Mano laya with Lord Shiva

The nature of classical music brings out the emotions within, in a controlled self-contained way where the energy within is channelized into rhythm with slow delivery. The mind can loose itself into the notes as they spill forth, and appreciation and enjoyment of the forthcoming notes brings out the emotion in the highest form.

It’s witnessed in the difference between Ananda Tandava and Rudra Tandava in Bharata shastra.

Every emotion is a display of what the human being is capable of, and if surrendered, even the heaviest emotion can be enjoyable.

Ananda Tandava is slow, a hand holding beat that dictates the next move. The body flows slowly, the emotions finding their way through mudra. It’s like speech with the Lord Himself. The Lord dances alongside, His eyes locked in mine as we perform together in the stage of life.

As the note rises He leads, inviting me to display the next emotion. The back moves, swaying with the note, the echoing rhythm around the pillared hall, the chalangai(ghunguru) being the only connect to this realm. All feet locked within the notes, the rhythm rolls on. Its a strange experience when the emotions find ways to explode through silent moves, so self contained that their potency needs to be experienced and not understood.

A quiet world, where the eyes meet, the feet move together and the fingers bloom into mudra, each abhinaya a word in silence falling out. Such is the potency of classical music and dance, understood by few, experienced in silence, each experience a concentrate within the self brought out, felt, cherished, remembered.

Rudra Tandava, a little faster in excitement adds more flavour to the moves. The excitement within, a completely different emotion jumps forth uncontrolled. The flow of the emotion much faster this time, needs to be directed with more care for the emotions move faster than the body itself. Thats when the Lord leads the way, and I follow, unaware that every step is repeated with the same underlying mano layam(chemistry).

It’s a challenge to keep up, to walk through the minefield of sprouting emotions each in a different direction as he shows me the abhinaya to dance through in rhythm. The result is a vibrant move of the body, a sway so strong, that my incapable self manages to handle. The eyes speak in excitement, the expression reflecting on the face, as my hand slice through the air following the Lord's every step. The feet rise and fly into the air as the chalangai(ghunguru) clap to the wild swing.

Its just a world of pure emotion, a vibration in the mind, ripples cutting through the air as two bodies rhythmically move, in the light of the dancing crescent moon among the jatas that form silent black waves enveloping both into complete mano laya.

Complete emotion experienced!!

Awakening the Nadi Gantham at the Nabhi Kamalam.

The realm of Vishnu and Brahma on Ananthasayanam:

Life as we see it is a time period we exist in current consciousness and depart without knowledge of the next world. Perfect life is that which gives us a far more conscious mind, which knows exactly what happens during life and during death.
What is that perfect life? The great Chola architects have tried to depict this very concept at the temple of Chidambaram, which hosts Nataraja in Ananda Tandava.
The temple itself is a breathing reality of human life.

Our body is not just about eating, breathing and being active. There are 72000 nadis unheard of which are the integral support system of our body embedded well within our nerves system. Once inactive, life ceases to exist – we are called dead. Waking these nadis up is the stage of reaching Nadi Gantham, a higher level of purification of the body, where the 72000 dormant nadis get active transforming a person’s life into happiness, success and peace at the same time.

Where does all this stem from? Its peculiar that one of the most important Gods in the Trinity is hardly heard of these days. Brahma, the main God behind our lives assigns the bija mantra that we shall live with, the type of life we shall lead and the kind of death we would be subjected to. The awakening of the Nadi Gantham is a long process, which is attained by severe penance or can be attained sooner depending on “Purva punya stanam” meaning your deeds in your last birth that grant you the opportunity in this birth.

What happens during the first few months of birth?
The life support of the umbilical chord is cut off once the child is born. This is carefully covered to keep out any infection. During this time the child knows nothing about the world it lives in. If the soft bone of the skull closes sooner than expected at the region of the Sahasraha chakra, it means the child is not going to live long. For the next 90 days the operating system is head quartered at the Nabhi Kamalam, or the navel area. This is when the child suddenly starts to cry due to acute pain in the stomach, since it begins to swell up. After this the Nabhi Kamalam turns active, the 72000 nadis begin to function, the skull closes slowly, the bija mantra gets formed (Brahma’s talai ezhutu) and the child wakes up to its known world and recognizes Ma. During this time the only external supply is mother’s milk. These are the crucial days that decide whether the child is going to survive, and whether the child is going to do well in its spiritual life or not.

What happens during death?
Death comes in three ways. Kapala moksha is when the life energy or prana leaves the body through the small crack in the Sahasraha chakra in the head. This is what is called salvation. Its happens to select few who do not have rebirth and are lucky enough to get assisted during the moments of death. During this time the only intake is milk and tulsi water.
Most people go through death where the prana leaves the body through the Nabhi Kamalam. The navel region is that part which is the entry as well as the exit point for all who live and die in this life. The Nabhi Kamalam works as the exit door for the soul leaving the body.
The worst form of death happens to those who have cheated others, have been corrupt and have sinned through their lives. This form of death is painful to say the least. In this case, the prana leaves the body through the genitals, through the Yoni for women and through the male organ for men. This can be a saving grace if the person stays unconscious during the moment of death. But should he/she be conscious it’s the experience of suffering of the worst kind. This causes excess urination and gasping for breath at the same time, can be a deadly experience while exiting the world.

Nabhi Kamalam: Where Brahma rises out of Vishnu's navel
Of greater interest to us is the concept of the Nabhi Kamalam and its connection with our lives today. The Nabhi Kamalam is the zone that activates the Nadi Gantham or nerve centers of the body. This has been beautifully depicted in mythology where Brahma the Creator is seen seated on a lotus that rises out of Lord Vishnu's navel, who lies down on Ananthasayanam in the cosmic ocean. Truly a beautiful depiction of a concept so close to us, of something so real, and of which we are least aware of!

In conscious living the pranavom mantra OM is brought out from the “pit of the stomach” or the Nabhi Kamalam as we breathe it out as OOOMMM, the very basic form of life energy, which we experience in a glimpse through our lives. Brahma is not just a Creator, he is our life giver, he decides our future, he decides fate, and he gives life for us to live it.

Hinduism is a "science" of a higher kind, its not fiction!

A spider's way to salvation

It was a calm morning while Srinivasan sat down to offer his puja to Lord Shiva. Having organized every thing for a morning abhishekam, he lit the lamps and settled down to a routine rhythm of mantras that had been assigned for the worship.

In a little copper cup by his side he kept a dwi-mukhi rudraksha, submerged in water as instructed. The hymns began in rhythmic motion, one rhythm following another in gentle flow repeating each verse at least 18 times. It was during this moment that Srinivasan happened to notice the copper cup.

A small black spider had fallen in and stayed still sinking into the water, with absolutely no attempt to swim to safety. He wondered where it had come from. He hastily picked up the spoon from the "panchapaatra udrini"(a traditional container with a spoon that carries water, found in every household.) and helped the spider to dry ground.

Srinivasan, watched the spider, crawl around with trouble, trying to free a few of its legs from the heavy drops of water that covered its abdomen. He stared back at the Linga, with calm, smiling to himself that he had helped the creature to safety. Srinivasan’s mind went places as he recited the Rudram, to all the shrines of Lord Shiva he had visited, to all the Garbha Grihas he had stood in front of, watching the Lord in all His finery and the intoxicating ambience of those silent rocky interiors that had withstood time.

He stared back at the Spatika linga after he bathed it in abhishekam. It glowed from within the chamber of the puja room. Its glow was strange, brighter light than what he had otherwise seen. Was it the light refracting differently or was it something else? He wondered as he carried on the hymns, loosing himself yet again. Srinivasan moved the taambaalam(a brass plate) to the side carefully so as not to spill the water that had bathed the Linga. It was now holy, with mantra concentrate, every word, every breath captured in every drop of water that had fallen on the Lingam. Potent water, of which he had taken three sips, a blessing from the Gods, a portion of life for the plants when he finally poured it into their roots.

There was silence in the room yet again and Srinivasan bowed down, the final namaskaram(bow in adoration) as he prayed for peace of mind and turned to clear the place. The taambaalam contained a mirror of water, a deathbed to some and life giver to others. In the water floated the spider, now lifeless. It lay upside down, its life taken by the heavy words of worship as it departed from what we call the realm of the living. Srinivasan stared speechless, thinking hard. The spider had always wanted to die, it had looked for water, water that was potent with the power of the Lord Himself and finally guided itself to its final destination.

