A great place in Madurai.
Madurai is the oldest and Second Largest City in Tamil Nadu. It is situated on the bank of the river Vaigai. Madurai is the birth place of ‘Tamil’, which is one of the oldest languages in the world. It is a pilgrimage centre and a gateway to south Tamilnadu. It has the world famous Sri Meenakshi Amman Temple at its core. The city has grown on both sides of the river Vaigai.
My
mother is blind... My father is crippled. For the past one year he suffers from
paralysis. And I had an elder sister... She was a widow.
She died leaving her child with us. “I am the pillar of my family. I work in a
pawnshop for just Rs.10 per month. I have lost that job too. Even when I had
that job I could eat only once a day. And now...? Help me out, please, lest I
should hang myself," so said that poor young man in tears. His name is
Lakshmi Narayanan. But he suffered like Dharidra Narayanan.
He sought a job not in a big office or with a Mill owner, but sought the help
of a school teacher whose monthly salary was Rs. 150/-. Thangappan taught
mathematics in a high school. When he was struggling to make both ends meet how
he could ever think of supporting Lakshmi Narayanan!. Quite soft at heart, he
wished to bring a dramatic change in the society. And amidst his circle of
friends he was known as Karl Marx. His very presence on the stage was enough to
inspire the people. He was such an excellent speaker. Since his speeches were
peppered with words like 'poor', 'downtrodden', 'sympathy' and 'pity', several
people with the intention of finding out how true he was to his words
emboldened themselves to seek financial help from him. Thangappan magnanimously
spent a major share of his salary for the welfare of such people. Lakshmi
Narayanan, was one among the beneficiaries. Thangappan was greatly upset by the
sad story of Lakshmi Narayanan.
"You have your food in my house for a period of ten days. Meanwhile I'll
try to find a job for you," he promised. Seven to eight days rolled by.
But no job was found.
One day, Thangappan received Rs. 300 by money order from a friend who had
borrowed that amount from him some six months ago. Exhilarated by the return of
his money he forgot to keep it safe in his trunk box and left it on the table
before he went to school. When he was in the classroom teaching, the thought of
his money came. A sudden suspicion arose in his mind about Lakshmi Narayanan. He
completed the lesson as early as he could and started for home. He was not
himself on his way. "He might be good... But the lure of a huge
amount?!" His thoughts centred only on his money. He reached home. Lakshmi
Narayanan was not found at the entrance of the house. He walked in. Money too
was missing. He smiled a careless smile and walked back to school.
Lakshmi Narayanan got into a train on the same day afternoon at Salem railway
station and reached Erode. Once in Erode he entered a readymade shop and came
out of it differently dressed... He was speaking to himself! "A pawn shop
with three hundred rupees. I'll be the boss." He went on repeating the
words.
A dirty boy, lean and haggard looking, in the market called him 'Sir.'
The moment Lakshmi Narayanan's eyes fell on the boy, he was carried away by his
own thoughts. "Hi! Boy! Would you like to go with me? Do you feel
confident that you can manage my pawn shop?" he asked.
The boy nodded his head in all glee. He told the boy to accompany him. He had
automatically gained the gait of a boss. The two got into a train with one and
a half tickets. The poor boy was all teeth. Lakshmi Narayanan sat majestically
in the train smoking Players brand cigarette. The train was scuttling along
towards Trichy.
The inauguration ceremony of the pawn shop took place with fun and fanfare.
Lakshmi Narayanan's status went up as a boss. And that servant boy, oh! What an
active fellow he was! The pawn shop flourished. In Trichy it is estimated to be
the best.
Lakshmi Narayanan opened his eyes, when the train pulled up at Trichy at about
four in the morning. He looked for the boy. They boy was missing. He looked
into the bag. There was no money. He heaved a sigh. It looked as though
Thangappan himself stood before him with a mischievous smile on his face. Thank
God! He had the ticket at least to go out of the station.
It is a normal practice to sculpt the idols for all
Hindu temples in granite stone. The main reason to choose granite is its
tensile strength. But other than this enormous strength, only granite stone
contains all the five elements of creation, namely the pañca bhūta-s. They are
earth, water, fire, air and ether.
As an exception, in Palani the idol for the mūlavar
or presiding deity is believed to be made out of an amalgam known as nava
pāsanam. In Sanskrit the word nava has two meanings. Nava means both 'new' and
also 'nine'. Similarly the word bhāsana also has two meanings. Bhāsana means
'poison' and may also mean 'mineral'.
