Thiruvabharanam

Thiruvabharanam is the sacred ornaments of Ayyappan. When Pandala King wanted to make Ayyappan as the next king for his kingdom and see him in the royal attire wearing all the ornaments, Ayyappan said his purpose is different and asked pandala king to construct a temple for him on sabarimala and send the ornaments so that he can wear them and fulfill the desire of the pandala king. The ornaments are made of gold. Thiruvabharanam is kept at Srambickal Palace, which is close to the Valiyakoikkal Temple, inside the Pandalam Palace premises. Makaravilakku marks the grand finale of the two-month period of the Sabarimala pilgrimage. This follows the arrival of 'Thiruvabharanam'  from Pandalam to Sannidhanam. The ornaments are taken to Sabarimala as a procession and poojas are performed on the idol adorned with the ornaments. After the season, the ornaments are taken back to the Srambickal Palace for safe custody. Thiruvabharanam and the boxes are made available for darshan at Srambickal palace during the pilgrim season (typically from 2nd week of November till the eve of the procession day) and at Valiyakoikkal Temple on the day of the procession.

Three days prior to makaravillaku, the procession carrying the holy boxes containing the sacred ornaments , as also other relics and paraphernalia needed for special poojas at Sabarimala , starts on its long trek from Pandalam. A scion of the Pandalam royal family , chosen and blessed by the Valiya Thampuran (Senior Raja) accompanies the procession in a palanquin (pallakku).    

On 28th Dhanu (around 12th January), the day the procession is to start, at 4 in the morning , the holy boxes are taken from Srambickal palace and moved to the temple for viewing and worship. 'Darshan' of the Ornaments and rendering of offerings to them on this occasion are believed to be highly auspicious and beneficial. 

Thousands queue by the sacred pieces now. At around 1 o'clock in the afternoon , a brahminy kite (popularly known as 'krishnapparunthu') is sighted circling majestically far above the temple. Devotees believe that this is Lord Vishnu upon 'Garuda' accompanying the Thiruvabharanam from Pandalam through Sabarimala where again the kite is found hovering above the temple synchronizing with the arrival of the procession there. The chanting of the Lord's name rises to a thunderous crescendo at the sight of the kite and deafening explosions of crackers  fill the air with a vibration of millions of devotees. The Boxes are closed and taken out of the temple by specially deputed bearers. 

The ValiyaThampuran has already arrived in royal style from his Palace to the temple and is by now inside the temple to offer 'vibhuthy' to the members of the procession as also to his nephew whom he has chosen to escort the Thiruvabharanam. The delegation of authority and responsibility by the Senior Raja to his representative is symbolized by the former handing over a sword to the latter.

The procession is now ready to start. The frenzied movements of the bearers of the boxes, the rising tempo of the devotees chanting 'Swamiye-Ayyappo', the exploding fireworks, The Pandalam Raja accompanying the Thiruvabharanam in his palanquin, the infectious excitement of the surging crowds and the seemingly unperturbed hovering of the 'krishnapparunthu' far above-all make up an indescribably magnificent moment when the journey starts for the distant hill shrine, marking the fulfillment of a vow, the consummation of a dream, the vindication of a faith. 

The procession takes the age-old route through village roads, across rivers and up and down hills. The Raja (Thampuran) and other members are accorded reception at various places by various devotee-groups, including tribals. All through the procession , people in large numbers pay their respects to the Raja and receive 'vibhuthy' from him. After scheduled halts at Ayroor-Puthiyukavu and Laha, the procession reaches Valiyanavattom(Pampa) on the 3rd day(1st Makaram). From there the Thiruvabharanam proceeds through the traditional forest route to Saramkuthi while the Thampuran (Raja) and his aides go to the Rajamandapam near the Pampa Ganapathy temple and stay there.

