Sparsa Hotel Update

What a nice surprise to visit Sparsa Hotel now that it is looking so green and luxuriant.

The pool is excellent and the management have wisely decided to surround it with bamboo covered creepers (they have yet to grow) in order to offer full privacy to their guests.

In the photograph below you can see the bamboo screen at the right side in closer detail.

From the concourse of the Hotel, a very nice few of Arunachala. The Hotel is located just off the girivalam roadway path, so very convenient for all those early morning walks.

The smaller buildings are part of the Hotel infrastructure and comprise shops, a health club, an ayurveda centre, an internet facility, a gift shop and various other bits and pieces.



Below -- the shop concourse from another vantage point.




In the next photograph some of the residential quarters with separate facilities upstairs and downstairs.

In the next photograph, the Hotel's internet facility, which is awaiting two more computers.

And the small reading room.

And lastly a photograph the very interesting 'retro' motor scooters given to guests to use during their stay at the Hotel.

New VodPod

There is now a new video pod at the bottom left hand column of this page. The four videos are:

Shiva Bhajan
Beautiful devotional Shiva Bhajan by Anuradha Paudwal from her Album Shiv Sagar

Nisgardatta Maharaj Talk

Talk with Nisgardatta Maharaj which is an excerpt from the “Extra Features” of the DVD “I Am That I Am”.

HWL Poonja Discourse

Discourse of HWL Poonja (Papaji) entitled, "Turn your face towards Consciousness,", in which he uses the analogy of a fish in the water crying "I am thirsty", to describe that Consciousness alone is.

Vande Mataram - Maa Tujhe Salaam

Video of A.R. Rahman's reinvention of India's national song Vande Mataram, 'Maa Tujhe Salaam' from his smash 1997 album 'Vande Mataram'.

Temple Timings

Arunachaleswar Temple daily opens at 5.30 a.m. and closes at 9.30 p.m. During the midday period of 12.30 p.m. to 3.30 p.m. all the shrines inside the Temple Complex, including both Shiva Sannidhi and Unnamulai Shrine, are closed. However several of the Gopuram Gates to the Temple are continuously open throughout the day, so one can enter and exit the Temple Complex without interruption.

During Deepam Festival and every Poornami (Full Moon) the shrines at Arunachaleswar Temple DO NOT close during midday.

Daily pujas performed at Shiva Sannidhi are as follows:

*6.00 a.m. Ukshakala Puoja
8.30 a.m. Kala Santhi Puja
*10.30 a.m. Uchikala Puja
*6.00 p.m. Sayaratchai Puja
7.30 p.m. Irandam Kala Puja
*8.30 p.m. Arthajama Puja

* Pujas marked with an asterisk are conducted during Poornamis – others excluded. Please note that the puja timings on the Temple website have not been updated and the above is correct.

click photo to enlarge
For information about ordering special pujas at Arunachaleswarar Temple (online) please go to the Temple website here.

Nandi the Bull

Yesterday, Sunday August 17th, visited Arunachaleswarar Temple (Big Temple) after a long absence. Many people who live in Tiruvannamalai visit the Temple daily, in much the same way devotees who live in the suburb of Ramana Nagar, often visit one of the major ashrams located in that area. I always enjoy my visits to BigTemple and if it was closer to my home, would visit much more regularly.

Whilst there I checked out a couple of items readers of Arunachala Grace have written about. The first request came from Grasshopper, who asked for some photographs of her favourite, Periyar Nandi. The second request (which I will fulfil in the following post) was for information of Temple timings (in addition have also included information about specific pujas available at the Temple).

Nandi
The Periyar (Big) Nandi statue at Arunachaleswarar Temple is located in the Fifth Prakaram facing the Vallala Maharaja Gopuram and just outside the One Thousand Pillared Mandapam.

Nandi, is most renowned as the carrier and principal follower of Shiva. He is also the gatekeeper of Siva’s abode, which explains the close association of a statue of Nandi at the gate of many Shiva Temples.

In Sanskrit, a bull is called ‘vrisha’, which also connotes righteousness or Dharma, thus making it important to seek the blessings of Nandi before proceeding to worship Lord Shiva.

In Siddhar traditions, Nandi is one of the primal Gurus and amongst others was the guru to Siddhars Thirumulanathar and Patanjalinathar.