The observations made by the researchers who delved
into the ancient literature lend support to the theory that the siddha munivar
Bhogar was the one who formulated this amalgamation of nava pāsanam. The idol
for the presiding deity was sculpted out of this nava pāsanam. It is believed
that this amalgam is a clever mixture of nine poisonous metals. By this
amalgamation, the poisonous nature of all these metals was harnessed, hardened
like granite and converted into a beneficial amalgam with medicinal and curative
values. The idol for the presiding deity was subsequently carved out of this
hardened amalgam.
To evolve such a unique amalgam reveals the alchemy
expertise possessed by the siddha munivar Bhogar, the enormous spiritual
heights achieved by him and the endless concern he had about the welfare of the
followers devoted to Lord Murukan in future generations.
After cleverly compounding the amalgam, Bhogar chose
to sculpt the figure of Lord Murukan in an unconventional style. Normally, in
all the temples of Lord Murukan, the deity is sculpted with a splendour of
beauty and an expression of charming adolescence. The idols always faced east.
In contrast, the idol at Palani temple is quite slim with a saintly expression
facing westwards with a shaven head, clad in a saffron loin cloth and holding
his baton staff called the dandāyudham. The recluse and renunciation brought
out in the idol's expression, clearly flashes the message, "I am the Fruit
of Wisdom".
It is astonishing to note that this cleverly
composed and delicately sculpted figure of the Lord has stood the effects of
devotees pouring their love and devotion in the form of abhishekams. About
6-700 abhishekams are performed every month on kiruttikai days. This delicate
idol has withstood all this miraculously and beyond human explanation.
Nevertheless, a close examination of the idol will
disturb anyone. For the region below the neck, the idol has lost its
proportionate shape. The hands and feet are totally eroded by the corrosive
action of the abhishekam materials. The region below the knees has become very
thin and slender and now the legs look like polio affected legs, thin like two
steel rods resting on a pedestal.
The body region is not only eroded but appear
rugged, with uneven surface and with sharp angular edges. During abhishekam,
the archakas are not able to smear and rub oil on the idol, fearing possible
cuts from its sharp and rugged surface. At one stage, people thought that the
idol would soon buckle and fall for lack of support for the eroded legs.
The devotees and the public became concerned about
such a condition of the idol of the presiding deity. Several representations
were sent to the Tamil Nadu State Government. Realising the seriousness of the
situation, the Government took up the issue during the year 1983-84 and started
considering various possibilities to ensure that the valuable idol would be
preserved without any further damage at the powerful temple at Palani.
The Government at one stage considered the
possibility of replacing it with a new idol. At this point, the real problem
cropped up. There is a code laid down by the agamas that every twelve years a
temple should be renovated. On completing the renovation, a kumbabishekam
(consecration) of the temple should be performed. But this has never involved
the replacement of the idol. This was never done and there was no precedent.
The replacement idea never occurred even in temples
where the idol is sculpted out of granite. In such cases, the idol is
temporarily moved to another location in the temple complex. The idol is
re-installed in it's original location with new astabandhanam (an adhesive
material made out of herbs and made into a paste by mixing with butter).
At Palani, the scenario is totally different. The
strong belief is based on the tradition that the idol of the presiding deity is
made out of a unique amalgam formulated by Bhogar with his divine power and
futuristic thoughts reflecting his concern for future generations. The amalgam
is widely believed to have medicinal qualities and curative abilities.
The sandal wood paste in particular, applied on the
idol and left overnight, is considered to act as a wonder drug, a panacea for
many incurable and complex diseases. Every drop of water, coming out of
abhishekam is consumed by the devotees with pleasure and many devotees get rid
of their chronic ailments. "This curative aspect has a scientific
explanation," the Devasthanam claims in one of their publications.
One hypothesis says that the idol acts as a store
house for millions of good bacteria and when the abhishekam materials flow over
the idol the bacteria get mixed with the materials and pass on to the devotees,
who get relief from their ailments. The abhishekam materials remain preserved
for a considerable period of time, an example to show the curative nature of
the abhishekham water. Thus it is not surprising that many siddha medical
centres are based in Palani and around the Palani Hills.
Since the Lord Dandāyudhapāni at Palani is the first
physician of Tamil tradition, the idea of replacing the existing idol was
unacceptable. In order to ensure that the mūlavarwill continue to be servicable
for generations to come, the Government constituted a special committee.
Justice Sadasivam, an eminent judge, a scholar of repute and a man of immense
faith in religion, was appointed as the Chairman of this committee. On his
assuming charge, he instituted five sub-committees to view the problem from
varioius angles. The five respective sub-committees consisted of:
1. heads of large mutts and religious institutions;
2. sthapatis (temple architects);
3. experts on agamas;
4. priests and pandarams; and
5. scientists.
By virtue of my educational background, I had the
great honour of being a member of the sub-committee consisting of scientists.
