Hari OM Dear Families,Here is this week's update.Week 23:
24th April 2022 / 9:15AM
Opening Prayers and Stotras:
Class began with opening prayers. 3 OM's and followed by Sahanavavathu,
Om shrI Ganeśaya Namaha, shrI Saraswatyai Namaha, shrI Sat Gurubhyo Namaha. We practiced/reviewed Mahisasura mardhini stotram, each child chanted a verse.
We had a quick discussion on our class presentation on the annual day.
Temples of 5 elements- The pancha bootha sthalams
The 5 elements make up the whole cosmos or the Lord's expressions. We worship the elements as the Lord is all pervading.1. Formless space at Chidambaram/ Thillaisthanam/Thillai Vanam is the worship of space as a supreme being. He is in the Ananda Tandava posture, (The dance of the delight) with the raised left foot and shows the abhaya hasta on the right palm. He's dancing in the Golden hall of consciousness ,The ponnambalam or the chitsabha or the kanakasabhai. The formless form is the Chidambara rahasyam (chit- consciousness, amber-space and rahasyam the secret)The temple opens for the darisanam -a garland is found hanging in space. The temple lingam is Akasa Lingam- Chidambaram Natarajar is the name of the Lord and Sivagamasundari ammai is parvathi. Vyaghrapada, Aanantha, Nagaseri, Brahmma, Sivaganga are some of the main sacred ponds. This temple is located at the lotus heart of the universe – Virat hridaya padma sthalam and is the fifth largest temple in India. Sivarathri festival is celebrated with much pomp and show with offering of various classical dance forms to the Lord. From all over the world dancers assemble to offer the art form. This also acts as a cultural role of the temple.
Hari OM Dear Families,
Here is this week's update.Week 23:
24th April 2022 / 9:15AM
Opening Prayers and Stotras:
Class began with opening prayers. 3 OM's and followed by Sahanavavathu,
Om shrI Ganeśaya Namaha, shrI Saraswatyai Namaha, shrI Sat Gurubhyo Namaha. We practiced/reviewed Mahisasura mardhini stotram, each child chanted a verse.
We had a quick discussion on our class presentation on the annual day.
Temples of 5 elements- The pancha bootha sthalams
2. A flickering lamp in the Kalahasthi shows the play of Wind/Vayu/Pavan- emphasizing the worship of Lord as AIR. The movement of air inside the sanctum sanctorum never puts off the deepajyothi /lamp near the lingam- you might see the flicker as if blown by moving air. Vayu lingam is a self manifested lingam, Kalahasteeswara lingam. Gnana prasunambigai ammai is the mother parvati called here. Surya-chandra pushkarini is the sacred theertham. This temple is called the Dakshina kailasam, the kailasa of the south. It is said that the priests never touch the Vayu Lingam of the Kalahasteeswara temple with their hands.
3. Shiva is worshiped as Arunachalesvara or Annamalaiyar, in the form of agni lingam The lamp at Thiruvannamalai is worshipped as fire (Agni) lingam. The lord takes the fire form which has no beginning or end. The entire mountain is believed that the Lord is within and shows darsan at the time of karthigai festival in the form of annamalai deepam. Arunachaleswara lingam and mother Parvathi is Unnamulai Ammai.
Pilgrims circumnavigate the temple base and the Arunachala hills in a worship called Girivalam, a practice carried out by many devotees yearly. This is a 14-km long walk. The legend is that this walk washes away sins, fulfils desires, and gives one freedom from the cycle of birth and death. "Magizham tree" is the sthala vriksha and Sivaganga is the sthala theertham. This is the largest temple in the world dedicated to the worship of Lord Shiva and the eighth largest temple in India.
4. The water spring in the innermost sanctum of the Thiruvanaikkavil temple near Trichy is the worship of water as the lord. The lingam is called Appu lingam. Underneath the lingam , all the time water keeps flowing and is also trickling over the lingam.
The name of the Lord is Jalagandeeswarar/Jambukeswarar -Agilandeswari is the name of mother parvati. The "Sthala Vriksham '' is "White Jambuka or rose apple. The Holy Pond, Theertham is the Nava Theertham. The daily afternoon pooja is very famous in this temple, the priest dresses up in a saree, representing Goddess Parvathi, and performs Abhishekam on the Appu Lingam.
5. The swayambhu lingam in the sand of Kanchipuram signifies the deity's association with the earth, 'Bhoomi' / "Prithvilingam". The temple has a huge rajagopuram and a huge outer prakaram. Lingam made of sand by matha parvathy. It was the godesses Kamatchi or Elavar Kuzhali
that stopped the water flow from engulfing the lingam. This lingam has no abhisegum. The "Sthala Vriksham" is a mango tree that is more than 3500 years old under which Kamakshi worshipped the Shiva Lingam and is still present here. This is one of the significant landmarks of the temple. The Holy pond names - Sivagangai, Kambai, Mangala, Sarva (Theertham). This temple is the tenth largest temple in India.We watched the following videoMurthi Sthapana & Prana Pratishtha
The installation of religious idols and the following important poojas to be performed.
Ganesa pooja
Navagraha pooja
Kumbhabhishekam (Gopura darisanam)
Kalasa poojaDravya poojaAtma PoojaWe watched the following video, our ashram murthi sthapana, prana prathishta and kalasa pooja.
We concluded the session with Santhi path before joining the assembly zoom link for the fourth grader's presentation.Our next class is on May 1st 2022.
Please feel free to reach out in case you have any questions. Hari OM
Abhirami Shrinivas and Vidhya Aiyer
Our next class is on May 1st 2022.
Please feel free to reach out in case you have any questions. Hari OM
Abhirami Shrinivas and Vidhya Aiyer