The largest Nandi Statues in India can be found at:

Lepakshi, Andhra Pradesh
Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu
Chamundi Hills, Mysore, Karnataka
Bull Temple, Bangalore, Karnataka
Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu,
Hoysaleswara Temple, Halebidu, Karnataka
Shanthaleswara, Halebidu, Karnataka

Nandi at Chamundi Hills, Mysore, Karnataka

India Independence Day

Today, August 15th, is the anniversary of India’s Independence Day and commemorates its independence from British rule and its birth as a sovereign nation in 1947. The day is a national holiday in India and is celebrated throughout the country with flag-hosting ceremonies. The main celebration takes place in New Delhi, where the Prime Minister traditionally delivers a nationally televised speech from its ramparts.

Tryst with Destiny was a speech made by Jawaharlal, the first Prime Minister of independent India. The speech was made to the India constituent Assembly, on the eve of India’s independence, towards midnight on August 14th, 1947 and reminds Indians about the dawn of a new beginning.

Tryst with Destiny
"Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance. It is fitting that at this solemn moment we take the pledge of dedication to the service of India and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity.

At the dawn of history India started on her unending quest, and trackless centuries are filled with her striving and the grandeur of her success and her failures. Through good and ill fortune alike she has never lost sight of that quest or forgotten the ideals which gave her strength. We end today a period of ill fortune and India discovers herself again. The achievement we celebrate today is but a step, an opening of opportunity, to the greater triumphs and achievements that await us. Are we brave enough and wise enough to grasp this opportunity and accept the challenge of the future?

That future is not one of ease or resting but of incessant striving so that we may fulfil the pledges we have so often taken and the one we shall take today. The service of India means the service of the millions who suffer. It means the ending of poverty and ignorance and disease and inequality of opportunity. The ambition of the greatest man of our generation has been to wipe every tear from every eye. That may be beyond us, but as long as there are tears and suffering, so long our work will not be over.

And so we have to labour and to work, and work hard, to give reality to our dreams. Those dreams are for India, but they are also for the world, for all the nations and peoples are too closely knit together today for any one of them to imagine that it can live apart Peace has been said to be indivisible; so is freedom, so is prosperity now, and so also is disaster in this One World that can no longer be split into isolated fragments.

We have to build the noble mansion of free India where all her children may dwell. The appointed day has come-the day appointed by destiny-and India stands forth again, after long slumber and struggle, awake, vital, free and independent. The past clings on to us still in some measure and we have to do much before we redeem the pledges we have so often taken. Yet the turning-point is past, and history begins anew for us, the history which we shall live and act and others will write about.

It is a fateful moment for us in India, A new star rises, the star of freedom in the East, a new hope comes into being, a vision long cherished materializes. May the star never set and that hope never be betrayed! We rejoice in that freedom.

The future beckons to us. Whither do we go and what shall be our endeavour? To bring freedom and opportunity to the common man, to the peasants and workers of India; to fight and end poverty and ignorance and disease; to build up a prosperous, democratic and progressive nation, and to create social, economic and political institutions which will ensure justice and fullness of life to every man and woman.

We have hard work ahead. There is no resting for any one of us till we redeem our pledge in full, till we make all the people of India what destiny intended them to be. We are citizens of a great country on the verge of bold advance, and we have to live up to that high standard. All of us, to whatever religion we may belong, are equally the children of India with equal rights, privileges and obligations. We cannot encourage communalism or narrow-mindedness, for no nation can be great whose people are narrow in thought or in action.

To the nations and peoples of the world send greetings and pledge ourselves to cooperate with them in furthering peace, freedom and democracy. And to India, our much-loved motherland, the ancient, the eternal and the ever-new, we pay our reverent homage and we bind ourselves afresh to her service. Jai Hind."

Vande Mataram
The song Vande Mataram was composed by Bankin Chandra and an English translation rendered by Shree Aurobindo. This version is now considered the official one, however only the first two stanzas are recognised as the National Anthem. The video is a reworking interpretation of the national song (Vande Mantaram) by A.R.Rahman.

Mother, I bow to thee!
Rich with thy hurrying streams,
Bright with orchard gleams,
Cool with thy winds of delight,
Dark fields waving Mother of might,
Mother free.