Srinivasan found it very strange, that the spider seemed to know what lay within the taambaalam, for its walls were high enough to contain a volume of water, that was more a sheet of death that enveloped its very life within its surface. Srinivasan was overwhelmed. While his plants grew exceptionally wilder, the power of the mantra being visible in every pore of their leaves, making them look ever so fresh, the same life giving water was now the path to salvation for a small spider that had insisted to end its life within it.

Srinivasan sat back, a tear rolling down his eyes, as he stared at the lifeless spider float in the water. He had no idea how spiders end their lives, but this one looked very strange. Srinivasan picked up the spider from the water, went to the plants, dug into the mud and buried it. He poured the water into every plant reciting the mantra praying this time, not for himself but for the spider that had shown him that there is a mind in every creature, big and small and that the path to salvation opens up in strange ways.

A moment with Lord Shiva within

A moment of stillness
All time stops,
the world freezes
I take a single breath
A fresh breath of life
As I look around me
People lost in their worlds
Of suffering, expectation and misery
Walk aimlessly through their lives

It’s a pause in time
A moment of awakening
When all else just sleeps
An enveloping calm
A cocoon of peace
As I walk through this forest of people
Careful not to disturb

To each his own
Clinging to anything
Familiar worlds
An escape from all fears
Of darkness, of loneliness, of lull
A fear so thick
Like a blanket it clouds
Their sense of reason to live free

An aimless life
Of meticulous effort
An endless desire to please
All those around
To suffer the pain of bondage
Seeking all around
A sense of approval
A sense of acceptance
Of their pathetic selves.

Oh wake up fair people
The world is a great place to be
If love be thy first mantra to see
To show all around
Nothing changes but the self
The world at large fails to see
The truth in these words
The silent path to peace

This moment of pause
My silent world beyond
all the madness around me
A world free from all
A world where the Gods reside
The heavens thrown open
The celestial dancers perform
A hall of glory and knowledge
A hall within me

A hall so bright with knowledge
A land so pure with the truth
A complete life of immortality
A complete world of potency
Where every moment is
A shining pearl of experience.

Life in my body,
fresh air in my breath
A shine to my skin
A twinkle in my eye
An ever-lasting smile
Sweetness grows in my heart
As nectar of love flows forth
Cleansing away all my misery

A body so pure, a mind so clean
A heart so free, for every one to see
Words in poetic motion flow
Give rhythm to my feet
The lord dances in
A world of pure energy
Such is the beauty within
Is it so tough to see?

A single moment of pause
A whole new world revealed
A moment of experience
To know and to believe.
While the darkness sets in
The light shines within me
Where all roads end
I am the path to Myself
Where all misery halts
I am the freedom within

The lord shines within me
The Lord speaks to me
The Lord dances in my heart
The Lord lives for all to see
That silent potency I finally touched
So unknowingly so carelessly
I feel so light and warm
I feel I have set myself free.


Photograph: Ekamukhalinga, Nepal.

A magical dance with Chidambaram Nataraja

The temple courtyard
my floor
The pillared halls
echo the rhythm
The calling, a beat
the mridangam
resounding into the air
The grand theater of Chidambaram
My dancing hall in gold.

The nature of dance
pure emotion
The art of Bharata
The expression in abhinaya
A language unknown
yet felt within
The lord awaits in silence
All i see are the birds
The sky, nothingness
pure space
Chidambaram Nataraja

I know no dance
no such expression
yet the body moves
in every action
every thought
every mudra
a natural so unborn
that i do not know
what is right from wrong
I just flow

The world around
appreciates the aesthetics
A high form of expression
felt but not understood
touched but not analysed
witnessed but not experienced
A natural am I
that even i do not know

The performer I am
in the dance of life
overflowing from within
unknown to myself
for I do not see
that which I emote
I just perform
the dance of life!

A call to the Lord
to dance with me
the twist in the hand
the wish fulfilled
He descends to the floor
for me to see
in silent space
the air moves
the vigor around
the dust shaken
the leaves fly
the flames dance
the mridangam in rhythm
gives the beat
the sound reverberates
the Lord touches the floor
the earth shakes

Together we move
Together the expression
Together the power of dance
Together the emotion
Together the abhinaya
Complete mano laya
Complete conciusness
The world stops
the air freezes
time halts
nothing moves
just two forms
displaying the beauty
of life within.

The meaning of Chidambaram

Chi- refers to the purifying of the consciousness,
dam – the rhythm of the Bharata Shastra, the basis of which is given by Patanjali here at this sthala
ba – the lifting of the leg in the rhythm of Tandava Nataraja in all 8 directions of the Ashtadikapalas,
ram – the Na Ma Shi Va Ya Panchakshara mantra as taught by Lord Shiva to the Sanahadimunivargal, the desciples of Dakshinamurthy Shiva.

The killing of Mahishasura on Vijayadasami.

We are all aware of the Great War where the demon King of Mahisha, Mahishasura was slain by the Goddess Durga. These days of war had a lot more going into it than just one complete slash of the buffalo demon’s head.
It is interesting to notice that two aspects of the female energy are worshipped during this time of 9 days. On one end its the fiercest form of the Goddess coming forth to slay one of the worst enemies of mankind and devas while on the other end she is worshipped as a coy little girl, yet to be married.

But lets get to the story of Mahishasura first. Kambasuran who later got the title of Mahishasura ruled the kingdom of Mahisha. After having performed tapasya, he asked Brahma for a boon which was granted. This rendered him almost immortal for no man could kill him. He would die only in the hands of a woman, one who had equal power as him. With this confidence, he plundered the common people off their wealth and disturbed the rhishis when they did their puja and constantly troubled the devas. This was done with the help of his sons Sumbhan and Nisumbhan and his brother Durgamanasura.

The first to die in the Great War is Durgamanasura who is slain by the Goddess on the first day of the war, in the form of Mahalakshmi. Durga takes on the forms of Nava Durga during the next 8 days to slay the buffalo demon.
During this time she takes the form of:

Vana durga (The goddess of the forests),
Chulighai Durga (Consort of Tripurantaka Shiva),
Jatavetaka Durga(she calms the fiery side(ughra) of Murugan when he was just born),
Jwala durga (she defeats another asura called Pandasura),
Shanti Durga (she calms Shiva when he is insulted by Daksha who performs the yajna without inviting him)
Sabari Durga (she advices Arjuna to surrender to Lord Shiva the hunter, in the story of Kiratarjuniya, and finally wins him the Pashupatastra in the Mahabharata)
Deepa Durga (she signifies the flame that is worshipped by all yogis when their kundalini fails to rise)
Asuri Durga (she brings out the Amrit from the churning ocean and gives it to Vishnu in the form of Mohini.)
Lavana Durga (She helps Rama get the astra that will kill Lavana, a general in the army of Ravana. The astra is an arrow with has a trishul at the end of it.)













During the time of Navaratri, Durga is worshipped to kill all evil, Lakshmi gives wealth to all the poor people Mahishasura had plundered and Saraswati gives knowledge to all so that they can start their lives again. The Goddess fought the battle during the day and went into tapasya during the night. Its during this time she receives the Shankha and chakra from Vishnu, the trishul from Shiva, The Vel(spear) from Murugan, and the sword and arrow from Chamunda. Its finally of Vijaya Dasami day that Durga finally slays Mahishasura and his two sons and vanquishes the asura army.

Markhandeya Rishi adds more to the 9 days of Navaratri. He directs women to worship the Goddess in various forms each day.

On day 1: as a 2-year-old child the Goddess is worshipped in the form of Kumari.
On day 2: as a 3-year-old child the Goddess is worshipped in the form of Thrimurti.
On day 3: as a 4-year-old child the Goddess is worshipped in the form of Kalyani.
On day 4: as a 5-year-old child the Goddess is worshipped in the form of Rohini.
On day 5: as a 6-year-old child the Goddess is worshipped in the form of Kaligha.
On day 6: as a 7-year-old child the Goddess is worshipped in the form of Chandika.
On day 7: as a 8-year-old child the Goddess is worshipped in the form of Sambhavi.
On day 8: as a 9-year-old child the Goddess is worshipped in the form of Durga devi.
On day 9: as a 10-year-old child the Goddess is worshipped in the form of Subhadra.

This is called Kanya Puja, which ensures that young girls will get married into good families. With this we come to the end of Navaratri celebrations.

