Kasi Yatra Chronicles- Part 20

Morning we reached the temple at around 4:45 and was stunned to see around 150 people waiting in the special queue for Rs.50/-. This was a Monday and the crowd was still huge, what would've been the weekend crowd...! It is pleasant experience to wake up in the morning and do what our heart loves to...! Walking towards temple at this time is really a great experience.

The crowd slowly moved and when we came to Sannidhi, we had the Darshan of this Great Wonder, Spadika Lingam. There was lights all around it. This is the Lingam for which abisekham is done everyday and charged. It was a delight to have a look at Him at that early hour. After this we returned to the hotel to get ready for our other visits.

We had our breakfast at our usual Ganesh Mess, one of the best vegetarian joints around there. The auto came to pick us up there. We went to Gandha Madhava Parvatham. We went had a Darshan of Ramar Patham, the equivalent of Vishnu Patham at Gaya. While Vishnu Patham symbolizes destruction of Gayasuran, Ramar Patham symbolizes destruction of Ravanan. 

The entire Rameswaram town is visible from this place. We sudenly saw a row of our Pithruswaiting to give us Darshan. It is something of an odd site, where a row of crows sitting undisturbed. There is a floor above the Sannidhi from where it is claimed that one can view Srilanka...!

From here we moved on to Ramar Theertham where one can see the floating stone. We are allowed to hold a stone from the water which is said to weigh around 20 kgs...! That was phenomenal...! After this we went to Ramar temple opposite to the Theertham. All these theerthams have got a entry fee. After this we went to a beautiful Anjaneyar temple, where we saw the temple under construction for a 16 ft Anjaneyar...! Floating stones are found here too, but is sold only at Ramar Theertham.

Later we went to Lakshmana Theertham and finally to Seetha Theertham. We did theertha prokshanam at all these places. Having got the Blessings of all these Deities, we moved on to do some shopping. As a last activity of the visit we visited Dr. Abdul Kalam's shopping mall. After the temple visit, this is one good place everyone tourist should visit. They sell various sea shell crafts and handicrafts including spadika maalai and salagramam...!

After some shopping, we returned to the hotel. With packing almost having been done due to our earlier plans, it was less effort this today to just pack the left outs. When we sat in the bus and when it started moving at 5 PM it was feeling of fulfillment and joy. The chairs were reclined and we felt very relaxed. Ramanatha Swamy had taken care of His guests thoroughly...!

We reached Chennai on time and the daily rigmarole started. With His Blessings having completed round trip of Kasi Yatra, we plan to conduct the Samaradhanai at Chennai, tentatively on 25th Jun 2011. With His Blessings and all your Blessings, we pray that it should go through fine. I pray that He gives every Wishing Soul a Good Kasi Yatra experience, as He gave us...!

Anantha Kodi Namaskarams

Ram

Kasi Yatra Chronicles- Part 19

After our lunch around 2 PM, the next two hours was chaotic. We were waiting for a miracle of tickets getting confirmed. The thoughts of Monday morning blues of office was coming to mind. Not sure what to do to return to Chennai, we discussed all possibilities except chartered flight...!

Finally, Vijaya told that staying back was also a good option, and after some thought I felt the same. We live in a artificial world, where we assume office problems, sky will fall and things will coming to a grinding halt if we were not in the planned place for sometime. The fact remains that nothing stops and work is as usual even in our absence.It takes sometime to digest this fact...!

By 3 PM, my sms to 139 with "PNR " confirmed that tickets were waitlisted...! Now, the risk having happened, we went on to contingency plans. We started roaming aroundRameswaram, this time for our travel plans. Many travel operators were point blank to tell, it is just impossible to get a train ticket or bus ticket on the day of travel. There are only two bus operators from Rameswaram to Chennai viz. Parveen Travels and Universel Travels.

After lots of deliberations we called Universel Travels for a ticket on next day evening. The bus leaves at 5 PM and reaches Chennai at 5 AM, almost like train travel time. This ticket was delivered to us at the hotel. Now, I made alternative arrangements at office and now started enjoying the plans of Ramanatha Swamy had for us.

