Mottayan Swamiji Experience

I wrote a previous posting about Mooku Podi Swami and some of my thoughts on him. Subsequently a reader of Arunachala Grace has just posted the below comment on her own life changing experience with Mooku Podi Swami, and below I reproduce her comment in its entirety.

“Hi, I cannot express my joy in words after seeing Appa's photo and a article on him. Appa is how he is referred by all his devotee children. After my personal experience with Appa I have unshakeable faith that only when you are in dire need in your life, Lord Arunachaleswarar blesses you to meet Appa. We are not meeting Appa actually. He will decide to see us and it is only then that we can see him.

I would like to share my personal experience with Appa. We met Appa in May 2009 unforgettable month of my life. My husband had lost his job in the U.S. due to recession. We were searching for jobs for 2 months now. In the meanwhile I was having very sudden and severe health problems related to my brain and fertility. All these put together we were having the toughest time of our life, not to mention that we were married for less than a year.

My husband is a devotee of Lord Arunachaleswarar and so, as is our habit, we went to Thiruvannamalai for Swami's darshan. On the blessed day when we met Appa, we were leaving Thiruvanammalai to go back to our home in Madurai. After having breakfast, I hired an auto. Of all the autos that were present there, God had to send me only that particular auto. In that auto, there were two photos. One was the photo of Uchimalai Swamigal who was no longer present in Thiruvannamalai. There was this other photo we did not recognise. We asked the auto driver about it and it was he who told us about Appa. We wanted to meet him very badly and asked him to take us to Appa.

The first time we met Appa he was in a Mariamman Temple in the Giri route. He was having a thiruvodu in his hands. When he saw us, he walked to the nearby plants and started to pluck leaves from them. He then kept those leaf bunches in his head. After being there for sometime, he decided to go for girivalam and signaled to a person standing near by. He then started for girivalam in the anti-clockwise direction.

We took off behind him. He went into Hotel Akasha and asked for the senior owner. When he learnt that the owner was out of town, he broke his thiruvodu by sending it crashing on the floor. The owner immediately asked the guard to clear it and he explained to us, the spectators that Appa had actually done drishti kalippu by breaking the thiruvodu.

Our girivalam continued and at one point only one leaf bunch flew from Appa’s head and fell on the road. Of the 4 -5 bunches only one flew. We took the leaf bunch as Prasad. I am very happy that I took it. We had kept the leaf in a plastic cover. We were very surprised to see that the leaf was fresh and green as if in a plant for a month.

I don’t think it is a coincidence that the leaf was fresh till all our problems were solved. My husband got a job in Singapore, and all my health problems were resolved. Appa stayed with us in form of the leaf till our problems were solved.

If you go to Thiruvannmalai try to have the divine experience with Appa. He will not talk through his mouth. But if you ask him something (you should talk using your heart and not mouth) then he will shake his head as an answer. If the answer is a yes then he will nod and if it is a no then he will indicate accordingly. If you have been blessed to meet Appa then I am sure, that Appa could not bear seeing you in pain and so he chose to see you and free you of all the pain. I am also sure that from that moment on, your life will only improve and you will reach heights.

Even now, if I think of the whole experience and the leaf bunch in particular, I cannot help but shedding happy tears of joy. I pray to Annandale that all those reading this Blog also get the blessing to meet Appa. Appa's annadana matam is situated in the girivala pathai. Anyone will be able to tell you. You can go there for any further details.”

Rural Tiruvannamalai

Yesterday was a sleepy pretty day and I decided to walk back home after visiting some folk living several kilometres away off the Perumbakkam Road. It was lunchtime and quite hot, below is the view of Arunachala from where I started off. It is also the view from outside the Lord Ayyappan Grove.

To learn more about the legend and story of Lord Ayyappan visit this link here and for information on Sacred Groves here.

After stopping off at the Grove I continued walking northwards on the Perumbakkam Roadway.

