As we drove into our hotel Amirtham Inn at Palani, we could not help but notice people staying in makeshift tents pitched on a vacant ground next to the hotel. On further inquiring from them, we were told that they were Nadodi or nomads from other places trying to sell their wares at Palani.
AVM family immediately agreed to organize an annadhanam to feed them. On our way up to Palani, we realized that there was more than what the eye met. The nomads were grouped in three large groups along the way.
Back from our prayers at Palani, we stopped to enquire if a local restaurant could pack parcels of food for them. One restaurant agreed to prepare 70 pieces of dosa each wrapped in individual aluminium foils, to help retain heat and freshness. We placed them in three boxes and began distributing in these three locations.
It was very fulfilling to serve the poor after having the Lord's darshan too.
I revisited the Nattadreswarar Temple in Kangayampalaiyam in Erode during my recent trip. My family and I were brought to this temple by a Seth from Erode who invited Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal and Mataji. As we were visiting Kallar Ashram at that time, back in October of 2013, Tavayogi asked us to tag along. It was an amazing experience for me back then as it was now.
This time around the AVM family and I headed for Erode after a wonderful darshan at Palani. We arrived pretty early at 3pm on the shores of the Kaveri. A notice on the wall leading to the river informed us that the temple was open between 3.30pm and 6.00pm. As we waited to board the parisal or coracle to cross the river, Bala Chandran Gunasekaran walked up to the neighbourhood and enquired about the priests and the coracle service. He was guided to the priest's home where he informed the lady of the house of our arrival and intent to worship at the temple. Shortly a priest arrived and made arrangements to have us brought over to the bank of the temple site in the middle of Kaveri.
We boarded the coracle with excitement and took over places in the vessel as directed by the boatman. I remembered how Tavayogi stopped our petty talk midway while traveling back from the temple in the dark and instead asked us to chant Agathiyar's moola mantra. So I requested AVM family to chant too.
On arrival on the shores of the temple the priest directed us as to how to circumambulate the temple and the numerous shrines for the deities. He joined us at every shrine. After a wonderful and blissful darshan of Lord Shiva, Parvathy, Ganapathy, Muruga and Thirumal we began our routine of singing the praises of the Siddhas in front of Agathiyar.
The priest obliged us by narrating the stala purana or history and significance of the Nattadreswarar Temple on film. We were given the opportunity to view the basement of the temple where the rock formation on which the temple stood was visible. We were taken to the garden were trees and plants related to the Natchatras, Rasi and planets were planted.
