The Source of the Cosmos

Sri Chakra Sri Chakra Sri Chakra Sri Chakra Sri ChakraThe Journal of the Sri Rajarajeswari Peetam, Rush, NY

Blossom 15 Petal 2June 2011

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JuneJuneJuneJuneJuneJuneJuneJuneJuneJune

At the very beginning of March,Aiya was at the temple forShivarathri celebrations. The restof that month Aiya and Ammagoing back and forth from Torontoevery couple of weeks, startingwith a lecture at a Sai Baba centrein Etobicoke on March 6.

He was back in Rochester toconduct a wedding in the interim,but was then in Scarboroughagain on March 19, for a full-dayworkshop on basic pujaprinciples.

At the end of March and formost of April, Aiya was travellingabroad in Singapore andMalaysia. There, he conducted aseries of workshops, pujas,homams, and lectures in temples.

The crowd was veryenthusiastic. Devotees requestedthat most of Aiya’s appearancesbe in the Q & A style and insistedhe answer more questions.

Aiya then made a short stop inIndia to attend the wedding ofAshok Kumar, who makes all ofthe temple’s silver ornaments.While in the south of India, Aiyaalso visited the Kanchipuramtemples as well as the KashiVishwanatha temple in Chennai.

He was also able to see thetemple’s long-distance devotees,the Madvanaths, and RameshKutticad in Chennai.

Up north in New Delhi, Aiyaspoke at the local Sri Kamakshitemple and also saw Sri Akka. Hereturned from India on April 25.

On May 1, the temple waspacked to the brim with visitorsattending the annual Pratyangirahomam, over which Aiyapresided. He stated that fromnow on, this homam will alwaysbe held on the first Sunday of Mayinstead of the weekendimmediately following TamilNew Year’s in mid-April.

Amid doing local pujas inRochester, Aiya also left for a fewdays to Connecticut to conduct afew private homams and visitwith devotees in the area.

Upon his return, he and all thesenior upasakas in the templeorganized the swift installation ofthe new, blue Shivalingam toreplace the one that had beeninstalled in 1998.

For the remainder of May, Aiyawas available locally on and off.The temple was graced with avisit from Thiruchi Swami theweek of May 18, who originallydonated our Rajarajeswarimurthi from the Stroudsbergtemple.At the end of May, Aiyaflew to England for differentevents, which included a weddingand a grihapavesham.

Aiya during the Q &A session after aworkshop

Aiya performing Rudra homam atSurya Home, Singapore

Aiya meeting with dementia patientsat the Home, after the homam

Sai students lined up to offer lotuspetal ahutis during the homam

All photos courtesy Gayathri K

Aiya being honoured at Sri MuruganHill Temple, Singapore.

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Past Events

Tamil New Year’s, April 13

There is always a new ingredient that is added to the annualShivarathri celebrations, but the night will always include the chantingof Rudram, the offering of bilvam leaves, and puja to 11 differentshivalingams set up throughout the yajnashala and inner sanctum.

Everyone will get a chance to offer bilva, and all are encouraged tochant Rudram out loud throughout the night. Refreshments will beprovided throughout the night in the lobby area if visitors need to take abreak from this marathon puja.

Mahashivarathri, March 2

Chitra Poornima, April 17

This year, the new year’s pujatook place in the morning insteadof in the evening as is usually thecase. Both Aiya and Shankar aiyawere unavailable so seniorupasaka Pravin Ranjan steppedin.

As always, it was a simple pujaand everyone there was given a

Toronto appearances, March 6and 19

Because Aiya was out of thecountry during this puja, Shankaraiya took the reigns. ChitraPoornima puja took place firstplace this Sunday morning, andwas sponsored by about 25people.

Guided by Shankar aiya, thesponsors offered their pindams,did tarpanam, and gave theirpindams to their ancestorsoutside by tossing them towardthe south.

At 9:30 a.m. on Sunday March 6,Aiya was in Etobicoke, Ontario,giving a discourse on Vedicmantras at the local Sai BabaCentre. There was a bhajansession at 11 a.m., after which thecrowd of more than 200 peoplebroke for lunch. After lunch, Aiya

began a very long Q & A session,which lasted until about 4 p.m.

A more formal workshop tookplace two weeks later on March19, when Aiya appeared inScarborough at the Sai Babaschool on Ellesmere. That daysaw a packed house of at least 150people, and Aiya taught and thenshowed them the why and how ofbasic Ganapathi puja.

All devotees who participatedon each day were fed for free. Thetemple extends its thanks to bothvenues for hosting these events.

Annual Pratyangira homam, May 1

chance to add grains to thesakkarai pongal prasadam.

Aiya returned from Singapore afew days before this event, which

saw about 150-200 visitors tothe temple. From now on, thePratyangira homam, held forthe welfare of all participantsand the world in general, willtake place the first Sunday ofMay.

All present were handedfood offerings to put into thefire, and several kilograms ofred chilli peppers (PratyangiraDevi’s preferred naivedyam)were also burned whilechanting her mula mantra.

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

Upcoming Events

Devi willing, the next issue ofthe Sri Chakra will be up on thetemple’s website at the beginningof September 2011.

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

The next deadline for articlesubmission is August 9. Please e-mail us with your contributionsor feedback about this issue atsri_chakra_mag@srividya.org ortalk to Kamya or Abhi at thetemple.

Sri Gurubhyo Namaha!

In Three Months

Guru Poornima, July 14

Last year, Aiya said he wouldrun this year’s Guru Poornimafestival in an effort to return theday to its roots. Upasakas will bedoing a mandala (45 days) ofmantra japam for the guruleading up to the big day, and theactual plans for the festival daywill probably not be released—GP will indeed be a big surprise!

Viboothi Shaivite Immersion(camp), July 30-August 7

Aadi Amavasya, July 29

Aadi Puram, August 2

Varalakshmi Vratham, August 12

Vinayaka Chaturthi, Sept. 1

As Chitra Poornima offerstarpanam for our departedmothers, Aadi Amavasya is theday one may offer tarpanam forone’s deceased father. It is merelya sort of default day for father’starpanam, in case one has missed(or doesn’t know) the Sanskritmonth, paksham and thithi of hispassing. Please call the temple tobook a sponsorship spot now.

