Aug 21: Ganesha Chaturti
The Namasankirtan was led by Sri Zivanji from Chicago.
Sri Narayanan from Boston provided the introduction.
This weekend is a special weekend – because the Sunday happens to be the day of Ganesh Chaturti. We often see Lord Ganesha who is to be propitiated to get rid of obstacles. ‘Vigna’ – obstacles, and hence he is Vigneshwara. In Vaishnava Sampradaya, Vishwaksena, the Lord with an Elephant head, removes obstacles, not just for the devotees, but for the Lord Himself. Before a procession, Vishwaksena goes on rounds and ensures that there are no obstacles for the Lord. He is also called ‘Senai Mudhaliyaar’.
Why is Ganesha so important to us? Not just because he removes all obstacles. Another reason, according to me, is, that, he is a great Bhagavata. Today, we have 10 major avatars for the Lord. But for Ganesha, we would have only 9 Avatars! Which Avatar is Ganesha responsible for?
Bhagavatam talks about Amrutha Mathanam (stirring the milky ocean). The Devas lose their wealth (aishwarya) and along with Brahma approach Lord Vishnu and praise Him. The Lord has a divine intention to play a Lila and uses Devas and Asuras as a cause. He advises the Devas that they could churn the milky ocean and obtain nectar, which would bring back their lost wealth and lost glories.
Bhagavatam introduces beautiful management concepts subtly, now, with the Lord as the mouthpiece!
The Lord says: you are undertaking a major task and the result of which is going to be life-saving. The only way to accomplish this is to get your enemies to help you. At a later point in time, you may part ways.’ Deadly enemies – snake and mouse can become friends in a box where both are trapped. The snake would befriend the mouse in order to get its help biting out the box, and the very moment both of them escape, the snake eyes to gobble the mouse and the mouse flees the snake.
Secondly, He says, ‘when you are undertaking such a noble task as churning an ocean, more can be accomplished by charity / donations in good faith rather than fighting.’ Give away to Asuras whatever they ask for. Don’t fight.
Thirdly, He says, ‘When you have a noble task on your shoulders, be devoid of any personal agendas and sinister desires. Don’t interest yourself in petty things that might come in your way and distract you. Eventually you will attain the good.’
Finally, the Devas and Asuras churn the ocean using Mandra mountain, and Vasuki snake and the Lord helped all along. In all the hectic activity, they had forgotten to perform Ganesha Puja. Ganesha, being a little upset, didn’t keep up his job of keeping obstacles away. So, thanks to him, the Mandara mountain started sinking into the ocean. The Lord realized that this is the play of Ganesha, and became a huge tortoise, eventually lifting the Mandara mountain. Thus the ‘Kachchapa Avatar’ is thanks to the great Bhagavata – Ganesha Maharaj.
Following this, Nishaji from Houston gave a nice talk on the glory of Ganesha.
It is only in our religion that we have so many paths and Gods. The reason is because the world is made of people of different tastes and preferences – both worldly and godly. So for varied Bhavas – there are varied Gods. Brave,humble and devoted can worship Hanuman. A lover of lilas worships Krishna. All these Gods are different forms of the same Supreme Being.
It is said, that a child and God are alike. The child is innocent, doesn’t appreciate distinctions – poor-rich, ugly-beautiful, good-bad etc. So God and Jnani are akin to a child. It is also said ‘kuzhandaiyum deivamum kondaadum edathile’ – a child and God go wherever one fondles them. Ganesha is such a God. – Bala Vinayaka – always a child.
In India, the floor in a home having a child can be seen spread with puffed rice because a child puts into its mouth anything it finds on the floor. Being a child-god, Ganesha ‘s favorite is puffed rice (‘pori’). He is a lover of foods and sweets – ‘modakas’. Adi Shankara, in his hymn sings Ganesha as ‘sadaa baalaroopaapi’ - ever a child.
Ganesha Pancharatnam composed by Adi Shankara (that goes as ‘mudakarata modakam sadavimukti saadakam… kalaadharavadamsakam vinaasiloka rakshakam…’) is set in ‘Chamara’ meter – signifying the movement of a hand fan / the ears of an elephant as our Ganesha is elephant God. This was composed in Tiruvanaikaval in the sanctum of Mother Akhilandeswari, when she was in a fiery (ugra) mood. How else could someone console an angry mother, other than singing the praise of her beloved son?
