Baala have a very strong connection.He comes here very often whenever he visits India and has in fact created a BAALA Peetam in Rochester”. However, I don’t know why she has asked you to meet him. All I can assure you is that Baala loves to play games. If she likes a person, she will take over their life completely and be in control”.

It was with mixed emotions that my daughter and I left Nemili. She too, had felt the overwhelmimg peace and calmness of the place and loved the fact that this house of worship was so completely different from the huge temples she had often visited with me. I think the simplicity and purity of the place combined with the love and humility of its occupants came as a pleasant surprise to her.

Spiritual Diary: Chapter 21

Spiritual Diary: Chapter 21

Within the next few days, my daughter and I had the opportunity to visit a few temples in Tamil Nadu along with my sister in law. We first went to Pudukkotai ( near Trichy) to pay a visit to the Bhuvaneswari temple established by my guru, Santhananda Swamigal. After paying respects to the samadhi of his guru, Judge Swamigal, at that temple, we proceeded to the famous rock temple of Pillayarpatti.

Here, Lord Ganesha was awaiting to give us his blessings dressed in his golden armour. It was truly an awe inspiring sight to witness this gigantic seven foot sculpture hewn out of a massive piece of rock on a cliff side. Dating back to the early 12th Century, the image of Pillayar is considered as Swyambu or self- made!

We proceeded on our journey towards the beautiful temple town of Tanjore. Here, we visited and marveled at the glory of the Brihadeeshwara temple. Built by the great Raja Raja Chola, it took nearly 12 years until its completion in 1011 A.D. The Chola kingdom ruled this part of the world during 10th to the 14th century and many of the temples in the state bear the unmistakable stamp of the artists and sculptors of this period. For the pallavas, the gigantic temple complexes functioned not only as a place of worship but also a seat of government and provided an important venue for most of the social and economic events .

We walked around the precincts of this vast temple/ fortress complex in awe. The central stone of the towering Vimana is supposed to weigh 235 lbs and it must have been a true feat of engineering ingenuity to have hoisted it into place at the very top.

We marveled at the intricate carvings of Gods, dancers, dance poses , and mythical beasts on the several terraces of the temple tower.

However, one particular shrine tucked away in the corner of this vast temple complex caught my attention. Upon enquiry it proved to be the shrine of one of the Siddhars ( yogis or holy men who have mastered all the Siddhas or yogic powers). Indeed, Karuvar Siddhar is regarded as one of those immortal beings who has lived for centuries and continues to exude his presence in this shrine. He had apparently helped the king ( Raja Raja Chola) through his yogic powers to both construct as well as consecrate the temple.

This was my first visit to a Siddhar’s shrine, but I felt a strong magnetic attraction to the site.

As will be explained later, this visit too set off in train a long sequence of events that has allowed me to immerse myself more fully into the lives of the 18 great siddhars and study huge masterpieces like Tirumoolar’s Tirumandiram.

Our short temple tour concluded with a visit to the famous Murugan shrine at Swamimalai and the nearby temple at Tirukkadaiyur dedicated to the Goddess Abhirami.

I reflected on the time I had spent learning the 100 verses composed by Abirami Bhattar in his famous Andhadi , all in praise of this great and powerful Goddess.

I was looking forward to the darshan with great anticipation on this fnal leg of the tour . However, during the car drive from Swamimalai to Tirukkadaiyur, my sister- in law who was accompanying us, got a phone call. It was bad news . Her uncle in Bangalore had been admitted in the hospital and was fighting for his life. We had an hour to go before reaching this famous temple and I prayed that he might live.

It was an irony that we should receive this news while travelling to a temple famous through antiquity for being able to save people’s lives. The legend goes that the young Markandeya prayed to Lord Shiva to prevent the King of Death, Lord Yama from taking his soul away. In fact, Lord Shiva is propitiated here as Kaala Samhara Murthy, or as one who has conquered the passage of time— and therefore Death itself.

Just as we drove into the precincts of the temple another quick telephone call confirmed the worst. The uncle never recovered conciousness. I suggested we return immediately. However, my sister in law insisted we finish our tour of the temple.

We walked inside to witness the awesome sculpture of Shiva killing Yama, while Markandeya is shown as clinging on to the shiva lingam near the base of this statue, expressing total sharanaagathi.

