The next few years in brief.
JOURNEYING WITH AGATHIYAR 2014
JOURNEYING WITH AGATHIYAR 2014
Agathiyar speaks about the need to continue with Puja. He speaks about the lifestreaming of the Puja from AVM that I had started doing, on the requests of Jnana Jhothiamma who wanted to follow it from the USA. He speaks about me blogging about the Siddhas on Siddha Heartbeat and YouTube. Agathiyar speaks about the current Murugan Era. He speaks about the benefits of uttering the name Muruga: One will gain Sakti and success in tapas; the chakras will function perfectly; one who continuously utters his name will have the gift of seeing the past, present and future; the third eye shall open if one continuously chants his name; Mukti and siddhi is achieved.
JOURNEYING WITH AGATHIYAR 2015
Agathiyar speaks about the posts in this blog. Agathiyar speaks about how Siddha Heartbeat has served in bringing many the knowledge of the Siddhas. He speaks about my intent in taking early retirement and acknowledges that this is the right move. He speaks about puja and how it has benefited many.
JOURNEYING WITH AGATHIYAR 2016
Agathiyar restricts me from moving him to other places. He tells us that individuals' prayers can go beyond family and friends and protect the nation too besides healing the prapanjam. Agathiyar invites us to the inauguration of the new Ashram complex at Kallar and speaks about his fest or vizha in the coming years. When Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal confirmed the date of the Kumbhabhisegam of his new Agathiyar temple/ meditation hall complex as on 16 December 2016 we at AVM began to book our flight tickets to India. Bala Chandran Gunasekaran and I began to draw up the itinerary while Shanga Manickam coordinated the transport with the travel agency in Trichy. Holding on to Agathiyar's words or Arul Vakku through a Nadi reading just before we left for India, all nine of us boarded the plane amidst many uncertainties: the political scenario in Tamilnadu after the demise of its Chief Minister; the demonetization of certain Indian currencies; the lethal weather predicted in certain parts of Tamilnadu and the efforts of certain quarters to sabotage the fests at Kallar. True to his words Agathiyar held on and took our hands on our nine-day journey throughout Tamilnadu and eventually led us to Kallar to participate in the four-day festivity.
So taking up his invitation and that of Tavayogi and Mataji, the AVM family members and I travel to India. This happens to be my fourth journey. As we needed to have a schedule to move around we came up with the following itinerary-Guru Poojai Vizha Yaathirai (11/12/2016 - 19/12/2016), knowing pretty well that Agathiyar would change our program eventually as based on our many previous experiences. We understood that any itinerary that we drew up was only tentative.
So taking up his invitation and that of Tavayogi and Mataji, the AVM family members and I travel to India. This happens to be my fourth journey. As we needed to have a schedule to move around we came up with the following itinerary-Guru Poojai Vizha Yaathirai (11/12/2016 - 19/12/2016), knowing pretty well that Agathiyar would change our program eventually as based on our many previous experiences. We understood that any itinerary that we drew up was only tentative.
Arrival date: 11/12/2016
Trichy
1. Utchi Pillaiyar, Trichy
2. Sri Renggam, Trichy
3. Thiruvanaikaval - Shivan Panjabootha stalam (neer), Trichy
4. Thiruppatoor, Bhramapureeswarar temple. (Pathanjali Munivar Jeeva Samadhi) [37km from Trichy airport]
5. Temple near by Thiruppatoor ( Pulikaal Siddhas Jeeva samaathi ) [2km from Thiruppatoor]
Tanjavur
6. Tanjai Periya Kovil and Karuvurar Samadhi
Kumbakonam
7. Swamimalai Murugan Temple, Kumbakonam [from Trichy 101km] – evening
8. Thirukarukkaavor, Kumbakonam
9. Suriyanar temple, Kumbakonam ,
Halt near by Thirumanancheri temple 11/12/2016
12/12/2016
Thirumanacheri
10. Kalyanasundareswarar temple, Thiruvelvikudi, Thirumanancheri [33km from Swamimalai]
11. Vadakku Poigainallur - Korakkar Jeeva Samaathi [73km from Thirumanancheri]
Stay overnight at Korakkar Samaathi
13/12/2016
Vedharanyam
12. Vedharanyam temple
13. Agasthiyampalli, Agathiyar Appa Temple.
Madurai
14. Madurai Meenakshmi Amman Temple [247km from Korakkar samaathi]
15. Pazhamudhircholai, Madurai .
16. Palani Murugan Temple & Bhogar (will climb up in the evening) [118km from Madurai]
Halt at Palani
14/12/2016
Erode
17. Nattrateeswarar temple, Erode [118km from Palani]
Kovai
18. Sivanmalai Murugan Temple [46km from Nattrateeswarar temple]
19. Chennimalai Murugan Temple [20km from Sivanmalai]
20. Anuvaavi Agathiyar Ashramam, [110km from Chennimalai]
15/12/2016 - 18/12/2016
Kallar
21. Halt at Kallar Sri Agathiar Gnanapeedam, Kallar - Kudamuzhukku Vizha & Agathiyar Guru Poojai Vizha.
17/12/2016 - Othimalai Murugan Temple
*Departure: 19/12/2016
(Will move from Kallar at 18/12/2016 night)*
Sure enough, our plans did change!
DESTINATION INDIA DAY 1
Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal during his visit to Malaysia beginning 15 June 2016, had indicated to us that his Kallar Ashram was nearing completion and that he would most probably hold the inauguration or kudamuzhakku (kumbhabhisegam) vizha in September the same year. Towards his departure to India, he decided otherwise to hold the opening ceremony of his Ashram to coincide with the annual Guru Puja towards the end of the year. Eventually, he informed us that the celebrations will be held over four days beginning 15 December 2016 till 18 December 2016. Taking into consideration the costs involved in traveling twice to India (September and then again in December), he merged both the celebrations over a four-day event to enable us to attend and participate.
Bala Chandran Gunasekaran was the very first person to book his flight ticket and informed us. I too booked my ticket online the following day. Initially, I had thought about bringing my family of five along, but as it was peak season and holiday season, the tickets were rather costly. I decided to follow the boys at AVM. We were leaving on 11 December 2016 and returning on 19 December 2016. Initially, Bala, Dyalan, Sugu, Shanga and I were to go together. The girls had planned something with Malarvathy’s family. Bala and I started to plan our trip which included several Siddha samadhis and temples. Along the way, the girls opted to join us as Malar’s family had postponed their plan to visit India till later. We then had to reschedule our plans to accommodate visits to numerous temples by some of the girls to perform their atonements or parikaram. Our itinerary was now fully packed and we began to wonder if we could go to all those places as planned. But we decided that the priority would be the places where the girls had to carry out their parikaram. In the event, we had the time and the other temples were on the way or within the vicinity, only then shall we stopover.
It was during this period of time that we were faced with four critical issues: the sudden demonetization of the Indian rupee note in denominations of Rs500 and Rs1000; the Chief Minister of Tamilnadu's sudden demise; the sudden fatal cyclone Vardah that was to hit the shores of Tamilnadu; and sudden sabotage of the Guru Puja celebrations at Kallar Ashram by certain quarters.
Prior to leaving for India, these children began to drop in at AVM to pray to AVM Agathiyar for a safe journey and receive his blessings. They also asked for blessings from "Ayya" who came through a trance through one of Bala’s relatives at his (relative's) home. Ayya had detailed out what to expect on the pilgrimage and blessed all. Agathiyar in a surprise move, granted us a Nadi reading on 27 November 2016, just days before our departure and assured us that all shall be fine.
On 11 December 2016, all nine of us (Bala, Dylan, Sugu, Shanga, Tamil, Saha, Malar, Uva and me) met at KLIA 2 to board the AirAsia flight for Trichy. Surendran Selvaratnam, Sri Balachander Aiya, Srimathy Vinthamaray and her family would join us at Kallar Ashram later.