The main objective of this committee was to find out the nature and composition
of the material, out of which the idol for the presiding deity had been
sculpted. As a special case, the members of this committee were permitted to
enter the sanctum sanctorum along with the priests and pandarams. I considered
myself very fortunate to experience this great moment, an important one, in my
life.
As a first step towards our investigation, we took a
close look at the idol of the Lord. We were astonished when we found the face
of the idol to be quite fresh with no signs of damage or deterioration. It was
so clear that it looked as though the idol was recently installed. An examination
of the idol under the magnifying glass, the material appeared to resemble
granite or grano-dioritic material.
Our happiness and surprise were only short lived, as
we moved from the face to the body of the idol. It appeared in marked contrast
to the condition we observed on the face of the idol. The entire body region of
the idol, was full of distortions, rugged, with flaking sharp edges and the two
legs were like slender sticks standing on the pedestal. With its weak support
by the thinned down legs, the idol was threatening to buckle and fall down at
any time.
The very distinct contrast between the face and the
body of the idol disproves the theory that the primary cause was the many
abhishekhams. If this cause is accepted, then the question arises, "Why
does the face remain fresh while the body is showing all these
irregularities?" So, once in for all, this theory was rejected.
The other theory, concerns the possibility of a
conspiracy between the siddha doctors of Palani, the archakas and others who
have access to the sanctum sanctorum. Under this scenario, the valuable
material from the body region of the idol was being scrapped up by those who
have access to the sanctum sanctorum, for marketing the scrappings to the
siddha doctors, who in turn diluted the material and included the same in their
potions for their eager patients. This, once again reflects the prolific growth
of the siddha medical centres in and around Palani.
Though the preliminary visual examination of the
idol revealed the possibility of the material being of granitic origin. It
could not be confirmed, as neither a microscopic examination nor a chemical
analysis could be done in the absence of loose material from the idol being
available for such detailed investigation. But we were aware that the
abhishekam materials flowing over the idol could possibly absorb some of the
ingredients from the idol to acquire the medicinal property, curative qualities
and offer relief to many devotees from their ailments.
Guided by this knowledge and taking a clue from
this, we applied sandalwood paste to the idol and let it remain overnight. The
next day the sandalwood paste was collected and a solution was prepared for
further chemical examination, using a sophisticated instrument, the Perkin-Elmer
707 atomic absorption spectrophotometer to identify the trace elements. A
standard solution required for the experiment was made to calibrate the
instrument.
As the next step, the sandal wood paste solution
from the paste left on the idol overnight was subjected to the experiment. The
instrument showed no apparent reading. The experiment was repeated several
times and the instrument showed a zero absorption. When other samples were
tested, the instrument showed positive results but for the sandal wood paste
left overnight on the idol of the lord, the result was zero absorption. It was
revealed to us as a stupendous moral - that even modern scientific analysis
cannot penetrate the Divine Structure.
Accordingly, a report was prepared and submitted to
the Chairman of the Committee. The Chairman gathered all the reports from all
the sub-committees and sent a final report to the Government with his
recommendation. The committee recommended that all precautions should be taken
to protect the idol by taking a major decision to restrict the number of
abhishekams on the Lord.
It is also widely believed that the siddha munivar
Bhogar had made three identical idols and after installing the present one, the
other two idols were hidden somewhere in the Eastern Ghats to be discovered at
an appropriate time and by an appropriate person probably, another divine
personality for replacing the present idol which had stood the test of time and
started showing signs of deterioration.
It is here, that one has to understand and accept
human limitations. Humans can discover and harness the power of nature, but
humans cannot conquer nature which is God's creation. It will be appropriate to
recall the observation made by Sir Isaac Newton when praises were showered on
him for his great discovery. Sir Isaac Newton modestly remarked. "All that
I have done to the human community is to make a common man understand His
observable laws". He added further by saying. "God created the forces
of gravity. I connect this by a mathematical equation in an understandable
way".
The modesty displayed by the great scientist is
reflected in the zero absorption shown by the instrument in our experiment on
the composition of Lord Murukan's idol. It will only be appropriate to recall
the verses by kavignar Kannadasan, the poet of modern times when he said,
"Dwelling within the realm of Zero, ruling a Kingdom and beyond normal
understanding is God. He would reveal Himself to those who understand and realise
Him".
Dr.
Prof. M.S. Saravanan, M.Sc., Ph.D., F.M.S., F.G.S. was an earth scientist and
mineralogist and former Director of the Tamil Nadu Department of Geology &
Mines and Chairman of Tamilnadu Minerals Limited and a one-time close associate
of Kripananda Variar.