Spiritual Diary: Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19 SPIRITUAL DIARY.

Om Gurubyoh namah
Om Shri Sainatha namah.
Om Ganapathaye namo namah:

Thursday, May 3rd, 2007.

The spiritual diary that I ended in the previous chapter on December 4th, 2005, has been resumed for no apparent reason today.

The urge to continue writing the journal that had suspended itself most mysteriously over a year and half ago, came right after my usual Thursday morning prayers to my Guru Santhananda Swamigal as well as to Shirdi Sai Baba.

How did Shirdi Sai Baba appear in my spiritual path and what has been the nature of his subtle guidance? Most important, what is the link between Shirdi Sai Baba, Baala of Nemili and Sri Raja Rajeshwari Peetam of Rochester? Have the various questions about the purpose and intent of my paintings and the larger goal of helping humanity been resolved?

The events that have occurred during the interim period ( between December, 2005 and May, 2007), have certainly provided more than just a strong indication that many of my doubts will be soon answered. I am very clear for the first time in my life that the child- Goddess of Nemili has set in motion a sequence of events that will put me very firmly on a shining path that will lead directly to Her feet.

My life is now, and will be in the future, even more inextricably linked with Shri Baala Peetam at Nemili.

Christmas of 2005 was spent with my family in London. During January 2006, I had an opportunity to visit India along with my elder daughter.

However, before that I felt the strong mental suggestion to do a portrait of Baala.

I listened to all the cassettes I had purchased at Nemili on my previous visit in 2002. I concentrated on this great goddess and requested her permission for me to paint her. I drew a beautiful mandapam and when I finished it, I asked her silently “ How do I portray you? Should I draw you in the standing or seated pose?”. The answer came as if in a flash during my meditation. “ Draw me as standing on a lotus pedestal. Do not use any image to copy my face. You have to do this picture all by yourself using your own imagination”.

I started work on this image and managed to finish it within a few weeks. Baala is shown as a young teenager wearing a skirt and a upper garment , holding a book in one hand and prayer beads in another. I have no idea why I depicted her as a teenager instead of a young 9 year old girl as She is represented at Nemili. All I know is that my hands were guided to draw what the great Goddess willed me to depict.

I was happy to let the portrait unfold at its own pace and didn’t really worry about what my hands drew because my thoughts were at all times focused on her.

At this stage, only the pencil drawing was being done.

A few days before I left for India, I pencilled in the eyes. A huge wave of emotion hit me inexplicably just as I was drawing her left eye. I started to weep uncontrollably and my tears filled her eyes and poured all over my drawing. Finally, just as abruptly as it had started, I stopped weeping, mopped up the water stains and somehow managed to finish the image without causing too much damage.

I placed the completed pencil drawing on the dining table and hoped I could complete it using colorful paints after my return. Somehow Baala’s plans were completely different to those of mine!

My daughter and I arrived in Chennai on Thursday, January 19th, 2006 .

Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18

Within the next few weeks I returned to London. The first thing I did was to hunt in my cassette collection for some of the tapes I had purchased while I visited Nemili many years ago. I finally found one. I went into my room, and sitting crosslegged on the
ground and with all my attention focused on this great goddess, I listened to the tape.
Soon, I was totally transported to the shining, luminous world of Sri Bala. It was as though she was giving me a darshan, seated on a golden swing with a mischievous smile on her lips!

That was a Friday evening. I remember this very clearly because this child appeared in my dream that very same night.

This vision was unlike many I had experienced before. My sleep was disturbed that night by the sound of someone entering my bed room. I opened my eyes but could not see anyone. However, I was able to sense someone was there. I could hear the
shuffle of feet as this person came over to the far side of the bed and got into bed with me. I could hear the soft creaking of the mattress and feel a presence beside me. The next thing I felt was a column of air snaking up my spine. It was as though
someone or something was sending a waft of powerful energy through my entire back. I felt I was floating somewhere and then, spiralling down into a great bottomless void . As I did this I could see a light at the very end. There was a man doing Puja
and a girl’s voice said “ You will go to see Haran Aiya.” That was when I realised that the person next to me was indeed Raja Rajeswari herself.
My voice choking with emotion, I called out “ Amma, Akhila Kodi Brahmaanda Nayakiye Neeya Idhu?.” ( Is it You? The great
Goddess of the universe?) .