Our popular kids’ “camp”teaches youngsters ages 9 to 17about Tamil and Sanskrit culture,through classes including puja,chanting, cooking naivedyam,dressing murthis, and singingbhajans.

We also do fun things like a campfire, sports, outdoor day trip,storytelling, and games.Enrolment this year is bursting atthe seams with about 160 kids!The main saints will be KanchiParamacharya SriChandrasekharendra Saraswati,and Sri Satya Sai Baba.

This will beyet anotheryear whenthis festival,the day theDevi becomesa woman, willfall during thetemple’s camp.Aiya willpreside over aChandihomam thisweekdaymorning, andall visitorswill have thechance to domilk abhishekam to the VanaDurga murthi.

The Devi after the AadiPuram festival in 2008.

Our deepest thanks and gratitudeOur deepest thanks and gratitudeOur deepest thanks and gratitudeOur deepest thanks and gratitudeOur deepest thanks and gratitudeto this issue’s volunteers: Aiya,to this issue’s volunteers: Aiya,to this issue’s volunteers: Aiya,to this issue’s volunteers: Aiya,to this issue’s volunteers: Aiya,

VVVVVilas Ankilas Ankilas Ankilas Ankilas Ankolekarolekarolekarolekarolekar,,,,, Sundhara Sundhara Sundhara Sundhara SundharaArasaratnam,Arasaratnam,Arasaratnam,Arasaratnam,Arasaratnam, V V V V Venkateshwenkateshwenkateshwenkateshwenkateshwararararar

Babu, Gratus Devanesan, JeilanBabu, Gratus Devanesan, JeilanBabu, Gratus Devanesan, JeilanBabu, Gratus Devanesan, JeilanBabu, Gratus Devanesan, JeilanDevanesan, Gayathri K ofDevanesan, Gayathri K ofDevanesan, Gayathri K ofDevanesan, Gayathri K ofDevanesan, Gayathri K ofSinSinSinSinSingggggaporaporaporaporaporeeeee,,,,, T T T T The Nandalalahe Nandalalahe Nandalalahe Nandalalahe Nandalala

Mission,Mission,Mission,Mission,Mission, T T T T Tharharharharharuman Tuman Tuman Tuman Tuman Thahahahahavvvvvakumarakumarakumarakumarakumar,,,,,and our Temple Lorand our Temple Lorand our Temple Lorand our Temple Lorand our Temple Lore contribe contribe contribe contribe contributorutorutorutorutor.....

This South Indian festival isabout the worship of GoddessVaralakshmi, and married womengather to do a guided deepam pujaat the temple, for the welfare oftheir husbands. At the end, theyreceive a sharadu among theirprasadam. Spots (and space) areminimal, so please call as soon aspossible to give your name.

Last year’s Chaturthi was on the deck.

Weather permitting, Chaturthipuja will most likely take placeoutside on the Ganapathi deck,which is fully equipped with ahomakundam and spacioussitting area.

Being one of the temple’s fivemain annual festivals, Chaturthiis celebrated in grand style witha Vancha-Kalpa Ganapathihomam, where all visitors aregiven laddus or modakams toput in the fire. The utsavamurthi is also given milk

abhishekam by all, and goesaround the temple in procession inthe evening.

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by Kamya Ramaswamy

Neelakanta PranalingeswaraNeelakanta PranalingeswaraNeelakanta PranalingeswaraNeelakanta PranalingeswaraNeelakanta PranalingeswaraNeelakanta PranalingeswaraNeelakanta PranalingeswaraNeelakanta PranalingeswaraNeelakanta PranalingeswaraNeelakanta Pranalingeswara

It was quite a surprise for thefew people who happened tobe at the temple during thefirst weekend of May whenAiya returned from his trip toSingapore and Malaysia. Ourmain Shivalingam, he told us,was going to be replaced.

This was something most ofus thought would only happenduring a kumbhabhishekamtime once in 12 years when atemple is routinely renovated.And that time had passed lastJuly—so why now?

From India, Aiya had gone toIndia on a brief stop, where hechanced to meet with SriMathioli Saraswati, or SriAkka, as many of usaffectionately call her. SriAkka has always watchedover this temple and advised Aiyaand his students on numerousmatters over the years, playing apivotal role in last July’s AtiRudram celebrations.

She told him in New Delhi thateven granite stone goes throughwear and tear sometimes.Various factors like cold,humidity, as well as the sheerintensity of the spiritualenvironment a murthi sits in canaffect its physical quality.

Sri Akka suggested a store Aiyacould attend for a new templeShivalingam, right in New Delhi.Now, the old Shivalingam was arakta-netra lingam, as well as anIndra banalingam—it was abanalingam worshipped by LordIndra, which had a large red mark

on it resembling a bleeding eye(rakta = blood; netra = eye).

On the first weekend of May,Aiya revealed his purchase—anegg-shapedbanalingamwithwhite,swirlingstripesacross theback, andwas asblue asVishnu.He saidinstallationwouldtake placethe nextPoornima

night, after the navaadhi-vaasamshad been done. This is theprocess by which a murthi iscleansed of negative energiesby being submerged in each ofnine different substances fornine successive days.

Aiya explained the blue stonewas the semi-precious LapisLazuli, which belongs to thesapphire family and has beenmined mostly in Afghanistanfor over 6,000 years. It is anexcellent stone for spiritualdevelopment, as it heightensawareness, clarity, anddevelops inner peace. Its effectswould be felt throughout thewhole town, Aiya said, and notjust on the temple premises.

The following Poornima fellon Monday May 16th, and news

of the installation was only byword of mouth. Nonetheless, thetemple was packed. All thosewho were initiated into the

The newly installed banalingamduring the kumkumam abhishekam.

At the end of the puja, Aiya offered platefuls of fresh bilva leaves.

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Mahashodasi andPanchadasakshari mantras wereinstructed to silently do theirjapam for a period of hours whilethe process took place.

