Thirupathi Thiruvilaiyadal - magical moments of my Life

Though we have all made trips to Thirupathi many times, this trip is completely on a different emotional plane for me and Prabhu [My friend]......... Read on

To start with, there was this holy call from my pervious manager, Bindu, who as a matter of fact told me on a very casual note, “Ashok why don’t you go to Thirupathi”.  And as destiny may have it, it rang bells in my mind and i immediately asked Prabhu about his convenience. After a momentary though he said okay and it all started and got concluded within 30 minutes, our decision to make this holy trip............

Friday Night – June 19, 2009: Prabhu reached Thirupathi at around 10:30 in the night on Friday and i started around the same time from Bangalore and reached the next day at around 5:00 AM. In spite of having made this holy trip to Thirupathi many times, this time around i was lacking information about the procedural changes that has taken place. Earlier in the day Prabhu and myself agreed that we will climb the hill and offer our prayers.

Saturday morning: There was a huge rush of devotees and as usual we were not able to take a proper decision as to where we will get the tickets from (darshan tokens). Though we wanted to take it from the counter in Srinivasam pilgrim centre, looking at the mile long queue we decided to go up via a bus and stand there in the queue. The idea was to reach the hill top ASAP and manage the earliest possible darshan........this is where the first twist in the tale sprang up. Due to the recent changes in the TTD board they have decided to remove the token counters at the hills. So the only option left with us was we have to go in Dharma darshan and so we started walking towards the Vaikundam counters. As we left our slippers in the counter near the Vijaya Bank.....came the next surprise that for all dharma darshan people we have to leave our mobiles in a separate counter. We decided to take this long walk and as we were standing in the queue there were a couple of miscreants, who were troubling me and pat came a fitting question from Prabhu “ Have you guys come here to offer prayers or else for something else?”. Those guys became a little quiet more because of Prabhu demeanour and we decided to neglect them rather than paying attention to them.

As we were standing in the queue, i felt troubled at heart and was a little worried. Though we could see the glimmering Sanctum Santorum, something in my mind said that this is going to be a very long walk. By this time we reached the counter for depositing the mobile phones and the  guys at the counter ensured that we may have to wait for a couple of more hours to deposit our mobile phones. As i was standing my mind started playing games with me. My mind was full of doubts as to whether i have made a mistake of coming to Thirupathi at this time of year. (Bear in mind that it was Saturday and it is a second Saturday and also a Good MUHURTHA day). After half an hour of standing in the queue we decided to leave the queue and look for other ways to get a darshan ticket.

We thought we will try our best by going  around the hill to manage a ticket by hook or crook. We walked towards the JRO office only to learn that we should have a letter from a minister to get the tokens from there. Many thoughts came to my mind but i knew nothing would work for us now. I was cursing myself and my bad luck. We felt hungry and we started looking out for a hotel. Every now and then we managed to see only a restaurant name board but there was nothing in that place. And so like this we walked for about another 20 mins to find a good hotel and we had our food. Finally we decided to go down to Thirupathi. The thought was to go down to leave the mobile phones in the room and come by 4 PM to stand in the ANGA PRADARSHANA queue and have the darshan of the LORD early tomorrow. I thought time was passing much faster. We reached the room at around 11:15 AM and Prabhu decided to take some rest and i took out my LALITHA SAHASRANAMA book and started chanting the prayers and another 30 minutes passed like this. By now Prabhu was fast asleep and i had to wake him up to get going. I felt a little better after chanting the mantra and felt a fresh lease of energy. The magic has started.

