Blossom 16 petal 1.pmd

The Source of the Cosmos Sri ChakraSri ChakraSri ChakraSri ChakraSri Chakra

The Journal of the Sri Rajarajeswari Peetam, Rush, NY

Blossom 16 Petal 1March 2012

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MarchMarchMarchMarchMarchMarchMarchMarchMarchMarch

In the beginning of December,Aiya and Amma remained local,especially since Karthikai Deepamtook place at the temple on the9th. The middle of the month wasspent preparing for the IndiaYatra, a trip in and around thesouth of India for those whovolunteered at last year’skumbhabhishkam.

The official trip began inChennai on the evening ofDecember 22, with about 100devotees from all over the worldmeeting in the capital of TamilNadu.

The trip commenced with ajourney to Devipuram, nearVisakapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.There, everyone got to meetGuruji, including scores ofdevotees who had never met himbefore or never been to India.

Other places the group touredincluded Kanchipuram, Chennai,Nemili, Kalahasti, Chidambaram,and Thiruvannamalai.

Most of the devotees returnedhome during the first week ofJanuary, but Aiya stayed on tofulfill other obligations. Over thenext two weeks of January hewent to various places includingSri Villiputtur, Bangalore,

Karaikudi, and Madhurai. Hereturned to the States on Jan. 20.

In the meantime, the templewent on with its Pongalcelebrations on January 14, overwhich Shankar aiya presided.Immediately after Aiya’s return,the temple conducted its JanuaryInteractive Learning Sessions (ILS)class, which saw a turnout ofabout 100 people across the threeage groups.

February was a flurry ofactivity, with preparations forMahashivarathri in full swingand Aiya taking a 10-day trip toTexas, having been invited by thedevotees there. He conductedvarious workshops and classes

between the cities of Dallas,Austin, Houston, and SanAntonio, and then returned toRochester for Mahashivarathri.

At the end of February and thebeginning of March, Aiyaembarked on a three-week trip toSan Francisco for a series of talksand lectures.

Also at the beginning of March,the temple started a series ofweekly classes in addition to andseparate from ILS. A Sanskritclass (reading, pronunciation)taught by Vilas and Shankar, aswell as a bhajans class taught byVeena began on March 3 andMarch 10, and will take place on arotating basis each weekend.

Devipuram was the firstdestination on the IndiaYatra. Above, left to right:Aiya and Rochesterdevotees climb the stepsto the Shivalayam; Gurujiand Aiya share a laugh;Guruji hugs all his“grandchildren.” Onbottom, all the yatratravellers along withDevipuram regulars infront of the Sri Merutemple.

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Past Events

Thai Pongal, Jan. 14

Maha Shivarathri, Feb. 19-20

Thiruvempavai/ArdhraDharshanam, Dec. 30 - Jan. 8

Even though Aiya and many ofthe temple “regulars” were inIndia during this 10-day festival,it still went on with all pompand pageantry as Lord Natarajadeserves. For nine days,devotees, led by Kumaran aiya,began puja at 5 a.m., whichincluded abhishekam to aNataraja and Sivakami murthi tothe verses of the ThirupalliyezuchiSri Manickavasagar.

The same took place on ArdhraDharshanam day, but includedmilk abhishekam to the large

This was a short and sweet puja,which fell on a Saturday and tookplace first thing in the morningbefore the regular Saturday puja.

As Aiya was still in India at thistime, the puja was done byShankar aiya. Everyone presentwas given the chance to addgrains to the sakkarai pongal(sweet rice), which boiled overduring the simple puja to Surya,the Sun god. After the Saturdaypuja was completed, everyonereceived this pongal prasadamwith their lunch.The temple was packed on this

Sunday night, undoubtedlyhelped by the holiday Monday inthe province of Ontario. Well over100 people attendedMahashivarathri and stayedthroughout the night, taking turnsdoing puja at the differentshivalingam “stations” set up thatevening.

As is the standard, everyonewho came through the doors andwished to offer bilva leaves was

Kumaran aiya offers milk abhishekam tothe divine couple on Ardhra Dharshanam

Nataraja and Sivakami byseveral people. Over themorning, devotes performedalankaram, offered variousbakshanams, and took the holywritings of the Nayanmar saintManickavasagar around thetemple in procession.

Sri Matangi homam,Dec. 25

Conducted by Kumaranaiya and attended byminimum of 50 kids andtheir families, the Matangi(or Raja Shyamala) homamtook place this year, with thechildren coming up witheven more creative ways toworship this tantric goddessof education and intelligence.

The children offer ahutis into the firethemselves at every Matangi homam.

For a more detailed look, please seeSundhara Arasaratnam’s articleon page 5.

given the chance to do sohowever many times theywished. It is said that evenoffering one bilvam in one’slifetime is the path to mokshawith Lord Shiva.

The chanting of 11 Rudrams in arow is also a standard activity onthis night, and several differentpujaris manned the shivalingamstations to do puja as everyonechanted their Rudrams in unison.

This night was especiallyauspicious because Shivarathrifell on the same night asPradosham, and carried overonto Monday, which is LordShiva’s day.

After everyone had a spot ofdinner that Sunday night, thefestivities began. Other than afew breaks for thecrowd, the pujacontinued in thisfashion well upuntil the Sun cameup at about 7o’clock Mondaymorning.Everyone wasgiven mahaprasadam after thefinal aarthi.

The main Shivalingam “station” out of11 that were set up around the temple.

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To India and back again

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

Upcoming Events

Devi willing, the nextissue of the Sri Chakrawill be up on thetemple’s website at thebeginning of June 2012.

This magazine cannotkeep publishing without

contributions! Articles, poems,stories and photos about anyspiritual topic are welcomed.

The next deadline for articlesubmission is May 4. Please e-mail us with your contributionsor feedback about this issue [email protected] ortalk to Kamya or Abhi at thetemple.