Three boxes are used for carrying Thiruvabharanam, pooja utensils, and special flags to Sabarimala. They are the Thriuvabharana Petti (sacred ornaments box), the Velli Petti (silver vessel box), and the Kodi Petti (flag box). These contain the following:

Thiruvabharana petti(box)

Golden face mask

Prabha Mandalam Big coiled sword

Small coiled sword

Mini replica of elephant in gold

Mini replica of tiger in gold

Silver covered right hand spiral conch shell

Lakshmi Roopam

eremonial plate for carrying flowers

Navaratna ring

Sarapoli Mala (necklace)

Velakku Mala (necklace)

Mani Mala (necklace)

Erukkum Poomala (necklace)

Kanchambaram

Velli Petti (box)

Pot for Kalasam

Pooja utensils

Kodi Petti (box)

Elephant caparison

Jeevatha

Flags of Thalapparamala and Udamparamala

Mezhuvatta Kuda

Thiruvabharanam Return Journey

After the Makaravilakku , the Sabarimala temple is closed for the season on the morning of 7th Makaram. Immediately the return journey commences. The first overnight halt is at Laha. The second day the procession reaches Perunadhu Temple. This is the temple constructed by the Raja of Pandalam .

Staying at Perunadhu the Raja personally supervised the construction of the Sabarimala temple. The Ayyappa deity in this temple is also adorned with the holy ornaments. Thousands , especially women queue up to have the 'darshan' and to obtain 'vibhuthy' from the Raja of Pandalam . On 9th Makaram, the procession moves to Aranmula Kottaram (Palace) and halts there. On the 10th Makaram around 8 am, the holy journey reaches back in Pandalam.

Sri Lakshmi Asthotaram

Sri Lakshmi Asthotharam

ōṁ prakr̥tyai namaḥ |

ōṁ vikr̥tyai namaḥ |

ōṁ vidyāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ sarvabhūtahitapradāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ śraddhāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ vibhūtyai namaḥ |

ōṁ surabhyai namaḥ |

ōṁ paramātmikāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ vācē namaḥ | 9

ōṁ padmālayāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ padmāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ śucayē namaḥ |

ōṁ svāhāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ svadhāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ sudhāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ dhanyāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ hiraṇmayyai namaḥ |

ōṁ lakṣmyai namaḥ | 18

ōṁ nityapuṣṭāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ vibhāvaryai namaḥ |

ōṁ adityai namaḥ |

ōṁ dityai namaḥ |

ōṁ dīptāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ vasudhāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ vasudhāriṇyai namaḥ |

ōṁ kamalāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ kāntāyai namaḥ | 27

ōṁ kāmākṣhyai namaḥ |

ōṁ krōdhasaṁbhavāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ anugrahaparāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ buddhayē namaḥ |

ōṁ anaghāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ harivallabhāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ aśōkāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ amr̥tāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ dīptāyai namaḥ | 36

ōṁ lōkaśōkavināśinyai namaḥ |

ōṁ dharmanilayāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ karuṇāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ lōkamātrē namaḥ |

ōṁ padmapriyāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ padmahastāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ padmākṣyai namaḥ |

ōṁ padmasundaryai namaḥ |

ōṁ padmōdbhavāyai namaḥ | 45

ōṁ padmamukhyai namaḥ |

ōṁ padmanābhapriyāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ ramāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ padmamālādharāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ dēvyai namaḥ |

ōṁ padminyai namaḥ |

ōṁ padmagandhinyai namaḥ |

ōṁ puṇyagandhāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ suprasannāyai namaḥ | 54

ōṁ prasādābhimukhyai namaḥ |

ōṁ prabhāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ candravadanāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ candrāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ candrasahōdaryai namaḥ |

ōṁ caturbhujāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ candrarūpāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ indirāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ induśītalāyai namaḥ | 63

ōṁ āhlādajananyai namaḥ |

ōṁ puṣṭyai namaḥ |

ōṁ śivāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ śivakaryai namaḥ |

ōṁ satyai namaḥ |

ōṁ vimalāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ viśvajananyai namaḥ |

ōṁ tuṣṭyai namaḥ |

ōṁ dāridryanāśinyai namaḥ | 72

ōṁ prītipuṣkariṇyai namaḥ |

ōṁ śāntāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ śuklamālyāmbarāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ śriyai namaḥ |

ōṁ bhāskaryai namaḥ |

ōṁ bilvanilayāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ varārōhāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ yaśasvinyai namaḥ |