We decided to approach the ticket counters at Srinivasam PC and another twist came. The counter is not operated 24 x 7 these days and the person sitting there told us to come the next day morning. I felt a little disappointed and as we were about to leave the place that guy told us that at the other end of the building we may get the 200 RS token. We rushed there only to find a lengthy long queue. We decided to try our luck and a guy in white and white (I Guess he might be a cabbie) came to us and told that we will not get the tickets as only 300 tickets will be given. He said if we pay him 350/ticket he will get one for us. We tried to bargain but eventually gave up for his demands. He took us to another pilgrim centre near the railway station and we stood in the queue. We managed to get our tickets this time for the next morning 4:00 AM darshan. I was a lot happier by now and smile returned to our faces finally. As we came out of the counter the guy who took us there was no where to be seen and we left the place in an auto and reached the lodge. Prabhu wanted to stick to the original plan of going up to the hills and wait for the ANGAPRADARSHAN token and it was all fine till the time i decided to call upon my dad to convey this news. There was a lot of energy in our conversation and my dad asked me casually. “So are you going up by walk?” (He was not aware of the fact that me and Prabhu wanted to take the steps to the hills but went in a bus only to learn that we made a mistake in doing so). As the conversation ended it dawned on me that Lord Balaji through his DIVINE intervention made us come to the top and take the long way back to the lodge and has given us a ticket now and have asked us to fulfil our obligations. The feeling was eternal and we decided to have a good sleep and start by 9:00 PM.

And so finally the journey to the hills of the Lord started. We started climbing up the hills and remembered our previous trip to Thirupathi in Dec 2004. Time has passed by like anything. It felt like only yesterday we all had come together but its been 5 long years. We reached the top at around 12:30 this time without the burden of mobile phones. We approached the lady cop who guarded the entrance to the queue and she asked us to wait till 4:00 AM. Couple of hours passed by. By 2:45 another cop came there and allowed everybody to go in. By then lot of people had come and though we were one among the first to arrive we joined the queue only after some 1000 people. Though we felt a little bad about this unpredictable behaviour we were happy that we are finally going to get darshan. Believe me it just took about 45 mins to pass the check points and there was nothing to stop us. We finished the formalities and were on our way to have the darshan. Our only prayer was we should have a peaceful darshan without the push and pulls of the volunteers and fellow pilgrims. To our surprise, thought Lord heard our prayers, there was a bit of discipline among the crowd by now and it was around 4:30 we have managed to enter the Sanctum Sanctorum. I asked Prabhu to switch lanes to ensure we get a good glimpse of the Lord.

As we reached the Sanctorum the magic unfolded. We could feel the blessing of the lord. The Mangala Aarathi was about to happen. Had we reached 5 mins earlier or 5 mins later we would have missed it. It was for the first time in very many trips i saw the Mangala aarathi was performed. As we reached the Scanctorum, Only eternal space to separate us and the Lord it all happened. The volunteers who were pushing all other people stopped upon our arrival and we had about 15 seconds of eternal divine time. We offered our prayers. It was purely magical. All our wishes were granted. Darshan without the push and pulls of the pilgrims and specially the time in front of the magnificent Sanctorum ...........words can never describe our feeling. We felt blessed. We can never forget this trip as long as we live........ Bliss everywhere.

By 5:30 we were out of the temple premises and as we started walking down, Vishnu Sahasranama, chant began in the voice of M.S. amma. We started with Lalitha Sahasranama  and we ended our trip with Vishnu Sahasranama.  This trip has only reinforced my belief in God and now with more conviction i can say, “Yes he is listening to all our prayers. He might test us, but in the end we will be rewarded if we keep our faith in God”. We prayed for the well being of this world and yes i would like to end this mail with “ Lokahah Samastahah Sukinav Bhavanthu”.

Regards

Ashok  

Om Sivoham - Linga Vadivam

One of the questions that many people commonly ask about Hinduism is " Why is it that we have so many forms of God? All your vedas say that God is one supreme soul, but every where we see Siva, Vishnu, Vinayaga, Amma, Murugan, Bhairava and various other forms of God.". Many great sages have already given enough interpretations about the purpose of Idol worship. In essence it is believed that human mind cannot cope up with the abstract forms. I can call our Lord as Supreme Soul Paramatma and keep referring to only the Atma form. But for human mind, which is inquisitive in nature, cannot follow abstraction. So that is how the concept of idol worship got originated. Though we have a human form of depiction for almost all Gods, Lord Siva alone stands apart in the form of Linga. In this episode lets try to understand this Linga form of worship.