Shakti worship during Navaratri

Navaratri is attributed to 9 days when Shakti is worshipped in all her forms. The three primary forms of Shakti worshipped are Durga, Saraswati and Lakshmi. Durga renders courage while Saraswati gives knowledge and education and Lakshmi brings home wealth and prosperity.

During the first three days, three forms of Durga are worshipped respectively. They are Maheshwari, Gaumaari, and Varahi who are Durga swarupinis. On the next three days Lakshmi Swarupinis are worshipped and they are Mahalakshmi, Vaishnavi and Indrani respectively. On the last three days three forms of Saraswati are worshipped and they are Brahmi, Narasimhi and Chamundi respectively.

The origin of Navaratri came about when Adi Shankaracharya gave Upadesham to the people at two primary locations during the installation of the Sri Chakra. He delivered his Upadesham at Srisailam(Andhra Pradesh) and Koolurmugambika(Karnataka). He directed the women folk to worship the Goddess and seek her blessings for wealth, prosperity and long life for their husbands and overall hapiness in the family.

Shakti is worshipped through puja, music, rangolis as well as through daanam all of which are done at the same time.

Shakti worship in Puja:

Navaratri is the time when the great Rishis performed puja through the medium of fire. This is known as Sri Mangala Chandi Maha Chandi Homam(Havan). Markandeya Rishi gives references of 108 forms of Shakti from the Devi Bhagavata in 700 mantras
spread across 13 chapters. During the worship through fire, banyan sticks and ghee offerings are made along with the offering of a saree into the flames of the yagna. Mantras sung during this Homam offer worship to SriMahakali, SriMahalakshmi,
SriShankari, SriJayadurga, SriMahasaraswati, SriPadmavati, SriRajamathangi, SriBhavani, SriAarthaambika, SriKameshwari, SriBhuvaneshwari, SriAgnidurga and SriShivadharika Parameshwari who is another form of Ardhanaarishwara. During the worship, the Goddess reveals each of these forms during the time of Navaratri.

While Rishis perform through the medium of fire, women at home perform the same puja through the medium of water. Water, considered as the essence of the Goddess Herself is taken in a brass Kalasham(pot) on which sandalwood paste is applied. Turmeric powder and Kumkum are smeared on the sides of the Kalasham. The mouth of the pot is covered with mango leaves held in place by a coconut. The Kalasham is covered with a red cloth and this whole arrangement is placed over raw rice.

The arrangement of dolls on steps follows this where all the Gods and Devas are arranged at home. This is called Gollu puja in the south of India.
The significance of keeping Gollu at home is to teach the yourger generation of children the tradition of worship of the Goddess through a medium best understood by them. Oil lamps are lit for all the Gods and this ensures that the oncoming
generations of the family do not move away from the spiritual path or tradition.

Shakti worship in music:

Carnatic music makes references to the 108 forms of the Goddess through songs composed in her praise. These songs are sung during this period in 9 ragas namely Todi, Kalyani, Kambodi, Bhairavi, Banduvarali, Neelambari, Bhilahari, Punnahavarali and Vasanta Ragas.

Shakti worship through rangoli:

9 types of rangoli are made at home for each day.
Day 1: Rangoli is made with dots
Day 2: Rangoli is made with squares
Day 3: Rangoli is made with flowers (lotus, rose etc)
Day 4: Rangoli is made with steps (like gollu puja)
Day 5: Rangoli is made with birds
Day 6: Rangoli is made with one of the names of Shakti
Day 7: Rangoli is made with Vittarani (designs from the palm of the Goddess's hands, like shanka, flowers etc)
Day 8: Rangoli patterns with the trishul (trident) she holds in her hand
Day 9: Rangoli is made with Hridaya Kamalam (Lotus of her heart)

Shakti worship through daanam:

Married women( sumangalis) are invited home during this period and offerings of gingerli oil, turmeric powder, kumkum, rose water, sandalwood powder, cosmetics oils, nalangu manjal (a red paste made of kumkum and turmeric and applied to the hands and feet), ground mehandi and flowers are made.

This completes the worship of Shakti during the 9 auspitious days of Navaratri.

Bija mantras and life's experiences

"Mere kismat mein likha hai" or "My talai ezhutu"

It is an expression in Hindi as well as in Tamil, which reflects those moments of suffering in our lives when we blame "that which fate has written for us and therefore we have to suffer it."

Its a simple line that is very expressive, but we seem to have lost the origins of how this phrase even came about. The literal translation of this term is "that which is written within my head" is not entirely figurative.

It is believed that like the Gods, we as mortal human beings are assigned "Bija mantras" or seed mantras, which are single syllable words that define our entire personality and the lives we lead (Eg: The bija mantra for the Mother Goddess Bhuvaneshwari is Hrim). This makes the Bija mantra the fundamental expression of all that exists at all levels, be it Gods humans or demi Gods.

Brahma, the Lord of creation before we take on the next birth, decides this potent little word written in Grantham. This appears as an inscription engraved within the head, at the zone of the Sahasraha chakra, and it stays with us thereafter its character changing subsequently with every karma we do, good or bad. It enhances its potency with every additional step we take in the direction of spiritualism be it in the form of puja or bhajan sung with bhakti (devotion). This is probably why they say "be good, do good".

This Bija mantra is an outcome of our past karmas and punyams (good deeds) in our previous births. This Bija mantra decides whether we are subjected to rebirth, and the treatment we will receive at Yamaloka and the next birth characteristics decided at Brahmaloka. So life doesn't seem to end on this planet or in this life alone.

This bija mantra has a character that changes with our nature as we mature as individuals. This can be altered if we perform Parigarams (special pujas) at few select temples to render us better living at least for this life. The parigaram needs to be performed to Lord Kalabhairava, a form of Shiva, who is the lord of time controlling all the planets, and is the deciding factor of our horoscope. Apart from Him chandikeshwara who gives spiritual knowledge and uplifts us should also be worshipped.

The potency of Chandikeshwara is defined in the following temples, which are designed specifically for this purpose. For this, one needs to visit an old Shiva temple at one of these places; Thiruvaiyaru, Srivanjiyam, or at the village of Sembian Mahadevi called Anthakudi, near Nagapattinam. The temple at Anthakudi is the most potent of them all.

What is it about the Shiva temple at Anthakudi that makes it so important? It is believed that the area between the Mother Goddess shrine and that of Chandikeshwara in this temple is very potent and still holds very strong vibrations. Hence the value of the worship is enhanced here and the result thereafter is far more fruitful.

And how do we get there? Finding the way to this temple is not half as simple. It requires enough devotion and vigor to want to locate this temple and perform the parigaram there. So finding these temples is our "talai ezhutu"!

A reflection on Lord Shiva

A gesture simple
A face so divine
A form so glorious
A world so new
A hand so firm
A blessing so true
Fear not, The Lord is here
Oh Lord I surrender to Abhaya

A smile enrapturing
Eyes so powerful
A face so handsome
Yet a step so sure
You kill my ego
You kill my ignorance
You reveal the truth
O Lord, crush Apasmara

Hair so wild,
a knot so tight
These wavy locks
Bind the river Goddess herself
A gentle nudge with her feet
Loose they fly,
Releasing her to freedom
She flows down to earth
O Lord, Gangadhara

A chill in the night
Calmness to thy fiery self
Eyes closed in peace
Eyes closed in dhyanam
Just revealed
By a tossing moon
Crescent light glows forth
O Lord, Chandrashekara

A dance so wild
The beat in my heart
The rhythm of the universe
At your feet
Pulsating in every breath
To thy steps, I reveal
My self completely
O Tandava Nataraja, pure beauty within.

The unknown side of Hinduism

Hinduism is a whirlpool of knowledge, that which cannot be understood at first glance. To be a Hindu is not just about being gifted, but it’s an experience we need to live out in accordance with the Shastras.

Walking through a temple might be an overwhelming experience, where we would believe the superior powers are embedded within the deity. Sure enough, but how did this power get there? How did the idol get a life and how are we sharing this power? Or rather...what is this power that we define as "the ultimate truth"?

The power of the stone is not generate within the stone itself but is generated through the mystical diagram that defines the nature of the deity enclosed within the shrine. Various "bija mantras" attributed to the deity are embedded within this mystical diagram. For now this is just a copper/gold plate that carries the lines that define the true nature of the deity.

