FOREWORD
Loving blessings to everyone from Sri Bala.
This new book entitled “Bala Mahatmyam” ( Divine Glory of Bala) is an astounding treasure trove containing many special features. Although I have been composing Bala’s songs for over a decade, the new collection of verses called “Bala Mahatmyam” is completely different in comparison to any of my earlier works.
Until now, all the songs I have composed deal with various problems faced in life by each and every one of us. Each song addresses a particular issue and is written in such a manner that the devotee feels he or she is engaging in a direct conversation with Bala telling her all the problems and later, discovering solace and a solution. It’s as if I have seated all of you, the devotees, in front of me and then dealt with each one of your problems starting with personal issues and culminating in world welfare concerns. In this manner, I’ve opened up a direct link between all of you and Bala so you can appeal to her and solve your problems. I have never come in between you and Bala through the medium of these compositions. Instead, my songs form a link, a bridge between Bala and You.
However, what really amazes me is the fact that people have treated in an extremely casual manner this natural state of mine and have taken me for granted. The reason for this has to do with the differences between the person who gives, the “giver” and the person who receives, or the “receiver”.
The person who receives can never obtain everything from the “giver” because he simply doesn’t know the full potential of the latter. Similarly, the “giver” is not fully aware what the “receiver” actually needs.
At this juncture, a middleman’s presence can be useful. This person alone knows all the relevant information regarding the manner in which the “giver” can bestow as well as what exactly the “receiver” requires. Here, the “Giver” is Bala , the “Receiver” is You and the “middleman” is Me, Baba.G.
It is important to observe that the middleman who obtains everything from the “giver” and then distributes it according to the respective needs of all the “receivers”, fulfills a very important task because the accountability or responsibility of both the “giver” and “receiver” stops once something has been either given or received.
After receiving from Bala your job is over. Similarly, after giving you everything, Bala’s task is completed.
At this point, after you received something with a great amount of care from Bala, I have stepped in to assist you in continuing to behave in a responsible manner. For this purpose, I accepted “Deekshai” ( initiation) from Bala and have passed it directly on to all of you.
Normally, when a transaction takes place between two parties, a broker steps in to help conclude the deal. However, after the agreement has been successfully contracted, the middleman or broker departs after collecting his fees from both parties. He then moves on to find another job leaving the two parties on their own, saying “ hereafter it is your headache!”
The same kind of situation exists at present in the sphere of Spirituality today. One person acts as the broker , obtains everything from the “giver” and distributes this among the many “receivers”. In this situation, instead of giving any importance to the primary source or “giver”, more importance is given to the middleman who acts as the conduit. In fact, even the middleman who receives from the “giver” and merely passes it on to the end receiver, gives far less importance to the “giver” and pays more attention to the “receiver”.
In this situation, you might ask “Why should the Giver continue to give?” The answer is that the very job of the “giver” is to keep on giving. This answer should be more than enough for the middleman!
However, at Bala Peetam, the whole process of giving and receiving has been simplified.
As an illustration, if someone desperately longs for a child, the prevailing custom in our Hindu religion is to prescribe a long list of rituals that has to be executed. The relevant family members are asked to make several visits, perform many remedies and rituals, spend a lot of money, and ultimately made to lose not only their time and money but also their patience. However, at the completion of all these stringent procedures regardless of whether a child is born or not, at least the thought prevails that someone has undergone a lot of effort on my/ our behalf.
At Bala Peetam, my story is totally different. My job is done after giving you one book containing Bala Parayanam and one CD containing the song, “Bala Kaappu”. Thereafter, you are free to pray directly and most sincerely to Sri Bala and place your problem at her feet. In this case, where is the scope for anyone to pay respect to “Me” as the middleman?
Consider the following. One person wishes to buy property. Another wishes to sell his land. A broker comes in between seller and buyer and makes the two parties meet and discuss the issue. Soon, the property transfer is completed, money changes hands and the middleman collects his fee from both parties.
After his job is done and the commission is pocketed, the broker is no longer worried about either the land or its buyer. He now moves on to find two more eligible candidates for yet another transaction.
In contrast to the above case, my job is not finished after handing over “Bala Kaappu” to someone who longs for a child. After the baby is born, if it falls ill, the family returns to me. Similarly, after the child recovers and grows up to be a young adult, they will return to me so he or she can do well in studies and then land a nice job. Once more will the family return to me when they want to get their child married and yet again to pray for a grandchild, until the whole circle is complete. In all of these encounters, my share and contribution is certain.
However, I have instructed that you don’t necessarily have to come to me repeatedly in order to present your problems. The “Bala Parayanam” book contains several songs , like for example, “Noi Neekum Pathigam” ( hymn to remove all illnesses), “Bala Vidya Stuthi” (prayer for education), “Kann Dhrishti Neekum Kavacham” (armor to protect against evil eyes), “Kadan Thollai Neekum Paadal” ( song to remove burden of debts), etc.
In fact, whatever might be the problems that affect you in this world, I have written songs for each one of those situations.
After each one of your needs have been fulfilled and problems have been overcome, all you have to do is to say “Thank You” to Bala. In fact, I have written a separate song just to express gratitude and have imparted this to you.
To sum up, I have created a situation where you don’t really need to depend on me for anything. I have done this job with an innate ease and it is only recently I have been informed by Bala that this task also is something no one else is capable of either thinking about nor achieving.
While I have composed several songs for different situations, this recently created hymn, “Bala Mahatmyam” is indeed very, very unique. For, it was while I was writing this work that I took a look at “Who I really am”. I stared at myself and was astounded by what I saw!
It was only after the completion of this work, “Bala Mahatmyam”, that I got a clearer picture of the nature of these rare gifts I have received from Bala; the fame I have obtained so far and indeed the potency of the power within me.
After taking six days to write “Bala Charitham” (The Legend of Sri Bala), there were only five or six days left before the commencement of the Navarathri festival. One day, during this period when I planned to relax for a while, I was commanded by Bala to write the entire “Bala Mahatmyam”.
So, right after completing the 108 verses of Sri Bala Charitham, and within the next 24 hours, I finished writing all the 49 songs compiled in “Bala Mahatmyam”. Within this work, are contained nine verses under the heading “ On Relationships and Renunciation”. I started writing these at 3 a.m. in the morning and finished the chapter within 45 minutes without having to make any deletions or corrections.
While I was involved writing this book, I became aware of a sense of bewilderment and amazement building up within me. Even as I looked forward, eagerly, to discern my true self for the first time in my life, Bala picked up a mirror and gave it to me. To my utter surprise, what I saw in the mirror resembled a rapid succession of many faces appearing one after the other like graphics on a computer screen. I was witnessing a miraculous sight, one in which various faces came and went while I was at all times deeply aware of this sensation on a physical level.
It is very difficult to express in words the feeling of happiness I experienced at this moment. It appeared that I was formless, or else my physical form was of no consequence. There seemed to be several faces within or inside me. There were several physical forms or figures I could not see directly, yet, I could experience them in a very vivid manner through my own senses. What an extraordinary feeling it was!
After this revelation, I heard Bala’s advice to me and spent the rest of the day relaxing and wallowing in a sensation of true bliss and happiness.
It is often quoted that there are certain well guarded, divine secrets that should never be revealed . However, until today, all the advice and secret revelations that Bala has passed on to me, I have in turn, shared them with everyone through the media of articles, essays and songs.
What really surprises me is the fact that many people read my writings in a most superficial manner.
I shall share with you in this introductory piece, a divine secret that Bala has told me.
I am the main topic of this advice (secret revelation). In fact, this advice comprises Bala’s overview of my role in life.
Here is that advice:
There are innumerable people in this world who have received boons. The act of receiving such a divine blessing is known only to two individuals. One, is the person who receives the boon. The other is the “giver” of this gift. The “giver” does not publicize the fact he or she has given the boon to a particular person.
In this situation, if everyone is aware of the news that such a rare gift has been bestowed, it must surely be a result of the information passed on by the “receiver” to someone else. However, there is a particular piece of information that none of the boon receivers are aware of until now. This is the fact that there exist two distinct types of boons.
The first variety is where a person prays to God and is therefore granted his wish in the form of a boon. The second type is when a gift is bestowed by God without anyone asking for it. In the first case, when a wish is asked for, it is granted everytime the plea is registered as separate events.
Even so, the boon is not bestowed immediately. There are certain extraordinary feats one has to perform in order to merit it. Finally, the God you worship is pleased with you and your desires are fulfilled.
The second variety is where requests are granted immediately without one having to ask for them specifically. In other words, the first type is similar to getting paid wages for labor or physical effort. The boon is God’s remuneration for your sincere efforts.
On the other hand, the wish that is granted without the need to ask can be compared to a token of appreciation; a prize given by God . For the good deeds you have accomplished, God is happy and what is bestowed is an expression of his whole hearted appreciation.
In this second type of boon there is an unique level; a state that has never before been attained by anyone so far. Yet, You are the first person to have reached this level.
So saying, Bala stopped her discourse.
Although I felt I could understand somewhat, I realized I really couldn’t comprehend clearly what she was saying. It became clear later , as Bala started to explain in more detail.
In praise of your good heart and in recognition of the effort you put in to increase and develop your heart felt desire to help others, I have given immeasurable powers to both your eyes as well as hands. I have bestowed upon you this very esteemed prize as a special gift. Only I am fully aware of the true power contained in this boon I have given you.
However, even after receiving this unique gift from me you did not really attach too much importance to the fact that your eyes and hands have enormous power. You simply carried on in your normal activities without changing your personality. Witnessing your normal interaction with people around you I became extremely happy. When the person who has received divine gifts does not think too much about their special powers and instead focuses his mind only on God, the ultimate bestower of all boons, then the next gift will be granted to him not by his favorite deity but by all other blessed Gods and deities.
With regard to this matter, you are the only human being who has remained true to one God and conducted yourself in life with honesty and propriety. So, you are the first person to receive the entire lot of grants and wishes bestowed by all the other Gods.
Also, it is only You who can write about all these amazing divine secrets and that too, in an extremely ordinary manner.
Thus ended the divine speech and advice from Bala. How was I able to write about it? That is indeed the greatest wonder!
I have written in “Bala Andhadi” that people who sincerely pray to Bala to have their special wishes granted need only think of her sincerely at all times. Be it a living being or a non living being like a tree, even the latter will gain divinity. This is Bala’s greatness.
In the same manner, Bala has guided me in a progression of steps. After starting off as just a barren tree ( i.e. a person to whom Bala gave a title ), I have blossomed into a tree bearing ripe fruits and from there into a tree yielding knowledge of the highest degree. All these transformations going on within myself, I realized only after Bala informed me.
Even after having reached such a highly evolved state, I don’t really derive delight or happiness thinking about the rare powers Bala has given me. Instead, my devotion to Bala has deepened considerably and my only thought is “What else can I write about Her?”
If I have to explain this more simply, here is an anecdote.
Four people come to see me regularly, with great affection. Whenever they visit, they never ask for anything. However, they somehow fulfill all my requirements by anticipating them and consider this to be their loving service or duty towards me. As a token of appreciation, I usually give each person, Rs 1000.
However, one day I suddenly gave each person Rs 10 lakhs. The next time, three people didn’t show up. Only one person came. Upon enquiry as to why the other three were missing, I got the response “ Since each one of the three people have started their own business they couldn’t come. They don’t have enough spare time like they did previously”.
“Why don’t you start your own business?” I asked the one person who had come to me. His reply “ I don’t have sufficient time to even come here to take care of you and be of service to you. In this case, where do I have the time to start any business?”
Think of it this way:
In the place of this devoted person, I stand.
In my place stands Bala.
This is the truth. I simply don’t have the time nor inclination to examine, analyse or experiment with the gifts bestowed on me by either Bala or the other deities.
All I know and am sure about in my life are Bala and this pen she has given me. While everyone who has received boons tends to think more highly of their valuable powers and hardly spare a thought to God who has given it, I, on the other hand have placed beside me the unique boons gifted to me by Bala, saying that they only come next in importance after her. Following this maxim, I have simply carried on with the task of writing.
What use or value is it for you to know about my special powers?
Contemplate instead, on your contribution to society and the welfare of others.
When you do this, all the special privileges and boons will line up at your door.
Affectionately,
Nemili Baba.G.
Sri Bala Charanam.
THE DIVINE GLORY OF SRI BALA.
CHAPTER ONE.
On Faith and a Fulfilled Life.
Abandon the tendency to worry just about yourself
When you pray for the welfare of others
Your life’s rewards, I shall grant you
Let go of the thought that problems afflict only you
When you live in the service of others
Your problems will let go of you! 1
A thousand people may say “No” to you
Yet who else is there, except me to say “Yes”?
Never conclude you cannot accomplish
Do not despair that you cannot achieve
When you understand I execute and carry out everything
In your life will commence a new dawning. 2
Regardless of the many sorrows that come your way
Despite a multitude of woes and endless heartache
Never ask “Why do all these problems occur only to me?”
Never allow your mind to get perturbed
Even when family mount all their problems on your head
I myself shall sit on your lap
Holding you, supporting you
Don’t ever forget! 3
Although you live with your family
I dwell within you
All your actions, be they right or wrong
Wholeheartedly I savor
Fill your heart with goodness, discard all that is wicked
Protect you I shall, like an eyelid does the eye
Abandon all your worries. 4
Leave outside your house
All sorrows and losses that come your way
Stop asking yourself “Why should I suffer?”
A house, life partner, children, riches, wealth and more
I will give everything you desire
This you must believe
No longer should you crave for anything, harbor suspicion or fear
Change yourself instantly right here. 5
Stop worrying what tomorrow holds in store for you
Don’t roam with your horoscope or soothsayers pursue
Problems can’t vanish by looking at the stars
Or by foretelling the future through astrology
When I occupy a place in your heart, troubles will never arise
So live not your life indulging in self-pity
Broadcast not your sorrows or cry to everyone in the city. 6
Although nine planets might be ascendant in your horoscope
Yet your life will fail to shine
Without my approval and blessings nothing will improve or prosper
When you obtain perfect peace of mind in my presence
And know this to be the Truth
Henceforth you shall certainly cease to engage
In actions that are wrong , wounding others’ hearts in rage 7
CHAPTER TWO
ON GIVING AND RECEIVING
When you treat with respect all things given and received from me
Your good qualities will multiply, the world will hold you in high esteem
Whatever I give you can never be prevented or forestalled by anyone
Whatever I refuse or deny can never be granted by anyone! 1
By raising your hands to accept either a Sri Chakra or Dollar from me
Never will you be in a place
With hands raised in supplication or obligation to anyone
Never will you have to shed tears
By accepting whatever I give you
Your life shall prosper
My existence is never based or dependent on you
An extraordinary planet exists just for me! 2
When you expect to receive something from me and I refuse
This is for your own benefit
When you misunderstand why I don’t give what you want
For whose gain can that be?
Don’t say you will read the “prayer to remove illnesses” only when you fall sick
Long after you are rid of all diseases and on the road to good health
Don’t forget to read this hymn for general well being and strength. 3
When I ask you to tell me about your shortcomings
Catalogue all your faults, don’t hesitate to mention these to me
Yet, don’t inform me all about your wants and desires
When you receive a copy of “Bala Vijayam”
Don’t hasten to read just the “Golden words of Wisdom” at the very end
Inside the book are contained my writings
All of them “Golden Words”
Don’t forget to include these in your reading! 4
After accomplishing your needs and receiving everything from me
If you feel uncertain about visiting me or have second thoughts
When you hesitate to give anything to Me
Who gives everything to you
I shall separate myself from you and place you in an entirely separate world
Regardless of how many rebirths you may take
I will never again enter your thoughts even by mistake. 5
During prayer, if you address your personal needs first
I will address them last
Yet, when you place others’ wishes first and yours last
All your problems , worries and requirements
I shall take care of them at once. 6
Visit many temples as an expression of Faith or Bhakthi
Yet, do not immerse yourself in this quest entirely
Forgetting the passage of time
Wasting your time in fruitless pursuits does not constitute Faith
Spending your time for others’ wellbeing
That alone represents true Faith. 7
CHAPTER THREE
ON RIGHT AND WRONG.