Sri Gurubhyo Namaha!

In Three Months

Our deepest thanks andOur deepest thanks andOur deepest thanks andOur deepest thanks andOur deepest thanks and

gratitude to this issue’sgratitude to this issue’sgratitude to this issue’sgratitude to this issue’sgratitude to this issue’s

volunteers: Aiya, Kathyvolunteers: Aiya, Kathyvolunteers: Aiya, Kathyvolunteers: Aiya, Kathyvolunteers: Aiya, Kathy

Allen,Allen,Allen,Allen,Allen, V V V V Vilas Ankilas Ankilas Ankilas Ankilas Ankolekarolekarolekarolekarolekar,,,,,

Sundhara Arasaratnam,Sundhara Arasaratnam,Sundhara Arasaratnam,Sundhara Arasaratnam,Sundhara Arasaratnam,

Athityaa Ariaran,Athityaa Ariaran,Athityaa Ariaran,Athityaa Ariaran,Athityaa Ariaran,

VVVVVenkateshwenkateshwenkateshwenkateshwenkateshwar Babar Babar Babar Babar Babu,u,u,u,u, Sri Sri Sri Sri Sri

BBBBB. J. J. J. J. Jaaaaayyyyyaraman,araman,araman,araman,araman, Mythil Mythil Mythil Mythil Mythilyyyyy

Kandiah, and SahanaKandiah, and SahanaKandiah, and SahanaKandiah, and SahanaKandiah, and Sahana

Sivakumaran.Sivakumaran.Sivakumaran.Sivakumaran.Sivakumaran.

Tamil New Year, April 13

Like Thai Pongal, this puja isdone very simply. It also involvesthe making of sakkarai pongalduring a short ritual to celebratethe event. In more recent years,Aiya has been known to hold thepuja in the evening so that morepeople may make it to the temple.

After the puja, everyone presentreceives prasadam, as well assome sakkarai pongal. Pleasecheck the temple’s website formore details closer to the date.

Maha Pratyangira homam,April 15

Taking place the same weekendas Tamil New Year, this homambecame an annual ritual when itstarted about six years ago. It isan intense homam for PratyangiraDevi, also known as Thillai Kali,and is performed in the same styleas at her main temple inAyyavadi, a town some sixkilometres from Kumbakonam inTamil Nadu.

Aiya, along with the sponsors,will offer buckets upon buckets ofred chilli peppers, this particularDevi’s naivedyam of choice. She isknown for giving devoteeswhatever they ask of Her, but isthe best at giving her children thefierce protection of a mother’slove.

All are welcome to attend and allwill get the chance to offer ahutisinto the fire with their own hands.

Chitra Poornima, May 5

This puja falls on a Saturdaythis year, so please register earlyto reserve a spot. The rituals willbe done before Saturday pujabegins.

Those who wish to offertarpanam to their dearly departedmothers sponsor this event, andare guided step-by-step throughthe process. Everyone sits in rowsinside the yajnashala, or if theweather is good, by the creekdown at Kashi. They offeroblations to the souls of their

Each year, about 100 to 200 people attendthe Maha Pratyangira homam.

During puja, Aiya also reads out thepanchangam for the upcoming year.

mothers via water, as well as anoffering of pindams, which aremade to symbolize andreconstitute the physical form.

Shankar aiya performsthe main puja andleads the sponsorsthrough last year’sChitra Poornimarituals

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Don’t worry, be happy!

MatangiMatangiMatangiMatangiMatangihomam 2011homam 2011homam 2011homam 2011homam 2011

It was that time of the year again, and all annual events havetheir air of nostalgia.

The annual Matangi Homam held on the last Sunday of everyyear was executed in excellence with vigilant and orderlyperseverance by numerous children on December 25th of 2011.

Needless to say, Matangi in her usual inexplicable, elucidatorystyle and authoritative “akarshana” noosed a house full of eagerdevotees. In spite of the holiday distractions it was literally a“house full” at the Sri Rajarajeswari Peetam, the devoteesbraving the cold weather in their eagerness to participate in thisannual invigorating event.

Presiding over the event were Sri Rajarajeswari and the Meru,fashioned in a magnificent green sari and decked in glitteringjewels, expounding glamour, showering loving grace in absoluteexuberance to devotees and all alike, witnessing with pride Herchildren perform the rituals with a deeply anchored devotion.

The formal event started around 9:30 a.m. with many childrenparticipating in the preamble and preparation of the ahuthisthrough to the performance of the Raja Shyamala Homam andoffering of the purnahuthis. The homam concluded around 1p.m., followed with prasadam and Matangi treats for thechildren. The elated devotees and the children with a contenttwinkle in their eyes floated along, grasping for second servingsof the (sweet) prasadams!

Many children and other volunteers worked through theprevious night and into the late hours of the morning rejoicingand preparing for this colorful and satisfying event.

I always thought there wassomething we were supposed todrive ourselves towards: somesort of goal to reach. I never knewexactly what the goal was: toattain moksha, to be evercompassionate and selfless, or tobe perfect in everything I do? So Iturned to puja and learnt differentsuktams and stotrams, like LalitaSahasranamam, hoping they wouldmaybe offer me some insight.

For a few years I blindly pushedmyself to find the discipline to dopuja and chant daily, hoping tounderstand this vidya even alittle. Even though I didn’tunderstand what any of it meant Icontinued my practice, but soon

got sick of the fact that I was not seeing any results—or soI thought. It is not until recently that I have seen theeffects of simply chanting mantras and following thepractice of external puja.

It is as simple as this: there is no goal—there is justsimply being. If the Devi came to you and told you Shewill give you anything you want, what would you askfor? For sure I know I would not have listed any of thosethings above—I want to be happy, I would tell her, andyou have to make sure I come to a state where I canalways be happy.