The real play starts at the dwajastambha, the main pillar in front of the temple. The fire of life is ignited along a darbha grass rope that connects the main dwajastambha to the shrine within the sanctum. The dwajastambha itself is a complex flag post, which contains designs all of which are attributed of the enclosed deity. Fire and ghee ignite the life of the mystical diagram placed within the sanctum followed by a series of hymns that are sung rhythmically along the cardinal directions within the shrine chamber. The mystical diagram comes alive when the fire with the burning ghee falls on its metal surface.

After this ritual the deity is placed over the metal plate and sealed to the floor using a mixture known as "ashtabandhanam". The idol, made of a specific black stone is the carrier of this energy. This energy is maintained and enhanced by constant worship. Worship includes the bathing of the idol with water, milk, sandal wood, fruit mix, honey, oil, ghee and the like. Food is offered in the form of incense, flowers, fruit and rice to the deity.

The inner power of the idol is maintained by constant "pradakshinam" or circumambulation around the main shrine chamber and various prakaras. Only oil lamps should light the interior chamber and electricity is strictly prohibited. Flower garlands should be strung with banana fiber and not thread. Every thing that is offered to the deity is in its purest form. Hence the power of the deity is maintained.

What is the real nature of this "power"?
The nature of this power is strangely electrical, meaning it can produce anything from a mild shock near your elbow to making you shiver if you cannot cope with it.
The point is, we need to be ready to receive this power and for that the body and mind need to be prepared. Hence the various philosophies of detachment and zero desire so that we can concentrate on the Self instead of getting distracted by the world around us.

I know I made this sound really simple but this is belief as it stands today and no, Western science cannot prove this in a hurry.

A night with Nava Shakti - Chamunda.

She woke up in cold sweat,
What was that?
All she remembered were those eyes.
A man moved around,
A lightning in the dark, two eyes so powerful
Swept the air as they danced to his beat.
He resounded again...

damadamadama | damadamadama | damadamadum |
damadamadama | damadamadama | damadamadum ||

She stood, silent looking at the sea,
The waves advancing with force washing her feet,
Giving additional rhythm to the drumbeat.
The moon swayed in the night sky,
Tossing among silent clouds
As the wind whistled on.
The mridangam beat reverberated in her mind...

She raised her feet, looked up to the air and called to the Goddess Chamunda.

Oh Mother
Help me perform the very dance,
The dance of fury
The dance of lightning
Those very steps that you walk...

damadamadama | damadamadama | damadamadum |
damadamadama | damadamadama | damadamadum ||

The feet raised, the body moves
The muscles wake up
To the calls of the night
The cat moves in stealth
Chamunda descends

damadamadama | damadamadama | damadamadum |
damadamadama | damadamadama | damadamadum ||

The dimly lit cloudy stage
The wet floor with waves
The slow beat in the waters
A trident gold the goddess awakes
The spirit invoked

damadamadama | damadamadama | damadamadum |
damadamadama | damadamadama | damadamadum ||

The muscles like a panther move
The feet agile, the body smooth
The steps sure, the earth resounds
Sending ripples through the wind
The fury within pours forth

damadamadama | damadamadama | damadamadum |
damadamadama | damadamadama | damadamadum ||

Together the beat, together the step
They yield the trident of death
The eyes glow, the limbs move
The grace within unfolds
The bodies arch back, and then attack

damadamadama | damadamadama | damadamadum |
damadamadama | damadamadama | damadamadum ||

A red glow in pure white skin
The Goddess shimmers in gold
A deadly trident circles around
Her deft hands behold
The power within

damadamadama | damadamadama | damadamadum |
damadamadama | damadamadama | damadamadum ||

The flames light up, the gods descend
The sea recedes and comes forth again
The clouds move, the moon reveals
The bright eyed goddess moves
Crossing the man in rhythmic outburst

damadamadama | damadamadama | damadamadum |
damadamadama | damadamadama | damadamadum ||

Their backs meet, their feet retreat
The tridents move like lightening
Circles of light that never meet
As they unite and depart
The energy within overflows

damadamadama | damadamadama | damadamadum |
damadamadama | damadamadama | damadamadum ||

The tiger moves, in similar step
As she takes her feet through the air
Her grace her light her charm revealed
She moves in fury
Her feet sink in the sand beneath

damadamadama | damadamadama | damadamadum |
damadamadama | damadamadama | damadamadum ||

Such force, the tremors felt
The heart pound the heat rises
Her skin glows, her dress in red
Sways to the wind as she flows
The trident now her halo holds

damadamadama | damadamadama | damadamadum |
damadamadama | damadamadama | damadamadum ||

The gods witness the performer go
The man gives the beat to her feet
Her moves so easy her mind so calm
That sways with such delicacy
Through the shaken air

damadamadama | damadamadama | damadamadum |
damadamadama | damadamadama | damadamadum ||

Such grace unknown, such power not felt
That brings the great gods to earth
Lord Shiva beholds her silent steps
The shastras of bharata unfold
The dance of fury, the dance of vigor

damadamadama | damadamadama | damadamadum |
damadamadama | damadamadama | damadamadum ||

The moon hides, the sea calm
The man bring down the rhythm
The dance concludes the body weakens
Chamunda withdraws from the being
A miracle engulfed into the silence again.

damadamadama | damadamadama | damadamadum |
damadamadama | damadamadama | damadamadum ||













Photo courtesy: Glossary of Indian Art | Shunya.net

Expression in Abhinaya, the art of Bharata.

Kanchipuram, 1 hour from Chennai:

This is a brimming temple town, which hosts temples to all the Gods. This was the first time I had entered Kamakshi Amman temple. A small temple with at the most two prakaras, Kamakshi Amman temple is one of the more popular temples in Kanchipuram.

Its a lovely town, where every street has a shrine attributed to the Gods. The Pallavas were meticulous about building temples, making sure that Amman, Shiva and Vishnu got temples exclusively associated with them.

I walked in slowly observing the changes that had come about to the Amman temple. Old granite rocks had given way to modern glossy granite finish; stark rock had given way to color at places. Oil lamps had given way to tube lights that lit the interiors, the silence had given way to strong fans and voices of devotees, the pillared halls had given way to meandering queues separated by metal rods, and the Goddess's divine blessings had given way to "Archana" tickets.

Every thing had changed, from what had once been Pallava except the inner most sanctum and the ardhamandapa that preceded it. These chambers alone were dark, silent and carried a red hue of kumkum along the walls and floor. The ardhamandapa carried the priced Sri Chakra engraved in gold and installed within an octagonal pitha in front of the Goddess while another Sri Chakra lay beneath her feet, unknown to the world.

The Sri chakra was installed here by Adi Shankara to calm down the ughra swarupa of the Amman, that which resembles the Kali swarupa by day. Amman, a silent potent form, who resides within these walls, has the moon dancing on her mukuta giving a very tantrik feel to the chamber. The fire of the oil lamp blazed large flames that lit her ever-shining face, the chandan glowing in every flicker of the flame that seemed to dance in her praise.

It cast a spell, a silent spell that brought to life the very dance form of Bharata. The glowing light of the oil lamps brings alive a form of Amman draped in a madisaar covered with flowers in cosmic conversation with her only devotee who performs silhouetted in an ambience of Divine love.

The language of Bharatnatyam, the emotions in abhinaya, the speech in his very eyes as they dance along reflecting every human emotion that melts one's heart to the Divine Mother.



Around the pitha he places his feet, agile and light to the thundering beats of the mridangam, a slender form merges with the Goddess every move waking the mind to a lesson unknown, to a world unknown, to energy potent as he touches Amman, and casts a spell around.



The world falls at her feet, the drums resound, the power of the Sri Chakra is brought to life from within the Pitha, and Amman changes her form from Ughra to calm and resides within her home, the Mother touches my heart as the silhouetted form dances in vigour and the "chalangai" drive the beat down my spine. Tiny droplets of water wake the cells, the heat rises, a dialog in bharatnatyam wakes the air around to a silent world unknown thundering into the rhythm of the ancient drummers realm. The form sways, the fingers blooming into various mudra, a silent word spoken as the back arches to perform a rhythmic expression of complete devotion.

An ancient world brought to life, giving a wake up call, there is more to the aesthetics of living... its perfection within the chamber of Kamakshi Amman.

The mark of a brahmin woman

It was a silent evening at home while I watched my mother prepare for Varalakshmi Nombu. The priced wooden temple came out of its bag and I proceeded with the yearly ritual of assembling the parts together. My fascination for temples made me look at this small mandapam in wood wondering whether I would be able to carve something similar.