On touching down at Trichy, Shanga’s business partners were on hand to receive us. Shanga had engaged Sanker of Sankar Travels, based in Trichy to drive us around during the nine-day duration of our visit to India.
Bala and I had laid out in detail the itinerary but understood pretty well that, that was only our plan and that Agathiyar had had his own plan for us. We were ready to accommodate and accept any changes in the schedule that Agathiyar deemed fit.
1 Sri Rangam
True to this we began our tour by visiting Sri Rangam instead of Utchipillaiyar. Sankar suggested that we visit Utchipillaiyar later in the evening when the sun had gone down. We listened to him and opted to visit Sri Rangam instead. Inside the temple complex, we found ourselves queuing up for the special ticket to have the Darshan of the Lord Sri Ranganatha Swamy. It was a long queue and it was not moving. What seemed worst was that there was no one attending to the sales of the ticket at the counter where we stood waiting in line. A temple priests explained to us that they were allowing and alternating a certain number of devotees beginning with those that pay Rs250, followed by those who paid Rs50 and finally allowing those who stood to wait in line for free darshan. We were waiting in the Rs250 line. It was almost 12.30pm and the time of closure of the temple was nearing. We began to consider if we should skip darshan of the Lord here.
Bala and I left the queue to enquire about the location of Sri Ramanujar’s samadhi (Udayavar - Ramanujar Sannathi) thinking that we could visit him meantime. We happened to stumble upon an elderly gentleman sitting near the entrance to the temple. He directed us to the samadhi and advised us to have the darshan of Lord Sri Ranganatha Swamy first, reminding us that the temple will be closed in a few moments and what would remain of the crowd would be the devotees already lined up and queuing. The queue would progress fast he assured us. He was also waiting to do so too, he told us. We realized then that as Sri Ramanujar's samadhi was outside the temple walls, we would be refused entry to re-enter the temple once its doors were closed for the afternoon. The chat with the gentleman turned to small talk and we discovered that he too had returned recently from Malaysia after visiting his son who was working there. True to his words, soon no fresh devotees were seen queuing up within the temple complex. The line in which we stood began to move at a fast pace now and we finally found ourselves right in front of the Lord. It was a wonderful darshan.
Asking our way around and after stopping at several sannadhis, looking to see if it was that of Sri Ramanujar's, we finally found our way to Sri Ramanujar’s samadhi temple. Unfortunately the doors of the temple we closed as we arrived there. Almost immediately to our surprise, the doors opened on its own! There stood a couple of priests who made their way out of the sanctum, closing the door behind them, giving us sufficient time to peek into the Sannadhi. That was enough we thought and moved on.
As Ayya had requested that we feed "Bhairavar" at the first stop (temple) we did the same and continued this throughout our journey. Both Saha and Malar were advised too to 'beg" (madi pitchai) at all the temples, they fulfilled this too, placing the collections in the Undil or donation box of the respective temples.
2 Arulmigu Jambukeswarar Akhilandeswari Temple, Trichy
As we arrived at the Sri Jambukeshwarar Temple at Thiruvanaikaval, I was too excited to enter the temple premises so I did not wait for the others. The reason: I had to see Sri Thakshanamurthy at this temple. He had shown me miracles twice earlier. This was my third visit and I was wondering what he was going to show us this time around since I was with these wonderful children now. To my surprise as I hastened into the temple approaching Sri Akhilandeswari’s sanctum or mulasthanam, a “lady” who walked by, stopped and handed me, placing in my hands a lime, lotus, and prasad. Without saying a word, she just walked away with a smile. I was mesmerized, bliss flowing through me. I came back to the entrance koburam and took a seat, waiting for the children to enter. When they saw that I was holding something, clutching it close to my heart, they asked about it and I told them Mother Goddess Sri Akhilandeswari had given me prasad and asked them to collect theirs.
Now making our way to Lord Jambukeswarar’s Sannadhi, I was surprised that there was no crowd and neither was there a queue nor the need to buy a ticket. Eventually, we stood close to Lord Jambukeswarar as the priests showed the arathi. I asked him to shift the water at the base of the linga here so that those who were first-timers could hear the sound of water in the dark inner sanctum. This temple is one of the 5 natural elements or Panchabhoota Sthalams and signifies the water element.
Leaving Lord Jambukeswarar’s sannadhi we came around to Lord Murugan's sannadhi and the 63 Nayanmars. Agathiyar and Lobhama were seated amongst them. I hastened to Lord Thakshanamurthy’s sannadhi. We all took a seat and Bala began to lead us with the Siddhar Potri or chanting of the names of the Siddhas. A few minutes into chanting their names, there comes along an elderly priest from the left, looking small and fragile with the arati tatthu. He opens up the latch to the grilled sannadhi and lights the arathi and shows it. I signal to Bala trying to tell him that it was happening again. Seeing me signal Bala stopped chanting momentarily until the priest asked him to continue again. The priest stands aside and listens on intently to our chant. Seeming to know that the potri was coming to an end he shows the arathi again. He blesses us before leaving. I was mesmerized and in a state of bliss at seeing this miracle happen again. So were the children. The priest had no reason to be there but he turned up!
3 Arulmigu Thayumana Swamy Temple, Trichy
As we headed for Utchpillaiyar and Thayumana Swamy temple, Sankar left us at a distance and we continued on foot. Both Saha and Malar reached out to the public for Madi Pitchai and after depositing the money in the temple undiyal or donation box at the Manika Vinayagar temple at the base of Rock Fort, we began climbing the flight of steps. Bala brought us to Sri Agathiyar and Lobhama who were residing adjacent to Goddess Sri Mahalakshmi's Sannadhi. Bala had accidentally come upon their sannadhi in his last visit.
On the way up the flight of stairs, I chanced to meet the “Mouna Siddhar” who came to our aid when we were lost, going round in circles, coming to the same spot at Thayumana Swamy temple. He showed my family and me the proper way to circumambulate and pray at the various sannadhi. He recognized me too, after three years! and we held each other in our arms, both of us equally overjoyed on seeing each other. I introduced him to the children. He did not speak then; neither did he speak now. It was all done and understood with face and hand gestures. We followed the ritual as he had taught me earlier and headed up another flight of steps to pay our respects to Lord Vinayagar.
4 Arulmigu Kasi Vishwanathar Temple, Thirupattoor
There was a temple procession going on as we entered Kasi Vishwanathar Temple. We joined in the procession. It was a small temple but crowded. Soon we settled to begin chanting the Siddhar Potri in the presence of Vyakrapadhar Brindavanam. One of the temple priests open the glass chamber to the Brindavanam and placed a garland on Vyakrapadhar's samadhi as we chanted. We lighted ghee lamps on the advice of the lady attending the sole shop outside the temple carrying temple items. She asked us to bring the water from the adjacent pond and sprinkle it in our homes for good ambiance and vibration. Dyalen and Sugu fetched the water in the dark. As we bought some biscuits and fed the dogs around the temple, the eatery owner introduced himself telling us that he too had served in Malaysia. He told us many stories regarding the temple. We bid farewell to him and on his advice, rushed to the Sri Varadaraja Perumal Temple apparently closeby.
5 Sri Varadaraja Perumal Temple, Thirupattoor
A large granite Murthy of Lord Vishnu was placed outdoors under the open sky without any enclosure and roofing. After the darshan of Lord Varadaraja Perumal, we were greeted by a couple from the temple who told us that they too had been to Malaysia recently. We fed the numerous "Bhairavar" at the temple grounds before leaving.