Glory of moonlight dreams,
Over thy branches and lordly streams,
Clad in thy blossoming trees,
Mother, giver of ease
Laughing low and sweet!
Mother I kiss thy feet,
Speaker sweet and low!
Mother, to thee I bow.

Who hath said thou art weak in thy lands
When the sword flesh out in the seventy million hands
And seventy million voices roar
Thy dreadful name from shore to shore?
With many strengths who art mighty and stored,
To thee I call Mother and Lord!
Though who savest, arise and save!
To her I cry who ever her foeman drove
Back from plain and Sea
And shook herself free.




Bharatma
Thou art wisdom, thou art law,
Thou art heart, our soul, our breath
Though art love divine, the awe
In our hearts that conquers death.
Thine the strength that nerves the arm,
Thine the beauty, thine the charm.
Every image made divine
In our temples is but thine.

Thou art Durga, Lady and Queen,
With her hands that strike and her
swords of sheen,
Thou art Lakshmi lotus-throned,
And the Muse a hundred-toned,
Pure and perfect without peer,
Mother lend thine ear,
Rich with thy hurrying streams,
Bright with thy orchard gleams,
Dark of hue O candid-fair

In thy soul, with jewelled hair
And thy glorious smile divine,
Loveliest of all earthly lands,
Showering wealth from well-stored hands!
Mother, mother mine!
Mother sweet, I bow to thee,
Mother great and free!

Tiruvannamalai District Forests

Many who visit Tiruvannamalai, are concerned when they see the rapid urbanisation of the area - something which will probably continue in the foreseeable future. However, in spite of the large population of Tamil Nadu, it is very encouraging to see the forest statistics of the State. In the below diagram, Tiruvannamalai District is in the top right of the photograph - with lots of good, green forest cover.

The next diagram is of the Forest Cover of Tiruvannamalai District.

Varalakshmi Puja

This Friday, August 15th Varalakshmi Puja is performed in Hindu Temples and homes dedicated to the Goddess. On this day it is believed Lakshmi emerged from the ocean of milk. The name Varalakshmi is interpreted as Vara=boons, Lakshmi=she who grants the boons.

Legend has it that Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati played a game of dice. Lord Shiva claimed to have won but Parvati believed otherwise. There arose a dispute between the two with regard to the winner and the Goddess called a Gana, Chitramani to mediate and settle the matter. When Chitramani confirmed that Lord Shiva won the game, Goddess Parvati became angry and accused Chitramani of lying. Lord Shiva knew that Chitramani had not lied but Parvati was not convinced and cursed Chitramani to suffer from leprosy and be born on earth as a leper.

When Lord Siva convinced Goddess Parvati, that the Gana had been telling the truth, the Goddess granted Chitramani the boon that if was able to participate or perform Varalakshmi Puja, he would be relieved of the curse and cured of leprosy. After years of wandering, Chitramani was able to participate in Varalakshmi Puja performed by a group of celestial angels and be cured of his leprosy. Since then the Varalakshmi Puja has been performed every year. For another legend of this Puja go to this link here.

The worship is observed by married women with the belief that the Goddess will guard their husband’s life and also grant boons to those who observe the puja. It is said that Lakshmi will enter the house of anyone who thinks of her and bless them. Varalakshmi Vratham is considered very auspicious because it is marked by strict observance of certain practices and austerities. It is also called Varalakshmi Nonbu.

India's Railway Minister

After the recent post on Arunachala Grace about the current Tiruvannamalai Railworks at this link, a reader sent in an interesting article about the current India Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, which I reproduce below.

“It is not easy to explain Lalu Prasad's success as India's Railway Minister and his earlier failure as Chief Minister of Bihar.

While Bihar under his stewardship acquired the image of the most backward state in India, mired in poverty because of the lack of development, the same Lalu Prasad, when he took charge of the Railway Ministry, transformed it into a miracle of modern management technique.

The astonishing nature of his achievement was highlighted during the presentation of the railway budget when he announced the enormous profit of Rs.20,000 crore (Rs.200 billion). And this remarkable feat was made possible without increasing passenger fares and freight rates.

Not surprisingly, Lalu Prasad has become the toast of business schools, which are eager to fathom the secret of his success. So the one-time bare-bodied cowherd, who used to ride buffaloes in the paddy fields of Bihar in his poverty-stricken childhood, stalks these days into the hallowed precincts of management and business institutes to lecture an audience in business suits on how to successfully run an establishment.”

