March 10,11,12 these days were much awaited by me since we had planned to visit GOD’S Own country ‘Kerala’. No Wonder it was named such, those long coconut trees and the temples and the water bodies of kerala explains the richness of natural beauty and
It’s Poignancies. It had been a long lasting desire to visit ‘Guruvayoor’ and many more temples. The Journey started off with a green signal from Chennai central from Kovai express, we had planned to go to Coimbatore and then to Pollachi to a siddhar’s samadhi in Puravipalayam. Some good souls helped with useful information and we managed to take two vehicles for we were a bunch and started off this pilgrimage.
The first temple to visit was ‘Pateeswaran Temple’ at Coimbatore. There were paintings must be Oil painting all over the roof of this temple and my head was all up and I was glancing it trying to understanding the pictorial story telling art so skillfully spread across the roof. This was the place were a cow gave its own milk to the Lord Shiva and as we entered the sanctum sanctorum the Nandi was Big and we paid our respects to Nandi we offered the coconuts as we saw a cow behind the Siva Lingam. The cow was made in Gold plating/Brass and Siva lingam was decorated with flowers. From there we headed to Marutha Malai on the hill, the way was really good and our cars made to the hill it was like a snake trying to move ahead. The weather complemented us with a good pleasant breeze and then we reached Marutha malai, before we could reach the temple there was a flight of steps we have to walk by and that made us quench our thirst with cold soft drinks.
We bought a special entrance ticket since we had to rush and complete some more temples and went inside the temple, Lord Muruga wearing a turban and his face so brightly lit by the vibhuti decoration, the Lord glowed along with the lights from the lamps. It was a very beautiful memory to capture in mind, we sat there for a while until the archana’s were over and I was lost in his beauty. As we moved out we lit lamps near Ganapathi and went to grab a look at the Golden chariot. Two archakars were guarding and we quickly took out our cameras and captured a few shots of it to the memory stick. Had a good breathing from the fresh air hoisted by the atmosphere at about 6pm and we descended down after the darshan.
We stopped by ‘Ichanari Vinayagar’ and then proceeded to pollachi. I was very much particular visiting pollachi, the samadhi of my Guru kodi swamigal inside a jameen.
It’s Poignancies. It had been a long lasting desire to visit ‘Guruvayoor’ and many more temples. The Journey started off with a green signal from Chennai central from Kovai express, we had planned to go to Coimbatore and then to Pollachi to a siddhar’s samadhi in Puravipalayam. Some good souls helped with useful information and we managed to take two vehicles for we were a bunch and started off this pilgrimage.
The first temple to visit was ‘Pateeswaran Temple’ at Coimbatore. There were paintings must be Oil painting all over the roof of this temple and my head was all up and I was glancing it trying to understanding the pictorial story telling art so skillfully spread across the roof. This was the place were a cow gave its own milk to the Lord Shiva and as we entered the sanctum sanctorum the Nandi was Big and we paid our respects to Nandi we offered the coconuts as we saw a cow behind the Siva Lingam. The cow was made in Gold plating/Brass and Siva lingam was decorated with flowers. From there we headed to Marutha Malai on the hill, the way was really good and our cars made to the hill it was like a snake trying to move ahead. The weather complemented us with a good pleasant breeze and then we reached Marutha malai, before we could reach the temple there was a flight of steps we have to walk by and that made us quench our thirst with cold soft drinks.
We bought a special entrance ticket since we had to rush and complete some more temples and went inside the temple, Lord Muruga wearing a turban and his face so brightly lit by the vibhuti decoration, the Lord glowed along with the lights from the lamps. It was a very beautiful memory to capture in mind, we sat there for a while until the archana’s were over and I was lost in his beauty. As we moved out we lit lamps near Ganapathi and went to grab a look at the Golden chariot. Two archakars were guarding and we quickly took out our cameras and captured a few shots of it to the memory stick. Had a good breathing from the fresh air hoisted by the atmosphere at about 6pm and we descended down after the darshan.