Linga or otherwise known as Lingam is a sanskrit word which means Symbol of worship.There are various schools of thought about what Shiva Lingam represents. Shaivaites believe that it was Shiva who created Vishnu and Brahma from his body and hence ShivaLingam is a personification of "Trimurthy - Lord Siva, Vishnu and Brahma" in one form. It is single shape of Trimurti. Praying Shiva Linga is considered as praying the Thrimurti in absolute form. Linga represents absolute and Single power of this universe. Some associate them with the famous hymn in the Atharva-Veda Samhitâ sung in praise of the Yupa-Stambha, the sacrificial post. It is also considered as the beginning less and endless representation of the supreme soul.

Siva also means "Auspiciousness" and hence Siva Linga is a symbol of Great God of this universe who is all Auspicious. Siva also means the place where all creations ends after its dissolution. This is how he is personified as a destroyer in Hindu religion. According to Shaiva Sidhantham "Shivalinga consists of three parts. The bottom part which is four-sided remains under ground, the middle part which is eight-sided remains on a pedestal and the top part which is actually worshipped is round. The height of the round part is one-third of its circumference. The three parts symbolize Brahma at the bottom, Vishnu in the middle and Shiva on the top. The pedestal is provided with a passage for draining away the water that is poured on top by devotees. The linga symbolizes both the creative and destructive power of the Lord and great sanctity is attached to it by devotees."

In Veerashaivism, Shiva dividSiva also means "Auspiciousness" and hence Siva Linga is a symbol of Great God of this universe who is all Auspicious. Siva also means the place where all creations ends after its dissolution. This is how he is personified as a destroyer in Hindu religion. According to Shaiva Sidhantham "Shivalinga consists of three parts. The bottom part which is four-sided remains under ground, the middle part which is eight-sided remains on a pedestal and the top part which is actually worshipped is round. The height of the round part is one-third of its circumference. The three parts symbolize Brahma at the bottom, Vishnu in the middle and Shiva on the top. The pedestal is provided with a passage for draining away the water that is poured on top by devotees. The linga symbolizes both the creative and destructive power of the Lord and great sanctity is attached to it by devotees."

• Ishtalinga, personal form of Siva, in which He fulfills desires and removes afflictions -- God as bliss or joy;
• Bhavalinga, Siva beyond space and time, the highest divine principle, knowable through intuition;
• Pranalinga, the reality of God which can be apprehended by the mind.

It was also believed that SivaLinga represents the Unified Shiva and Shakthi. 
However i personally do not subscribe to the phallus concept of Linga where it is believed that it is nothing but a representation of the male reproductive organ. It is a very cynical approach towards understanding the power of Lord Siva.

There is a great connection in marking the forces of nature to be worshipped. The following description has various forms of nature being worshipped as Linga.

The Vedas speak of the Ashta Murthys’ (forms) of Lord Shiva. Sarva, Bhava, Rudra, Ugra, Bheema, Pasupathi, Mahadeva, Eashana are the eight Murthys of Shiva. Puranas explain the Adhistanas for these eight forms, which are Sarva for earth, Bhava for water, Rudra for fire, Ugra for wind, Bheema for space, Pasupathi for yajamana, Mahadeva for moon and Eashana for Sun. Shiva is also called Pasupathi i.e. Lord Shiva with his enormous grace on the Jeeva means pasu, cuts the Pasa or the string and makes it move free to join him with devotion. In this way, his name Pasupathi is more meaningful. Each of the following Kshethras (places) in India & Nepal connected to the Lord ’s eight forms, so that the devotee can know clearly how the ancient puranas took care to locate these places both geographically and spiritually. Shiva, Brahma puranas are the main sources .

The following forms or forces of nature are worshipped in their primal form only without any special idols representing them.

   Sarva :- Bhoomi Linga, Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu. It is in Shiva Kanchi Kshetra, where the Lord is in the form of Kshiti Linga in the Ekamra tree ( Aamra ( Mango in Sankrit) tree, which yield only one fruit per year). Parvathi worshipped this form first. There is no Abhisheka done with water at this shrine, jasmine oil is used instead. The Devi’s name here is Kamakshi. All the desires of the devotees are fulfilled with her gracious eyes.