6 Arulmigu Brahmapureeswarar Temple, Thirupattoor
We rushed to the next temple, Brahmapureeswarar Temple all within a safe distance, praying that we could make it on time. It is said that Lord Brahma worshipped Lord Shiva as Brahmapureeswarar here. We had an enchanting darshan of Lord Brahma clad in yellow turmeric. As Sage Patanjali is worshipped here too, we began singing the Siddhar Potri when a priest hurried us asking us to come over to Goddess sannadhi and get her darshan before closure time. Here we recognized the temple priest having seen him in numerous interviews uploaded on YouTube. After mentioning that we had seen him on YouTube, he excitedly spoke to us sharing with us a unique meditation technique on a prayer. I could feel the palm of both my hands energized immediately repeating his prayer. We thanked him and bid farewell to him leaving for Kumbakonam as night fell over Thirupattoor.
DESTINATION INDIA DAY 2
7. Arulmigu Swetha Vinayagar Temple, Thiruvalanchuzhi
We got up early and left for Swamimalai that we missed seeing last night as our very first day in India was packed to the brim. As we came alongside a temple by the roadside on the way to Swamimalai, Shankar asked if we wanted to drop in and worship at the temple. It was the Sweta Vellai Vinayagar Temple. Immediately I recalled having been there earlier and that the specialty in this Vinayagar Murthy was that he was said to be made of sea froth or foam. We alighted from the Tempo and bought bunches of Arugampul to place at Lord Vinayagar’s feet. We walked across the large courtyard towards the temple. All along the path, there were numerous coconut trees laid out beautifully giving us a sense of walking on the beach. Along the way, the temple priest joined us and I picked up a conversation with him. He gets about to open the temple for the day and we became the very first to receive Lord Vinayagar’s darshan that day. The priest obliged us by narrating the history of the temple when I asked him for details on the temple. When I asked him to repeat what he had just told us for the camera he very humbly turned us down saying that ‘Anna’ or elder brother has the authority to speak on the temple, in public.
8. Arulmigu Swaminatha Swamy Temple, Swamimalai
As we arrived at Swamimalai, our destination, we came across the temple chariot, a wooden one, that was placed at the crossroads and was being decorated to bring the Lord around (at 10am as we soon found out). Walking towards the temple, we could not but notice numerous unfortunate people begging on the streets leading to the temple, many women carrying children in their arms. As we began to contribute to some, word spread that we were giving out money, and more came asking. Somehow we seemed to manage them. We spotted a building dedicated to carrying out Ramalinga Adigal’s mission for feeding the poor and unfortunate, the Samarasa Sudha Sanmarga Sangam. An elderly man clad in a clean vesti and a white shirt arose from his chair at the entrance and led us to the sanctum where there were paintings of Adigal and the founder of that mission. He lit the arati and we began to sing the Arutperunjhoti Maha Mantra with his permission. When asked about his mission he told us that they feed around 500 people each day. We passed him a small donation in cash for their kind effort towards humanity and moved on to the temple.
After paying for the special passes we stood in line to climb the steps of Swamimalai. The line slowly progressed in a zigzag manner until we stepped into the presence of Lord Swaminatha. Coming around the sannadhi we realized that both Agathiyar and Lobhama installed outside the inner sanctum, on Lord Swaminatha’s left. We stopped to light up lamps and sing songs of praise at Agathiyar’s sannadhi after the police personnel on duty gave us some leeway to do so.
9. Arulmigu Sri Garbarakshambigai Amman Temple, Thirukarukavur
As we alighted from the Tempo the girls purchased items for performing puja. Shanga and I picked up a basket each and headed for the Sri Mullaivananathar sannadhi. Sri Mullaivananathar is said to be made up of hardened mud and there is no libation or Abhishegam carried out for him. We adjoined to Sri Garbarakshambigai Amman sannadhi where an elaborate abhisegam, alangaram and puja were going on. After satisfying the numerous wishes of the devotees already gathered at the packed sannadhi and sending them off, the priests came and received our puja items and performed a similar puja. He handed back the basket of prasad to us and asked us to deliver the garland to Sri Mullaivananathar. We headed back to the Lord's sannadhi.
As for the girls they were made to draw a kolam or pattern in ghee at the doorstep to the sannadhi and worship the Goddess, a ritual unique to this temple. We understood from the booklet on Stala Puranam for this temple that here lies samadhi’s of two Siddhas, Gowthama and Gargeya. Read their story at http://garbaratchambigaitemple.org/history/
10. Arulmigu Adi Kumbeswarar Temple, Kumbakonam
As we started this pilgrimage Bala Chandran told me he would like to bring the boys and girls to the Adhi Kumbeswarar Temple, to have the darshan of Agathiyar if time permits. And so we stopped over at the temple as we re-entered Kumbakonam after visiting Swamimalai. After paying homage to Adhi Kumbeswarar Bala hastened along the outer corridors looking for Agathiyar’s sannadhi. But there was none to be seen. Then we went around another corridor. Neither was Agathiyar there. Now disillusioned Bala sought information on Agathiyar’s sannadhi from the temple priest as we stayed some distance away, observing. After a long briefing by the priest, Bala came to us and led us out of the temple walls and took us to the streets again and there he was at the back of the temple compound in his own premises. We walked into his sannadhi. The grilled door was locked. We took our places and began to chant the Siddhar Potri. A lady leaves a bottle of sandalwood water in our midst and steps aside to listen to us chant! A man arrives to open the grilled door! He enters the sannadhi and lights up the lamps and leaves with the lady. Another lady clad in rainbow saree covering her head completely, stoops low and enters the sannadhi, lights up a lamp, shows the arati before exiting the sannadhi in reverse. She too leaves, not showing her face to any of us. As we end singing the Potri, the man hastens to Agathiyar’s sannadhi from the temple grounds. He informs us that he was going about his chores when Agathiyar instructed him over to his sannadhi and have the doors open. He introduces himself as Shankar, a Siddha medicine practitioner. He and his wife took upon themselves to take care of three Deity sannadhis: that of Agathiyar, Murugan and Ambal, all laid in a line in the outer premises of Adhi Kumbeshwarar temple. He spoke long and obliged us by speaking about the temple in front of the camera. He led us to the other sannadhis under his care and introduced us to his wife. Before we bid farewell to him, we asked that he bless all of us which he did after some persuasion.
11. Arulmigu Suriyanar Temple, Kumbakonam
As we alighted at the entrance to the temple, a young man approached us and told us that he was willing to take us around and help guide us to conduct the Navagraha puja for a small fee. We engaged him. As promised he took us around and showed us what to do at each sannadhi. The girls lighted the ghee lamps at each sannadhi of the planets before gathering and waiting at the Kol Theertha Vinayakar for the temple priest to come along and start the puja. Soon the temple priests began to arrive to open up the temple for the afternoon and conduct prayers. Completing the puja at Kol Theertha Vinayakar sannadhi, we are then led into Suryanar’s temple. Planet Guru will go unnoticed till we are told as he is placed inside the sanctum and opposite and facing Lord Suryanar here. A priest then led us to each individual sannadhi of the nine planets again and performed puja.
12. Arulmigu Sri Kalyanasundareswarar Swamy Temple, Thirumanancheri
Kalyana Sundareswarar and Kokilaambaal grace this temple. Here the girls were asked to sit in an adjacent courtyard where the priest explains the rituals to be conducted and its benefits. We understood that as the actual courtyard for this ritual was being tiled, the temple authorities had a makeshift temporary shrine to continue conducting this ceremony without hindrance.
