REVISITING KALLAR ASHRAM

Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal after completing his rounds as a traveling mendicant and completing his 8 year stay in the Sathuragiri hills was directed by Agathiyar to scout for a place known as Agathiyar Vanam to go into samadhi. He found the place to be in Kallar on the route from Methupalaiyam to the holiday resort of Ooty. The local village headman invited Tavayogi who was sleeping in a run-down temple to put up a shack on an empty piece of land. This was the birth of Agathiyar Gnana Peedham. Soon Tavayogi expanded the place bit by bit with donors from within and abroad chipping in. I found his ashram interesting for it had taken into account and accommodated the needs of devotees from all the four states or stages of spiritual advancement. There was equal attention given to Sariyai, Kriyai, Yogam and Gnanam. I do not know if it was planned or just happened to take shape in that manner. As we walk up the small hill on which the ashram was perched we come to the kitchen and dining hall that quenches the thirst and feeds the weary traveler and the hungry and tired souls who have come from afar. Then they move into the space where Kriya or rituals are observed. For those into Yoga Asanas and Pranayama there is a spot where they can go about their practice. To those who want to meditate there is the Dhyana Kudil. He used to hold an annual fest for Agathiyar. After the tsunami hit the shores of several countries in 2004 Tavayogi took it up to conduct the Maha Yagam to appease Mother Nature. He had people from all walks of life sit-in in these Yagams. 

The ashram where our journey started is rundown and in ruins now as Kallar Ashram has shifted to another venue some 2 kilometers away. These photos are courtesy of Surendran from Malaysia. Seeing these pics brought a sense of nostalgia and sadness. But we understood that all good things have to come to an end. This too shows the impermanence of everything.

With further contributions from devotees, Tavayogi built a new temple/ashram complex that is the present-day Kallar Ashram some two kilometers away replacing the old and rundown ashram. The new complex is run and managed by his disciple Mataji Sarojini Ammaiyar after his demise. The following photos of the new Kallar Ashram are courtesy of Siddha Heartbeat's ardent reader and follower Sowmiya of Chennai. Date taken: 26/9/2021.

Lord Vinayagar's Sannadhi

Tavayogi's Samadhi Peedham

Mataji Sarojini Ammaiyar