The next day travel was the icing in the cake of our Kasi Yatra. Technically the yatra having come to a completion and only awaiting Samarathanai, the next day's visit was ''bonus' offered Ramanatha Swamy to us...! We called an auto driver whom's number we got during the first visit to Rameswaram, and fixed him for our visits for next day. After a good dinner, we went to sleep with the eagerness to have Darshan of Spadika Lingam at 4:30 AM next day morning...!

(To be continued...!)

Kasi Yatra Chronicles- Part 18

Next day morning we set off to Kshetradanam of places around Rameswaram. Sethu Karai, Devi Pattinam, Utthara Kosa Mangai and Thiruppullani around 7 AM. Not knowing Ramanatha Swamy's plans we were deeply thinking about what could happen if tickets were not confirmed. But, I consciously decided to discuss about this only by 12 noon, since the chart preparation would happen by 3 pm.

Sethu Karai was the first spot. A magnificent place indeed.Lord Hanuman looking direct into the ocean, the spot where Sethu (bridge) construction was started by Lord Rama. The temple Archakar told that if travel a bit into the ocean we can see a bridge structure, which is called as Adam's bridge by Westerners.

There was a old Sadhu outside the temple to whom we were immediately tempted to give alms and we moved on. We reached Devi Pattinam for Navabashanam, the navagrahas consecrated by Lord Rama before his travel t Lanka. After this we went off to Thirupullani. A wonderful temple with a wonderful Theertham called Sakkara Theertham.It is really magnificent with huge corridors and big gopurams. King Dasaratha had brought His wives and had taken payasam resulting in Rama's birth. We took Kungumam from Thaayar for my sister, which Gurukkal gave after performing pooja. The shrine looked to possess lots of Divinity inspite of average number of people turning out there.

The Dharba-sayana Perumal here is beautiful Deity to look at. Lord Rama is supposed to have rested here on Dharpasanam, on the lap of Laskmana, when He did not know Seetha's whereabouts. This is till Lord Hanuman came back and told 'Kandaen Seethayai'...! We had a good Darshan from His Patham onwards and took His Blessings and move on.

We left from there to Utthara Kosa Mangai, which was a longer travel. My MIL's hometown happens to be Ramanathapuram and she was always in praise of the Utthara Kosa Mangai temple and its gopuram. We saw the grandeur of the temple gopuram when we reached there. It was very hot sun, but our awe to stand and look at the gopuram was not disturbed.

Ambal Mangalanayaki sametha Mangeleswarar resides in this beautiful temple, which is claimed to be more than 4000 years old. Ambal and Parameswaran are great sights to keep looking at. We then started back to Rameswaram to have our lunch. By this time, Ramanatha Swamy's plan was slowly unfolding. He did not want us to leave the Kshetram without few other visits.

(To be continued...!)

Kasi Yatra Chronicles- Part 17

After the evening's Abisekham, it was our time fully at Rameswaram that day. We were at our will do whatever we want. Myself and Vijaya roamed the roads of Rameswaram. Bit late evening around 6 to 7 PM times, walking around in Rameswaram is a pleasant experience. Various types of Devotees, various types of practices, various languages, various beliefs, but one God - Ramanatha Swamy. The thread that was binding the citizens of Bharatha Bhoomi seemed to be strong. 

People from various states, sects, languages were pouring into one spot of the vast Indian landscape to pay their respects to Him. This is very surprising. It is probably in the genes of all Indian born citizens, or people with India as roots. The urge to do Kasi Yatra seems to have been for ages. In Kaliyugam, it is slowly coming down and it is our responsibility to re-kindle these thoughts and make everyone get the joy of doing Kasi Yatra.

To have time at our command is a nice thing, which is what was happening on the first day evening. But it was giving us pleasant experiences and we got used to many finer aspects of Rameswaram. We had our dinner at Sastrigal's residence, being the tharpanam day and went to sleep not sure about our tickets' status and Ramanatha Swamy's plans to make us stay long...!