I knew then I was not dreaming. However, a strange fear seemed to grip me. Where was I? What was happening to me?

It was as though my unspoken thoughts were understood. The presence was no longer beside me on the bed. Instead, there was shaft of light in the doorway of my bedroom and there, in that soft light I saw my second daughter.

She was saying “ Hey mum, I just finished my homework. Can I come and lie down beside you? .”
I remember heaving a sigh of relief and going back to sleep.
I awoke the next day and only then remembered. My daughter was not even here in London. She was thousands of miles away studying at an University in New Jersey, U.S.A.
So, the person in my dream had really been the mischievous Baala who had made her presence felt both as Raja Rajeshwari and as a young girl in the form of my daughter so as to not make me frightened of my “ dream within a dream”.

A few days later I received some bad news. My daughter had been admitted to a hospital in New Jersey with bacterial meningitis. I was frantic with worry. I had just finished six days of prayers to Lord Muruga for Skanda Sashti and beseeched Him to help my daughter. While she had been diagnosed just in the nick of time, the doctors told us to wait for a couple of days since further tests needed to be done and their results analysed.

I tried to be optimistic, yet could not really get rid of a nagging thought at the bottom of my heart. So, the next morning, while awaiting the results of the brain scan, I made a long distance call to the house at Nemili.
The phone number I had was an old one and I was not too sure if anyone would even pick up the phone at the other end. To my surprise the phone was answered almost immediately by the elderly priest Shri Nemili Ezhilmani.

I told him he would not know me but that I was calling from London and had visited Nemili 3 years ago.
I reminded him about the black and white drawing I had given him. At this, the priest immediately remembered me. He said he had kept that picture in the puja room very carefully!
I quickly informed him about my dream and the gentle “ reminder” Bala had given me during Navarathri.
The man’s response was surprising. “ Oh you must understand that our Baala likes to play tricks on people. She loves to shock them and then appear in dreams as a young girl”.
“Don’t worry”, he said “ I shall surely pray for you and your child. Nothing will happen to her health. Just take confidence from me.” He also added “ Do write a personal letter to the Goddess, and tell her your problems. She will sort it out for you. Mail it to
my address and I shall place the letter at her feet and send you the prasadams.”

I thanked him profusely and said I would write a letter immediately. However, I also told him that my mother who lived in Chennai would contact him. Perhaps he could perform a special archana in my daughter’s name on her birthday ( November
16th) that was just going to fall within a few days.

However, Sri Ezhilmani said that archanas were not performed at Bala Peetam. He reiterated that just the phone conversation with him was sufficient and I should just have complete faith in Shri Baala.

I sat down at my computer immediately and poured out my heart in a letter to Bala. I sealed it in an envelope and rushed to the post office to mail it.
When I re- entered the flat the phone was ringing. I hurried to pick it up. It was my daughter calling from the hospital.
“Mummy, I just got the results of the CAT scan. The doctors feared there might have been an abcess in the brain. But everything is clear. There will be no long lasting after- effects from the meningitis.”
From the very depths of my heart I thanked Shri Bala!!

I was leaving London again within the next few days to visit my daughter and called my mother to see if she could possibly send me the temple prasadam . However, my mother was bedridden due to a leg ailment and although she said she would try her best, I did not really think the prasadam would reach me before I saw my daughter in the U.S.

Anyway, I reasoned to myself, Bala is always within me. I don’t really require the prasadam. I reassured my mother and told her not to exert herself.

I landed in Boston and was staying with my elder daughter. My health suddenly took a turn for the worse and instead of leaving immediately to visit my younger daughter in New Jersey, I had to wait a few days until I got better.
I spent a lot of time each day in prayer and started reading the Abhirami Andhadi. There are one hundred verses in this great work where the ending word of each verse forms the starting point for the next. I spent some time every day revelling in the glory
of the Goddess as well as appreciating the unshakeable faith and devotion exhibited by the poet Abhirami Bhattar.

My husband flew in from London a few days later as we had planned to drive down to New Jersey to visit my younger daughter over the Thanksgiving break.
He arrived one evening just as I was finishing the last verse of the Abhirami Andhadi. I opened his suitcase in order to unpack it.
There, right on top of all his clothes was a yellow cloth bag with the smiling photograph of Baala embossed on it.
Hardly believing my luck I opened the bag, Along with the prasadams were a few sloka books and a small medallion with Baala’s image.
But I had thought it would not have possible for the prasadam to reach me within the week! After all Nemili was a good two hours away from Madras.How was this possible?