Parvati created Ganesha with the turmeric on her body and asked her to safeguard her palace against intruders. When Shiva came in, not knowing who he was, Ganesha blocked Shiva’s entrance. Out of anger, Shiva severed his head. Realizing that her wife would be enraged if she sees her son beheaded, Shiva through his ‘ganas’ (assistants)fixed an elephant’s head and makes him the head of his ganas – and hence he becomes ‘Ganapati’.
Arunagirinathar sings how Lord Subrahmanya left for Tripura Samhara without worshipping Ganesha, and how his chariot broke down. The same Subrahmanya seeks Ganesha’s help to win Valli’s hands.
There is a small town called Thirupangur close to Vaitheeswaran Kovil. It is the place where Nandi moved a little to let Nandanar have Shiva’s darshan. One day, Nandanaar gathered his people and wished to have Tirupangur Lord Shiva’s darshan. His employer laid down a condition, ‘you can leave for Tirupangur only the day harvest is done’. Nandanar was disappointed because it was only that day that they had sown the seeds!
That night, in his dream, Nandanaar saw that the grains had grown fully! He rushed to his fields to find that the grains had indeed grown! How did this happen overnight?
Once folks made fun of Ganesha that he had a pot belly and was idle all the time. So Ganesha, as a young boy, approached a farmer and offered his services. In return, he was given a handful of grains. Ganesha proudly took the earnings to his mother. Parvathi directs him to his father saying that it is only the father who is pleased with the son’s earnings. When Ganesha gave the rice-grains to Shiva, being a ‘pitha’ (lunatic) that Shiva is, he threw them on his head. Already Shiva’s head was filled with sand. How was this? Once Shiva helped an old devotee in the banks of Vaigai river by lifting sand on his head. Moreover, Shiva had Ganges on his head too. With sand and water, the grains sprouted on his head. And this happened in synch with Nandanar’s prayers and Shiva was more than happy to send those plants to Nandanar!
Various Sadhus have sung hymns in praise of deities – because the Lord loves praises – frank and truthful praises (‘nija stuti priyan’) unlike us! Lord Ganesha is sung as ‘mathala vaiyiran’ (stomach like a drum) and ‘muram pol kaadhu’ (ears as big as a sieve!) and yet He is happy to be sung so!
Once Kanchi Mahaperiyava was in a place called Thenambakkam, a few miles away from Kanchipuram. One evening, the sound of fireworks was heard. When enquired, He was told by His assistants that Kamakshi Devi was being taken in a procession in Kanchi and it was time for her return, and as is customary, fireworks are being displayed. The Acharya nourished a desire to have the Mother’s darshan. Disciples around Him said ‘But Periyava! If we were to walk to Kanchi to have the Mother’s darshan, the procession would be long gone.’ The Acharya was adamant. No amount of the disciple’s dissuasion could stop the Acharya. As he left the Tenampakkam camp, he stopped by the Ganesha who stood at the entrance and whispered something to Ganesha’s ear, and then continued His walk. Accompanied by His whining attendants, the Mahan strode towards Kanchi. When they eventually reached Kanchi, they found, to their surprise, that the Mother had not moved an inch from where she was about to return and the Acharya had a blissful darshan of the Divine Mother.
The Acharya’s attendants enquired as to how the Devi was still at the same spot! The temple priests said, ‘Soon after the fireworks, the elephant that led the procession would not move from where it stood and would get wild if the procession proceeded. It would remain silent if the procession wouldn’t move! We were confused about this strange behavior!’
Then Acharya, after having had His darshan to His heart’s fill, patted on the elephant and the elephant silently continued the procession! The attendants now understood the import of Mahaperiyava’s stop over at the Ganesha temple!
We all know about Avvayaar, who was a great devotee of Ganesha, since her childhood. When she was of marriageable age, she wished to escape the mundane household life, much against the wishes of her family. She prayed to Ganesha to turn her into an old woman so that no suitor would approach her, and Ganesha immediately granted her wishes. Avvayar was such a great devotee that once, when Avvayar was sitting in front of Shiva-Parvati, her legs stretched out pointing to Lord Shiva, Parvati took offense to it and requested her to point it elsewhere; and where ever Avvayar pointed her legs, Shiva moved there!