ōṁ vasundharāyai namaḥ | 81

ōṁ udārāṅgāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ hariṇyai namaḥ |

ōṁ hēmamālinyai namaḥ |

ōṁ dhanadhānyakaryai namaḥ |

ōṁ siddhayē namaḥ |

ōṁ straiṇasaumyāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ śubhapradāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ nr̥pavēśmagatānandāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ varalakṣmyai namaḥ | 90

ōṁ vasupradāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ śubhāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ hiraṇyaprākārāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ samudratanayāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ jayāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ maṅgalā dēvyai namaḥ |

ōṁ viṣṇuvakṣaḥsthalasthitāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ viṣṇupatnyai namaḥ |

ōṁ prasannākṣyai namaḥ | 99

ōṁ nārāyaṇasamāśritāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ dāridryadhvaṁsinyai namaḥ |

ōṁ dēvyai namaḥ |

ōṁ sarvōpadravavāriṇyai namaḥ |

ōṁ navadurgāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ mahākālyai namaḥ |

ōṁ brahmāviṣṇuśivātmikāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ trikālajñānasampannāyai namaḥ |

ōṁ bhuvanēśvaryai namaḥ | 108|

Ithi Sri Lakshmi Ashtothram sampoornam ||

Sri Subramanya Asthotharam

Sri Subramanya Asthotharam

ōṃ skandāya namaḥ

ōṃ guhāya namaḥ

ōṃ ṣaṇmukhāya namaḥ

ōṃ phālanētrasutāya namaḥ

ōṃ prabhavē namaḥ

ōṃ piṅgaḻāya namaḥ

ōṃ kṛttikāsūnavē namaḥ

ōṃ śikhivāhāya namaḥ

ōṃ dviṣaḍbhujāya namaḥ

ōṃ dviṣaṇṇētrāya namaḥ (10)

ōṃ śaktidharāya namaḥ

ōṃ piśitāśa prabhañjanāya namaḥ

ōṃ tārakāsura saṃhāriṇē namaḥ

ōṃ rakṣōbalavimardanāya namaḥ

ōṃ mattāya namaḥ

ōṃ pramattāya namaḥ

ōṃ unmattāya namaḥ

ōṃ surasainya surakṣakāya namaḥ

ōṃ dēvasēnāpatayē namaḥ

ōṃ prājñāya namaḥ (20)

ōṃ kṛpāḻavē namaḥ

ōṃ bhaktavatsalāya namaḥ

ōṃ umāsutāya namaḥ

ōṃ śaktidharāya namaḥ

ōṃ kumārāya namaḥ

ōṃ krauñchadāraṇāya namaḥ

ōṃ sēnānyē namaḥ

ōṃ agnijanmanē namaḥ

ōṃ viśākhāya namaḥ

ōṃ śaṅkarātmajāya namaḥ (30)

ōṃ śivasvāminē namaḥ

ōṃ gaṇa svāminē namaḥ

ōṃ sarvasvāminē namaḥ

ōṃ sanātanāya namaḥ

ōṃ anantaśaktayē namaḥ

ōṃ akṣōbhyāya namaḥ

ōṃ pārvatīpriyanandanāya namaḥ

ōṃ gaṅgāsutāya namaḥ

ōṃ śarōdbhūtāya namaḥ

ōṃ āhūtāya namaḥ (40)

ōṃ pāvakātmajāya namaḥ

ōṃ jṛmbhāya namaḥ

ōṃ prajṛmbhāya namaḥ

ōṃ ujjṛmbhāya namaḥ

ōṃ kamalāsana saṃstutāya namaḥ

ōṃ ēkavarṇāya namaḥ

ōṃ dvivarṇāya namaḥ

ōṃ trivarṇāya namaḥ

ōṃ sumanōharāya namaḥ

ōṃ chaturvarṇāya namaḥ (50)