We stopped by ‘Ichanari Vinayagar’ and then proceeded to pollachi. I was very much particular visiting pollachi, the samadhi of my Guru kodi swamigal inside a jameen.
It was getting dark and by the time we reached puravipalayam it was 8.30pm, everyone has lost hopes that the jameen will be closed since the siddhar’s samathi was inside a jameen and the gates will be closed during that time. We reached the place after a few enquiries among the locales and then went inside. I immersed myself totally in to the pictures of the siddhar all over the place near his samadhi and there were a few rice bags and other groceries kept there. My parents bought some lamps and I went straight in to the samadhi and placed my head on it and lost in touch with time. I came around his samadhi a few times and touched his turban and his belonging which he used when he was alive and I saw a Muslim women reading the holy book ‘Quran’ sitting next to the samadhi and her husband a old sick man was made to sit near the samadhi and another girl was sitting at one corner. The samadhi was decorated with flowers all over, fragrance from the Naga lingam flower gave an experience as if one would encounter the mystic.
I just glanced them and lit lamps and again started my meditation. It was time to go and my father was talking to a few people who were managing that place, I asked for a photograph of the siddhar and felt very happy when I received one.
We saw a painting of a France man who had painted the siddhar when the siddhar appeared in his dream and that made him come all along to India and paid his respects to the siddhar. I walked in silence and we made our way back to Coimbatore. March 10 had been a most memorable moment in my life for having been blessed to visit the samadhi with my parents and family. I spent the entire night in contemplation and the peace experienced from the samadhi.
I just glanced them and lit lamps and again started my meditation. It was time to go and my father was talking to a few people who were managing that place, I asked for a photograph of the siddhar and felt very happy when I received one.
We saw a painting of a France man who had painted the siddhar when the siddhar appeared in his dream and that made him come all along to India and paid his respects to the siddhar. I walked in silence and we made our way back to Coimbatore. March 10 had been a most memorable moment in my life for having been blessed to visit the samadhi with my parents and family. I spent the entire night in contemplation and the peace experienced from the samadhi.
Next day we started towards Guruvayoor and took a Mazda and headed to a darshan at guruvayoor, but the temple was closed in the afternoon, hence we went to a nearby beach and wetted our legs and then joined the long queue at the temple. As we moved inside the temple, we watched a few offering Thula Bharams to their prayers and went inside chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Rama . The lamps brightly lighted the idol and we got a chance to view it closely, the lord was smiling in the light.For more details about Guruvayoor, visit http://www.guruvayurdevaswom.org/.
From there we proceeded to chottanikara Amma to take part at kuruthi pooja which was a pooja performed in the evening and it was believed that one who takes part is free from sins and pooja was very powerful that the kuruthi (a red colored water) when brought to home would prevent death in a house for a year and when a sick person intakes it he is fred from the disease. As we rushed to the temple the sanctum sanctorum was closed and we could see the Goddess from a small window and I tried to squeeze my eyes and look as closely all I could picture was a idol with no human form, I couldn’t understand and I stood gazing continuously. After a while the doors were closed with a elephant procession of the Lord Devi Narayana and we rushed toward the kizhukkavu temple towards the lower side of the temple opposite to the sanctum sanctorum.
The lord was in angry state below at kizhukavvu where the idol in human form was seen. There came some men with instruments and large vessels filled with red colored water made of vermilion, turmeric, and sandal that looked like kuruthi was present. Some women and men were watching the Lord and people were seated quietly and the men began to play the instruments and the kuruthi was offered as a offering to a long soolam which was kept beside the Goddess and the gurukkal who performed this was doing couple of breathing techniques and offering it as he wore a small knot made out of a dry grass in one of this fingers and he used that finger for closing his nose during the breathing technique and he had an long dry grass which was dipped in to each of these vessels as he was performing the breathing techniques. I was wondering the connectivity between the mantram he was reciting and the breathing regulations that were made together. Suddenly heard some loud noises, many women and men started shouting and dancing, it was scary but it was believed that those people get relieved from their psychological ailments, but we were told that evil spirits get rid of such people. My cousin’s daughter who is 11 yrs started crying out of fear and we had to console her that she is fine and its all holy and nothing to fear. We watched the whole process and one by one all the colored water in all the vessels were emptied and the water ran into the outlet designed for it.
