The Source of the Cosmos Sri ChakraSri ChakraSri ChakraSri ChakraSri Chakra

The Journal of the Sri Rajarajeswari Peetam, Rush, NY

Blossom 13 Petal 2

June 2009

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ThoughtsThoughtsThoughtsThoughtsThoughtsThoughtsThoughtsThoughtsThoughtsThoughts

OurOurOurOurOurOurOurOurOurOur

Dear Devotees,

There are a lot of things that Aiya and Amma teach people who come to the temple—a regularSaturday puja will more often than not include explanations of many an obscure detail.

But if I had to boil down all of Aiya’s lessons over the years into only two categories, I’d have to sayeverything would fall under either Worship or Charity. Worship is pretty self-explanatory, what with ourpenchant for never-ending pujas. But charity seems more of an abstract concept. It involves a broader stateof mind that prompts one to continuously give of oneself, and to give equally to friends and strangers alike.

I think many would agree that such a selfless attitude describes Aiya and Amma to a tee. However, it’snot enough for us to praise their magnanimous way of thinking—recently, they’ve asked us point-blank toemulate it.

In an uncharacteristic move induced by extreme pain and empathy, Aiya spoke angrily at the templeabout the situation in Sri Lanka, where thousands of Tamil civilians have been (and continue to be)slaughtered by government forces. These deaths have been passed off as collateral damage in the military’shunt for the Tamil Tigers, but the depth and breadth of the mass killings indicate the government is aimingfor an “accidental” Tamil genocide.

That brief explanation is where the politics in this editorial will end. The more pressing matter thatAiya talked about is the suffering of innocent people, and the subsequent reactions from citizens of foreignlands. This is a humanitarian issue that applies to everyone outside of any war-torn area, whether it’s SriLanka, Darfur, Baghdad, Kandahar or a host of other locales.

Many people have stood tirelessly in protests or written to their congress representatives or MPs in aneffort to elicit international help. But at the same time, others (supposedly to demonstrate a more detached/spiritual outlook of the situation) have said outright that what happens to civilians living in those places isthe result of their own past karma, and nothing anyone does can alleviate their suffering.

It is the same rationalization that allows us to walk by homeless people shivering in the cold or past achild who has fallen off his bicycle and is bleeding on the sidewalk. It is true (for Hindus, at least) that karmais the reason anything happens, but does that make it okay for the rest of us to be uncompassionate and alooffrom the suffering of others?

It absolutely does not. In fact, one of the natural by-products of goddess worship is a propensity to feeland pray for all creatures, just as a mother would for her child. On the flip-side of the coin, theunsympathetic karma campaigners should remember the two ways to burn karma are through sufferingand mantra japam (penance). If they don’t believe donating to a non-profit aid organization will help matters,why not do japam for civilians in the war zone, as Aiya is doing?

That is what Aiya and Amma mean when they tell us to be charitable, and it’s what all the greatspiritual masters have taught, whether it be Dayananda of the Arya Samaj, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa,Ramana Maharshi, Sri Adi Shankara, or a plethora of other divine souls. Sitting back and preachingdetachment in the name of spirituality is not even a pebble on the path to moksha, and Aiya talks more aboutthis in the article on page 8 of this issue.

There are many things we can do to follow the teachings of the great masters and show our kids theimportance of charity—we can lobby our government reps; we can donate to groups that put almost 100%of each dollar toward direct aid (Oxfam, CARE and Feed the Children are really good ones); and mostimportantly, we can pray and give of our japam.

To send help for the victims of these unnecessary global tragedies, no matter where they take place orhow small the contribution, does not show support for either an oppressive regime or a band of vigilanterebels. It shows support for peace.

Sri Gurubhyo Namaha!

The Sri Chakra staff

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Since the last issue...

NewsletNewsletNewsletNewsletNewsletterterterterterNewsletNewsletNewsletNewsletNewsletterterterterter

JuneJuneJuneJuneJuneJuneJuneJuneJuneJune

After Shivarathri concluded atthe end of February, Aiya andAmma spent a few days atBhuvana and Balu’s house inDallas, Texas. There, Aiya did agrand Navagraha homam andheld lectures, among other events.The month of March also sawAiya do some local traveling for akids’ class in Toronto and smallerpujas.

Before the end of the month, heand Amma traveled to the westcoast and New Mexico forlectures.

Their Australia trip commencedjust before April and lasted threeweeks. They spent three days inPerth, performed many pujas inSydney, and even attended thechariot festival at the SydneyMurugan temple. There was alsoan elaborate Gayathriabhishekam that Aiya and Ammatook part in.

The main event between variousworkshops and lectures was aNava Chandi homam that Aiya

conducted with 54 homa kundas.Six other priests sharedresponsibilities, and the eventwas held over two full days.

Our gurus returned just in timefor Tamil New Year on April 13,for which Aiya performed amodest puja. The following weekshowcased a much bigger event:the annual Pratyangira homam,which hosted a crowd of about200 people.

The first weekend of May saw,Aiya and Amma head to Torontofor another kids’ class. Later thatweek, Aiya was back in Rochesterto preside over Chitra Poornima,where devotees had the chance tooffer tarpanam to their dearlydeparted mothers.

Devotees flooded the temple inmid-May for the annual Pratishta,officially marking the crunchperiod until next year’skumbhabhishekam. The templeasks devotees to please donategenerously, and to keep practisingtheir Rudrams!

Top to bottom:our very ownGajan andAshwin carryone of 63kalasamsaround theyajnashalafollowing ahomam; Aiyaoffers thepurnahuti intothe heart-shaped pitduring the NavaChandihomam;Ashwin showsthe aarti to AiyaandAmmaduringa gurupuja inSydney.

Aiya does a Sri Chakra puja on Poornima night;Dr. O.P. Sharma of the world-renowned GayatriPariwar headquarters in Haridwar performed at ayajna with his musicians and vocalists.