All of us know the anecdote of the ‘Knowledge Furit’ that Narada brought to Shiva’s family. When there was a predicament on who of their sons should be given the fruit, they were subject to a contest – ‘who can go around the world in the quickest time?’ – and the winner would receive the fruit. Karthikeya immediately jumps on his peacock and travels around the world while Ganesha, knowing well that his mouse is not as fast and cognizant of the fact that parents are verily the world, circumambulates them and wins the fruit! He shows us here the respect for our parents.
And Ganesha was the one who wrote Mahabharata. Veda Vyasa was looking out for someone who could scribe Mahabharata for him. Ganesha willingly offered his services, and even broke a tusk for this sake, but with a condition – Vyasa should recite the slokas continuously without leaving a hiatus! Vyasa had a counter-condition – that Ganesha should write a verse only if he understood the complete purport of the verse! Ganesha’s speed of penning down and the few complicated verses by Vyasa were a perfect match, and thus we have Mahabharata today!
Ganesha is a very colorful God, very approachable, even his form is easy to sculpt and draw. We make a small cone out of flour/ turmeric and install Him .. and lo! He is there! He is truly pervasive – in so many countries – in different forms – any and every form that we can imagine! He is also ubiquitous and simple. Years ago, He was found under every pepul tree by the pond in a village. Today, when humans have moved to cities, He has moved too! – He is found even in bus-stops, parks, dead ends, amidst smoke and dust – blessing anyone who rushes by him even without removing our footwear– unlike other Gods who warrant huge temples and ‘Praakaaras’!
It is indeed a great opportunity for us to have been remembering Ganesha during Ganesha Chaturti!
After Nishaji’s talk, Shaliniji from California narrated another nice story on Ganesha:
Once Kubera, the Lord of wealth is bloated with vanity of his affluence. He threw a party to all the devas and other gods to show off his wealth. When he came to Kailash to invite Shiva, Shiva knewing Kubera’s intent, said, ‘I am a like an ascetic, there is no point inviting me. I will send my little son, Ganesha, instead. He will be more than happy to attend the party!’
Ganesha is the first to arrive at the party. Kubera thought, ‘Ganesha is a little child! Why not feed him first, and not wait for others to arrive!’ So he opens his dinner for Ganesha. Ganesha ate his way through the kitchen. All the food was emptied and the guests have not arrived yet! The cooks are alarmed and notify Kubera! Tensed, Kubera rushes to Kailash and explained this to Shiva. ‘We are not able to appease Ganesha’s appetite! All our food is emptied, and the groceries are all empty too! Please save me!’ Shiva smiles and gives him a handful of puffed rice and asks him to offer it to Ganesha.
The moment Ganesha was offered the puffed rice given by Shiva, Ganesha felt very satisfied! Then Kubera understood – you don’t need great riches and grand offerings to please Ganesha. Even puffed rice, offered with love and devotion satisfies Him. A lord who loves to eat, but can yet be easily pleased!
And of course, Kubera’s ego was vanquished too!
The satsang ended with prayers with Mahamantra Kirtan.
June 5: Kagabhusundhi
The Nama Sankirtan was lead by the Gopas and Gopis of the Gopa Kuteeram in Houston.
June 6th marked the Aradhana of Sri Alangudi Periyava, a saint whose breath was verily Srimad Bhagavatam. June 7th was the Jayanti of Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swamigal of Kanchi. The same day is also the thiru nakshatra of Sri Nammazhwar. Swati Nakshatra that falls on June 5th is our Guru Maharaj’s Janma Nakshatra. This weekend is certainly very propitious to be in a Satsang and chant the Divine Names.
In Srimad Bhagavatam, Lord Prahalada, while counseling his fellow-students gives various advices on Bhagavata Dharma and Bhakti. In one such parley, he urges them to inculcate Bhakti at a very young age. Half of the 100 years that is destined for man is spent sleeping. A part of it is lost in young age, where we lack knowledge, and a part of the rest is spent in old-age where our body no more cooperates. We hardly get anytime to think about God. So Prahlada says that one should be inculcated into Bhakti at a young age.