You
never saw such a commotion up and down a house, in all your life, as when my
Uncle Podger undertook to do a job. A picture would have come home from the
frame-maker's, and be standing in the dining-room, waiting to be put up; and
Aunt Podger would ask what was to be done with it, and Uncle Podger would say:
"Oh,
you leave that to me. Don't you, any of you, worry yourselves about that. I'll
do all that."
And
then he would take off his coat, and begin. He would send the girl out for
sixpenny worth of nails, and then one of the boys after her to tell her what
size to get; and, from that, he would gradually work down, and start the whole
house.
"Now
you go and get me my hammer, Will," he would shout; "and you bring me
the rule, Tom; and I shall want the step-ladder, and I had better have a
kitchen-chair, too; and, Jim! You run round to Mr. Goggles, and tell him, 'Pa's
kind regards, and hopes his leg's better; and will he lend him his
spirit-level?' And don't you go, Maria, because I shall want somebody to hold
me the light; and when the girl comes back, she must go out again for a bit of
picture-cord; and Tom!—where's Tom?—Tom, you come here; I shall want you to
hand me up the picture."
And
then he would lift up the picture, and drop it, and it would come out of the
frame, and he would try to save the glass, and cut himself; and then he would
spring round the room, looking for his handkerchief. He could not find his
handkerchief, because it was in the pocket of the coat he had taken off, and he
did not know where he had put the coat, and all the house had to leave off
looking for his tools, and start looking for his coat; while he would dance
round and hinder them.
"Doesn't
anybody in the whole house know where my coat is? I never came across such a
set in all my life—upon my word I didn't. Six of you!—and you can't find a coat
that I put down not five minutes ago! Well, of all the—"
Then
he'd get up, and find that he had been sitting on it, and would call out:
"Oh,
you can give it up! I've found it myself now. Might just as well ask the cat to
find anything as expect you people to find it."
And,
when half an hour had been spent in tying up his finger, and a new glass had
been got, and the tools, and the ladder, and the chair, and the candle had been
brought, he would have another go, the whole family, including the girl and the
charwoman, standing round in a semi-circle, ready to help. Two people would
have to hold the chair, and a third would help him up on it, and hold him
there, and a fourth would hand him a nail, and a fifth would pass him up the
hammer, and he would take hold of the nail, and drop it.
"There!"
he would say, in an injured tone, "now the nail's gone."
And
we would all have to go down on our knees and grovel for it, while he would
stand on the chair, and grunt, and want to know if he was to be kept there all
the evening.
The
nail would be found at last, but by that time he would have lost the hammer.
"Where's
the hammer? What did I do with the hammer? Great heavens! Seven of you, gaping
round there, and you don't know what I did with the hammer!"
We
would find the hammer for him, and then he would have lost sight of the mark he
had made on the wall, where the nail was to go in, and each of us had to get up
on the chair, beside him, and see if we could find it; and we would each
discover it in a different place, and he would call us all fools, one after
another, and tell us to get down. And he would take the rule, and re-measure,
and find that he wanted half thirty-one and three-eighths inches from the
corner, and would try to do it in his head, and go mad.
And
we would all try to do it in our heads, and all arrive at different results,
and sneer at one another. And in the general row, the original number would be
forgotten, and Uncle Podger would have to measure it again.
He
would use a bit of string this time, and at the critical moment, when the old
fool was leaning over the chair at an angle of forty-five, and trying to reach
a point three inches beyond what was possible for him to reach, the string
would slip, and down he would slide on to the piano, a really fine musical
effect being produced by the suddenness with which his head and body struck all
the notes at the same time.
And
Aunt Maria would say that she would not allow the children to stand round and
hear such language.
At
last, Uncle Podger would get the spot fixed again, and put the point of the
nail on it with his left hand, and take the hammer in his right hand. And, with
the first blow, he would smash his thumb, and drop the hammer, with a yell, on
somebody's toes.
Aunt
Maria would mildly observe that, next time Uncle Podger was going to hammer a
nail into the wall, she hoped he'd let her know in time, so that she could make
arrangements to go and spend a week with her mother while it was being done.
"Oh!
You women, you make such a fuss over everything," Uncle Podger would
reply, picking himself up. "Why, I like doing a little job of this
sort."
And
then he would have another try, and, at the second blow, the nail would go
clean through the plaster, and half the hammer after it, and Uncle Podger be
precipitated against the wall with force nearly sufficient to flatten his nose.
Then
we had to find the rule and the string again, and a new hole was made; and,
about midnight, the picture would be up—very crooked and insecure, the wall for
yards round looking as if it had been smoothed down with a rake and everybody
dead beat and wretched—except Uncle Podger.
"There
you are," he would say, stepping heavily off the chair on to the
charwoman's corns, and surveying the mess he had made with evident pride.
"Why, some people would have had a man in to do a little thing like
that!"