I called my mother to thank her. Apparently the whole thing had been a remarkable coincidence. The prasadam had come in on a Friday and on that very day some members of the family were travelling to London. These people had, in turn, passed it on to
my husband just as he had been leaving London to come to Boston.

Once again, that little child- goddess has set in motion a train of events that achieved the desired results!!
I was overjoyed and made my daughter wear the precious medallion almost immediately, when we did see her!

It was following the Thanksgiving break and after we had returned to Boston that I resumed my spiritual diary once again.
As mentioned earlier, there was a strong urge for me to finish recounting all the events over the past year.
As I finish this portion of my narrative, I do realise that one more question deep within my heart has still not been answered.
In my letter To Baala I had asked her “ Dear Baala, please tell me what I should do with all my paintings. You have given me the talent. Now I desire to be of service to You. Please tell me how its going to be possible for me to help humanity during my life
time.”

I realise that my Guruji has given me clear instructions to hold an exhibition of all the paintings. Swami Paaramarthananda has adviced me to set up a web site with my writings. The latter is very nearly set up. But the real question is “ How am I going to
achieve this task of raising money”.

It is my intention to visit Chennai in late January 2006. I plan to place all my writings and photographs of all my paintings at the feet of this tiny, but most powerful goddess and seek her help.
I am aware that I am destined to meet “ Aiya’ of Rochester at some point in my life.
Until then the purpose of these writings and my paintings will elude me.

( I just noted I have finished writing this final segment at 4 p.m. on December 4th. From reading the little pamphlet sent to me
by Nemili Ezhilmani, the number FOUR is Baala’s special number!).

Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17

After completing this massive portrait of my Guru, I started a painting depicting the Ashta Lakshmis ( eight Lakshmis). These depictions of the goddess of wealth are considered very auspicious. I decided to do them for my own peace of mind.
As is my usual custom, I did read up a lot of slokas pertaining to the various representations of this Goddess. She stands for many aspects of our personalities like valour, courage, love, generosity, hard work, knowledge, etc

I followed this up with a painting of Lord Vishnu and Lakshmi seated on the mighty Adi Sesha. This painting was inspired by a beautiful Sanskrit hymn to this Heavenly couple called “ Lakshmi Narayana Hridayam”.

Following this painting, I engaged myself in doing a lot of abstract paintings as well as portraits of Lord Ganesha done in a modernist manner. I started reading the Narayaneeyam whilst doing the abstracts. I would simply close my eyes, meditate
on the Lord and within minutes conjure up in my mind, the colours for my abstract paintings. I reasoned the absence of figures as a ripening of my utter faith in the Lord and a movement away from Sagunam to Nirgunam Brahman!

During the summer of 2005 I made another visit to Chennai. I met Swami Paramarthananda on Guru Poornima day and sought his blessings. He remembered me from my previous visit and questioned me if I had folllowed his advice to set up
a web site with my writings and paintings. I replied I had not yet done so. Moroever, I informed him I wasn’t really sure if people would really be interested in my reflections and writings.

His reply was firm “ You should create a web site. Put down whatever comes to your mind. People living overseas will definitely benefit by this. I am giving you the confidence today. Start this project with my full blessings “ Then, in a complete
changeof topic he remarked, as I was leaving “ Don’t give up Sagunam deity bhakthi”. How had he known that I had started my abstract paintings? I puzzled about that for a bit and actually felt happier he had not asked me to move away from saguna worship. In truth I had been finding this process a bit difficult as my mind was so used to concentrate on the image of any particular God or Goddess. I was overjoyed to hear this respected Guru mention it. I did my namaskarams and left his presence.

During my two week stay in Chennai this time, I was fortunate to visit two more temples. This time I was able to get Darshan of Guruvayurappan and the great Bhagavathi of Chottanikkara. Was it mere coincidence that this deity is considered widely as “ Amme Narayana” ? i.e. an aspect of Shakthi or Durga along with Vishnu. I remembered my
painting of Lord Vishnu and Lakshmi and said a silent prayer of gratitude.