All these people were connectedby a yellow thread, throughwhich the newShivalingam wouldbe infused withtheir japam power.Also, a darbha grasschain was tiedaround the peetamand connected tothe huge Meru inthe centre of thetemple—all thedifferent energies inthe temple were tofunction as one.

First, the oldShivalingam wasextracted from itsashta-bandhanambinding andsubmerged inwater for the timebeing. Next, theaavudiar or yoni peetam where thelingam sat was readied for thenew murthi’s prana-pratishta, orlife-infusing process. At this time,Varahi japam was also going onto seek the blessings of Sri Akka,who is widely thought to be anincarnation of the protectiveboar-faced goddess.

After new ashta-bandhanam wasmelted and used to secure thenew, blue Shivalingam, threeupasaka couples came to the frontto perform the kalaavahanam.Then, the old Shivalingam wastaken out of its bucket by a person

who performed a homam andkalasa-sthapanam earlier thatevening, to be permanentlysubmerged in a local river. Thenegative energies at the templewould go out and be submergedwith it, Aiya said.

Aiya then performed a very fastSri Chakra puja, invoking the Devias Parameshwara, andannouncing to the crowd ourlatest addition would be namedNeelakanta Pranalingeswara.Everyone present (not just

upasakas) wasgiven theviseshargyam asprasadam, andpanchambruthamabhishekam wasperformed to thenew lingam.

For the nexthour, the energyand bliss in thetemple reachednew heights aswater, milk, curds,ghee, honey, fruitjuice,viseshargyam,chandanam,viboothi, andkumkumam werepoured onto SriNeelakanta. The

honey, viboothi, chandanam andkumkumam were saved andpackaged by volunteers forvisitors to take home.

Later, Aiya revealed that he hadexamined the new Shivalingamand found out what heavenlybeing had once worshipped it—Airavata, the stunning white,four-tusked elephant of LordIndra. The white swirls on theback of this lingam were in theshape of garlands, which fitAiravata’s job of garlandingdivine souls at the gates of heavenas soon as they arrive.

Our divine trio rested at the end of an exciting night.

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LingamLingamLingamLingamLingam

NeelakantaNeelakantaNeelakantaNeelakantaNeelakanta

The ThiruThe ThiruThe ThiruThe ThiruThe ThiruThe ThiruThe ThiruThe ThiruThe ThiruThe Thiruby Sundhara ArasaratnamNeelakantaNeelakantaNeelakantaNeelakantaNeelakanta

LingamLingamLingamLingamLingamThere are never coincidences but there is always the eternal

flawless design of the Mother’s grace

Many of us had such invigorating experiences in witnessing the Prathistha to the Thiru NeelakantaLingam at the Rochester temple on May 16th, 2011 by Aiya.

From the time I saw the lingam something intrigued me and I want to sharethis with you. Aiya mentioned the lingam was hand-picked by MathioliAkka who has been identified and revered as an amsam of SriAkhilandeswari (the commander-in-chief) of Sri Rajarajeswari. Further, Aiyaexplained the divine healing power of this Lingam—to cure illness,shortcomings caused by adverse effects of the Navagrahas (especially Saturn)etc.

Reading the article by Guruji (Sri Amritananda Natha Saraswathi),entitled, “Meditation on Varahi,” he explains about Akhilandeswari on theGiri Chakra (vehicle or abode of Sri Akhilandeswari with the presence of theeight forms: Sri Varathali, Sri Varahi, Sri Varahamuki, Sri Anthini, SriRundhe, Sri Jambe, Sri Mohini, Sri Sthambini).

Here, Guruji introduces the intriguing fact that Sri Dhanvantari and theAsvini Twins also reside in the Giri Chakra under Her command andaccompany Her. Sri Dhanvantari—the physician God, and the Asvini duo—

thephysiciansof the gods.

When theThiruNeelakantaLingamwith such divine healing powers ishandpicked and handed over Aiya, thereis no coincidence as to who picked it—only the one with the authority tocommand and direct Sri Dhanvantariand the Asvini Twins could deliver suchitems!

It is the design of the Mother’sincomprehensible Compassionate Grace!

Aiya performed a breathtaking premiermilk abhishekam to the new lingam

After abhishekam and alankaram were complete, Aiya did a sahasraarchana with bilva leaves

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Normally, I would not writeabout such an experience. I wouldtell maybe one or two closefriends and my guru, if anyone. Ihave also been known to keepDevi experiences to myself;however, She was very clear inasking me to “write about thistemple tomorrow.” She said it atleast two, maybe even threetimes.

This experience began as adream that was not really adream, but an astral experiencewith an old friend that I havebeen estranged from for manyyears. That dream was a wholeseparate experience that led to ussitting on a porch. While talkingto my friend, I heard a puja bell.

I looked up to see a huge granitetemple to the east of where we sat.It was well polished granite thathad a bluish hue, like a cat’s eyestone. The temple had a verylarge courtyard, that was at leastpartially open to the north andwest sides towards the northwestcorner of the temple (VayuKonam).

The puja I heard was occurringoutside in the courtyard at whatappeared to be a temporarystation. There was abhishekamhappening to a large lingam.When I noticed this, the priestwas offering karpuram(camphor), which lead me tobelieve the puja was almost over.So I rushed from where I was,crossing a field towards thetemple. I went down a few steps,then up slightly more steps to theopen granite courtyard floor.

TempleTempleLoreLore

The stories of the devotees at the SriRajarajeswari Peetam create the veryessence of the temple’s soul. Aiya has verified all these tales fortheir authenticity, and he urgesdevotees to share their experiences forthe benefit of future generations. Allidentities will be kept in the strictestconfidentiality unless otherwiserequested.

There were dothi- and sari-cladpeople coming and going, whichgave the courtyard the feel andpace of a bustling market. As Irushed east towards the puja thatwas ending, I noticed to my righta long, blue pool with slightlyraised walls. It had a short northend and was very long on the eastand west sides. I never looked farenough south to see where thisvery long, thin pool ended. Therewas a line of rishis/priestchanting, evenly spaced along theshort north end as well as the eastand west sides of this pool for asfar as I could see.

