The Source of the Cosmos Sri Chakra Sri Chakra Sri Chakra Sri Chakra Sri Chakra

The Journal of the Sri Rajarajeswari Peetam, Rush, NY

Blossom 12 Petal 1

March 2008

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Since the last issue...

by Kamya Ramaswamy

Past Events

Thiruvempavai, Dec. 15-24

December kicked off with the CDrelease concert for Dravida VedamVI, for which Aiya and the regularbhajan musicians at the templetraveled to Toronto. The concertwas held in the Sai Baba temple inScarborough and about 120devotees attended.

The rest of December was prettyroutine except for the 10-dayThiruvempavai festival, duringwhich Aiya stayed at the temple.After Ardhra Dharshanam (thelast day of the festival) on Dec. 24,it was time to make finalpreparations for the third annualRaja Matangi homam on Dec. 30.Kids from Rochester, Toronto andother places flooded the temple tolend a hand during this week.

Aiya and Amma traveled toCalifornia during the second weekof January, but returned by the16th to greet Corinne Dempsey(who published a book about thetemple in 2006) and her husbandNick who had come to Rochesterfrom Wisconsin for a visit. On Sat.

Devotees arose for puja beforedawn each day for 10 days duringthis festival, which celebratesLord Nataraja.

Aiya performing the abhishekam for

the final stanza of the

Thirupalliyezuchi

MarchMarchMarchMarchMarchMarchMarchMarchMarchMarch

NewsletNewsletNewsletNewsletNewsletterterterterterNewsletNewsletNewsletNewsletNewsletterterterterter

Jan. 19 there was a very specialSani Pradosham puja. That sameafternoon, temple family fromSyracuse, Rochester and southernOntario got together to beginfilling the brand new templelibrary with books. The shelvingtook hours, during which timehundreds upon hundreds ofAiya’s books were organized bylanguage and subject under theguidance of Charulata Chawan.

In mid-February, Aiya went toOman for one week by invitationto give several talks and lectures.He chanted at the Shiva andKrishna temples there, met theoldest surviving Hindu family inthe area (they’d been there for 350years), and saw a 400-year-oldShivalingam.

Our temple’s two large outdoorbanalingams are still beingprepared for installation in thespring and each of the yonipeetams are still being fashioned.Please check the temple websitefor updates.

Left to right: The shrine of the

400-year-old Shivalingam in

Oman; devotees perform

puja with viboothi to the

lingam; the shrine as it is

after puja and abhishekam

have been completed.

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Maha Shivarathri, March 5by Kamya Ramaswamy

Thai Pongal, Jan. 14by Kamya Ramaswamy

Kids’ Matangi homam, Dec. 30by Kamya Ramaswamy

So many children registered forthis year’s homam that therewere several ahutis offered intothe fire during an event thatlasted an entire morning and wellinto the afternoon.

After a short Ganapathi andNavagraha homam, the kidsrotated in groups so thateveryone would have a chance tosit near the homam. Along with apurnahuti at the end of eachgroup’s turn, Devi also received afull outfit including a pavadai,sari and mangalyam. The mantrachanted throughout the day wasthe Raja Matangi mantra, whichis the longer of the two Shyamalamantras. For more details andpictures, please see SahanaSivakumaran’s article on page 5.

Aiya was away from the templefor Pongal this year, which fell ona weekday. The celebrations werelimited but still included thetraditional boiling over of thesakkarai pongal kalasam. Thenaivedyam was offered duringthe morning puja.

It was a long night that beganon the evening of WednesdayMarch 5, but also a monumentalone. This year’s Shivarathrifestivities included the offering ofrudrakshas, which is somethingthat had never before been doneat any temple in all of NorthAmerica. As in previous years,those who visited were also givenbilva leaves to offer at the variousShiva “stations” that were set upall over the garbha-graham andyajnashala.

The evening began with a kalasastapanam for Ganapathi, theNavagraha and Rudra, and wasfollowed by homams for the samedeities. Abhishekam was thehighlight of the night it was done

A jaggery shivalingam (top) and the

temple’s main shivalingam in the

garba-graham were just two of

several stations received puja

throughout the night this Shivarathri.

with milk, viboothi and thenrudrakshas. Aiya also covered theDevi, Ganesha and Shiva withviboothi. Aiya explained thesignificance of rudrakshas whilevolunteers dressed the Devi.Afterwards, everyone offeredbilva and rudrakshas to the Shivastations to the tune of the ShivaSahasranamam interspersed withthe 1008 names of the LalitaSahasranamam. The nightrounded out with the energeticchanting of nine more Rudrams.

As usual, 108 valampurishankams were set up in thetemple, which were up forsponsorship by visitors. After thefinal arthi in the wee hours of themorning, Aiya gave everyoneprasadam of a few of therudrakshas that had been offeredearlier.

From top to

bottom: Lord

Nataraja decked

out in all his

finery after the

abhishekam

toward the end of

the puja; Devi

Sivakami

receiving milk

abhishekam by

Aiya; Shankavi

holding the

sacred works of

Manikkavasagar

while devotees

pull her around

the temple during

procession in a

makeshift

“chariot”

On Ardhra Dharshanam day,Aiya chose 20 different groupsfrom the people who were presentto perform pancha-upachara pujaafter each Thirupalliyezuchistanza. After Aiya performed thefinal abhishekam, volunteersdressed the deities and set up forthe second half of the puja.