      Bhava :- Jala Linga, Tiruvanaikoil, (Jambukeswaram), Tamil Nadu. This temple is located on the outskirts of Trichy, where Lord Jambukeswara is seated and showers all his blessings to his devotees. This Kshethra is called Jambhukeswara Kshetra, also known as Jala Linga. The devotees can see from the outside of Garbha Gruha the water bubbles coming out from Panipetham. There is a Jambu tree, which is very old and very big. The legends say Lord Shiva wanted to stay here along with the Jambu tree. So the devotees treat this tree as sacred as the Lord.

      Rudra:- Agni or Thejo (Divine Light) Linga, Tiruvannamalai, Tamilnadu – Arunachaleswara. In Tiruvannamalai, Lord Shiva is seated in the form of Thejolinga. The whole mountain appears to be a Linga. As a result of Parvathi’s great penance, a sharp spark of fire came from Arunachala and took shape as Arunalinga.

    

     Ugra:- Vayu Linga, Sri Kalahasti, Andhra Pradesh. The Sri Kalahasteeswara temple is situated on the banks of Swarna Mukhi River in Sri Kalahasti. Spiritually elevated souls only can see that there is a strong wind blowing around the Linga. Bhakta Kannappa story is connected to this temple. Even animals got salvation by worshipping this Lord. Three animals – Cobweb (Sree), Kala (snake), Hasthi (elephant) prayed to God with utmost faith & devotion and attained Moksha. One can see the symbols there on the Shiva Linga even today

     Bheema:- Akasha Linga, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu. This Kshetra is on the banks of Cauvery. We don’t see any Murthy in the temple Garbha Gruha. The puranas speak of this Kshetra very highly. No one can see the Lord’s Murthy, except the highest spiritual souls. There is a space in the Garbha Gruha and many Abharanas are decorated and the devotees assume the Lord is seated there. A very beautiful Nataraja murthy is in outer Garbha Gruha for worship and for the satisfaction of the devotees.      

      Pasupathi:- Yajamana (Lord) Linga, Kathmandu, Nepal. In Nepal, Pasupathinadha Kshetra is famous and the Lord here is in human form. The devotee can see the deity up to his waist only. The Murthy is decorated with Gold Kavacha always. Nobody can enter into the Garbha Gruha except the Archaka (not even the King of Nepal). Many devotees from all over the globe pray to this Lord with highest devotion and get their wishes fulfilled.       

      Mahadeva:- Chandra Linga, West Bengal. Chandra natha Linga is situated in West Bengal 34 miles away from Chatagav City. Many sacred thirthas surround this Kshetra. Devipurana lauded this Kshethra greatly.

       

      Eashana:- Surya Linga, Konark Temple, Orissa. This Kshetra is in Orissa state near Puri Jagannath Kshetra. Konark is now in ruins and the temple is in fragments and now, devotees can’t see any God or Goddess here. The legend says that Sri Krishna’s son Samba suffered once from leprosy and was cured by worshipping the Surya and the Linga here and since then this Kshetra became a remedy center for all diseases. Even in these days the worship is going on with same faith and devotion.

keep visiting this blog for more details..... Om Hreem NamahShivaya

Vigna Vinayagan

விநாயக பெருமானின் ஒவொரு அம்சமும் ஒரு பெரிய தத்துவத்தை வெளிபடுத்துவதாக உள்ளது. பிள்ளையாருக்கு தேங்காய் உடைப்பது ஏன் ? ஒரு முறை பிள்ளையார் தன் அப்பாவான சிவபெருமானை பார்த்து " உன் தலையை எனக்கு பலி கொடு " என கேட்டராம். இதன் பொருள் என்னவென்றால் நம்மிடம் எது உயர்ந்ததோ அதை தியாகம் பண்ணினால் தான் விநாயக பெருமானை நம்மால் மனம் குளிர செய்ய முடியும். அப்படிப்பட்ட தியாகத்தை செய்ய நாம் தயார் என்பதை குறிக்கும் வகையில் மூன்று கண்கள் உடைய அந்த சிவபெருமானை போலவே மூன்று கண்கள் இருக்கும் தேங்காயை உடைக்கின்றோம்.

