Mandalam Musings Day 41- Manam Sannidhanam: Ascending the 18 Steps-

 

Mandalam Musings Day 41-

Manam Sannidhanam: Ascending the 18 Steps-

Swamy Ayyappa temple is at the top of Sabari hills and before the Sanctum one sees a set of 18 stone steps that are on a steep slope. During the busy pilgrimage season, the security personnel and the Police Ayyappas would help the pilgrims climb up the steps after which the devotees can have Darsanam of the Lord Ayyappa at the Sanctum.

The 18 steps symbolize many important concepts of Santhana Dharma. There are 18 major scriptures in our tradition and they impart knowledge on the absolute as the Vedas are rather difficult to follow for the common people. These steps are conceptualized as going beyond the wisdom of the 18 scriptures to reach the absolute. Mahabharatha has 18 major chapters; so, does the Bhagavad Gita. There are 18 major hills around the Sabarimala Sannidhaanam, the abode of Swamy Ayyappan.

In the yogic sense, we have five basic elements (space, air, fire, water, and earth); five senses (ear, nose, eyes, tongue, and skin); Five limbs for action (hands, legs, mouth, genitals, and anus); then the mind; intellect and the ego, making 18 basic faculties. It is symbolized that to experience the absolute, one must shed everything – all the eighteen possessions one has. Seventeen of the eighteen of those are said to be attributes the ego is carrying around all the time. But in front of the Lord, one must surrender all the possessions and the ego that was holding on to the seventeen until now. We also have 18 energy centers within our body starting from Muladhara Chakra ending in Sahasrara Chakra where the Lord is present as effulgent as light with thousand rays.

Once you climb up these steps, the Lord is waiting to make you realize that He is not separate from you. ‘That Tvam Asi’ now is not a theory. It is a realization, the epitome of spiritual awakening. It is for this moment that we take up Mandala Vratham and set our goal to complete the pilgrimage to Sabarimala.

Yes, we have come to the Sannidhanam past the 18 steps. It is the culmination of our 41 days of Vratham. We then open and unconditionally submit the two packs carried with us from our homes. Then we break open the ghee filled coconut in front of the Lord and give the ghee to the priest for abhishekam.  We get a split second of Darshan in front of the Sanctum to see the Lord’s form in its full glory and that is the moment we have been waiting for. 

The temple premises, the Sannidhanam, is a mystical and spiritually energized place that can transform everyone’s mind into a serene inner abode. The devotee feels elated and sees the unity with the absolute that was only a theory until now. He is Ayyappa now and the Lord, who is one with him, also is Ayyappa.

After completing the Darshan and the Ghee Abhishekam, the devotee steps down the hills and returns home. At home (Bhavanam) he completes his Mandala Vratham and hopes to keep his mind as magical as the Sannidhanam he just visited. His hope is that he can maintain his Bhavanam (home) and Manam (mind) as serene as the Sannidhanam (temple abode) for the rest of the year and he waits for the next Mandalam to arrive.

I have tried to expound the essence of Ayyappa culture and philosophy without going into any political and social controversies. There are rituals and traditions followed by devotees for centuries and I believe it is important to maintain all the special rituals and conditions in accordance with the conceptual consecration of the deity, fully recognizing the diverse nature of the practices in Sanathana Dharma. Unity in diversity is to be maintained by allowing all diverse ways of reaching the absolute. “Ekam Sat Vipra Bahudha Vadanthi” - Truth is one; men of wisdom say it in diverse ways

Submitting the Mandalam Musings at the feet of all fellow Ayyappas. 

Swamiye Saranamayyappa!

Mandalam Musings Day 40- Pilgrimage to Sabarimala Sannidhanam-

Mandalam Musings Day 40-

Pilgrimage to Sabarimala Sannidhanam-

The forty-one day’s Vratham culminates in the pilgrimage to Sabarimala Sannidhanam. Some people continue with the austerities a few more days as they want to have a Darshan of the Lord on Makara Sankranthi day which is an auspicious day spiritually and astronomically. Makara Sankranthi marks the first day of the sun's move into Makara Rashi and it is observed each year, mid-January. On that day, devotees see a star in the sky and observe a Jyothi (source of light) at the top of the hill, Ponnambalamedu where the tribal people light several lamps together to propitiate their deity who is protecting their forest, which is surrounded by eighteen mountains.