Photos courtesy Ashwin Kissun

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The Sri Rajarajeswari Peetam ~ 6980 East River Road ~ Rush, NY 14543 ~ Phone: (585) 533 - 1970

About 150 people showed upfrom the US and Canada to attendthis annual homam. Hundreds ofpeople sponsored, as it took Aiyaand Shankar garu almost a halfhour to read the entire sankalpamlist.

As in previous years, everyonewas given the chance to offer aplate of palaharam (salty and sweetsnacks) into the fire; however, theywere also given red chillies to offerwith the palaharam this year.Several kilograms of chillies wereoffered by sponsors Swati andNavin.

Fifty-one varieties of snacks weremade by different groups ofdevotees in the temple kitchen. Thehomam started at 2:30 p.m. andstretched until about 6 p.m., afterwhich an elaborate bali wasperformed.

Pratyangira homam, April 19

Devotees whose mothers havepassed on gathered together atthe temple to do the shraadampuja for their moms en masse.

The initial puja was performedin theyajnashalaarea, but theoffering ofpindams wasdone by theShivalingamat the Kashicreek, picturedat right.

Chitra Poornima, May 8

This was the temple’s 11thanniversary festival and it sawthree full days of puja, in thepresence of two esteemed guests:Sri and Smt. Jayaraman, who aresome of the most seasoned SriVidya upasakas we have everhad the privilege of hosting.

The first day was all aboutGanapathi with a grand Vancha-Kalpa Ganapathi homam in themorning, and a palanquinpradakshanam with the UtsavaGanapathi murthi at about 8p.m. Sri Vishnu Durga was alsowelcomed that morning, on avisit from her home in St.Catharines.

Saturday morning was anearly day for those whowitnessed the four-hour Chandihomam, which our guests led.The regular kalasa stapanamtook place after a brief break andcontinued into the afternoon.Puja culminated with the

Annual Pratishta (May Festival),May 15-17

Past Events

Tamil New Year’s, April 13

Aiya and Amma returned fromAustralia just in time to performthe New Year’s Day puja.

The puja set, large cookingkalasam (for pongal), and portablegas burner were set up in thecenter area of the temple.Whomever was present wasgiven the chance to drop handfulsof grains into the pot.

As per the tradition, Aiya thengave each devotee a $1 bill toinspire prosperity and wealth inthe coming year.

Top to bottom:Aiya reads thesankalpam;51 varieties ofsnacks wereoffered;chillies werethrown into thehomam by thefistful; a largecrowd wentalong forperforming thefinalbali.

Sri and Smt.Jayaramansat for theChandihomam, andamazed thecrowd byreciting mostof the 700slokas frommemory.

Above: Devotees circle the puja areaand the pongal kalasam; a stack of $1bills were also on the puja tray.

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Upcoming Events

awesome offering of annapavadai toDevi, which was later served asprasadam.

Later volunteers prepared Devi’slarge chariot to go out thatevening. Vishnu Durga,Ganapathi, and Devi weremounted aboard, the latter twowith shiny new vahanas.

The youth group was in chargeof the third day, which saw 1008shanka-abhishekam, and a fullday of puja to the lineage’s guru,Lord Dattatreya.

In the evening, the childrendressed a small Dattretreyamurthi and pulled him aroundthe temple in a special mini-chariot. After this, the digdevatakalasams were given to Bhairavaand the festival closed with theoffering of the final bali.

Clockwisefrom top:The therrgoesaround thetemple;1008valampurishankamswerearranged onthe 3rd day;Devi wasgivenannapavadaiafter Chandihomam; thekids ran thewhole gurupuja.

Guru Poornima, July 6

Aadi Amavasya, July 21

Service and charity are thethemes of this Gurupoornima,and the organizing committee hasdecided to focus on serving theneedy as part of the puja to Aiyaand Amma.

Two collection bins for non-perishable items have been set upin the temple lobby, and devoteesare asked to bring in vegetariandonations. They are also asked tosign up to feed the hungry in theirown hometowns on any day(s)during a 45-day period.

Devotees are also asked toobserve a 45-day puja mandala,repeating their guru mantrawhile holding a $1 coin that willabsorb the energy. They maypresent that coin to Aiya andAmma on Guru Poornima day.

Finally, the GP team issupporting another great cause—

This day is reserved for peoplewho have lost their fathers butwere unable to give him tarpanamon his day of passing—similar tohow Chitra Poornima is reservedfor one’s mother. Please call thetemple for sponsorship, but onlyif you will be able to make it inperson to offer oblations.

Aadi Puram, July 25

This festival marks the day thatDevi first became a woman, andusually takes place with greatfanfare. Last year’s event saw agrand Chandi homam, performedwith a new silver rk and srk.

Every visitor will have tochance to bathe the Devi in milk.She will then be dressed, fed andfinally taken around the temple inprocession on a palanquin. Pujausually lasts about half-a-day.

Varalakshmi Vratham, July 31

Married women are at the heartof this festival, and they are giventhe chance to do their own puja toGoddess Varalakshmi on this day.

The event falls on a Friday atabout 6:30 p.m., and women whosponsor will be instructed onhow to perform Sri Sukta Sodasa-upachara puja to a deepamrepresenting the Devi.

Please call the templeimmediately, as sponsorshipshave gone quickly in past years.

Workshop: Kalasa Abhishekamwith Homam, June 14

Aiya will be visiting Torontothis weekend to conduct thisworkshop over the course of anentire Sunday. The session willrun from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The topics that will be discussedduring this day include the whyand how of kalasa puja, includingthe items and methodologyemployed to properly install andworship a kalasam. Also, Aiyawill go over technical points ofhow to conduct a fire sacrifice, orhomam.

As is the routine withworkshops, please register byphone or online, and check thetemple website for updates.

the civilians in Sri Lanka.The group is collecting funds for

the Sri Sathya Sai Center in Vanni,where annadhanam will be givento those who can’t even access abasic meal.

Even donating a few dollars willgreatly help the overall cause.Please contact the Guru Poornimateam at gp@srividya.org or theteam’s service co-ordinator,Anujeyan, atmanujeyan@hotmail.com .