அதேபோல் இந்த சிதறு தேங்காய் உடைப்பதில் இன்னொரு உண்மையும் இருக்கு. தேங்காயின் ஓடு நம் அகங்காரத்தை குறிக்கும். எப்படி ஓட்டை உடைத்தல் இளநீர் கிடைக்குமோ அதே போல் நம் அகங்கார ஓட்டை உடைத்தல் நமக்கு ஞானம் பிறக்கும்.

கணபதியை போல ஒரு பருமனான கடவுள் வேறு எவரும் இருக்க முடியாது. அவருடைய தலையோ யானை வடிவம் கொண்டது. பருமனான உருவம். மலை போல் இருக்கிறார். இருந்தாலும் அவர் ஒரு குழந்தை போன்றவர். குழந்தை என்றல் எது அழகு? நல்ல குண்டா கொழு கொழுன்னு இருந்ததான் அழகு. அதே போலத்தான் நம்ம வினையாக பெருமானும் தன்னுடைய கையில் மோதகத்தை வைத்துக்கொண்டு தன்னை ஒரு குழந்தை சாமியாகவே பாவித்து அருள் புரிகிறார்.இவரோ  யானை மாதிரி இருக்கார் ஆனால் குழந்தை வடிவம் . அவருடைய வாகனம் எது? " மூஞ்சூர் ". என்னடா இப்படி பெரிய வடிவம் கொண்டு இருக்கும் விநாயக சாமி ஏன் இப்படி இரு சின்ன வாகனத்தை வைத்திருக்கவேண்டும் ? இதில் என்ன தத்துவமும் இருக்கு ? வாகனத்தாலா இறைவனுக்கு  பெருமை.... இல்லவே இல்லை. இறைவனால் தான் வாகனம் பெருமை அடைகிறது. இதில் என்ன தத்துவ உள்ளடக்கம் இருக்கிறதென்றால் " இறைவன் எத்தனை கனமாக இருந்தாலும் பக்தர்கள் மனதில் கனக்காமல் லேசாக இருப்பேன்" என்று சொல்லாமல் சொல்கிறார். 

அதே போல் ஒவ்வொரு பிராணிக்கும் ஒவ்வொரு பெருமை உண்டு. ஆண் சிங்கத்திற்கு அடங பிடரியில் தான் பெருமை. மயிலுக்கு தோகையில் பெருமை. யானைக்கு அதன் தந்தத்தில் பெருமை. ஆனால் நீங்கள் பிள்ளையாரின் உருவத்தை நல்லா பார்த்தா அதிலும் ஒரு அர்த்தம் இருக்கறது புரியும். நமக்கு ஒரு விஷயம் பெருமை தருவதா இருந்தால் நாம் என்ன பன்னுவோம் ... அதை பத்ரமா பாத்துப்போம். ஆனா இந்த பிள்ளையார் என்ன பண்ணார் தெரியுமோ .... தன்னோட ஒரு தந்தத்தை ஒடிச்சு மகாபாரதம் எழுதினாராம். இது எதை காற்றதுன்னா நமக்கு அழகு, கெளரவம் தரக்கூடிய ஒன்றை காட்டிலும் தர்மத்தை சொல்லகின்ற  ஒன்றுதான் பெரிதுன்னு நமக்கு சொல்லாம சொல்கின்றார் நம்ம விநாயக மூர்த்தி. தர்மத்தை நிலைநாட்ட நாம் எதை வேண்டும்னாலும் தியாகம் பண்ண தயாரா இருக்கனும்ன்னு சொல்லறார்.