Happiness is what we want at the end of the day isn’t it?Anything we desire or crave we want because it willmake us happy. So why not learn how to be happy nomatter what situation or state you may be in? What theDevi has taught me and is still teaching me is we have thecapacity and ability to be happy all the time but our mindand senses limit us from just being so, because of the

MatangiMatangiMatangiMatangiMatangihomam 2011homam 2011homam 2011homam 2011homam 2011

by Sahana Sivakumaran

by Sundhara Arasaratnam

Don’t worry, be happy!

The cupcake “Meru” the children created andoffered at this year’s Matangi homam.

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social norms that have confinedus ever since we were children.

So what does she do? She putsus through situations and lifeexperiences in order to break allthose norms. We are so used toseeing each experience as a testfrom the Devi—“She’s testing howbadly I want her…” Really? Ormaybe she is just putting youthrough something to see howyour mind has limited you fromhappiness.

Every moment of unhappiness,jealousy, or anger that I haveexperienced in the past was notbecause of the people orsurroundings; it was because ofthe way I perceived the situationto be. I was so focused on othersand what I wanted that I wasunable to see what the Devi wasgiving me right in front of myeyes.

Now she has given me so muchhappiness all the time that it ishard to see it outside of theconfines that I defined thehappiness to come from: the Devi.At times it is so easy to be happy

all the time because I link it to her.But when she seems physicallydistant the task is beyonddifficult.

I am learning that I have limitedmyself to only seeing her in acertain way, but in actuality sheis present in every single thing Ido. Where my love for my friendsor food or music is present, theDevi is in the midst of all of these.When I get a hug the happiness I

get from that is her.When I eat my favoritechocolate the yummyand sweet taste I loveis her. When I sing myfavorite songs and gotlost in the music, she isthere.

I want to get lost ineverything I do thesame way I feel whenshe smiles at me. Theonly way to do that isby reminding myselfthat every moment Iam happy she ispresent; every moment

I am beyond blissful she is presentand everything I do she is withme, every single step of the way.

My Devi is beyond her physicalform—well beyond it—and now Iwant to actually see herbeyond that because thatis what will give me themost happiness—seeingher in everything all thetime and feeling that blissat every waking moment.Her love for me will neverfade and my fear that shewill physically leave me isfalse.

If I look back at it now,every time I put someoneelse before me and didwhat I truthfully felt wasthe right thing to do shewas always there (morethan I expected) andphysically there. Themoment I think of myself andforget about others she will stepback for a short moment just toremind me and bring me evencloser to her.

Every experience I go through Ishouldn’t ignore or beat myself up

for; instead, I should take it as alesson learnt that will just bringme even closer to her than I wasat the last moment. One day youwill be fully absorbed into herthat there will be no differencebetween the two. But until thenwe strive to see her in everything.

I should remember the timeswhere she proved to me thatwhen no one else in the worldwas there, she was there. Andeven if it was just her, I was thehappiest person alive and nevercared about the “sorrow” that Ithought I should have been feelingat the time. Whenever I neededher, she was there—I didn’t evenhave to ask.

So smile and understand thatshe is never going anywhere andwill always make sure you arehappy. Once we understand thatwe can be happy all the time thenit doesn’t matter what you dobecause no matter what you willbe happy. We should use thisunderstanding to our advantageand help others free themselvesfrom the similar struggles wewould and still do experience onlybecause of our minds.

Help everyone see that they toocan be happy, forever and always.

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During Aiya’s countless trips toIndia over several decades, he hasbuilt an amazing network ofcontacts, who hold great respectfor him. For those who were notborn a Hindu and are not of SouthAsian descent, these connectionsare especially invaluable becauseit is due to the Guru’s grace alonethat many of us are able to havedarshan in the temples we visitedduring this winter’s Yatra. Andthe darshan experience whichAiya treats us to is no fleetingglance from far distances whereyou can barely make out themurti.

Throughout the Yatra, in spite ofthe fact that we were a largecrowd of 100 pilgrims, we had thetremendous privilege of sitting forextended periods, melting into theincredible vibrations at each holysanctum. Aiya wanted to makesure that each one of us had therare opportunity of clearly seeingeach shrine as close as possible.

Often, the only way to truly seethe lingam or murti is during theabhishekham when the kavachamand decorations are removed. SoAiya took great efforts to arrangethis golden opportunity for all ofhis children. One especiallyrewarding experience during theYatra was meeting H.H. PujyasriJayendra SaraswathiShankaracharya Swamiji and hisdisciple acharya H.H. ShankaraVijayendra SaraswathiShankaracharya Swamiji, the 69th

and 70th Shankaracharyas of SriKanchi Kamakoti Peetham.

I had never met eitherShankaracharya and their statusas the chief person who decideswho can enter the temples wasalways pretty unnerving. Morethan 15 years ago, after one ofAiya’s non-South Asian studentstried to enter the Kamakshitemple and was denied entry,

Aiya had appealed to Sri JayendraSaraswati Swamigal during aprivate audience.

The story goes that JayendraSaraswati promised Aiya that ifhis devotees came dressed inproper attire, showing fullrespect, that they should beallowed into the temples. Sowhen 100 of us descended on theKanchipuram Mattam on January3rd, we were totally unaware thatwe would be standing before thetwo Shankaracharyas—as ifstanding for our surprise finalexam where they would judge ourworthiness for themselves.

I still vividly recall the first timeI saw Kamakshi. Prior to my trip,I was praying to Kamakshi thatShe would allow me to have Herdarshan. Aiya told me, in order tohelp my chances, to dye my hair

black, which of course I did.Before entering the temple backthen, the Madhvanaths andRamesh Anna took me to meetKamakoti Shastri, chief priest ofthe Kanchi Kamakshi temple atthe time. There in his home nearthe eastern gopuram, sitting in hisshrine room, I cluelessly sat thereas they chatted in Tamil.