Our Guru Maharaj also urges parents in our satsang to inculcate bhakti and good spiritual and moral values in the kids as early as possible. With that goal in mind, “Gopa Kuteeram” has come into inception. It is a retreat for kids in order for them to get exposed to Bhagavata Dharma. A 2-day program tightly packed with fun and spiritual activities for young minds. More about the retreat can be read here.
Following this, one of the Gopas from Houston – Shivam, talked on Shiva Bhakti and the significance of Guru, by quoting excerpts from the Uttara Kanda of Ramacharithmanas. He talked about the ill-effects incurred by disrespecting a guru, the extreme compassionate nature of a guru and also talked about Lord Shiva who is the Adi Guru. He talked about a great devotee of Lord Rama, by name Kagabhusundhi.
In his previous birth, Kagabhusundhi was born in the holy city of Ayodhya. Even though he was born in the birth place of Lord Rama, he was a staunch devotee of Lord Shiva and was hostile to all other forms, including Lord Rama. In the later years, he moved to Ujjain where he continued to worship Lord Shiva in a temple. In that temple he met a very devout Brahmin who was also a devotee of lord Shiva. Unlike Bhusundhi, the Brahmin was devoid of any arrogance. When he saw him showing disrespect to Lord Vishnu, he admonished him and advised him to worship both Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu.
“Siva seva kara phala suta soi, Abirala bhagati rama pada hoi
Ramahi bhajahi taata siva daata, nara pavara kei ketika baata”
There is only one path of devotion to Lord Shiva. That path is continued devotion to Lord Rama. Lord Shiva himself worships Lord Rama, then what to speak of ordinary human beings? It is said that Lord Shiva does incessant chanting of Rama Nama.
One day when Bhusundi was worshipping the Lord in the temple, his guru walked in. Having known his traits, he ignored his guru and did not seek his blessings. The Guru who was compassion-personified ignored his disrespect. However, Lord Shiva, being the AdiGuru could not stand this and he spoke vehemently through an asarira-vaak.
“Tadapi sapa satha daihahu tohi, niti birodha sohai nahi mohi
je satha guru san irisha karahi, raurava naraka koti juga parahi
baitha rahasi ajagara iva papi, sarpa hohi khala mala mati byapi”
Lord Shiva expressed his displeasure with Bhusundhi for the act of disrespecting his guru. He said a person who harbors ill-doings and disrespect to a guru will be thrown in hell for millions of years. And since he sat like a snake when his guru arrived, Lord shiva cursed Bhusundhi to take birth as a virulent snake. The guru however could not see this horrible thing happening to his disciple even though he deserved it.
Suni binati sarbagya siva dekhi bipra anuraga,
puni mandira nabhabani bhai dvijabara baru maga
Tava maya basa jiva jada santata phirai bhulana
tehi para krodha na karia prabhu krip sindhu bhagavana
Sankara dinadayala aba ehi para hou kripala
sapa anugraha hoi jehi natha thorehi kala
Bhusundi’s preceptor could not stand the curse on his disciple. This clearly shows his compassionate nature. He cried to Lord Shiva and he sang praises of Lord Shiva called Rudrashtakam to nullify the curse and instead turn this into a blessing.
In this Stuti, Lord Shiva is praised in many different forms. He is described as the ruler of the universe and as the Veda swaroopam (the manifestation of the Vedas). He is described as Bhakta Vatsala (an act of being gracious to his devotees). He is extolled as the lord of the mountains and the devourer of death and whose abode is beyond the universe. He is like the Himalayan snow and as beautiful as innumerable cupids and his head sparkles with Ganga with a crescent moon adorning him and with coiled snakes around his neck. It is said in the Stuti that if he is not worshipped there is no happiness, peace or freedom from suffering not just in the present birth but in all subsequent births.