ōṃ pañchavarṇāya namaḥ

ōṃ prajāpatayē namaḥ

ōṃ ahaspatayē namaḥ

ōṃ agnigarbhāya namaḥ

ōṃ śamīgarbhāya namaḥ

ōṃ viśvarētasē namaḥ

ōṃ surārighnē namaḥ

ōṃ haridvarṇāya namaḥ

ōṃ śubhakarāya namaḥ

ōṃ paṭavē namaḥ (60)

ōṃ vaṭuvēṣabhṛtē namaḥ

ōṃ pūṣṇē namaḥ

ōṃ gabhastayē namaḥ

ōṃ gahanāya namaḥ

ōṃ chandravarṇāya namaḥ

ōṃ kaḻādharāya namaḥ

ōṃ māyādharāya namaḥ

ōṃ mahāmāyinē namaḥ

ōṃ kaivalyāya namaḥ

ōṃ śaṅkarātmajāya namaḥ (70)

ōṃ viśvayōnayē namaḥ

ōṃ amēyātmanē namaḥ

ōṃ tējōnidhayē namaḥ

ōṃ anāmayāya namaḥ

ōṃ paramēṣṭhinē namaḥ

ōṃ parasmai brahmaṇē namaḥ

ōṃ vēdagarbhāya namaḥ

ōṃ virāṭsutāya namaḥ

ōṃ puḻindakanyābhartrē namaḥ

ōṃ mahāsārasvatāvṛtāya namaḥ (80)

ōṃ āśritākhiladātrē namaḥ

ōṃ chōraghnāya namaḥ

ōṃ rōganāśanāya namaḥ

ōṃ anantamūrtayē namaḥ

ōṃ ānandāya namaḥ

ōṃ śikhiṇḍikṛta kētanāya namaḥ

ōṃ ḍambhāya namaḥ

ōṃ paramaḍambhāya namaḥ

ōṃ mahāḍambhāya namaḥ

ōṃ vṛṣākapayē namaḥ (90)

ōṃ kāraṇōpāttadēhāya namaḥ

ōṃ kāraṇātītavigrahāya namaḥ

ōṃ anīśvarāya namaḥ

ōṃ amṛtāya namaḥ

ōṃ prāṇāya namaḥ

ōṃ prāṇāyāmaparāyaṇāya namaḥ

ōṃ viruddhahantrē namaḥ

ōṃ vīraghnāya namaḥ

ōṃ raktaśyāmagaḻāya namaḥ

ōṃ subrahmaṇyāya namaḥ (100)

ōṃ guhāya namaḥ

ōṃ prītāya namaḥ

ōṃ brāhmaṇyāya namaḥ

ōṃ brāhmaṇapriyāya namaḥ

ōṃ vaṃśavṛddhikarāya namaḥ

ōṃ vēdāya namaḥ

ōṃ vēdyāya namaḥ

ōṃ akṣayaphalapradāya namaḥ (108)

iti śrīsubrahmaṇyāṣṭōttaraśatanāmāvaḻiḥ samāptā

Ayyappa Swamy Deeksha- Different Dimensions

There are a lot of questions about swamy deeksha which you can't get the answers immediately, because this deeksha is not like other deeksha's and this deeksha deals more with guru tatwa and needs a guruswamy to guide you and answer your questions and clear your doubts. We will try to analyse and understand the various dimensions. Basically we can categorize people into two categories namely believers and non-believers of GOD. We call believers as aasthikas and non-believers as naastikas. Then we can see the common thought process of believers and non believers towards swamy deeksha.

Non-believers dimension: 

The people who never believed that God exists. For them when they see people who take swamy deeksha, it is like the people are doing a drama in the name of God. The same people who do all sorts of nonsense such as eating non-veg, drinking, cheating people, telling lies etc, how come become all of a sudden pure, pious, disciplined etc for 40 days. This is all bull shit and just a drama they are doing to showcase to others. And even they don't believe the people who are taking swamy deeksha, that they are going to be transformed and transformation is happening in them, their families and the places where they stay and indirectly to the country and to the universe.

But, for non-believers, if they can observe the known people  who have been taking swamy deeksha and visiting sabarimala, they can surely see the transformation in the lives of people over the years. Transformation will be gradual, it is not like a channel changed when we press the remote control of a television. Yes, but the transformation will be from from internally which will reflect in their lives rather than externally. So, if they known someone, they can compare their lives like before taking swamy deeksha and after taking swamy deeksha. For sure, they can themselves notice the transformation.  Atleast, then they can believe what is the power of swamy deeksha.

