Some of the Temple that we
would be visiting.
IFC India
Welcome to 2002 Tantric
Pilgrimage of India.
Our Aim it to get to Kanyakumari, and for this we will travel through
the State of Kerala. It is the most beautiful state in India. This is the state where the
divine Mother Ammachi (Mata Amritanandamayi) is from. She is well known both overseas as
she is in India. Our Master has a great love for her.
Kerala is flanked by Karnataka on the north and Tamil Nadu in the east. It is an
enchanting strip of land ensconced between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats. We will
stop for an over night stay at Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala. Here we will
visit Sri Padamanabhaswamy Temple. Its 7story gopuram, built in the 16th Century is one of
the finest specimens of traditional South Indian temple architure that reflect the Kerala
influence.
The temple corridors are lined with 368 sculpted stone pillars. Only Hindus can enter this
temple, wearing dhoti in a certain style, which will be available to all on this
pilgrimage, Just seeing it from the outside will be a worth vile visit.
The next day we will visit Sree Krishna temple, is one of the most important temple in
Kerala, with architectural features conforming to the typical Kerala style.
The next day we will travel to Kanniyakumari. Located on the shore, in the very Southern
tip of India is the temple of the goddess Kanya Kumari who is an aspect of Parasakthi (the
highest aspect of female energy).
We will also meditate where Swami Vivekananda one of India's great sage, meditated in
1892. Vivekananda was a disciple of Swami Ramakrishna, another very great saint. We will
also visit the site where mother Kanya performed penance
The processional deity in the Kanyakumari temple is called Thyagasundari. The Holy Mother,
who appears in the state of being ready for marriage, is called Syamasundari.
Pushpakasi a virgin was very much devoted to Lord Siva and by her stern penance attained
Sayujya Moksha. Sayujya Moksha means entering heaven with human body and remaining in
human form with the Supreme lord.
During that time Bana an Asura had won a boon that he could not be killed by anyone other
than a Kanya (virgin). It became a problem to destroy his and save mankind. People
approached Lord Siva for redress. Lord Siva knew that only a virgin could kill this
Banasura. With the blessing of Lord Shiva she does destroy Bana.
Our Virgin Mother has the power to remove the demons within us. The temple is very
special, for it energy and the priest here is very honoring of people who want to
meditate, this is not so in most temple in India.
Every Hindu believes that if they bath in the sea at the Cape and makes their offerings to
their guru would attain salvation. A visitor to Cape Comorin rarely misses this holy bath.
Swami Vivekananda used to plunge in deep meditation on the hill facing the Goddess. He
prayed there for the salvation of mankind. Hence the Hill is called the Vivekananda Hill.
The one distinguishing feature of the sand at the Cape is that it is of various colors.
The modern scientists call it monazite sand.
We will spend 2 nights here, visiting the Virgin Mother and also practicing Kundalini
Meditation at the beach, this will help to release some of the toxic materials that are
lodged in our organs, especially the Navel, and the nine gates.
After festiving on Mother Kanniyakumari's grace and energy we will travel to we will visit
Lords Nagaraja Temple, where we would spend connecting with our inner serpent. This temple
is situated 12 miles from Cape Comorin, in the midst of paddy fields. The following is the
traditional story of its origin.
In the fields where the temple now stands, one day, a worker, while harvesting the crops,
came across a granite stone and, as soon as the sickle came in contact with it, blood came
out of the stone. This being an unusual happening, the news spread like wild fire and it
became the talk of the town. Thus the temple came to be built. He represents the snake
within your inner self.