The puja had ended by the timeI arrived and the temporarystation was broken down. Isensed that this courtyard pujawas done at the very least everyday, but more likely multipletimes per day, every day. As Ifinally approached a wall, Inoticed that there were scenesembedded in a granite bandaround the temple that depicted astory.

These were not colorfullypainted scenes; they were stillscenes depicting action. However,the figures were stills of goldmurthis. They appeared laser-embossed in the blue granite, notshiny gold leaf on top, but in thesurface of the granite with a clearprotective layer between themand the viewer. This wasobviously a massive temple;however I never looked up enough

to see its full scale at anytimeduring this experience.

Behind where the temporarypuja cart had been was an alcove,a sanctum bathed in a gold,slightly reddish light. That areahad a very warm and blessedfeeling and seemed to have manylush, gold pillows for comfort. Iturned to a couple seated to myleft and did pranams, showed thedasha-mudras, took their blessingand began to exit the alcove.

There was a sari-clad womanwho entered this area and said tome, “You should go and touch thekalasam.” In that moment Irealized that the couple was thesponsors of this puja. Facing eastto re-enter, I saw a large goldkalasam to my right, veryintricately inlaid, with a cow faceturned toward the east. It wasclear that if you tilted thekalasam, teertham (blessed water)would come out of the cow’smouth.

The top of the kalasam wasopen, with a long gold udhrani(spoon) in it. The inside of thekalasam reflected the gold colorintensely; the water level wasvery low and I could see a largeconcentration of camphor pellets.Using the udhrani, I put a singledrop on my head (offering toguru), then dropped a single dropin my hands to sip. I saw thedrop on the edge of my hands andwas not sure that it made it to mymouth.

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As I exited, the guardianindicated that I had not takenenough or spent enough time inthis sanctum. You mustremember that I did not know atthe time that this dream/astralexperience was not waking life. Iwas in a grand temple I havenever been in before, nervous,trying hard not to make an error,and therefore playing it safe.

When I exited the alcove, thereShe was. So beautiful andenticing, as a mixed-race 16-year-old girl with full breasts, slenderwaist, and exposed midriffwithout a phala to cover it;definitely a mixture of Black andIndian with some Caucasian. Shewas in the form of the alluringchandali (low-caste) woman thatlured Shiva away from hismeditation to couple with Her.

Her skin was green; however inHer midriff were tones of purpleand blue. The inner border of Herlips and inside of Her mouth wereblood red, but not likelipstick. Her teeth werewhite, sharp and pointed.

I need to insert somebackground here. Irecently discovered thepower of the LaghuShyamala mantra. In thismantra She is referred toas ucchista (acceptingimpure offerings), chandali(low caste) and asMatangi. Matangi isconnected with Shyamalaand Madhurai Meenakshi.

My friend tells me thatthe tribes of Keralaworshipped the GreatDevi as Matangi. TheMatanga tribes werenomads who followed theelephants and studied,mimicked the elephantshabits during pre-vedictimes. Ayurveda wasdeveloped by these tribeswatching the herbsmother elephants wouldfeed their young.

This Matangi is themother of Ganapati and

was worshipped as the great Deviin Her sylvan sanctuary by thetribes and was later merged withthe Vedic goddess Sri. So there aremany versions of every story. Inmy mind, with this story’sinfluence, I see this originalMatangi as no difference fromLalita Tripurasundari Herself.Many will disagree with this, butthis is my feeling.

As I begin to talk with Her, I say,“You’re Matangi.” She teases meand replies, “Some people say Iam Tripurasundari.” I say again,“You’re Matangi;” She again says,“Some say I’m Lalita.” Thisbanter goes on for a while. To endthe banter She then says to me,“You are very sweet.” Then Shesays, “Write about this templetomorrow.” She says this morethan once to make this very clear.

I was given a great volume ofchewy candy prasadam, like

squirrel nut zippers, that made itdifficult to speak as I ate them allat once. As I exited, I passed agroup of temple volunteers and Iasked when this puja wouldhappen again. A page of thetemple calendar was torn off andgiven to me, which indicated thata special Devi puja was done onthis day.

I then realized that the puja wasto Matangi, who was most likelyat the time at the east (inner most)wall of the alcove, but She exitedbefore I entered as the puja hadcompleted just before I arrived.As I exited and passed the hundi(collection box), I pulled out mywallet to make a donation.Around the hundi was a largearray of many different wrappedcandy prasadams.

It was an amazing experience. Iam only writing this as She toldme to write about this today!Aim Matangi Namaha!

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Translation (as found online):

Cid-agni kunda-sambhuta: Who came out ofthe fire of consciousness

Deva kaarya samudhyata: Who promotes/supports the causes of the devas

When looking at this second line of the firstverse of the Sri Lalita Sahasranamam, it seemsthat the Devi sprung forth from the fire ofconsciousness in order to promote the affairs ofthe Devas. Let’s look at each part and wonder atwhat it could signify.

Fire of ConsciousnessWhat is fire? Commonly it is the combustion

of material. Something like wood is burned inoxygen and it produces a fire. Would we callthis fire of oxygen? Or fire of wood? Or just fire?So fire itself is a combination of circumstances.

So if fire is an event of itself, then the Fire ofConsciousness must be the fire that affectsconsciousness, and she is born from that. Sothere is something that lights up consciousness,and that what lights up consciousness is thesource from which she comes. If considered thatthis fire is ultimately what she has come from—the parents of Lalita, so to speak—then it bearssome investigation.

We already know for the term fire to bewarranted it needs several actors. So there ismore than one actor that combine together to

Half-a-line full ofmeaning

by Gratus Devanesan

Half-a-line full ofmeaning

build this fire. What is another significance offire? Oxygen and wood combine and for amoment there is neither oxygen nor wood—andin this moment where there is neither wood noroxygen the fire exists. So the fire is the momentwhere two or more agents momentarily are one.