Once you have learned to walk head bowed, looking down
Then I will raise you to an unimaginable height
Never attempt, at anytime, to flaunt your talent and intellect to me
When love is not accompanied by humility
You will never be able to catch me! 1
Don’t plead loudly with me for Pity
Don’t broadcast your problems in public, bemoan your fate or express your grief
For the whole town to know
Never claim you know everything and misconstrue
I know everything about you
From this day forward, don’t dance to a wrong tune! 2
Many, many are the temples in this world where Gods reside
Many, many are the hearts where I reside
I have come to dwell in your heart
Never at any time forget this
Of all your faults I am fully aware
So commit not mistakes any more. 3
In spite of whatever happens, whatever you might forget
Never at any time forget me
Whatever you might lose, even if a bolt of thunder strikes you
Never lose sight of me
I steer this entire world
Will I not show you a way out?
Never shall I forsake or abandon
Any living creature who places full belief in Me! 4
Despite your many faults I still respect you and stay with you
Despite your ignorance, I call you near me
I give you everything
Consider how you conduct yourself before
Me, who grants all your wishes
Claiming to be righteous and wise
You do put on an act in front of me. 5
I know your true nature, a darker side known only to you
I was aware of all your actions before I came to dwell within you
Although you have committed mistakes earlier, it’s not necessary for them to recur
Having learned from your past mistakes, don’t forget to reform or change for the better. 6
CHAPTER FOUR
ON CHILD AND GOD
Don’t question me who bestows all, even before you ask
Questioning my actions will turn your life into just a question mark
During either difficult times or while I’m imparting wisdom to you
Don’t burden me with questions
However, when you accomplish your goals after reaching me
Don’t forget to question yourself. 1
Abandoning me in anger will take you just one second
Yet, never will I ever have the heart to forsake your family
I think about you more often than you do of Me
Not realizing this, when you come to me complaining
I shall merely keep smiling. 2
While your thoughts constantly hover around your family
My thoughts surround and protect you at all times
You are surely aware I’m the sole reason for your life to flourish today
So, don’t forget to express your gratitude in some way. 3
Never enquire “What have you done for me?”
Never make a list of things you might have done for me or show this to me
Pride will surely bring about your ruin
Remove arrogance, learn to be selfless
Only then can you realize your true “self”. 4
Seeking you out in your own home, extending you a helping hand
This is my usual practice
Yet, seeking me out only when you need help appears to be your normal practice
Fulfilling all your wants, not keeping track of your countless demands
Is enjoyable for me
Yet, grudging every penny you spend on me and controlling the budget
Seems to be a pastime for you! 5
If you realize I live within you
Never will you lower your self esteem
Never will you bemoan that this precious life is useless
Remember, I sought you out even before you started searching for me
I granted all your wishes even before you commenced praying to me. 6
CHAPTER FIVE
ON ENDING AND A NEW DAWNING
Foolish are those who deceive and grab others’ wealth
By claiming to predict the future
Yet even more foolish are those who rush after these false prophets
With burning desire to know what their future holds
When his future is in my hands, what can the mystic predict?
Knowing this to be the truth
Why the frantic rush to know what the future will reveal? 1
Deciding what your needs are is entirely my choice
Yet, Concluding you have received enough is entirely wrong
About this entire universe I am fully aware
To know what’s in your heart is certainly no hard task for me
Comprehend this
When wickedness fills your heart
Can life’s new dawning really commence? 2
As far as possible don’t reveal any of your decisions to Me
Never forget
My decision alone heralds a fresh start for you
No one can either understand Me or catch Me easily
Yet,
When you breathe the message of Love in your heart
And show affection to all living beings
Never will you be able to lose sight of Me. 3
For all your good attributes I alone am responsible
For all your negative traits, You alone are accountable
Leave in my care whatever might be worrying you
Reduce the habit of behaving irresponsibly and
Start lessening the sufferings and misery of others around you. 4
Forgetting the many good qualities hidden inside
Why emphasize only the few evil traits you possess?
Expose your good side to the world
Set an example to others
And make them tread the virtuous path as revealed by your elders. 5
When you show respect only to those with wealth
When you shun and disrespect poverty, forget the wellbeing of those around
And Yet worship me in isolation
These actions are totally unjust
It’s a crime to waste your life without direction
When you know you are fully capable of achieving
The moment you realize this truth
You will begin to enjoy a higher, more purposeful life. 6
Seeking peace of mind, it’s enough to visit temples just once
The next time, if you must,
Go and pray for the wellbeing of others
It is only natural to love the deity you are devoted to
Yet, when by actions you endear yourself to God
That is the true significance of Life. 7
CHAPTER SIX
ON RELATIONSHIPS AND RENUNCIATION
You don’t live in harmony with the few good members in your family
You visit Me at the Peetam, but not in their company
Yet, the minute you enter, you sing an earnest prayer
Pleading for closeness, togetherness and unity
I am completely familiar with you and this world
Whom do you think you are deceiving? 1
You complained your relatives caused you worries and heartache
You rejected kith and kin and renounced all worldly ties
Yet, life as an ascetic might never be care free, you’ll soon see
When inappropriate associations threaten renunciation
The world will never cease to trouble you
Have you forgotten this is true? 2
Never deny or misunderstand the sanctity of Birth
Never accept all renunciation as being really true
Perceiving the truth that birth and death occur just once
Why do you need to reject this life?
Discarding family and friends
You shall merely drift, and aimlessly spend this life 3
Hiding a thousand impurities within yourself
A thousand prayers and penances did you perform
A thousand religious customs and proprieties did you observe
And carry out a thousand holy rites
Reciting thousands of mystical incantations
The dirt in your heart, you let it accumulate and into a mountain grow
Just as splashing holy vermilion can never a refuse heap sanctify
In your inner self, heaped with impurities
You became just that! 4
Concealing the dirt in your mind
You strove to keep your external appearance clean and dirt free
Concluding your heart was chaste enough
You neglected personal hygiene
Both your physical body and mind
Are valuable boons I have given you
This you quite forgot
Piling impurities in both mind and body
You simply disgraced me. 5
Witnessing advertisements for huge yagnas and massive, religious rites,
You tend to get carried away, overawed by their seductive promises
Even though you realize these acts are mere monetary bargains
Yet, You continue to remain amazed
Pomp and show can never be part of spiritual endeavor
When this truth you realize and discard false acts
Peace of mind will instantly descend, this is a true fact. 6
An Ascetic is God’s instrument sent on earth to relieve others’ suffering
A woman is God’s creation, an embodiment of Sacrifice
When her divine status she forgets and falls at the feet
Of one who has rejected everything of this world
This is an act that slights God’s wishes
Why has she, of this, lost sight? 7
Stop finding fault with family and friends around you
Cease to think about their shortcomings or worth
Never shrug off good relationships in hatred
Even when the whole world opposes you
I am here to raise your standing in life
Never forget this
So, Don’t forget to extend a helping hand
To those below you. 8
Never, at any time, push away family members who are good at heart
Never think that money alone is sufficient and good qualities are not necessary
Never hate, shun or mock poverty
All these negative traits
My heart can never tolerate from anyone at anytime. 9
CHAPTER SEVEN
ON COMFORT AND CONSOLATION
You show no fear, express not the slightest timidity
Whilst asking favors from me
Why is it that when all your wants are fulfilled
All your goals are accomplished
You shy away from acknowledging my help?
When you come to me with expectation
And face disappointment instead
When you suffer, all alone and are in deep distress
I shall be there with you
Comforting you, supporting you
Don’t ever forget that. 1
When you come to Me
Alone, in utter despair and inconsolable grief
When you stand in front of Me with tears in your eyes
In deep anguish
I will also be there alongside you!
Asking others to perform holy rites on your behalf
Will never eradicate your problems
Instead, Place your sorrows and troubles at My feet
And soon, they will disappear. 2
Don’t fear either your enemies or opponents
And pounce on them with anger
Don’t jump with rage into the arena of warfare
And react with fury and in haste
When you do this
I shall stand inert, hands folded quietly by my side
Yet, Into the battle field I myself shall descend
When you show patience and stand quietly
Hands by your side. 3
If family and relations make you cry
Shed those tears quickly, but forget this at once
If people cause you to take a tumble
Fall down immediately, but get up at once
No one can make you weep or cause destruction to you anymore
Who can annihilate you?
Come to me, stand by my side. 4
By crying, lamenting and giving vent to your sorrow
Your problems will never get solved
No more will you have to face a world of darkness and despair
No longer will you have to yearn or pray for anything
When you are sagging under the burden of your problems
I shall always protect you, never ever forget this! 5
Having ups and downs in life are not considered flaws
Taking a tumble and then getting up no defects make
If you accept this, then don’t forget
That concealing and hiding your downturn is an error
When you accept this truth, all wounds will vanish like a magical illusion
No more will worries or sorrows affect you
Once you have completely understood Me! 6
When you have been deserted by the entire world around you
When you are abandoned by all
Without any prospect of hope or help
My tender hands will clasp yours warmly
And protecting your whole family
Remain with you until the very end. 7
SRI BALA CHARANAM
SRI BALA THUNAI
Friday, November 7, 2008
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Friday, September 5, 2008
Epilogue
Over the past two decades, my spiritual progress has evolved primarily through the blessings and guidance of my Guru, the late Shri Shanthananda Swamigal of Pudukkottai. Until his Samadhi in May, 2002, he remained the only contact I had with Hindu religion and Goddess Bhuvaneswari. However, even after his demise he has helped me in many subtle ways, and I realize that without his grace I would never have been placed on this path of spirituality or religious art.
Sri Shanthananda Swamigal’s final words to me were, “ If you think with deep devotion about the great Goddess, She will come inside you. You will become Her and She will become you. There will be no difference between both of you”.
Surely, this was the same message that was passed on to me by Sai Baba.
Many have been the Gurus who have helped me along the way. Shri Paramarthananda, Shri Omkarananda Swamigal, “Amma”, Amritanandamayi, and Shri Haran “Aiya”, are but a few who by their words of advice, look, or grace have enabled me to find the strength to carry on in my chosen path.
In 2002, I was introduced to Sri Bala Peetam at Nemili. From that year onwards my paintings seemed to take on a deeper level of significance. I didn’t realize at that time why I had started doing these paintings.
Neither did I question the purpose of these writings.
I started to paint because I had glorious visions of deities. I started to write about my experiences after both my Guru and Amritananda Mayi (in dreams), told me to do so.
I started off my writings with the line, “I don’t know the purpose of this diary”.
Now that my writings have come to an end, I can reiterate that I still do not know the purpose of this diary. However, I now say this with confidence.
When I began to write in 2004, I wrote with the expectation of discovering a rationale for this exercise, uncovering a motivation for my writings. I expected to understand my urge to narrate my experiences at least by the time I had finished the diary.
Now that I am finished, however, I find my attitude to be quite different from that I expected. It is one of complete detachment. I realize now that I am simply a medium, who has been instructed to record and communicate my experiences independent of the desire to question, analyse, or justify my actions. The outcome is something I am no longer concerned about. As always, as it has been before, the outcome is in the hands of the child Goddess, Bala.
What I have gained over the past few years is something far more precious than material paintings or writings.
Rather, I have attained total and complete liberation and happiness at the feet of Sri Bala.
I am aware of the many ways in which this child Goddess has orchestrated the events and situations in my life. I am aware of Her presence in my life, in my thoughts and in my Heart.
Sri Ezhilmani and his family at Bala Peetam are unique and will forever remain an inseparable part of my life.
I conclude by quoting a few lines from Sri Bala’s Divine Words of Grace (Arul Vakku).
These holy sayings have proven to be extremely appropriate in all my life-experiences so far.
When you have been deserted by all around you,
When everyone says “No” and abandons you,
My tender hands will hold yours,
And, protect you until the end!
Your life consists in accepting whatever I give you.
My existence is never based or dependent on you,
Yet, this entire world is dependent on faith in me.
When You expect something from me and I refuse,
This is for your own benefit .
When you misunderstand why I don’t give what you want,
For whose gain can that be?
Whatever I do, is for your own good!
When you come to Me,
Alone, in utter despair and inconsolable grief,
When you stand in front of me,
With tears in your eyes , in deep anguish,
I will come alongside you,
Don’t ever forget this!
Bala Charanam.
Sri Shanthananda Swamigal’s final words to me were, “ If you think with deep devotion about the great Goddess, She will come inside you. You will become Her and She will become you. There will be no difference between both of you”.
Surely, this was the same message that was passed on to me by Sai Baba.
Many have been the Gurus who have helped me along the way. Shri Paramarthananda, Shri Omkarananda Swamigal, “Amma”, Amritanandamayi, and Shri Haran “Aiya”, are but a few who by their words of advice, look, or grace have enabled me to find the strength to carry on in my chosen path.
In 2002, I was introduced to Sri Bala Peetam at Nemili. From that year onwards my paintings seemed to take on a deeper level of significance. I didn’t realize at that time why I had started doing these paintings.
Neither did I question the purpose of these writings.
I started to paint because I had glorious visions of deities. I started to write about my experiences after both my Guru and Amritananda Mayi (in dreams), told me to do so.
I started off my writings with the line, “I don’t know the purpose of this diary”.
Now that my writings have come to an end, I can reiterate that I still do not know the purpose of this diary. However, I now say this with confidence.
When I began to write in 2004, I wrote with the expectation of discovering a rationale for this exercise, uncovering a motivation for my writings. I expected to understand my urge to narrate my experiences at least by the time I had finished the diary.
Now that I am finished, however, I find my attitude to be quite different from that I expected. It is one of complete detachment. I realize now that I am simply a medium, who has been instructed to record and communicate my experiences independent of the desire to question, analyse, or justify my actions. The outcome is something I am no longer concerned about. As always, as it has been before, the outcome is in the hands of the child Goddess, Bala.
What I have gained over the past few years is something far more precious than material paintings or writings.
Rather, I have attained total and complete liberation and happiness at the feet of Sri Bala.
I am aware of the many ways in which this child Goddess has orchestrated the events and situations in my life. I am aware of Her presence in my life, in my thoughts and in my Heart.
Sri Ezhilmani and his family at Bala Peetam are unique and will forever remain an inseparable part of my life.
I conclude by quoting a few lines from Sri Bala’s Divine Words of Grace (Arul Vakku).
These holy sayings have proven to be extremely appropriate in all my life-experiences so far.
When you have been deserted by all around you,
When everyone says “No” and abandons you,
My tender hands will hold yours,
And, protect you until the end!
Your life consists in accepting whatever I give you.
My existence is never based or dependent on you,
Yet, this entire world is dependent on faith in me.
When You expect something from me and I refuse,
This is for your own benefit .
When you misunderstand why I don’t give what you want,
For whose gain can that be?
Whatever I do, is for your own good!
When you come to Me,
Alone, in utter despair and inconsolable grief,
When you stand in front of me,
With tears in your eyes , in deep anguish,
I will come alongside you,
Don’t ever forget this!
Bala Charanam.