We decided to stay back at chottanikara that night and retired and we were back at 4am the next day morning for the morning darshan, we could watch the morning abhulations of the Lord Devi Narayana and we performed pooja and offered flowers and prayed well. Had a couple of darshans since people were very scarce in the morning.
Visit http://www.chottanikkarabhagavathy.org/ for more information about this temple.
From there we proceeded to a few temples nearby one among them was the Agastiyar temple and we had to walk in the beach sand inside the temple and worshipped Sage Atri and Sage Anusuya, divine parents of Dattatreya. Proceeded to temple Amada a temple known for sarpa dosham and offered our prayers there. Then went to Mahadeva Temple and got the divine blessings of Lord Shiva. The sanctum sanctorum was closed when we went around 9 am since morning abhulations were going on and we had to wait for about 20mts for the darshan, while standing among many other devotees, I noticed a man playing an dholam like thing and singing, he was so immersed in his song that I got lost in the music and the environment though I couldn’t follow anything whatever he was singing. It was a wonderful experience to get lost in a divine music when one cant follow the meaning of it yet can fully get engrossed and appreciate the devotion and the music as an offering.
From there we stepped into a few temples nearby, the temple for lord muruga.
We went to a temple named ‘pambumekkadu’ and the place looked like the one found in the fairy tales, a temple like entrance and an office and we went in to the office where they asked about our whereabouts and confirmed if we belong to higher castes and then we were allowed inside the temple, we were told to pray from a distance as we offered our prayers to a snake carved out from the stone rocks and we were also told that we could spot some serpents also. Then we were brought inside a house and we were asked to wait to seek the blessings of a lady called Amma. We watched a few women clad in white saree, the traditional keralite saree and lighting lamps and couldn’t see the idol since the window didn’t give the clear view of the idol and we waited patiently.
There came a lady dressed in white saree who looked very young and beautiful and
We were told that she started meeting strangers only very recently and she could talk to the snake GODS and fulfill our wishes. One by one, we all went to seek her blessings and she raised both of her hands and made it look like a hood of the serpent and
She started predicting as you come out with questions. I didn’t question her beliefs and I move out. And then proceeded towards thrissur to ponder a few temples there.
We Finished our lunch at Kaladi near Thrissur is the birthplace of Adi Sankaracharya. It is believed that Sankara's parents Sivaguru and Aryamba offered worship at the Vadakkunnathar shrine at Thrissur prior to their begetting Sankara.The Vadakkunnathar temple at thrissur was also a mystic experience for me, the unexplainable part was the Rama idol at the temple, I have never seen such beautiful temples in my lifetime as these. The temples were not so huge with kopurams and architectural designs as we have in Tamil Nadu, all built by wood there were either rectangular or circular only projected to a certain height and brightly lit lamps everywhere which conveys message that ‘ O! Human, dispel ignorance and darkness, come in to the light’. I bought two lamps as a token of remembrance and was trying to merge with those lights in Vadukunathan temple. There was an idol for Adi Shankara in the temple and we offered prayers. We finished with peramekavvu temple the temple for Goddess parvathi, my mother being an ardent devotee of shakti despite her age and inability to walk, walked all along the sanctum sanctorum with a light to be lit in the temple praying for all the suffering souls. I pitied my state for not being able to go with her.
We finished our dinner and took a train from thrissur and returned back to Chennai carrying sandal odour and the memory of eating those big sized rice and the rice puttu as we packed ourselves some Banana chips the train taking us away from GOD’s own country where there are no beggars or may be people are very contented with what they have I thought.