Eventually, he turned to me andwanted to know if I knew theDasa Maha Mudras. I said yes,and without elaborating, and heasked me to continue. Still notrealizing that he was testing me, Ishyly responded “You mean,dram, drim…” showing him onlythe first two mudras. He askedme to continue, so I showed himall 10. After that he stood up andwe all headed to the temple.

Meeting the KanchiMeeting the KanchiMeeting the KanchiMeeting the KanchiMeeting the KanchiShankShankShankShankShankaracharyasaracharyasaracharyasaracharyasaracharyas by Kathy Allen

Meeting the KanchiMeeting the KanchiMeeting the KanchiMeeting the KanchiMeeting the KanchiShankShankShankShankShankaracharyasaracharyasaracharyasaracharyasaracharyas

The younger ofthe two pontiffs,Sri VijayendraSaraswati, isthe 70th in aline of gurusthat started withSri AdiShankaracharya

Scores ofpeople from thetemple familyattended theIndia Yatra, andmet up inChennai fromtheir variouslocationsaround theworld.

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I was so afraid that like Aiya’sother student, someone was goingto grab my arm and tell me Icouldn’t enter. So, I didn’t want tolook up and kept my eyes fixed onKamakoti Shastri mama’s feet,walking in front of me, leading theway to Kamakshi. It was Octoberand I remember it seemedextremely hot inside the temple.Finally seeing Kamakshi, I felt asthough I had traveled to thewomb of the earth.

Aiya once told me, if you go toIndia and don’t visit my MotherKamakshi, you will be in the doghouse with me. He didn’t evenhave to say this, since I feltequally compelled to visitKamakshi every time I went toIndia. But despite many trips toKanchipuram, and also to theKanchipuram Mattam, I hadnever met either Shankaracharya.

Flash forward 15 years to thisJanuary. When we arrived at theMattam I never expected that wewould be able to have an audiencewith both Shankaracharyas, whoI view as akin to the Pope andassumed they would always beflanked by large crowds andprovide little access to the public,let alone foreigners. To my greatjoy, both were strikinglyaccessible, which I attribute toAiya’s mysterious grace.

What was even moreastounding was that they toldtheir attendants and all of us howimpressed they were with ourdress, our manners and ourbehavior. They remarked thatthey were very pleased thatseveral of the students had shownthe mudras and that we weremaintaining and sustainingIndian traditions in NorthAmerica.

The younger one, Sri VijayendraSaraswati, seemed especiallyimpressed and came out of hisretreat to sit with all of us for a

brief dialog. He gave us manybooks to take with us andencouraged us to all come againand do a Yatra in North India onour next trip. He generouslyoffered to make arrangements forus to visit some temples andinvited us to have lunch withthem.

With a deep and penetratingstare, he carefully scanned therows of all of us sitting beforehim, intently looking at each of us.For some odd reason, Aiya whohad been with us every step of theYatra, was absent for this onevisit, and so missed seeing theseinteractions and hearing theremarks of the Shankaracharyasfirst hand. But even without Aiyaphysically by our side, I am surethat this opportunity was onlypossible with the Guru’s grace aswe managed to partake in adivine encounter which felt to melike a final validation of Aiya’sappeal more than 15 years earlier.

Top: The intricateceilings anddvajasthambam(flagpole) of theKanchi KamakshitempleBottom: SriVijayendraSaraswati,flanked by hisattendants, gavemany books tothe visitingdevotees to takewith them

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The day started out, as it did throughout our India trip, very early in the morning. We got on the bus fromChennai to travel to Nemili. I fell asleep on the bus trip and when I woke up we were in Nemili. We had to getout of the bus and walk to the Bala Peetam because the buses wouldn’t fit through the streets. It took us a fewminutes to get to the place.

As we walked up, we saw a group of children all lined up on one side and on the other side a group of adults,all waiting for us. All that was going through my mind at the moment was “Whoh, I can’t believe that all thesepeople are coming out to meet with us. I mean, I can understand if it is Aiya, but for the rest of us?”

Aiya, being Aiya walked in front with Sarmel at his side and his entire entourage trailing behind him. SriKavignar Nemili Ezhilmani, who is the Peetathipathi of the Bala Peetam, came out to greet him. They started toput a malai around him and a very bright pink shawl (I admire their choice of color, I am infamously known tolove pink and it looked great on Aiya though he ended up taking it off after a few minutes).

As we were ushered into the temple, they handed us chocolate, which I loved. We entered the temple, foundseats, and I ended up sitting beside Aiya on my right and the Peetathipathi on my left, with Bala right in frontof me. I already started tearing up at the moment I sat down. It got worse when Ezhilmani Aiya startedtalking. Aiya instructed Gayathri to translate to English what Ezhilmani Aiya was saying.

He told us the story of how Bala came to the house. He then introduced his second son Mohana Krishnan whodoes puja to Bala, and his eldest son Venkata Giridhar aka Baba G., who had written books on Bala. They alsointroduced all the children. His wife also talked to us, telling us the story of how Bala entered her body.

They did puja to Bala and afterwards gave us lunch. Actually, I wouldn’t call it a lunch. It is not a lunchwhen you have more than one choice of rice, with more than 7 or 8 different curries to choose from. I had towrack my brain figuring out which ones I wanted to try. They told me to come back and try the rest. Icouldn’t, because I was too full. This, is what I call a full buffet lunch.

What amazed me more was all the things they kept giving us. They gave us a Bala padam, a Bala Kavachambook, a picture of Bala, more chocolate, and a bag. Ezhilmani Aiya’s wife also presented us with a coin, whichshe said to keep with us, and whenever someone is sick, to think of them and hold the coin. After lunch, whileAiya was sitting down, Ezhilmani Aiya walked up with a garland of chocolate and draped it over Aiya’s neck.