Chapter 52
I set off on my pilgrimage on Thursday, May 8th with the intention of re visiting some of the famous temples near Trichy and Madurai and then proceed to Coimbatore, enroute to Guruvayoor in Kerala. I wanted to see as many of the famous temples in Kerala as possible , before the final destination of Sabarimala. Since I found no suitable traveling companion for this trip, I was to travel alone although excellent arrangements had been made at all the hotels and a network of local contacts had been arranged by my brother’s office.
I left on Thursday afternoon with the intention of reaching Trichy by late evening. However, hardly had the car left the driveway of my house, when I got a message from Bala asking me to see Her first before proceeding on the pilgrimage.
I directed the driver to proceed to Nemili, overlooking his reluctance to do so, as this detour was going to cost us 3 hours of valuable time.
Quickly, I dialed the phone number at the Peetam and informed the family of my impending visit.
This would be the last time I would see Sri Ezhilmani and his family before I departed back to London. I had booked my ticket to leave immediately after this pilgrimage was completed.
Sri Bala Peetam was completely deserted that afternoon and I was able to get the blessings of Sri Ezhilmani, his wife and son and speak to them for a while without interruptions.
I informed Sri Ezhilmani about my planned visit to Sabarimala and told him that I was not quite sure if I could make this trip as there seemed to be many obstacles to overcome. In particular, I had not paid attention to the vrathams or requirements that are essential before one undertakes this pilgrimage. Sri Ezhilmani gave me a surprising bit of news that Bala did not allow him to wear the traditional “malai” or “irumudi”, when he undertook this pilgrimage many years ago. In fact, neither had he observed any of the rules and regulations before embarking on the trip . Finally, he said to me “ It is not the custom at Bala Peetam to visit Sabarimala. However, you WILL be able to go there and get a successful darshan because when you visit any temple, you are just seeing Bala in the form of the deity installed there”.
I told him that I was planning to climb Sabarimala on May 15th. Sri Ezhilmani and his wife remarked in unision “ It is Uttirai nakshatram on that day. Did you know that Uttirai is the birth star of Ayappan and it is very auspicious to get a darshan of the Lord on this day? Also, did you know that both our birth stars are also Uttirai?”
It was slowly dawning on me that Bala was making me understand all too clearly there was indeed no difference betaeen Her and Ayyappan, or indeed any other deity. All deities reside within this amazing child- Goddess.
Sri Ezhilmani’s parting words to me were “ Bala is with you 100 percent. Believe in that.”
I reached Trichy late that night without any mishap and my pilgrimage commenced early the next morning with a visit to the famous Sri Rangam temple.
I sat in front of the shrine to Maha Lakshmi, waiting for it to open, reading the Ashta Lakshmi prayers written by Sri Ezhilmani. After a superb darshan of the Lord and his consort at Sri Rangam, I had time to revisit the Akhilandeshwari Temple at Tiruvaanaikaval. This temple is famous since it honors the element of water. Lord Shiva is represented by a Lingam that is continuously sprinkled by water from a subterranean source. However, the principal deity revered here is Parvathi, as Akhilandeshwari , adorned with the powerful Sri Chakras as her ear ornaments.
I was able to pay my respects at yet another favorite temple nearby, in Uraiyur. Vekkali Amman is an imposing form of Kali whose powerful presence can be felt by everyone visiting this sacred place. Seated in an open space, with sky as Her roof , this deity is worshipped for obtaining strength and valour in defeating or overcoming obstacles.
It seemed to me that every temple I was visiting on this last trip was being made to feel more special through Bala’s divine grace.
Our final destination for that day was Madurai and enroute, I took in two more temples. Of course, the magnificent Pillayar at Pillayaarpatti was my first stop and I was fortunate to have, once more, a superb darshan of the mighty elephant headed God wearing his golden armour!
The local contact person who met me at Pillayarpatti, insisted I accompany him to another famous temple for Bhairavar ( Lord Shiva) at Vairavanpatti, near Pillayarpatti. Since this was a temple I had not visited before, I immediately agreed.
The temple for Bairavar, an incarnation of Lord Shiva , at Vairavanpatti, is indeed one of the most beautiful ones I have visited so far. Exquisite sculptures adorn this ancient temple , and a marvelous depiction of Meenakshi Kalyanam has been sculpted from a single stone. Ceiling frescoes , murals and stunning architecture , all using stone in an ingenious manner , reveal the rich heritage of the past rulers. The idol of Bhairavar in a standing posture is truly unforgettable.
Reaching Madurai in the late evening, I was just able to have a quick darshan of Goddess Meenakshi before the temple closed after the late night prayers. The Goddess appeared regal, standing amidst the glowing oil lamps. I prayed fervently that I should never waver from my faith in Bala!
The following day, Saturday May 10th, I set off to visit Lord Muruga at his famous hill top abode on Palani Hills. It was my second visit to Palani and I cherished every minute of the short time I spent seated in front of this powerful Lord. After a few moments of quiet contemplation at the shrine of the famous Siddhar Bhogar, we descended these sacred hills and visited another temple for Lord Skanda at Tiruvaninankudi, near Palani. This temple is equally famous, and never overlooked by pilgrims.
In the afternoon, we were speeding on the highway from Palani towards Coimbatore, the gateway to Kerala. On the way, I made a stop to visit the famous Masani Amman temple near Pollachi.
I had heard a lot about the deity at this temple, especially renowned to address grievances of her devotees. People who have lost their money, property and valuables through unjust means appeal to Masani Amman. Men and women who are harassed by enemies appeal to this Goddess to give strength to vanquish their foes. In fact, this temple serves as a court of Justice, where devotees record their grievances on a piece of paper. These papers are placed by the priest on the trident carried by the Goddess and the belief is that problems will be relieved within a few months.
The main idol in the sanctum is an extremely imposing seventeen feet image of a reclining Goddess. In her four hands, Masani Amman carries a serpent, a skull, a small drum and a trident.
When I walked inside the temple, an abhishekam was about to be performed and I sat down in front of this powerful Goddess , praying to Bala and offering my gratitude to her for affording me this great darshan.
From Pollachi, the drive to Coimbatore is very scenic with the countryside appearing lush and green, nestled at the foothills of the Western Ghats. There is a famous temple to Pillayar on the outskirts of Coimbatore. The Eachanari Pillayar temple dates back thousands of years. The story goes that a massive idol of Pillayar was being brought in a chariot to be installed at the famous Shaivaite temple at Perur, near Coimbatore. However, one of the wheels of the chariot boke at Eachanari and the idol that was placed on the ground proved impossible to move later on . So, the Pillayar remained at Eachanari and the temple was built around him. After a sincere prayer to this mighty Lord to help me on my spiritual path, I proceeded to the hotel in Coimbatore for a short rest.
I was able to visit two more temples that Saturday evening. The first was the ancient and beautiful temple for Lord Shiva as Patteeswarar at Perur , and the second was Skanda’s abode at Marudhamalai.
It is said that Lord Shiva was worshipped at Perur by Patti, the daughter of the Celestial cow, Kamadhenu. Hence , the name Patteeswarar. Lord Shiva’s consort at Perur is Goddess Maragathaambikai.
The temple at Perur is a vast one abounding in exquisite sculptures and architectural splendour. The Dance Hall or Kanagasabhai Mandapam houses an ornate shrine to Lord Nataraja. The four pillars of this Mandapam have a slight tilt, as if they are leaning deferentially towards the Lord. The pillars are supposed to signify the four Vedas.
Another interesting temple I visited that evening was the famous Marudhamalai temple for Lord Muruga. Although not part of his Aru Padai Veedu, Marudhamalai is nevertheless , considered to be a very sacred spot and the hillsides abound in shrubs and bushes that possess medicinal properties. A visit to Marudhamalai is believed to remove both physical and mental afflictions. The main sanctum housing the Lord is a small, yet beautiful one and Lord Skanda appears radiant alongside his consorts.
The next day, Sunday May 11th, started off with an early morning visit to see Bannari Amman. Located close to Sathyamangalam, almost 60 odd Kilometres away from Coimbatore , this temple is situated in the midst of the dense forests bordering the neighbouring state of Karnataka. Bannari Amman is an aspect of Durga or Shakthi and has remained a powerful icon worshipped through the centuries by travelers and pilgrims praying for a safe journey.
Closer to Coimbatore I visited two temples for Lord Vishnu. The first was at “Then Tirupathi”. This is a recently built temple modeled on the lines of its famous counterpart at Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh. The temple for Lord Venkatachalapathi has been built by a wealthy industrialist in Coimbatore who was a devout worshipper of he Lord at Tirupathi. The story goes that the Lord appeared in the dream of this wealthy businessman and ordered him to build a temple replicating his abode in Tirupathi. And so, it came to be called Then Tirupathi. The Srivari temple is located on top of a hill and set amidst sylvan surroundings providing a peaceful resting place for the Lord.
The next temple on my schedule was the Ranganathar Temple at Karamadai. This is one of the oldest temples in Coimbatore and the main deity, Ranganathar is worshipped in the main sanctum in the form of a Lingam. There is an interesting story as to how this temple came into existence. Apparently, Garudan, the sacred mount of Lord Vishnu desired to have a darshan of the Lord in his wedding attire, along with his consort, Mahalakshmi. Garudan’s wish was honoured at this location and the Lord consented to stay on here to bless the local people. However, over the years, the stone statue got buried underground and a dense forest of “Kara” trees arose around it.
Many centuries later, a cowherd noticed that his cow often disappeared to a particular area in the dense undergrowth in order to shed her milk . One day, the cowherd attempted to cut the thorny bushes surrounding this place when, to his amazement, blood started to gush forth. A stone idol resembling a Lingam was discovered and consecrated as Lord Ranganathar.
Leaving Coimbatore in the early afternoon,on Sunday, we proceeded to cross the border into Kerala on our way to Guruvayoor.
Guruvayoor is, needless to say, the most famous temple in Kerala and considered by pilgrims to be the “Booloka Vaikuntam” or “ Heaven on Earth”
The enchanting idol of a young Lord Krishna at Guruvayoor is extremely sacred and is thousands of years old. This idol was supposed to have been worshipped by Lord Vishnu himself and later passed through the hands of Brahma, Sutapa, Kasyapa, Vasudeva, Krishna and Uddava.
The temple at Guruvayur is supposed to have been built by the divine architect Viswakarma and the idol has been consecrated at this holy spot by both Brahaspathi( the Guru of the Devas), as well as Vayu ( Lord of the wind). Hence, the name Guruvayur.
Although I have visited this famous temple a couple of times in the past few years, I wanted to come here again , especially for the early morning darshan, the famous Nirmalya Darshan.( when the flowers and adornments of the previous night are removed).
We were met at Guruvayur by a helpful, local contact who had made arrangements for an evening darshan on Sunday. However, when I walked to the temple entrance, there was an enormous crowd of people waiting in a long queue. Although I was able to skip this long line of devotees and join up with a shorter queue inside the temple, I was jostled and pushed by the crowd. There was nothing to do except to be carried along in the wave of the people towards the main sanctum. Here, we were allowed just a second to catch a glimpse of the Lord.
Since a visit to Guruyaur isn’t complete without obtaining the blessings of Lord Shiva and Parvathi at Mammiyur, this temple was our next stop.
At Thriprayar, there is an ancient temple dedicated to Shri Rama. We were able to visit this temple in the late evening and marvel at the splendid wooden carvings and architecture .
The next morning I was up by 2 a.m. hoping to catch a glimpse of Sri Krishna at Guruvayur as soon as the temple doors opened in the early hours of the morning.
As I walked to the canopied entrance to the temple, the crowd appeared more dense than on the previous evening. I stood in the long line for over half- hour listening to the chants of Melpathoor’s wonderful composition, Narayaneeyam.
I couldn’t have asked for a better place to be! However, just as the time neared towards the opening of the main temple doors, the Heavens opened and it started to pour with rain! Although, I got completely drenched in the downpour, I felt truly blessed to be present in front of Guruvayurappan.
Once again, I was fortunate to receive a darshan of the Lord, particularly, at this auspicious, early morning time .
Returning to the hotel, I was able to take a short rest before departing to the Kadampuzha Bhagavathy temple.
Situated in the midst of a forest, the main deity at Kadampuzha is regarded as a manifestation of Durga or Parvathi. This temple dates back to the era of Aadi Shankaracharya and it is widely believed that he founded this shrine.
I joined a long line of devotees who were each carrying a bag of coconuts. Some had two or three coconuts in their bags, while others seemed to be carrying a huge load. Upon enquiry, I was informed that each coconut represented a member of the devotees’ family or friends. When the devotee reached the inner sanctum, he or she would read out the name of the person corresponding to the coconut being handed over to the priest, along with his/ her respective birth star. The coconut would be broken in front of the deity. If the coconut split into two equal halves and proved to be a fresh one, then the verdict is that the person would soon be relieved of whatever problem ailed him and had nothing to worry.
On the other hand, if the broken coconut proves to be a rotten one, all is not lost. A fresh one is broken in front of the sanctum and the blessings of the Goddess are fervently sought!
The Durga at Kadampuzha is believed to have immense curative powers as testified by the huge crowds that congregate in the temple every day.
We were soon bound for Cochin. On the way is another interesting and very powerful Bhagavathi temple at Kogungallur. The legend goes that the Chera King, Chenguttuvan built a temple here for Kannagi, who is also regarded as a manifestation of Durga.
Yet another legend indicates that the Kali at Kodungallur was created by Lord Shiva in order to kill the demon Daaruka. In any case, this is considered to be the very first Badrakali temple in Kerala.
The imposing, six feet image in the inner sanctum is carved from a Jack Fruit tree. A mask is placed over the tree to make it resemble the female deity. There was no crowd when I visited this temple and I sat for a long time in front of this Kali, feeling waves of energy and bliss emanating from her.
The next day was a busy one as I was scheduled to visit many more famous temples.
The day started with a darshan of Lord Shiva at a triad of temples to the south of Cochin. These are the Mahadeva temples situated at Vaikom, Ettumanoor and Kaduthuruthy. A visit to all these three temples in one day is considered extremely auspicious.
The legend goes that a demon called Kharan ( slayed by Lord Rama at Triprayar), worshipped Lord Shiva at Chidambaram and obtained three Shiva Lingams. Kharan carried these precious Shiva Lingams back to Kerala, transporting two of them in his two hands and the third, in his mouth.
At Vaikom, Khara rested one of the Lingams on the ground and discovered that he could not budge it later. Hence, the famous temple for Mahadevar was established at Vaikom. The remaining Shiva Lingams were installed at two nearby places, Ettumanoor and Kaduthuruthy.
At Vaikom, Kharan entrusted the Shiva Lingam to the care of a saint, Vyagrapadhar. The town came to be called Vyagrapuri and later, Vaikom. It is believed that Lord Shiva gave Darshan to Vyagrapadhar under a tree situated on the temple premises . As one of the oldest and most famous temples in Kerala, the Vaikom temple boasts an elliptical shaped sanctum, whose roof is covered with copper plates. The sanctum dates back to the 11th century and the wooden panels and murals are from the 15th century.
An enormous, 317 feet flagstaff graces the entrance to this temple.
The offering of food is regarded as a form of worship at Vaikom and Lord Shiva is regarded here as the Lord of Food or “AnnadhaanaPrabhu”.
At Kaduthuruthy, another beautiful temple, Lord Shiva is enshrined inside the main sanctum and there are also sub shrines for Lord Shiva both as “Vaikathappan”, as well as “Ettumaoorappan”. It is said that if one cannot make a visit to all three Shiva temples on the same day, just a visit to Kaduthuruthy should suffice!