Common people, who have taken up the Mandala Vratham live a life of self-sacrifice before the pilgrimage.  The pilgrim, with the help of a Guru Swamy (usually a senior Ayyappa devotee). A special bag made of black cotton with two distinct packs is prepared for the journey. It is called Irumudikkettu or Pallikkettu. One pack in the bag is for the materials for use of the devotee on the way and the other pack for materials to be submitted at the temple. Symbolically, one is the bundle of Punyas (virtues) and the other is the bundle of Papas (sins). Both are to be discarded at the Sannidhanam. The seeker needs to shed all such bondages to have a Darshan of Lord Ayyappa within and without.

A well-ripened coconut is cleaned and emptied of its water, and then dried to fill pure ghee in it is prepared as the main offering at the temple. With the Guru Swamy’s help, the devotee fills ghee in the coconut while chanting mantras and the famous slogan Swamiye Saranamayyappa – (My Lord, you are the only refuge I have). The coconut gets sealed and it would be opened only at the Sabarimala Sannidhanam. This is for the symbolic submission of our ego. The hard shell of the coconut represents the body and the ghee inside, the ego. The idea is to break open the coconut in front of the deity thus symbolizing the renunciation of the body and then submitting the ego which is beyond the body and mind. 

Arrangements for the pilgrimage have undergone many changes as time passed by. In the old days, people used to walk hundreds of miles to reach the foothills of the Sabarimala. But nowadays there are vehicles that would take the pilgrims to the Pampa river ghats, where they take a ritualistic bath before starting to climb up the hill.  On the way to Pampa, most people pass by Erumeli where they worship in the Dharma Sastha Temple, and in a large Mosque known as Vavar Palli.  In some traditions, groups of devotees in large numbers adorn tribal costumes and dance freely symbolizing the victory celebration of Swamy Ayyappa winning over Mahishi.

Before climbing up the Sabarimala hills through the tough terrain, devotees will be worshipping at the Ganapathy temple at Pampa seeking the blessings of Lord Ganesha to complete the pilgrimage without any obstacles. It takes about three hours of a strenuous walk up the hill to reach the temple abode, Sannidhanam. There we see hundreds of thousands of devotees waiting patiently to get a Darshan of Lord Ayyappa and at the end of a long waiting area, we see the 18 golden steps, and above those steps, we read “That Tvam Asi’- You are that!  Yes, we have reached the destination.

Mandalam Musings Day 39- A Temple is a Perennial Source of Divine energy-

Mandalam Musings Day 39-

A Temple is a Perennial Source of Divine energy-

Ancient wisdom has it that there are five major aspects of a Hindu Temple, enabling it as a perennial source of divine energy from which a devotee can get inspired to lead a virtuous life and more.  The concept of worship in a temple is that a Vigraham (idol) maintains the source of energy when the following five conditions are maintained regularly, viz. the Chief priest’s (Tantri’s) invocation and dedication, strict adherence to the worship rituals, the study of the Vedas, celebration of festivals and feeding the needy- humans and animals alike. These five are said to contribute, maintain, and retain the temple’s divine energy.  This is the basis by which the system of the idol (deity) worship has been flourishing as an unbroken tradition for the last several centuries in India.

In Hindu philosophy, the Sanathana Dharma, it is well known that God almighty as an all-encompassing, omniscient, omnipotent, entity is not affected by any changes to the rituals conducted by mortal humans. It is also understood that the deterioration in the quality of rituals performed in the temple does not affect the god/goddess represented in the deity worshipped there, but the presence and intensity of the divine energy felt by the devotees could be affected.