Believer's dimension: 

People who believe god is there will generally approach swamy and take his deeksha for various reasons.  According to Lord Krishna in Bhavad Geeta, there are four categories of people who worship GOD namely Artha, Artharthi, Jignasu and Gnani.  So people take swamy deeskha being in any one of the four stages. 

The first category people (Artha) are totally dependent on God and totally surrender to him and seek his help to bail them out of their problem. They just have blind belief and faith that God exists and God will bail them out of their problems They are like the innocent child who just believes his mother and doesn't know anything else. For example- people of this category prayers will of this sort -Oh, God, please help me, I am helpless, my child is suffering with this disease, other than you no one can help me, please save my son and help me out of this difficult situation.. O God, please bless me with a child,  Oh God, please bless me with a job etc.

The second category of people (Artharthi)  are a little bit of business minded, they make offers to the god and agreement sort of things. God, you help me, I will complete this for you. For example, if you help me with business of 1 Crore turnover, I will construct temple for you,  If I get this job, I will come walking to your shrine by climbing all the steps of your hill, If I get married, I will make your temple painted with new colors etc. 

The third category of people  (Jignasu) are more of inquisitiveness to know how, why, when etc. They approach God to get answers to their questions. They are not concerned with the problems of life and they dont make deals with the God, but they approach him to get all the knowledge to satisfy their questions and get the answers.  For example, Why this ritual should be followed, what happens if this is done in that way, etc.

The fourth category of people are like the first category of people but with complete awareness. They have the awareness about the God and with full awareness they approach god and they doesn't have desires for themselves, rather god uses them as his tools to run his divine plan. In essence, they will be the guides for the people to reach god. They show the path, they help people and guide them.

Whether a person is believer or non-believer, one can get answers to their questions, when they take the deeksha and experience the power of deeksha. Because, if someone eats a sweet and ask them to explain about sweetness, it is quiet difficult because what a person had experienced or undergone when he ate a sweet is beyond words, if someone had to understand it, they also need to eat the sweet. Other than this by listening to the mere words about the sweetness feeling, wont make him understand or experience what it would be like eating a sweet. Similarly, if someone had to understand the power of swamy deeksha they had to experience themselves by taking deeksha, undergoing the viratham and doing sabari yatra, without which, they can never understand it.

I hope, whoever is reading this article understand this and by the grace of swamy he will be a transformed person, helping himself, his family, his country and this universe.

Om Guru Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa

Youth should take ayyappa swamy deeksha

Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa!

Om Guru Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa! 

Om Guruvan Guruve Saranam Ayyappa!

Om Sadgurunadhane Saranam Ayyappa!

After seeing so many questions from various people, I felt that this is a needed one and must, to guide the youth. Today's kids or grown-ups who are going to be the tomorrow's youth and the future of the nation, who are not being properly guided and who are falling prey to the current trends of social media, internet , television, movies etc where there is no proper monitoring from parents or elders and no one to properly guide them.

In earlier days, there were joint families and there was usually a family head who used be the center of entire of family, who used to guide the kids or grown-ups and the youth of the family, there were fewer chances for the kids or grown-ups or the youth to deviate from the path and fewer chances for them to get addicted to bad habits. Also, any of other elders of the family would also counsel them, guide them. Kids or grown-ups or youth also has the possibility of knowing the values of the family, relationships, how to work in a team because the family size used to big and some or other event would always be happening and as well we used to have a lot of festivals to celebrate. These all put together used to give scope for the kids and youth to participate, exhibit their skills, learn new things, develop their abilities, etc.

The present-day scenario is totally  changed, with families becoming nuclear and with everyone in the race of having a better lifestyle where both wife and husband are going for jobs, and everyone thinking that it is just enough to have either one or two kids, the kids and the youth are becoming prey to the impacts of the internet, social media, television, movies, etc. The parents don't have time to spend with their kids or grown-ups, they don't have time to monitor what their kids or grown-ups are doing and they don't have enough time to guide them when they are in problem or they don't have enough time to counsel them when they are facing any problem.