An ancient bag, almost belonging to the previous century came back home from the bank with all silver items in it. Part of the booty was a silver pot, kuthi vallaku(lamps) and of course Amman herself wrapped in a red cloth which was her dress for the puja. Amman, wore necklaces made of semi precious stones, an elaborate nose ring, beautiful earrings that gave life to her bright eyes.

The following morning, Amma was draped in her madi saree (9 yard saree) reciting mantra and meticulously doing the puja. I watched Amma in her madi saree, a fairly complex outfit with innumerably tucks and twists to finally give the most gorgeous outlook to a brahmin woman - the virtues of Amman herself.

Amma was complete, with metti(toe rings) in her toes and golusu (anklets) to go with it in silver. They say these jewelery keep away all evil spirits and black magic, while she is free to tread on any ground, her purity being her only guard.

The madi saree itself is considered to be most pure as the yarn does not involve the killing of silk worms or pesticides as in the case of cotton. The yarn being pure and not bringing any "dosham" (sin) onto itself is considered the purest outfit a brahmin woman can wear. Hence worship of Amman is best done in a madi saree for it increases the spiritual power of the woman when she worships God.

Amma wore her bangles, a combination of emerald and rubies embedded in gold. She wore her six petaled "vairu thodu"(diamond earrings) embedded in gold and of course her nose ring. Gold is a significant metal worn on the human body, it has a power of its own. Being worn in the arms, ears and nose enhance the internal spiritual power of the brahmin woman. Puncturing of the nostrils allows the impurities in the inhaled breath to exit through the hole therefore allowing pure air to enter into the lungs. Puncturing of the ear lobes help similarly in health. Hence problems like sinus and headaches are minimized.

Amma never uses the hair dryer. She says our hair gets spoiled and it brings in side effects on the face. Most traditional brahmin women have long hair to comb, hence water should not remain on the head. Hair should be dried naturally ensuring there is no water accumulation. This reduces tension headaches and sinus. Amma always dries her hair by brushing it vigorously creating water sprays all around her with our most famous "thundu" - the brahmin absorbent white towel, completely functional but fairly lousy to look at after a while!!

Then of course the most fabulous mark of a brahmin woman is the big red bindi Amma wears on her forehead. With vibhuti smeared above it, it completes the picture. Amma looks like Amman just descended into the house, simply perfect. With jasmine flowers locked into her hair, the red madi saree brightens up the whole house as Amma runs into rhythm with her mantras to Amman. I feel so small when I look at Amma perform, still wishing every time I would get a chance to do the same puja with just as much devotion as she does it with.

Truly a divine form, with her feet richly colored with turmeric, subtly enhanced by the silver metti and anklets contrasting with the red madi saree with a thick gold border, she simply looks great! I sat back in my "paavaadai" wishing some day I would enter the divine category of brahmin women, a form of Amman relived.

Dip in the sacred river.

Haridwar: Along the Ganges

Going back to the north after about 10 years was indeed very nostalgic as I walked out of Delhi airport to take a car to Haridwar. I had heard a lot about this place and it seemed to be my year for cleansing! If Rameshwaram was not enough, I found myself looking forward to a dip in the Ganges as well.

Ah! The Ganges, I had read so much about it in the books, the great River Goddess, the Goddess who washes off our sins, the river that takes a millions souls to heaven. The river that is now polluted, the river that purifies the soul, the Ganges. I wondered about the Ganges as I sat in the car and headed towards Haridwar. The land of the Kumbh Mela, the land where a thousand Rishis have come to sing countless praises of this mighty river. It felt strange as I thought of Shiva Gangadhara, as Ganges stayed locked into his knotted hair till she was finally set free to flow down to Bhuloka and wash away the sins of Bhagiratha's ancestors by flowing over their ashes and releasing them to heaven.

It was clearly the reason why we continue to burn bodies along its ghats... A hope we reach heaven and not come back in rebirth to suffer another life. Thoughts went by furiously about how mythology has shaped our lives, about how Rishis left stories behind for us to follow a way of life and about how we try so hard now to recollect all this and give up saying we dont need it in this age anymore. I looked out of the window to see the car zipping through greenery, with mad highway traffic almost killing people on the road.

And then the excitement mounted, I was reaching Haridwar, a land I had once visited, of which I knew nothing now but looked out expectantly from the car hoping to catch a glimpse of the Ganges. My heart started to pound, the excitement rising ever so high to see one of the most celebrated rivers in the Indian mind. Ganges appears every where. In ritual Ganges is worshipped first while bathing with the words "Aham Gangai Namaskaromi". Ganga devi is worshipped during ritual with certain hymns attributed to her. Ganges appears as a Goddess on the carved brackets of pillars at temple entrances as well as on cave temples across the country. Ganges stays locked in Shiva's Jatamukuta in ancient sculptures of Shiva Gangadhara and Ganges water is the purest in temple ritual.

The power of Ganges was just fictitious till now until I entered Haridwar to take a dip in this Great river. The first sight of Ganges sent goose pimples through my skin. She spoke pure volume and power. The ghats at Haridwar seemed to be built to just direct her carefully but not enough to try stopping her.

As I descended into the river down the Ghat steps, the chilling waters of the Ganges just ate into my marrow. Oh God this was not simple and I was there for a "Darpanam" in the Ganges and it suddenly appeared tougher than I thought. The steps are steep, and the iron rods are too far away to reach. My knees and feet had to brave it, the current was a little too strong.

Six steps down and shivering in the water with the temples of Haridwar towering above at the other end of this vast river was an experience in itself. I felt small, weak and shivered as I held onto my dear self and prayed to the Goddess to not get any stronger on my knees.

While I said my prayers I admired her. Ganges has character, she is wild and furious and reveals the same power that Bhagiratha had prayed to Lord shiva to help control. They say she would have destroyed Bhuloka and washed away this world... I would believe that. She had the power to do anything as I watched her flow by so fast. She was not going to stop.

She is mind blowing and daring at the same time, challenging anyone to enter her waters. She is beautiful and defines the power of a Goddess in a single force. She is well respected and speaks a world so different from what we live in. A world so pure, so full of faith, so close to my heart and yet so far away. I am speechless when it comes to describing the Ganges. She is an experience, blessed are those who step into her waters for her waters just cleansed the mind and soul.

Ganges is truly a Goddess well worth worshipping. Simply Divine.

"Aham Gangai Matha Namaskaromi"

High spirits and mind power.

Do spirits exist? Is there a world out there we are unaware of because we just don't want to know it?

There was an incident recently in some one's house where there seemed to be a spirit hovering around the house, though interestingly not disturbing the inmates. A few learned men came by and refused to enter the house because they insisted there were spirits inside.

The saga ended pretty fast when one of the learned men came over and decided to "capture" the spirit and send it packing.

It was an interesting story and hard to believe but when it happens so close to home, you are really left with little choice to go against this reality.

Spirits are typically the souls of those people who die earlier than the expected date. Hence someone who commits suicide typically ends up as a spirit and hangs around till the actual time of death when they move further up the heavenly chain namely Yamaloka where Chitragupta brings out their deeds during their life times and decides their fate at Yamaloka - so try to be good.

Subsequently they are taken to Devaloka where they shall continue performing puja and go through penance to reach Lord Shiva and Vishnu and hope for the day they will head to Vaikuntam or Kailasa. While this is not so easy in Kaliyuga, lets see what happens to spirits.

Good and bad spirits have always dominated our imagination. Well is it imagination? Its more fact than imagination. Spirits if left alone hang around on Neem or tamarind trees. Else they are found near water bodies like lakes and rivers and the sea coast. They love darkness and cannot handle light. They love water but cannot handle fire. Hence the superstition - Do not go out in the night near any water body.

What would they do? Spirits tend to come and settle on you, when you venture out in these places by night. When a spirit rests on you, you don't get to see it, but feel as if a whole ten ton stone has been placed on you. It affects you physically and psychologically. Spirits who come can go just as fast. Hence the truth in the story of Vikram and Vetal.

Spirits react to smell or odour. They love the smell of jasmine and roses, the smell of food and incense. This is the reason for the superstition - women shouldn't go to bed with flowers in their head because it attracts spirits.

Spirits are attracted to various odours, so should some real smart guy want to hypnotise a spirits, its through smell. The attraction levels towards smell is so high that a spirit can succumb to any task assigned once they are intoxicated by the odour. Hence the world of black magic came in.

