All of Me and All of You - Part 2 (Thiruvanai Kovil)
There was once a very very long time ago when this place was all jungle and forest, lived an elephant and a spider. The elephant and the spider were both great devotees of Lord Shiva and on a daily basis they would go to a Shivalingam and perform their worship. The spider always noticed that because Shiva was located under a tree, there would always be dried leaves and debris that fall on him... not being able to see the sanctity of his lord defiled by these the spider intricately weaved a web on top of the Shivalinga to trap the debris so that it might not fall on his lord.
As much as the spider loved the lord, so did the elephant... now every morning when the elephant would come to greet his lord, he found that there was always a spider web on top of it.This disturbed the elephant for how could the lord of the universe wear a crown of a spider web. Hence as a good devotee should he cleared out the web and cleaned the surroundings of his lord.
When the spider came back, to his amazement he found that the web had been cleared out and Alas... his Lord of lords was left unprotected.A fight ensued over the two and at last the spider went into the trunk of the elephant and bit him to death. Lord Shiva seeing the devotion of the two granted them liberation, however, the spider came back as the King KO Chengot Chola and built this temple.
This story was narrated to me by Sathya as we walked into the portals of the temple. I was already amazed for as usual with all these temples there was a great sense of peace pervading the environment. However the energy i found here was not the mind quieting type but the playful loving energy. I felt like a kid in a playground. The temple was vast and as we walked in he gave me this very stern warning... Hmm.. I'm beginning to see a pattern.
"When we go into the sanctum Sanctorium, no matter what anyone says u stay beside me until i leave"
"Errr... Okie anna..." why would he demand something like that and really how difficult could it be. well I did not know until we entered the little 4 feet enclosement where resided the Lord Jambukeshwar.
He was soooo beautifully adorned with flowers and the light of the lamp within gave him a most regal golden hue. Sathya as usual launched into his Sri Rudram and me as usual in my awe of Swamis magnificence.
"Swami Hie!!!! I said in my playful Voice... I'm here ! Tell me u see me ! Do something swami ! "
and at that point ... a flower fell .
"YAY! Ur here my Swami! " I mean it wasn't surprising u know... Swami does it all the time.
What happened next was the Gift from Jambukeshwar. As both of us stood there refusing to move although we were asked several time ( Pat on the back for being thick skinned..) another flower fell from Swami, then a garland, then another Garland came tumbling down and then along with it.... The silver Vibhuthi marker"
"Swami .... I love you .... ! I love You ! was all i could say"
He never Showers his Love this Swami of ours..He only Floods you with it ! Just like the waters from the spring in which he sits he Flooded me with his immense love and compassion... I know He knows that I know He loves me !
Finally we left the sanctum and walked outside... I was again in my state of Bliss which i found in this trip to happen ever so often. I realize i become very quiet like the silence fills you up so much you feel like a placid lake and if you utter a word a ripple would form and the stillness destroyed.
We walked out and around the temple laughing and joking.. I was sooo Happy. I don't think i have been that happy for such a long long time. It reminded me of the days Joshua and Jerry and I would run up and down Patti's house garden and pick those "helicopter grass" it was an amazing feeling. I wanted to hold Sathyas hand and swing it and play catching in the temple.Of course social norms kinda stopped that.
We hung out for a while at the corridors of the temple and spoke allot about so many things, He read out the stories of great devotees which were hung around the temple for me. It was a wonderful feeling of being loved and protected and cared for with no strings attached. No Whats In It For Me attitude at all.
Soon it was time for the puja in the Akhilandeshwary Sanidhi to happen. We watched the Go Puja happen and then the procession led by the elephant moved from the main sactum to the Akhilandeshwary temple. Legend has it that this form of Akhilandeshwary was a growing one and to stop her from becoming enormous, Adhi Shankara put on a pair of earrings so big to stop her growth. As i looked at her , Sathya tells me me to sing a song and all i could do was to call her to come for she was sooo real, so beautiful and so motherly.
As the priest waved the Arathi after the puja and was coming out, I again had this strange desire to have flowers from her. I noticed that he merely had 2 strings of flowers on his tray and there were loads of ladies standing awaiting her blessings.
" Please Maa ..." i asked... I want it so much. Please... at that moment all i wanted was the flowers, self realization and all could wait... but right now that is all i wanted. Why ? I really have no clue.
The priest walks right to me and gives me the arathi and a string of the flowers .
You heard me Maa thank you! I said almost out loud and as i put the kum kum she gave on my forehead, Sathya said... soon there will be one more place that you would need to put it on. How in the world does he say the very thing that I'm thinking off right out in front like an answer to my prayer I don't know. He was Swami for me that trip... it really was a date with the divine!.
