Epilogue Part 3 - Kailash Mansarovar Yatra

Madurai, Sivaganga and Ilayathangudi

Meenakshi is my real mother, who is really with me in my happy and hard days!  I vividly remember the day I stood in front of her with my B.Com degree and told her with tears in my eyes that to give value to that piece of paper is in Her hands. As a small-town student with no influence or no connections, 1980 was a difficult year for any graduate to get any job. Those were not the days of campus selections and recruitment. A high first class and an eagerness to do a good sincere job was not enough to get a decent job in a small place like Madurai. I started teaching accountancy and commerce subjects to +2 students and was giving bank selection exams. In the first round I got selected for Punjab National Bank and for State Bank of India. As SBI posted me in Madurai, I joined SBI. I knew that it was Meenakshi's grace that made me get selected when the competition for this job those days was nothing less than the level of IIT selection!  She had stood by me on many occasions!   I got married under Her feet and delivered my only child in Her place! She is the shruti for my life! 

I left Chennai by Duronto express and read the book "Penmai" - a compilation of MahaSwami's lectures in Tamil on womanhood compiled by Raa.Ganapathy. Though it made me feel guilty for not following His Upadesam in the practical life, it also made me think of changing my life in the direction that is prescribed by Him. I earnestly prayed that He Himself should make me lead the life that He is talking of!

Reaching Madurai at 6 am, I was happy to see the escalator in the railway station for use of passengers. Southern Railways at its best! I reached my cousin's house - Padma has been nicknamed "Reception Tasildar" as her house attracts all the relatives and friends who criss-cross southern part of India. Her happy nature in spite of all the odds that she has faced is a lesson for anyone who gets depressed at the drop of the hat! 

As usual she was hosting 4 friends of her father that day morning with tasty Venpongal and chutney. They four had just returned from Rameswaram after completing Kasi Yatra. They were happy to meet me who has recently completed Kailash Mansarovar yatra. Incidentally, I had attended Balvihar class in Thirunelveli when I was in VIII standard, which was held by one of these friends. It was a pleasant meeting of Kasi yatris with Kailash Mansarovar yatri and exchanging the Ganges theerth and Kailash Mansarovar Theerth!

I left for Sivaganga with my uncle who went on narrating the incidents that he had experienced with MahaSwami of Kanchi! My another uncle, who is younger to this uncle, had the good fortune of spending 2 full days with MahaSwami when He was camping in Ilayathangudi! My maternal grandmother is younger sister of Pudukottai Malladi Dakshinamurthy Sastrigal, a sanskrit scholar, a vedic pundit and a great devotee of MahaSwami. He  has composed a sanskrit shloka called "Paduka Stuthi Panchakam" on MahaSwami which has been made immortal in the voice of Bharatratna MS Subbalakshmi - here is the link to this shloka on MahaSwami : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUXYyK2iKoM. In fact, my maternal grandmother Meenakshi Avva's family has produced a number of sanskrit scholars, the youngest being the present Head of Sanskrit department in Madurai Kamarajar University. Her thesis for doctorate was specially blessed and approved by MahaSwami and He has personally appreciated her knowledge of Sanskrit! Lucky person!

My cousin brother Venkatachalapathy was waiting for our arrival in Sivaganga with everything ready for the Pooja. We had bought flowers in the flower market of Madurai. I ran around the market like a drunk person picking up all sorts of flowers as every flower is so inexpensive compared to Mumbai rates. What I would have got for nearly Rs.5000/- in Mumbai was available for just Rs.500/- that too more fresh and more fragrant!  It took some time for us to sort out the flowers and garlands. First thing I did was to garland my grandfather and grandmother photograph with a nice rose garland and prostrate in front of them. All their good deeds has given me the blessing of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. Their blessing is what has made me whatever I am today - the good part of me is from them and the bad part of me is entirely my own creation!

My cousin did a very elaborate Abhishekam to Sambamoorthy Lingam, with the Kailash Theerth, imitating my grandfather in the handling of the Lingam. We both were reminded of our grandfather and grandmother. With archana with all the flowers and a grand naivedhyam of sweet payasam and other dishes pooja concluded with mangala harathi.

After a nice lunch prepared by my loving aunt (she is 75 years old with some bone related problems - still she strained herself to prepare so many dishes and feed me with her own hands) we left for Cholapuram. Cholapuram is the blessed place where Kaviyogi Maharshi Shuddhananda Bharati spent his last days and took his samadhi blessing the children of the school founded by him there. We were welcomed by a devotee of Swamiji who wanted to share his understanding of Kaviyogi's poetic renderings with us. We completed our simple pooja to Shuddhananda Lingam and sat down with this devotee thinking that we can leave for Ilayathangudi in next 30 minutes. But the discussion was so interesting and informative, we lost count of time and realised around 4 pm that we are still in Cholapuram. I thought of it as Divine intervention of Kaviyogi - in making us spend some time meaningfully, talking of his poetic garlands to Nataraja and Meenakshi - his ishta devatas!