I think that everybody who came on the trip experienced each of the temples differently, the Bala Peetambeing no exception. It was my second time visiting Bala in her home and it was a totally different experience

than what I had thelast time. But onething stayed thesame—mywonderment at thefact that someonehad opened up theirhouse for the rest ofthe world to comeand marvel at thebeauty of the goddessliving in that house.It reminded me ofsomeone, oh sospecial, who haddone the same.

I remembersomething Aiya saidonce in anothercontext but I think itcan apply to this aswell—you know thegoddess is inside thetemple when you canhear her laughingand playing with herchildren outside.

My Play Date with the Child GoddessMy Play Date with the Child Goddessby Athityaa Ariaran

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My journey started with myfirst trip to the temple in May2002. With much eagerness, myfamily and I had traveled all theway from Toronto to visit thetemple to have darshan of Devi.When we reached, a new kind ofpeace stilled my heart, and myheart was filled with joy! It wasthere that I met Aiya for the firsttime.

It was a Saturday, and on thatday Aiya was talking aboutMahaan Sri Seshadri Swamigal, adivine saint of Thiruvannamalai,India (See the August 2006 SriChakra issue to read more about

the saint). Aiya narrated an incident about how hehad advised a cancer patient to chant the sacred mulamantra of Mahaan Seshadri Swamigal, and how ityielded miraculous results.

This narrative struck a deep chord in my mind andheart. Without much thought, I started chantingMahaan’s mula mantram right away (at that time Ididn’t understand it was an initiation). On the wayback I was repeating this mantra just to remember it.When I came home I searched for information onAvathar Sri Seshadri Swamigal and I printed apicture of him and kept it in my puja room. I feltstrong connection with that mantra. As a universitystudent I tried this mantra by chanting it before theexams, and found out whenever I chant the mantra ityielded very positive results.

Then I visited the temple again a day after mymarriage on June 28th 2004. The day, aMonday evening, happened to be Pradosham.We participated in the Pradosha Kala Pooja,and I met Aiya again. He explained to us therelationship between our blood circulationand the way we circumambulate inside thetemple during the Pradosha hours. Thisexplanation made a deep impact on me—Iimmediately felt connected, and ever since Istarted to observe the Pradosha vratham.

The same day, the divine statues of the 63Nayanmars were being consecrated in thetemple and we all took one statue and placedit in the dedicated space. I was very happyand well satisfied about this wholeexperience. One of our friends introduced meand my husband to Aiya, as a newly marriedcouple. Aiya blessed us and gave us someclothes and a picture of Devi and asked me toworship her. I have had Devi’s picture in mypuja room ever since.

In August 2010, I had a chance to visitThiruvannamalai. It was there that I realizedthe deep and strong bond with Mahaan SriSeshadri Swamigal. Many mystical eventshave unfolded while I was inThiruvannamalai and have made meunderstand the beautiful ways in which Devi

Being a Devoteemakes life worth living!

by Mythily Kandiah

Being a Devoteemakes life worth living!

Sri Seshadri Swamigal of Thiruvannamalai

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has brought me to the SriRajaRajeshwari temple, and withgrace and compassion initiatedme into my Guru’s mula mantrathrough Aiya.

On a Pradosham day on August10th, 2011, I had a dream where Isaw myself visit a temple. Withme was a toddler boy! It felt likethis little toddler was the be-alland end-all of my existence! I heldand played with this child withlots of love.

I then saw a beautiful woman,very fair and tall, clad in a greensari, bedecked with jewellery. Shewas buying a jasmine garland toadorn her hair. But when she sawme, she gave me a piece of thatgarland and asked me to place onepiece on my hair and asked me togive the other piece to the toddler!In this context, I wish to makenote of an event that happenedwhile I was in Thiruvannamalai,when I visited the shrine of SriArunachaleshwar temple in theBrahma Muhurtham, I bought ajasmine garland and cut it intotwo pieces. I offered one half ofthe garland to Mahaan SriSeshadri Swamigal in theMurugan Sannidhi, while I usedthe other half.

When I awoke from the dream,it was about 5 a.m. Later thatevening when I talked to mysister, I was stunned to hear fromher that she had a similar dreamat about the same time in themorning. In her dream she sawme with a toddler boy and wewere all in a prayer room and shesaid she saw GoddessMahalakshmi appear before hereand ask her, “Why is your sisternot looking at my eyes?” Both mysister and I were mesmerized andstunned beyond words at thesimilarity of the dreams.

That evening, I was offeringkumkumam to the deities. After Iapplied the kumkumam on Devi’spicture, which Aiya gave me

seven years back, I saw some ofthe kumkumam fall on Devi’s eye.So I hurriedly tried to wipe it,when suddenly I noticed both ofher eyes were wide open!

I was extremely nervous I didn’tknow what to do. I ran and calledthe temple, and the person whopicked up the phone passed it onto Aiya. He casually said, “Don’tworry, she is just assuring thatshe is with you.” Up until thatmoment, I had felt God wassomewhere up there. But fromthat moment and onwards Ilearned God is so close to us,someone whom we can connectand communicate with anymoment! Devi’s grace drownedme in Her love... She had enslavedme.

One of the temple devoteesliving in my city (Mr & Mrs.Vimalan) visited my house andtaught me how to do the basicpuja. I started to do the puja as

they taughtme and Istrongly feltDevi hasaccepted thepuja.

Since it wasa longweekend Idid pujathree times aday for thenext threedays. When Ihad to leavefor work thenext day, Ifelt miserablenot offeringDevi any

food at noon. I couldn’t focus onmy job. So I decided to go homeand do puja during the one-hourlunch break that I had. I left workand went home (about 30 mindrive). When I parked my car infront of the house and realizedthat I left the house keys at work. I was very sad, but then Iremembered what devotees havetold me, “Aiya always says startwith something simple which youcan carry out. When you are atwork you can think about Devi

The picture of the Devi Mythily took in her puja room

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and offer whatever you havebefore you eat.”