So, whenever two or more combine to be one,there is fire. What then are the two or morethings that combine to produce that particularfire that is relevant to consciousness? Let’sinvestigate consciousness—what isconsciousness? Bluntly, it is the formation ofmemory. If I am not conscious then I have nomemory. More succinctly, consciousness is thetransformation of manas tattvam. And the fire ofconsciousness is then that what fuels thistransformation.

I believe this is “experience”—when I see you Iexperience a part of you. That part for a shortperiod is mine. And this episode of a piece of datacoming and entering me and unifying with me isreflected by a modification of the mind that tracesthis. And at that moment when an experience ishad, she is born—Lalita.

The Cause of the DevasThere are devas or suras and asuras. What are

devas and asuras as esoteric concepts? A deva isthe force of equilibrium, while the asura is theforce that disturbs that equilibrium. UsingCalculus one can simply say that the deva is apoint where the first derivative is 0. So it seemsthat she is born to restore equilibrium. Thatwould require that an equilibrium was disturbedin the first place.

Well, we just mentioned that an experiencecreates consciousness by disturbing the manastattvam. So she is born to restore the equilibrium tothe manas tattvam. Equilibrium, however, does notimply a return to the undisturbed stage. It simplyimplies a state that is naturally sustained.

So was she born to undo that which was thecause of her birth? That seems to make sense inmany ways as we are here trapped in this worldthat has evolved from a point—we all seek toreturn, be reabsorbed and achieve moksha. But itis a mistake to imagine that she is actually“suicidal” or that Lalita has a death wish; that she

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is vain and plays a meaninglessgame where all things are madeand destroyed.

No—she is not interested indestroying consciousness byremoving the modifications of themind that were created because ofexperience. She is not trying tonegate experience and herself.This, I believe, is of significantimportance in understanding thedifference between moksha andpeople who wish this is their lastbirth. Moksha may provide thatthis is your last birth, but thedesire for this to be your last birthwill not provide moksha.

Anyway, returning from myrant.

It helps if you remember grade11 mathematics. If you recall, thesine and cosine functions rise andfall. If you took engineering orsome more advancedmathematics courses you mightrecall a damping function, whichimplies that the rise and fall(amplitude) of the sine and cosineis reduced with time. That is howthe mind would be under theinfluence of a single experience.

Slowly, the modifications willlose intensity and all awareness islost. Consciousness dissipates.But under a steady stream of newexperiences, consciousness isretained. But, if you have seen the

tangent and cotangent functionyou will find that they rise toinfinity in forward time (or inbackward time in the case ofcotangent). Infinity is amathematical equilibrium. Forexample: ? + 2 = ?. The rate ofchange of a function(derivative) as it approachesinfinity is 0, although it isconstantly rising. This is thedeva kaarya she is here toprotect.

She is here to give you theexperience of all experiences—acelebration of consciousness, asingular experience that spansall of time. And as your singleexperience gains momentum andtime it (I suppose) will merge inthe complete experience: MahaSamadhi.

So her purpose, short andsimply, is to turn mundaneexperience into Maha Samadhi byallowing you to hold on to a singlemodification of the mind.

Now going back to thebeginning—the fire. If I seesomeone pick his nose and rejectthat person—that experience—as

not mine, asrevolting andundesirable, willthere be “fire” ofconsciousness? No.There will besomething, which Idon’t know how toverbalize butdisgust, aversion,any feeling ofsegregation (anyashta-paasha typesensation) is anexperience of one’s

own limited self and not theexperience of the other personwithin oneself.

When you can see yourself inthe experience then the fireappears, and in that moment

Lalita is born and with thatsingular experience she gives youthe power to attain MahaSamadhi.

So next time you see someonepick their nose don’t be disgustingbut instead remember how youmay have once loved doing thesame and sympathize orempathize—anything to see asliver of common ground. Andwhen you put aside differencesand experience something wholly,you experience Lalita. And withthat you have the possibility ofattaining all there is.

These were just two of her 1008names in the Sahasranamam… Iwonder what the rest mean.

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Sri Akka started her New Yearmessage with stressing theimportance of music in our livesby saying the following:

Sruthi is an important aspect inour lives. Sruthi is the base forany music. Good health is a mustboth for listening and singing.Ragas are good for physical andmental health. This year, it isgood to sing and listen to songsbased on Bowli ragam. Bowliraga, like Varali is not frequentlysung. So we should make an effortto enquire and listen to songs inthis ragam.

This year, Kara Varsham willbe a very good year for peopleborn in Hastha nakshatram.For them even the negativeswill become positive.

Valampuri Ganesha, the lordwith his trunk turned towardshis right, is very special.Valampuri Ganesha removesall obstacles. There is aValampuri Ganesha inThiruvalanchuzhi in TamilNadu. In this temple, LordGanesha is made from thefoam of sea waves by LordIndra. In fact, it was here thatLord Shiva offered coconuts toLord Ganesha to remove hisobstacles before TripuraSamharam. This is how thepractice of breaking coconutsstarted. Lord Ganesha also didpuja for the sake of Lord Shiva’svictory. This puja was witnessedonly by Athreya Maharishi.

The Lord Ganesha inThiruvalamchuzhi is called asVellai Varana Pillayar. Sri Akkathen started with the Pranavasyllables Agara, Ugara, Makara.The origin of these three syllablesis from the navel, heart and lipsrespectively. If you notice thesesyllables, when spoken, originatefrom parts of the body which iswet. “Udambil Odum Nadhi Agaram,Ugaram, Makaram. Andha nadhi

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Omkara roopamaga ulla maalai aagividugirathu.”

Sri Akka then stressed on theimportance of keeping auspiciousnames for children. When we usethem repeatedly, it becomesmeaningful. Lord Ganesha’sconch (sanku) is called “Muktipazha sanku” or the conch thatgives Moksha.

One out of 10,000 conches is aValampuri conch. One out ofthese 10,000 Valampuri conchesadorns Lord Ganesha. Allconches blown in temples are notnecessarily Valampuri. “Sanku

puja” is very special whenworshipping Lord Ganesha andLord Shiva. However, it must benoted that Sanku puja is not donewhile worshipping Lord Vishnu.