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Viboothi Shaivite Immersion(camp), August 1-8

This annual tradition will enterits sixth year of operation thissummer.

The temple still needs donationsto pay off the new camp cabinthat not only accommodates thechildren, but also hosts many oftheir classes.

As in past years, the kids will belearning about Hindu culture,religion, music, folklore/stories,art and puja. The saint this yearwill be Sri Seshadri Swamigal.Learn more about him in thisissue, on page 13!

Devi willing, the next issue ofthe Sri Chakra will be up on thetemple’s website at the beginningof September 2009.

This magazine cannot keeppublishing withoutcontributions! Articles, poems,stories and photos about anyspiritual topic are welcomed.

The next deadline for articlesubmission is August 10. Pleasee-mail us with yourcontributions or feedback aboutthis issue atsri_chakra_mag@srividya.org ortalk to Kamya or Abhi at thetemple.

Sri Gurubhyo Namaha!

In Three Months

A heartfelt thank-you to this issue’sA heartfelt thank-you to this issue’sA heartfelt thank-you to this issue’sA heartfelt thank-you to this issue’sA heartfelt thank-you to this issue’s

volunteers: Aiya, Gratus Devanesan,volunteers: Aiya, Gratus Devanesan,volunteers: Aiya, Gratus Devanesan,volunteers: Aiya, Gratus Devanesan,volunteers: Aiya, Gratus Devanesan,

Chandani Diaz,Chandani Diaz,Chandani Diaz,Chandani Diaz,Chandani Diaz, Sudha Priy Sudha Priy Sudha Priy Sudha Priy Sudha Priya Keara Keara Keara Keara Kearneneneneneyyyyy,,,,, Ashwin Ashwin Ashwin Ashwin Ashwin

Kissun, Sreekant Subramanian, TharumanKissun, Sreekant Subramanian, TharumanKissun, Sreekant Subramanian, TharumanKissun, Sreekant Subramanian, TharumanKissun, Sreekant Subramanian, Tharuman

TTTTThahahahahavvvvvakumarakumarakumarakumarakumar,,,,, Sv Sv Sv Sv Svaprakashananda,aprakashananda,aprakashananda,aprakashananda,aprakashananda, and the and the and the and the and the

VVVVVadiadiadiadiadivvvvvel familel familel familel familel familyyyyy.....

\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \

Ganapathi Chaturthi, August 23

Chaturthi falls on a Sunday thisyear, and the temple is expecting abig crowd. Most of the morningfestivities will occur on theGanapathi deck out back, weatherpermitting. As in past years, Aiyawill perform a grand Vancha-Kalpa Ganapathi homam andeveryone there will be allowed toput an offering in the fire.

This year’s festival will beespecially brilliant, as thewedding of two great devotees,Suba and Gratus (a regular SriChakra contributor) will happen at4 p.m., just before UtsavaGanapathi rides his palanquin.

K

Update

um b

ha bh i s h ek

am

As devotees are learning to chant the Rudram and perform homam, a new

Kumbhabhishekam website, www.atirudram.com, has been created for devotees from all

over the world to sign up for sponsorships or get up-to-date news on the 2010 event.

The Sri Rajarajeswari Peetam will be hosting its

Punarutharuna Kumbhabhishekam July 1-11, 2010.

A massive Ati Rudra homam will happen over 11 days, with 11

Rudra homams done daily in each of 121 homakundams.

The youth group is learning the full Saturday puja now, and still looking

for kumbhabhishekam volunteers. E-mail svtsyouth@hotmail.com

The regular SVTS temple website also has a fresh new look, and devotees are now

able to donate, sponsor events/pujas and make purchases from the temple store—all

online. Sign up for a free account on www.srividya.org.

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by Gratus Devanesan

6363636363

NaNaNaNaNayyyyyanmarsanmarsanmarsanmarsanmars

Meyporrul Nayanmar

june 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009

6363636363

NaNaNaNaNayyyyyanmarsanmarsanmarsanmarsanmars

Meypporul Nayanmar ruled thekingdom of Chettinadu. Hebrought the whole kingdom tofame when he ruled with a handof compassion that extended toall, whether friend or foe.

Mutha Nathan was a king of aneighboring kingdom with hiseyes ever set on Meypporul’skingdom. Many times he wagedwar against Meypporul, butfailed. Meypporul ruled hiskingdom with compassion andlove. He was devoted to the needsof his people and had an armywhose morale could not bedefeated.

Knowing that Meypporul wouldalways bow low to the devoteesof Shiva wearing the sacred ashon their skin, he hatched a plan.He himself dressed in the guise ofa Shiva devotee and smearedhimself with the sacred ash in the

appropriate places the way only aShiva devotee would. He then hida knife with him and sought outthe place that Meypporul wasstaying at that time.

He came in the dark, his mindstill darker and made it easilypast the guards. The guards wereever aware that their king lookedforward to worshipping thedevotees of Shiva, and were alsohappy to see the Shiva devotee.They hurried him inside.

Finally, in front of Meypporul’squarters Thathan, the king’spersonal guard explained that theking was sleeping and that thedevotee should wait. MuthaNathan, however, knowing thathe must act swiftly, pushed asideThathan and forced his wayinside. Thathan, a worrier of greatvalor, did not want to strike anyperson wearing the sacred ash. He

stepped aside in dismay andallowed Mutha Nathan to enter.

In the king’s quarters the queenwoke the king and told him thatthere was a devotee. The king, notworrying that his sleep had beendisturbed, and not caring whatthe time was, prayed to thedevotee and asked him to sit.

Mutha Nathan in turn, claimedthat he had come from theHimalayas to teach Meypporul aspecial agama and that he neededthe queen to leave prior to sharingthis agama with Meypporul. Thequeen left and Nathan, as ifpulling out a book, pulled out aknife which he thrust deep intoMeypporul. The slight sound ofanguish was heard by Thathanand he jumped into the roomready to behead Mutha Nathan.Meypporul, however, urgedThathan to resist his duty andinstead escort Mutha Natha backinto his own kingdom. And soThathan, forsaking his own namefor the wish of his king, tookMutha Nathan safely back intohis kingdom.