The Shiva temple at Ettumanoor ( the last in the triad), has a circular sanctum covered with a conical copper plated roof, somewhat similar in style to the Vaikom temple.
There are beautiful wood carvings in the exterior of the circular sanctum depicting legends from Ramayana and Bhagavatha Puranam.
It is believed that Khara established a shrine for Lord Krishna at this temple in the North West corner.
The MahaGanapathy temple at Malliyoor is yet another extremely ancient temple dating back to at least 10th or 11 th century. Widely referred to as “Vaishnava Ganapathy”, the image of Ganapathy in the main sanctum cradles a baby Krishna on his lap.
A visit to two more famous temples rounded off the day. These were the famous Chottanikkara Bhagawathi temple and Tripunithura Poornathrayeesa temple.
Although, I had visited the powerful Chottanikkara Devi on two previous occasions, I was quite keen to receive Her blessings again. It is here, in Chottanikkara, a powerful Shakthi Peetam, that Goddess RajaRajeshwari is worshipped in her three forms as Saraswathi in the morning, Lakshmi at noon, and as Durga in the evening.
There is an idol of Maha Vishnu on the same pedestal as the Goddess and hence she is worshipped as “AmmE Narayana”, “ Lakshmi Naryana” or “ Badre Narayana”.
The Bhagavathi at this temple is regarded as a very powerful icon who can cure mental and physical ailments of her devotees.
At Tripunithura, Lord Vishna is depicted as sitting under the shade of the five royal hoods of the divine serpent Ananthan, whose folded body serves as the Almighty Lord’s throne. Lord Vishnu is known as “ Santhaana Gopala Murthy” ( Saviour of infants).
The legend goes that this idol was presented to Arjuna by Lord Vishnu when the former sought the help of the Supreme Lord to help bring back to life the ten children of a devout Brahmin. This story is also an illustration of how Arjuna’s ego was quelled by the Lord, as Arjuna, in his arrogance promises the Brahmin that he possesses the power to perform the miracle himself.
It is believed that Arjuna, the ten revived children and the idol came back to earth at this spot. The inner sanctum at Tripunithura resembles a chariot.
The day preceding my trek up the holy hills of Sabarimala , I visited a few more temples enroute to my destination for that night, at Tiruvalla.
The first temple I visited on May 14th was Chakkulathukavu Sree Bhagavathy Temple. This is perhaps one of the few temples in Kerala which grants access to all devotees irrespective of caste or creed. The story goes that the supreme Goddess Parvathi is enshrined hre as Devi who slew the two Asuras ( demons), Sumbha and Nishumba. The famous verses of “Devi Mahatmyam” narrate the story of how the Goddess acceded to the sincere prayers of the Devas and Sages by battling the demons and vanquishing them. The temple is certainly built in an idyllic spot with two sacred rivers, the Pampa and Manimala flowing on either side.
Our next stop that morning was at Ambalapuzha. The Sree Krishna temple at Ambalapuzha is an extremely famous one and so too is the temple prasadam, “Pal Payasam” ( Milk sweet with rice).
Dating back to 800 A.D., it is said that the idol of Lord Krishna at Ambalapuzha is likened to that of Parthasarathy. ( the divine charioteer for Arjuna). Sri Krishna holds a whip in his right hand and the sacred conch in the left hand as he gives darshan and blessings to his devotees with an enchanting smile.
The story goes that a famous devotee of Lord Krishna, Sri Vilvamangalam Swamy, was cruising on a boat in the backwaters, along with the Maharajah of Travancore, when, all of a sudden, he heard the most melodious flute music. Following the direction of this divine music, Sri Vilwamangalam saw a bright light beyond the tall coconut palm trees.
Believing that he had heard none other than his favorite deity’s music, the King decided to build a temple for Sri Krishna at this spot.
There is no doubt that even today, the divine presence of Sri Krishna is manifest at this lovely temple!
Our next stop was the interesting temple for snakes at Mannarsala. The Nagaraja temple here is closely associated with Lord Parasurama ( an incarnation of Vishnu) and the creation of the state of Kerala.
The sory goes that Parasurama beseeched the Supreme Lord for forgiveness after having battled and killed many Kshatriyas. He was told that the only remedial measure for him to attain salvation was if he gave away a lot of land as donation to poor Brahmins. So, Parasurama took out his battling axe and flung it far into the sea. The waters of the ocean retreated beyond the point marked out by the axe and the drained land was called Kerala. Parasurama proceeded to give away this huge parcel of land.
However, this land proved uninhabitable and had to be desalinated if vegetation could thrive and food could grow on it. So, Parasurama commenced an austere fast and prayed to the Lord of the Snakes . Finally, the Lord of the Serpents appeared in front of Parasurama and agreed to help make the land more prospereous. Nagaraja ordered his army of serpents to emit the poison in their fangs and de salinate the entire area.
Slowly, over time, the land regained by Parasurama , grew more lush and fertile and the people living here became more prosperous.
As a token of gratitude, Parasurama built a temple at Mannarsala to honour all the snakes. Many secret rites and rituals were adhered to while setting up the temple here. The installed deity is supposed to represent the union of Lord Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma. Over 30,000 images of serpents and yakshis are found in the dense grove of Mandara trees that abound in this area.
It is widely believed that serpent worship alleviates fertility problems, physical and mental problems. However, the chief priest here is a woman. It is said that the High Priestess , called a Valia Amma, is the eldest female member of the family who has been taking care of this temple through several, successive generations.
The customs and rites of worship follow the strict rules established by Parasurama and there are many austerities that have to be upheld by the priestess.
I saw the room where the current priestess carries out her special poojas to the serpent king.
There is another story about the origin of snake worship at Mannarsala.
Thousands of years ago, a childless couple, Vasudeva and Sri Devi, carried out extensive rituals to appease the Snake Gods in order to have progeny. As an answer to their prayer, the Lord of Serpents was born as their eldest child in the physical form of a five-hooded serpent child. Later, Sri Devi went on to give birth to a human son as well.
It is this family that has continued the worship of Serpents at Mannarsala in the manner prescribed by the eldest ancestor, the Snake- son.
Following the visit to the highly intriguing and unique temple for snakes, we visited Haripad, famous for the shrine of Lord Subrahmanya. Worshipped by Parasurama, the imposing, four- armed idol of Lord Muruga in the sanctum is supposed to have been discovered in the nearby river.
We rounded off the morning temple tour by obtaining a darshan of Lord Vishnu as Sree Vallabha at the temple in Tiruvalla. This is one of the 108 Divya Desams for Lord Vishnu and there is an imposing, six feet idol in the main sanctum. Dating back to the pre Christian era, a remarkable feature here is a fifty feet granite pillar carved out of a single stone with an immense sculpture of Garuda at the top of it.
On the afternoon of May 14th, we were able to visit a few more important temples in the vicinity of Tiruvalla, our destination for that night. These were the last few holy places I visited before the pilgrimage to Sabarimala and my return back to London.
The Chengannur Mahadevar temple is one of the oldest and very famous temples in Kerala. Lord Shiva faces east , while his consort Parvathi faces west . However, Chengannur is more renowned as a Shakthi Peetam. It was here that the reproductive organ of Parvathi fell, after she immolated herself in the fire following Daksha’s sacrifice. It was Vishnu’s discus that shattered Sati’s body into numerous pieces and wherever the body parts fell, a Shakthi Peetam arose.
At Chengannur, it is widely believed that the Goddess goes through menstruation and a festival has been connected with this menstruation ceremony.
The sanctum here is circular, as in most Kerala temples and has a conical, copper plated roof.
The Sasthamkulangara Nrisimha temple is located close to Chengannur and houses some of the most exquisite wood carvings depicting scenes from Gajendra Moksham, Dasavatharam, AnanthaSayanam , as well as beautiful images of Siva, Parvathi, Seeta, Hanuman and Nrisimhar.
This temple is thousands of years old and is packed with delightful art treasures.
Aranmula Parthasarathy temple was our next stop. “Aranmula”, literally means in Malayalam, “ a raft of 6 bamboo poles”. The story goes that Arjuna installed this idol of Krishna as a “charioteer”, by transporting it down the river, on a home made raft , using bamboo poles. The legend is that during the epic battle of Kurukshetra, in the Mahabharatam, it was Krishna’s discus that finally brought about the demise of the valiant Bhishma, on the ninth day of the battle.
So, here at Aranmula, the lord carries the “Chakra” on his arm.
The Pancha Pandava brothers, won the Kurukshetra battle with Krishna’s help. After the war was over, the five brothers traveled through Kerala , and it is believed that each brother consecrated a temple in honor of Lord Vishnu. A visit to all five temples on the same day is considered auspicious. However, I was able to visit just four of these five sacred spots on my tour.
While the idol at Aranmula was brought in by Arjuna, the Thiruchittatu Maha Vishnu temple was consecrated by the eldest of the Pancha Pandavas, Dharmaputhirar, and the Puliyoor Mahavishnu temple was sanctified by Bhima. At Tiruvanvandur, the idol of Maha Vishnu is an imposing seven feet tall and is believed to have been established here by Nakulan.
(The fifth temple that I did not get a chance to visit is the one established by Sahadevan, Trikodithanam, Mahavishnu temple).
My temple tour on that penultimate day preceding Sabarimala pilgrimage concluded with a visit to the Thrikkaviyur Mahadevar temple, near Tiruvalla. This temple dates back to the 10th century and features exquisite and detailed wood carvings in the sanctum. Although the main deity here is Lord Shiva, the shrine for the monkey-God, Hanuman, at this temple is considered very powerful.
I departed for Sabarimala from the hotel at Tiruvalla around 4 a.m. on the morning of May 15th, 2008. I was informed that the car journey from Tiruvalla up to the sacred Pampa river would take about three hours and a local contact person would be meeting me there. Arrangements had been made for a priest to give me the “mala” and sacred “irumudi”.
I prayed sincerely to Bala to help me complete this pilgrimage without any obstacles.
During the long car journey, I listened to some melodious songs extolling the glory of Lord Ayyappan, composed by Sri Ezhilmani.
We arrived rather early, around 7 a.m., at the base of the holy hills and after a short wait, the priest showed up. I sat in front of the Pillayar temple and accepted the “mala” and “irumudi”.
We bagan the trek up the hills around 8.30 a.m. It was already beginning to get hot and I tried not to be concerned about the long walk up the hills!
My thoughts were focused on Lord Ayyappa and I willed myself to get sufficient strength to make it up the hill. There was a swarm of people climbing that day and a constant chorus of shouts “ Swamiyeeeee, Charanam Ayyappa”, reverberated in the mountainside.
Our little group set up a continuous chant “ Kallum Mullum kaalikku metthai”, literally translated from Tamil as “ sharp stones and thorns are soft mattress for our feet”; and this chant was interspersed with the refrain “ Swami Charanam Ayyappa”.
Although, I have undertaken several treks before, the climb up the Sabarimala hills is physically demanding. I was walking barefeet, on a steep path made of stones and pebbles that were getting slowly toasted under the merciless glare of the Sun.
The Irumudi I was carrying on my head kept slipping off as I tried to balance it with one hand while clinging on to the handrails up the steep path.
Finally, I removed the irumudi and gave it to the car driver, who was walking behind me. He transported this sacred bundle the rest of the way and returned it to me just as I climbed up the eighteen steps.
It took our group about two and a half hours to climb up to the summit of Sabarimala and enter the abode of Lord Ayyappan.
All along the way, I walked alone, just a bit ahead of my party, reciting Lord Ayyappa’s holy name continuously in my mind. There were a few times when I did feel exhausted, not so much because of the climb, but due to the heat and humidity. The sari I wore was sticky with perspiration and clung to my legs like a wet bag of sand.
Finally, we were there, right in front of the sanctum. The small idol of the Lord seemed to be infused with a special glow.
I was tired and exhausted, yet, the sight of this Lord seated in solitary splendour , filled me with a fresh energy. The coconuts from the Irumudi were handed over to the priest and the ghee inside them were poured over the idol. The holy ablutions were being performed and I watched as if in trance, the anointment of the Lord with ghee, coconut water, milk , honey and holy ash.
I couldn’t help but remember a similar darshan less than a week ago at the Ayyappa temple in Chennai.
It seemed that the Lord had heard my prayers and showered his blessings on me both before as well as after this holy pilgrimage.
To the deafening shout of “ Swamiyeeeee, Charanam Ayyappa”, the alankara deepam and arathi was performed in front of this mighty Lord who teaches us the value of self discipline and self- realisation.
I left Shabarimala a few hours later , bound for Madurai and caught a flight back to Chennai later that very evening.
I had accomplished what I thought was impossible! The pilgrimage to Shabarimala had been fraught with problems; yet, I had completed it and enjoyed a superb darshan of the Lord, thanks to the grace of Bala.
I thought of the message from Sai Baba that was delivered to me by my friend in the U.S. “Tell Uma she can reach me through unwavering faith in her Ishta Devatha”.
My only prayer is that I should remain completely devoted to this Child Goddess and never lose sight of Her during my life time.
I left on Thursday afternoon with the intention of reaching Trichy by late evening. However, hardly had the car left the driveway of my house, when I got a message from Bala asking me to see Her first before proceeding on the pilgrimage.
I directed the driver to proceed to Nemili, overlooking his reluctance to do so, as this detour was going to cost us 3 hours of valuable time.
Quickly, I dialed the phone number at the Peetam and informed the family of my impending visit.
This would be the last time I would see Sri Ezhilmani and his family before I departed back to London. I had booked my ticket to leave immediately after this pilgrimage was completed.
Sri Bala Peetam was completely deserted that afternoon and I was able to get the blessings of Sri Ezhilmani, his wife and son and speak to them for a while without interruptions.
I informed Sri Ezhilmani about my planned visit to Sabarimala and told him that I was not quite sure if I could make this trip as there seemed to be many obstacles to overcome. In particular, I had not paid attention to the vrathams or requirements that are essential before one undertakes this pilgrimage. Sri Ezhilmani gave me a surprising bit of news that Bala did not allow him to wear the traditional “malai” or “irumudi”, when he undertook this pilgrimage many years ago. In fact, neither had he observed any of the rules and regulations before embarking on the trip . Finally, he said to me “ It is not the custom at Bala Peetam to visit Sabarimala. However, you WILL be able to go there and get a successful darshan because when you visit any temple, you are just seeing Bala in the form of the deity installed there”.
I told him that I was planning to climb Sabarimala on May 15th. Sri Ezhilmani and his wife remarked in unision “ It is Uttirai nakshatram on that day. Did you know that Uttirai is the birth star of Ayappan and it is very auspicious to get a darshan of the Lord on this day? Also, did you know that both our birth stars are also Uttirai?”
It was slowly dawning on me that Bala was making me understand all too clearly there was indeed no difference betaeen Her and Ayyappan, or indeed any other deity. All deities reside within this amazing child- Goddess.
Sri Ezhilmani’s parting words to me were “ Bala is with you 100 percent. Believe in that.”
I reached Trichy late that night without any mishap and my pilgrimage commenced early the next morning with a visit to the famous Sri Rangam temple.
I sat in front of the shrine to Maha Lakshmi, waiting for it to open, reading the Ashta Lakshmi prayers written by Sri Ezhilmani. After a superb darshan of the Lord and his consort at Sri Rangam, I had time to revisit the Akhilandeshwari Temple at Tiruvaanaikaval. This temple is famous since it honors the element of water. Lord Shiva is represented by a Lingam that is continuously sprinkled by water from a subterranean source. However, the principal deity revered here is Parvathi, as Akhilandeshwari , adorned with the powerful Sri Chakras as her ear ornaments.