After having listened to this wonderful Stuthi, Lord Shiva replied to the Brahmin, “Even though Bhusundhi had sinned, just because of your prayer, I shall be benevolent to him”. Bhusundhi will go through cycles of births and deaths but he will not feel the pain. The lord told the brahmin that,” Bhusundhi having been born in the holy land of Ayodhya, his devotion to me (Lord Shiva), and his association with a pious soul like you, Hari Bhakti will be born in his heart”. Having said this, he also gave a very important piece of advice to Bhusundhi. “Never insult a saint. Rather consider them equal to God.” Thus due to the Lord’s curse he took countless births and in the course of which he became a great devotee of Lord Rama. In his final birth, he was born as a crow. He was blessed by a saint to remain the favorite of Lord Rama. When Lord Shiva appeared on the earth, Kagabhusundhi was a playmate for Lord Rama and he also astounded Ramayana to Garuda, the celestial vehicle of Lord Vishnu. He became a great devotee of Lord Rama only because of the grace of a Guru.
Thus we can clearly see that no good can out by disrespecting a guru and that a mere association with Sadhus and being in a satsang can alleviate the Jivas.
The Satsang concluded with prayers with Nama Sankirtan.
May 29: Tiruvannamalai
The Nama Sankirtan was led by Boomaji from Dallas, TX.
Sri Narayananji from Boston talked about the significance of satsang from Gopika Geetham.
The reason why attaining God is so difficult is because we don’t find a place for him in our hearts and minds. Our mind is filled with ego. Ego never manifests itself as ego. We never realize that we possess this ego and the fact is that it is found in all of us. People may have ego of wealth, riches, good health, happy families, good children, good power at work, a commanding position in the society and so on. It is one task to destroy such egos. Even if such egos are destroyed, the devotees of the Lord are still not able to get the darshan of the Lord. It is because they still possess one ego – the ego of devotion. – that ‘I am the greatest devotee’. The Lord doesn’t like this thought too. He tries to destroy this as well as clearly seen in Gopika Geetham. The gopis were ever in the thought that “they are the devotees of the Lord” and so the Lord wanted to remove this ego as well. During Rasa Leela, the Lord came in many different Krishna’s and danced with each and every gopi. In the midst of the Rasaleela., when they were in the thought that they were the sole devotees of the Lord, he disappeared and all the gopis cried and longed to get him back but in vain.
They first went out in search of him in Brindavan one after the other. They enquired with all the different plants, animals if they saw Lord Krishna or not. Then the gopis all gathered at one place and started to sing praises of the Lord, which is what we sing today “Goopika Geetham”. “jayathi te adhikam janma na vraja..”. Even after singing His glories, He did not give darshan. The gopis started crying for Him, “Ruruthuhu susvaram rajan”. Then they were led to a state of viraha (longing and separation from the Lord). They couldn’t imagine a life without Lord Krishna. That is the supreme state to be in for the Lord to come before the jivas. Once the devotee is in the state of Viraha, the Lord appears. And this state of viraha doesn’t happen to everyone just like that. It takes so much of effort to get there.
Prahlada showed us the steps to reach God. Here the Gopis show a different set of steps – First, gathering together as a satsang (just like the Gopis did), and then chanting of the Divine Names of the Lord and singing his glories (Gopika Geetam). This will, in due course of time, lead give us the supreme Prema Bhakti and finally enable us to reach his Holy Feet.
Following this, Sriramji from Houston talked about the stala purana of Tiruvannamalai.
Our land of Bharat is pure in many ways. The very fact the great Mahans are born in this great land would suffice to substantiate this very fact. The love for the nation (desa bhakti) and love for god (deiva bhakti) is present in all of them. If we take the life-history of Yogi Ram Suratkumar, a devotee once walked up to him and asked him if he had read the newspaper that day. Yogi said, “Where does this beggar have the time to read the paper. He was busy fighting the war in Kargil and saving the country”. This is just one example to show that mahatmas are indeed very patriotic.