Suddenly, I felt it was Devi’sdivine design in making me forgetmy keys, since She didn’t want meto start something which Iwouldn’t be able to fully carryout. So I sat in the front entranceand started to mentally worshipHer. I started to imagine that Iwas cooking sweet rice (pongal)and milk, and prepared the fruits.I visualized the whole puja andwhen I was done, I was about tosing thevaram.

Suddenly, I heard someonesinging loudly on the road. Firstit seemed like a mantra japam, Iopened my eyes and saw ateenager (with long hair, wearinga head set), was walking on theroad and singing a song in a veryload voice. The loudness of thevoice seems very strange in aquiet neighbourhood. I heardthough, the following sentence

very clearly: “Make the sensationa little bit stronger.” It melted myheart to see how Devi gladly andlovingly approved of my humbleway of worship and graced mewith a heart-warming answer! Intears, thinking thus, I got into mycar. And what a wonder, thewhole car was filled with thesmell of sweet rice :)

A few days later after anevening puja, I was steadilylooking at Devi’s eyes and told her,“I can feel your presence; can youplease give me a spiritualinitiation?” Then I closed my eyes.I was not aware of what hadhappened next, nor was I aware ofhow long I remained there withmy eyes closed. But when Iopened my eyes I felt a steadyawareness on the middle of myeyebrows.

My two-and-a-half-year-old soncame and looked at my face anew,as if he were looking at me for thefirst time, and kissed me anumber of times! Since I was

quiet, my husband asked me tocome out for a walk. I wentoutside; it was about 6:45 p.m. Inoticed all the sides of the skywere a pinkish red and seemedlike the sunset was happening atevery angle. The next day when Ilooked at the mirror, I noticed ablack triangle-shaped markbetween my eye brows.

The following days held a lot ofpleasant surprises and most ofthem were beyond logic. Theseevents have changed the veryway in how I perceive my life andmy daily lifestyle. With theboundless grace of my divineMother, I have begun to witnesshow everything in life happens sobeautifully! I have no words todescribe the strongtransformation I feel happenedwithin me.

Devi is still with her eyes openand showering her blessing on allof us. I feel nothing else in thisworld is worth asking orpursuing other than Her divinegrace and love.

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The story of Sri Amritananda Saraswati

part 6part 6part 6part 6part 6

ChidagniChidagniChidagniChidagniChidagni

The biography of SriAmritananda Saraswati—who is affectionatelyknown as Guruji to mostof Aiya’s students—waspenned in Telugu by Smt.Nethi Seeta Devi. Thesechapters were translatedinto English andgraciously submitted tothe Sri Chakra byVenkateshwar Babu fromPhiladelphia in anongoing series.

ChidagniChidagniChidagniChidagniChidagni

Spiritual ExperiencesUpon Guruji’s return to Bombay,

he met his friendRadhakrishna Murthy.During this visit, Gurujicasually browsed hisfriend’s collection ofspiritual books. In one ofthese books, once he sawthe first stanza of theIsaavasyopanishad, he wasable to identify this as thesame as he heard at theBirla Mandir inHyderabad.

Since then, Guruji spenta lot of time in readingspiritual books. Multipledivine appearances ofLord Balaji continued toteach untold divinemysteries to Guruji on aregular basis. Over the

next 12 years Guruji was lost in aspiritual world under theguidance of Lord Balaji. Gurujiwas able to read divine scriptureswith his eyes closed.

From that stage, Lord Balaji, forthe next 12 years, had blessedGuruji with the opportunity toexplore and delve deep into vastspaces of spirituality. MultipleVedic scriptures were rendered toimpart knowledge to Guruji.Lord Balaji let Guruji trot overmany rainbows. These countlessdivine experiences kept occurring.

Upon returning to Bombay,Guruji was curious to explore andfind out if the inner sounds thathe kept hearing as a boy wouldresurface once again. So, Gurujistarted meditating once again. Asa young boy, Guruji was unawareof the importance and relevance ofthe deep inner sounds. He fullyunderstood their importance andrelevance at this stage in life. So

he made a sincere attempt to findout whether he would be able tohear these sounds once again.

To Guruji’s amazement, he wasable to hear the vibrations onceagain, crystal clear deep and loud.

The Divine Mother appearedand took him all around the vastexpanses of the universe, withoutleaving him alone even once. Shewas there for Guruji, which lefthim with a sense of humility anddevotion for the Divine Mother.

Guruji, with utmostconcentration, started chantingthe Lalita Sahasranamam andKhadgamala Stotram every day.Until these divine experienceskept recurring, Guruji had nevermade an attempt to perform pujason a daily basis. Even after hestarted chanting Divine Mother’ssalutations daily or experiencingDivine Mother’s grace in variousways, there was still some form ofa scientific aspect attributed by

Guruji with Devipuram’s main goddess, Sri Sahasrakshi Rajarajeshwari.

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Guruji to all these wonderfulthings.

“What is in it?” he thought. “Areall these experiences true? Why arethese happening to me?” Gurujidelved deeper into micro-analyzing all these wonderfulmemorable experiences with ascientific frame of mind, as theDivine Mother with no concern toGuruji’s perspective, continued toattract and let him develop asense of spiritual oneness withher.

One specific night at about 2a.m. when Guruji was in deepmeditation and eager to hear thedeep inner sounds coming fromwithin, he started hearing chimesof temple bells for about 10 to 15minutes. With this divineexperience, Guruji felt sincerepeace and happiness. This divineoccurrence repeated for a coupleof days.

On the third day when Gurujiwas in deep meditation, there wasa bigger divine experience waitingto happen. For 20 to 25 minutesGuruji was lost in a trance andafter that, he suddenly lost hisconsciousness and physical

connection with his surroundingworld.

It just felt as if a large bombexploded within him, and asthough a bright light emanateddue to this blast from within.Within that moment, Guruji gotthe feeling that he had visited allthe stars, sun, moon and space. Alarge white screen appeared rightin front of him, and multiple linesin Sanskrit, probably about 20verses flashed instantaneously.By the time Guruji could realizewhat was happening, the whitescreen along with the versesvanished.