And wherever possible both creatures and people were having a nice snooze during the hot midday sun.

Farmers below having their conference under a tree's shade.

A couple more agriculturists below having a good chat.

Ancient beautiful tamarind trees have survived the inroads of road modernisation and still line many of the roads and avenues around Tiruvannamalai.

And below perilously close to the roadway, rustic thatched country cottages line both sides of Perumbakkam Road.

An enjoyable, pretty walk that gave me the opportunity to remind myself just how sweet it is in these parts.

Role of Siva-Sakti

“In the role of Siva’s sakti, Parvati performs functions, or assumes meanings, which imply an underlying harmony or interdependent relationship between herself and Siva. She is often identified with the force underlying and impelling creation. While Siva remains more or less aloof in the creation of the world. Parvati as sakti is active, pervading the creation as its underlying strength and power. In this active, creative role she is sometimes identified with prakrti (nature), whereas Siva is identified with purusa (pure spirit).

As prakrti, Parvati presents the inherent tendency of nature to express itself in concrete forms and individual beings. In this task, however, whether as sakti or prakrti, it is understand that Parvati either must be set in motion by Siva or must act according to his will, wish, or design. She is not seen as antagonistic to him. Her role as his sakti is almost always interpreted as positive.

Through Parvati, Siva (the Absolute) is able to express himself in creation. Without her he would remain inert, aloof, inactive. Just as in the mythology Parvati is necessary for involving Siva in creation, so as his Sakti she is necessary for his self-expression in creation. It is only in association with her that Siva is able to realize or manifest his full potential. Without Parvati Siva’s great power does not, or cannot, manifest itself in creation. Parvati as sakti not only complements Siva, she completes him.

A variety of images and metaphors are used to express the harmonious interdependence and close identity of Parvati as sakti and Siva as saktiman, the possessor of sakti.

Siva is said to be the male principle throughout creation, Parvati the female principle,
Siva is the sky, Parvati the earth,
Siva is subject, Parvati object,
Siva is the ocean, Parvati the seashore,
Siva is the sun, Parvati, its light,
Parvati is all tastes and smells, Siva the enjoyer of all tastes and smells,
Parvati is the embodiment of all individual souls, Siva the soul itself,
Parvati assumes every form that is worthy to be thought of, Siva thinks of all such forms,
Siva is day, Parvati night,
Parvati is creation, Siva the creator,
Parvati is speech, Siva meaning.

To an even greater extent than the Siva-sakti idea, the androgynous image of Siva and Parvati (Ardhanarisvara) emphasizes that the two deities are absolutely necessary to each other, and only in union can they satisfy each other and fulfill themselves. The image shows a half-male, half-female figure. The right side is Siva and is adorned with his ornaments, the left side is Parvati and adorned with her ornaments. God in this unification of the opposites; is both; male and female, both father and mother, both aloof and active, and both fearsome and gentle.”

[With thanks to David Kinsley]

Tiru Neelakanta Nayanar

In Chidambaram, there once lived an ardent devotee of Lord Siva. He was a potter and leading an ideal household life. He had the highest regard for devotees of Lord Siva and made beautiful begging bowls of clay and offered them free to the devotees. Siva, in His aspect of Neelakanta (blue-throated one) was his sole refuge and prop.


In spite of the potter's virtuous qualities, once he fell a victim to lust. One day, he visited the house of a prostitute. When he returned home, his dutiful and pious wife understood this. Although she did not show her irritation and continued to serve him; she decided from then on not to have relations with him. One day, as her husband approached her with passion, she took an oath and said: ‘In the name of Neelakanta, I ask you: do not touch us.’ Though she only meant herself, she had used the word 'us. Since she took the Name of the Lord and since she had used the word 'us', Neelakanta Nayanar decided that from that day he would not touch any woman in the world. Years rolled by and they had grown old.


