2.09.2009

Kalahasti, Where the Divine Lord Breathes

Lost among ancient hills, overpowered by the most popular shrine at Tirupati, the endless highway winds around low hills and the green countryside of Andhra Pradesh leading a seeking devotee straight to the temple gates of Lord Shiva at Kalahasti.

Among the noise and clatter, with vendors selling flowers to those selling Rahu Ketu puja to officials offering special darshan, Kalahasti has every sign of a living temple today. In the midst of all this noise, and wading through half of India’s moving population on foot, finding our way through the maze of metal walkway, the freedom of Kalahasti has long gone giving way to just “one way traffic”. Yet there is peace here, yet there silence if only we care to hear it. As people pay through to see the Lord, getting into occasional wars right in front of the shrine, shouting abuses in the interior halls of the sacred temple, this is the other India, the other Hinduism that clearly shows the lack of spiritualism among the ignorant masses who visit.

And yet, peace can be won. A trained mind that can concentrate is all one needs to switch off the sound of the madness and switch onto the sound of the Lord’s breath within his shrine chamber. Here it is a completely different world. The shrine chamber well decorated with silver plated exteriors flanked by two dwarapalas and two priests houses a spectacular concept within. The air here is pure, the experience is overwhelming and the emotions pour into a river of sacred syllables that flow over all the senses that cut out the worldly noise. This is the entrance to the divine presence of the Lord of Kailasa. The ardha manadapa (vestibule) is a room large enough to capture this essence that emanates from within, for what lies within is much more than just wind, just vayu… the Lord breathes here, he lives here, he is here.


Nandi, sits at his door and look up to him in silence, his breath in rhythmic patterns recites the Panchakshara as it cuts through the noise to reach the Lord, a divine dialog of which we are just “not” a part but also fail to understand that we should not even cross this sacred space. And here I stand right in the middle of it with no choice but to view the Lord within.

The air is still, the tiny lamps flicker making a halo of light around this extraordinary linga that is not made out of black stone. A narrower shaft rises out of the peetha, with the representations of a spider at its bottom and two stumps on it that give the feeling of gaja rupa, the form of an elephant. Rising straight up to cover the Lord’s head is the serpent power, a five hooded snake. These sacred emblems are not directly seen, as they are covered by the jeweled starry crown that the Lord wears to protect us, the Navagraha Kavacha. The navagrapha, the nine planets who adorn Him, are represented by nine strips of sacred metal, with three stars in each row representing a star. The whole kavacha invoked in one’s worship, with mantra recited thrice, one for each star brings the sacred count to 27, blessing the devotee with lesser pain through their karmic lives.

The Lord represents the universe, the living emblem within which we live, he is breath that pulsates within this chamber, the only witness being the hanging lamp whose flame never dies, never stops a dance, sways as he breaths to indicate to the world that he IS, he lives, he resides here. As the great moment arrives, devotees stand is queues, waiting for those sacred few seconds where they witness a picture, not too easy to catch.

This is the divine abhishekam, the only chance where we can see the Lord in his form, where the Navagraha Kavacha is removed and placed alongside. In the dimly lit interior, with priests silently pouring sacred water over the Lord, who towers within the center of his chamber, this view is breathtaking. He stands on a stark square peetha, made of stone and rises in the center of a lit up interior. The water flows down his sides, with a million lights flickering on its shaft as it flows down, covering his divine being. The lamp dances on, as the cool air within brings a strange peace a strange fragrance to the approaching devotees. The air is still and yet in all the noise one can hear the divine sound of Panchakshara, Om Na Ma Shi Va Ya resounding within the walls. In tune is the damaru, the sound of creation as one imagines Nandikeshwara play the mridangam. In these divine sounds, is embedded my breath, a rhythm that slows down to imbibe the beauty of this place.