The Joy i felt in this temple was sooo much. Like i found my childhood again! All i could do was to be thankful... and to bathe in the flood of love at Jambukeshwaram.
There was once a very very long time ago when this place was all jungle and forest, lived an elephant and a spider. The elephant and the spider were both great devotees of Lord Shiva and on a daily basis they would go to a Shivalingam and perform their worship. The spider always noticed that because Shiva was located under a tree, there would always be dried leaves and debris that fall on him... not being able to see the sanctity of his lord defiled by these the spider intricately weaved a web on top of the Shivalinga to trap the debris so that it might not fall on his lord.
As much as the spider loved the lord, so did the elephant... now every morning when the elephant would come to greet his lord, he found that there was always a spider web on top of it.This disturbed the elephant for how could the lord of the universe wear a crown of a spider web. Hence as a good devotee should he cleared out the web and cleaned the surroundings of his lord.
When the spider came back, to his amazement he found that the web had been cleared out and Alas... his Lord of lords was left unprotected.A fight ensued over the two and at last the spider went into the trunk of the elephant and bit him to death. Lord Shiva seeing the devotion of the two granted them liberation, however, the spider came back as the King KO Chengot Chola and built this temple.
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| The temple Logo - See the elephant, the spider and Akhilandeshwary all doing Abhishegam to the Lord in the form of the Water Linggam. |
"When we go into the sanctum Sanctorium, no matter what anyone says u stay beside me until i leave"
"Errr... Okie anna..." why would he demand something like that and really how difficult could it be. well I did not know until we entered the little 4 feet enclosement where resided the Lord Jambukeshwar.
He was soooo beautifully adorned with flowers and the light of the lamp within gave him a most regal golden hue. Sathya as usual launched into his Sri Rudram and me as usual in my awe of Swamis magnificence.
"Swami Hie!!!! I said in my playful Voice... I'm here ! Tell me u see me ! Do something swami ! "
and at that point ... a flower fell .
"YAY! Ur here my Swami! " I mean it wasn't surprising u know... Swami does it all the time.
What happened next was the Gift from Jambukeshwar. As both of us stood there refusing to move although we were asked several time ( Pat on the back for being thick skinned..) another flower fell from Swami, then a garland, then another Garland came tumbling down and then along with it.... The silver Vibhuthi marker"
"Swami .... I love you .... ! I love You ! was all i could say"
He never Showers his Love this Swami of ours..He only Floods you with it ! Just like the waters from the spring in which he sits he Flooded me with his immense love and compassion... I know He knows that I know He loves me !
Finally we left the sanctum and walked outside... I was again in my state of Bliss which i found in this trip to happen ever so often. I realize i become very quiet like the silence fills you up so much you feel like a placid lake and if you utter a word a ripple would form and the stillness destroyed.
We walked out and around the temple laughing and joking.. I was sooo Happy. I don't think i have been that happy for such a long long time. It reminded me of the days Joshua and Jerry and I would run up and down Patti's house garden and pick those "helicopter grass" it was an amazing feeling. I wanted to hold Sathyas hand and swing it and play catching in the temple.Of course social norms kinda stopped that.
We hung out for a while at the corridors of the temple and spoke allot about so many things, He read out the stories of great devotees which were hung around the temple for me. It was a wonderful feeling of being loved and protected and cared for with no strings attached. No Whats In It For Me attitude at all.
Soon it was time for the puja in the Akhilandeshwary Sanidhi to happen. We watched the Go Puja happen and then the procession led by the elephant moved from the main sactum to the Akhilandeshwary temple. Legend has it that this form of Akhilandeshwary was a growing one and to stop her from becoming enormous, Adhi Shankara put on a pair of earrings so big to stop her growth. As i looked at her , Sathya tells me me to sing a song and all i could do was to call her to come for she was sooo real, so beautiful and so motherly.
As the priest waved the Arathi after the puja and was coming out, I again had this strange desire to have flowers from her. I noticed that he merely had 2 strings of flowers on his tray and there were loads of ladies standing awaiting her blessings.
" Please Maa ..." i asked... I want it so much. Please... at that moment all i wanted was the flowers, self realization and all could wait... but right now that is all i wanted. Why ? I really have no clue.
The priest walks right to me and gives me the arathi and a string of the flowers .
You heard me Maa thank you! I said almost out loud and as i put the kum kum she gave on my forehead, Sathya said... soon there will be one more place that you would need to put it on. How in the world does he say the very thing that I'm thinking off right out in front like an answer to my prayer I don't know. He was Swami for me that trip... it really was a date with the divine!.
The Joy i felt in this temple was sooo much. Like i found my childhood again! All i could do was to be thankful... and to bathe in the flood of love at Jambukeshwaram.
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