13. Arulmigu Sri Mayuranathaswami Temple, Mayiladuthurai (Mayavaram)
As we drove into Mayiladuthurai, Sankar told us that there was a big temple of Lord Vishnu at the end of the road where we stopped for dinner. Over dinner, Bala remembered that there was a Jeeva Samadhi at a temple in this town but could not recall the name of the Siddha. Enquiring from the restaurant staff, we were informed that Kuthambai Siddhar had his Jeeva samadhi at the Sri Mayuranathar temple closeby. After paying homage to Mayuranathaswami and Abhayambikai who grace this temple, we began to look for the two samadhis. We located Thakshanamurthy’s sannadhi and discovered Kuthambai Siddhar’s samadhi next to his. We began lighting the lamps and reciting the Siddhar Potri. This was one spot so energized that we, ordinary folks too, could feel the Siddhas presence. We just could not move away from this spot and continued sitting in “their” presence for a very long time, imbibing the energy radiated. Finally, we decided to move on and who do we see as we turn the corner – Sattainathar seated majestically some two-story above us! Man, how did they place him there? We look to see if there was stairs leading to his sannadhi but there was none. It still remains a wonder to us. We worshiped him from where we stood and moved on.
14. Arulmigu Koraka Siddhar Jeeva Samadhi Peedham, Vadakku Poigai Nalloor
Now moving on to our last destination for the day, as Dyalan was asked to spend a night at the Koraka Siddhar Jeeva Samadhi Peedham, the boys decided to accompany him while the girls were driven to a hotel at Velangkani some 7 km away. But Bala chose to stay with the girls for company while at the hotel. Along the way, we happened to come across a lodge and enquired if we boys could take a bath. The motherly caretaker showed us another option. Rather than book a room and pay the price of the room, just to have a bath, she offered to fill up water in pails in the hotel courtyard of this tiny village. We paid a small token and were given the privilege to bath in the open while the rests waited. During this time I joined the rest after my bath, to witness how Thirukarthigai Deepam was celebrated in the Indian villages. The homes were lighted up with oil lamps and kuttu vilakku. It was a beautiful sight. The kids blasted the crackers and fireworks. There was a small Ambal temple next to the lodge and the homes where prayers began. Sankar and I attended while waiting for Shanga, Dyalan and Sugu to have their baths. Now refreshed after the bath, we continued to Korakar's Jeeva Samadhi Peedham. It was indeed a sight to see the homes lined up with oil lamps all along the way.
As Sankar and the rests left Shanga, Dyalen, Sugu and me at Korakar’s Jeeva Samadhi Peedham, Shanga was taken aback to realize that we had to sleep it out on the road shoulders as many others did. It was already way late at night and the gates to the Peedham were shut. Shanga decided to give a try and open the gate. As he pushed, the gate gave way and we were inside the Peedham complex. Many were already asleep in this portion of the Peedham too. We noticed a raised platform or tinnai just right for all four of us: Shanga, Dyalan, Sugu and me to lay out for the night. We have come prepared with a blanket and vesti. As we laid the vesti out to sleep, we heard a voice ask, “Where are you from?”(Yengiranthu Varinga?) Peeping through the darkness we could not spot who was asking. We kept quiet. Again the voice asked, “Yengiranthu Varinga Aiya?” This time Shanga replied that we were from Malaysia. Immediately the voice asks if we would like to enter? (Ulle Varingala?) Almost immediately a figure arises from his sleeping position on the raised platform next to the door to the inner Peedham and unlocks the doors for us. We find that there were many sleeping in this space too and that they were locked in! We chose a spot to sleep near Korakar's Jeeva Samadhi. Sugu was still awake as I dozed off to sleep.
DESTINATION INDIA DAY 3
14. Arulmigu Koraka Siddhar Jeeva Samadhi Peedham, Vadakku Poigai Nalloor
I woke up pretty early and saw that the other devotees were still asleep. I moved over to Korakar’s samadhi and had a quiet moment with him. I came back to my ‘bed’ and began my normal routine of checking my breath and performing pranayama. Slowly some of the devotees began to arise, one after the other, to go to the loo. I eased myself too before going out to the front of the temple and taking in some fresh air. It was 4am and already the local buses were plying the route. I chanced to pick up a conversation with one gentleman of Indian origin who was working in Singapore. He soon boarded the bus that came that way. I took a seat at the entrance and was joined by a sadhu. We spoke a few words before Sugu who had woken came along and joined us. It was then that Sugu shared his experience the night before. He had only slept for about 2 hours and remained awake the whole night long. When he did wake up he saw me clad in his saffron or kavi vesti standing in front of Korakar's sannadhi. He then turned his head away to where I had slept and saw me there too, sleeping! He had goosebumps and dived into his blanket wondering what was going on. The night before he had loaned me his saffron vesti. But I had used it to support my head.
Sugu continued narrating. In the middle of the night Sugu stuck his head outside his blanket as he heard someone walk by. There was indeed someone. He/she was clad in a rainbow cloth and covered fully the torso, from head to toe. Sugu immediately hid himself behind the covers. He was not sure of the mysterious figure until I asked him if it was the same person that we saw at Adhi Kumbheswarar Temple. It must have struck a chord in him for he agreed that it was indeed her. Now we were wondering how did she appear again, here at Vadakku Poigai Nalloor, some 72 km away?
Shortly Sankar arrived to bring us over to the hotel to have our bath. After the bath we all adjoined back to Koraka Siddhar’s Jeeva Samadhi for puja, expecting that the abhisegam or libation was over as we were told it would be conducted at 6.30am. As we arrived at 8am we were surprised to note that the abhisegam had yet to start! We waited a while and the abhisegam began. After the puja annadhanam was served in the adjacent quarters. We sat to recite the Siddhar Potri and spent some time in the meditation hall before joining the rest for food. We were told by the temple aids who were serving food that what was left was only a small portion of pongal. We gladly received a handful of each. Dyalan was asked to spend the night here and partake the Kavadi Sorru in Agathiyar’s Nadi reading read in Salem on his last trip to India. Was this the Kavadi Sorru then we questioned ourselves?
Just then another aid came to us serving what he mentioned as Kavadi Sorru! Bala had seen him bring this Kavadi Sorru from Korakar Siddhar’s altar in the dinning hall. We were blessed to be served the very food offering for the Siddha! The man served all nine of us who were seated next to each other in a row. He finally served Bala and did not go beyond but instead returned to top up the rests of us before placing the empty plate in the bin. There were many who sat beyond Bala and across the room but the portion of Kavadi Sorru was only sufficient to serve us!
15. Arulmigu Subramania Swamy Temple, Ettugudi
Bala wanted to bring us here. As we entered the sannadhi abhisegam was going on for Subramanya Swamy. We had the privilege to witness it. We prayed at Vinayagar’s sannadhi under a tree and adjoined to the back where there was the Jeeva Samadhi of Vaanmigi Siddhar in the courtyard adjacent to Subramanya Swamy’s sannadhi. We came back to the priest who served vibhuthi prasad at Vinayagar’s sannadhi asking regarding the samadhi and he obliged us by leading us and showing us the spot. We asked him if we could read the Siddha Potri and then took our places next to the tree to start reciting. Bala noticed a family that had gathered there and were preparing to provide annadhanam. They waited for us to complete our chant before approaching us with the food parcels. After distributing them to us first only then did they start giving it to the rests of the devotees at the temple.
16. Tanjai Periya Kovil, Tanjavoor
We arrived at Tanjai Periya Kovil at 3pm. As the children took some time out for themselves taking selfies and photos of themselves in this historic place, I began to wander around, discovering what was lying beyond the corridors of this ancient temple complex. I had been here earlier a couple of times but never had the time to venture beyond Karuvurar's sannadhi and the main temple, and investigate the mysterious corridors surrounding the temple.
There were numerous lingas, statues and shrines lined up all along the corridor. A small portion of the corridor served as a museum now educating visitors and devotees on the legendary king Raja Raja Cholan and his vast dynasty. I spent some time at Thakshanamurthy’s sannadhi. I realized that the Pranavam AUM resonated within this granite walls multifold when recited while in there. Soon I came to sit at Karuvurar’s sannadhi, the architect of this now famous monument cum temple.