The mind is silent, the sacred Mrityunjaya rhythmically rambles on in my mind, followed by the Rudram that plays music in my mind as the sounds of creation get louder. The breath of the Lord, sends ripples through the air, pulsates with my being as I leave everything in the known world behind. This is life, this is reality, this is being in the presence of creation, that which never ends. This is the world of Lord Shiva, one of silent energy, one of real truth, one that transforms an ever noisy temple seeped in corruption into a divine chariot that floats through the air, occasionally nudged by the divine breath of the Lord within the chamber.

As the bhakta walks out, with the heart floating in this divine chariot, the world in the outer hall way personifies divinity, through all the jailed illusion. Shiva lingas adorn the precincts, redefining the glory of the lord. As the sun penetrates through a small window in the west wall, and bathes a silent linga seated on its pedestal, it’s the only form I can touch and perform namaskaram to. Holding the peetha with my hands and placing my head at his divine feet, in complete surrender to the Lord, I pray for enlightenment. This moment is pure, he is near and he is listening to the feeble voice that comes out from within. I wish I could have hugged him, and stayed there to just talk to him. I move on as I am controlled by Kala, by time. Each corner is divine, graced by Kalabhairava who stands handsome with his dog and trishul, with a bowl in his hand. Near him sit the Sapta Matrika, or Sapta Kannigai elegantly seated displaying a certain wilderness in their posture. In the south corner lies the divine spatica, crystal clear and shining. This is the divine pantheon of surrounding Lord Shiva and his divine consort. This is the sacred beauty of Kalahasti, this is the heavenly world on earth. We are so close and yet in our minds we are so far.

All I can think of is praying to the Lord to ward away my troubles!

Grahanaam aadhi radhithyo Loka Rakshana Karaka |
Vishama sthana sambhootham Peedam harathu may ravi ||


Please steal away my problem O Sun, the first of all the planets that adorn the Lord’s chest. You are the cause of protecting the world and you are the cause of trouble by the position you hold at the time of my birth.

This prana feels trouble but isn’t it the essence of life, trouble IS because I am born, trouble IS because I don’t accept, trouble IS because I desire more and more. Isn’t it unfortunate that I don’t desire the presence of the Lord in my conscious life as much as I desire something that doesn’t exist? Doesn’t this make me look really miserable?

I stand here, an ignorant fool who thinks I know how to live. I stand here a coward because I cannot face life. I stand here a human because I am limited and inadequate. I stand here in this birth because I am still imperfect. I stand here with all my sorrows because I am Apasmara.

25 comments:

JC said...

'I' posted the following comments in Shri Subramanian's blog (Malhar), which could be found applicable to the thought of evolution of earth-moon, fireball (Kalbhairava) to the pleasant earth (attached to the mysterious moon)...

"You have indicated evolution of temples - from open spaces to grand edifices. Maybe, one could note how it agrees with the Hindu belief of creation starting from nothing to reach balance between energy and matter in heavenly bodies..."

Maddy said...
"truly fascinating - and it is very interesting to follow the path taken through Jainism - Buddhism to the Hindu manifestations, idols & temples."

In reply to which 'I' commented briefly as follows.

Hi Maddy, Maybe one needs to reach 'human being' through the heavenly bodies (presently being dealt by 'astrophysicists' only) with the background knowledge of 'man as a model of the universe'/ 'an image of God', etc. conveyed by 'Hindu' Yogis who apparently have understood as an instrument (of formless God) using permutations and combinations of the 'essences of our solar system' that are in existence for billions of years already...

Vayu that is 'air', the most important element for life on earth, was realised as one of the panchbhootas of Bhootnath (Formless) Shiva...and Yogis therefore advised 'pranayam' or control of breath for maximum efficiency of humans as instruments (of God)...'Kalhasti' was perhaps indicated the hand of Time that is Kal, where Shiva is also called Mahakal the controller of time (and related events)...

Anonymous said...

Thank you. You bring back memories of the same sublime experience.

JC said...