Another important aspect SriAkka spoke about was theexcessive usage and dependenceon electronic devices such aslaptops, cell phones, TV, iPads,etc. She said that we have becomeslaves to these electronic gadgets.From these gadgets emanatepoisonous substances that affectour environment. We are not ableto escape from these ill-effects of

these poisonous substances.There are instances where somewomen have been unable toconceive because of excessiveusage of laptops.

Sri Akka gave one remedy toward off the ill effects of thesegadgets. One can keep these cellphones, when not in use or whencharging, in a banana leaf or inthe dried shell of the fruit ofMangusthan or the shell of theVilva fruit or in ‘Vetti Ver’(Khus).These substances have the powerto absorb these poisonoussubstances.

In fact the usage of viboothi keptin a Vilva fruit’s shell is veryspecial. It cures illness andremoves fear.

In her concluding remarks SriAkka asked, What is meant byVinai? “Vinai enbadhu kaariyam.”We always experience the fruits ofour actions. Mostly all of us talkabout karma when we suffer. Butthere are 6 ‘Vinaigal’ from whichno one can escape. They are:

Bandha Vinai — The result ofour relationships such ashusband-wife, mother-son etc.

Sondha Vinai — The result ofour birth in a particular place/way/manner; i.e. this janma (forinstance our birth in a particularfamily in a particular region)

Vandha Vinai — The result ofour past karmas

Thanda Vinai — The result ofwhat we give or do for others, orwhat the others do for us

Undha Vinai — The result ofwhat we are urged to do by someexternal forces

Nondha Vinai — Lamentingover our actions

How to dissolve these karmas?Worshipping Lord Muruga, in hissplendid form of 6 faces(Arumugar), will help us dissolvethese fruits of our karmas.

“This year if we start anyimportant work on a Thursday, itwill bring you success. Even if notthat Thursday, definitely successwill be yours by next Thursday.”Thus Sri Akka concluded her NewYear message. Her blessings toall!

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Sri Akka graced the RajarajeswariPeetam during Navarathri 2010.

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Sanatana dharmam, one of theoldest religions in the world, notonly preached about God buthow a human could make itthrough one of the greatestobstacle courses, which exists inthis entire pravancham of life.

As we look into our religion, webegin to see so much intricacyand depth that it has to offer,truly making it an honor for us tofeel part of this extremelyintellectual religion. In looking atthis, from the scriptures arises avery common line, “matha, pitha,guru, devam.”

When I sit back and analyze it,it shows me the life cycle that isprescribed as “what counts.”When you are born, regardless ofwho you are, the first touch youhave is that of your mother. Shewill then show you who yourfather is, making him the secondmost important thing in this life.So how does guru come in?

Back in the times such as duringthe Ramayana, your matha andpitha took you to your guru andleft you under his guidance for acertain number of years, and hechooses to take on the task ofsculpting you into the divine,making you and God into one.My humble opinion is that this iswhat had happened in the past.Rama, even being an avatar, hadto go to a guru in order to ridhimself of the adi-vasanas that arebound to exist with human birth.

A guru is still the same today,but it’s his or her disciples thathave much difficulty realizingthat. In this era, economic, socialand development in the worldaround us tends to be more of atest. The adi-vasanas that alreadyexist when we are born becomemore decisive with all these

by Tharuman Thavakumar

A 21st Century GuruA 21st Century Guru

attractive luxuries and we becomeattached and pulled astray into acycle of maya, which pushes usfurther away from what we keeptelling ourselves to be close to.

On a personal note, my guru wasnot only my guru, but rather myuncle as well—making thetransition for myself a verydifficult one. Getting used tocalling him “Saru akka mama” or“mama” and having his love as achild, I grew fond of Aiya andeasily attached myself to him.

At that point, he was not onlymy uncle, but also my role modeland God. I wanted to be just likehim and nothing else. The amountof love Aiya showers on us all isbeyond what words or emotionscan describe; it is as if he is themost powerful magnet and we arelittle paper clips that flingourselves upon him. This is whatI consider a trait of anunbelievable incarnate on earth.

Looking at him as an uncle andthen seeing him become a guru toso many hundreds in front of myeyes definitely led for me to envymany—how could they talk to MYuncle? As I received my firstmantra in the year 1999 (when Iwas 8) I began to see thingsslightly differently. The first time Icalled mama “Aiya” was a weekafter receiving diksha. It was themost awkward feeling for me,but I told myself (as a kid) thatthis is what you call your guru,not knowing what the word“Aiya” truly encompasses.

It not only means “guru,” but“father,” and for me it took onanother meaning—God. Aiyabecame God in my mind, whichwas without any faults. God isone that is always right and willalways do what is just and never

hurt anyone—boy was I wrong.Or was I right? To date, I can’tfigure out an answer to what’s“wrong” and what’s “right” (Idoubt I ever will) but one thing Iknow is whether its “mama” or“Aiya,” they are both divine andthey are both the best thing thatI’ve ever been privileged to comein contact with in this lifetime.

From the years I’ve been atAiya’s feet, the one thing I can saywith assertion is that the guru isnever wrong and there’s neverany advantage of disagreeing.Once one begins to accept theguru’s word and just doing a taskrather than asking/expectingwhat’s going to happen, it will notalways lead the disciple to afavorable outcome, but rather afavorable experience.

One needs to be prepared forthis when taking diksha from aguru, because for gurus who havemerged with the gurumandala (ofwhich the Devi herself ispresiding—“Gurumandalaroopini’), time is not of anyimportance. If you want dikshathe guru will give it, for he knowswhen the time is right; the Devi’senergy which flows through himinto us will pull us there.

But the guru doesn’t always sitback and take the backseat along

Aiya has given young people a lot of opportunitiesthey wouldn’t get at any other temple.

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the way—it’s the guru who worksthrough the Devi’s grace to sculptevery inch of our souls. The guruis the Devi—just his/her body isthe tap She uses to flow through.

A proper guru won’t come outand bluntly state “do this.”Rather, he will play along withyou, treat you as a friend and thensuddenly throw a boulder at youand you won’t know what hit.

The guru will play along with usso well, that when he throws theboulder we go into shock.