(To be continued...!)

Kasi Yatra Chronicles- Part 16

The first day early evening function was pooja to Ganga Matha which was brought for Ramanathaswamy's Abisekham. This was attended by around eight Brahmins who recited Rudram. It was a wonderful site to hear the Rudram for almost one hour. Ganga Jalam was then taken to Ramanatha Swamy temple from Sastrigal's residence. 

It was a dream coming true fully. He made us come here, take Veni Mahdavar and immerse in Thriveni and He made us collect Ganga Jalam and is having abisekham for Himself...! In between He is using us as tools...! A thought of joy and scare gets in together into the minds. Joy for being in His sight to do this Kasi Yatra and scare for being good enough to stay in His sight...! In Kaliyugam, it is easy to do misdeeds and justify the same, I was requesting Him to guide us to do deeds which He saw fit to be good...! Sambho Mahadeva...! Om Namo Naryana...!

The gurukkal took the ganga jalam and poured into another vessel. This was done to put everyone's ganga jalam into a single container. Then this water was taken to perform Abisekham for Ramanatha Swamy. It's a glorious site, deep in the heart it more looked like He ordered Ganga Jalam for Himself and was getting Himself bathed in it. This was the logical completion of our Kasi Yatra. As told earlier, Ramanatha Swamy had extended plans for us, which we did not know that day...!

(To be continued...!

Kasi Yatra Chronicles- Part 15

Agni Theertham is always the place of action. Many of these activities are supposed to be happening at Dhanushkodi, but people for their own reasons. Myself and Viji dipped in the water here also and started walking to the Temple with the kind treatment of Sun God.

The attire in all these activites were full, panch-kachcha veshti for me and madisar for Viji. With this we got into temple for theertha snanam. Except the fifth theertham, which was closed due to some repair work, we had bath in all the other theerthams. How much ever we tell, the experience of having bath in 22 theerthams has to be learnt as an experience than being read or heard...! Ajacent wells providing different chilled water and this being done for yugas is a miracle by itself...!

Once we reached back the hotel and changed our clothes to get ready for srartham. It is important that one does not bathe again after having done the 22 theertha snanam. We should only change the clothes and not have bath again outside these 22 theerthams. We went to Sastrigal home to do the Srartham, which went on very well. After the Brahmins had food and we had ours, some stark reality started haunting us. This was the waiting list of our return tickets. We were still in Waiting List 1 & 2 and we were supposed to start the next day evening. 

Shree Swaminatha Sastrigal was positive about this, but when we told this was 2 AC, he was not sure about the possibilities. Overall, our stand was that, we have come in as guests of Ramanatha Swamy and it was upto Him to treat us the best way...! He definitely had surprises for us, when we knew that the ticket never got confirmed till journey the next day...!

(To be continued...!)

Kasi Yatra Chronicles- Part 14

It was a sheer coincidence that I was able to connect to one Holy Soul the day before our travel toRameswaram. The Soul had forwarded the Rameswaram experiences which I took a printout for reference. I would not have known the significance of some areas, had I not got these inputs. Calling this as sheer coincidence is the simplest way to describe the event...!

We reached Rameswaram right in the morning at around 4:15, while ETA was 5 AM. We got down and walked out to see the Dakshinamurthy just before the exit. We prayed Him and got His Blessings and moved on. He was not visible to us during the last visit, the Holy Soul had opened our eyes to Him...!

We got ready at the same Hotel Venkatesh and met our Purohit Shree Swaminatha Sastrigal who is in the adjacent road. We started travelling to Dhanushkodi at around 7 AM. The same jeep which had two sentences on the front glass. One referring to Murugan and another (yes you got it...!) to Annamalaiar...! Mayilam Murugan happens to be our Family Deity and Annamalaiar is our Ishta Deivam - both of them ready to pick us up to Dhanushkodi. The soul who was driving the jeep is an ardent follower of Ramana Maharishi...! What more do you want in a good Yatra...!