The 'Hindu' philosophy however expects one to use tools, such as meditat6ion and other practices, to eventually reach zero thought at least by the time one is mature and free from domestic duties, although one hears of Prahlad and Dhruva etc. who achieved enlightenment at young age, perhaps conforming to the variety in 'Nature'...

Rwitoja Mukherjee said...

I beg to disagree that the so called "ignorant masses" of our country "lack spiritualism".I recently saw a maid in my apartment complex lose her job.The story of her life is a common one,a nonsupportive husband, four small kids and a life of underpaid drudgery.Needless to say, that in her case, every rupee counts.When I expressed my concern,she responded with equianimity that her rinanubandha(the exact word she used) with that particular house was over on that day.I wonder how many of our 'educated elite'will respond to loss of livlihood in that manner.She smiles,puts flowers in her hair everyday and tries her damndest to educate her kids.It is all very well to visit temples and so on but I would call this 'spirituality in action' and it is commonly found in our 'ignorant masses'if only we care to look for it.India is a special land and philosophy and spirituality can be found in the unlikeliest of places.

P.N. Subramanian said...

I would venture to say that visiting Kalahasti is an experience in itself,ignorance not withstanding. Thank you for a beautiful post.

JC said...

Maybe overall ignorance in humans could be attributed to Kaliyuga the beginning of evolutioln. Ancient 'Hindus' understood time to be moving backwards - from Satyuga to Kaliyuga (events being reviewed by Bhootnath Shiva the perfect formless being at all times in His mind's eye or the 'third eye' - who is related with time and space zero and therefore creation and destruction is within no time)...

Kavitha Kalyan said...

The term "Ignorant masses" might not have gone down very well with you Rwitoja, but its unfortunate that people do not go beyond a point in this field. Here are a few indications...

10 to 15 minutes of mind space is all they can offer if they get lucky in a day to the Gods.

Our Gods have been reduced to wish fulfilling trees, remembered only at the time of trouble and are expected to perform miracles

No one (from the many many people i have spoken to) seems to know or cares to be interested in any mythological tale beyond Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Ask any Indian today and I doubt you will find any who can go beyond 5 forms of lord shiva and their meaning. They might make it to 5 out out of the Dashavatara.

How many people have learned to understand that Soma is not liquor and Khajuraho scuptures were meant for a reason beyond sex. How many know that the mother Goddess was worshiped in the form of woman and not suppressed as in current society?

This is not theory as much as it is understanding spiritualism, and they want proof more than they want to spend time realizing the whole concept.

How many people have managed to move away from materialism calling it a poison in their lives??

The children of tomorrow are going to be taught only the prime epics but what about the rest of the works, scriptures and ancient literature that make fantastic reading, who is saving that? Who even knows it exists except researchers?

i am writing every week, hoping people will get the subtle points am trying to make, but i have only managed to sooth minds and not managed to make them act though i have given reason, logic and methodology in some of my posts.

you found one rare woman, but the larger mass are far from being her kind.

I beg to differ, the larger mass continues to be ignorant.

If am making a statement, its after realizing all this and trying to reason out with people who are educated (ha ha) and dont get the point.

Regards
Kavitha

Kavitha Kalyan said...

Last but not the least, and probably the most most important point...

How many have attempted to realize and practice the ancient philosophy of living which improves the quality of life than the standard of living, which gets one peace thought the trouble doesnt end, which makes one calm even in the middle of turmoil!!

Our ancient methodologies of life really work but is anyone out there following it in today's world? They need to be patient and not ask for instant solutions!

Thanks.

JC said...

Kavitha, Although there is a large variations apparent in 'Nature', 'scientists' find that its behaviour can be understood to a certain extent and one can draw general essence of the behaviours...however, they presently find it difficult to explain the variations in human behaviour.