Meypporul held on to life untilThathan had returned and toldhim that Mutha Nathan was safe.Then only did Meypporul breathehis last. So great was hiscompassion that despite MuthaNathan’s betrayal he held fast inhis faith and did not waver – butinstead preserved with humilitythe form of the Shiva devotee. Thisstrong faith and dedicationallowed him to swiftly float to thegraceful feet of Shiva, where heobtained his final rest.

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Q & AiyaQ & AiyaWe all love hanging out with Aiya,

drinking tea, and sometimes getting someguidance on how to travel down our ownpaths to the Devi. Here’s an excerpt from onesession where Aiya answered a devotee’squestions on social justice and charity.

Q: If there’s a karmic scale, youbasically have to accept thatsomeone is more advanced thanyou are because they’ve achievedmore than you have, and there’sno reason to be jealous. So youhave to accept the karmichierarchy structure that the Devihas made and let go of jealousy tofind peace.

But why doesn’t it work thesame way if now, I’m lookingdown instead of up and looking atall the people in the world whoare struggling? With jealousy, Iwas supposed to tune it out, butwith social justice, I’m notsupposed to tune it out?

Aiya: You’re not supposed totune it out; you’re supposed toeven it out. When you even it out,you will be alleviating peoples’suffering. Why not? You mightmobilize a whole group of people.Haven’t you heard that story ofthat 8-year-old girl from somestate… she read about anEthiopian village that had nowater. So she collected her pocketmoney and sent it down there sothey could dig a well.

It was so successful that shestarted a movement. As of lastyear, she had managed to dig10,000 wells in different countries!An 8-year-old girl! That’s howyou can fight. That’s what I meantby fighting; not taking up armsand chopping people up!

This girl started a wholemovement. [Former U.S.President] Carter even offered tofly down there with a team ofpeople from Habitat for Humanityand build houses for them. Sowhen you see social injustice, youhave to somehow try to stop it. I

don’t talk about the conflict goingon back home [in Sri Lanka] andsay, ‘Oh, there are thousands ofdisplaced refugees at any givenpoint… whatever I can give ispeanuts so I won’t bother.’ No. Yougive what you can. You helphowever you can.

And be prepared—it is notalways accepted with gratitude.That’s not your problem. That’stheir problem. It doesn’t matter.You have to do what you have todo. If you won’t, there’s no point inthe Mother giving you all thesethings when you won’t share it.

Remember when the tsunamihit, how quickly She moved?Somebody saw the telethon hereand sent $15,000 fromCalifornia—a total stranger—tobuild an ashram back up. Evenrecently somebody gave me $100for the tsunami reconstructionfund.

One of the best birthday gifts Iever got was somebody donatedto a charity in my name. And thattouched me like anything. Theycould have given me $2 millionand I wouldn’t have been thathappy… they knew what wouldmove me and they did that exact

thing.You know Sonia from Colorado,

the little girl who passed away?Her grandfather, her mom’s father,runs a shelter for cows. His mainoccupation is to stand across thetracks when cattle cars cross intoPakistan from India. He will bringvillagers with them and they willwaylay the train until theyrelease the cows. And they willtake the cows back with them.The last time I spoke to them, hehad 15,000 cows! Can youimagine?

And he has an army ofveterinarians… everybody hasjoined together in this mission tocare for the cows. They feed them,they treat them… and they areallowed to die with dignity. Thisis what he does. And he doesn’tjust stop the train and take thecows, they pay the fellowswhatever money they are owedand purchase the cows.

So that’s what you have to do...you make the world betterhowever you can. Social injusticeis something you have to fight—but the way you do it, you shouldbehave like an activist, not afighter.

Aiya says weshould all try to helpeach other out andlove our fellow man,as Muralee andTharumandemonstrate sowell here.

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Kshetrapala’s ring of fireKshetrapala’s ring of fireKshetrapala’s ring of fireKshetrapala’s ring of fireKshetrapala’s ring of fire

The stories of thedevotees at the SriRajarajeswari Peetamcreate the very essenceof the temple’s soul. Aiya has verified allthese tales for theirauthenticity, and heurges devotees toshare theirexperiences for thebenefit of futuregenerations. Allidentities will be keptin the strictestconfidentiality unlessotherwise requested.

TempleTempleLoreLore

by Sudha Priya Kearney

Around the time of the 9/11terrorist attacks we were living ina sparsely populated rural area inNorth Carolina. Our house was amanufactured home, known as a“double wide” and had a pond inthe back yard, which was a havenfor a lot of insects, frogs, turtlesand snakes. Our son, Ryanaffectionately referred to the yardas “insect-topia.”

To the right side of our housewas a dirt road with a fewdilapidated houses further down.The area was kind of spooky afterdark. A couple of miles down theroad was an old church andgraveyard. One of our friends,

who did some pet-sitting for uswhen we were out of town, wouldnot come alone at night to takecare of our cats. He was amazedthat we were not afraid to live inthat area.

My work was about a 50-minute drive from home, and myhusband Michael had a job thatrequired him to travel out of townfor business quite often. Duringthe aftermath of the 9/11 attacks Iwas asked a lot of questions fromco-workers and strangers aboutmy religious affiliation and whereI was from etc.

I was amazed that quite a fewpeople did not know Indians werenot from the Middle East. Thedaily news was mostly aboutracial tensions and violence. Myfriends at work reminded me tobe cautious and to avoid drivingaround the rural areas by myself.

A few years earlier I providedtraining in a new accountingsystem for a company that owneda chain of convenience stores.When I travelled to some coastaltowns near Morehead City, thedistrict manager whoaccompanied me asked me to stayin the office area of the store. Hewas very much concerned aboutmy safety and wanted me to keepa low profile. This priorexperience and all the tensionfollowing 9/11 made me a littleafraid in spite of my faith in Devi’sprotection.