Next, devotees were treated totraditional dancing and singingperformances. Then, ShankaviSelvan held the celebrated textswhile seated on a small chariotwith Saint Manikkavasagar andboth were pulled in procession.After the final aarthi was done,Aiya engaged everyone assembledin chanting the Shivapuranam inthe yajnashala to conclude thefestival.

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

This is a special day for thosewho have lost their mothers buthave been unable to offer tarpanamor oblations for her on theanniversary of her passing.Usually on this day, Aiya leads apuja and guides sponsors throughthe rituals of how to offer tarpanamto their late mothers. If theweather permits, part of the pujacan and is usually performedoutdoors.

Since Chitra Poornima falls on aSaturday this year, the tarpanampuja may be led by Aiya whileother devotees tend to the weeklygrand Saturday puja. Please callthe temple in advance to registeryour name if you wish to sponsorfor Chitra Poornima.

May Festival (Pratishta), May 16-18 by Kamya Ramaswamy

by Kamya Ramaswamy

Devi willing, the next issue ofthe Sri Chakra Magazine will beup on the temple’s website(www.srividya.org) at thebeginning of June 2008.

The June issue will be veryspecial as it will not only bepublished shortly after thetemple’s 10th anniversary(Pratishta celebration) at itspresent location in Rush, but willalso come out shortly beforeAiya’s 65th birthday.

To mark this milestone, the SriChakra asks all of its readers to e-mail in their thoughts about thetemple and Aiya so that we can

create a collage of sentimentsfor the June issue.

This magazine cannot keeppublishing withoutcontributions from devotees!Articles, poems, stories, andthe like about any spiritualtopic are welcomed and willbe accepted.

Please e-mail us with yourfeedback about this issue atsri_chakra_mag@srividya.orgby May 9 or talk to Abhi orKamya at the temple. Wewant to hear from you!

Meanwhile, the Sri Chakrawould like to extend itsheartfelt thanks to thevolunteers who contributedto make this issue what itis—Aiya, Kathy Allen,

Gratuz Devanesan, B.Jayaraman, MuraleeMahathevan and SahanaSivakumaran.

Sri Gurubhyo Namaha!

In Three Months

Chitra Poornima, April 19

This is the temple’s second mostmajor festival after Navarathri.May festival celebrates thetemple’s anniversary—come thisspring, the Devi will have been ather present home for 10 years!

As in previous years, the Fridaystarts with the installation of thedigdevata kalasams at about 7 a.m.This day celebrates Ganapathi,and includes the welcoming ofVaishno-Durga from St.Catharines, Ontario. In theevening, the Utsa Ganapathireceives puja and is carried out inprocession.

Saturday is a jam-packed daythat starts before dawn with theannual Chandi homam and thencontinues at about 9 or 10 a.m.with a full Saturday puja. In theevening, the huge chariot will beprepared for the Rajarajeshwariutsava murthi, and anyone whowishes to do so may take a turn atholding the ropes to pull heraround the temple.

Sunday is Dattatreya’s day. Afterthe morning digdevata puja,kalasa stapanam and abhishekamwill commence. In past years, the

1008 valampuri shankamabhishekam has been performedand this may very well be thecase this year. The evening pujaand procession of LordDattatreya will be organized bythe temple’s children. On Sundayevening, the festival bali will beoffered at the Bhairava treebehind the temple and the waterfrom the digdevata kalasamswill be given to Bhairava inabhishekam. At that time, MayFestival will conclude.

by Kamya Ramaswamy

Upcoming Events

Tamil New Year and MahaPratyangira homam, April 13

Tamil New Year’s day alsohappens to fall on a Sunday thisyear—the usual day that thegrand Pratyangira homam isperformed. This homam is usuallyheld outdoors in the fields behindthe temple, and has been a newyear’s tradition for the past fewyears. Aiya started performing itabout three years ago to pray toPratyangira Devi for good tidingsand protection in the year ahead.Since then, it has blossomed inpopularity.

In past years, the homam hasboasted the offering of more than50 kilograms of red chilli peppers,not to mention many differenttypes of sweet and savorypalaharams made by devotees inthe temple kitchen.

In the case of bad weather, thehomam will be held indoors aswas the case last year. If youwould like to register as asponsor, please call the templewell ahead of time. Last year, closeto 300 people attended!

The highlight of Pratishta is when

Utsava Rajarajeshwari is hoisted onto

the chariot and transported around the

temple grounds during the Saturday

night festivities.

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Homam 2007!Homam 2007!Homam 2007!Homam 2007!Homam 2007!

RajamaRajamaRajamaRajamaRajamatttttangiangiangiangiangi

Sri Rajamatangeshwaribestowed her blessings on manychildren ranging from the ages of4 through 18 during the annualMatangi homam on Sunday,December 30, 2007. It was set upby many young children whoplanned, decorated, and led thehomam. It was a beautifulexperience, especially afterputting in endless effort as a team

and finishing with more thansatisfying results.

Prior to the homam, a lot ofplanning and hard work was putin by both the youth and theadults. They would get togetherand discuss the many tasks thathad to be completed, such ascleaning, decorating, and cooking.