Some need extra care andattention for them to come to astate of attachment; others attachthemselves regardless of how theguru treats the disciple. But theend goal is that because of thisattachment, when the guruthrows the boulder at us, weautomatically think things suchas, “Why doesn’t our guru love usanymore, what did I do?”

In my humble opinion, I feel thisis exactly what the guru wants usto feel. By making us feel thisway, he makes us go through aseries of internal analysis andevaluation. He gives us the will toovercome, because we love him somuch and want to figure this out.

Indeed I feel he uses our humanemotions such as the craving foracceptance and love to make uswork harder. In the process, wesee our actions from anotherperspective and begin to feel whatothers would have felt whenviewing us. We begin to see howwe act in this world and what thenet effect of our actions are—

slowly, one will blossom underthe continued testing of the guruand come to a stance where theyfeel nothing in this world matters,yet everything does.

One begins to realize that thingshappen for a reason and thatwhether it’s our actions or theactions of those around us, it’s notin our control. What is happeningwill happen, and what is going tohappen will also happen; webegin to feel helpless and of no-help, we begin to feel “just as.”

It’s important to realize that thisis the state at which Arjunaentered the battle during theMahabharatha. In the BhagavadGita, Krishna tells Arjuna not tofeel that he has any control overthe killing of the opposition—it isbound to happen, and Arjuna wasjust a channel. When a discipleenters this state of being “just-as,”one will slowly begin to mergeinto nature and just live—not beattached to anything, not feelneglected or accepted; rather just“go with the flow.”

Once one enters a state such asthis, the “ashta-paashas” as Aiyapounds into his disciples’ headsover and over, exist, but do notaffect. Being a human, suchemotions will be bound to exist,but one won’t be attached and onewill be aware through constantself-analysis. The pranavam willonly then slowly reveal itself tothe disciple. In the end, mergerwith the guru will take place.

Although such things soundgreat and easy, many things willsit as road blocks along the road.One of the most toxic is one’s ego.When one feels that sense of, “I’verealized God”—the fact thatyou’re still nothing, buteverything begins to erode andyou feel you are just everything.

You begin to feel that you areGod and forget to realize thateveryone around you andeverything around you is alsoGod. You are no more specialthan the person next to you,because a guru has given thatperson a mantra as well—a key tothe world. All sishyas have thekey to the universe, and your

guru has shown you where thelock is, but we find it so difficult towalk to the lock and unlock thepower because that power is thatwhich not just anyone should beable to unlock.

That’s where the guru will leaveit to the Devi; only she willremove your blindfold and allowyou to see the lock clearly whenyou have rid yourself of all selfishmotives and gains. When youhave no such requests, and havecome to the point where you don’tcare, the Devi will reveal the doorand allow you to unlock it,entering a state of unending bliss.

The guru’s love for his/herdisciples is always unconditional.At times, a guru will “veil” hislove only to motivate his discipleto try and overcome suchobstacles. As Guruji wrote in anarticle, “We only push you away,because we love you so much.”

I find it a growing struggle inyouths especially to have the faiththat the Guru knows best—wefeel the guru always needs to hugus, pat us, and crack jokes withus… and if he doesn’t, we forgetall the love he’s showered on us allthe times before. At junctures like

that, we need to sit back and trulylook at all the love our guru hasshowered and realize that there isa clear reason why he is doingwhat he is doing.

A disciple may only trulyunderstand the guru’s strugglewhen he or she becomes a guru,for then she/he will attain thestate of brahma-jnani in which theirown guru continuously exists.

The author with his guru, afterspending countless hours helpingorganize this Matangi homam.

The author has learned the most importantlesson from his guru—giving back to others.

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ChidagniChidagniChidagniChidagniChidagniThe story of Sri Amritananda Saraswati

part 3part 3part 3part 3part 3

ChidagniChidagniChidagniChidagniChidagni The biography of Sri Amritananda

Saraswati—who is affectionately

known as Guruji to most of Aiya’s

students—was penned in Telugu by

Smt. Nethi Seeta Devi. These

chapters were translated into English

and graciously submitted to the Sri

Chakra by Venkateshwar Babu from

Philadelphia in an ongoing series.

FAMILY FOUNDATION

Guruji’s father was a true Gandhian. Though he did not take part in freedom struggle, he led a very simplelife, and earned his living by hard work. He was used to spinning cotton on charka, and wore clothes withthe cotton he spun. All that he wore was a dhoti up to his knees, and nothing on the top. This was his dailyattire. He was an avid photographer, and the photo studio was his daily livelihood. Though he was nothighly educated, he was very principled in his life and was a true noble soul. Many photographers inVisakhapatnam trained under him during those days.

Under the guidance of such a noble being, his kids also grewleading a simple life devoid of movies, picnics, and other suchextracurricular activities.

Once Guruji had asked his dad four annas to see a movie.His dad responded, “With four annas would you like to give your

family the opportunity to buy some lentils or would you like to go ahead andwatch a movie for your own enjoyment? What would you like to do?”

Guruji was a very young kid at that stage. Taken aback by hisdad’s response, not knowing what to do, Guruji decided not topursue his plans to see a movie. Guruji was aware of the simpleand frugal life style that his family was leading. Though Gurujiwas feeling sad inside, he did not reveal his feelings to his dad oranyone.

Because of the economicconditions of his family,even when Guruji was

attending college, he could only afford to wear khadi garmentsinstead of regular pants. No one in Guruji’s family wore clothesmade in mills. Guruji’s dad was bed-ridden and became paralytic.Guruji was about 15 years when he lost his dad who was 55 yearsthen. The entire responsibility of the family fell on Guruji’sshoulders. Guruji had to take care of the family and his brother’seducation while having to stay focused on his studies at the sametime.

Though Guruji scored very good marks and got admission intoIndian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, not only was he able toafford the fees to go to college, Guruji could not even afford to buy atrain ticket to attend the college interview though the train fare wasonly 10 rupees in those days.