One learns, however, that a human child normally has a good observation power, but a poor analytical power, whereas an adult although its analytical power increases with maturity, its observation power gets reduced...Still in the 'present' one fails to explain who made it possible for man to see dreams and how

Rwitoja Mukherjee said...

People have different perspectives and such discussions can be never ending and futile.Yet, I am making an attempt to express my view on spirituality.

Spirituality is a search or a seeking for the truth. It is an enquiry, both within and without. If we call it a journey or a path then every single being, in creation, is on this path. This is reflected in the relentless quest for that elusive entity called 'happiness' which is the motive for every single action performed by every being. It is sought in different ways, till, at the end of the path, this happiness is found within. Even the most 'Godless' person or the self-proclaimed atheist is on this path, as in his own way he enquires about the existence of God.

Every being, in this creation is unique and so his quest for truth is also unique to him. Also, beings are at different stages in their quest. As an illustration, I would cite a multistoried building. Though the surrounding landscape remains the same, the view from each floor is different. The person who is at a lower floor cannot imagine the view from a higher floor until he climbs up there. No amount of explaining will help him. He has to climb up and see for himself. None the less, the view from each floor is also true. So, as the spiritual seeker moves on, new levels of the same truth are revealed to him.

The teacher on this path is life itself, and the Guru Who is within each one of us. Our lives and the experiences therein, are perfectly designed for achieving spiritual growth. We taste the bitter, sweet fruits of our karma and move closer and closer to the divinity within us, till one day we merge with it. The process continues through many births, till it reaches its culmination.

Each religion has its own scriptures and epics. Hinduism is particularly rich in these. Undoubtedly, they are our invaluable heritage, contain great truths and need to be preserved. Their knowledge is very helpful along the path, but not absolutely essential for spiritual progress. There have been many greats like Kabir, Ravidas, Sri Ramakrishna, Sarada Devi, who were illiterate and had not learnt any scriptures at all. In fact, Sri Ramakrishna called granths (books), granthis (knots).In his opinion, too much scriptural knowledge becomes a hindrance as it results in egoism. Kabir reiterated this when he said-
Pothi Padh Padh Jag Mua, Pandit Bhayo Na Koye
Dhai Aakhar Prem Ke, Padhe so Pandit Hoye
(Mere bookish knowledge has taken the world nowhere. To be truly a man of knowledge, one must learn the language of love).
Sri Ramana Maharishi, one of the greatest saints India has produced, has said that he had no scriptural knowledge, had not even heard of Brahman or the Bhagavad-Gita when he had his spiritual enlightenment. One really does not need to know all the names of Shiva or Vishnu, to find the Nameless One in his heart.

Yes, we do see people wallowing in materialism, seeking happiness in material things, but in their own way, at their own pace, they are also moving towards the same truth and the ultimate happiness.

I do not see anything wrong when people think of God as a wishing tree. We relate to our personal God or Ishwara as the Lord, Father, Mother, Lover or the Friend and in times of need, distress or to fulfill desires, naturally, turn to Him. In Gita (chapter7,(16)), Sri Krishna speaks of four kinds of devotees and these are two of them. The very fact, that someone turns to God for fulfilling desires or in time of need signifies virtues accumulated in past lives. Slowly, as the devotee progresses, the nature of the desire also evolves till the highest desire, that of liberation from worldly life, arises within him. The difficulties in our lives arise, so that we turn to Him, seek deliverance and in the process get closer to Him. More difficulties, more the chances for spiritual growth.

There is a well known story in Hindu mythology, in which, the sage Narada is aghast and his ego shattered when Lord Vishnu tells him that a lowly farmer, who takes His Name only three times a day, is His favourite devotee. The time spent in remembering God is also not a criterion for spirituality.

No, Kavitha, the woman I spoke to is not a rarity. There are many more like her who battle the enormous odds of life with fortitude and stoicism. This inner strength can only come from the core of spirituality within. It is not difficult to understand why women are called embodiments of Shakti in our culture.