Ancient temples are established centuries ago based on a socioeconomic covenant, agreed upon (formally or informally) by a group of devotees led by a head priest (Thantri) and sponsored by the King. In establishing a temple, the society undertook a vow that the divine energy represented by the deity would be maintained through proper conduct of the deity worship and they will ensure that there would be no deterioration to the prescribed rituals. The significance of this agreement is that the same devotees are on both sides. It is like having an ISO certification– they created the rules and they themselves took a wow to abide by them, and the deity had no role in establishing it. Deities are sculptural representation in an idol (vigraham) of a great ideal the society want to establish.  If the society makes deteriorating changes to the conceptual framework associated with the temple’s Vigraham, the effects of such alterations are also expected to be borne by them.

Remember the comparison of a fish growing in a fish tank vs. the fish living in the ocean. The fish tank and the water in it must be taken care of and maintained with regular attention for keeping the fish alive and well. Obviously, no one needs to worry about the oceanic water for the sake of an ocean fish’s welfare, nor anyone is capable to make any meaningful changes.

There are Dharma Sastha temples where the Vigrahas are consecrated in four different gestures, each of them representing the four stages of life viz., Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vanaprastha, and Sanyasa. Only in the world-famous Swamy Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala, the Lord is in the Sanyasa gesture as an ascetic, a yogi with strict adherence to the vow of celibacy and yogic practices. For centuries, Sabarimala temple has been following the prescribed rituals without fail and throngs of people take up the pilgrimage to part take in the spiritual energy that is evident to anyone visiting the Sannidhanam.

Mandalam Musings Day 38- Good News: You Get to Determine Your Future!-

 

Mandalam Musings Day 38-

Good News:  You Get to Determine Your Future!-

The Karma Principle is well entrenched in Sanathana Dharma. The essence of the principle is that no action happens without cause(s) and consequences; and there is an entity responsible for it. The good news about the principle is that our future is our own making. We get to choose what we want to be and what we ought to be in the future. The bad news is that our present situation is the result of our past doings and we do not have control over what has happened in the past and what is happening right now. Do not be disheartened, we do have the choice in responding to the present activities and thus making the best of the situation. Many a time people confuse between present and future, without considering the effect of the past in our present life.

Comings and goings in this lifetime are obviously due to actions taken earlier, in most cases. But in some cases inexplicable occurrences make one think about the Karma principles that may go beyond the span of one lifetime. We have seen some very young children becoming adept in complicated musical compositions and other skills without having an opportunity to get exposed to those skills in this lifetime. Similarly, in some cases, people with the same background, even twin brothers ending up receiving different results for doing the same work. So, the concept of Karma over several lifetimes got established and that is the basis of the concept of reincarnation. A Jiva – Individual soul takes birth to deplete the karmas it has amassed in the past lives. A life situation will be chosen by the Jiva at such a time and place so that it is most conducive to exhaust the residuals of his karma remains.

According to the Karma principles, there are three types of Karmas: Sanchitham, Praarabdham, and Agami. Sanchitha Karmas are the repository of results from past Karmas that can manifest sometimes during a Jiva’s journey through different lives forward, including the current one.

Prarabhdha karmas are those karmas that are manifesting in this life and there is no choice in this matter, other than to experience them. These karmas are the results of the past karmas working out at present. The person has a choice only in the matter of how he/she responds to these karmas. One gets to deal with the Prarabdha Karmas depending upon the habits one develops. The Mandala Vratham is said to be a very effective tool to prepare a human life to face Prarabdha Karmas effectively.

Agamy Karmas are the accumulated additional results of Karma one performs in this lifetime that is carried over to the next life. Most of the results of the karmas of the present life are experienced in this lifetime. Only some of the karmas we do in this life would create residual results to be carried forward. Here, human beings have a choice as to how to respond to them. But exercising that choice in an intelligent manner requires control of the mind. Here the choices between good and bad; reasonable and unreasonable, etc. come to play and that requires the discriminating power, known as Viveka.

To illustrate the different Karmas, take the case of an archer with a bow and a quiver full of arrows. The quiver full of arrows is Sanchitha Karmas; the arrows which have already been shot are Prarabdha Karmas and the arrows available for shooting at any time are Agami Karmas. The arrow that has already been shot will have some result, but its effect depends on how ready you are to face it. Agami Karmas are Karmas that one can perform wisely so that the results can get accumulated and at a future day or future life. They are like the arrows left in the quiver. It's up to us to shoot one or not.