In the guise of a Yogi the Lord came to Tiru Neelakanta’s house. The Yogi gave him a begging bowl to keep in his safe custody and left the place. After a long time, the Lord returned to the house in the guise of the Yogi and asked for the bowl’s return which by the power of his Maya, he had caused to disappear from the house. Neelakanta searched for it, but could not find it. It was a mystery to him. He was ashamed of himself. Trembling with fear, he fell at the Yogi’s feet and said that he could not find it. At this, the Yogi got very angry and accused Neelakanta, calling him a thief and cheat.

The Yogi demanded that if he was innocent he should say so on oath while holding his wife’s hand. When Nayanar, who had resolved, in the name of the Lord, not to touch a woman anyone, declined, the Yogi pretended to attribute his unwillingness to the fact that he had been guilty of theft. They went to the court. The Brahmins heard the case. Neelakanta could no longer hide the secret relationship that existed between him and his wife, and so, related the whole story to the court.


After this narration, Neelakanta and his wife caught hold of the two ends of a stick and took a dip in the tank. As they emerged from the water, they shone with youth and beauty. The Yogi disappeared and Lord Siva and Goddess Parvati appeared in the sky, blessing all of them. The Lord said: ‘Due to the merit of having lived a life of self-control and devotion, you will live in My Eternal Abode, forever youthful.’ The Lord thus revealed the glory of supreme devotion to Him, and the power and purity of a saint’s virtue.

Message of the Nayanars

“There have been many ‘intellectuals’ even in India who have looked down upon the path of Bhakti (devotion) as something inferior to Jnana (wisdom). Their short-sightedness becomes at once apparent when we study the lives of the great Four Teachers (Appar, Sundarar, Manickavachagar and Sambandar) and realise that these great Jnanis, too, were great Bhaktas who loved to visit Temples and sing the glories of the Lord.

Love of the Lord cuts at the very root of our attachment to this world, and snaps all worldly ties, to father, mother, son, wife or relatives. As the stories of the Nayanars illustrate, the devotee is ever ready to renounce all, in favour of devotion to Lord Siva.

Let us also never forget that in the case of all the Nayanars devotion invariably meant expansion of the heart, and, therefore, service and charity. We have to take the individual tales of the Nayanars as allegories exhorting us to rout out the inner obstacles to our Sadhana.

If we approach these saints with faith and devotion in our hearts, we shall grasp the message they have for us. We shall also understand why they gave such a great place to externals like the sacred ash, Rudraksha, etc. These symbols remind one constantly of God: and, when they are said to remove our sins, they remove our sinful tendencies, too, by constantly reminding us of God, and keeping evil out of our mind.”

[Venkatesananda – Abridged]

Roaming

I started off my roaming by having tiffin at a hotel on Sannidhi Street. The walls of the restaurant were covered with paintings of cartoon characters, interspersed with framed prints of the life of Krishna. Rather a curious but charming mix!

After my nice tiffin I headed for the front of the Arunachaleswarar Temple, to see if I could find some wind chimes for my garden.

I found the chimes and also had a chat with the trader who mentioned that his wares all come from Pondicherry. Now that was a surprise as I would have thought some enterprising artisan would have started up a cottage industry in Tiruvannamalai to produce such easy-to-make items.

Next to the wind-chime stall, a lady sat at her booth making malas to sell to devotees going into Arunachaleswarar Temple.

Its fun roaming around the inside and outside of Arunachaleswarar as its always such a beehive of fascinating sights.

Mariamman Temple

There are several Mariamman Shrines and Temples located around Tiruvannamalai, however I was eager to visit the large, well attended Mariamman Temple in town -- which I had been meaning to do for a while but never seemed to get around to it.


I have previously written about the major Shakti Temples located near Arunachala on many occasions; so if you are interested in finding out more about Durga Amman Koil, Pavala Kundru, Pachaimman Koil, Rajarajeshwari Koil, or the Amman Shrines located in the three major Shiva Temple Compounds; Arunachaleswarar Temple, Adi Annamalai and Arunagirinathar Temple, please use the search feature to access postings on the above.