The only (first) verse that Gurujiwas able to read was,

Eesavaasya midham sarvamyathkinchajagathyaam jagat

Thenathyathkenabhumjeedhaamrugadha kasyasvidh dhanam

After Guruji regained hisphysical senses and normalcy, hegot scared. He realized that acommon man who has no inklingof any spiritual knowledge is atpeace. Whether it was curiosityor any other factor, Guruji

wanted to get down to the bottomand know the secrets. In addition,he was also concerned whether hewould get into any serioustrouble during his quest.

He thought, “What will happen tomy family, and my mother? Is it not mymoral responsibility to take care ofthem?” So for the next week ortwo, Guruji stayed away frommeditation.

One fine day, it dawned uponhim once again, “I meditated for along time. I felt the large bombexploding within myself. Nothinghappened to me, and as of now, I amstill alive. Why all the unnecessaryfears? So, let me start my meditationsessions once again, and see whathappens.”

Guruji was curious to find if hewould hear the deep inner soundsonce again while meditating. Thefirst two days, his meditationsessions progressed smoothly. Buton the third day, Guruji felt somestrange movement along his spineright from deep down that keptcreeping up and giving him anecstatic feeling.

By the time this reached hisstomach, Guruji visualized brightlight and aura in front of him. Butthis time, the strange feelingmoved up to his heart. Gurujiwas very terrified. Heimmediately remembered that hehad prayed to Goddess Saraswatiunder similar circumstanceswhen he was a young boy.

To plead with GoddessSaraswati to rescue him, heimmediately chanted,

Saraswati namasthubhyam, varadekaama rupini,

Vidhyaarambham karishyaami siddhirbhavathu may sadaa

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Padma pathra Visaalaakshi, Padmakesara vardhini

Nithyam Padmaalaya Devi,Saamaampaathu Saraswati

As soon as he completedchanting, Goddess Saraswatiappeared before Guruji. With alldedication and devotion, Gurujiprayed to Goddess Saraswati.

Goddess Saraswati: Why are youafraid? What are you afraid of? I havepresented you a unique experience.Enjoy it.

Guruji: I cannot bear this experiencefor long. Please save me from this!

Goddess Saraswati: As you wish.I will help you. If you have anydiscomfort when meditating next time,please think of me. I will save you.

Guruji continued his meditationsession every day without fail.He started enjoying theexperience, and felt extremelyhappy. Every now and thenduring his meditation, GoddessSaraswati appeared to Guruji.

Once when Goddess Saraswatiled Guruji by his little finger, allalong the way, lotus flowersbloomed to let the pair walk on

them. During thesememorable experiences,Goddess Saraswati tookGuruji through rainbows,clouds and many otherunimaginable places. Shenarrated to Guruji his past,and made these situationsappear in front of Gurujiduring his deep meditationsessions.

After all these exhilaratingevents, Guruji happened tovisit the library at BombayUniversity. He developedthe feeling that he hadalready read andunderstood any book hebrowsed.

At this stage, Guruji’s strongbelief in science and technologygave way to the understandingand appreciation that somethingelse was even more powerful. Itbecame very clear in Guruji’smind that by meditation he couldexplore and find out about thesecrets of nature that he wasunable to comprehendthrough his research inscience and technology.

Goddess Saraswatinarrated to Guruji abouthis past, his concentratedpenance, love anddedication towardsDivine Mother, andeverything that led himto this current stage inspirituality and in life.

The Mother, with all herever-flowing grace,smiling beautiful face,and compassionate hearthad shown Guruji truemotherly love. Gurujiwas blessed enough togain worldly wisdomand become proficient inmany shastras with theDivine Mother’s blessings. Shenamed Guruji, “Hlaadini.”—as

Radha was the power of Hlaadinito Lord Krishna, so did SriNishtala Prahlaada Shastri(Guruji) become the power ofHlaadini to his disciples?

It happened once that whenGoddess Saraswati appeared, herface looked like Guruji’s. Guruji,on the other hand, was playingher musical instrument, theveena. By the time Gurujirealized this, he could see her asGoddess Saraswati again. Asinquisitive as Guruji was, heasked Divine Mother thesignificance behind thisexperience.

Divine Mother said, “You areGoddess Saraswati. The name,‘Saraswati’ belongs to one of the asceticgroups.“ Though Guruji does notwear the orange robes, he can beconsidered an ascetic in everyother aspect. This, in turn,implied that Guruji had attainedthe peaks of spirituality with theDivine Mother’s blessings.

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Sri Chakra Avaranas & Chit Vimarsaby Sri B. Jayaraman & Smt. Vijaya

Sri Chakra Avaranas & Chit Vimarsapart 3part 3part 3part 3part 3

In the last two issues of the Sri Chakra, Sri Jayaraman explained the intricacies ofthe nine levels of the Sri Meru, and how going through these levels affects an upasakaon the way to the Mother. Here is the 3rd of his three-part piece.

Avarana 7An upasaka who has attained Chit Vimarsa up to this stage is called

“Utthama Adhikari.”Once you attain this stage, you do not slip back because of protectiongained from earlier “Sarva Rakshakara Chakra.” It is a matter of yourown Sraddha that determines the progress towards the ninth avarana—The Ultimate.

After having obtained the Mahavakya, Tat tvam Asi, and developed abetter understanding through repeated listening, you reflect thatunderstanding within yourself as “Aham Brahmasmi.” This kind ofrepeated recollecting of Mahavakyas with the Guru in mind by means ofreasoning and discussion is called “Mananam.” This process eliminatesthe traces of a likely defect namely Samsaya (doubt).