The Saturday before the homam,children dressed the mula

murthis. The Devi was clothed inan elegant green and yellow half-saree (dhaavani), whereas Shivaand Ganapathi were adorned invibrantly colored purple andgreen sarees. A few boys dressedthe Meru in a stunning cream andorange sari along with a garland,which made Her stand out morethan ever. The homa kundam wasdecorated with lotus designs,using vibhuti and kumkumam.Mango leaves were hung on thewindows and doors, colourfulgarlands were placed on thedeities, Bala prasadam wasarranged in various designs, andfresh flowers were cut. Alongwith that, the youth cleaned andorganized the temple.

The next morning, many of themothers woke up extra early tocook and prepare treats and foodswhile the children set up sweettrays for the homam. TheNayanmars and other deities

by Sahana Sivakumaran Homam 2007! Homam 2007! Homam 2007! Homam 2007! Homam 2007!

RajamaRajamaRajamaRajamaRajamatttttangiangiangiangiangi

Clockwise from top

left: Devi happily

wears a dhavani for

the first time as she

was dressed by the

children that morning;

She also wears her

hair in a long braid for

the first time; the Meru

is decked out two different

coloured pavadais; one group of

kids is seated around the homam

with Aiya; each of the kids got to

personally add items to each of

the purnahutis, which were put

together in an assemby-line

fashion

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were decoratedwith garlands

and shawls.There was littletime to get all thesmall detailsperfected beforethe big day ahead.

It wasunbelievable howmany childrenattended thefestival, making it

extraordinary.The kidschanted theShivapuranamand BalaKavachamwhile fillingthepurnahuthis,and all the

kids were later organized intogroups. Each group would sitaround the homam with Aiyawhile the Raja Matangi mantrawas wholeheartedly chantedthroughout the yajnashalanumerous times. Following acertain number of recitations, twoof the kids from each of the 10rotating groups offered a sari, adhoti, a garland, a mangalyam,and other decorative items intothe homam. The entire templewas radiant and the sensationwas blissful.

After lunch was served, eachchild was given a bag of Balaprasadam along with the new CD,Dravida Vedam VI, and picturesof Nemili Bala. It is most certainthat Bala was present on thisspecial day, explaining the hugestack of scrumptious chocolates!

After all the hard work andeffort, the homam was a greatsuccess and is something weshould all look forward toperforming again at the end of2008.

Top to bottom:

Mangala and

Yajnavalkya offer

one of the earlier

purnahutis with a

green sari for Devi;

Gayatri and Aswini

offer various items

into the fire;

Lukshmi and

Purvaja put in the

final items together;

everyone stands and

gathers around the

fire as the very last

purnahuti is offered

by Tharuman, who

led the childen in

organizing and

performing the entire

event

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If you had grown up anywherein Sri Lanka or India, you wouldbe familiar with these littletemples that will sprout upsuddenly on the side of the road,at a tank or an intersection, andpeople will start worshipping.Many of them have—because ofthe devotion of the devotees—they have become very powerful.There is no specific Vedic orscriptural expertise in performingthe puja. The main emotion thatdrives these temples is bhakti ordevotion.

One story of such a temple isthat of Kaavath Ammal, whosename came from Garbhaambal(the Mother as the protector of thewomb). The deity is about fivefeet tall! She’s huge! She has 18hands so you know she’s from thetradition of ashta-dasa bhuja Durga.

So oneday, nearthe river,which was near the ocean, lived afisherman’s family. Five womenwere walking around that areaone day when they saw, in theriver, a box floating down. It wasa huge box. They were afraid topick it up so they threw somestones to divert it but it pushedthe stonesaside and keptfloating.Among thosefive womenwas a ladycalled Maari.She placed herhand on thebox andimmediately,a powerful current went throughher body. It was as if she toucheda live wire, and she fell. But shethen got up and her voice changedand she started to speak.

She said, “They broke mytemple, and they took the peoplewho did puja to me to the centreof the street and they thrashedthem and whipped them untilthey bled. The good people wereafraid they would break mystatue so they put me inside thisbox and sent me down the river.

You hadbetter goback and

bring the head of the village here!”The ladies ran to bring the

village elder. When he arrived, hetouched the box and it opened upto reveal the Devi inside. ButMaari continued to speak. As theDevi, she told them to pick “Her”up, and install her in a small area

nearby thatwas coveredwith trees andleaves andbrambles. Shetold thevillagers tomake a smallshed for her tostay and tostart worship

immediately. A gentleman in thevillage named Murugappa Pillaistarted doing puja and he wouldjust talk to the Devi and tell herabout how everything was goingin the village, and then finally doaarthi. Whenever Maari came tothe temple she would get into herstate again and she would start totalk again as Devi.

A few hundred years passed andthe generational values changed.You have seen this—if the parentsare very involved in worship, the

StorStorStorStorStoryyyyy

While volunteers dressthe Devi each weekduring the Saturdaypuja, Aiya usually tellsthe crowd a short storyabout some aspect ofthe divine. Recently, hehas been talking moreand more about thelesser-known templesaround South India andSri Lanka, where Devishows her grace just asmuch as she does at thelarger temples. Here’sone such story aboutKaavath Ammal Devi,whose temple is on thesouthern coast of India.

with with with with with

StorStorStorStorStoryyyyy timetimetimetimetimetimetimetimetimetime

with with with with with AiyAiyAiyAiyAiyaaaaaAiyAiyAiyAiyAiyaaaaa

In the middle ofIn the middle ofIn the middle ofIn the middle ofIn the middle of

the flames, hethe flames, hethe flames, hethe flames, hethe flames, he

sasasasasaw the Devi inw the Devi inw the Devi inw the Devi inw the Devi in

all her gloryall her gloryall her gloryall her gloryall her glory

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children will think it’s a waste oftime. Because they can’t see or feelor hear what is going on with thedeities, they think this is someold-time belief. When so manycenturies passed, nobody caredfor the area that small Devi wassitting at near the river andnobody cared for the shed. Asnake hill eventually covered theentire murthi.