Soon the children arrived too to join me and we began reciting the Siddhar Potri. A couple of temple helpers arrived to clean the temple for the Pournami puja scheduled to start at 6.30pm. I brought the girls and boys back to Thakshanamurthy's sannadhi where we recited certain mantras. We physically felt these mantras resonate within us and the walls. We then moved on thinking that we would miss seeing the magnificently large Shivalinga as it was only 3.40pm. Suddenly the temple bells sounded and we realized the sannadhi was opened to the public much earlier. We gathered at Lord Shiva’s sannadhi for a magnificent and unhindered view of the Lord, minus the crowd.
17. Arulmigu Meenakshi Sundareshwarar Temple, Madurai
We realized by now that we could not keep to the original schedule: that of visiting Meenakshi Sundareshwarar; then Pazhamudircholai Murugan and finally lodging at Palani for the night. We looked for a hotel in Madurai to retire for the night. After stopping over at two hotels, and finding that the options available were unfavorable to us, Shanga called up his business partner in this town who immediately sent his son to deal with the hotel. We settled in for the night after having dinner and a late-night stroll in the streets of Madurai.
DESTINATION INDIA DAY 4
17. Arulmigu Meenakshi Sundareshwarar Temple, Madurai
We were already at Meenakshi Sundareshwarar temple grounds by 5am. A large group of Ayyappa baktas came behind us and made their way to queue in line. It surprised us to see a long queue at that early hour. On enquiring about the special queue we were told by the police personnel that the counter for the sale of the tickets will only be opened at 6am. We had an hour to go. Since we sourced information about Siddha Samadhis through our AVM WhatsApp group as we approached each town, members informed us that there were 16 numbers of Siddhar samadhi here! So we walked the outer court of the majestic temple checking in on each sannadhi to see if there was a Siddha residing there. We asked several people we met too but to no avail. Soon following the signs to Sundareshwarar’s sannadhi we found ourselves, unknowingly, within the inner temple complex. Again I asked another police personnel about the special tickets as we saw that the ticket counters were unmanned. As I was addressing the personnel I saw a man seated at a desk and observing us from a distance. Now figuring what next to do, suddenly I felt someone touch my shoulders. The man whom I saw a moment ago told me to follow him, “Yennodu Vanga”. I motioned to all the children who were scattered in clusters amidst the growing crowd and hurriedly followed the man trying to keep pace with him as he entered further and further into the moving crowd and against the flow. I was surprised to see so much activity within the walls of the temple at such an early hour. Before we realized he had brought us right in front of Goddess Meenakshi! After a quick darshan I mentioned to the man that we needed to do archanai. He brought us to another spot and stepped aside while the girls waited to do archanai. A priest came forward. Bala tells us that the priest had asked if the girls had purchased the ticket to conduct archanai. When Bala replied that the counters had yet to open the priest without another word received their offerings, entered the sannadhi, performed the puja and came back with the prasad. Their parikaram at Arulmigu Meenakshi Sundareshwarar Temple, in Madurai, was complete.
Meanwhile, the man draws out a card of authority and mentions to me that he was with the temple. I pass him some cash as a small token of appreciation for his assistance. He takes leave directing us the way out.
As we kept asking around for the Siddha Samadhi, we are pointed to the majestic temple of Sundarananthar Vallabha Siddhar, an avatar of Shiva, we are told. Here puja was in progress. We move some distance away from this sannadhi and sat to recite the Siddhar Potri, having Sundarananthar Vallabha Siddhar in our sight. Midway we hear percussions sound and thinking that it was a procession we stopped chanting to wait for it to go by. A priest with his entourage and musicians made their way to each sannadhi waving the arathi. That’s when we had an opportunity to chat with a couple of men. They spoke about Sundarananthar Vallabha Siddhar sannadhi and another passed us a booklet on Amman 108 Potri. We went back to our spot and finished reciting the Siddhar Potri. Bala decided to recite Madurai Sri Meenakshi Amman 108 Potri Archanai and Sri Sivaperumaan 108 Potri Archanai from the booklet that we received a moment ago. The energy at this spot was amazing as we kept chanting. I held out my hand to Tamil and Shanga on both my sides and we all in turn held our hands in a circle and began to imbibe the uplifting energy.
Bala meanwhile had again asked the police personnel about the whereabouts of the 16 Siddha Samadhis and with that information led us to the exact spot. The personnel had even mentioned how to go about circumambulating the samadhis so that we would not miss any of them. The girls lit up the oil lamp. Assured of the Siddhas blessings too we left the temple complex. As many in our team were first-time visitors to India, Bala engaged a couple of auto drivers to take us back to the hotel although it was only walking distance. He wanted them to experience the feel in riding on an auto through the narrow lanes of Madurai.
As I reflected on Meenakshi on the way to our next destination, it was pretty obvious that I had entered another space quite different from the one I encountered with Tavayogi in 2005 at the Arulmigu Meenakshi Sundareshwarar Temple, in Madurai.
18. Pazhamudircholai Murugan Temple, Madurai
We thought we would have to skip this temple earlier due to our planned original stopover at Palani for the night before. Saha would have missed out on her parikaram at one of three Arupadai temple as required. But since then we had changed our decision, and stayed at Madurai, considering the distance that we needed to cover that night, if we were to lodge at Palani. We began moving for Pazhamudircholai, fulfilling Saha's needs finally.
On arrival I realized that this temple was not large or bustling with devotees as in other Murugan Stalams. We purchased a special pass and were shown the way to Murugan’s sannadhi by the kind personnel at the counter himself. The priest attended to us immediately and we had a wonderful sight of Lord Muruga, Valli and Deivanai. We were told to seat directly in front of Muruga and witness the puja. As we left the sannadhi, Bala was garlanded by the priest. I looked for a space to sit and recite the Siddhar Potri. Towards the end of the recital, we realized that Dyalan was deep into his meditation. We waited for him to come out of it which took some time. I took a seat directly opposite and across. When he opened his eyes he motioned me to approach me. I knew then that it was not Dyalan for he would come to me and not ask me over. I went over and knelt before “him”. He asked me a question, “Who is the female deity in green and carrying a trident or sulam?”. I answered that it was Madurai Meenakshi but added that the Siddhas see all forms of Dewi as Vaalai Thaai. He immediately told me that we had the grace and blessings of Vaalai Thaai. We realized later that that was the start of Vaalai Thaai soon following us at all sannadhis besides the Siddhas!
Sankar recommended that we walk a short distance uphill to a spot known as Noopura Ganga, a perennial waterfall with a temple dedicated to Rakkayi Amman. Initially we started for it but I decided that we shelf that thought and move on to Palani immediately for we had a long climb up ahead at Palani too. It would take some time to climb Palani as Ayya who guided Bala had strictly requested that Bala climb the steps and not take the winch.
19. Arulmigu Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple, Palani
Now we made our way to what I consider Twilight Zone – Palani. Palani has always amazed me! Each time I am here I cannot but recollect how Lord Dhandayuthapani's image never stood in my memory. Each time I visited this "portal" space and walls are different too! So as we left for Palani my heartbeat with excitement thinking what would be in store this time around?
