Tantric Goddess Network
Some of the Temple that we would be visiting.
Our Aim it to get to Kanyakumari., and for this we will
travel from our center outside Madurai, the home of Mother Meenakshi who we
will visit at the end of our journey. Should you have a love for fine architecture, on the
pilgrimage it will take us to the finest specimens of traditional Southern
Temple architecture.
After two days at our center learning mantras and performing Yajnas to prepare
ourselves for the pilgrimage 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 Parasakti (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 color 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 pilgrimage 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 bridge. 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
here - the temple town of the South. This town is well known for its
Shaivaite and Vaishnavaite temples.
These temples are famous for their deities, the holy theertham
(water) as well as the sacred spot where they are situated.
Many temples including those dedicated to Aadi Kumbeswarar, Abhi Mukeswarar,
Kalahasteeshwarar, Varadaraja Perumal, Vedanarayana Perumal, Ashtadevi
Chamundeeshwari Ambal, Ramasami Koil, Kannika Paremeshwari and Kasi
Vishwanathar are celebrating the festival with great pomp and splendour.
Navarathri is the festival dedicated to Amman and each of the nine nights are dedicated to
one particular avatar of the Goddess.
During our stay in Kumbakonam 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 Shanmukha 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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