How do they look? Well spirits have a mind, largely appear translucent and do not have feet. The most beautiful spirits appear with lovely eyes, open hair, and look like a bride who is just five days into her marriage. Spirits are basically good and harmless. They do have a weird sense of humour and are playful. Maybe they would just jump on your back and slap you when you venture out at night! There are situations where you can see them and your friend can just hear them. They have a weird laugh and sound really strange during communication (am not referring to plan chit). Spirits understand languages.

So when do they turn evil? When a bad guy offers blood(chickens) instead of flowers and food to eat. Yes, gory as it may sound, spirits are by nature gentle beings, but its a human who diverts a spirit's mind and makes it do weird/evil things. Spirits can do good things too like predict immediate future and give you hints for something you lost.

Spirits come to homes where regular worship is not done. When spirits enter the house, there is a strong breeze before they come in with shreaks. Spirits can stay endlessly in your house until they are finally made to go away. Once out of the house, spirits wait for instructions from the bad guys who sent them there for around two days before they move on.

Last but not the least, spirits suck out the essence of any food offered. Meaning when you place a cube of sugar and invite a spirit over, it takes out the essence of the sugar cube. Should you attempt tasting the cube later it will be insipid and not sweet as expected. Strange but true!

The Temple, Abode of the Self.

Its a moment of lull again
the heart opens the emotions flow
a strange restlessness that draws me close
to the one and only great abode

One step at a time I walk
the towering gateways rise
guarded by gatekeepers, the imperial look
their assertive stance, the fierce eyes

Stone by stone I cross
rock by rock I touch
the texture so rough, the base so strong
as they hold the roof above.

Dark interiors, thick deep walls
that consume the light, the heat, the sound
leaving you in a silent world
of mystery, a cosmic conspiracy?

On every stone do damsels dance
on every rock do Gods reside
on every curve a message imprinted
the ignorant fool stares on

A thought in the mind
does all this make sense
such wealth, effort and energy spent
to walk you through a silent spell?

Or is it a deeper truth they hide
and show only those who care to seek
such knowledge beneath my feet
as I walk on unknowingly.

And then I see a million lights
lit up under the moonless night
the warmth, the fire, the smoke rise
into the air to cloud my sight

I wonder what really brought me here
is it devotion or is it fear
or is it a thirst for peace i seek
or another task unclear?

I watch the priest bathe the stone
with water, milk and sandal wood alone
in reverence he raises the fire to reveal
the presence of a Goddess Divine.

Strange patterns down on the ground beneath
hidden gracefully under Her lotus feet
the heat rises, the prayers resound
as I watch on anxiously

My memory fades, in my ears a tear
my mind hounded by fear
is it wealth, fame and glory I value
or is it silent peace and tranquility my dear?

My ego pierced, my thoughts at war,
whom do i please who do I cross
my thoughts so fast, my ego so strong
Oh Mother where do I belong.

And as the sounds of the bells thunder
it dawns on me a moment here
what comes and goes are the people, the time
the Goddess Divine stays forever near

Isn't that what I look for
as I live on tirelessly
trying to know what life means to me
waiting for that moment to set me free.

A strange peace engulfs me
as I stare up at this great abode
its timeless, precious knowledge at hand
the truth prevails beyond life itself.

And as I walk step by step away
this great abode I leave behind
A realization sublime in my mind
Like many others in the years to come.

Shiva Veenadhara, the Great Musician.

Waking up to the sweet notes of the veena pouring into my ears is a very peaceful experience in a strange way, an experience so rare that its exotic. I was having a peaceful afternoon nap, escaping the burning afternoon sun outside, a fairly deep sleep which gave way to a silent consciousness that woke the mind, the senses, my being and gently brought me back to reality. And on the way I wonder, if I were to wake up to such sweet notes I really wouldn't have nothing to lose.

Sweet notes of tunes that ease the senses, that make all problems disappear and that which elevate the aesthetics of the notes in the mind. I envied emperor Akbar, for his life every day was a sweet journey laiden with notes that were strung together by Tansen. Classical notes with subtle nuanses that he didnt just appreciate but felt exaltation in the soul with it. Such peace that the mind rests even when awake. Akbar slept and woke up with the tunes played by Tansen, what a luxury, sweet notes that raise the senses, warm your blood, bring life to your muscles while you rise back to consciousness.

As I watched my cousin rhythmically pull at the strings to produce these tunes that flowed through the house she followed it with the physics of playing the instrument. This brought in the thought of Shiva Veenadhara, a form so graceful and gentle that it reveals in complete form the very exponent of performing arts. The great teacher, the Lord of all music, the notes just flow as he plays with his gentle fingers, the cosmic tunes of existance and life, that which reverberates in every being, universal music that appeals to all!

Shiva veenadhara, the river of music flows forth from Him, the river of consciousness, that could not just wake up the soul but cause it to rain, to shine at the mind's will. Such was the power of Tansen's music, that he brought the rain down to cool his heated body that didn't withstand the very notes he played. Such passion for music, is so hard to find now... its not about skill and performance, its about worship that it takes you to a different realm where every note, every sound is a new world of miracles revealed. Such was the music then.. purity in its fullest that it milked the very potency within it and let it flow to all those who seek its pleasure.

Music is about reviving the soul, merging into the supreme, its not just about tapping the hands and feet.

Rameshwaram - Temple for a cosmic bath

Temple of faith infinite
Temple of baths unlimited
Temple of a million hopes
Temple of over 4000 pillars
Temple of 22 sacred wells
Temple of the 9 grahas(navagrahas)
Temple of 3 prakarams
Temple of 3 Shiva Lingas
To worship just 1 Lord - Shiva



Rameshwaram: An island off the Tamil Nadu coast
Pamban bridge, is a name so familiar and yet a feeling of fear came in when I remembered what my mother had told me, "Its a low bridge over the sea and scary when you see the lashing waters of the waves in turmoil just dashing against the old bridge as the train moves on swaying with the wind, towards the coast of Rameshwaram."

This is a beautiful sight, to see a vast expanse of water below my feet as I stood at the door feeding my eyes with the early morning sunlight reflecting over its waters. This had to be Pamban and it fitted the description perfectly. The early morning sun colored the blue sky orange and my heart felt light for I had finally made it to Rameshwaram!

Its a small town, smelling of fish everywhere, with no waves for the sea God was cursed by Lord Rama for having destroyed the Navagriha while he worshipped them. Lord Rama had cursed, "there shall be no waves here" and sure enough there are none. A sleepy little town that lives around the temple, where its not too strange to see people walking around dripping wet for its the land that promises you the longest shower, a shower that doesn't clean your body but cleanses your soul!

I started first with well water; being told it was important before I made it to the sea. Soon I descended into the sea, wading through the water to do my prayers there for an hour taking 3 dips in the water before and after my recital of assigned mantras. I walked back towards the temple, to be told my shower has just about begun.

With an old man leading the way holding a bucket and rope in his hand, I walked on, from pillar to wells through a wet labyrinth of halls. I stopped at various points within the temple complex to get a view of the rising sun, having my vision covered with a sheet of silvery water just pouring down my head. A sheet of water, often sweet, often salty and sometimes in between, a sheet of water crystal clear with the sun locked in every drop!

The temple floor has never been dry, with people trooping in for a complete shower. It is an open bath, with pure well water washing away my past karmas. A bath I should not wash away with a regular bath later.

“Yahi hamaaraa samskar hai, we should follow our sampradayam.”

Devipattinam, Mainland India, 1 hour from Rameshwaram:

Having had my cosmic bath, I moved on to Devipattinam, a place so silent and hosting my ticket to a better life. The Navagraha are 9 rocks of various sizes that stand out of seawater occasionally disappearing with the tide. I descended into the water thanking God for the grainy sandy floor, for I really didn’t want to know what else lived among these waters.

"Vettalai paaku, pazham and sarpam" - beetle leaf with bananas and a silver snake, was an offering of fruit I made to the Navagriha, also hoping for assistance to know where Rahu was, and the curious people of Devipattinam are most willing to help with that. These are not temple sculptures; they are large chunks of rock in water, with peculiar shapes expecting you to know them before you show up. Having placed the "sarpa" at Rahu, I circum-ambulated the navagriha in the water, leaving no room for doubt. I stood in the water, looked at the sun and recited my sankalpa:

My salutations to the Navagriha - to Rahu, ketu, Shani, Surya, Chandra, Shukra...and I cant remember the rest - all this in Sanskrit.