There was a little fellow calledRajendran in the village and hewas about 10 years old. He usedto go to school, but no matter howmuch he would try, he could notremember anything the teachertaught him when he came backhome. The final examination timeapproached—we called thempromotion exams—to go to thenext class.

Rajendran’s grandfather hadtold him stories about the smallDevi temple that had once beenthere and how people used tocome by and worship. So thisfellow came to the Devi withabout six of his friends and heprayed. He said, “Amma, examsare tomorrow and I don’t know

anything. If I don’t pass thisexam, not only will I not go to thenext class but when I come homemy father will thrash the life outof me. If you help me pass thisexam, I will walk on hot coals foryou.”

His friends ridiculedhim because he hadn’teven studied and nowhe was praying to Godto help him pass. Buthe did pass. So true totheir word the boyscame back and built apit, filled it with coaland burning wood andRajendran stood at oneend and he was readyto walk. The flameswere four or five feet high butRajendran said, “Aatha,” andthought of the mother and walkedto the centre of the pit.

In the middle of the flames, hesaw the Devi in all her glory. Ashe took another step, a blackcobra from somewhere came upto him and wrapped itself aroundhis neck. Nobody knows how itgot there, but it went up to his

head and extended its hood andthat’s when the people watchinggot frightened. But Rajendrancame out at the other end of theflames and just like Maari fromhundreds of years before, hestarted to speak. As Devi, he toldthe people to resurrect the templethat sat beside the river, clean upthe shrine and re-install themurthi.

“On Fridays and Tuesdays,” theDevi said,“come tothis templeand askRajendranabout anyquestions oranyproblemsyou mighthave and Iwill takecare of it.”

Eventually the people got togetherand kumbhabhishekam was done,and this temple is huge today.Even today, pujas are done theway they were done 600 yearsago. While Devi spoke throughRajendran she said that if anyonecomes and takes care of Her, shewould take care of theirdescendants for eight generations.

At the same time this washappening, a young woman in thevillage who was nine monthspregnant had some kind of anargument with her mother-in-law. The mother-in-law slappedher. Those of you who are goingto be mothers-in-law, watchout—don’t ever do that to apregnant woman; you don’t wantto know the consequences. Whenthe girl’s husband came home, shetold him what happened. The foolmust have been tired orsomething, but he took the side ofhis mother. The girl was so hurtthat she decided to go to herparents’ house in Thiruchi bywalk—and it was quite far away.

As she came in front of thistemple, her labour pains began.She couldn’t take another step andshe said, “Amma! Amma!” andlay down on the bare ground in

Then she wentThen she wentThen she wentThen she wentThen she went

towtowtowtowtoward theard theard theard theard the

temple andtemple andtemple andtemple andtemple and

wwwwwalked rightalked rightalked rightalked rightalked right

through thethrough thethrough thethrough thethrough the

locked doorlocked doorlocked doorlocked doorlocked door

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front of the temple. It was about 9p.m. and there was no onearound. After about 10 minutes ofthis the girl closed her eyes.When she opened them again, shesaw an old lady sitting beside herand stroking her hair. Shecomforted her, and told her shewas going to get some leaves forher from a neem tree nearby. Theold lady crushed the leaves, mixedthem with some water and gavethem to the girl to drink.

Soon, the baby was born. Theold lady cleaned the child andtook care of it while the newmother rested and then said toher, “Don’t worry, I have alreadysent word to your husband andparents and they are all coming.They will arrive here at the sametime.” The young woman wasstill in tremendous pain, but shestill asked the old lady who shewas. The old lady smiled and toldher to keep watching her. Thenshe went toward the temple andwalked right through the lockeddoor.

The new mother then knew whothat lady was, but now, she wasvery tired. She drifted off to sleepbut then she woke up with a startbecause she realized the child wasexposed and no one was there.When she looked over the sleepingbaby, she saw a black cobra

around it. She knew who thatwas as well and she wasconfident the child was protected.When the husband and parentsarrived (at the same time like theMother said they would), theysaw the snake slowly slither offinto the bushes.

And this story spread. Afterthat, the Devi there was calledGarbhaambaal, or the Devi of thewomb. The name eventuallybecame Kaavath Ammal. Eventoday, hundreds of thousands of

people go there duringNavarathri and ask her anythingthey want to know. People lightcamphor on their hands and walkaround the temple but they don’tget burned. Ladies who don’thave children pray to her andthen immediately conceive. Somany miracles like that havehappened at this temple.

The Kaavath Ammal temple ison the southeast coast of India,not far from Kanyakumari andRameshwaram.

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Thirumoolar

by Gratuz Devanesan

Nayanarmarch 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008

63636363636363636363

NaNaNaNaNayyyyyanmarsanmarsanmarsanmarsanmarsNaNaNaNaNayyyyyanmarsanmarsanmarsanmarsanmars

“Anbe Shivam.”The emotional depths the soul

may dive upon contemplatingthis simple expression is onlyimaginable. These two words,known to every Tamilian, butpossibly untranslatable by eventhe most prolific scholars, is anexpression that harmonicallyencompasses all that needs to beknown. Roughly, it equates Godto Love, but in truth implies muchmore.