Street Shrine

Yesterday (Saturday) I went to visit a friend at V.O.C. Nagar, which is a small colony at the side of Seshadri Ashram on Chengam Road. A couple of years ago this street was very rustic, with potholes on the road and surrounded by old fashioned, modest dwellings. As is the case throughout Tiruvannamalai, increased prosperity has improved the lot of ordinary people living in the community and many of the homes have been updated and enlarged.

At the other end of the street is a lovely Shakti Shrine dedicated to Adi Para-Shakti. Particulary like the beautiful tree at the back of the Shrine.

Below is a statue of the Goddess on top of the Shrine.




In front a small shrine with a representation of Ganesha.

The smiling lady below helps maintain the Shrines and also daily draws rangoli designs on the ground.

Below is her husband who is surrounded by a crowd of local kids who are eager to make sure they also get their photograph taken - a popular past-time of most of the kids in the area!

The girl in orange is putting henna on her friend's hand from a prepackaged metal funnel available at most local stores.

Lots of kids crowding below to get into the photo.

Outside the Shrine there is an iconic representation of Adi Para Shakti which the day before was taken around Arunachala in procession (in the back of a Jeep).

And in close-up.

Inside the Shrine is a statue of Adi Para Shakti which is permanently fixed to a platform. The Shrine statue is much older than that used in processions and reflects the rustic time of yesteryear when the street and community was only able to afford a simple statue. Compare this to the very beautiful (and expensive) statue of the recently made Adi Para Shakti statue used in processions - which reflects the increased prosperity of the area.

However, I rather like the one of yesteryear and particularly like the charming plastic parrots attached to three flower cones which were also part of the recent procession around the Hill.

Ravaged Murals

"Some exquisite mural paintings that adorned Tamil Nadu’s Temples are lost thanks to neglect and state-sponsored vandalism. These treasures, belonging mostly to the Vijayanagar and Nayaka periods (14th - 17th century), have been whitewashed or sandblasted in the name of Temple renovation or kumbhabhishekam (a consecration ritual). Officials of the State Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department have allowed the whitewashing or sandblasting of murals to present a clean surface to devotees, claiming that devotees do not like to see faded paintings."

For two earlier posts on sandblasting on Arunachala Grace, go to this link here and this one here. (Sandblasting is a process intended to remove oily substances or whitewash from statues and/or paintings. In the process sand is sprayed at high air pressure on sculptures, walls and pillars. It is now banned in many Temples in India.)

Mural depicting Nataraja, Kalakkad Temple

"In some cases, it is ignorance that has led to the neglect of these works of art. Soot from oil lamps settle over the murals; electrical cables and switchboards are installed over them; or cracked ceilings allow water and sunlight to seep in and spoil the murals.

In what conservationists describe as a classic example of ‘murder of art’, these paintings are reportedly repainted by signboard artists who merrily use modern poster-colours to re-create them. The State Archaeology Department use artists unfamiliar with the conservation or restoration of ancient murals to repaint murals found on the ceiling of some Temples wth the result, that the murals now dazzle in bright colours."

Modern artist's repainted mural

The Temples where the few surviving murals have been mindlessly whitewashed include the Arunachaleswarar Temple, Tiruvannamalai and the Meenakshi Temple, Madurai amongst others. Palaces, forts, colonial bungalows, monasteries and churches in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir and Goa face similar defacement.

Dr. David Shulman, an Indologist who has studied mural paintings of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, says: “The problem is very urgent. If action is not taken immediately treasures of Tamil Nadu, which are part of the National Heritage, will disappear.” Very often Mandapams housing mural treasures of South India paintings are being used as godowns (food storage), or filled with junk, logs, rusting nails and even dead rodents! Experts in Fine Arts suggest organisations such as the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage should consult tradition-oriented artists before taking up conservation of existing murals.

A four-day international seminar titled “Painting Narratives: Mural Painting Traditions in the 13th -19th centuries”, held near Chennai from January 23th to 27th, focussed on the magnitude of the problem. Attention was also drawn to the existence of hundreds of painted, wooden sculptures in Temples and Village deities (Ayyanars) and their Vahanas (mounts) being painted in garish rich colours.