During August, 2005, I was in Boston, U.S.A. staying with my eldest daughter. The month of Aadi is considered auspicious to Amman. So, I decided to do a drawing of the mighty Sri Chakra, as an act of propitiation to the Goddess. On the holy Adi Velli,(Friday), I attempted this very precise and mathematical drawing after duly reciting the Lalitha Sahasranamam and Lalitha Trisathi.
By the end of the day I had finished this mystical geometric pattern that harnesses all the power of Shakthi within its manifold triangles. I framed the print and hung it in my daughter’s flat as a good luck charm.

As things worked out, I was intended to stay on in Boston for the next two months. My husband seemed to be considering the possibility of moving to the U.S. permanently and I felt quite happy .
I continued with my prayers and meditation whilst staying in daughter’s flat. The next painting that “ happened” was one of Shiva and Parvathi. I had been listening to the Rudram every day and felt the urge to portray this great Lord once more dancing with his consort very happily !
I finished this painting just before the auspicious period of Navarathri.

During this time I had been constantly thinking about the purpose of both my paintings and writings. Despite the assurances given by Swami Paramartha, I was not fully confident that anyone might be remotely interested in reading either my narrative or for that matter interested in viewing my paintings. It wasn’t as if these art pictures were unique in any way, i.e. except in my eyes!

Nevertheless my daughters helped me to start a web site and I called it “ spiritualvision art.com” In this, I pasted all my pictures and writings i.e. my spiritual diary. I left a blank page to put in daily thoughts and another one titled Spiritual Guidance.
However, I did not resume writing my diary just yet. I was assailed by conflicting thoughts.

During Navarathri I recited the Devi Mahatmyam every day and sought the guidance of my Guru. One night I got my answer. I was in the presence of Shri Shanthananda Swamigal. He was sitting on a pedestal smiling genially and conversing with a
group of people. I approached him and did my namaskaram. Then, what happened was very strange. He just looked at me and I found my lips moving and uttering these words several times “ Keep an exhibition of all your paintings. Collect money and send them to the Skandashramam temple in Tambaram”
In fact, I woke up as if from a deep slumber saying these words over and over again. It was early morning on a Friday during the holy nine days of navarathri. While I did not ignore this message, I hardly knew where to begin.

One afternoon during this auspicious period, I was surfing a web site that was devoted to the Raja Rajeshwari temple in Rush, N.Y.
I had come across this web site previously during my researches on Sri Vidya worship. It was maintained by a man called Haran or “Aiya’ and I read his short biography. He hails from a long line of Gurus all of whom are in the path of Sri Vidya and Shakthi worship. Apparently, he started this temple at Rochester many decades ago and it attracts hundreds of devotees each year, especially during the time of Navarthiri.
I was lucky that at the moment I tuned in, there was a live webcast of the Abhishekams that were going on to the main deity.
For a long time that day I sat and watched the proceedings at this temple. After the morning pujas were over that day, there was a short talk by “ Aiya” to the congregation.
What he spoke about quite simply took my breath away.
The whole speech was about the glory of Sri Baala, the little child-like deity whose temple was a small house in the village of Nemili.

I remember feeling an electric shock coursing through my spine. Baala was saying to me very clearly. “ I gave you the ability to paint ever since you placed the first picture at my feet. Now you seem to have forgotten me?

I sat, for what must have been a long time, in the same position, not being able to think, and with no other thoughts in my mind except this child deity. Much later, I remember my daughter entering the room and asking “ Mum, what’s the matter. You have been sitting rooted to that spot for ages. Is something wrong?”

There was no doubt in my mind about the message I had just received. It was the complaint of a small child seeking attention!!

Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

We returned to Chennai the following day. Many months later I had a vision of the Acharya. One night, I was somehow transported to Shringeri. I saw him performing a puja. However, even as I looked on, his physical form seemed to balloon out.
His image became fatter and more grotesque. His face filled out until his eyes disappeared under the enormous folds of his chin. Suddenly, with a puff of smoke he completely disappeared from my view. I woke up as if from a deep stupour and the first
thought in my mind was “ He showed me that name and form didn’t really matter. I have been foolish to underestimate and not fully realise the immense power of this very Holy man”.