On arrival at our hotel, we realized that there were people living in the open, with only makeshift tents over their heads. There was a large number of tents pitched in an open space next to the hotel. Small children were seen roaming around too. We decided to perform an annadhanam for them later that day. We refreshed and made our way to Palani temple. Along the way, we noticed another campsite and yet another at the base of the temple complex housing these people. Sugu wanted to shed his hair and found himself a barber. Tamil accompanied him. We prayed at the Vinayagar sannadhi at the foot of Palani before we entered via the Kobura Vaasal. Here we were met by another majestic Vinayagar. A priest was showing arati as passersby stopped to worship before beginning their climb. We too stood before Vinayagar. To our surprise, the priest addressed us and revealed that we should pay homage to the feet of Lord Muruga engraved in stone beside a column, a spot we would all have missed if he did not mention. He pointed out images of deities and Siddhas engraved in the granite columns lined up at this place. Then he said that whatever we intended to do should start from a couple of steps further up! He added that one of us will bring back something to our homeland too!
Bala had asked for blessings from “Ayya” who came through a trance via his uncle. Ayya had given an elaborate account of what needed to be done and what to expect during this journey, especially in Palani. Bala desiring to kneel all the way up the steps of Palani, mentioned that to me while traveling. I nodded but cautioned him and refrained him from hurting himself. I reminded him to stop the very moment he felt any difficulty. It came as a surprise later when Bala told me both Saha and Malar too wanted to perform the same feat.
I had asked Bala to share with all the message from Ayya since if Bala were to forget or is oblivious to “the moments” and "signs of their presence", others would remember and could remind and caution him. And so the trio started climbing the steps on their knees as I led the others singing the Siddhar Potri. Along the way a lady clad in a green saree with a child in her arms began to follow us alongside. When the trio stopped for a breather, she too stopped. And so seeing a phenomena developing here, the words of “Ayya” struck me. I told Bala, “Bala Dhandayuthapaani was here” referring to the child in his mother's arms. He was shaved bald, presumably just some moments ago, since he had sandalwood paste applied on his shaved head. He wore a cute miniature vesti around him and was so adorable. I asked the mother to let him down. Bala taking note of what I said, immediately carried the child on his shoulders and continued his climb still kneeling. After some distance the boy wanted to alight and followed us on foot. Soon Sugu and Tamil joined us.
It was a difficult sight to behold seeing these youngsters go through the grueling climb but with such devotion. Bala considering the difficult position he had placed both Saha and Malar, asked me to end their climb. I picked all three of them up saying Dhandayuthapani Swamy had accepted their vow and that they could stop. All three rose and continued walking up the stairs with us. At Idumban’s sannadhi a priest who was seated rose and ushered us into the sannadhi and showed arati. Here we discovered a bunting of Agathiyar hanging on the wall.
Towards the top Bala signaled to me that he wanted to continue kneeling his way up and all three began their climb again. Reaching the top we gathered together at a spot and finished chanting the names of the Siddhas. Saha and Malar stood to perform their Madi Pitchai.
Bala went to take his bath in the washroom as directed by Ayya. Sugu and Dyalan followed him. We purchased our special tickets and to our surprise were greeted by a priest who led us into the temple. That is when a priest comes up to me in a hurry crying out “Kaanikai! Kaanikai! Kaanikai”. I stopped in my steps and placed whatever rupees I had with me into his hands and he moved away as hurriedly as he had come, without another word. And that was when I realized that I stood in front of Dhandayuthapani Swamy, having a wonderful darshan this time around! I saw him and his form literally this time. My wife had jokingly told me that, "Make sure you see him this time!", before I left for India, the reason being that I never could remember seeing Dhandayuthapani Swamy on my earlier visits.
The girls did archanai. Bala who did not have any parikaram was asked for his birth sign and star. Bala replied that he had no archanai but the priest insisted to know. The priests left for the inner sanctum and returned with the prasad. Bala was overwhelmed at this happening because he was refused an archanai the last time he came here although he had purchased a ticket for Rs200 to perform the archanai. Bala realized that Dhandayuthapani Swamy had settled the score, given back his dues this time around.
We moved over to Bhoganathar’s sannadhi. As we lined up in the outer corridor to enter his inner sanctum we noticed a “lady” meditating. Soon she was behind us in the inner chamber too chanting a hymn for Bhuvaneswary, an aspect of Vaalai Thaai. Bala tells me she had asked them to receive the kumkum that the young priest handed out. She then left the sannadhi hurriedly ahead of us. We needed to sing the Siddhar Potri and so decided to re-enter Bhoganathar’s sannadhi and find a corner along the corridor to chant. The lady who we thought had left, was back in the corridor and sat beside Bala who had begun chanting. Someone placed a bottle in our midst. It was closure time and the temple helpers hurried the devotees on. Soon they closed the grills to the sannadhi too. They signaled to us to end our chanting as it was time to close the sannadhi. Bala kept pleading for a few more moments through hand gestures. To our surprise, the lady seated beside Bala motioned him to speed up the chant but never stop. While the aids wanted us to end the chant she, on the contrary, asked Bala to continue chanting. Bala sped up the chanting. We who followed uttering "Potri Potri" too sped up. As they were trying to get us to stop, I stood up just to satisfy the aids while the rest remained seated and continued chanting. Finally just as we ended the Potri the mysterious lady took off into Bhoganathar’s sannadhi. Bala and I prostrated to Bhoganathar before stepping into his sannadhi a second time. The lady was waiting for us to turn up. I was told she applied prasad to the forehead of the girls and Bala and wished them well, saying all shall be fine. The children remembered that she mentioned that, that was the reason she came! She sped off with a certain urgency. Now visibly shaken by the whole event, and since the aids asked us to take a seat in the open courtyard outside Bhoganathar's sannadhi, we took heed. They tell us that the bottle that they passed to us was Palani theertham or holy water explaining that someone did not turn up and that it was now ours! That is when the young priest attending to the puja and arathi inside the sannadhi came out towards me and handed me a lime and prasad with a mesmerizing wonderful smile. His body shone bright and full of tejas Not uttering a single word, he turned back into the sannadhi. I prostrated behind him.
I requested Bala to give some handouts in cash to the aids for extending the closure time while waiting for us to finish the Potri. The aids who were all around us accepted the cash. Another young priest shook his head and did not want the money. Bala moved back into Bhoganathar’s sannadhi only to return saying the young priest who had attended to us too refused to accept.
As the temple gates were closing we hurried out of the complex and found ourselves in the midst of the 18 Siddhas. We gathered around at Agathiyar’s Murthy. That is when the young priest stopped right where we stood, now dressed in a shirt and we supposed he was leaving the temple. He spoke to Bala. What he said amazed and surprised us. “Do not destroy our relationship by giving money” he said. “Panamkudutthu naam uravai pirichidaathei.” He gave him an orange and prasad and left still carrying that tejas around him. We all took a breather wondering what had taken place at this favorite spot of mine Twilight Zone!
We took dinner at a hotel and as the food was good and seeing that there were hardly any customers at that time, we enquired if they could prepare food parcels for us. They agreed to prepare 70 parcels as we waited on. Filling the parcels in three boxes we headed out to distribute them to the people we saw earlier. We handed out the food parcels at the base of the temple, midway towards the hotel and those who resided beside the hotel. That’s when they tell us that they are Nadodis or nomads on the move seeking to sell their wares at fairs on temple grounds. The only disappointment was that we had not many food parcels to provide for all.
We decided then that AVM would adopt a policy to conduct prayers and immediately provide annadhanam at all places of worship beginning from that moment. Agathiyar and Avvai had mentioned, that Tavam and Thanam go hand in hand.
After distributing the food, we returned to the foothill to seek out Pulipani Siddhar’s Jeeva samadhi. We located it and were ushered in by the temple aids and priests. The priest showed us the various sannadhis and we asked permission to sing the Siddhar Potri. He obliged us although it was their time to close the temple. Shrimath Sivananda Pulipani, the current administrator of the ashram and jeeva samadhi dropped by and Bala recognized him, having seen him in Malaysia during his visit some time back. Bala reminded him of those moments. The temple closed its doors as we left the complex fully contented.