The chakra is called “Sarva Rogaharam”—curer of all diseases.Samsayam is when even the smallest doubt in the mind multiplies andspreads like germs and shakes the entire foundation of faith. Accumulatedvasana is another great disease that affects the mind. Thus the grace ofthe Sarva Rogaharana devatas help the sadaka to achieve “ManoNigraham”—every time a thought/germ arises, before it multiplies it isdestroyed at the root level itself.

The yoginis are called “Rahasya Yoginis,” not because there is some secret about them but because theycannot be discovered by any logic and only can be realized by graceof the Guru and one’s own sraddha.

The siddhi of this chakra is “Bhukthi Siddhi” i.e. attainment of all worldly pleasures. The sadaka iscontented with the worldly desires he has achieved in life. The mudra of this avarana is “Sarva Khechari”—literally Ananda of moving (flying) in space. Philosophically, Akasa represents the space in which mindwanders. Thus Sarva Khechari is the state of Anandaof the upasaka with his thoughts under his control, moving around happily in the akasa of the mind.

Ayuda ArchanaBefore we proceed to 8th Avarana, Ayuda archana is done. Let us look at the significance. Actually, the 8th

& 9th avaranas cannot be separated because unlike other avaranas where there is no puja at the center, thereis a samashti puja at the center in 8th Avarana which coincides with 9th Avarana. Hence by inference weconclude that Ayuda puja removes the last obstacles to final goal.

Shastras recognize four last obstacles to final knowledge. They are Kshaya (confusion),Laya (sleep), Vikshepa (perturbation), and Rasasvada (infatuation). The intense desire (raga) to attain thegoal is the Pasa. Dislike for Anatman is the Ankusa. A mind turned inwards is a pure mind, free fromvikshepa. As well, the Panchabanas held firmly is jitendriyatva that removes the obstacle infatuation. Oncethese obstacles are removed the stage is set clear for Nidhidyasanam.

Avarana 8Earlier we said, 6th Avarana represents Thathva Vicharam, the 7th Avarana represents Mano Nigraham,

and the 8th represents Chit Vimarsam through “Nidhidyasanam.” This means one transcends sthoola,sukshma and karana sariras and stays continuously in thuriya avastha. Thathva vicharam, Mano nigrahamand vasana kshayam are interlinked and interdependent.

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Only after Nidhidyasanam,with the effects of Thathvavicharam and Mano nigraham,does complete vasana kshayamhappen.

Let us analyze what is vasana?All actions yield papa or punyadepending upon the motive withwhich it is done. All actions thatwe do in turn leave an impact onour mind. These are stored aspositive ornegativeinflictions in oursubconsciousmind, and areadditive.The positive andnegative impactsdo not cancel eachother out. Theaccumulatedimpact of all ouractions storedsubconsciouslyand carriedforward from ourprevious births orgenetically iscalled Vasana.

Before we doany new action, adesire arises inour mind to dothat action. Thisdesire isinfluenced by ouraccumulated vasana. To thatextent we do not have freedom ofaction. Many times knowing wellthat an action is bad, we stillindulge in it in view of our pastaccumulated vasana.

This avarana represents chitvimarsam of that upasaka whohas cleansed all his vasanathrough thathva vicharam andmano nigraham. His desires(Iccha) are not influenced by pastvasana. That means he hasattained “Iccha Siddhi” of thisavaranam. When Iccha Siddhi isattained it means that you haveattained all the other siddhis.Thus this chakra is called “SarvaSiddhi Prada Chakram.”

The siddhi of this chakram is“Iccha Siddhi”—meaningwhatever you desire you will get.The Chit Vimarsa of an upasaka

at this stage is that of a fullycontented person with nomore desires. The yoginis arecalled “Athi Rahasya Yoginis”because they are beyondconceptualization even by highlyevolved souls.

Only those who are able tocontemplate throughNidhidhyasanam on that Chitshakthi that existed before the

creation of this Jagat, Jeeva andPara can realize the Athi Rahasyaaspect of these yoginis.Contemplating on these yoginis asthe source of the creation of theuniverse, living species and mahabhoothas, the sadaka enjoys theananda of the “Sarva Beeja””mudra. The maha vakya thatappropriately describes his chitVimarsam is “Ayam AtmaBrahma.” This Atman is verilythe Brahman.

Avarana 9There is no puja at the center for

the first seven avaranas. In the8th avarana a samashti puja isdone at the center, whichincidentally forms the 9thavarana. Thus, the inseparabilityof the 8th & 9th avaranas asdescribed in upanishad as “Ashta

Chakra Nava Dvara” getsjustified.

The bindu is the cause of allcauses and origin of all origins.

The dimensionless bindu iswhere time and space merge. Atthe bindu all thriputi aspectsincluding Upasaka, Upasana andUpasya Devata merge into one.As the upasaka passes from firstavarana to second and so on up to

the 8th avarana,effort is needed toattain higher levelsof Chit Vimarsamand to acquire thesiddhi of thatavaranam.

In this avaranamyou have nothing toask for or obtain.Everything isattained. Thus thesiddhi of this chakrais “Prapthi.” Theyogini is “ParaParadhi Rahasya”—beyond ourintelligence. It isthat which existedalone when nothingelse including spaceand time existed. Inthis Chakra of“Sarva anandaMayam” it is notthat the upasaka

enjoys bliss—in losing his ownidentity the upasaka becomes thebliss and thus he, himself,becomes the origin of everything.All this is verily Brahman.

Tripura Rahasya states that evenafter attaining this state, it ispossible for the upasaka to lead anormal house holder’s life as ajeevan muktha. He is apparentlyin thriputi state. In this state heenjoys the three-fold ananda ofthe Trikanda Mudra; namely:

1) Sahaja Ananda2) Ananda of Devi

consciousness, and3) Jagadanandam—enjoying

ananda by making others happy.The world experiences him as

having Sarva Kama Siddhi—radiating happiness and gracethat fulfills all the desires ofdevotees.

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Sri Gurubhyo Namaha

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