Your efforts to dispel the ignorance of the masses are commendable. Many great souls have attempted to do this in the history of mankind. I wish you well in your endeavors.

Kavitha Kalyan said...

Hi Rwitoja

You have made a point and I am in agreement with you. You have stated very well that learning scriptures leads to a boosted ego, I have seen it happen. Humility and devotion are mostly lost in such cases, I see it all the time. That doesnt mean that one should not read the scriptures... they should keep their ego out of it, they shouldnt own the scriptures.

Coming to the idea of the building, very beautifully narrated. My point is when a person on a higher floor tries to explain the experience of the view to the person at the lower floor, and faces a lack of interest... then they are forced to believe that the person in the lower floor doesnt even want to rise, and this is not a one of case, this is repeated every time. Its like they are told to keep their view to themselves. Hence the term ignorance. And sometimes... trust me it really hurts because the person in the lower floor doubts and asks for proof.

That this is present every where and the lady was not a one of case, yes i know where you are coming from. Thats probably why Hinduism has not died yet and is still thriving in these times.

Maybe am being misunderstood, and maybe I would appreciate if you would revisit my previous comment, because you and i have the same thought and we just expressed it differently.

And do i think the masses are ignorant (levels of ignorance), with your cited example of the building... i do. Being ignorant - even i am... am not any greater and i have explicitly mentioned it in my post. But there is a difference, I know the problem and I know the solution. I am hoping to help the others see it. I know it works, and if they want to try they should give it a shot.

Do they want to try...i dont know.
Do they want to solve the problem... i dont know.

Regards
Kavitha

JC said...

Kavitha, There is a guru as well as a student in each individual. One learns about existence of the various fields of activity that attract human attention till one apparently spends time on earth in a particular form at the given period of time. And as the subjects are infinite, any one particdular individual apparently spends major part of one's life specialising in some particular field only...and perhaps gets a feeling of some kind of achievement that might lead to 'ego', or a sort of 'blindness' due to apparent heirarchy (reflected in the example of eight-storied (as 'I' had also cited earlier elsewhere)/ multi storied building occupants - due necessarily to use of material walls and a few windows only that allow a limited view of the exterior). However, the wise ancients considered these as providing various aspects considered in the past by the Supreme Being who alone knows the Absolute Truth - that is existence of one and only being and all material forms as His Own Images. Thus the subject we discuss is similar to the index finger c`alling little finger as inferior, or my right hand calling my left hand as inferior...and so on...The wise ancients, as images close to Him, convey all physical forms as instruments of God serving His purpose, just as we have machines/ instruments serving different purposes according to the need felt at different times...

JC said...

'I' have earlier also given the example of my own exclusive photo album that contains my images since my birth chronologically. Except for some photographs that belong to my early childhood that 'I' sometimes feel could very well be those of some other children 'I' see elsewhere... 'I' am aware that its 'me' in all the photos, although 'I' appear different in each to a great extent due to passage of time
in this ever changing dynamic world...Therefore, 'I' have no problem accepting the possibility of all physical forms to in fact rep[resent the same unique unending being...

Life is symbolic, and Krishna is believed to be mischievous, therefore 'I' believe letter 'V' - that stands for 'Victory', 'Victoria', 'Valentine' etc - to be represented by one's middle and index fingers as a practice continued ritually for Victory at least...to represent also Index finger, standing for Guru (spiritual) the Peetamber Krishna and the middle one Neelamber Krishna. Whereas the same also respectively stand for Parvati (Moon) and the blue throated 'Neelkantha Mahadev' (or even Kartikeya who has (blue) peacock as his vehicle and is called somskandha the right hand of Moon, or the elder son of Parvati who is considered as responsible for material world (associated with planet Venus that has a poisonous atmosphere)...and so on...

JC said...