The 41 Day Mandala Vratham is a time-proven method to alleviate the ill effects of Prarabhdha Karmas and to deplete the bad karmas of the past. Also, it is an opportunity to accumulate good Agami Karmas to carry forward.  In Sanathana Dharma, there is no concept of eternal sin as we are potentially divine and our scriptures proclaim that the Jivathma's natural state is indeed the Paramathma; the microcosm is the macrocosm. Tat Tvam Asi is the divine aphorism we need to imbibe in life. Until the Jeevathma gets this clarity about its original nature, it will continue to be in the sway of Karmas.

Mandalam Musings Day 37- Work - Work and Worship - Work as Worship - Work is Worship-

Mandalam Musings Day 37-

Work - Work and Worship - Work as Worship - Work is Worship-

As a devotee embarks on a spiritual pursuit asking himself the question “who am I?”, he elevates himself with the practice of righteous work, and worship of the higher, simultaneously. Here he balances his work and spiritual pursuits. He may face many tests during this period and he faces them courageously. Until he gets to know the Ayyappa Principle – i.e., That thou Art – "You are That" he keeps searching for liberation, knowingly or unknowingly. This may last one lifetime or several lifetimes for that matter. A sincere seeker is one who does his day to day work in a righteous way, never deviating from Dharma.

Once he establishes in the balancing act of work and worship, he gets better at both and gets in the ‘flow’ of things where his work is no longer a toil, but a natural thing to do. He has no complaints about the work he must do as he sees each step of the work, an opportunity for worshipping the higher.

Once he gets matured in the ‘flow’ of carrying out his work as worship, he gets to the stage where his work and worship merges. Thus every action he undertakes becomes worship to the divine. Here the work is worship and that is the essence of Karma Yoga. He is not concerned about the results of the work as he knows that the results are not in his control. However, he does his work with utmost sincerity and dexterity because that is the only thing, he needs to do willingly. Doing his karma best of his ability is his dharma and he does not stray from it.   

People are confused about this idea of “nishkama karma” literally meaning ‘doing our duty without expecting results’. This does not mean that you work without expecting or accepting the wages for the work done. You work and get your wages, but you leave the results to the natural outcome. The effects of work accomplished, even after getting paid for it, may not be to our liking and you must be open-minded about it without any regrets or complaints. During an action, maintaining a mind anxious about the results will interfere with the quality of work (and results) and hence the importance of the nishkama karma. For example, if you are an office worker, you should serve the office with full sincerity, and get paid the regular salary. But the result of your work despite your sincere effort may not be favorable to you. There are many other factors at work, affecting the result and the message is that one must not be worried about the outcomes. In businesses, an accountant maintains a 'profit and loss' statement as he knows not all transactions are going to be profitable.

The Mandala Vratham takes a seeker through Karma Yoga and at the end of the pilgrimage he is inspired towards the union of Jeevatma (Microcosm) with the Paramatma (Macrocosm). Knowing the essence of ‘me’ as an individual, is the essence of the Lord – That Tvam Asi is the spirit of Jnana Yoga.  It is also important for the seeker to get a grand idea of 'self' at an early stage in life, that he is not a limited entity of ego, but a universal Self with infinite potential. So, parents must take their children to Ayyappa Pooja celebrations locally in their home towns and to Sabarimala Sannidhanam to part take in the experience at a young age. The concept of Tat Tvam Asi must be imparted to the children early so that when they get older the Ayyappa culture will get rooted in them naturally.

Mandalam Musings Day 36- Pilgrimage to Sabarimala is a unique experience.-

 

Mandalam Musings Day 36-

Pilgrimage to Sabarimala is a unique experience.-

We looked at the legendry and philosophical aspects of Swamy Ayyappan’s avatar of Sree Dharma Sastha. The demoness, Mahishi, represents the animal tendencies in us and it is not easy to get rid of them. To annihilate those, Lord Vishnu (Ayya), in the guise of Jeevathma and the Paramathma, Lord Siva (Appan) had to merge. Thus, Sree Ayyappan was born to destroy all the afflictions of the world and to establish Dharma. The episode of Ayyappa incarnation is also instrumental in a seeker’s liberation. Liberation is nothing but removing the wrong notion and establishing the right ideas about one’s own divinity.