The author, Sudha Priya, and her husband Michael are long-timepractitioners of Sri Vidya, and students of Aiya for nearly 20 years.

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One evening when Michael wasout of town I was returning homefrom work. As I drove by atobacco field with a very old farmhouse on the corner, and sloweddown for the stop sign, I could seefrom the right side a couple ofteenagers riding a golf cart. Theyhappened to be turning onto myroad, and as they came up besideme I saw their expressions changefrom the casual glance of someonepassing by to a curiousmixture of surprise andsuspicion.

I realized they hadnoticed my brown skinand the red bindi on myforehead. As I turned leftto go home I noticed theyhad turned back tofollow me. I am not sureif it was curiosity or theintention to harm, butfrom the brief glimpse Ihad of their expressions Iwas afraid. Being alone, Idecided to drive past ourhome so they would notknow where I lived.

Their golf cart could notkeep up with my car, andin a few minutes I wasrelieved to see them turnaround. To be safe Icontinued to drive on tothe supermarket plazawhich was about threemiles away, and waitedthere a little while beforereturning home. As I gotcloser to home I did notsee them or anyone around so Iturned into our driveway andparked my car.

My heart was thumping withfear as I ran from the car to ourback door, entered our house andlocked the door. Leaning againstthe door with my heart stillracing I prayed to every god Icould think of to keep me safe. AsI was praying to all the gods andgoddesses, I remembered Aiyahad once told me that Shiva asKshetrapala (Bhairava) is theprotector of our home andproperty.

I fervently prayed toKshetrapala requesting him tostand by the door to protect meuntil my husband returned thenext day. Then I checked all thedoors and windows of the houseto be sure they were closed andlocked, and fed our three cats.After dinner I did my daily pujaand went to bed not expecting toget much sleep, and still doingintense mantra japam.

The next morning I went to workas usual, and was not too worriedsince I knew Michael would bereturning from his trip about thesame time I would get home in theevening. A few minutes after Ireturned home I heard Michaelunlocking the door so I went togreet him.

Since he had his hands full withhis suitcase and computer bag Ireached over to shut the door andbehind him. As I was reaching forthe door I jumped back with asqueal. Mike, who was beside me

and heading into the house,stopped to see what had startledme. I told him I felt like I had putmy hand through a wall of fire,and as I said this I rememberedAiya’s description of Kshetrapalaas Shiva with fire all around Him.

I realized He had stood there allnight and day to protect me untilmy husband returned home,exactly as I had asked Him! As Irecounted the events of the

previous evening toMichael, I could not getover the fact thatKshetrapala had stoodthere for a little over 24hours, and this wascertainly not the bestspot in the house tostand by—it was nearour kitty litter boxes!

When I told Aiya a fewweeks later about this hesaid, “Why are yousurprised Amma, youasked Him to stand thereand protect you so Hedid.” This was mysecond experience ofKshetrapala’s grace.

The first was a fewyears earlier at theTemple property in Rushwhen we had only thebarn and tents forceremonies. Aiya haddecided to chant LalitaSahasranamamcontinuously for 24hours a day, duringNavarathri as part of aKoti Archana. This

parayanam was held prior to thetemple construction andpratishta.

During the chanting I had seenan old man in the back of thetemple grounds pacing back andforth. He was carrying a lantern,the kind our parents had backhome in the villages that ran onkerosene. I asked Aiya who theold man was pacing back andforth. Aiya seemed surprised,took special note of the lantern,and told me I had been blessedwith Kshetrapala’s dharshan.

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The hidden Kashi Viswanathantemple of Chennai

by Kamya Ramaswamy

The hidden Kashi Viswanathantemple of Chennai

Aiya typically visits scores of temple whenever he goesto India, but he came back this time with the vivid storyof one tiny shivaalayam in particular. This temple is inChennai, about a mile from the Marundheeswara templein Thiruvaanmayur, and it sits beneath a banyan tree.

“The fact that it sits underneath the tree,” Aiya recalled,“reminds you of the Dakshinamurthi aspect of Shiva.”

The Marundheeswara temple is about 3000 years old,and the Shivalingam there is said to have beenworshipped by Kamadhenu. If you can get near thatshivalingam while karpuram arthi is being shown, it’spossible to see the dent where Kamadhenu kicked Him.

About three months before Aiya left for India, he sawanother temple in his dream in which he heard a voicetelling him, “I’m seated in the dark, nobody is even willingto light a lamp for me; I’m all alone in here.” He decidedthat if he found the temple, he could take care of the deityinside by employing a priest to do daily pujas.

The task of actually locating it was frustrating, to saythe least. Aiya found himself driving aroundThiruvaanmayur with one of the temple’s favourite couples, Dr. Madhvanath and Srimathi Jnanapurni.

They went through all the side streets and wereaccidentally misled by some of the locals, who hadnever heard of the abandoned temple Aiya asked themabout.

The group finally went to the Marundheeswara templeand asked the chief priest, who said that one mile fromthere was a place called the Kashi Viswanathan temple.

Because a tree is growing over the temple, parts of ithave been dislodged parts because of the roots. But thefloors and walls inside had been carefully paved overwith granite. Aiya went inside and looked at theShivalingam, which was about three-and-a-half to fourfeet tall. He noticed with great interest that thisShivalingam was decorated exactly like the one inThiruvannamalai.

Every flower and every bilvam was arranged withcare. There were very few implements around thetemple, but whatever was there was kept immaculatelyclean, including a brass lamp that shone like gold. Therewas no Ganapathi, no Devi and no Subramaniam… only

The shivalingam inside the temple was impeccablydressed with care, and in the Arunachalam style.

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Shiva was sitting there withNandi as his solecompanion.

Aiya’s group then met a lady inher mid-50s, who lives in ahousing complex nearby. She toldthem about the history of thetemple, in which a siddha cameupon the Shivalingam about 20years ago. There was no templeand no housing complex at thattime; the Shivalingam was sitting

in the middle of a pond outside. Inthe water, there were literallythousands and thousands ofsnakes.