The Goddess Mariamman is a main South India mother Goddess who is closely associated with the Hindu goddesses Parvati and Durga. She is an ancient village goddess related to rain (the Tamil word ‘mari’ means rain or change).

Each month on the night of Poornima at this Temple, there is a procession of lights in honour of the Goddess. Ladies carry oil lamps three times in girivalam around the inside of the compound.

Mariamman is the Goddess devotees pray to, to eradicate smallpox and heat-based diseases. During the summer months in South India (March to June), people walk miles carrying pots of water mixed with turmeric and neem leaves to ward off illnesses like measles and chicken pox.

Neem Tree

People also pray to Mariamman for progeny and a good spouse. The most favoured offering is "pongal" (rice and green gram), cooked in the Temple compound. The below photograph is of a lady seated in front of the cooking facilities, preparing to do a puja on behalf of her brother, an NRI visiting from South Africa, who is hoping to find a bride to bring back with him on his return to South Africa.

There are two trees (Peepal and Neem) inside this Temple compound, and outside the main gate there is another Peepal tree.

Peepal Tree

Peepal Tree outside Compound

Puja Function

Sri Nannagaru left Tiruvannamalai on Thursday, June 18th. Before his departure some devotees arranged a small puja function at the Ashram. Swami encourages devotees to follow what comes natural and easy for them. He also suggests his followers participate in girivalam and visit holy places such as Arunachaleswarar Temple and Ashrams (particularly Ramana Ashram).

In this context its interesting to familiarize oneself with Sri Nannagaru's words on Religion:


“Religion is a creation of the mind. Hence, it is called ‘Mata’. There are as many religions as there are minds. Religion and creed helps create feuds and dissension. If the welfare of society is not the goal of a religion, such a religion is not worth its name. Religion is used as an opiate and instead of making people wise it makes man a slave.

The Self is there prior to the birth of Religion. The purpose of religion should be to show the path to realization of the Self. One may worship his own God; but his love of religion and his love of God should not make him hate others.

There is no God without the Self. In the name of religion and personal Gods, men fight for their own aggrandizement. Religion creates narrow domestic walls. Our concepts stand in the way of our finding Truth. There is no God higher than Truth. Change of religion does not release one, but on the other hand change of mind does.”
[Sri Nannagaru]

Right-click on all photographs to enlarge

An Afternoon Darshan

Right-click on all photographs to enlarge


"There is only one Iswara, the body bound ‘I’ is not the real ‘I’. When you are attracted to Arunachala, (whether you know it or not, Arunachala comes through an unseen connection) – it is a good attachment and helps one live an egoless life. Those who are attracted by Arunachala shall get liberation through Arunachala. It is by Arunachala’s Grace that we are attracted to Him. It is by the Grace of Arunachala, the ego is shattered and destroyed."
[Sri Nannagaru]

Arunachala from Sri Nannagaru Ashram

A visiting Swami

Sri Nannagaru taking Arunachala darshan

Sri Nannagaru giving darshan to devotees

"There is no parallel to the Grace of the Guru. Although the external Guru is not real in the true sense of the term, yet, He is essential. It is He who turns your mind inwards, and enables you to realize your true nature. He protects you. Publicity does not confer Guruhood nor does external show earmark one as a Guru. He, whose words penetrate into your Heart alone, can be deemed as Guru. You can discharge any kind of debt but the debt you owe to your Guru."
[Sri Nannagaru]

Sri Nannagaru Visits Arunachala

Sri Nannagaru is currently at residence at his ashram at Tiruvannamalai which is located at Rajiv Gandhi Nagar, approximately a kilometre west of Ramana Ashram, just off Chengam Road. While at his ashram he has been giving regular darshan and the below photographs were taken this morning. Sri Nannagaru will remain at Tiruvannamalai until June 18. To learn more about Sri Nannagaru you can visit his website at this link here.