இந்த விக்ன உருவமா இருக்கும் விநாயகர் எல்லைஇல்லா ஆனந்தத்தின் தத்துவமும் கூட. நாம எல்லாம் ஒரு பீச்சுக்கு போறோம்னு வெச்சுக்கலாம். அங்க நமக்கு எப்பவாவது அலுப்பு ஏற்பட்டுருக்கா ? இல்லை . அது போல குழந்தைகள் நிலாவை பார்த்துண்டே இருக்கும். அதுக்கு அல்லுப்பே ஏற்படாது. அப்படித்தானே யானையும் கூட. யானையை பார்த்து நமக்கு என்னிக்காவது அலுப்பு ஏற்பட்டிருக்கா ...இல்லவே இல்லை. அது போல தன்னை பார்க்க வரும் பக்தர்களுக்கு பார்க்க பார்க்க ஆனந்தம் பொங்கும் விக்ன மூர்த்தியாக விநாயக பெருமான் எல்லை இல்ல ஆனந்தத்தின் உருவமாக இருக்கிறார். அவர் பிறந்ததே ஆனந்தத்தில்தான். பண்டாசுரனை வதம் பண்ண பராஷக்தி படை எடுத்து போநப்ப பரமேஸ்வரன் பார்வதியை ஒரு ஆனந்த பார்வை பார்த்தாராம்.. அந்த தருணத்தில்தான் நம்ம விநாயக பெருமான் உருவானார். அவர் பிறந்து பண்டாசுரனின் விக்ன யந்திரத்தை உடைத்து பராஷக்திக்கு பண்டாசுரனை வதம் பண்ண உதவினதா கதை இருக்கு.  அதாவது நமக்கு எப்படிப்பட்ட கஷ்டம் வந்தாலும் இந்த ஆனந்த மூர்த்தியா விளங்கும் விநாயகரை பிரார்த்தனை செஞ்சா எல்லா வினைகளும் விலகிடும்.

அதனால் தான் நாம எல்லாரும் எந்த கடவுளை பிரார்த்தனை செய்வதற்கு முன்னால் விநாயகரை பிரார்த்தனை செய்கின்றோம். இப்படிப்பட்ட இந்த விக்ன விநாயகரை நாம் எல்லாரும் பிரார்த்தனை செய்து நம் வாழ்வில் வெற்றி பெறுவோம்.

ஓம் ஹ்ரீம் நமசிவாய   .............

Bhairava Natakam in Thiruvannamalai

For everyone who treads the path of spirituality, the obvious question is “Who is God? Is he really there?  Will I get a chance to see him? Will I attain salvation? Will HE help me?”  Usually with these questions in mind a journey of thousand miles for spiritual quest begins. As much is the duty of a true spiritual seeker to submit himself unconditionally at the lotus feet of the Lord, so much is the responsibility of the Supreme soul to behold the faith and usually He, the Supreme Avatar, manifest Himself in various forms comprehendible for human kind and bless us and by so doing help human kind to emerge stronger. You would have come across many people saying that they had this Divine experience with the Supreme Soul- Paramatma, but being a part of such an experience is completely different. Such experiences usually go a long way in reinforcing the faith in Lord, which is why I am very happy to share one such experience with you all which happened on 8^th Nov 2009.

There are many places of spiritual significance in South India particularly in TamilNadu, known for Siva worship. The Light of Arunachala, situated in Thiruvannamalai district in TamilNadu guides millions of devotees in their spiritual quest. Lord Siva, who controls and beholds the five elements of earth within himself, manifests himself in Agni form [Agni Sthala- Agni means Fire] in Thiruvannamalai.  The place is not only known for its Siva temple, but also for the Sidhars [Higher Spiritual beings who prays Siva- Should I say they are none but manifestation of Siva himself] and their divine influence which can be felt by any true spiritual seeker. The prominent way in which devotees offer their prayers to Lord Arunachala, is by doing KIRIVALAM. “Kiri” is a Tamil word which means Mountain, valam means “Walking around”.  All devotees walk around the Mount [14 kms] and finally end their walk in front of the Temple and offer their prayers. On 8^th of November 2009, a magic got unfolded in front of our eyes as we started our Kirivalam. Read on and experience the magic yourself.