People from all over south India travel to this temple every Sunday and on Anuradha days
with offerings of milk. It is said that many serpents live all round the temple. But there
has been no fatal case of snakebite within a radius of one mile from the place. The
earthen prasadam taken from the place where Lord Nagaraja is installed (on bare earth
where it was originally found) has never diminished in quantity even after its use for
many many years. It is also remarkable that this prasadam will be white in colour for six
months in the year and turn light black for the remaining six months
We would have lunch here and travel to Rameswaram where we will visit Lord Ramanathar and
Mother Parvatavartini (Shiva, Parvati)
A huge temple known for its towers and its longest ornate corridor worldwide, its origins
date back to the days of the epics. It is a piligrimage center of nationwide importance,
as Rama is said to have worshipped Shiva here on his way back from SriLanka. The temple is
in the island of Rameswaram the Banares of the South , connected to the mainland by a
bridege. The deity here constitutes one of the 12 Jyotirlingams of India. Its praises have
been sung by the Saivite Saint Poets.
Rameswaram, the Temple City, is situated in the Ramanathapuram District of Tamil Nadu
about 413 miles Southeast of Madras.
The Temple City is an island of 31 miles length and 7 miles width in the shape of Vishnu's
Conch.
The island has derived its name from Lord Rama who installed a Shivalinga (one of the 16
primeval Jyothirlingams of Lord Sankara) here, to get rid of the Brahmahatya Papa having
killed Ravana. Sanctified by the footprints of Lord Rama together with the installation of
the Linga and its worship, the island is one of holiest places of India.
Every Hindu cherishes the desire to have a darshan of the Siva installed and worshipped by
Sri Rama. Rameswaram is thus one of the four most popular pilgrim of Hindus.
A few miles south, of Uppoor is Devi Patnam. It is popularly called Navapa- shanam. The
shallow bay one can find 9 stones standing upright. They are said to have been planted by
Rama to represent the nine planets worshipped by Him for the success of His mission. It is
common in Hindu life to obtain the blessing of the planets before commencing any arduous
task. It is called Navagraha Puja. Even Sri Rama, the incarnation of God, had to act like
the common man for educating the common mind.
The path to Dhanushkodi is dotted with a number of Teerthams or holy waters which a
pilgrim must dip into to cleansing of one's past.
The Gods collected all the Teerthams, and Sage Dadhichi took his bath here and then gave
up his body. The following are the Teerthams where pilgrims bathe. It is said that Lord
Krishna had to take bath to purify himself.
The list below are the Teerthams.
1.Maha Lakshmi. 2.Savitri. 3. Gayatri. 4. Saraswati 5. Madhava.
6. Gandhamdana. 7. Gavaksha. 8. Gavaya. 9. Nala. 10.Neela.
11.Sankha. 12.Sakra. 13.Brahmahatya Vimochana. 14. Surya
15.Chandra 16.Ganga 17.Yamuna 18.Gaya. 19.Siva. 20.Satyamrita.
21.Sarva. 22.Kodi
From here we will travel to Kumbakonam where we will stay for 7 days, during which time we
will do Kundalini Meditation and also visit the planetary Temples around Kumbakonam to
remove obstacles in our life. This journey is important to overcome the effect of the
Planets. Planetary rays form and structure our mind, emotions and senses. They organize
the systems of our physical body. Our circulation of blood, for example, mirrors the
revolution of the Sun and Moon in the heavens. The intelligence of the planets function
within our bodies and minds as the natural and organic intelligence responsible for their
marvelous functioning.
The stars and planets are not just outer entities; they are alive within us as well. They
exist within our own minds as our guiding lights. The planets show the energies in life
that we need to master to calm our minds. For example, anger, is a typical lower energy of
the planet Mars.
Vaitheeswaran- Temple at Angarah for planet Mars
and Ketu in Keezhperumallam,
which will be on a Tuesday. To Thiruvenkadu where we will visit Mercury
temple, on Wednesday. To Alangudi on Thursday to visit Guru-Jupiter temple. To Kanchanur we will visit Venus-Sukra on Friday. On Saturday we will visit Saturn-Sani at Thirunallaru. On Sunday
to Surianar temple to visit Sun-Surya and
on Monday we shall go to Thingalur to pay our visit to planet
Moon temple on Monday.
Let us together enjoy this journey as sisters and brothers, wanting to
experience the love within, with total spontaneity and as a total act of love.