When the siddha came, heslowly went about cleaning thepond and trapping the snakes. Hefilled up the pond and reclaimedthe Shivalingam, so the templewas built exactly where the pondwas. This siddha sat there inmeditation for several years. Hefinally attained Samadhi about 10years back, and his samadhi isright there in front of the temple.

“I found out that thisShivalingam is even older thanthe Marundheeswara temple’sShivalingam,” Aiya said. “It is3500 years old!”

The lady told Aiya that for thepast 27 years, every day, agentleman came there from 15kilometers away at 3:30 a.m. Hewakes up at 1:30 a.m., bathes,makes prasadam for Shiva athome, makes the garlands, getsthe bilva, and goes.

At 5:30 a.m., he finishes puja,gets on his scooter and goes towork in a bank! And the nextmorning, he gets up at 1:30 a.m.and does it all again. This hashappened for the past 27 years,365 days of the year, with noholiday—nothing.

“And from the time he stepsinside the temple to the time hefinishes puja, he’s continuously

chanting,”Aiya said.“What struckme was,everythingwas in Tamil.He’s chantingfrom theThevaram,Thiruvasagam,Thiupallandu,Thirupugazh…not onesecond goesby when he’snot chanting!”

The ladytold Aiya’sgroup that ifthey wanted

to see him, they would have tocome at 5a.m. the nextday, whichthey did.There theman wasdoing puja,goingaround andaround theShivalingamand singingwith hishandsfolded on hishead.

“Icounted,”Aiya said,“he musthave gone around theShivalingam at least 108 times.Afterwards, everything wasarranged perfectly in place, andyou could tell he had lovinglyplaced every flower and bilva onthe lingam. Nobody knows thisguy’s name; he’s just called Shiva.”

When he finished puja, he gaveeverybody viboothi prasadam, aswell as kallkandu (sugar candy)and the sakkarai pongal (sweet rice)he’d made with his own hands.He then told them to come backinside, but there was no eyecontact with anyone at all—hiswhole focus was only on theShivalingam as he prayed outloud to Shiva on behalf of thegroup.

Now a word about the lady inher mid-50s—if this man is thereat 3:30 each morning, she is thereat 2:45. She sweeps and mops thetemple and puts an elaborate,colourful kolam design on theground outside. The day Aiya’sgroup visited, there was animmaculately drawn peacock.Everything is ready when “Shiva”arrives.

When Aiya travels, he said, hesometimes meets people who area little bit better off than others.Before he left India, he introduceda couple of those people to the SriKashi Vishwanathan temple, andarranged for them to provide itwith its material needs.

“This is a temple you have tosee,” Aiya said. “If you go toChennai and don’t go anywhereelse, go here. It will blow yourmind… the vibrations there areout of this world.”

Thetempleisalmostmergedwith thebanyantree thatsheltersit.

From left to right: the lady who cares for the temple, SriJnanapurni, Amma, Aiya, Kumaran, and Dr. Madhvanath.

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Thanga KaiThanga KaiThanga KaiThanga KaiThanga KaiThanga KaiThanga KaiThanga KaiThanga KaiThanga Kai

The Golden Hands of Sri Seshadri SwamigalThe Golden Hands of Sri Seshadri SwamigalThe Golden Hands of Sri Seshadri SwamigalThe Golden Hands of Sri Seshadri SwamigalThe Golden Hands of Sri Seshadri Swamigal

book review

Om Sree Gurubhyo Namaha.Thanga Kai – (Golden Hand),

was one of the names used to referto one of the greatest saints of the20th century, Seshadri Swamigal.Swamigal, who lived from 1870 to1929 spent most of his life in thesacred city of Arunachalam.Swamigal’s actions wereunpredictable and could never beeasily understood by themundane man, because they werenever confined to the morals ofwhat made our society.

Unlike Ramana Maharshi, thereare not many books written aboutthis saint, especially in English.The reason for that could be thatit is hard to write a book on a manwho never interacted with people.The book Thanga Kai, written byKamya Ramaswamy, reveals thelife and miracles of Swamigal. Theauthor has made a sincere effortto research and gatherinformation about the saint toprovide the readers with anunderstanding of how he lived hislife. Kamya took up the task ofwriting this book about Swamigalfrom the orders of Aiya. On herguru’s instructions, she spent sixmonths traveling South India andlater researching to find theresources needed for completingthis book.

Just like the saint, the book too isunpredictable with highs andlows. Kamya, in an attempt toshow her readers the entire

The Golden Hands of Sri Seshadri SwamigalThe Golden Hands of Sri Seshadri SwamigalThe Golden Hands of Sri Seshadri SwamigalThe Golden Hands of Sri Seshadri SwamigalThe Golden Hands of Sri Seshadri Swamigal

picture of the saint, both duringhis lifetime and afterwards, takesan unconventional approach toshow her findings by telling thestory with a very engaging andanimated writing style. The firstpart is comprised of the life ofSwamigal and experiences fromthose who haddirect contact withhim. One gets to seethe relationship andstruggles thatyoung Seshadri hadto endure and howthe Devi preparedhim for the life thatwas to come.

Revealing youngSeshadri’s search tomerge with thedivine, Kamyapoints out severalstories about histransformationfrom being a highlyevolved Sri Vidyaupasaka tosearching for a guruto initiate him intothe path ofsannyasa.

The stories of hisdays with his guruare rarely foundanywhere andbrought to light aside of Seshadri thatmay have not beenknown otherwise.

When reading the first part of thebook I can tell from experiencethat there are several storiesabout Swamigal’s life andmiracles to give any sincereupasaka a spiritual high andwanting to read more about the

by Svaprakashananda

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lesser known saint ofArunachalam.