So Guruji’s only alternative was to continue with his collegeeducation locally in Visakhapatnam. Guruji continued with hishigher education, and earned a Master’s degree in Nuclear Physics.Though Guruji’s desire to become an engineer remained unfulfilled,he made sure that his younger brother did not get into a similarsituation. He sold off one house, and took a loan on another to ensurehis younger brother became an engineer.

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A tightrope walker loomshundreds of feet in the airsometimes, creeping along a singletaut rope, hands outstretched,and her body swaying as shecontinually compensates for hershifting weight. On either sidelies empty space eager to swallowher, and below are onlydistractions waiting to assaulther focus.

Where do the eyes of a tightropewalker rest? Should they glancedown, her mind is at once filledwith all the dangers—theincredible height, the narrowrope, and the fear of the onlookersbelow reminding her of the riskshe’s taking. If she focuses on therope, she sees how it sags and liftswith every step, or shifts this wayand that, and how difficult it is to

The art of balance and awareness

Walking the TightropeWalking the Tightrope

by Jeilan Devanesan

move forward when the ropekeeps trembling under her.

She might just stay in one place,afraid of risking another step. Ifshe looks on ahead, with her eyeson the distant platform, perhapsshe will lose sight of everythingelse—she may forget aboutbalancing, compensating, andconcentrating altogether.

So where lies the tightropewalker’s focus? On everythingand nothing.

She is continually aware of thedanger, of every shift in herweight, the trembling rope, aslight breeze, the frightenedaudience below, the blood rushingin her ears. She is aware ofeverything, yet fixates on none ofthese things. No single detaildiminishes her focus on the taskat hand. She does not sacrifice her

balance in a rush to moveforward. Nor she does sacrificeher progress to maintain perfectpoise. She is constantly, andcautiously, moving until there isno longer any rope left to tread.

The incredibly complex andprofound practice of Sri Vidya isexactly that—the art ofmaintaining balance between ourspiritual and material lives, andmaintaining awareness, in orderto slowly reach the Devi. Whatmakes maintaining such a balancedifficult however, is when ideaswithin this Vidya are at oddswith one another. In ourconfusion, we may diminish ourfocus.

We will begin to wonder, how isit that the Devi is everything andin everyone, yet this world weperceive is illusory, nothing isreal, and every thought, everyfeeling, every thing, and everyperson is false? How is it that acentral focus of this Vidya isincorporating the material lifeinto our practice—while cuttingall our attachments to thatmateriality?

Why study if the Devi can justgive me all the answers? Whywork if the Devi can just give meall the wealth I seek? Why go to atemple if the Devi is everywhere?Why chant mantras if I am theDevi? These are examples, and Icould go on, but it is not so muchthe questions themselves thatmatter.

What one does not know,hundreds may have completelysensible, long, and thoroughanswers for. But what isimportant is that in the beginning

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of this lifelong journey, we arebeing pulled this way and that,dealing with conflicting ideas andnotions, while trying to balance aspiritual life with the material.

We are trying to do everythingin fact, while having faith in the

Devi and doing nothing. Yetmanaging to take another stepforward should not be impededby the attention we fix on themany, many, individual questionsand contradictions in our minds.

In the beginning, we cannotintellectually grasp howcontradicting ideas make up oneunified whole. And so, theseemingly opposing ideas in theVidya, the confusing answersshoved into our minds, may forceus to grow frustrated, to questionour purpose, and to halt ourgradual progression as we fixateon our confusion.

But what is important, is thatwe do not get caught up in the finedetails at the expense of ourgrowth. The tightrope walkerdoes not think of the danger she isin or dwell on the sagging rope orrush towards her platform in ahurry to be safe, though she isaware of all these things. In thesame way, we too should notfixate on every unansweredquestion at the expense of ourpractice. So little can be

understood through words, assome truths are simply felt.

Sri Vidya is not something to belearned through books, or anumber of facts retained withprecision. It is the art of balancingour lives with our practice, and

becoming aware ofeverything;ourselves, others, andthe world. Thus it iscrucial that instead ofstopping to turn overevery stone,inspecting every bitof information, andscanning every singleidea we come acrossbefore taking anotherstep, we begin toaccept it all as part ofa harmonious whole,without losingourselves in it.

The tightropewalker practices thisart of balance andawareness. Everymuscle that flexes,

every tendon that tenses, everybeat of her heart, and everybreath she takes, she feels fully.She does not panic as her bodytrembles and overcompensate,nor does she underestimate thedanger she is in and slip. The SriVidya upasaka must balance hislife in the same way.

He must find the means of goingthrough his worldly life, perhapspursuing an education, a career,building a family, or whateverelse his wish may be. At the sametime, he must also tend to hispractice and infuse his spirituallife into the material life he isessentially a part of. He shouldnot pursue intense japam,perform elaborate pujas, and longhomams at the expense of hismaterial obligations. Nor shouldhe grow frustrated, curse theVidya, and become caught upagain in the material world whenhe doesn’t understand something.

The tightrope walker is alsoaware of her surroundings butthose thoughts do not penetrateher focus on the task at hand.Likewise, the Sri Vidya upasaka

too must build his awarenesswithout deviating from hispractice. He must be aware of thecontradictions, the opposing ideashe is introduced to, and the evenmore confusing answers hereceives. The budding upasaka,still learning to balance andbecome aware, must learn tofunction as he would normally,while nothing, at the same time,seems to makes sense in his mind.

The number of people who findthis short article relevant may begreat, or may be non-existent. Itis only because I myself am arecent initiate into the Vidya, thatI wrote this short piece in the firstplace. As everything is more orless new to me, I cannot resolvethrough reason, what it is that Iam learning. That is hopeless.

I must simply believe in certainedicts, take in informationwhether I understand it or not,and fall back on my japam toguide me somehow across thisspiritual tightrope. Nothingactually makes logical sense tome, but I try to balance my life bydoing what I can as a form ofspiritual devotion, whilecontinuing my life as if nothinghas changed (in that I still go toschool, study for tests, and stillapply for jobs, etc).

I only believe, so long as I wishto be with Her, She will makegood use of that golden ankushamand continue guiding me inwhatever direction(s) She wishes.

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Sri Gurubhyo Namaha