Brightly Painted Vahanas at Pachaiamman Temple, Tiruvannamalai

Experts explain why it is important to preserve these paintings: “Mural paintings are not only great works of art but serve a historical purpose by throwing light on contemporary society through dresses, ornamentation, hairstyle, musical instruments, arms and armoury, and a host of other details depicted in them. Some of the murals are about actual historical events such as battles, trading and missionary activities, although the great majority of them deal with mythological themes, including the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata, and the Bhagavatha. A comparative study of the styles and techniques in different periods can take us through the process of development of the art of mural painting at different stages in the past.”

Repainted Mural at Varadarajaswamy Temple, Kancheepuram

Sometimes the vandalisation of murals take a different turn: first, they are copied, the walls whitewashed and then “artists” engaged to repaint the murals on the walls. At some Temples, ancient murals have been lost because of sandblasting for the purpose of cleaning the surface on which they were painted.

Officials of the Arunachaleswarar temple at Tiruvannamalai whitewashed exquisite paintings at Ezhuthu Mandapa depicting stories from the Ramayana and Kandapuranam, and whitewashed and sandblasted murals about Krishna Leela on the ceiling of a corridor.

How can ancient murals be preserved? Experts believe that the key to the solution lies in creating an awareness among Temple officials and the devotees on the value of these exquisite mural paintings.

[With thanks to T.S. Subramanian]

Temple Architecture

Historical details about Tiruvannamalai and the Arunachaleswarar temple are available to us through stone inscriptions on the prakaram walls and copper plates. These inscriptions refer to a period of about thousand years starting from 750 A.D. The earliest archaeological findings from these stone inscriptions point to the fact that the greatness of Arunachala was known to Kings from the spiritual works Thevaram and Thiruvasagam and that Tiruvannamalai was historically and spiritually famous even from those ancient times.

We have clues that the Temple was small during the visit of Appar, Manikavasagar, Sambandar and others. Kings who read about the great glory of Arunachaleswarar from the Thevaram and Thiruvasagam began to expand the temple and beautify it.

Look forward to posting more photographs of the Temple soon - especially Periyar Nandi (Big Nandi Bull) as requested by reader Grasshopper.

Ashram Library

A popular spot to spend time at Tiruvannamalai is Ramana Ashram library which is located in the Moorvi Compound across the road from Ramana Ashram. Lots of fascinating spiritual tomes as well as the usual collection of contemporary and classical literature - also several shelves filled with books in languages other than Tamil and English. Also a magazine-stocked reading section.

The photograph below is of J. Jayaram, the very learned and interesting Librarian of the Ashram, who is a writer, musician and an authority on lots of spiritual topics.

There is even a kiddie section at the library.


As well as lots of great books, another stand-out feature of the Library is its fantastic view of Arunachala. I took the below photograph from a library window - it just doesn't get much better than this.

Outside the library there is well maintained compound full of large, leafy trees and creepers. The below is a Rangoon Creeper, which has quickly climbed to the roof the Library building.

Quisqualis Indica (Combretaceae family) is an evergreen, branching climber which originates from tropical Africa, Indonesia and Malaysia. It has a quick growth and can easily reach 10’ – 40’. The climber is also known as Burma Creeper, Chinese Honeysuckle or Rangoon Creeper. The name Quisqualis comes from the Latin quis, "who", and qualis, "what" and was given by an early botanist (Rumphius) as an expression of his surprise at the variability of the plant’s growth and flower colour.

The plant which just loves hot, sunny days, is a freely branching perennial climber with lush lustrous green foliage and pendant clusters of pink, red or white flowers throughout much of the growing season. Rangoon Creeper has an overwhelming, sweet night-time fragrance, which is so captivating that writing this has prompted me to plan on planting it in my own garden.

Ramana Maharshi Stories

For those who missed the live interview broadcast on 'Touchstones' a spiritual programme on WCOM Radio, North Carolina, (U.S.), you can right click and 'save target as’ to download a mp3 recording of the interview with V.Ganeshan’s stories about the life and teachings of Ramana Maharshi.

http://www.wordtrade.com/essays/touchstones/audio/072208ganesan.mp3

To visit the archives of WCOM Touchstone Programmes please visit at:

http://www.wordtrade.com/essays/touchstones/touchstonesA.htm