But Kamya quickly brings youback down in the second part,while talking about the people(mediums) who claim to channelSeshadri Swamigal today. Thispart of the book focuses on whathappened after Swamigalattained Samadhi, and how somepeople to this day claim that thesaint speaks through them. Theauthor interviews and tells theexperiences from those who claimto have spoken to Swamigalthrough these mediums. In anattempt to validate theseexperiences Kamya even visitsone of the current mediums andtells about her experience.Kamya’s background injournalism and the teachings ofAiya must have clearly given herthe drive to verify suchexperiences before passingjudgment on these stories. If youwant to know what sheexperienced when she met themedium, read the book!

And finally the author directsthe attention back to directexperiences with Swamigalthrough one of his devotees, whohad documented several storiesabout the saint’s miracles that are

published for the firsttime in this book. Some of thestories here happened to devoteeswho prayed to Swamigal evenafter he attained Samadhi. Theyshow how he answered the call tothose who prayed to himearnestly. There are also someslokas and namas of SeshadriSwamigal in the last chapter.

The book of course is notwithout errors. One error that Ipointed out to Kamya (and sheagreed with me) was when shementioned that SeshadriSwamigal was RamanaMaharshi’s guru. I told her thatthere are documents writtenabout how Ramana Maharshinever had a guru on the physicalplane. She completely agreed andsaid that although SeshadriSwamigal first discoveredRamana Maharshi and the twoshared a mutual love and respect,he never gave him mantra diksha.However, the book was alreadybeing printed when she foundthat out.

One other thing I thought couldhave been added was aphotograph of Swamigal, insteadof other photographs of his statue.There may have been copyrightissues as to why Kamya didn’tput a photo of Swamigal,

especially when she put photosshe took of his early childhoodhome and his current asramam.

All in all, Kamya does a good jobof bringing forth the life andmiracles of a saint who is not wellknown to people outside ofArunachalam. To find such a greatsoul is a rarity and to gather thestories from those whoexperienced them after so manyyears is a monumental task initself.

But one can clearly see that thegrace of her guru and blessings ofSwamigal must have been therein order for someone born andbrought up in Canada (who canbarely speak Tamil) to travelhalfway across the world to findstories of the Tamil saint knownas Thanga Kai over 80 years ago.

The author is donating 100% of the

Thanga Kai book sales to help fund

the Ati Rudram Kumbhabhishekam

next year. Go to www.srividya.org and

click on ‘bookstore’ to order your own

copy.

Left: An original photo of Sri Seshadri Swamigal as it appears at thehouse where he was born in KanchipuramBelow: The historic Annamalaiyar temple in Thiruvannamalai,where Seshadri Swamigal spent most of his life.

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The Ashta-PaashasThe Ashta-PaashasThe Ashta-PaashasThe Ashta-PaashasThe Ashta-PaashasThe Ashta-PaashasThe Ashta-PaashasThe Ashta-PaashasThe Ashta-PaashasThe Ashta-Paashas

part 3part 3part 3part 3part 3

A devotee recently asked Aiya aloaded question—How can one trulyreach his or her guru, and the Devi?Aiya gave a lengthy answer thatdescribed how a person needs to destroyhis or her negative aspects in order toreally hear and see the Mother.

This is the third of 4 installmentsdetailing that Q&A session, whereAiya told of the ashta-paashas (or eightforms of the ego) that block a personfrom self-realization—grna, shanka,bhaya, lajja, juhupsa, kulam,jaadi, seelam.

When you see someone else, youcan pick a fault in them becauseyou have that fault in yourself.You know, this networking goeson—someone comes along andtries to twist a matter here andthere and then watch the funfrom a distance. They’re notinterested in resolving any issues.If someone tells you about someoutstanding issue in the templemake sure they are doing it withgenuine interest of solving it.Most of the time they are justblowing it up.

I used to always complain thatmy generation were the worstgossips—all the gossip goes on inthe kitchen. But when I see thenext generation coming up, I seethe same trend taking over! Wecan’t allow that. You have to beaware all the time of what thismalicious gossiping has done toother people. If you participate inthis, then you can’t complain thatthe Devi is not talking to you.

Eight roadblocksEight roadblocksEight roadblocksEight roadblocksEight roadblockson the pathon the pathon the pathon the pathon the path

to the Devito the Devito the Devito the Devito the Devi

If the Devi is not talking to you,

remember, you still have impuritiesin your consciousness, orsurrounding it. You’re not able toreach up there.

Remember, the seventh chakra inthe body, the thousand-petaledlotus, is not in the body. It isdescribed as dvadasaantham—it’s 12inches above the head. Pointeddownwards, each petal is drippingwith nectar. But if you don’t takethat nectar properly and process it,it will come and get burnt uphalfway. It won’t go through theentire nervous system.

So grna, shanka, bhaya, lajja,juhupsa, kulam… jaadi of course youknow—caste consciousness. I am soupset that somehow, even afterknowing all about the Devi, there arestill people in this temple who areconscious of caste. I’m sorry to saythat, but I’m telling you those peopleare the first ones to come to me andcomplain, ‘Those brahmins in thetemple, those brahmins here, thosebrahmins there have mistreated us.’

Have you ever asked yourself, fromyour position, how you have treatedanybody below you? First youchange how you are treating otherpeople around you or below you. Iwon’t mention names, but one day Iallowed somebody to do puja insidethe temple. Someone else took measide and said, ‘Do you know whothis fellow is?’ I asked who is thisfellow? He’s a temple devotee. Hecomes here daily.

Then it was, ‘Do you know whichfamily he belongs to?’ I said I don’tcare! He belongs to Devi’s family.And this guy had the gumption toask me, ‘If your daughter was not

married and this fellow askedto marry her, would you allowit?’ I said what do you think?You think I’ll say no? If I said no,I would have no place here [atthe temple].

After that he never spoke tome about it, but he went to myfather-in-law and gossiped tohim… ‘Can we eat the food thatthose people cook?’ Anywaythat is a different matter, butthat is jaadi.