It is no other than Thirumoolar,who composed the Thirumanthiram,that expressed this most simpleand most profound of analogies.

Sri Ramakrishna called him anIsvarakoti, one who enjoyed fullunion with Shiva, but out ofcompassion took a birth so hemay help others reach the “bliss-filled shores of Shiva’s kingdom.”

Upon traveling towards theHimalayas to see Agastya, Moolarnoticed a herd of very listless anddespondent cows. Approachingthem, he found the cowherd deadand the cows mourning. In hiscompassion he forgot the purposeof his own journey, and enteredthe dead cowherd’s body usinghis yogic powers. He thereuponled the happy cows back to thevillage.

Once in the village he met thecowherd’s wife, who upon seeinghow her “husband” showed noaffection whatsoever for her, ranto the village elders for counsel—to determine what had happened

to her husband and what shouldbecome of her. The elders sawthat the young man had anunusual light about him, and wasnot quite like the cowherd theyhad known before. They advisedher to let him go.

Moolar returned to the locationwhere he had left is old body, butcould not find it—as a result hehad to remain in his new body.Thirumoolar went and sat under

a giant tree in meditation. Everyonce in a while he would come outmeditation and speak a few linesof crystallized divine wisdom,before returning to hismeditation. Legend has it that heremained so for over 3000 years,coming out of meditation once ayear to share with the world hisprofound wisdom—therebycomposing the Thirumanthiram of3056 verses.

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Sri Devi upasakas are aware ofthe greatness of Sri LalitaSahasranamam. The 774th namadescribes Sri Lalita as “Mahathi”meaning the greatest of all greatthings. The final part of (Uthara-Phalasruthi) LalitaSahasranamam declares that outof various sahasranamasdescribing Sri Devi, 10 of them aregreat and out of these 10, LalitaSahasranamam is the greatest.With the grace of Guru RupiniLalita, let us dwell on thegreatness of this sahasranama.

 Firstly, the beginning itself isvery great. It begins with SRI—Sri Matha. Everything connectedwith Lalita begins with Sri, i.e. SriVidya, Sri Puram, Sri Chakra, SriYantra, Sri Kulam etc.

“Sri” represents the sum total ofall conceivable soubhagyam. Weaddress persons as Sri, Sriman,Srimathi etc. Hence the firstnama itself makes it clear thatdevotees of Lalita will be blessedwith all soubhagyams. SriMatha—The great mother, TheUniversal Mother, The Mother ofall Soubhagyams, The Mother ofGoddess Lakshmi and so on.

SAHASRANAMAMSAHASRANAMAMSAHASRANAMAMSAHASRANAMAMSAHASRANAMAMSAHASRANAMAMSAHASRANAMAMSAHASRANAMAMSAHASRANAMAMSAHASRANAMAM by B. Jayaraman

MAHAMAHAMAHAMAHAMAHATHTHTHTHTH     MAHAMAHAMAHAMAHAMAHATHTHTHTHTH     

Lalita Sahasranamam(abbreviated L.S.) does notcontain extra letters like “cha” tofulfill the requirements of chandasor meter. L.S. contains exactly1000 namas unlike most othersahasranamas and no nama getsrepeated. L.S. deals with allaspects of Devi worship likeKundalini Yoga, ThraipuraSiddhantha, Bhakti Yoga, Mantrashastras, Vedic worship andTantric worship etc. In fact thebeauty is that successive namasmake the point more effective.

Many times three successivenamas make the point emphatic

and clear. For example, namas906, 907, and 908 declare thatLalita is a) beyond all tatwas,b) experienced by all tathwasand c) the ultimate meaning ofall tathwas. L.S. is a malamantra in the truest sense,beginning with Aavirbhava ofDevi and ending with Layawith Siva.

Let us look at the first nama“Sri Matha” in greater detail.“Matha” as a nama also comeslater (Matha-Malayachala Vasini),hence there must be some greatsignificance in the first namaSri Matha. In Deviworship, the puja of Kumarisand Suvasinis is an importantfeature. Striya Samastha SakalaJagatsu or women irrespective

of caste, region or religion areconsidered as fit for invoking Deviand doing puja as are men. Whyand what do we worship inwomen? Sometimes people thinkwe worship their femininequalities such astheir pleasing beauty orgentle nature, but that is not thecase here. Actually, weworship the motherhood in them,remembering our own mother’slove and affection.

The five aspects of Motherhood(Lalita’s Srishti Shakthi) that makeevery woman worthy of worshipis also specified in L.S.  They are:

(1) Janani  (2) Matha  (3)Prasavitri  (4) Vidhatri  (5)Ambika.

Janani is the aspect ofmotherhood by which the shuklaand rakta bindu of the male andthe female fertilize in the woman’sbody. Matha is that aspect ofmotherhood by which thefertilized speck grows into a five-pound baby within the femalebody in approximately ninemonths and nine days. Duringthis time, the would-bemother undergoes a lot ofinconveniences and does a lotof personal sacrifices regardingher eating habits and lifestyle.

Prasavitri is that aspect ofmotherhood by which the full-

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grown baby is safely ejected fromthe mother’s body without anyharm. During this process themother undergoes severe pain.