I was able to pay my respects at yet another favorite temple nearby, in Uraiyur. Vekkali Amman is an imposing form of Kali whose powerful presence can be felt by everyone visiting this sacred place. Seated in an open space, with sky as Her roof , this deity is worshipped for obtaining strength and valour in defeating or overcoming obstacles.
It seemed to me that every temple I was visiting on this last trip was being made to feel more special through Bala’s divine grace.
Our final destination for that day was Madurai and enroute, I took in two more temples. Of course, the magnificent Pillayar at Pillayaarpatti was my first stop and I was fortunate to have, once more, a superb darshan of the mighty elephant headed God wearing his golden armour!
The local contact person who met me at Pillayarpatti, insisted I accompany him to another famous temple for Bhairavar ( Lord Shiva) at Vairavanpatti, near Pillayarpatti. Since this was a temple I had not visited before, I immediately agreed.
The temple for Bairavar, an incarnation of Lord Shiva , at Vairavanpatti, is indeed one of the most beautiful ones I have visited so far. Exquisite sculptures adorn this ancient temple , and a marvelous depiction of Meenakshi Kalyanam has been sculpted from a single stone. Ceiling frescoes , murals and stunning architecture , all using stone in an ingenious manner , reveal the rich heritage of the past rulers. The idol of Bhairavar in a standing posture is truly unforgettable.
Reaching Madurai in the late evening, I was just able to have a quick darshan of Goddess Meenakshi before the temple closed after the late night prayers. The Goddess appeared regal, standing amidst the glowing oil lamps. I prayed fervently that I should never waver from my faith in Bala!
The following day, Saturday May 10th, I set off to visit Lord Muruga at his famous hill top abode on Palani Hills. It was my second visit to Palani and I cherished every minute of the short time I spent seated in front of this powerful Lord. After a few moments of quiet contemplation at the shrine of the famous Siddhar Bhogar, we descended these sacred hills and visited another temple for Lord Skanda at Tiruvaninankudi, near Palani. This temple is equally famous, and never overlooked by pilgrims.
In the afternoon, we were speeding on the highway from Palani towards Coimbatore, the gateway to Kerala. On the way, I made a stop to visit the famous Masani Amman temple near Pollachi.
I had heard a lot about the deity at this temple, especially renowned to address grievances of her devotees. People who have lost their money, property and valuables through unjust means appeal to Masani Amman. Men and women who are harassed by enemies appeal to this Goddess to give strength to vanquish their foes. In fact, this temple serves as a court of Justice, where devotees record their grievances on a piece of paper. These papers are placed by the priest on the trident carried by the Goddess and the belief is that problems will be relieved within a few months.
The main idol in the sanctum is an extremely imposing seventeen feet image of a reclining Goddess. In her four hands, Masani Amman carries a serpent, a skull, a small drum and a trident.
When I walked inside the temple, an abhishekam was about to be performed and I sat down in front of this powerful Goddess , praying to Bala and offering my gratitude to her for affording me this great darshan.
From Pollachi, the drive to Coimbatore is very scenic with the countryside appearing lush and green, nestled at the foothills of the Western Ghats. There is a famous temple to Pillayar on the outskirts of Coimbatore. The Eachanari Pillayar temple dates back thousands of years. The story goes that a massive idol of Pillayar was being brought in a chariot to be installed at the famous Shaivaite temple at Perur, near Coimbatore. However, one of the wheels of the chariot boke at Eachanari and the idol that was placed on the ground proved impossible to move later on . So, the Pillayar remained at Eachanari and the temple was built around him. After a sincere prayer to this mighty Lord to help me on my spiritual path, I proceeded to the hotel in Coimbatore for a short rest.
I was able to visit two more temples that Saturday evening. The first was the ancient and beautiful temple for Lord Shiva as Patteeswarar at Perur , and the second was Skanda’s abode at Marudhamalai.
It is said that Lord Shiva was worshipped at Perur by Patti, the daughter of the Celestial cow, Kamadhenu. Hence , the name Patteeswarar. Lord Shiva’s consort at Perur is Goddess Maragathaambikai.
The temple at Perur is a vast one abounding in exquisite sculptures and architectural splendour. The Dance Hall or Kanagasabhai Mandapam houses an ornate shrine to Lord Nataraja. The four pillars of this Mandapam have a slight tilt, as if they are leaning deferentially towards the Lord. The pillars are supposed to signify the four Vedas.
Another interesting temple I visited that evening was the famous Marudhamalai temple for Lord Muruga. Although not part of his Aru Padai Veedu, Marudhamalai is nevertheless , considered to be a very sacred spot and the hillsides abound in shrubs and bushes that possess medicinal properties. A visit to Marudhamalai is believed to remove both physical and mental afflictions. The main sanctum housing the Lord is a small, yet beautiful one and Lord Skanda appears radiant alongside his consorts.
The next day, Sunday May 11th, started off with an early morning visit to see Bannari Amman. Located close to Sathyamangalam, almost 60 odd Kilometres away from Coimbatore , this temple is situated in the midst of the dense forests bordering the neighbouring state of Karnataka. Bannari Amman is an aspect of Durga or Shakthi and has remained a powerful icon worshipped through the centuries by travelers and pilgrims praying for a safe journey.
Closer to Coimbatore I visited two temples for Lord Vishnu. The first was at “Then Tirupathi”. This is a recently built temple modeled on the lines of its famous counterpart at Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh. The temple for Lord Venkatachalapathi has been built by a wealthy industrialist in Coimbatore who was a devout worshipper of he Lord at Tirupathi. The story goes that the Lord appeared in the dream of this wealthy businessman and ordered him to build a temple replicating his abode in Tirupathi. And so, it came to be called Then Tirupathi. The Srivari temple is located on top of a hill and set amidst sylvan surroundings providing a peaceful resting place for the Lord.
The next temple on my schedule was the Ranganathar Temple at Karamadai. This is one of the oldest temples in Coimbatore and the main deity, Ranganathar is worshipped in the main sanctum in the form of a Lingam. There is an interesting story as to how this temple came into existence. Apparently, Garudan, the sacred mount of Lord Vishnu desired to have a darshan of the Lord in his wedding attire, along with his consort, Mahalakshmi. Garudan’s wish was honoured at this location and the Lord consented to stay on here to bless the local people. However, over the years, the stone statue got buried underground and a dense forest of “Kara” trees arose around it.
Many centuries later, a cowherd noticed that his cow often disappeared to a particular area in the dense undergrowth in order to shed her milk . One day, the cowherd attempted to cut the thorny bushes surrounding this place when, to his amazement, blood started to gush forth. A stone idol resembling a Lingam was discovered and consecrated as Lord Ranganathar.
Leaving Coimbatore in the early afternoon,on Sunday, we proceeded to cross the border into Kerala on our way to Guruvayoor.
Guruvayoor is, needless to say, the most famous temple in Kerala and considered by pilgrims to be the “Booloka Vaikuntam” or “ Heaven on Earth”
The enchanting idol of a young Lord Krishna at Guruvayoor is extremely sacred and is thousands of years old. This idol was supposed to have been worshipped by Lord Vishnu himself and later passed through the hands of Brahma, Sutapa, Kasyapa, Vasudeva, Krishna and Uddava.
The temple at Guruvayur is supposed to have been built by the divine architect Viswakarma and the idol has been consecrated at this holy spot by both Brahaspathi( the Guru of the Devas), as well as Vayu ( Lord of the wind). Hence, the name Guruvayur.
Although I have visited this famous temple a couple of times in the past few years, I wanted to come here again , especially for the early morning darshan, the famous Nirmalya Darshan.( when the flowers and adornments of the previous night are removed).
We were met at Guruvayur by a helpful, local contact who had made arrangements for an evening darshan on Sunday. However, when I walked to the temple entrance, there was an enormous crowd of people waiting in a long queue. Although I was able to skip this long line of devotees and join up with a shorter queue inside the temple, I was jostled and pushed by the crowd. There was nothing to do except to be carried along in the wave of the people towards the main sanctum. Here, we were allowed just a second to catch a glimpse of the Lord.
Since a visit to Guruyaur isn’t complete without obtaining the blessings of Lord Shiva and Parvathi at Mammiyur, this temple was our next stop.
At Thriprayar, there is an ancient temple dedicated to Shri Rama. We were able to visit this temple in the late evening and marvel at the splendid wooden carvings and architecture .
The next morning I was up by 2 a.m. hoping to catch a glimpse of Sri Krishna at Guruvayur as soon as the temple doors opened in the early hours of the morning.
As I walked to the canopied entrance to the temple, the crowd appeared more dense than on the previous evening. I stood in the long line for over half- hour listening to the chants of Melpathoor’s wonderful composition, Narayaneeyam.
I couldn’t have asked for a better place to be! However, just as the time neared towards the opening of the main temple doors, the Heavens opened and it started to pour with rain! Although, I got completely drenched in the downpour, I felt truly blessed to be present in front of Guruvayurappan.
Once again, I was fortunate to receive a darshan of the Lord, particularly, at this auspicious, early morning time .
Returning to the hotel, I was able to take a short rest before departing to the Kadampuzha Bhagavathy temple.
Situated in the midst of a forest, the main deity at Kadampuzha is regarded as a manifestation of Durga or Parvathi. This temple dates back to the era of Aadi Shankaracharya and it is widely believed that he founded this shrine.
I joined a long line of devotees who were each carrying a bag of coconuts. Some had two or three coconuts in their bags, while others seemed to be carrying a huge load. Upon enquiry, I was informed that each coconut represented a member of the devotees’ family or friends. When the devotee reached the inner sanctum, he or she would read out the name of the person corresponding to the coconut being handed over to the priest, along with his/ her respective birth star. The coconut would be broken in front of the deity. If the coconut split into two equal halves and proved to be a fresh one, then the verdict is that the person would soon be relieved of whatever problem ailed him and had nothing to worry.
On the other hand, if the broken coconut proves to be a rotten one, all is not lost. A fresh one is broken in front of the sanctum and the blessings of the Goddess are fervently sought!
The Durga at Kadampuzha is believed to have immense curative powers as testified by the huge crowds that congregate in the temple every day.
We were soon bound for Cochin. On the way is another interesting and very powerful Bhagavathi temple at Kogungallur. The legend goes that the Chera King, Chenguttuvan built a temple here for Kannagi, who is also regarded as a manifestation of Durga.
Yet another legend indicates that the Kali at Kodungallur was created by Lord Shiva in order to kill the demon Daaruka. In any case, this is considered to be the very first Badrakali temple in Kerala.
The imposing, six feet image in the inner sanctum is carved from a Jack Fruit tree. A mask is placed over the tree to make it resemble the female deity. There was no crowd when I visited this temple and I sat for a long time in front of this Kali, feeling waves of energy and bliss emanating from her.
The next day was a busy one as I was scheduled to visit many more famous temples.
The day started with a darshan of Lord Shiva at a triad of temples to the south of Cochin. These are the Mahadeva temples situated at Vaikom, Ettumanoor and Kaduthuruthy. A visit to all these three temples in one day is considered extremely auspicious.
The legend goes that a demon called Kharan ( slayed by Lord Rama at Triprayar), worshipped Lord Shiva at Chidambaram and obtained three Shiva Lingams. Kharan carried these precious Shiva Lingams back to Kerala, transporting two of them in his two hands and the third, in his mouth.
At Vaikom, Khara rested one of the Lingams on the ground and discovered that he could not budge it later. Hence, the famous temple for Mahadevar was established at Vaikom. The remaining Shiva Lingams were installed at two nearby places, Ettumanoor and Kaduthuruthy.
At Vaikom, Kharan entrusted the Shiva Lingam to the care of a saint, Vyagrapadhar. The town came to be called Vyagrapuri and later, Vaikom. It is believed that Lord Shiva gave Darshan to Vyagrapadhar under a tree situated on the temple premises . As one of the oldest and most famous temples in Kerala, the Vaikom temple boasts an elliptical shaped sanctum, whose roof is covered with copper plates. The sanctum dates back to the 11th century and the wooden panels and murals are from the 15th century.
An enormous, 317 feet flagstaff graces the entrance to this temple.
The offering of food is regarded as a form of worship at Vaikom and Lord Shiva is regarded here as the Lord of Food or “AnnadhaanaPrabhu”.
At Kaduthuruthy, another beautiful temple, Lord Shiva is enshrined inside the main sanctum and there are also sub shrines for Lord Shiva both as “Vaikathappan”, as well as “Ettumaoorappan”. It is said that if one cannot make a visit to all three Shiva temples on the same day, just a visit to Kaduthuruthy should suffice!
The Shiva temple at Ettumanoor ( the last in the triad), has a circular sanctum covered with a conical copper plated roof, somewhat similar in style to the Vaikom temple.
There are beautiful wood carvings in the exterior of the circular sanctum depicting legends from Ramayana and Bhagavatha Puranam.
It is believed that Khara established a shrine for Lord Krishna at this temple in the North West corner.
The MahaGanapathy temple at Malliyoor is yet another extremely ancient temple dating back to at least 10th or 11 th century. Widely referred to as “Vaishnava Ganapathy”, the image of Ganapathy in the main sanctum cradles a baby Krishna on his lap.
A visit to two more famous temples rounded off the day. These were the famous Chottanikkara Bhagawathi temple and Tripunithura Poornathrayeesa temple.
Although, I had visited the powerful Chottanikkara Devi on two previous occasions, I was quite keen to receive Her blessings again. It is here, in Chottanikkara, a powerful Shakthi Peetam, that Goddess RajaRajeshwari is worshipped in her three forms as Saraswathi in the morning, Lakshmi at noon, and as Durga in the evening.
There is an idol of Maha Vishnu on the same pedestal as the Goddess and hence she is worshipped as “AmmE Narayana”, “ Lakshmi Naryana” or “ Badre Narayana”.
The Bhagavathi at this temple is regarded as a very powerful icon who can cure mental and physical ailments of her devotees.
At Tripunithura, Lord Vishna is depicted as sitting under the shade of the five royal hoods of the divine serpent Ananthan, whose folded body serves as the Almighty Lord’s throne. Lord Vishnu is known as “ Santhaana Gopala Murthy” ( Saviour of infants).
The legend goes that this idol was presented to Arjuna by Lord Vishnu when the former sought the help of the Supreme Lord to help bring back to life the ten children of a devout Brahmin. This story is also an illustration of how Arjuna’s ego was quelled by the Lord, as Arjuna, in his arrogance promises the Brahmin that he possesses the power to perform the miracle himself.
It is believed that Arjuna, the ten revived children and the idol came back to earth at this spot. The inner sanctum at Tripunithura resembles a chariot.
The day preceding my trek up the holy hills of Sabarimala , I visited a few more temples enroute to my destination for that night, at Tiruvalla.
The first temple I visited on May 14th was Chakkulathukavu Sree Bhagavathy Temple. This is perhaps one of the few temples in Kerala which grants access to all devotees irrespective of caste or creed. The story goes that the supreme Goddess Parvathi is enshrined hre as Devi who slew the two Asuras ( demons), Sumbha and Nishumba. The famous verses of “Devi Mahatmyam” narrate the story of how the Goddess acceded to the sincere prayers of the Devas and Sages by battling the demons and vanquishing them. The temple is certainly built in an idyllic spot with two sacred rivers, the Pampa and Manimala flowing on either side.
Our next stop that morning was at Ambalapuzha. The Sree Krishna temple at Ambalapuzha is an extremely famous one and so too is the temple prasadam, “Pal Payasam” ( Milk sweet with rice).