Right-click on all photographs to enlarge

To watch and listen to Sri Nannagaru answering the question posed in a previous interview:

"It appears essential to meet a guru and stay with that guru. Who is the guru? What is the guru's role? How to recognise a true guru?"

Please go to this link here

where he starts his reply, "It is better to see enlightened souls. You will get inspiration from them . . . "

Arunachala Grace News, June 2009

Arunachala Grace Newsletter, June 2009 will be sent out direct to subscribers email inbox by the end of this week. This month there are articles on Self Help Groups (SHGs) at Tiruvannamalai, Arunachala Reforestation, Arunachala Tidbits, review of a new book on Spiritual Masters (many connected with this area), sayings and fables. The ecology section features the bird; the Golden Oriole and describes the medicinal and ayurvedic properties of the Wood Apple tree and fruit.

If you are not yet a subscriber, please go to the subscribe facility on the left column of this page.

Remembering A.P. Santhanaraj

In Chennai on May 25, 2009 the eminent artist A.P. Santhanaraj passed away at his home near Tambaram after suffering from health problems for some time. Although suffering from consistent ill health in the last years, he continued to paint until his death. He was 77 years old and is survived by four sons.

Santhanaraj was born on March 13, 1932, at Tiruvannamalai and exhibited a fascination for drawing at the early age of 4 years old. His distraction with pictures absorbed him so completely that he considered going to the Tiruvannamalai Danish Mission School a major hindrance and considered school teaching and learning “artificial”.

Having heard of the Madras School of Arts and Crafts, Santhanaraj wanted to begin his artistic journey from that institution and attempted to gain admittance to the school at the age of 10. He was refused entry because of his young age, but eventually joined in 1948 at the age of 16.

He later became a teacher at the Institute and then Principal and also exhibited his work both in India and the U.K. However, Santhanaraj never liked to exhibit his works for the simple reason that he was never satisfied with them despite the admiration and awards that they won.

He is believed to be one of the pioneers and forerunners of the modern art movement in the country and favourite artist to many of his peers including M.F. Hussain. Santhanaraj has said of his work:

“My art is abstract, very abstract. Abstraction according to me is giving importance to the most important aspect of the object and eliminating the unimportant though it might exist.”

Mind and Self Enquiry

“It is the mind that is responsible for bondage or liberation. The negative mind takes you to negative actions. Negative actions bear negative results. The mind, when positive, will prompt you to take positive actions. And positive actions will give you positive results. Therefore, never entertain any negative thoughts.

Mind has no form. As is the thought, so is the mind. When the thoughts are good, there constitutes a good mind. When thoughts are bad, they make a bad mind. Mind is nothing but a bundle of thoughts . . when the thoughts are negative; so you are suffering. Once you know the thoughts are negative and make you suffer, come on! Give them up - throw them away! Don't entertain such thoughts, as negative thoughts will make you suffer. Why should you suffer? Brush them aside.

Similarly, once you know that the negative thought is making you suffer, drop it immediately!

All agitation will cease the moment one enters on the enquiry, “Who Am I?” This was the sadhana that Ramana Maharshi achieved and taught to his disciples. This is also the easiest of all disciplines.”

[Sri Sathya Sai Baba]

Ashoka Apartments, Ramana Nagar

Construction is scheduled to start this September on Ashoka Apartments which will take 10 months to complete. The apartment compound consists of 15 apartments, of which 9 are available on 3 year long leases and 6 for purchase. The apartment compound is located in Ramana Nagar, at the end of the Post Office Road opposite the side entrance to Sadhu Om Colony.

The apartments have 24 hour security and many nice features like a lift running from the garage floor up to the roof. The lift and stairwell are located at the centre of the compound and is surrounded by a small garden, upon which the backs of each apartment overlooks.

The apartments are available to both resident Indians and visitors from overseas. To view more diagrams of the apartments go to this link here, and to look at the plans for each of the three floors check this link.


Right Click on the each of the below to view enlarged size.