Listed below are some of the Temples that we will be visiting.
Chidambaram- Lord Siva is
worshiped as Sky. Lord Shiva is worshiped in two forms, Nataraja, the Lord of Dance, and
as Akasha Lingam, which is the subtlest element of ether or space. The Lingam is one of
the five elements and is invisible. The temple is one of the most beautiful and important
temples in India. This is one of the few temples in India that is owned by the people
rather than the government. Here the priest in the temple would give us a personal tour.
We will be staying here for 2 days for there are many temples within one temple complex.
Tiruvanaikkaval-
here he is worshiped as water. Detail of the temple will be posted at a later date.
Tiruvannamalai - here he is worshiped as fire. Arunachaleswara Temple is one of the
largest temples in India, 13-story high sculptured gopuram. There are also temples
dedicated to Subrahmanya, the Lord who presides over Venus, which is the planet of love,
art and music. People who are born on the 6th, 15th and 24th of any month are ruled by
Venus, and also those with a weak Venus in their chart.
Kanchipuram - Sri Ekambaranatha Temple is the largest in Kanchipuram where the Lingam is
known as the earth Lingam.
Kanchipuram- is known as the
"Golden City of Temples" and one of the seven main sacred cities of India and
situated about 45 miles southwest of Madras. It has over a hundred temples. It is believed
to give eternal happiness to one who goes to the temple. The city is divided into two
parts, Sivakanchi and Vishnukanchi. Kanchipuram is also known throughout India for its
high quality hand-woven silk fabrics and saris.
We will be visiting Sri Kamakshi Amman Temple, the love eyed goddess. Her temple is one of
the three main places of Sakthi worship in India. Mother Kamakshi is said to be the Super
Goddess, Parasakti, having Sarasvati, Lakshmi and Parvati as her eyes. She blesses all
that dedicate themselves to her. The sanctum sanctorum faces southeast in the center of
Gayatri Mandaparn. The tradition says that there was a delightful grove of Champaka trees
around the main temple now known as Gayatri Mandaparn. The Divas took the form of parrots
and worshipped Sri Devi here.
Here we will also visit a very special Vishnu temple of Varadarajaswami situated on the
top of Hastigiri or Elephant Hill. One has to ascend 24 steps up the hill to reach the
main temple.
Kanchipuram- is regarded
as one of the three most important centers of Vaishnavism, the others being Srirangam and
Tirumalai (Tirupati), It is also regarded as one of the four Vaishnavite centers in South
India, with the addition of Tirunarayanapuram in Mysore. Every Vaishnavite even today
prays to the presiding Lords in these four places three times a day from wherever they
might be.
We will be visiting Sri Kamakshi Amman Temple, the love eyed goddess.
Her temple is one of the three main places of Sakthi worship in India, and a few other
temples of important.
Sri Kalahasti- here he worshiped
as the element air. Kalahastiswara Temple is on the right banks the Suvarnamukhi River.
This temple has the air Lingam. There is a lamp inside the inner sanctum that is
constantly flickering despite the lack of air movement inside. The air Lingam can be
observed to move even when the main Deity room is closed, which does not have any windows.
The Lingam is white and considered to be self-manifested. The main Lingam is untouched by
human hand, not even by the priest. This temple is one of the most impressive temple in
India.
Mudurai- The Meenakshi Temple is
in the center of the old town. It has two sanctuaries, one dedicated to lord Shiva as
Sundareswara (" the lord of Beauty and the other to Mother Meenakshi, his wife. This
is a very popular mother temple visited by most Hindus and visitors alike.
Obeisance ever unto Meenakshi who is Srividya incarnate, has her place at Siva's left,
shines in the mantra 'HRIM', Occupier of the bindu at the center of Srichakra, Queen of
Chitsabha, Mother of Sharimukha and Ganesh, Bewitcher of the universe, and the Ocean of
Grace." Last year I spent 2 weeks meditating at the temple. We would be staying here
for a few days.
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