Dating back to 800 A.D., it is said that the idol of Lord Krishna at Ambalapuzha is likened to that of Parthasarathy. ( the divine charioteer for Arjuna). Sri Krishna holds a whip in his right hand and the sacred conch in the left hand as he gives darshan and blessings to his devotees with an enchanting smile.
The story goes that a famous devotee of Lord Krishna, Sri Vilvamangalam Swamy, was cruising on a boat in the backwaters, along with the Maharajah of Travancore, when, all of a sudden, he heard the most melodious flute music. Following the direction of this divine music, Sri Vilwamangalam saw a bright light beyond the tall coconut palm trees.
Believing that he had heard none other than his favorite deity’s music, the King decided to build a temple for Sri Krishna at this spot.
There is no doubt that even today, the divine presence of Sri Krishna is manifest at this lovely temple!
Our next stop was the interesting temple for snakes at Mannarsala. The Nagaraja temple here is closely associated with Lord Parasurama ( an incarnation of Vishnu) and the creation of the state of Kerala.
The sory goes that Parasurama beseeched the Supreme Lord for forgiveness after having battled and killed many Kshatriyas. He was told that the only remedial measure for him to attain salvation was if he gave away a lot of land as donation to poor Brahmins. So, Parasurama took out his battling axe and flung it far into the sea. The waters of the ocean retreated beyond the point marked out by the axe and the drained land was called Kerala. Parasurama proceeded to give away this huge parcel of land.
However, this land proved uninhabitable and had to be desalinated if vegetation could thrive and food could grow on it. So, Parasurama commenced an austere fast and prayed to the Lord of the Snakes . Finally, the Lord of the Serpents appeared in front of Parasurama and agreed to help make the land more prospereous. Nagaraja ordered his army of serpents to emit the poison in their fangs and de salinate the entire area.
Slowly, over time, the land regained by Parasurama , grew more lush and fertile and the people living here became more prosperous.
As a token of gratitude, Parasurama built a temple at Mannarsala to honour all the snakes. Many secret rites and rituals were adhered to while setting up the temple here. The installed deity is supposed to represent the union of Lord Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma. Over 30,000 images of serpents and yakshis are found in the dense grove of Mandara trees that abound in this area.
It is widely believed that serpent worship alleviates fertility problems, physical and mental problems. However, the chief priest here is a woman. It is said that the High Priestess , called a Valia Amma, is the eldest female member of the family who has been taking care of this temple through several, successive generations.
The customs and rites of worship follow the strict rules established by Parasurama and there are many austerities that have to be upheld by the priestess.
I saw the room where the current priestess carries out her special poojas to the serpent king.
There is another story about the origin of snake worship at Mannarsala.
Thousands of years ago, a childless couple, Vasudeva and Sri Devi, carried out extensive rituals to appease the Snake Gods in order to have progeny. As an answer to their prayer, the Lord of Serpents was born as their eldest child in the physical form of a five-hooded serpent child. Later, Sri Devi went on to give birth to a human son as well.
It is this family that has continued the worship of Serpents at Mannarsala in the manner prescribed by the eldest ancestor, the Snake- son.
Following the visit to the highly intriguing and unique temple for snakes, we visited Haripad, famous for the shrine of Lord Subrahmanya. Worshipped by Parasurama, the imposing, four- armed idol of Lord Muruga in the sanctum is supposed to have been discovered in the nearby river.
We rounded off the morning temple tour by obtaining a darshan of Lord Vishnu as Sree Vallabha at the temple in Tiruvalla. This is one of the 108 Divya Desams for Lord Vishnu and there is an imposing, six feet idol in the main sanctum. Dating back to the pre Christian era, a remarkable feature here is a fifty feet granite pillar carved out of a single stone with an immense sculpture of Garuda at the top of it.
On the afternoon of May 14th, we were able to visit a few more important temples in the vicinity of Tiruvalla, our destination for that night. These were the last few holy places I visited before the pilgrimage to Sabarimala and my return back to London.
The Chengannur Mahadevar temple is one of the oldest and very famous temples in Kerala. Lord Shiva faces east , while his consort Parvathi faces west . However, Chengannur is more renowned as a Shakthi Peetam. It was here that the reproductive organ of Parvathi fell, after she immolated herself in the fire following Daksha’s sacrifice. It was Vishnu’s discus that shattered Sati’s body into numerous pieces and wherever the body parts fell, a Shakthi Peetam arose.
At Chengannur, it is widely believed that the Goddess goes through menstruation and a festival has been connected with this menstruation ceremony.
The sanctum here is circular, as in most Kerala temples and has a conical, copper plated roof.
The Sasthamkulangara Nrisimha temple is located close to Chengannur and houses some of the most exquisite wood carvings depicting scenes from Gajendra Moksham, Dasavatharam, AnanthaSayanam , as well as beautiful images of Siva, Parvathi, Seeta, Hanuman and Nrisimhar.
This temple is thousands of years old and is packed with delightful art treasures.
Aranmula Parthasarathy temple was our next stop. “Aranmula”, literally means in Malayalam, “ a raft of 6 bamboo poles”. The story goes that Arjuna installed this idol of Krishna as a “charioteer”, by transporting it down the river, on a home made raft , using bamboo poles. The legend is that during the epic battle of Kurukshetra, in the Mahabharatam, it was Krishna’s discus that finally brought about the demise of the valiant Bhishma, on the ninth day of the battle.
So, here at Aranmula, the lord carries the “Chakra” on his arm.
The Pancha Pandava brothers, won the Kurukshetra battle with Krishna’s help. After the war was over, the five brothers traveled through Kerala , and it is believed that each brother consecrated a temple in honor of Lord Vishnu. A visit to all five temples on the same day is considered auspicious. However, I was able to visit just four of these five sacred spots on my tour.
While the idol at Aranmula was brought in by Arjuna, the Thiruchittatu Maha Vishnu temple was consecrated by the eldest of the Pancha Pandavas, Dharmaputhirar, and the Puliyoor Mahavishnu temple was sanctified by Bhima. At Tiruvanvandur, the idol of Maha Vishnu is an imposing seven feet tall and is believed to have been established here by Nakulan.
(The fifth temple that I did not get a chance to visit is the one established by Sahadevan, Trikodithanam, Mahavishnu temple).
My temple tour on that penultimate day preceding Sabarimala pilgrimage concluded with a visit to the Thrikkaviyur Mahadevar temple, near Tiruvalla. This temple dates back to the 10th century and features exquisite and detailed wood carvings in the sanctum. Although the main deity here is Lord Shiva, the shrine for the monkey-God, Hanuman, at this temple is considered very powerful.
I departed for Sabarimala from the hotel at Tiruvalla around 4 a.m. on the morning of May 15th, 2008. I was informed that the car journey from Tiruvalla up to the sacred Pampa river would take about three hours and a local contact person would be meeting me there. Arrangements had been made for a priest to give me the “mala” and sacred “irumudi”.
I prayed sincerely to Bala to help me complete this pilgrimage without any obstacles.
During the long car journey, I listened to some melodious songs extolling the glory of Lord Ayyappan, composed by Sri Ezhilmani.
We arrived rather early, around 7 a.m., at the base of the holy hills and after a short wait, the priest showed up. I sat in front of the Pillayar temple and accepted the “mala” and “irumudi”.
We bagan the trek up the hills around 8.30 a.m. It was already beginning to get hot and I tried not to be concerned about the long walk up the hills!
My thoughts were focused on Lord Ayyappa and I willed myself to get sufficient strength to make it up the hill. There was a swarm of people climbing that day and a constant chorus of shouts “ Swamiyeeeee, Charanam Ayyappa”, reverberated in the mountainside.
Our little group set up a continuous chant “ Kallum Mullum kaalikku metthai”, literally translated from Tamil as “ sharp stones and thorns are soft mattress for our feet”; and this chant was interspersed with the refrain “ Swami Charanam Ayyappa”.
Although, I have undertaken several treks before, the climb up the Sabarimala hills is physically demanding. I was walking barefeet, on a steep path made of stones and pebbles that were getting slowly toasted under the merciless glare of the Sun.
The Irumudi I was carrying on my head kept slipping off as I tried to balance it with one hand while clinging on to the handrails up the steep path.
Finally, I removed the irumudi and gave it to the car driver, who was walking behind me. He transported this sacred bundle the rest of the way and returned it to me just as I climbed up the eighteen steps.
It took our group about two and a half hours to climb up to the summit of Sabarimala and enter the abode of Lord Ayyappan.
All along the way, I walked alone, just a bit ahead of my party, reciting Lord Ayyappa’s holy name continuously in my mind. There were a few times when I did feel exhausted, not so much because of the climb, but due to the heat and humidity. The sari I wore was sticky with perspiration and clung to my legs like a wet bag of sand.
Finally, we were there, right in front of the sanctum. The small idol of the Lord seemed to be infused with a special glow.
I was tired and exhausted, yet, the sight of this Lord seated in solitary splendour , filled me with a fresh energy. The coconuts from the Irumudi were handed over to the priest and the ghee inside them were poured over the idol. The holy ablutions were being performed and I watched as if in trance, the anointment of the Lord with ghee, coconut water, milk , honey and holy ash.
I couldn’t help but remember a similar darshan less than a week ago at the Ayyappa temple in Chennai.
It seemed that the Lord had heard my prayers and showered his blessings on me both before as well as after this holy pilgrimage.
To the deafening shout of “ Swamiyeeeee, Charanam Ayyappa”, the alankara deepam and arathi was performed in front of this mighty Lord who teaches us the value of self discipline and self- realisation.
I left Shabarimala a few hours later , bound for Madurai and caught a flight back to Chennai later that very evening.
I had accomplished what I thought was impossible! The pilgrimage to Shabarimala had been fraught with problems; yet, I had completed it and enjoyed a superb darshan of the Lord, thanks to the grace of Bala.
I thought of the message from Sai Baba that was delivered to me by my friend in the U.S. “Tell Uma she can reach me through unwavering faith in her Ishta Devatha”.
My only prayer is that I should remain completely devoted to this Child Goddess and never lose sight of Her during my life time.
Chapter 51
My plans to leave Chennai started to look uncertain the very next day. My husband called me from London and told me to postpone my arrival by a few weeks as certain renovation works were being carried out in our London flat.
I had no choice but to cancel my booking for April 15th. However, I was happy in a way, because, I could undertake one more pilgrimage. It had been my intention for quite sometime to visit Sabarimala, the holy abode of Lord Ayyappan, in Kerala.
How this trip to Sabarimala came about is another interesting story that had its origin many months ago.
During November 2007, even as I was engaged in several tasks like setting up the house, undertaking pilgrimages, and doing another painting for Bala, a very special relationship started to develop with a total stranger residing in the U.S. who had come across my website and wished to start corresponding with me through e mail.
This person ( a.k.a U.S.1 hereafter), had come on to the spiritual path after a few extraordinary incidents that had brought Sai Baba into her life. While she related in great detail some of the amazing experiences she had, I realized that her establishing contact with me was also no ordinary coincidence. In fact, there is no difference between Sai Baba, Bala or Babaji.
Over the next few months, I wrote to US1 about the events leading up to the wedding, the paintings of Bala, the glory of Sri Bala Peetam and Sri Ezhilmani’s family.
One day in January, just as I had returned from a pilgrimage to the Nava Narasimhar temples at Ahobilam, I received a call from US1, late at night. It was clear to me that US1 had undergone yet another supernatural occurrence. She started off the conversation by saying she had a message for me from Sai Baba and then went on to narrate a dream/vision she had experienced.
In this dream US1 was walking across a bridge spanning a deep gorge. The bridge was swaying from side to side , buffeted by a wind that seemed to be progressively gaining strength. All of a sudden a huge gust topples the bridge and US1 was sure that she was going to die. It was this moment, which resembled a near- death experience, that she heard Sai Baba’s voice. It was a soothing and calm voice that seemed to protect her as she “floated” up in the sky. US1 felt that she was floating up to the summit of a hill that she soon recognized as Sabarimala. When she reached the top she looked around but did not see Lord Ayyappan. She wondered out loud “if indeed these were the hallowed hills of Sabarimala “ Where was Lord Ayyappan”?
It was Sai Baba who replied “ The Lord is inside you just as I am inside you”.
And then, came the message “ You must pass on this instruction to your friend Uma. She will find me at the top of Sabarimala if she has constant and unswerving faith in her Ishta Devatha” ( favourite deity).
I couldn’t go back to sleep that night. I pondered over this message and (erroneously) concluded that perhaps I was to draw a portrait of Lord Ayyappan. Hari Hara Puthran , the blessed child of both Lord Shiva and Vishnu stands for ultimate knowledge and wisdom. I had portrayed all the favorite Hindu deities with the sole exception of Lord Ayyappa. I thought if I prayed to Lord Ayyappa and drew his portrait, I would progress further in my spiritual path.
That very evening, I bought some drawing paper and decided to visit a few Ayyappa temples in Chennai .
However, the weeks sped by and instead of sketching Lord Ayyappa, I used the paper I bought to do the portrait of Bala, instead!
Little did I realize, at that time, that devotion and faith in Bala alone is sufficient to attain ultimate liberation that most vedantins talk about!
After the extraordinary events of April 13th, I decided to undertake a trip to Sabarimala, especially since my return back to London had been suddenly put on hold.
The reaction from close friends and relatives was not positive. I was told that one cannot undertake a pilgrimage to Sabarimala without following a long list of austerities. At the very minimum, one should go on a vratham ( fast) for 40 days, eating simple, home-cooked food once a day, performing a puja every evening for Lord Ayyappa. Then, there is a garland or “mala” that has to be given to you by a priest who has been initiated into the worship of Ayyappa. An “ Iru mudi” , literally meaning, “two bundles”, have to be carried on the head during the long trek up the hills of Sabarimala.
The trip to Sabarimala and the carrying of the Irumudi are both steeped in significance. The trip symbolizes the merging of the human soul ( Jivatma), with the Universal spirit, “Paramatma”.
The Iru Mudi is basically a bag with two compartments that is carried on the head by pilgrims. It is generally filled with essential items that devotees require during the trek like food as well as puja articles. Of great significance is the coconut that is carried in one of the compartments of the Irumudi. This coconut is filled with ghee and placed on top of a mound of rice. The ghee inside the coconut signifies the soul residing inside the human body that is represented by the shell of the coconut.
After the arduous trek up the Sabarimala hills, the ghee is poured over the idol of Lord Ayyappa, signifying the merging of the human soul with the deity, while the coconut shell is tossed into the fire signifying the unimportance of the physical frame.
The entry up to the main sanctum involves a climb up the sacred “eighteen steps”. These steps represent the various sense pleasures, emotions, bad habits and ignorance that the devotee has to get rid off before he can get closer to self- realization.
Therefore, the pilgrimage up to Shabarimala is considered extremely sacred and unique and I was cautioned against embarking on such a trip in a casual manner.
A week went by as I procrastinated about embarking on this mission. One evening, as I sat in meditation, I received a lightening message asking me to visit the Lord Ayyappan temple in Chennai. Without a single moment’s hesitation, I set off . Although I had visited two important Ayyappan temples in the suburbs of Chennai, there is yet another temple built in recent times in the heart of Chennai , that I had not been to. This holy place has been built by wealthy Chettiars and modeled almost exactly along the same lines as the sacred temple for Lord Ayappan at Shabarimala.
As I neared the temple, I could see that the road leading right up to the entrance had been closed for vehicular traffic. There were a lot of people walking towards the main gates.
Upon enquiry, I was informed that it was an auspicious day as the “Maha Kumbabhishekam” of the temple was in progress. Today was the penultimate day of the rituals that are supposed to renew and enhance the power of the main deity in the Sanctum.