We left for Ilayathangudi discussing the poems of Kaviyogi. It is a short drive from Cholapuram for about an hour and half via Thirukoshtiyur - the famous temple from where Ramanuja declared "Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya" as the redeeming mantra to all public! We decided to take darshan on our return journey and proceeded to Ilayathangudi. The whole route was very dry and my cousin was lamenting that cattles in the region are worst affected due to water scarcity and wondered when the region will see some rainfall. I was talking of the floods in Himalayas and narrated some incidents in the life of MahaSwami where He brought rains to rain-starved places just with His presence and prayers. We must have discussed some 4 or 5 such incidents and my cousin also narrated some incidents where Kaviyogi brought rain to a drought hit village with his songs!


We reached Ilayathangudi temple - Ilayathangudi visit was specially for MahaSwami, as this place had a special place in his heart and He had spent 3 full years here. This was the reason of my interest in Ilayathangudi. I was pleasantly surprised to see the name of the presiding Lord in the beautiful big temple. He is KAILASANATHAR and His Devi is called NITHYAKALYANI.  A very well maintained, beautiful, big temple with a 95 year old Archaka doing pooja from his heart - and not just for his stomach!


This 95 year old Archaka had spent those 3 years with MahaSwami during His stay there. I had tears in eyes just to see someone who had the fortune of being with MahaSwami. There is a nice beautiful photograph of MahaSwami taken in 1930s near Ilayathangudi Theppakulam. Young radiant MahaSwami looks very divine in this photograph. He gave us direction to Ilayathangudi Periyavaa's adhistanam (MahaSwami's Parameshti Guru - meaning Guru's Guru's Guru!) and informed us that we should rush as they may close it soon.

We did a quick archana pooja to NithyaKalyani Amman and a karpoora Harathi to Kailasanathar and literally did a running pradakshinam to the Gods. I must visit this temple more peacefully and sit and meditate on Kailasanathar and MahaSwami who is an avatar of Kailasanathar sometime soon! May MahaSwami grant me this soon!


We rushed to the Veda Patashala nearby - it was already dark and we saw the vidhyarthis doing sandhyavandanam in the adhistanam. It is a divine place and the sanctity is to be felt and not told. We went around the adhistanam thinking of MahaSwami doing pradakshinam to His Parameshti Guru there in 1930s and 1960s. Ilayathangudi is the place where MahaSwami held the first Silpa Kala Agama Sadas!  This place must have reverberated with divine music, lectures, talks, vidwat sadas! Many scholars and devotees have walked on this mud!  I bent down to take the mud on my head and left the place with a simple offering to the Veda Patashala. This Veda Patashala teaches 7 vidyarthis and the Vidyapaka is a very young person who politely answered our queries. Those who read this blog, please remember to go and give some money, rice, dhoti, etc to the Vedapatashala.



We left Ilayathangudi reluctantly and touched the main road. It started thundering, lightning and heavy down pour slashed the place.  The downpour - the rain was so heavy - our driver could not see the road properly. Just the name of MahaSwami and remembering His benevolence had brought much needed much awaited rainfall that day suddenly! We were very happy and went on chanting Rama Namam as we were also worried about reaching Sivaganga safely in that rain-hit road with lightning blinding our eyes.

We found Thirukoshtiyur temple closed due to heavy rains and returned to Sivaganga. This day was 60th wedding anniversary of my uncle and aunt - hence they had organised a bhajan session at Ratnagarba Ganapathi temple in Sivaganga with grand dinner to all the participants. We reached just in time for the dinner and missed the bhajan session. My uncle is a fantastic singer - and singing bhajan is his favourite activity though he has retired as Headmaster of the school and is still the President of Shuddhananda Samaj. A great social worker and a respected citizen of Sivaganga, he has a big fan following especially for his Bhajan singing.

We reached home very happy - especially for the rains - and for completing my wish of taking Kailasha Theertham to Kanchi and to Sivaganga for abhishekam. Thus I considered my Kailash yatra coming to a proper conclusion.

Just before going to sleep, my aunt surprised me with freshly ground mehendi - mrudhani - paste, leaves taken straight from the tree in our garden - and patiently applied it in my hand in the traditional way. I wished that I get such patience and love in my heart to give such happiness to others with simple deeds!

So, here I leave the readers with mehendi in the hands and happiness in the heart in Sivaganga house of my grandparents! My next posting is on my trip to Alwarkurichi, Thenkasi, Koutrallam, Thiruvanaikaval, Srirangam and Swamimalai!  Till then,

Om Shuddha Shakthi! Peace for All! Prosper All!