My last deed of the day before I caught the afternoon train back to Chennai was to visit Lord Shiva's shrine. I went straight to a beautifully lit up sanctum, with plenty of oil lamps. Deep within is a Shiva linga, mythologically placed there by Sita, originally made out of sand and called Ramalinga or Rameshwara, while Hanuman was sent to Kailasa for a Shiva Linga and didn’t make it in time for the muhurtham. It is a strong Linga, which Hanuman could not uproot, when he was upset that Lord Rama didn’t wait for his return. A potent Linga that would save Lord Rama from any curse, an eventuality of the death of so many people including Ravana in the great war of the Ramayana, a ritual advised by Sage Agastiyar to Rama to be performed, and hence the temple, that hosts it much later in time.

Among the various shrines that Rameshwaram temple hosts are also two other Lingas that were brought by Hanuman and eventually installed and worshipped here as well known as the Visvalinga, for which abhishekam is done well before the main shrine hosting Sita's Linga is worshipped. Rameshwaram relives the events of the Ramayana bringing every aspect of it to life. It’s an endless list of myths and legends starting with a cosmic shower from 22 wells each of which tasted so different.

A disgusted Brahmin priest once said:
Science wale bolte hein ye artisan well hai. Ab hum kya bolein?

The spider and the elephant.

Thiruvanaikkaval, Srirangam: We would love to consider that we are super intelligent beings on this planet. Well let’s hold onto our egos a bit and take a look at this story.

There was once a vast forest that surrounded the interior lands around the Kaveri river in Trichy district. It was a forest rich with Jambu trees under one of which was installed a Shiva Linga. Back in the serene world that surrounded this Linga lived an elephant that used to come and worship the Lord every day. The elephant was an ardent devotee of the Lord.

At the same time there was yet another unassuming devotee who used to worship the Lord with as much devotion. A spider used to live around the shrine and tie a web above it so that the leaves from the Jambu tree would not fall on the Lord himself. But there was a problem for every time the spider made his web to protect the Lord, the elephant would destroy it thinking it was absolute sacrilege. This resulted in a mounting fight between the spider and the elephant, a massive clash of egos.

Finally the spider decided one day that it would not take this any more. The next day when the elephant came to worship the Lord he as usual decided to destroy the web the spider had spun over the Linga. This time the spider got smarter and entered into the elephant’s trunk and bit him. The following duel killed both the elephant and the spider. This is when Lord Shiva appeared before both of them, and said that they both had pleased him well with their devotion.

The spider in his next birth was born as King Kochchengan who built the current temple at Thiruvanaikkaval, in the island city of Srirangam to worship Lord Shiva. Interestingly, he built the sanctum sanctorum in such a way that no elephant would be able to enter the Gharbha Griha. Hence this is the only temple where the Garbha Griha is built low, has a very small vestibule (Antarala) and an even smaller chamber within which the Lingam resides. The entrance is extremely small such that no elephant can even find its way in. The only way to view the Lord is through a Jali window placed in front of Nandi, through which the Lord can be seen. It is considered very auspicious to be able to view the Lord through the horns of Nandi Bull through the Jali window.

The story of Lord Shiva’s temple at Thiruvanaikkaval does not end here; they say that even if the Kaveri river dries up in peak summer, the water within this shrine chamber never dries. There is water that surrounds this Linga the year round even if there is extreme heat around this area of interior Tamil Nadu. Such is the power of the Lord. This temple at Thiruvanakkaval is also called Jambukeswara temple as an extension of the Jambu tree under which the Linga was originally installed.

This is about Thiruvanaikkaval, there is more to the spider. Incase tomorrow you decide to clean up the spider webs in your Puja room, think twice before hitting the spiders. Spiders are great devotees of the Lord, and if there is serious devotion in your house, spiders will come and make webs within this section of the house. So next time you decide to clean up, leave the spiders alone!

Photo courtesy: templenet.com

Dvaita verses Advaita philosophy

Ramanuja says that in the age of Kaliyuga, a person can get moksha or salvation from bondage and hence the cycle of rebirth if he/she simply utters the words "Om Namo Narayanan". He also says this can be done with one sitting right in the middle of samsara bandhana (or what we call ties with family life/ society so on).

I will flatly disagree with this theory in its literal sense. Lets take a good life today, a family with wife/hubby and children, a good income, a posh house, great friends without comparison and no rat race to prove self worth. Its happiness all the way, but life will never have it so simple. There will be problems. And problems do not get dealt with without emotion and emotions bring with it unrest in the mind, fear and misery. Therefore is the recital of "Om namo Narayana" good enough to rid one self off that misery.

Ramanuja said this to those people who were illiterate and yes, you and I are largely illiterate in the field of spiritualism today.

These are some of Ramanuja's teachings:

1) You can follow spiritualism while following a life within the social network of your family and society.

My argument: Yes! With nagging parents talking investment in property, a spouse contemplating a brand new swanky car, a crying child going spoilt with added peer pressure, a servant mopping the house with her share of constant jabber, a cribbing sibling with clashing egos (am not referring to guns yet!), and not to forget your noisy neighbor playing Led Zeppelin (old fashioned?) right through Sunday morning while you are trying to concentrate on worship - "Om Namo Narayana" - Wow what peace! This is ignoring the calls to Allah, or Halleluja, or "Kaushalya supraja" blaring through loudspeakers at 5a.m. There is nothing wrong in recital of the mantra; there is every thing wrong with your environment. Where is the peace? Parents, spouse, children… When is this entire saga going to end, where is the silence and tranquility. Is this the life you chose for yourself or have you accepted that there is no escape. Or are there other ways of leading life, this being the most common and safe approach?

2) The second teaching is, after you have done your duty as householders you can retire to the forest and go into seclusion, but can always come to see the family. For e.g. meet your grand daughter on the day of her wedding or see her off to the US. Meaning you don’t entirely cut off from the family. But when you are involved in worship keep the family out of your mind.

My argument: How does this work. If my grand daughter is unwell, where will my mind be? Human bondage brings worry with it as much as it brings happiness. Both add to suffering from two ends of the same spectrum called Maya. If I continue to remain attached to the family I can quite forget my trip to realization for its completely impossible. Human bondage is a vicious cycle that one cannot get out of easily but has to put in complete effort to want to do so. Multi tasking of role-play and finding the self is completely impossible given our minds don’t even rest in one place in today's world.

3) The third teaching says that reciting "Om Namo Narayana" is all that it takes to attain salvation.

My argument: Maybe then, not now. If spiritualism was that simple we would all be saints by now, which of course as we can see is not the case. Happiness starts with the self. To exuberate happiness and goodness to all, the concentration should first be on the self. If I am not happy there is no way I am going to make you feel happy. Hence comfort with the self is far more important before one decides to look beyond his/herself.

My personal opinion on the teachings of Shankaracharya and Ramanuja is that both these saints were right in their approach, but with a difference. We need both approaches to be worldly wise and understand life and live through it. The philosophy of dvaita is required to understand the meaning of bondage, its character and hence its futility since it is Maya and only sucks you into its "Matrix". But it is needed nonetheless for the lack of that knowledge renders you completely ignorant for you will not understand peace if you don’t know what trouble is!

The philosophy of Advaita is needed to be brought in for it renders you compassionate and once all bondage is broken, the mind is set free, there is no pain nor love but pure goodness that flows from within to all creatures, to man, woman, mother, child, ant, cat or cockroach. There is no difference between the person in front of you defined by role-play as "mom/dad" or "daughter/son" or "wife/husband" or "stranger/thief" or "pet dog/cat Tommy”. Each is a life around you and detachment only leads to looking at all of them as one drop of a larger ocean of which you are also a part. Hence finding yourself is most important for the truth you look for lies within.

Love of the Lord brings with it Bhakti which helps along the path of emotional spirituality while you apply human logic while living through life. Love can be for Lord Shiva (who helps you search for yourself) or Lord Vishnu (who helps you understand the world around you). The Mother Goddess...is for stronger willed people, for more potent experiences that might burn you out if you are not careful.

Great teachers have helped us re-look at our lives. Maybe its time now for us to unlearn...

The temple of the Self

A beat of the drum
A tap of my feet
A move of my limbs
A strange freedom of the senses

A constant vibration
Deep within the heart
A new world revealed
A gateway to leave human bondage

A stretch of my breath
A long stretch so fulfilling
Purity of the self
Fresh like the morning dew

Constant warmth within
A flame lit up forever
Igniting my passion to live
A life of my own

A source of energy
My elixir of life
My potent energy within
The Lord takes control of me

I am just a moving body
A world elsewhere
A place no one else belongs
A world divine

My body a temple
To worship
Built strong to house
The divine Lord within

My head the pinnacle
Of all thought and action
Of goodness and value
Of faith and complete surrender

The path to heaven
A path through me
A part to the greater truth
Why seek for it beyond me?