I realized that Bala had sent me here deliberately so, I could obtain the grace of Lord Ayyappa. The main sanctum remained closed that day as the homams were being concluded. I was informed by the priest that if I returned the following morning, on the final and culminating day of the Kumbabhishekam, I would be truly fortunate te receive the grace of this mighty Lord.
The following morning, I returned to the Ayyappan temple around 8.30 a.m. Contrary to my fear about the massive crowds, the temple didn’t seem too busy and I was able to get a superb darshan of the Lord in the main sanctum. As I was about o leave, I overheard a priest mentioning that a special Abhishekam was to follow at 9 a.m.
I could hardly believe my luck. I staked out a comfortable viewing spot right in front of the main sanctum and stood there, waiting for over an hour for the function to commence.
Although the temple was quite empty at 8.30 a.m, the crowds began to gain strength closer to the time of the Abhishekam. People milled about me and tried to nudge me from my chosen place. However, I stood rooted to the spot , right in front of the Lord, clinging on to the iron railings in front of me to prevent myself from being shoved aside forcibly.
Then, the Abhishekam began and it was an uplifting experience to witness the sacred ritual, on this, the last and most important day of the Kumbabhishekam.
I returned home that day, with my mind made up. It seemed to me that Lord Ayyappan had especially summoned me to get his blessings. With a sincere prayer of thanks to Bala, I set about planning this pilgrimage.
I decided to visit the holy abode of Ayyappa and combine it with a trip to various other temples in both TamilNadu and Kerala.
My sister in law made arrangements for a priest to give me the sacred “mala” and “irumudi” , as well as accompany me on the ascent up the hills, on May 15th, the day I chose to climb up the Sabarimala hills.
I had no choice but to cancel my booking for April 15th. However, I was happy in a way, because, I could undertake one more pilgrimage. It had been my intention for quite sometime to visit Sabarimala, the holy abode of Lord Ayyappan, in Kerala.
How this trip to Sabarimala came about is another interesting story that had its origin many months ago.
During November 2007, even as I was engaged in several tasks like setting up the house, undertaking pilgrimages, and doing another painting for Bala, a very special relationship started to develop with a total stranger residing in the U.S. who had come across my website and wished to start corresponding with me through e mail.
This person ( a.k.a U.S.1 hereafter), had come on to the spiritual path after a few extraordinary incidents that had brought Sai Baba into her life. While she related in great detail some of the amazing experiences she had, I realized that her establishing contact with me was also no ordinary coincidence. In fact, there is no difference between Sai Baba, Bala or Babaji.
Over the next few months, I wrote to US1 about the events leading up to the wedding, the paintings of Bala, the glory of Sri Bala Peetam and Sri Ezhilmani’s family.
One day in January, just as I had returned from a pilgrimage to the Nava Narasimhar temples at Ahobilam, I received a call from US1, late at night. It was clear to me that US1 had undergone yet another supernatural occurrence. She started off the conversation by saying she had a message for me from Sai Baba and then went on to narrate a dream/vision she had experienced.
In this dream US1 was walking across a bridge spanning a deep gorge. The bridge was swaying from side to side , buffeted by a wind that seemed to be progressively gaining strength. All of a sudden a huge gust topples the bridge and US1 was sure that she was going to die. It was this moment, which resembled a near- death experience, that she heard Sai Baba’s voice. It was a soothing and calm voice that seemed to protect her as she “floated” up in the sky. US1 felt that she was floating up to the summit of a hill that she soon recognized as Sabarimala. When she reached the top she looked around but did not see Lord Ayyappan. She wondered out loud “if indeed these were the hallowed hills of Sabarimala “ Where was Lord Ayyappan”?
It was Sai Baba who replied “ The Lord is inside you just as I am inside you”.
And then, came the message “ You must pass on this instruction to your friend Uma. She will find me at the top of Sabarimala if she has constant and unswerving faith in her Ishta Devatha” ( favourite deity).
I couldn’t go back to sleep that night. I pondered over this message and (erroneously) concluded that perhaps I was to draw a portrait of Lord Ayyappan. Hari Hara Puthran , the blessed child of both Lord Shiva and Vishnu stands for ultimate knowledge and wisdom. I had portrayed all the favorite Hindu deities with the sole exception of Lord Ayyappa. I thought if I prayed to Lord Ayyappa and drew his portrait, I would progress further in my spiritual path.
That very evening, I bought some drawing paper and decided to visit a few Ayyappa temples in Chennai .
However, the weeks sped by and instead of sketching Lord Ayyappa, I used the paper I bought to do the portrait of Bala, instead!
Little did I realize, at that time, that devotion and faith in Bala alone is sufficient to attain ultimate liberation that most vedantins talk about!
After the extraordinary events of April 13th, I decided to undertake a trip to Sabarimala, especially since my return back to London had been suddenly put on hold.
The reaction from close friends and relatives was not positive. I was told that one cannot undertake a pilgrimage to Sabarimala without following a long list of austerities. At the very minimum, one should go on a vratham ( fast) for 40 days, eating simple, home-cooked food once a day, performing a puja every evening for Lord Ayyappa. Then, there is a garland or “mala” that has to be given to you by a priest who has been initiated into the worship of Ayyappa. An “ Iru mudi” , literally meaning, “two bundles”, have to be carried on the head during the long trek up the hills of Sabarimala.
The trip to Sabarimala and the carrying of the Irumudi are both steeped in significance. The trip symbolizes the merging of the human soul ( Jivatma), with the Universal spirit, “Paramatma”.
The Iru Mudi is basically a bag with two compartments that is carried on the head by pilgrims. It is generally filled with essential items that devotees require during the trek like food as well as puja articles. Of great significance is the coconut that is carried in one of the compartments of the Irumudi. This coconut is filled with ghee and placed on top of a mound of rice. The ghee inside the coconut signifies the soul residing inside the human body that is represented by the shell of the coconut.
After the arduous trek up the Sabarimala hills, the ghee is poured over the idol of Lord Ayyappa, signifying the merging of the human soul with the deity, while the coconut shell is tossed into the fire signifying the unimportance of the physical frame.
The entry up to the main sanctum involves a climb up the sacred “eighteen steps”. These steps represent the various sense pleasures, emotions, bad habits and ignorance that the devotee has to get rid off before he can get closer to self- realization.
Therefore, the pilgrimage up to Shabarimala is considered extremely sacred and unique and I was cautioned against embarking on such a trip in a casual manner.
A week went by as I procrastinated about embarking on this mission. One evening, as I sat in meditation, I received a lightening message asking me to visit the Lord Ayyappan temple in Chennai. Without a single moment’s hesitation, I set off . Although I had visited two important Ayyappan temples in the suburbs of Chennai, there is yet another temple built in recent times in the heart of Chennai , that I had not been to. This holy place has been built by wealthy Chettiars and modeled almost exactly along the same lines as the sacred temple for Lord Ayappan at Shabarimala.
As I neared the temple, I could see that the road leading right up to the entrance had been closed for vehicular traffic. There were a lot of people walking towards the main gates.
Upon enquiry, I was informed that it was an auspicious day as the “Maha Kumbabhishekam” of the temple was in progress. Today was the penultimate day of the rituals that are supposed to renew and enhance the power of the main deity in the Sanctum.
I realized that Bala had sent me here deliberately so, I could obtain the grace of Lord Ayyappa. The main sanctum remained closed that day as the homams were being concluded. I was informed by the priest that if I returned the following morning, on the final and culminating day of the Kumbabhishekam, I would be truly fortunate te receive the grace of this mighty Lord.
The following morning, I returned to the Ayyappan temple around 8.30 a.m. Contrary to my fear about the massive crowds, the temple didn’t seem too busy and I was able to get a superb darshan of the Lord in the main sanctum. As I was about o leave, I overheard a priest mentioning that a special Abhishekam was to follow at 9 a.m.
I could hardly believe my luck. I staked out a comfortable viewing spot right in front of the main sanctum and stood there, waiting for over an hour for the function to commence.
Although the temple was quite empty at 8.30 a.m, the crowds began to gain strength closer to the time of the Abhishekam. People milled about me and tried to nudge me from my chosen place. However, I stood rooted to the spot , right in front of the Lord, clinging on to the iron railings in front of me to prevent myself from being shoved aside forcibly.
Then, the Abhishekam began and it was an uplifting experience to witness the sacred ritual, on this, the last and most important day of the Kumbabhishekam.
I returned home that day, with my mind made up. It seemed to me that Lord Ayyappan had especially summoned me to get his blessings. With a sincere prayer of thanks to Bala, I set about planning this pilgrimage.
I decided to visit the holy abode of Ayyappa and combine it with a trip to various other temples in both TamilNadu and Kerala.
My sister in law made arrangements for a priest to give me the sacred “mala” and “irumudi” , as well as accompany me on the ascent up the hills, on May 15th, the day I chose to climb up the Sabarimala hills.
Chapter 50
During the month of March, I was destined to paint another image of Bala. This was an image of her in a standing posture, dressed in a green skirt, carrying rosary beads in one hand , and the other raised in a protective gesture.
I had been asked by Sri Ezhilmani to do this portrait .
He also gave me a small poster of Bala standing, based on a mural at the peetam, which had been the work of an artist friend, a long time ago.
I brought this picture home and started to copy this image the very next day. However, I received mental messages that asked me to use my own creativity while doing this portrait. And so I did.
The face of Bala in my painting came out totally differently from the one Sri Ezhilmani had given me. Although in both images the goddess is standing, the resemblance ends there. In my painting Bala is standing on a huge pink lotus, dressed in a sparkling green skirt and a matching blouse studded with dazzling crystals. Her dark and wavy hair comes tumbling past her shoulders and as I stepped back to take a final look, I was sure those eyes were smiling!
Drawing the eyes of this powerful goddess hadn’t been easy.
One night, when I was still working on this portrait, I retired to bed after I was convinced I had depicted those luminous eyes to my satisfaction. The next morning I found to my surprise that I could barely open my eyes. I seemed to have developed an infection . Both my eyes appeared puffy and red. I was puzzled since I’d had no indication or symptoms the previous night.
After carefully bathing my eyes with warm water, I went down to look at my painting. It was only then that I realized, it had something to do with my depiction of Bala’s eyes.
I sat down immediately and erased all the work I’d done the previous night.
I prayed to Bala for support and attempted once more, to draw in her eyes.
I remember very clearly the exact moment I finished this painting. Just as I lifted my paint brush off the canvas, after completing Bala’s eyes, I heard a crack of thunder and the heavens opened! The short and sharp downpour, once again confirmed Bala’s approval of my painting.
This painting was framed and delivered to the Peetam on the first Sunday in April, 2008.
The following week heralded the birth of the Tamil New Year. I had decided to depart Chennai for London, shortly after the New Year and told Sri Ezhilmani of my intentions. He instructed me to go ahead with my plans.
I booked my ticket to leave on the 15th of April. However, my trip was to be delayed by a whole month !
During the second week of April, I was making preparations to leave Chennai. The house had to be locked up, and several important matters had to be attended to.
On Saturday, April 12th, while I was meditating on Bala and listening to her songs, I received a message from Her. I was to paint another portrait of Her as a young child seated on a small, raised wooden platform. What was even more intriguing about this directive was that I had to complete the drawing that same day, get it framed and take it with me to Nemili the following day as a (Tamil) New Year present for Babaji.
Without pausing to question this little “inner voice”, I sat down at my dining table and started to draw. I remember sitting down at 10 a.m. and did not leave the spot unil the painting was finished at 5.30 p.m. I had instructed the framer to stop by in the evening with his tools.
Subramani, came by as promised, that evening. With a great sigh of satisfaction, I handed over the painting to him so he could carry out his task.
My thoughts had been focused entirely on Bala that day and while the painting was being framed, I sat down in my puja room reciting Bala’s Andhadi.
Just as I finished my prayers, the framed painting was brought in.
I stepped back to get a good look at it.
What I perceived was something undescribable!
The face of the child- Bala, I had so lovingly portrayed, seemed completely distorted and disproportionately large compared to the rest of her body.
I looked at my portrait with disbelief. How could I have made such a mistake?
I had managed to accomplish over a hundred paintings. This kind of basic mistake had never occurred before. More importantly, I asked myself “ Why had I not spotted this glaring error right away?
My thoughts had been revolving solely around Bala. Why did she not help me correct my mistake as she had done several times before?
All these thoughts raced through my mind as I stood there looking at that ghastly painting!
After a few moments of silence, Subramani remarked in an apologetic tone that this was not one of my best works.
I had to agree.
I paid him for his labor and told him I would contact him if I required his services.
That night, I sat in my Puja room, alone, looking at this painting of Bala.
I asked her silently why she had asked me to do a painting when she knew it wouldn’t turn out well.
After all, it was She who had given me the ability to draw. So, I could not understand why She had taken “away” this skill.
By this time it was 10 p.m. I had not partaken any food that entire day, as all mental and physical energies had been focused only on this child- Goddess.
So, I had some supper and retired for the night. My only regret was that I now had nothing to bring with me when I went to the Peetam the following day.
I traveled to Nemili, the following morning, Sunday, April 13th ( Tamil New Year’s Day), with neither the customary flowers, fruits, chocolates or sweets for Bala. I had not informed Babaji about the painting as it was meant to be a surprise gift to him. So, I decided not to mention anything about the unfortunate events of the previous day.
It was around mid morning when the car drew up at Bala’s house. I went inside and joined the throng of devotees, many of whom had come over to get Bala’s blessings on this auspicious day. Sri Ezhilmani saw me come in and made an announcement to the assembled crowd. What he said completely took my breath away.
He said “ Today, is a very special occasion. I request all of you to proceed out of this hall, and make your way across the street to the new hall that has been built on the first floor of the house directly opposite Bala Peetam. This hall now houses all of Smt. Uma Kumar’s paintings and we will carry out the ceremonies to inaugurate this hall today”!
I was totally stunned. I had absolutely no indication that this event had been planned .
Almost in a daze, I followed the crowd of friends, relatives and members of Bala Vidhya Mandir to the exhibition hall. A blue ribbon was cut by a devotee and we all filed past the three rooms, where my paintings had been arranged neatly against the walls.
The most recent painting of Bala I had given the previous week, had been placed in the far corner of the main hall. A lamp was lit, flowers were showered at Bala’s feet, and Sri Ezhilmani made another speech narrating the little story of how this hall was built through Bala’s directive and how these paintings had actually arrived here through Bala’s grace.
It was the most unforgettable day as far as I was concerned. As I took leave of Sri Ezhilmani, I did tell him about the unfortunate events of the previous day. I asked him why Bala had prevented me from doing another painting and indeed, why she had asked me to sit at the , later abandoned painting, the entire day!
Sri Ezhilmani’s response was characteristally swift and laced with humour.
“ Amma, we have no space to keep any more of your paintings. In fact, I was praying to her , only yesterday, that you should not bring us any more paintings. You see, Bala made you sit down and concentrate all your thoughts on her yesterday, because, She, in return was doing something for you. Our entire family worked very hard all throughout yesterday, shifting your stored paintings from our house into this hall, and arranging them in a neat display”.
As I left the Peetam that day, it was very clear to me that Bala had chosen that New Year’s day to make me feel once more, that She was always close to me, residing in my heart as “ Nivasathu Hridhi Bala”.
I had been asked by Sri Ezhilmani to do this portrait .
He also gave me a small poster of Bala standing, based on a mural at the peetam, which had been the work of an artist friend, a long time ago.
I brought this picture home and started to copy this image the very next day. However, I received mental messages that asked me to use my own creativity while doing this portrait. And so I did.