Myself [Ashok] and my friend Mahesh [He is really a mentor for me] started from Bangalore on 7^th November around noon towards Thiruvannamalai. It’s the 23^rd time for Mahesh and 6^th for me in doing Kirivalam. It was a cloudy day and the weather forecast was not encouraging either.  Usually our friends from Chennai will join us and we as a group of 5 people used to go for Kirivalam. Due to heavy rains across TamilNadu and due to other personal duties this time they choose not to come. So it was all left between me and Mahesh this time to witness the miracle. We reached Thiruvannamalai on 7^th November evening around 7 PM and we went to the temple and had a wonderful darshan of the Lord. There was not much crowd due to rains and we had a peaceful darshan. The plan was to have our food and come back to the hotel by 9 PM and take rest and start around 4 AM in the morning for Kirivalam. This is our regular schedule. Till this moment we had absolutely no clue that we are going to witness a magic the very next day. I was a little restless that night and did not get sleep. I was looking out for signs of clouds and they were all around the place. But we had an umbrella with us and so not worried at all.

We started walking towards the temple at 4:10 AM in the morning on 8^th of November to start our Kirivalam. It was drizzling slowly and we found an auto rickshaw and reached the temple’s Rajagopuram. Unlike any other day where you will find at least 10-15 people in front of the temple, it was pitch dark and no one was to be seen anywhere nearby. The place was mostly empty and clogged with rain water. We prayed in front of the Raja Gopuram and started with our Kirivalam. The spiritual significance of doing Kirivalam is that there are 8 lingas around the mountain via – Indira Linga, Agni Linga, Ema Linga, Niruthi Linga, varuna linga, Vayu Linga, Gubera Linga and Isanya Linga. After offering your prayers at each of these temples we finally surrender at the lotus feet of Lord Arunachala who is the prime deity.

As we started it started raining again. The area was so damp not even the dogs were to be seen on the streets in front of the Temple. We approached Indira Linga temple which is very close to the Raja Gopuram and pat from nowhere a Dog joined us. I am usually a little scared of dogs courtesy of my college friend Siva. But surprisingly the dog came along with us right till the gates of Indira lingam temple and offered its prayers along with us. It was strange, we thought but at that moment it looked like it was just a coincidence. We continued with our journey and interestingly we found that the Dog started following us. We passed through the streets of Thiruvannamalai and soon got connected to the mail road leading to Ramnasharamam. The Dog did not leave even for a moment and for a street dog its behavior was very strange. It did not bark or enter into a fight or in other words it was not behaving like a street dog. Mahesh sir advised that we should buy bread for the dog and we stopped at a nearby tea shop. The dog happily ate the piece of bread and looked like it got all its energy back. By now we had already walked about 1.5 kms. Though it was completely strange for a dog to follow us for 1.5 KMS we thought maybe this is just a coincidence and the journey continued.                                                                
                                                                            
File Photo Taken from another Devotees Blog who had a similar experience:

As we walked the Dog also come along with us. We went to Agni lingam and completed our prayers. The Dog also came till the point from where it can see the statue of the Lord and in a peculiar gesture[Like a bow] it also offered its prayers. We went to Ema Lingam and the same happened. By now it started raining again and we thought that the Dog might go off now and may take rest in the shade of the temple. But as the saying goes “Man proposes and God Disposes”. Braving the rain the dog started walking along with us. Though we felt pity for the Dog as it was drenched we could do nothing. By now it was about to dawn and we were near the Niruthi Lingam walking towards Adi Annamalai. This stretch of 4 kms have a number of temples. To my surprise we found that this Dog turns its head in the direction of temple whenever we came across one. By now I was convinced that this is not an ordinary Dog, but truly a Siddar who might have taken the form of Dog. [I have heard and read in books that Siddars can take any form they like].  It was around 6:30 AM in the morning. People have already started coming out to the streets. Another interesting thing is that the Dog stopped every 100 yards to verify that we are also coming. May be I thought there is no one on the streets apart from us now and so it might have been a coincidence. But even with people on the streets the Dog did not leave us.