The concept of evolution expressed through 'dashavatar', or ten incarnations of Vishnu, starting from Fish ('magarmachha' that is crocodile, or 'graha', which also means 'planet', as the most evolved life in water) is mischievously convyed to a lesser degree by 'Charles Darwin' and is more popular in Kaliyuga, ie., the 'present', that is being reviewed by the majority through lesser evolved physical senses as those naturally were when 'churning' had just started...But, it is possible for a few ('rare personalities') to see, 'with detached view-point', the whole 'pyramid' from the base (where 'we' are in the present) and the peak also where the most evolved Shiva is (just as we see the moon over the head of earth!

JC said...

'I' might add here that 'I' had earlier also indicated how god could be realised within different physical forms at the same time (as realised by Yogis) by citing the example of one getting to see his various different looking reflections in numbers of 'magical mirrors' at the same instant...

Rwitoja Mukherjee said...

villiomoHello Joshi uncle,
Your example aboout the hands and fingers was very good.We are all parts of the same whole and so there is no one inferior or superior.Also,regarding the human body, it is amazing how much and how fast it changes.We think of ourselves as the body and the body is everchanging.I read somewhere that every seven years we have a new body as all the cells are replaced by new ones.Joshi uncle, could you please elaborate on Pitambar Krishna and Nilambar Krishna? What is the difference between the two?

JC said...

Hello Rwitoja, The seeker of 'Truth' needs to 'read between lines' the 'Hindu' mythological stories. Just as we are aware that the stories of 'Panchtantra' are related with 'Political Administration' - and not just for entertainment - one perhaps needs to tune himself to read about evolution of unique energy (called Nadbindu, or Vishnu/ Shiva, understood as opposite of 'Visha' and thus indicating 'immortality' of energy as we know it today also from 'scientists' belonging to the 'West' - with Krishna as Vishnu's incarnation) to nearly immortal physical forms, called 'grahas', ie., members of our solar system, whose essences believably go into the formation of human structure also - the energy contained within, or soul, believably undergoing eternal cycle of birth and rebirth...

Energy that controls the direction 'east' is represented through the human form of Kali worshipped in Bengal in East India (meaning black, the same as Krishna) that is depicted as having 'red' tongue (indicating graphically a volcano under eruption, whose model is called 'anar' a diwali cracker, being in the shape of the fruit, pomegranate, which could thus be imagined as a model of a volcano. And diwali is called Kallipuja in Bengal)...in short the red colour represents the lowest level of energy that is contained within the bowels of earth as the magma, which helps enrich the top soil of earth (Shiva's 'angbhasma')that helps support and sustain plant life on earth eternally...

Kartikeya, 'the general of devtas' army', is indicative of his relation with hard rocks and is related with 'blue', like the 'sky' during the day, indirectly through his vehicle - the Peacock...

On the other hand, 'Krishna' (the colour of the sky during the night and also the infinite void of the universe, and has golden yellow coloured moon as its ruler - is called 'Peetamber' or the one who wears yellow garments) as 'Neelamber' or the one who wears blue garments, and is also depicted having a peacock feather in his crown, during the day is ruled by the sun (having white sunlight) that rules the 'south' while North is ruled by Moon (peetamber Krishna)...

'I' might sound a little bit incoherent, however 'I' have discussed the above also in some other comemnts earlier also...and would clarify any other doubts if there are any.

Best wishes.

In

JC said...

Rwitoja, One can perhaps note mischievous nature of 'Krishna' who claims to be within each form and responsible for 'Maya' that is illusion. Primarily He is understood as the model of the super graviity 'Black Hole' (light of thousand suns) at the centre of our galaxy of innumerable stars and planets etc., responsible for making those go around it (is depicted in stories as a powerful being, 'sudershanchakradhari' as well as a milkman 'who churns cream from milk' and, as a lovable character of all the cowboys and milkmaids of Brindavan, is depicted dancing with them as the central character - and sound energy as the source of creation he is indicated playing the flute (having holes on its body, which a Yogi could read as the 'chakras' believed to exist within each human form at different levels ranging from the 'mooladhar' to 'sahasrar' which respectively have essences of Mars and Moon...)