When we talk about the glory of India, there are so many rivers flowing through the length and breadth of the country. There are seven holy places (saptha moksha puris) from kasi to kanchi in this country. The Lord has incarnated in various avatars and all these avatars took place in India. All the thirty-three crore devas desire to be born in india. Even though Bharat might not be the top few countries which is advanced in technology and medical science, it is much more advanced in one field and it is SPIRITUALITY. The divinity is reverberating in the air and people from different parts of the world travel to India to get peace of mind. Just like how southern Indian soil is conducive to grow rice, akin to how northern India soil is fertile to grow wheat, the soil of India is very rich to produce mahans. Right from Adi Shankara, Vashishta, Agastiya, Vishwamitra who are all contemporary, it is even today that we see mahans being born in the consecrated land of India. There are a lot of pilgrimage places in India Varanasi, Brindavan, Ayodhya and Pandarpur to name a few. Why is it that they are called as holy places? It is because of the presence of the Lord (sannidhya) in these locations. A trip undertaken to these places will accrue of lot of merits and it is to be said that to only step in these places will need a lot of previously earned good merits. But there are certain ways in which one should undertake a pilgrimage. When one desires to embark on a pilgrimage, he should go with the Sadguru as he will explain the divine history ( sthala purana) of the place in minute detail. If one is not fortunate to go with a sadguru then he needs to be accompanied by religious minded people who chant the Divine Names of the Lord and always sing his glories. Any other means followed, will not earn the full merits of undertaking a pilgrimage.
Talking about great holy places, Sriramji talked about the greatness of Tiruvannamalai. It is one of the pancha bootha kshetra. It is one of the five sacred places for Lord Shiva that represent the five elements namely (the water, fire, wind , earth and space). Tiruvanamalai symbolizes fire (agni swarropa). Kalahasti represents air, Thiruvanaikal, water, kanchi, land and chidamabram, sky (aaskasa).
The Midnight of Sivaratiri is called Lingodhbhava Kaala. It is that time when the mountain (Tiruvannamalai) is supposed to have come into existence and had the form of Lord Shiva. It is a known fact that a lot of people take a voyage to Kailash which is the residence of Lord Shiva. Our Guru Maharaj very beautifully says that even though Kailash is the residence of Lord Shiva, Tiruvannamalai is Lord Shiva himself in the form of mountain. It is not possible to do any kind of offerings (like offering flowers, vastra etc.) to the mountain which is verily the Lord. Hence a small Linga who is verily Lord Arunchaleshwara was consecrated for all the rituals to be performed.
Why is it called Agni Kshetra? There is a festival called Thee-midi utsavam in Tamil Nadu. On the day of this festival, people walk on burning charcoal. That is generally not celebrated here as per the agama rules. But in the tamil month of aadi on the day of Pooram (Pushya) star, this festival is performed right in front of Abitakuchalambal who is the consort of Lord Arunachaleshawara, verily corroborating the fact that it is an Agni Kshetra. Another point to elucidate that it is indeed an agni kshetra is that the Kaman festival (‘Manmada Dahanam’) is celebrated in front of Lord Arunachaleshawara in the spring time.
There was a king by name Vallala maharaja who was an ardent devotee of Lord Arunachaleshwara. He built a big tomb and it was named as Vallala Maharaja Gopuram. The king was not blessed with a child. He offered his prayers to the Lord Arunachaeshwara and the Lord promised that he himself would be his son. And how did he accomplish this? When the king died, the Lord himself came down and performed the final rites for the king akin to how a son would perform the same rites for his father. Even today after six hundred years, on maasi maka day (tamil month maasi and on the day of Maka nakshatra), the Lord goes to perform the ceremony of the great king.
It is a common belief that the Brahdeeshwar temple is Tamil Nadu is the tallest temple. It is hundred and twenty six feet tall. But the temple of Lord Arunachala is a foot taller than this Brahadeeshwar temple and is indeed the tallest temple. One other thing that is unique in this town is the penance (tapas) of woman. It is common notion that women should not undertake spiritual austerities but in Thiruvannamalai goodeess Parvati herself performed penance and she became part of Lord Arunachaleshawra. The deity of Ardhanareeshwara who is half man and half woman is enough to show that Goddess Parvati became part of Lords Shiva.
It is a known fact that Goddess Parvati is still performing penance in Kannyakumari and it is not known if it has concluded or not but we can clearly see that the penance has concluded in Thiuvanamalai through this divine deity Ardhanareeshwara. We know that Rama and Krishna have temples built for them and no temples exist for Devaki or Kausalya. However, the mother of Sri Ramana Maharishi is said to possess a temple and it is called Maatru boothewara temple.This is another evidence to show that the power of tapas in woman greatly work in this temple town.