I don’t really know if that idol was ever returned to Salem. Somehow, I don’t think that was the real intention of Swamigal. I got the distinct impression that this whole episode was a test of my faith in my Guru!! It had taken a lot of courage for me to convey
my Guru’s message to the Acharya, braving criticisms from my family. The Acharya, of course, could see through this “test” very easily! I was meant to get the blessings of a “living” Guru and this objective had been achieved.

Two further memorable events happened during this short visit to Chennai in January, 2005. However, before I start to elaborate on them, I must mention another vision I experienced on the very early morning of December 26th , 2004.

In this vivid dream, I found myself in a very old, but beautiful mansion . It seemed that I was here to meet someone special. I wandered around the vast, spacious corridors that seemed to enclose a courtyard. I remember seeing a tinkling fountain in the middle of the
courtyard. The broad verandah encircling the courtyard had cool marble flooring and was perfumed with the fragrance of various exotic flowers and plants that seemed to grow in profusion in the garden.

All of a sudden I came across a a raised dais set in the side of the verandah. I went closer and then saw her. There was a woman sitting on the raised dais. I could not really see her face too clearly but registered in my mind that she had a portly figure. Then, as I drew closer to her, I seemed to leave my body and literally “ float” towards her, or into her. It was a strange sensation, but not too unlike experiences in the past.
This Lady said in a soft voice “ Please tell your sister to come and see me. I have been waiting for her. She was supposed to come and see me earlier but did not show up. You will bring her to me. “ That was all, that was the message.

I awoke and realised it was my sister’s birthday. I called her up immediately and told her about my dream. She remembered that there was a psychic astrologer- lady in Chennai whom she had intended to visit in October 2004. But somehow, she never got around
to seeing her. We felt that perhaps it was this person who wished to meet her after all!

Bearing this dream in mind, when I was in Chennai during January 2005, I asked my sister if she wanted to visit this lady.We found out where she lived and fixed up an appointment to see her. Meenakshi Ammal lived in a tiny flat in a suburb called
Chrompet. We introduced ourselves and soon got talking. Apparently Meenakshi Ammal had been blessed by Lord Muruga of Tiruchendur. . She had this God given ability of reading horoscopes and making accurate predictions.
I had taken my horoscope and my sister had taken her daughter’s horoscope as she was anxious for her daughter to get married soon.
Meenakshi Ammal did predict many past events for my sister rather accurately and reassured her that her daughter would soon get married.
Then she turned her attention towards me. She looked carefully at my horoscope and that of my husband’s as well. Without the slightest hesitation she described with great accuracy all the troubles I had endured on several fronts over the past. She
mentioned a great dosha in my husband’s horoscope and told me to carry out some parihaarams for it , if I was interested.

There was a marked difference in the tone of her voice while she spoke to me and gave further information. I was meant to be there that day! Meenakshi ammal told me that in my earlier births I had been extremely religious. However, this had been
forgotten in the most recent janma. Hence the return to spirituality in the current janma or birth. She assured me that throughout all my problems I was assured of Lord Muruga of Tiruchendur’s support. “ He is surely guiding you and protecting your children. Don’t be afraid”. These were her final words.

Soon after this interesting episode and, towards the tail end of my trip to Chennai, I had the opportunity to visit Tiruchendur. This temple by the sea-shore is one of the famous battle- camps of Lord Skanda, so the legend goes, and is a truly inspiring
sight. Apart from the architectural splendour, there was an unmistakable vibration in the atmosphere that was soul- stirrring.
The temple was, as usual, extremely crowded. Although we were escorted by a few temple priests who allowed us to escape the seething mass, nevertheless we were jostled and pushed towards the main sanctum. Here too, there was a tremendous
commotion and chaos.
My sister in law and her daughter had travelled along with me. We were given permission to sit up front at the very entrance to the main sannidhi. From this spot I could get an uninterrupted view of Lord Muruga in all his glory. Yet, the noise outside was
deafening. The people in the crowd that was just behind us, were screamimg at the top of their voices. The few priests inside the sanctum seemed to rush back and forth between the main altar and the entrance carrying the arathi and prasadam. There were people who were shouting out their respective names, gothrams, etc for archanas. In the midst of all this din, there was a solitary priest inside the sanctum reciting the Murugan Ashtothiram
( 100 names in praise of the Lord).