Vidhatri is the one whospecially protects. Now thenewborn baby is now externallyfed through breast milk andis under the special care ofthe mother throughout the day. Even science accepts that the loveand affection with which themother hugs the baby and playswith it helps in the healthygrowth of the baby.

Ambika—The baby hasgrown and moves to beindependent from themother. When the baby isout of sight and is playing byitself and is about to get hurt,the mother intuitively attimes feels something iswrong and rushes to savethe baby. This intuitiveaspect of motherhood thatprotects the baby is calledAmbika.

 Thus we find that SriLalita is present in everywoman as these five aspectsof motherhood and weworship women for thesequalities in them. If we askany mother why she hasdone so much of sacrifice forher child, the answer will be:It is MY child, I gave birth tomy child after bearing it fornine months.” It is this“Mamakaram” that restricts herto Matha—the moment she startstreating every other child withsame love and affectionirrespective of caste, creedand status, she will become SriMatha, the universal mother, SriLalita Herself.

Thus the very first nama in L.S.gloriously describes Her as theUniversal Mother. She gave birthto the entire universe. She is theembodiment of universal,motherly love. She protects us inmany ways like the motherprotects the child.

 Let us examine the second andthird namas. Sri Maha Ragni—She is the Great Empress of all thefamilies of the universe. When

kids fight amongst themselves,the mother wants to bring aboutdiscipline. She controls the childthat is doing the wrong andprotects the other child.

SriMath Simhasaneswari—Aking or queen on the throneenquires about some matters anddelivers decisions / judgments onother matters. Since all of us arechildren of the same God, if we doanything wrong for our benefit, itwill certainly hurt others and

hence we get punished as aprinciple of universal justice.

Thus the first three namasdescribe Sri Lalita as a universalmother and She fulfills HerGreat responsibilities just like ourown mother.

“Mahat” means Great. “Mahan”means a great person who fulfillshis responsibilities and doessomething extra good for society.I have named this article MahatSahasranamam because alongwith the various descriptions ofSri Lalita, the LalitaSahasranamam has revealedmany other good things directlyor indirectly. Let us summarizewhat we learnt by the first threenamas. They are:

1) Universal Love and Affection2) Responsibility towards family& Society  3) Law of Justice

 Let us now see what the last

nine namas convey to us.992nd nama—Lalita is Avyaja

Karuna Murthy.  She does notrequire any specific reason toshower Her Blessings. Forexample, sometimes when thesadaka sincerely wishes to chantL.S., he gets his wish fulfilled even

before he begins chanting.993rd nama—Ajnana

Dhvanta Dipika. Lalita dispelsthe darkness of ignoranceand creates enlightenment.Actually, any amount ofknowledge of philosophywill not give youenlightenment; only HerGrace will. Sri Lalitashowers Her graceunconditionally.

994th nama—Abala GopaVidita. She is the one who isknown by all. Even a childor a cowherd will getenlightenment just by Hergrace.

995th nama—Sarvanullanghya Shasana. Ifyou wonder how even achild could getenlightenment againstignorance, this namaexplains that Her Laws ofgrace are beyondquestioning by anyone.

996 to 1000 namas—Shri ChakraRaja Nilaya, Shrimat.h TripuraSundari, Shri Shiva, ShivashaktaikyaRupini Lalitambika. These namasdescribe Her abode, unity withSiva and Devi as the playfulAmbika, the Mother whoproactively helps the sadaka toget over his problems before theyoccur.  What a fine ending!

Thus you have the assurancefrom Sri Lalita.  Start chantingSahasranamam preferably withthe blessings and guidance from aguru or another upasaka.Approach Her as an innocentchild with a pure heart. Withoutany conditions you will get HerGrace in Plenty.

Sri Matre Namaha.

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Yo Rudro!

TempleTempleLoreLore

The stories of the devotees at the Sri Rajarajeswari Peetam create the very

essence of the temple’s soul.

Aiya has verified all these tales for their authenticity, and he urges devotees to

share their experiences for the benefit of future generations. All identities will

be kept in the strictest confidentiality unless otherwise informed.

Aiya often says people don’talways believe that the gods arealive and walking around at thetemple, but they really areeverywhere. One deity whosepresence is frequently felt by thetemple regulars is Bhairava.

When Aiya was about to installDevi inside the temple during the1998 kumbhabhishekam, she toldhim to first put a large trisulamunderneath the tree behind thetemple, which is now called theBhairava tree. She told him shewould keep an eye on the templeand its devotees from that spot.After Aiya finally found atrisulam and installed it underthe tree, he noticed that there wasa strange shape already etchedinto the wood of the tree thatlooked like a trisulam! Uponexamining the tree even closer, hesaw there was another naturalcarving in the shape of an eye, andit was “looking” in the direction ofthe temple.

One devotee namedParameshwari, or Teacher Paati,as she is popularly called, oftengoes to do puja at the Bhairavatree. Sometimes, some of thewomen of the temple go with her.Once, a woman broke off a small,gnarled branch while they wereall out there, because she felt itmight poke someone in the eye. Afew minutes later, a man no one

had ever seen before stepped outfrom behind the tree and said toher, “You just broke my fingers,didn’t you?” The other peoplethere also saw him and all of themwere stunned.