The last one, seelam is veryimportant: ‘I know how to doNavavarana puja… so-and-sodoesn’t know so when we talkabout Navavarana puja, wedon’t need to include her in ourdiscussions. We are superior toher.’ That is stupid! You have noidea what kind of a space thatperson has reached inside.

Another one: they will say,‘Oh, they don’t do puja insidethe temple. They are justrunning around outside theproperty picking up garbageand making composts andthings like that. We are superiorto them.’ B.S.! Who told youthat? If they let the property goto pot, you think we canworship here? That is alsoimportant puja.

Now, all of these impuritiesyou have to see if you possess inyour mind. Even if it is there ina trace, eliminate it. Then youwill hear Her talking.

Watch for the fourth and last partof the ashta-paasha series in the nextSri Chakra.

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Yajna Phala StotramYajna Phala StotramYajna Phala StotramYajna Phala StotramYajna Phala StotramSecrets of theSecrets of theSecrets of theSecrets of theSecrets of the

Yajna Phala StotramYajna Phala StotramYajna Phala StotramYajna Phala StotramYajna Phala Stotrampart 1

When the Devi gives yousomething, it is called Siddha Vidya.And if She gives you something, itwill remain fresh in your mind fordvi-muhurtam. That means forthree hours it will remain fresh inyour mind. After that it will beginto fade, so you have to write itdown quickly.

I am now 66. When I was a kid,about 22 years old, I had gone tothe Eastern part of Sri Lanka tofind out some details aboutRavana’s temple on the orders ofmy guru at that time. At the office,I met up with a Muslimgentleman whose name wasBodiyar—he’s the one who taughtme how to do homam. AMuslim—he taught me Priyogahomam and how to use mantrasfrom the Atharvana Vedam toachieve certain things.

He also told me that I was notsupposed to release thisinformation to anybody becausehe himself had learned this from aNamboodri in Kerala. Now, if youknow anything about theNamboodris, they are the most

by Aiya

ultra-orthodox Brahmins inIndia… even if you accidentallytouch them, they’ll go and bathe.So for a Namboodri to give it to aMuslim, he must have recognizedsome very great quality in him.

When I met Bodiyar, it was 40years after he had received thisknowledge from the Kerala man.He told him, “You’re not supposedto tell this to anybody, except forone person. As soon as you see theperson, you’ll feel like giving thisknowledge to him.” So thenBodiyar kept the information forover 40 years. And because helearned this type of thing, he waskicked out of the Mosque… but heremained a Muslim and a purevegetarian, of course.

He lived in a small village andpeople came to him with theirtroubles. If they said, “Aiya, myson is sick…” or something likethat, he would do the homam andthey would get the benefits. Henever took money so peoplewould give him fruits or betelleaves if they wanted.

So when he saw me, I wasactually filling in the applicationform to get records from thegovernment archives. I waswriting and he kept looking at me;when I looked back he would turnsomewhere else. After 10 or 15minutes, he slowly came up to meand said whatever I was lookingfor was not there. He said all theinformation on the ancienttemples had been destroyed bythe government—then I gotscared. I had not spoken toanyone there… how could heknow this?

When I asked him, he said, “I notonly know this, I know so muchinformation about you.” At 22you’re a little feisty, you know? SoI said, “Right, you know aboutme? So tell me all about me!” Buthe actually started telling me,“Your older sister married here,your father is from there, yourmother is from here…” And then Igot really scared! I asked how hecould possibly know all that?

We got talking and he said thatthere was no record of the things I

Secrets of theSecrets of theSecrets of theSecrets of theSecrets of the

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was looking for because since thelate 1890s, the government hadgradually been destroying allrecords of these temples… theydidn’t want anyone to know theseplaces existed. But I went aheadanyway and saw that manypages were ripped out of theofficial Government Diaries.

Just before I left, I turned tothank Bodiyal and told him Ishould have listened to himbefore. In solid English, he said,“Experience is the best teacher.”Then he told me to visit him at hishouse the next evening.

Now, the town I was from had areputation for mantrikam—if yousit on a mat, you’ll get stuck to themat; you won’t be able to go! As ifhe read my mind, he said, “Justcome to my house, I won’t put aspell on you!” I brought my twofriends and we went to hishouse… he gave us tea. Just as Iwas thinking about drinking thetea, he said, “Go ahead and drinkit! You won’t get stuck to themat!”

He told me to come back the nextday, but to come alone. I was

thinking that was it for me, but hetold me he had to teach mesomething. So I bathed and went.He gave me three songs in Tamil—each song had some 16 lines. Hetold me to memorize thesesongs… after I learned them fromthe paper, I was to burn the paper.

And he told me, “Just like myguru told me, I’m telling you thisinformation is not to be taught toanybody, except one person. Assoon as you see that person, youwill feel like teaching him. If youdon’t meet that person, take itwith you to the grave. But youcannot teach it to the wrongperson, because in there aremantras that can kill people if youchant them while doing ahomam.”

He told me I could go. At thattime I had enough sense to touchhis feet.

Many years later I came hereand one day I was sitting with allmy kids just like this. I casuallytold this story and next thing Iknew every second person wasasking, “Can you teach me, canyou teach me?!” But in the last 44

years, I haven’t met anyone Iwanted to teach this to—if I did, Iwould teach them the moment Ifirst saw them.

But people kept bothering me.About four days after I asked theMother what I should do, Sheappeared to me and said not togive these songs to anyone. Shewould give me 14 stanzas straightfrom Her grace that I could teachto anyone. And she proceeded totell me in clear Sanskrit…whatever I wrote, I wrote onlyfrom listening to Her dictation attwo o’clock in the morning.

I didn’t understand what it was;I just wrote it down and in thecoming weeks asked people whowere fluent in Sanskrit what thedifferent lines meant. Then Ipieced together the meaning of thewhole thing—that’s the story ofthe Yajna Phala Stotram.

Read the September ’09 issue of theSri Chakra for part two of this series,and the actual transliteration andesoteric meaning of the Yajna PhalaStotram.

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Sri Gurubhyo Namaha