The face of Bala in my painting came out totally differently from the one Sri Ezhilmani had given me. Although in both images the goddess is standing, the resemblance ends there. In my painting Bala is standing on a huge pink lotus, dressed in a sparkling green skirt and a matching blouse studded with dazzling crystals. Her dark and wavy hair comes tumbling past her shoulders and as I stepped back to take a final look, I was sure those eyes were smiling!
Drawing the eyes of this powerful goddess hadn’t been easy.
One night, when I was still working on this portrait, I retired to bed after I was convinced I had depicted those luminous eyes to my satisfaction. The next morning I found to my surprise that I could barely open my eyes. I seemed to have developed an infection . Both my eyes appeared puffy and red. I was puzzled since I’d had no indication or symptoms the previous night.
After carefully bathing my eyes with warm water, I went down to look at my painting. It was only then that I realized, it had something to do with my depiction of Bala’s eyes.
I sat down immediately and erased all the work I’d done the previous night.
I prayed to Bala for support and attempted once more, to draw in her eyes.
I remember very clearly the exact moment I finished this painting. Just as I lifted my paint brush off the canvas, after completing Bala’s eyes, I heard a crack of thunder and the heavens opened! The short and sharp downpour, once again confirmed Bala’s approval of my painting.
This painting was framed and delivered to the Peetam on the first Sunday in April, 2008.
The following week heralded the birth of the Tamil New Year. I had decided to depart Chennai for London, shortly after the New Year and told Sri Ezhilmani of my intentions. He instructed me to go ahead with my plans.
I booked my ticket to leave on the 15th of April. However, my trip was to be delayed by a whole month !
During the second week of April, I was making preparations to leave Chennai. The house had to be locked up, and several important matters had to be attended to.
On Saturday, April 12th, while I was meditating on Bala and listening to her songs, I received a message from Her. I was to paint another portrait of Her as a young child seated on a small, raised wooden platform. What was even more intriguing about this directive was that I had to complete the drawing that same day, get it framed and take it with me to Nemili the following day as a (Tamil) New Year present for Babaji.
Without pausing to question this little “inner voice”, I sat down at my dining table and started to draw. I remember sitting down at 10 a.m. and did not leave the spot unil the painting was finished at 5.30 p.m. I had instructed the framer to stop by in the evening with his tools.
Subramani, came by as promised, that evening. With a great sigh of satisfaction, I handed over the painting to him so he could carry out his task.
My thoughts had been focused entirely on Bala that day and while the painting was being framed, I sat down in my puja room reciting Bala’s Andhadi.
Just as I finished my prayers, the framed painting was brought in.
I stepped back to get a good look at it.
What I perceived was something undescribable!
The face of the child- Bala, I had so lovingly portrayed, seemed completely distorted and disproportionately large compared to the rest of her body.
I looked at my portrait with disbelief. How could I have made such a mistake?
I had managed to accomplish over a hundred paintings. This kind of basic mistake had never occurred before. More importantly, I asked myself “ Why had I not spotted this glaring error right away?
My thoughts had been revolving solely around Bala. Why did she not help me correct my mistake as she had done several times before?
All these thoughts raced through my mind as I stood there looking at that ghastly painting!
After a few moments of silence, Subramani remarked in an apologetic tone that this was not one of my best works.
I had to agree.
I paid him for his labor and told him I would contact him if I required his services.
That night, I sat in my Puja room, alone, looking at this painting of Bala.
I asked her silently why she had asked me to do a painting when she knew it wouldn’t turn out well.
After all, it was She who had given me the ability to draw. So, I could not understand why She had taken “away” this skill.
By this time it was 10 p.m. I had not partaken any food that entire day, as all mental and physical energies had been focused only on this child- Goddess.
So, I had some supper and retired for the night. My only regret was that I now had nothing to bring with me when I went to the Peetam the following day.
I traveled to Nemili, the following morning, Sunday, April 13th ( Tamil New Year’s Day), with neither the customary flowers, fruits, chocolates or sweets for Bala. I had not informed Babaji about the painting as it was meant to be a surprise gift to him. So, I decided not to mention anything about the unfortunate events of the previous day.
It was around mid morning when the car drew up at Bala’s house. I went inside and joined the throng of devotees, many of whom had come over to get Bala’s blessings on this auspicious day. Sri Ezhilmani saw me come in and made an announcement to the assembled crowd. What he said completely took my breath away.
He said “ Today, is a very special occasion. I request all of you to proceed out of this hall, and make your way across the street to the new hall that has been built on the first floor of the house directly opposite Bala Peetam. This hall now houses all of Smt. Uma Kumar’s paintings and we will carry out the ceremonies to inaugurate this hall today”!
I was totally stunned. I had absolutely no indication that this event had been planned .
Almost in a daze, I followed the crowd of friends, relatives and members of Bala Vidhya Mandir to the exhibition hall. A blue ribbon was cut by a devotee and we all filed past the three rooms, where my paintings had been arranged neatly against the walls.
The most recent painting of Bala I had given the previous week, had been placed in the far corner of the main hall. A lamp was lit, flowers were showered at Bala’s feet, and Sri Ezhilmani made another speech narrating the little story of how this hall was built through Bala’s directive and how these paintings had actually arrived here through Bala’s grace.
It was the most unforgettable day as far as I was concerned. As I took leave of Sri Ezhilmani, I did tell him about the unfortunate events of the previous day. I asked him why Bala had prevented me from doing another painting and indeed, why she had asked me to sit at the , later abandoned painting, the entire day!
Sri Ezhilmani’s response was characteristally swift and laced with humour.
“ Amma, we have no space to keep any more of your paintings. In fact, I was praying to her , only yesterday, that you should not bring us any more paintings. You see, Bala made you sit down and concentrate all your thoughts on her yesterday, because, She, in return was doing something for you. Our entire family worked very hard all throughout yesterday, shifting your stored paintings from our house into this hall, and arranging them in a neat display”.
As I left the Peetam that day, it was very clear to me that Bala had chosen that New Year’s day to make me feel once more, that She was always close to me, residing in my heart as “ Nivasathu Hridhi Bala”.
Chapter 49
Among other temples I visited in the vicinity of Chennai:
The ancient Perumal temple at Tiruvaiyavur, where Lord Narayana, in his standing posture resembles the famous Lord at Tirumala;
Tirupputkuzhi, near Kanchipuram,is yet another famous temple for Lord Vishnu. Lord Rama is supposed to have performed the funeral rites for the celestial bird, Jatayu at this spot, enabling the latter to gain Moksha.
Lord Sundara Varadar graces the beautiful temple at UttiraMerur. This ancient temple is an architectural delight and there are various sanctums for Lord Vishnu , built over three levels. Lord Sundaravaradar is on the ground level depicted in a standing posture, while on the second level, as VaikundaVaradhar, he is seen seated, along with his consorts. On the top most tier of the Temple Gopuram, one can see Lord Vishnu lying on his serpent bed as Anandasayi.
Thenangur is famous for its newly construced temple to Lord Pandurangan and his consort Raghumayi. The interior of this temple is richly decorated with many friezes and sculptures depicting stories from the life of Sri Krishna. The main sanctum houses two imposing statues of the Lord and his consort !
Just across the temple for Pandurangan is a Shakthi Peetam where there is a separate Sanctum for RajaRajeshwari known as Shodashi, here.
There is a beautiful image of a smiling, young Bala in this shrine, seated just below her Mother, surrounded by all the attendant deities. I was fortunate to witness an abhishekam at this shrine on Chitra Pournami .
Both temple complexes were founded by Gnananda Giri Swamiji whose goal was to spread divine knowledge through “ Nama Sankirtanam” ( chanting of names of the Lord).
I visited Perumal temples at Tiruneerrmalai, Tiruvidanthai and Tiruvalloor; Murugan’s abode at Kunrathur, the Shiva temple at Kalahasti and Tiruvalangadu; the sacred seat of Shakthi at Trichaanur and the powerful Kali at Mathoor.
It seemed that Bala was encouraging me to take continuous pilgrimages, as if She wanted me to think of nothing else but Her. This is true because at each and every temple, I looked at the main deity and just saw Bala. Whether it was Lord Shiva, or Lord Vishnu, Anjaneya or Murugan, in my eyes, they seemed to be extensions of this child- goddess.
There is no doubt that She accompanied me on all my temple trips.
On Friday, March 21st, 2008, it was the auspicious Full Moon day. On this day, a Bala Parayanam was held in Chennai and was organized by me. However, the story of how this event came to pass is an interesting one.
Ever since the wedding in January, I had wanted to hold a group prayer meeting with all members of the Bala Parayanam group at Chennai and I hoped Sri Ezhilmani’s family would be able to participate as well.
However, when I broached this topic to him , Sri Ezhilmani indicated that the March, pournami paryanam was fixed up already and would be held at another devotee’s house in Chennai. Needless to say, this scheduled event was cancelled and, since exams were looming for most school children at this time, the family from Nemili decided not to travel down to Chennai at all.
A few days before Pournami, I got a call from Babaji asking me if would be possible, to arrange this event after all. I was overjoyed! Luckily, I found a large hall available for rent and swiftly made arrangements with the caterers to provide breakfast and lunch on that day.
About forty members of the family were to travel down and I was able to fix up accommodation for them as well.
I am sure it was Bala who ensured that all plans fell into place so smoothly!!
It was wonderful that I got an opportunity to play host to Bala’s family.
However, almost as if Bala announced her arrival along with the family, just as I prepared to receive Sri Ezhilmani and his wife into the hall where the parayanam was to be held, it started to pour with rain!!
I couldn’t help remembering the day of my daughter’s wedding when the same thing occurred! As if reading my thoughts, Sri Ezhilmani remarked” It looks like whenever we come to attend an event hosted by you, it starts to pour”!
We went inside and soon the parayanam began. Oblivious to the downpour outside, the uplifting songs written by Babaji and sung melodiously by Sudha and Madhu, filled all our hearts with total peace and bliss.
After the hour long parayanam, Babaji , who had been sitting alongside his father and mother said something totally startling. He said “ Bala just gave me this message in a flash. She says there is an old lady present at this parayanam who has joined in singing all the songs with so much love and devotion that Bala has asked me to give this lady all her books and Cds as a gift!”. He looked directly in the direction of my elderly aunt. This was the aunt who had accompanied me to Nemili a few weeks ago. Ever since that first visit, it seemed to me she was completely enamoured by Bala.She listened to Bala’s songs every day, read many of the books published at the Peetam with great devotion, and recently, she described to me a dream in which Bala had appeared as a small child .
While my aunt was completely overwhelmed , it came as no surprise to me that Bala had actually “heard” my aunt’s prayers and sat on her lap that morning enjoying her singing!
At the finish of the Pournami parayanam, I thanked Bala fervently for giving me this opportunity to pay respects to her family and say “thank you”, once again, to her for taking care of me during those difficult days!
The ancient Perumal temple at Tiruvaiyavur, where Lord Narayana, in his standing posture resembles the famous Lord at Tirumala;
Tirupputkuzhi, near Kanchipuram,is yet another famous temple for Lord Vishnu. Lord Rama is supposed to have performed the funeral rites for the celestial bird, Jatayu at this spot, enabling the latter to gain Moksha.
Lord Sundara Varadar graces the beautiful temple at UttiraMerur. This ancient temple is an architectural delight and there are various sanctums for Lord Vishnu , built over three levels. Lord Sundaravaradar is on the ground level depicted in a standing posture, while on the second level, as VaikundaVaradhar, he is seen seated, along with his consorts. On the top most tier of the Temple Gopuram, one can see Lord Vishnu lying on his serpent bed as Anandasayi.
Thenangur is famous for its newly construced temple to Lord Pandurangan and his consort Raghumayi. The interior of this temple is richly decorated with many friezes and sculptures depicting stories from the life of Sri Krishna. The main sanctum houses two imposing statues of the Lord and his consort !
Just across the temple for Pandurangan is a Shakthi Peetam where there is a separate Sanctum for RajaRajeshwari known as Shodashi, here.
There is a beautiful image of a smiling, young Bala in this shrine, seated just below her Mother, surrounded by all the attendant deities. I was fortunate to witness an abhishekam at this shrine on Chitra Pournami .
Both temple complexes were founded by Gnananda Giri Swamiji whose goal was to spread divine knowledge through “ Nama Sankirtanam” ( chanting of names of the Lord).
I visited Perumal temples at Tiruneerrmalai, Tiruvidanthai and Tiruvalloor; Murugan’s abode at Kunrathur, the Shiva temple at Kalahasti and Tiruvalangadu; the sacred seat of Shakthi at Trichaanur and the powerful Kali at Mathoor.
It seemed that Bala was encouraging me to take continuous pilgrimages, as if She wanted me to think of nothing else but Her. This is true because at each and every temple, I looked at the main deity and just saw Bala. Whether it was Lord Shiva, or Lord Vishnu, Anjaneya or Murugan, in my eyes, they seemed to be extensions of this child- goddess.
There is no doubt that She accompanied me on all my temple trips.
On Friday, March 21st, 2008, it was the auspicious Full Moon day. On this day, a Bala Parayanam was held in Chennai and was organized by me. However, the story of how this event came to pass is an interesting one.
Ever since the wedding in January, I had wanted to hold a group prayer meeting with all members of the Bala Parayanam group at Chennai and I hoped Sri Ezhilmani’s family would be able to participate as well.
However, when I broached this topic to him , Sri Ezhilmani indicated that the March, pournami paryanam was fixed up already and would be held at another devotee’s house in Chennai. Needless to say, this scheduled event was cancelled and, since exams were looming for most school children at this time, the family from Nemili decided not to travel down to Chennai at all.
A few days before Pournami, I got a call from Babaji asking me if would be possible, to arrange this event after all. I was overjoyed! Luckily, I found a large hall available for rent and swiftly made arrangements with the caterers to provide breakfast and lunch on that day.
About forty members of the family were to travel down and I was able to fix up accommodation for them as well.
I am sure it was Bala who ensured that all plans fell into place so smoothly!!
It was wonderful that I got an opportunity to play host to Bala’s family.
However, almost as if Bala announced her arrival along with the family, just as I prepared to receive Sri Ezhilmani and his wife into the hall where the parayanam was to be held, it started to pour with rain!!
I couldn’t help remembering the day of my daughter’s wedding when the same thing occurred! As if reading my thoughts, Sri Ezhilmani remarked” It looks like whenever we come to attend an event hosted by you, it starts to pour”!
We went inside and soon the parayanam began. Oblivious to the downpour outside, the uplifting songs written by Babaji and sung melodiously by Sudha and Madhu, filled all our hearts with total peace and bliss.
After the hour long parayanam, Babaji , who had been sitting alongside his father and mother said something totally startling. He said “ Bala just gave me this message in a flash. She says there is an old lady present at this parayanam who has joined in singing all the songs with so much love and devotion that Bala has asked me to give this lady all her books and Cds as a gift!”. He looked directly in the direction of my elderly aunt. This was the aunt who had accompanied me to Nemili a few weeks ago. Ever since that first visit, it seemed to me she was completely enamoured by Bala.She listened to Bala’s songs every day, read many of the books published at the Peetam with great devotion, and recently, she described to me a dream in which Bala had appeared as a small child .
While my aunt was completely overwhelmed , it came as no surprise to me that Bala had actually “heard” my aunt’s prayers and sat on her lap that morning enjoying her singing!
At the finish of the Pournami parayanam, I thanked Bala fervently for giving me this opportunity to pay respects to her family and say “thank you”, once again, to her for taking care of me during those difficult days!
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