Let us see how the pilgrimage impacts the individual devotee and the society around him. 41 days (duration of one mandala) of austere life gives a devotee a culture of pious life and he gets to taste the sattvic lifestyle year after year. He gets to elevate himself slowly and steadily by taking up the Mandala Vratham every year. People have reported that observing the Mandala Vratham is like re-charging batteries of life for the rest of the year. No wonder all devotees look forward to repeating the 41 day’s Mandala Vratham year after year even though the austerities call for stringent measures.

Unlike visiting other temples, one can reach Sabarimala only by walking up the hill through forest paths that are not paved in most places. It doubles as an adventure trip for youngsters and a penance for others. It must be noted that people of all religious traditions take part in the pilgrimage. In fact, there is a special place for Vavar – the warrior assistant of Swamy Ayyappan who followed Islamic traditions. There are also Christian churches around the Sabarimala region with close affiliation to the pilgrimage traditions. This Ayyappa culture is helping society to encourage and nourish communal harmony in Kerala.

Another aspect of the pilgrimage is that every pilgrim is equal there no matter what their social or financial status is. All are devotee Ayyappas, trying to emulate the quality of Lord Ayyapppa. Every male devotee is addressed as Ayyappan there and lady devotees are addressed as  Malikappuram Devis or Ammas. It is indeed the socialism of higher nature, in practice!

Mandalam Musings Day 35- God is one; Devatas are many-

 

Mandalam Musings Day 35-

God is one; Devatas are many-

There are numerous temples for Devatas, established by men of knowledge to inspire and lead us on the path of spirituality. In the Hindu scriptures there are 330 million Devatas, mentioned, but God, the ultimate reality is only one. That one reality is not separate from us.  Due to the lack of knowledge or due to lack of the required awareness, we fall prey to the play of Maya, or illusion, and think that “I am this limited individual with a separate identity” and get engrossed in that imaginary self. But our scriptures and the Vedas declare based on experiences reported by realized souls that our self is in fact not different from the Self of the universe. It is only a matter of discovering the truth to realize the ultimate, universal oneness.

However, this finding is not easy and that is the reason in Sanathana Dharma, we seek inspiration from various schools of thought. That is the basis of diversity that we all celebrate so dearly. Unity in diversity is the national motto of India and Sanathana Dharma is the basis of that. 

There are religious traditions that worship forms of gods and goddesses (Devatas) with specific characteristics and powers. So, when such temples are consecrated, the master who created that temple would list out several assumptions of forming such a deity at a particular location, at a particular time and he is a father figure to the deity. As the deity is consecrated, it gets a life of its own. The father of the deity considers it as a living being and starts to serve it like one. He wakes Him up, gives a bath, feeds Him, sings and dances for Him and entertains Him; and finally, at the end of the day puts Him to sleep by singing lullabies. The father also has decided the purpose of the deity and decided who should do what kinds of worship at the temple.

At Sabarimala, it is believed that the strict conditions of the pilgrimage have been instructed by the Lord Ayyappa himself to his adopted father, Sree Rajasekhara, the King of Panthalam, at the time of building the temple and installing the Moorthy (Idol) of Ayyappa. The temple was consecrated by Lord Parasurama and there are insignia of Jnana (wisdom) and Abhaya Mudra (security) on the Murthy. The Lord wanted his pilgrims to lead a pious austere life for 41 days to get them prepared for the vision they are going to behold when they come to the Sabarimala abode to have a darshan.  The conditions are set forth by the King, with great intentions and so the devotees are bound to adhere to them.

When the devotees get the vision, they were eagerly waiting for, they must realize that there is no
difference between the Lord Ayyappa and the Devotee Ayyappa. To have this lofty vision, everyone needs to strive and achieve it. During the 41 days, devotees get to practice the life of a Sanyasi. He is practicing the final Ashrama of life – Sanyasam- even at the early ages and getting himself ready when the time arrives.