The main problem comes when the children or grown-ups or the youth are facing some sort of emotional problem. These kinds of problems cannot be shared with everyone for various reasons like they might think "what others may think of them", "they may feel embarrassed" etc. These kind of problems are very sensitive and when shared should be properly counseled , properly guided otherwise there is every possibility that they may deviate from the path and get addicted to bad habits or may get accustomed to bad friends or someone whom they approached might take advantage of the situation and use them for their personal activities etc. Even the kids or grown-ups or the youth who temporarily may get addicted to such activities at a later stage may realize this and regret their remaining life, why they have done such activities or even in the worst case they may not be able to forgive themselves or attempt for suicides etc.

Now, what is the remedy for this? The best solution is Ayyappa Swamy Deeksha. We will see how swamy deeksha can bring back the lost ones to the track or how it can help who doesn't want to get deviated. Ayyappa Swamy Deeksha is a special kind of deeksha which deals with guru tatwa. In this deeksha guruswamy plays an important role. So who is a guru?, A guru is one who can remove our ignorance and make us know the truth. The deeksha itself is designed in such a manner that one who is taking this deeksha knowingly or unknowingly for any reason will slowly get transformed and this inner transformation will definitely help him in such a fashion that he can be useful to himself, to his family, to this country, and to this universe.

Firstly, bad habits are the sign of mental weakness where one is not able to control the mind and listen to whatever mind says. So in swamy deeksha, one learns how to win over the mind. For example the mind says, the weather outside is cold, let us do hot shower, where the deeksha rules say you need to do cold water before sunrise and after sunset.  The mind says, the weather outside is cold, let us wake up after the sun rises, maybe 7am or 8 am or 9 am. The deeksha rules say you have to wake up at Brahma muhurta, do your bath and complete the puja before sunrise. As an old age saying says "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man  healthy, wealthy and wise", so deekshadari's will complete their puja by early morning and they have the entire day at their discretion to plan and do the activities, which will help them slowly move towards inner transformation and success.

Secondly, an idle man's brain is a devil's workshop: so, someone just sitting idle is not able to know the purpose of his life, he is wasting his time, energy , his life, his country's resources, this universe's resource. If a person realizes that he is not totally independent because he is first, part of a universe, then he is part of this world, then he is part of this country, then he is part of the family, he has so many responsibilities on him to fulfill. As a part of the universe, he has no right to play with other beings in this universe so negative signals should not be sent into the universe. As a part of the world, he has no right to spoil the environment and destroy any of the other resources of this world.  As a part of this country, he doesn't have any right to trouble his fellow beings or resources of this country or spoil the environment of this country. Similarly, as a part of the family, he cant be lazy and utilize the resources of the family i.e simply eat, roam, enjoy. So everyone has the responsibility to repay back to the family, to this country, to this world, and to this universe. Simply someone cannot say, I am independent and I am not connected with anyone, I am earning and this is my money, etc. Even then so many things in this universe are supporting where you are getting something to eat, something to enjoy. So when a person takes deeksha, his mindset will change, he will slowly learn why everyone is called a swamy in swamy deeksha. He will know that everything is permeated by swamy only. The basic thing which makes one feel that other is different from him is the concept of name and form. Once you learn to see beyond the name and form of any entity, you realize that there is some energy or something which is making that entity to exist in this universe. If you try to question what it is or try to realize what it is, then you will understand why we are calling everyone as swamy. It is the ability to make realise that you are not supposed to see the external form and name of the person, rather see that inner energy or divine light which is making that exist. we will take a simple example to understand, every ornament is made of gold only, you may make it as long and call it necklace, you may make it short and call it a bracelet, you may make it round and call it bangle or ring, etc. Just because it is round and you are calling it as the ring does make you forget that is made of gold. You are conscious that it is gold, whatever may be the form of gold and name it is called. Similarly just because someone is named ram, Rahim, Krishna, Joesph, etc, you forget the truth that he is permeated and is existing because of the inner divine energy called Swamy (or can be any other whom we call GOD) and by calling everyone as swamy the deekshadari is trying to remember the truth that it is the form of divine only not the external form and name. He is looking at the concept of gold rather than the name and form of the gold.