If we take the case of Lord Muruga in Pazhani, it is a common belief that the prayers get answered when undertakes a pilgrimage to Pazhani. Akin to this belief is Vaitheeswaran temple in Tamil nadu. People who visit this temple are cured of ailments. If we think why this is the case, it is verily the existence of a Samadhi of great mahans. The Samadhi of Danvanthiri is located in the same town of Vaitheesawaran temple. Danvanthiri is the Lord who bestows one with good health. It is a fact that sepulcher (Samadhi) of Jeevan Mukthas really bless people with good health, prosperity etc.
So one may now wonder as to how many such samadhis/anushtanams can be found in Tiruvannamalai. When we undertake a pilgrimage to Ayodhya/Mathura/Kaladi (the birth palce of Lord Rama, Lord Krishna and Adi Shankara respectively) it gives us lot of good merits. It is due to the fact that the place where they are born is instantly purified.
One fact that stands distinctly out regarding Tiruvannamalai is the fact that Mahans who visited that place never left that place again for instance Ramana Maharishi, Seshadri Swamigal and Bhagawan Yogiramsuratkumar.
Five jeevan muktas are living in Tiruvannamalai eternally. It is the greatest of all the holy places.
There is a saying in Tamil that goes this way -
“Jnana thapo dhanarai vaa endru azhaikumam Tiruvannamalai”
The great mountain Tiruvannamalai calls out all the people who do tapas/penance and brings them unto its feet. Srimad Bhagavatam talks of a sage called Katvanga who attained Mukti in a ‘muhurta’. Even though we see that Ramana got the experience of Brahma Sakshakshatkara at his home in Tiruchuzhi, we see that He came to Tiruvannamalai.Ramana went to a cave and shut himself in, and reveled in that state. When people located him after several years he was in a dilapidated condition with long grown hair, long nails and with insect bites all over his body. Such great Mahan was in Tiruvannamalai.
It is said that Dakshinamoorthy resides in the summit of the mountain under a banyan tree and no one has claimed to have seen this, for this is considered a dangerous expedition. This was actually seen by Ramana just like we human beings would see each other.
The mountain is famous for strong pressures in certain pockets of the hill. Upon placing an ear, one can hear several mantras that are being chanted. It is very hard for ordinary human beings to comprehend the contents in a stala purana but Mahans have actually witnessed all these.
Seshadri Swamigal was born in Kanchi, which is one of the seven moksha puris. He had earlier settled down in Kanchi but after the demise of his mother he moved to Tiruvannamalai. He was a Realized soul. He used to behave like a lunatic – but every action of his would cause only goodness – he once entered a marriage hall and emptied the vessel that contained a stew. They were shocked to see a snake that was sitting deep inside the vessel. It is also true incident that he used to walk in water and by just tapping his hands, thousands of peacocks would appear from nowhere. He would walk into a shop and open the vault and throw some coins all over the place. That day that shop-keeper would do great business with good profit. He was living without food or water.
His ashram is right next to the ashram of Ramana Maharishi. It is to be told that Seshadri Swamigal performed Giri Pradkshinam a lakh and eight times around Tiruvannamalai. Giri Pradkshinam is a fourteen kilometer walk around the Thiruvnamalai which is the manifestation of Lord Shiva.
Our Guru Maharaj says that Giri Pradkshinam is not just circumambulating a normal mountain and it is indeed a spiritual sadhana by itself. Ramanar who has not advocated any spiritual practice (like japa/tapas etc) has actually urged people to do Giri Pradakshinam.
Yogi Ramsuratkumar Maharaj’s ashram is also located in Tiruvannamalai. He had only lived a few decades in Tiruvannamalai. By his very presence, today, incessant chanting of Nama is happening in his Ashram. Karthigai Deepam is a very important festival that is celebrated with lamps lit in the apex of the mountain. On this day about two million visit Tiruvannamalai on this day. On Full Moon days, the town is packed with devotees for Giri Pradakshina, which was was not the case a few decades ago.
It is only the power of divine name chanting in Yogiji’s ashram that attracts millions of people today.
The satsang ended with Namasankirtan.