DESTINATION INDIA DAY 5
20. Sri Konganar Siddhar Thirukoil, Pon Uthiyur Maalai, Uthiyur
We had not considered going to this place until Yuva remembered that she was asked to go. Bala then included this too in our itinerary. We arrived early in the morning on the outskirts of the small town Uthiyur. I recalled the place were Tavayogi and I had begun the climb – the Vinayagar temple and the stairs. Bala told me that the boys had begun the climb further up on their last trip. I suggested that we follow Tavayogi’s path. We alighted and prayed at Vinayagar’s sannadhi before climbing the stairs. The stairs brought us to a run down Murugan temple that was closed. It was closed the last time I came with Tavayogi too. Then it was an earthen track all the way, often encountering boulders and rocks. The jungle path took us to the samadhi of Sri Chetti Thambiran, a disciple of Konganar. As we climbed the flight of steps made out of boulders and rocks we saw that the temple was dark. It was very early in the morning and the temple was built into the rocks. Bala and I wondered how we are to see the sannadhi. As we took a step on the flat surface in front of the cave temple, to our surprise the lights came on! Bala and I shouted out in amazement! Thinking that someone had on the lights and were preparing to open the sannadhi, we moved towards the grilled gates. But to our amazement, there was no one there!
We prayed and then entered a neighboring cave and took a moment to sit in it. Soon we came down and back the same way and continued on another path leading to Sri Konganar’s Temple. Seeing a signboard carrying the temple personnel telephone numbers, I asked Bala if we should call the temple and inform them that we were coming. Bala immediately called and spoke to them. They asked us to hurry as they were about to leave the temple. And so we hastened our pace. On arriving at the temple there we several people having their bath and washing up at a well. The temple priest and others welcomed us and told us that they had been there for days and only decided to leave for the town that morning. We were indeed blessed to catch them before they left. The priest asked us to pray at the cave first while he prepared to perform the puja. So we walked up to another track to the caves just above the temple.
We had to enter a rather small opening to the cave. There was a large painting of Konganar and many oil lamps strewn about and litter scattered all over. We decided to clean up the place before we sat down to sing the Siddhar Potri. The talk at that time was that we did not bring earthen lamps to light up. Then someone found an unused lamp. We became excited. Then we found another and then more. There were now eight pieces; we needed another one piece so that all nine of us could light up the lamps. Then we found the last one too! We could not believe our eyes that there were nine pieces of earthen lamp ready for all nine of us. Now, what about oil? To our surprise, there was a little oil, sufficient for the nine lamps, available in a large container! What about the Vilakku Thiri or cotton used in lighting lamps? There was a new bunch of Thiri waiting for us. We were overwhelmed at the play of the Siddhas!
Each one of us lighted the lamp and we began singing the Potri. On completion, we waited for Dyalan to come out of his meditation. We began clearing the cave off plastics bottles and litter. Seeing us with this trash in our hands, the monkeys came down and made a ruckus. We sent the girls out of the cave the way we came in and down the hill accompanied by Shanga while Bala, Sugu and I waited for Dyalen to come out of his deep meditation. Once Dyalen woke from his meditation he informed us that both Agathiyar and Konganar were there and that they had blessed us. He asked if we felt their presence through the breeze and wind while inside the cave?
We then come out of the cave using another opening and could hear the temple people calling out to us to hurry up. Puja was done and the priests explained lots of things about the temple. They gave each of us the muligai rasam that is made on pournami days and given out to the public. We bought back some bottles too. The aids then suggested we come down the hill using another way that was quicker. This was the path Bala had used on his earlier visit.
We asked a favor from these kind people to inform Sankar to pick us up at this new point as Sankar could not be reached by phone. Soon Sankar picked us up near Sony Metals and we headed to Karur for breakfast.
21. Arulmigu Subramanyaswamy Temple, Sivanmalai
The Subramanyaswamy temple on Sivanmalai saw a through cleaning going on after the month long Karthigai puja and in preparation to usher the first day of Margazhi the next day. Walking through the flood of water and oil we waded to Sivavakiyar Siddhar’s sannadhi and moved on to the outdoors guided by the priest to conduct a puja. Puja was done to the Utchava Murthy temporarily.
22. Arulmigu Subramanya Swamy Temple, Chennimalai
We moved on to Chennimalai. After praying at the main sannadhi of Subramanya Swamy, we climbed a flight of steps to Pinnaakeesar’s sannadhi. The temple and its surroundings had been renovated including Pinnaakeesar’s sannadhi since I last came in 2005 with Tavayogi.
23. Natadreeswarar Temple, Erode
The next stop was the Nattadreswarar Temple in the center of Kaveri in Kangayapalaiyam in Erode. See my earlier post at http://agathiyarvanam.blogspot.my/2016/12/the-nattadreswarar-temple.html
24. Sri Agathiyar Gnana Peedham, Kallar
We arrived at Kallar Ashram just as the Vasthu puja came to an end. We bowed to Tavayogi and Mataji and got their blessings and shared the highlights of our amazing pilgrimage. I came to meet many devotees of Agathiyar from all over whom I only knew through social media until then: Mr. and Mrs. Sanjiv Malhotra and his sister from New Delhi; Scientist Suresh from Gujarat; and Vinod from Chennai. I met Dr. Ram Subramanian of Thirunelvelli, the man behind the ashram, having worked hard in collecting all the herbs for the Yagam; Saravanan who manned the kitchen and served us well each time we were at the Ashram. I knew them both through my earlier visits to Kallar. We were later joined by Srinath and Karthi from Singapore that night. Suren from Malaysia had arrived much earlier at 5.30pm.
DESTINATION INDIA DAY 6 TO 8
24. Sri Agathiyar Gnana Peedham, Kallar
16 December 2016
As dawn broke over the Nilgiri mountain range and Kallar Hills, preparations were made to carry out the second stage Yagna, worship for Lord Muruga, Agathiyar and the 18 Siddhas at the Yaga Salai. Devotees began to arrive by then. Vinthamaray and her family and Balachander Aiya from Malaysia had arrived at the Ashram that morning.
There was heavy presence of police personnel which was welcoming. The Thirukkuda Nanneeraathu Vizha followed at the Meditation Hall. After this program, we excused ourselves to leave for the neighboring town of Methupalaiyam to do some purchases to be given to Tavayogi and Mataji and the poor at Kallar. Bala Aiya too left to visit the Sri Agathiyar Ashram at the foothill to Anuvavi Murugan Temple at Periya Thadagam, Kovai.
When I came to the old Kallar Ashram in 2013 with my family, Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal called me aside immediately upon arrival and told me that it might not be important to me, but since I have my children with me, to take them to Ooty to have some fun. He arranged for Mataji Sarojini Ammaiyar to accompany us to Ooty the next day.
I had followed a wonderful group of youths this time to India. Although they had their fun and made an equal amount of mischief, as youths, I was amazed how they could change 360 degrees and become focused in their prayers when we arrive at each place of worship! Later I realized after seeing the photographs taken that these were the very youths who worked hard to prepare the stage for the Sarva Dosa Nivarana Maha Yagam. I was at Anuvavi at that time.
Having seen 24 places of worship with these children from AVM, I thought it would only be fair to take a break from the routine and head for the hills of Ooty where Shanga, Dyalen, Bala, Sugu, Yuva, Saha, Malar and Tamil could relax for a while. We enjoyed ourselves, going boating and horse riding and partaking the hot Nilgiri tea in the freezing cold at Ooty. It was late at night when we arrived back at the Ashram.
We had wanted to go to Othimalai as it was a short drive away from Kallar, but we were given several different information on the opening times of the hill temple. Finally, we decided to leave the next day morning. We put a word to Tavayogi of our intention to visit Othimalai and Tavayogi gave us permission but asked that we leave after the book release scheduled for the next day. Tavayogi was releasing a couple of books authored by him.