The seven colours that get seen in Indra-dhanush (Rama-dhanu for a Bengali) indicate how the stories use different names given to models of Sun (that is responsible for the water-cycle) at different times...

JC said...

'I' should have added that while red flame indicates low level of energy, it is yellow that indicates greater energy level, while the next ones are blue and the gretest energy level is displayed by white flame...However, within human form white is associated with sun and located at solar plexus. Blue is indicated associated with Venus and its essence located at the throat, which is also associated with 'satan' (in bible - depicted by 'Adam's apple) and in Hindu mythology with Shukra as associated with 'rakshashas' (literally trnslated as demon). Whereas the essence of Moon believably is housed in the head, the heighest pedestal thus provided to it (indicating Parvati the consort of Gangadhar Shiva as model of moon and Shiva as that of earth)...

JC said...

'Hari' is also called Vishnu (Nadbindu) and 'Hara' is another name of Shiva (Gangadhara and Chandraashekhara indicating it to be our Earth), while it is also said that Hari is Vishnu and Vishnu is Hari... they are also believed to be the virat' or enlarged and supreme forms of 'Krishna' who is responsible for 'churning of the milky ocean' that resulted at the end of the 4th stage immortality to 'devtas' or 'planets', by 'mohini form of Vishnu' (through moonlight or somrus distributing 'amrit' at the end of the 'churning')...starting from 'halahal' or deadly poison (pollution as it has gradually increased as time moves from Satyuga to Kaliyuga)...

YOSEE said...

Kavitha,your blog on Kalahasti brought memories of my visit to that hallowed shrine. That moment of indescribable joy as i stood before the sanctum, seeing not the main lingam, but that lamp. Flickering in the surrounding stillness of the sanctum. Siva, parabrahman, as Vayu animating the flame. The same vayu i was enveloped in, and the whole world. There was a feeling of oneness. All miseries, doubts, self recriminations dropped off. It was just bliss. Contentment.Namastey Vayoh; Tvam eva pratyaksha Brahmasi.And i, a cell of the whole.How precious ! "Jaragandi" said the Guard. Yes, move away .from sadness,self doubt. What Is,is. And His. In fact,Him. Night, as day, is His and Him. Light, as Darkness is His and Him. Knowledge and Ignorance are His and Him. That which sprang out of him will be absorbed within him.Some sooner.Some later.But eventually, all. I resigned then and there, as the chief executive of my own life and the angst ridden director of others'.And moved on.i stopped searching,stopped guiding. At Kalahasthi, where the Snake, the Elephant and The Spider, each believed his own mode of worship to be the best and destroyed each other,i found liberation. And Joy. He's with me.with all. Always. Sameerakara maam pahi rajamouley.

Kavitha Kalyan said...

Wow Yosee! Very well written. There is pain and there is devotion, there is silence and there is desire... in your thoughts to see the Lord and probably ask - why?

JC said...

"Shivoham! Tat twam asi." That is I am Shiva and so you too are! Perhaps the age old saying of the 'wise' explains best the 'Truth'. 'I' look at the lamp's or diva's) flame and find it containing both blue and Yellow colours and can see in it both Parvati and Shiva as one...dancing, or flickering, thanks to the (life giving) 'air'...'Krishna' says (in the Gita) that He likes those devotees the best who surrender in Him, but He gives stress on the need to gather overall knowledge (for lack of knowledge is cited as the cause of all wrong doings)...and He promises that He would Himself lead His devotee to Supreme Knowledge...

workhard said...

Tirupath is is everfamous...

Haiku poetry

Pune Travel said...

I heard about it a lot, its very famous & Rich God. We are planning to go to Tirupati this year. Nice post.

Thanks,
Jyotika