It was a cold morning and we had our natures call. No matter what we do and where we go the Dog religiously followed us, no exceptions. There was one old man near the Adi Annamalai temple who offered tea for this Dog. [May be I think he was a sidhar and looking back I feel that I have missed recognizing him at that instant]. Though there were about 5-6 people only He called out the Dog on seeing it and happily gave the tea he was holding in His hand. The Dog was happily sipping the tea and we thought we should move on leaving the Dog there. We were just passing by Raghavendra Swamy Mutt building and we decided to enter the Brindhavanam and render our prayers. I looked back to and saw the Dog looking at the opposite direction and was sipping its tea. We were praying inside the Brindhavanam and pat came Tommy [by Now Mahesh sir started calling Him Tommy]. We were completely surprised to see Him behind us and religiously even He prayed to the Lord and went and sat near the Tulasi plant.

Another File Photo of the Bhairavar:

We were completely taken aback. I thought that the Dog may not find us inside the temple. Instead not only that it found us but also came and politely sat near the Brindhavanam for a minute and went to the Tulsi plant. [Tulsi is considered Holy in India and is believed to be incarnation of Goddess ParaShakti]. We started again and it started raining a little heavily now. The Dog was completely drenched. We can see that it was getting tired. We reached Surya Lingam and so He also came and sat near the gate guarding the Garba Graha. When we started he was still sitting there taking rest and we thought that may it got tired and may not continue. More so it was raining heavily by now. As destiny may have it He started running towards us after a couple of minutes and started walking with us. Mahesh sir bought a packet of Milk Bikis and we offered to him and he had it happily and was displaying higher levels of energy by now. The ritual was repeated, wherever we went He also came and when there is a temple His head will always bow in front of the Lord and He will always wait for us to join him. By now we have completed 8 KMS and the journey was on.

Now again I had natures call and wanted to step aside from the road and behind the trees and asked Mahesh sir to keep moving. To my surprise it came along with me and did not leave me no matter what where I am and what I did. It deeply moved me and reinforced my belief that this is a special day. We were wondering where this is going to end. Here we are, two people seeking His blessings, having a special day in our life where ParaBrahmam Lord Arunachala himself is guiding us through this Kirivalam. He is not a Dog [Had you noticed I have capsized this word in this summary to convey that He is the one who came along with us in the form of Bhairava]. There was a divine message we could read. No matter what, be it a rainy day under the cloud or under the hot sun, a true Spiritual seeker should brave the surrounding environment and if he keeps his faith in Lord then he will always be rewarded. I wanted to call my other friends who decided to stay back in Chennai as to what is happening here. But we wanted to understand where it is going to end before we tell anyone about this divine experience.

By now we had completed 11 kms and were about to visit Isanya Lingam which is the last one before we go the Annamalayar temple. The Dog came all along with us. It looked strange and divine at the same time. It is very unusual. Not every day we get such experiences. I had a similar experience once in Mantralayam and once in Thiruvannamalai a couple of years back but the scale and majesty of this experience is overwhelming. We were just wondering as to where this is all leading to. Where is it that this Dog is going to leave us having acted as a divine guardian and giving us more strength to brave the rainy conditions. We were in our final lap and we could see the Raja Gopuram and we found Him happily walking ahead of us. The joy with which it was running is inexplicable. It was as if the child and the Mom were reunited after long years of separation.

We entered the temple and He came along with us. We stood in front of Murugan sannidhi and He stood by our side. We went to Ganapathy sannidhi and He came along with us.

     Me and the Bhairavar before entering RajaGopuram:

We were spell bound. As we walked towards the inner praharam, unmindful of the police man waving his hands He came along with us till the point we entered the area after Balipetam. As if His duty for the day is done he calmly left the place and went and slept in the mandapam. When we came out after our Darshan, we knew that this day will go down in our memory as a very special day where we were the privileged ones to have been accompanied by the Lord himself who manifested today in front of us as Bhairava.

For those of you who at this moment are reading this blog, i request you for only one thing. Keep your faith in God and surrender at his lotus feet and rest assured you are bound to experience only BLISS. For those of you who have not been to Thiruvannamalai..... please make a trip. Rest assured you are bound to have your own experience.

Natakam Thodarum ...............