Definition of goodness in the Mahabharata

The Mahabharata: In the Mahabharata Kunti is considered the epitome of all goodness, an honorable and respectable queen mother to her children the Pancha Pandavas. Yet we fail to see the fact that she is responsible for the birth of her first son Karna, and the pressures of having come from a royal background does not allow her to acknowledge him as her son. How good a mother was she?

She didn’t bring him up, she denied him his experience of having a mother, and to top it all she asked him to use his “Divyastra” just once, hoping that it would miss Arjuna and therefore not take his life. Is discrimination towards children right to the point of taking a life? How do we expect to see Kunti as a good mother through Karna’s eye and yet he held no grudge against her.

Karna is known to be a very noble person in the Mahabharata, and everyone except Dhuryodhana, the so-called most evil person in the story, wronged him. Karna was a great human being and the one and only known threat to Arjuna when it came to archery or when it came to winning the hand of Draupadi. The insult bestowed upon him by Draupadi was one he would never forget. Was it right on her part to publicly insult Karna in a court with full audience during her Swayamwara, on the grounds of his birth? How do we expect to see Draupadi as a noble woman through Karna’s eye?

Now lets take Dhuryodhana, the proclaimed villain in the Mahabharata. He had to fight for the throne since it was not even his fault that his father was a blind king and that questioned his eligibility to the throne. Would you in his position not take objection if such power were denied to you, should you have been the possible heir to the throne of Hasthinapura? Of course you would hate your cousins no matter how noble they were.

In all this chaos, the Pandavas have been the worst sadists when it came to Karna, for they kept referring to his caste, as a charioteer’s son, and that he is not of noble blood. Are Yudhishtira and Arjuna the epitomes of Dharma, when their noble birth only fills them with contempt and fear towards Karna because he is just as good despite being born in a lower caste? (Of course they didn’t know he was their brother but putting down someone on the grounds of birth is just a clear indicator of what pride they had!) And at this moment Dhuryodhana was a good man to make Karna his friend, to acknowledge his presence and respect him as a man of valor. Then why do we consider Dhuryodhana an evil being? There was goodness in him and at no cost was it going to display itself towards the Pandavas. Through all these insults that Karna had to live through, Kunti maintains absolute silence.

Therefore how do we judge goodness? Do we say Karna was wrong because he joined the Kauravas because at that moment between Yudhistira (the epitome of goodness and Dharma) and Dhuryodhana (the most evil), it was Dhuryodhana who stretched out a friendly hand? Now is that not goodness, irrespective of Karna's background?

Or do we say Krishna was good when all the political manipulation took place thanks to his ardent bias towards the Pandavas. He didn’t do things as a mark of goodness; he did politically correct things, which need not be defined as good. And what did Karna do to deserve the fate he finally got! Maybe it is seriously time to start thinking. Karna was the best son of them all!

Disowned by his own mother
Insulted by his own brothers
Respected by so called villains
Wronged by the Lord Himself
A good-natured man sees such fate
When the Lord himself chose not to protect him
Who will believe in Goodness?
When goodness itself is being ignored.
By the very Incarnation of Lord
Who tried to spread goodness in this world.
Karna was indeed the most noble of them all
Such was the ocean of goodness within him
That he gifted it away to the world before he died.
A symbol of perfection
That beats the very Lord Krishna Himself.

A finger for the future, an angula for the past

I held up my hands in prayer to God this morning and as I opened them I stared into them and my palm and wondered about the power they held. My fingers smeared and shining yellow with turmeric powder, reminded me about the life I have chosen to lead. A life of orthodoxy, one of purity as prescribed in the shastras, one that states that purity of the body is very important apart from that of the mind.

It was a moment of bliss, a decision I had made to follow this path. As I stepped into it deeper, I came to realize the meaning of all that has been told to us as kids. Today I have slowly begun to realize the reason for this lifestyle and more than anything else I have learnt to appreciate every moment of it. I stared up at the portrait of the Lord, smiling down, enigmatic and yet calm. He seemed to speak a million truths, both big and small through the flame of the oil lamp as it flickered in front of me.

It is a small wick, a bright flame, eating into the wick, sucking out the oil as it lives through the worship. A potent flame that needs the oil to survive, I remembered what my Guru had said. The flame is important, for it is the path that connects you with the Supreme, hence the size of the flame should definitely not exceed the division of the angula (finger) on my hand. The flame shows me the path, the character of which is defined by the height of one division on my index finger. One division, a whole world undiscovered, one finger engulfs a complete world of serious mathematics.

I turned my hands to see a series of lines that define my character, my identity in this universe. These almost looked like they were my blueprints in this world, in this space that we call reality. I thought about the importance of these fingers of mine, that each finger held a truth, a truth that leads man to paradise, undefined by modern science, lets say unknown to modern science.

A finger or an angula has been a basic system of measurement in olden times. One angula clearly defined the base, the root to an entire temple construction. It’s amazing that we could probably find out the size of Rajaraja Chola’s finger based on the basic system of measurement he would have used to build something as superb and mammoth as the Brihasdeshwara temple at Tanjore.

Imagine a ritual, to prepare the ground for the building of this magnificent temple, a ritual that defines the man building it is Rajaraja Chola, of a particular Gotram, a particular naksharam, in a particular yuga, on say Somavara (day), in a particular month, in a particular year, considered auspicious, as the ruling king of the Cholas in the south of Bharat desha, so on and so forth… in a series of mystical words that enter the ears of the devas and super Gods who now have placed him and have accepted his offering of building a temple on this earth, the soil of which is so pure and powerful.

And then the yajna fire rises, and the offerings of ghee, herbal twigs, fruits, flower, camphor, honey and jaggery are made to complete this grand start. Now the funds roll out, the construction begins and as every new pinnacle on this gigantic pyramidal roof is reached a huge ramp is built to move the final cover stone (stupi) up the tall vimana. Such an imposing structure, so massive and awe inspiring, that it reduces our presence to nothing. Would anyone even stop to think that the basic measure started with his angula or index finger!!! A small measure, imprinting Rajaraja Chola’s very being into every stone that was cut and put into place, inscriptions that spoke of his greatness somewhere hid the fact that yes, he had left his blueprints here long after he was gone…

Now that is Immortality...all bundled into a finger... this is leaving a legacy behind.

Home is where the soul belongs

Home! Home means different things to different people. Home means family to some and complete intrigue to others. I have a home, what I call family, familiarity, security… home, that which we all cling to. Home, a place where a bunch of scared souls live, saving each other from the final reality…when its seriously time to depart…

Home, is where the heart is! Home is where there is excitement unknown, when the heart yells out and says, this is a free world and I can do what I want and not care about it… My heart is free, my mind is free, and my life is free. I am free. Free from all that I call bondage, expectation, contempt, control, power… life?
Home is where the mind decides it has had enough; where the mind decides it wants to rest because it can’t handle anymore of the stupidity this world around displays thinking it is attitude. The mind rests, evolving suddenly, waking up to the reality called LIFE, and that is the only one I get and what the hell am I doing wasting it with a bunch of nonsensical thoughts!!

Home is where silence resides, in the deep corners of the mind, revived every time the mind takes a dip into life as it is and escapes from all that we call responsibility and role play… Home, where its my world, the world I make for myself and anyone who loves and appreciates the value of this life and its true meaning is invited…

Home is where the Lord lives, silent watching and waiting for me to go back to. Home where the Lord, just overwhelms me with Himself, and I simply get distracted and looked around for Him in people… what a fool I have been. The Lord is ever so pervasive, ever so kind and loving, ever so sweet, ever so overwhelming that words are not enough to express His beauty. Wow! what a character, what a feeling… that the Lord can trigger this ecstasy, this bliss, this intoxication, this wildness, this fire, this energy, this excitement, this happiness, this awakening, this life inside me without even revealing Himself!

What are we wasting our lives for, taking care of each other when we are all going to go home alone, anyway… why is it so tough to accept this truth that your way and mine are the same back home, just timed differently…
It’s a dark forest, of fear and suffocation… but it’s the way home, the last walk home, with peace and faith that Lord Shiva is there to guide, divine Lord.. Oh God take me home!!

Infact in the current state i am in its just ... HHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM.... i think you get the drift!