We started the rituals on reaching Dhanushkodi and had a dip in the sethu. There was something different we experienced this time, the waves were dashing which was not the case last time. We asked Shree Swaminatha Sastrigal about this and then he showed the two shores. One side the ocean was waveless and on the otherside with heavy waves and Dhanushkodi is the spot they merge...!

It is Bay of Bengal on one side and Arabian sea on another side. Our Purohit said that the current created in its sangamam is good for health...! It was definitely bit tough to stand in this area, which is the actual tip of the entire land...!

There was one old person whom we met last time, who came out of nowhere. This time, my eyes were roving to find any such possible person at Dhanushkodi, but did not find anyone...! Maybe, my expectation made me miss this one...! We travelled back to Rameswaram with the next sequence of activities starting from Agni Theertham. The Sun was kind with us, even though He was shining strong, He made our bare foot walk comfortable.

(To be continued...!)

Kasi Yatra Chronicles- Part 13

Namaskarams

With His Blessings, 'm back...! Before I write about Kasi Yatra, I would like to share with you all the happy news about the overwhelming response this mail sequence has created. Starting from my own family members to so many other group members, there were quite a lot of mails - All This is attributed to my Aiyan Annamalaiyar. He gave the thought and He executed the plan and He made me share all this with you. So, all the best things of this writeup is owed to Him and any discrepancies are because of my oversight and aloofness.

I'm in no mood to jump into the last leg of the yatra and convey our blissful experience, instead dwell little on the significance of Kasi Yatra itself. Few tidbits on Kasi Yatra:-

• Kasi yatra is mandatory for everyone and is NOT a RELIGIOUS activity, but a life discipline
• Just that the yatri should be doing it for their Pithrus / Forefathers
• Plan Kasi yatra when your are physically comfortable, not in a age when you depend on others a lot
• Plan your Kasi Yatra with the help of your family Purohit (Vadhyar) if not, through some one whom you know, who will not advice 'quick yatras'
• While many activities could go wrong viz. 'Not doing sethu snanam', 'not doing veni dhanam in Prayag', 'shortening kasi stay', 'quickening gaya activities' and many more - ensure there is proper guide to do all things right, to the extent possible
• Have Him as your guide in Kasi Yatra apart from the mortal ones
• Never underspend or overspend in Kasi Yatra, this means you have to spend money which your conscience tells as the 'apt' one - very dicey though...!
• Make Kasi Yatra an enjoyable experience and do not ride any other horses (ex. Office work, Personal activities etc.) during this time
• Keep remembering that having a bath in Ganga is a chance that so many athmas in so many Universes are waiting for. Enjoy every bit of Ganga Matha's shower on us. Our Forefathers meant something special when they told that all our sins gets washed away when bathe in Ganga - a message to be deciphered beyond simple language
• Never ever criticize anyone asking for alms during yatra (even otherwise), since you never know to whom you would be providing the alms...! If you are no mood to donate a penny, keep quiet and move on
• Please don't experience a 'luxurious stay' during the yatra, what experience you get will definitely be luxurious for soul, sometimes not for body, but it SHOULD NOT MATTER
• Spread your good experiences with your near and dear and to all in your environment. In Kaliyug, it is important to do our bit for global harmony, do that little bit

Now, let me get into our Rameswaram travel on 27th May 2011. With His managing of the entire show with lots of care, we did not bother about our tickets being in waiting list till a week before travel. Two days before we got our ticket confirmed, unlike last time where it got confirmed on the day of travel.

Like last time, I went to Chengalpattu, which happens to be my native town, from my office in Mahindra City to board the train. My wife boarded it from Egmore, with whom I joined. This time there was another event, I signed an agreement, bit materialistic in nature, but a dream of mine right opposite to the CPT railway station. I got into train, and started travelling to Rameswaram...! He was waiting with lots of surprises for us...!

(To be contiued...!)