The Bhairava inside the templeis also very much alive and hestands guard in the garbha-grihambetween the hours of midnight to4 a.m., when no human issupposed to enter the innersanctum (there are someexceptions, like Shivarathri night).Those are the hours whenotherworldly beings do their puja

to the deities and Bhairava makessure they are not disturbed.The windows are usually openduring the summer, andsometimes the young people of thetemple are in the parking lot aftermidnight. Once, some of themwere passing by outside thenortheast window (near the UtsaGanapathi murthi) during themiddle of the night and heard thesound of a fierce dog growlinginside. Since Bhairava tends toshow up in the form of a dog, theywere terrified and ran away fromthe spot.

Even, a few months ago on thesecond-last day of Kedara GowriVratham, Bhairava showedhimself again. Amma made vadasthat night—when she usuallymakes vadas, she offers them toBhairava as a garland. This time,she hadn’t made quite enough fora garland, so she didn’t think tooffer them to him.

The next morning, some of thevolunteers came into the templeto clean when they noticedseveral paw prints on the groundthat looked like they came fromthe feet of a dog! They were allover the temple floor, even aroundthe Devi. Amma felt like Bhairavawas upset with her, so the nextnight, she made a whole garlandof vadas for the final puja ofKedara Gowri vratham!

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sssssby Aiya

The sanctity of the Banalingamsto Saivites is what Saligramamsare to the Vaishnavites—they area beautiful and naturallyoccurring representation of thedivine Lord. While saligramamsare found in the Kali-Gandakiriver, Banalingams are found inthe river Narmada as well as inthe Ganga, Yamuna and otherholy rivers. They are small,smooth, egg-shaped stones thatlook fairly normal on the outsidebut hold a world of informationin their exquisite markings.

These lingams are alwaysassociated with the NarmadaRiver, so much so that they arealso commonly called Narmadalingams. This river originates atabout 914 meters above sea level

at Amarakantak, in the Indianstate of Madhya Pradesh. Thecurrents in this river are sostrong and forceful that theirrepeated movements havepolished and smoothed the stonesthroughout several centuries.

The lingams, themselves areusually whitish in color but thereare also darker and reddishlingams found in this river. Theselingams are called “RaudraLingams,” according to a textcalled the “Lakshana

A devata (Raudra) lingam on top

and a Narmada lingam on bottom

A Ganga banalingam

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Samuchchaya.” These particularrepresentations of Shiva are soimportant and ancient that theyeven appear in some ofHinduism’s oldest scriptures—thePadma Purana mentions thepresence of more than 60 croreand 60 thousand holy ghats, all ofwhich are associated withBanalingas and Raudralingas.

Other texts like the MatsyaPurana, Harivamsa and theBhagavatha Purana describemany stories and legends aboutan asura who is so famouslyassociated with banalingams thatover time, they have come to bearhis name. The demon Banasurawas said to have stood on thebanks of the Narmada and in afrenzy of worship to Lord Shiva,tossed stones into the rushingcurrents while chanting Om NamaShivaya.

One of the devata (raudra)

banalingams that sit in the temple in

front of Ardhanareeshwara

Through the years, these rockswere polished into the smoothspecimens they are today. This,however, is only a legendaryrendition of how the banalingamsdeveloped through time.

According to the YajnavalkyaSmhita, we read the mostplausible explanation of thesepowerful lingas, that they are bitsof the riverside rocks broken anddislodged by the strong currentsof the river. The rock, itself, wasthe form that Shiva assumed tobless Banasura and since thesesmaller bits are parts of the largerrock, they represent aspects ofShiva. Shivalingams are usuallyclassified according to theirorigins:

1. Devata Lingas: Installed bydeities and other divine beings.(i.e. Ketheeswaram,Ekambareswara, Kanchipuram)

2. Asura Lingas: Installed andworshipped by demons (i.e.Thirukoneswaram)

3. Manusha Lingas: Installedand worshipped by humanbeings (i.e. Brihadeeswara inThanjavur)

4. Purana Lingas: Installedand worshipped by mythologicalpersonalities (i.e. Rameswaram)

5. Arsha Lingas: Installed andworshipped by a great Rishi (i.e.Maruntheeswara )

6. Swayambu Lingas:Naturally-occurring lingasoriginating from the samadhis offully realized yogis. (i.e.Muthulingswamy inKatirgamam). Banalingas belongto this variety.

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The Swayambu, Devata andPurana lingas are considered to beuttama or ideal for worship. Arshaand Asura lingas are consideredto be madhyama or of averagequality, and Manusha lingas areadhama or the least desirable forworship. There are otherclassifications of lingas that arenot mentioned here for want ofspace.

Our temple in Rochester isespecially blessed to houseparticularly special banalingams.The banalingas similar to the onesin the in the SVTS temple findfurther interesting classificationin the Meru Tantra—here, it saysthese types are best among awhole spectrum of sivalingas forworship.