17 December 2016
We gathered at the Prayer Hall to follow a regime of basic Yoga Asanas arranged by the Ashram. The book release was to follow. Shortly after breakfast, Mataji came along and informed us that we could leave and that the book launch could wait till we returned. That surprised us. Soon Tavayogi came and told us to leave immediately! That was it, the sign we had waited for! Othiappar was willing to see us!
Earlier I had invited the Sanjiv family and Vinthamaray family to join us. Vinod from Chennai too showed interest. Sadly as we could not accommodate anyone since our Tempo was a ten sitter and we were ten of us with Suren joining us, we told Sanjiv and Vinod to make their own arrangement. Vinthamaray had rented a car while in India. But when Tavayogi expressed urgency in us leaving immediately, we took to the wheel and informed them to meet us at Othimalai. They joined us eventually to receive a wonderful darshan of Othiappar, Agathiyar, and Arunagiri!
Read my earlier post on our journey to Othimalai at http://agathiyarvanam.blogspot.my/2016/12/othimalai.html
18 December 2016
The grand Vizha began for Agathiyar as another wonderful day broke at Kallar Ashram. Devotees began flowing in from near and far. Acharya Gurudasan arrived from Bangalore. Aditya, also from Bangalore arrived. Mrs. Kogie Pillai and Mr. Naidu with their daughter arrived from South Africa. Saravanan Kandasamy from Chennai was with us the past few days. Mrs. Rakhi and her family from New Delhi arrived. Suganthi from Singapore and her family in Kovai arrived. Sagar's friends Manoj and Vivek turned up too. Sivakavin from Chennai joined us too. I became acquainted with all these social media friends that day.
We prepared to hoist the Ashram flag and begin the celebrations for the annual Agathiyar Jayanthi and Guru Puja.
I had become acquainted with Thavathiru Kumarsamy Aiya of the Sri Agathiyar Ashram through Sri Krishna when they came to AVM some time back. Since then Kumarsamy Aiya has been calling me over to his Ashram. When he knew that we were coming over to India and Kallar for the Vizha he asked us to join Agathiyar's Vizha to be held on the same day at his Ashram. While traveling in India he called Bala Chandran and relayed the message again.
Bala Aiya asked me to go visit Kumarsamy Aiya and join the Agathiyar Guru Puja that was to start at 9am at the Sri Agathiyar Ashram and that he would take care of matters at Kallar Ashram. As the Sarva Dosa Nivarana Maha Yagam was only scheduled to begin at 2pm he felt that I could participate in the morning Yagam at Anuvavi and return to Kallar for the afternoon Yagam. That was when Mr. and Mrs. Kanagambikai of Kovai arrived at the doorsteps of Kallar Ashram in a rented car and invited me over to Anuvavi. I thought at that moment that it was Agathiyar's wish that I will be at the Yagam at Anuvavi and left Kallar for Coimbatore.
Kumaraswamy Aiya greeted us as we alighted at the Sri Agathiyar Ashram. Milk libation or Paal Abhisegam was in progress for the Utchava Murthy of Lord Shiva and Parvathi and Agathiyar and Lobhama. Mr. and Mrs. Kanagambikai and I were given the honor to participate.
I received blessings from the senior Guru at this Ashram, Thavathiru Kaathusamy Aiya.
The Yagam started shortly. I was given the honor to participate in the Yagam too. Kumaraswamy Aiya requested that Kanagambikai and I sing some praises for Agathiyar. Soon the herb libation or Muligai Abhisegam began for Agathiyar in the inner sanctum. We were again given the honor to jointly participate.
Kumaraswamy Aiya's mother took good care of us too feeding us the whole time. I saw love prevail at this Ashram. I saw the personal commitment of Kumarsamy Aiya in all his endeavors. It amazed me to see the cooperation and unity of its members it conducting the Vizha headed by Kumarsamy Aiya. I left Anuvavi in bliss! I sincerely thank Mr. and Mrs. Kanagambikai for all their efforts in bringing me over to Anuvavi and Bala Aiya who persuaded me to attend.
It was 1.30pm when we reached Kallar Ashram just in time for the Yagam at 2pm. This was my very first time at Kallar Ashram for Agathiyar's Jayanthi and Guru Puja Vizha. All these years, beginning in 2005, my family and I had been hosting a similar ceremony at AVM to coincide with the Vizha at Kallar.
Although I was not present at Kallar, I had the opportunity to view all the videos footages at Kallar that was sent to me each year after the Vizha. I would sit through and watch these videos as I edited and uploaded them to YouTube. I could see the exhaustion and at times Tavayogi and Mataji lost their voice sitting through the three-hour event, chanting five major hymns for Agathiyar and the Siddhas. Tavayogi starts with Thirupalli Yezhuchi of Ramalinga Adigal; 10 poems from Kunangkudi Mastaan's Agathiyar Sadagam and finally the Gayathri Mantra of the Siddhas. Mataji follows with Thava Murugan Varugai and the Siddhar Potri. Then Agathiyar's Moola Mantra and a rendition of all the names of the herbs or Muligai by Mataji follows as the various herbs are placed in the sacrificial fire. I asked myself if there was no one else to help them or relieve them of these chores.
When I visited Kallar Ashram in 2013 with my family, seeing the booklet of daily prayers to Agathiyar and the Siddhas that I had compiled for my home prayers, Tavayogi gave us the honor of singing from this compilation, at the Ashram during Puja for two consecutive days while we were there.
When Tavayogi and Mataji were in Malaysia in June of last year, Tavayogi asked to perform the Yagam at several temples beginning with Tavayogi's Paramaguru Sri Jaganatha Swamigal Sivalayam at Tapah. Then Tavayogi's immediate Guru Chitramuthu Adigal voiced out his wish for us to perform the Yagam and Siddha/ Sapta Rishi Puja at the Taneermalai Murugan Temple in Taiping, a place where Chitramuthu Adigal had meditated through a Jeeva Nadi revelation for Dyalen by Agathiyar through Tavayogi. Sri Krishna had arranged for Tavayogi to conduct a similar Yagam at the Bangsar Agathiyar temple. Tavayogi conducted a Yagam at AVM too. We then arranged to perform the Homam, which is a Yagam on a smaller scale, at the homes of AVM family members. We managed to conduct it at ten homes during the duration of Tavayogi's stay in Malaysia.
During these Yagam/Homam I had requested that both Tavayogi and Mataji take a back seat and relax and advise us appropriately while we made the preparations. Tavayogi too, at my request, let me sing the Thirupalli Yezhuchi, while Bala and the rests would recite the Siddhar Potri, hence relieving Tavayogi and Mataji of a lengthy recitation. This formula worked pretty well in Malaysia at all the Yagams/Homam sessions. So while in Kallar I suggested the same to both Tavayogi and Mataji and they agreed. Bala and I were honored to alternately sing the praises of Agathiyar and the Siddhas with Tavayogi and Mataji. Tavayogi started with a prayer, I continued with Thirupalli Yezhuchi and Agathiyar Sadagam. Tavayogi continued with the Gayathri Mantra for the Siddhas while Mataji sang the Tava Murugan Varugai. Bala Chandran completed the recitation of hymns with the Siddhar Potri. It was an elevating moment singing the praise of Agathiyar and the Siddhas at Kallar. The whole place is energized 24/7! The neighboring mountains are majestic and the weather is conducive for meditation!
As the devotees began to depart after receiving the prasad from Tavayogi and Mataji we had a photo session with Tavayogi and Mataji and all of AVM family from India, Malaysia and all over. We bid farewell to all that night as we left for Trichy at 11pm to board the morning flight back to Malaysia.