I strained my ears but simply could not hear anything! I then focused my attention on the main idol and sat there simply looking at this glowing figure.
Within a few minutes I completely forgot the chaos outside. In other words I could either not hear it or it didn’t matter to me anymore because something really strange was going on that caught my complete attention.
Even as I sat there gazing at the deity, I could very distinctly see His mouth move. I could “ hear’ Lord Muruga reciting his own Ashtothiram. I thought I was mad!!!

Surely someone else might have noticed this as well?

However, in that crowded sanctum not one of the priests seemed terribly concerned that something unbelievable was going on. I waited for a few minutes, my eyes still on the deity. No mistake here. I could see Lord Karthikkeya move his lips and now I could hear the priest chanting as well. The deity’s mouth moved in unision with the chanting!! I could not tear my eyes away. Now another strange thing happened. Lord Senthil Vel Muruga was giving me a darshan as Pazhani Andavar. Gone were the crown and robes that had been adorning this idol. The face looked young, the head was completely shaven, adorned with rudraksha beads. There he stood in solitary splendour wearing nothing but a loin cloth and holding his Dhandam in his right hand. His youthful face
smeared with sandal paste looked so calm and serene. His mouth was parted in a smile, but at the same time still mouthing the many namams of his own Ashtothirams.

I think at this point I screamed to my sister in law who was sitting next to me- ‘ Look , Look, don’t miss this sight. He is actually talking!!! Can’t you hear?”
Later, after we left the temple premises she told me that she had been really quite concerned about the state of my mental health.
As soon as the Astothirams were over, we did leave the main sanctum. However, I caught hold of one of the priests and told him what I saw. He did not really know how to respond! Clearly, he must have thought I was completely mad.
In any event, I can never forget what I had witnessed. That image of Tiruchendur Murugan who also revealed himself to me as Pazhani Andavar is something I will never forget for the rest of my life.

After I returned to London in eatly February, 2005, I decided to do a portrait of my Guru Sri Shanthananda Swamigal. I had meant to paint a large portrait of him earlier but could not find a suitable photo to copy from. The night before I departed Chennai, I
visited the Mel Maadi puja room to get a few minutes of peace. I sat in front of the photo of my Guru and said a silent prayer. I closed my eyes to meditate. A single thought appeared and despite all my efforts I could not cast it aside. This was the thought
message. “ Take my photo from this puja stand back with you to London and paint that image”.
Why had I not considered this option before? Well, I did not really think I should remove the photo my mother worshipped everyday!
Anyway, I went downstairs and asked her permission . She replied immediately I could take it as long as we substituted another one in the same place. That was easy to accomplish. Then, I asked her if there was anything special about this
particular photo. Apparently, after the death of my father, the rather neglected puja room upstairs did not really have a photo of Swamigal. So, during one of his visits to Madras my mother personally requested him to give her a copy. He had given her this
particular laminated photo with great love and affection. That was why it was so precious to her!

I promised to return this photograph once my painting was finished.
I started this painting of Guru with utmost devotion. I immersed myself in Slokas on Lord Dakshinamurthy, the Guru of all Gurus, as well as Avadutha Sri Datta Guru. I listened to the Sahasranamams in the praise of these two great spiritual masters
and then commenced my painting.

I must admit that this painting was the most difficult one to finish and although the photograph from which I copied our Guru had been taken about 30 years ago when he was relatively younger, by the time I finished, the face was totally different.
I was not very happy with the finished painting. I reasoned to myself that perhaps this was how He wanted it. So, I left it at that.

Soon afterwards, my mother came to visit me for a few days in London.
This was a surprise visit. It was as though she was destined to see His painting just as I had finished it.In fact, over the past three years I had completed a lot of my paintings. My mother had never really seen any of them in the original size in which they had been executed. She had not visited me during this period, so, apart from viewing them in prints or photos she had never seen the originals.
With great pride, I showed her all the 80 or so odd paintings that it had been my destiny to paint!
The last one I showed her was my enormous painting of Swamigal. I propped it up against the wall in our living room. The painting seemed to dwarf the whole space. My mother looked at it intently for a bit then said that although his face looked
different in my painting as compared to the photo I had used as a guide, his face here looked exactly as it did during his last days!!
I was truly stunned to hear this. I had not really seen him during the last few years of his life. All I had done was to copy his image from a more youthful looking photo. What turned out was what He meant for it to be.