What’s even more interesting isthat each of the Banalingasobtained from the Narmada riverhave already been worshipped bythe devatas. This information isfound in the Siddhanta-sekhara,which goes on to say that theimpressions of the deities thatworshipped the lingas are leftbehind in the lingas. Thefollowing marks show thedifferent deities that haveworshipped the lingams:

The temple’s mula shivalingam is a banalingam from the Narmada, as well

as a rakta-netra lingam—meaning “the eye of blood”

1. Mark of a conch shell(shankhabhamastaka)worshipped by Vishnu.

2. Mark of a lotus (padma)worshipped by Brahma.

3. Mark of an umbrella(chatra) worshipped by Indra.

4. Mark of two heads(siroyugma) worshipped by Agni.

5. Mark of three steps (pada)worshipped by Yama.

6. Mark of knife (kadgha)worshipped by Nairuddhi.

7. Mark of water vessel(kalasa) worshipped by Varuna.

8. Mark of flag (dwaja)worshipped by Vayu.

9. Mark of star (nakshatra)worshipped by Soma.

10. Mark of ghadha(ghadhayudha) worshipped byIsanya.

Furthermore, there are alsoscriptural directions orsuggestions as to what group ofpeople would be most suited toworship certain types ofbanalingams. These writings arenot spiritually binding, so tospeak, nor are they fixed rules. Inthe modern day and age, they canbe noted as merely a guideline to

receive maximum efficacy or aspecific outcome/desire from theworship. The following pointshave been summarized fromwhat has been written in theHemadri (Lakshana Kanda):

1. If the Banalinga is tawny orhoney-colored and has a blackmark like a coil of rope, it is fit tobe worshipped by all the yogis.

2. If it is multi-colored and hasmarkings like matted hair and amark of a spear then it is called aMrutyunjaya Lingam and isworshipped by the gods and thepowerful deities.

3. If the lingam is elongated,whitish, and has a black dot on it,it is called a Nilakantha Lingam.Is to be worshipped by all men.

4. If the lingam is of whitecomplexion and has three eye-likemarks on it, as well as white linesresembling hairs on the body it iscalled a Trilochana Lingam.Worship of this lingam eliminatesall sins.

5. The Kalagni-Rudra Lingamis dark in complexion, stout andbrilliant in aspect, and carries themark of matted hair tied up into atopknot. It is adored by all theGanas.

A Vishnu banalingam on top and

a devata banalingam from the

Narmada on bottom.

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6. TheTripura Lingam ishoney-coloredwith a white lineresembling theBrahmanas. Ithas the mark of acrescent moon ontop and a lotus-like mark at thebottom. It is to beworshipped bykshatriyas.

7. The IsanaLingam appears white in colorwith a honey-colored mark ofmatted hair and bears a markresembling a garland of severedheads. It can also have the markof a Trisulam, and is worshippedby those desiring sayujya siddhi ormoksha (liberation) with Shivahimself.

8. Half of theArdhanareeswara Lingam iswhite and the other half is of areddish hue. On it can be foundthe markings of the Trisulam andDamaru.

9. The Maha-Kala Lingam isbright and rotund in shape,elongated and slightly red-coloured. It is bright andattractive and its worship willsecure all values of life such asDharma, Artha, Kama andMoksha.

Some of the texts that provideinformation on the banalingamsand the merits of their worshipand characteristics are the Suta-Samhita, Suprabedha Agama,

Kalottara,BhavishyaandKedara-kanda.

Part ofthe reasonwhy Ioffered towrite anarticle onbanalingamsfor thisissue of theSri Chakrais due tothe

Right: The sacred banalingams

formed from the currents of the

Narmada river

Left: A cradle with the

natural Shivalingams

polished over centuries

by the waters of the

Narmada river

Right: Small

Shivalingams

after being

sanctified by the

waters of the

Narmada river at

the Sangama of

Omkareswara.

The rare unique

markings on

them are

regarded as very

auspicious

Left: A variety of

Shivalingams at a shop

at the Omkareshwara

Jyotirlingam temple

Right: This Narmada

Shivalingam has touched all the

12 Jyotirlingams in India. It was

sanctified in waters of the

Narmada river at the Sangama

at Omkareshwara

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Other templebanalingams

Different types of templeshivalingams

Clockwise from upper left: a

Mercury (rasa) lingam; a spatika

(crystal) lingam; a large

banalingam placed in dry rice; a

jyotir lingam; a jyotir lingam in

the dark with lights behind it; the

mercury lingam decorated and

placed in its yoni peetam

L to R: brown

gold stone,

white quartz

and red gold

stone

L to R:

malachite, jade

and onyx

shivalingams

L to R:

green gold

stone,

tiger’s eye

and black

stone

momentous arrival of two suchShivalingams at the temple lastfall. As we anticipate theinstallation of these two hugebanalingams, I thought it wouldbe fitting that the templecommunity develop a betterunderstanding of these intricatecarvings of nature.

The two massive Shivalingamsthat arrived at the SVTS templeon a Soma Pradosha last yearmiraculously arrived here fromMinnesota after a journey fromthe waters of the sacred riverNarmada, in India. They will beinstalled in aruna (red) yonipeetams (a base for theShivalingam) and will beaccessible for all to worshipregardless of caste, creed, genderor national origin.

Continuous worship of thebanalingams with Vedic Suktasand other stotras causes anintense but invisible effect. Thesound that hits any type ofShivalingam from any directionresults in an internalreverberation of that soundwithin the lingam—eventually,the sound is completely absorbedin the linga sarira. After severalyears of such concentratedworship, the lingas slowly beginto emit energy into theirenvironment. The energy thusemitted has the capacity to negateall the accumulated karmicburdens of the aspirants andworshippers alike.

Just as Banasura was said tohave tossed stones in theNarmada, this article is a merepebble thrown into the waters ofall there is to know aboutbanalingams. I encourage you toread what you can to learn moreabout these unique structures—itwill make their installationceremony in the spring all themore meaningful.

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Yo Rudro!

Sri Gurubhyo Namaha