So people taking deeksha learn this basic truth, because once the light of wisdom is attained, there is no space for the darkness of ignorance, because both can't exist at the same place. It is just like this when the container is empty, it will be filled with air, but when we pour the water into the container, it cant be empty because now it is filled with water. Similarly, when we were ignorant, we were empty and didn't had the knowledge, once we acquired the knowledge and filled with knowledge, then we cant be empty and we are filled. Now, what are the advantages of this knowledge which they have gained? This is the goal and purpose of life when you have this realization, no one appears to be separate than you, you see yourself permeating throughout of this universe, you are not separate from swamy and you become one with swamy. Then there doesn't arise any question of scolding someone or abusing someone, questioning someone, answering someone, etc. You just remain in that state and you become a witness to the divine drama which is taking charge and which is making the entire universe to act and play. This ultimate goal is known as "Tatwamasi" and which is written on the sanctum sanctorum of Sabarimala. When someone can achieve this goal depends on the intensity with which they want to reach this goal. Someone may reach faster, someone may take 1 year, 2 years, 3 years,10 years, 20 years, etc. But it is definitely possible and your journey towards this goal is only what ayyappa swamy deeksha enables you to achieve.

So what are the benefits during the course of the journey towards this goal? Because till we reach the goal, we need to continue existing in this world and play our role. And to exist in this world, we need to survive and we need the money and we will have so many desires and etc.. Then how to balance between the goal which we need to reach and the survival in this world. For this, the deeksha design itself will provide you so much scope that you can learn and apply to survive in this world.

The design of the deeksha and the rules if properly followed help the deekshadari's in a lot of ways. If we want to learn any skill, test it whether we got the skill and to exhibit the skill acquired or to use it for survival or improvement in our life, we need some platform, all these the deeksha provides for us. We will see how the rules of deeksha helps us transforming so that we can balance between the goal we need to reach and till we reach such a goal how these skills help us survive in this world.

Life Management Skills: 

The deeksha has one of the rules that deekshadari's should cook for themselves. Now if a swamy sincerely follows this rule, he learns the entire process of cooking, cleaning utensils, cutting vegetables, serving, etc. From this, he can learn what is the amount of work involved in doing all these activities. Because of this realization, he will understand what his wife or his mother or sister or someone who is doing it for him. So next time onwards, he will respect their work and he will never shout or become angry on them even if it takes a little bit more time or even if the taste of the items misses somewhat. With this one single rule of deeksha he is able to learn how to value others efforts, he is able to accept the things, he is able to acknowledge the work of others, he is able to have patience towards smaller mistakes of others. So, if a deekshadhari is sincerely following one rule, it will change the dimension of his thought process and improve the relationships. So following sincerely all the deeksha rules will train the deekshadari for inner transformation where he can learn to manage his life with balance and ease.

Team Involvement Skills:

The deeksha has provision for various activities like puja, bhajan, annadan etc . The deekshadari can learn lot of skills through these activities. How to be part of team which is doing a bigger event. Because the team consists of guruswamy, senior swamys as well younger swamys. He will learn the art of being part of team. How to listen and how to speak to elder swamys, how to delegate work to younger swamys. All these skills help them in growing in their career. These skills will be useful to them in their personal as well as professional life. They get a chance to learn new skills from other swamys. They have the platform to exhibit, learn and acquire new skills. Someone may be interested in decoration ,they can learn artistic in flower decoration, someone may be interested in singing bhajans, somebody may be interested in cooking, serving, entire puja event management, purchase of items, etc. One deeksha will have so many activities, which gives chance to learn and explore so many dimensions. They will learn how to plan and execute events.

Time Management Skills:

 The rule that a swamy should complete his puja before sunrise in the morning and after the sunset in the evening time makes a deekshadari learn how to manage time effectively so that he can balance between his deeksha rituals and his regular personal life. When a person learns to wake up early, he will have the entire day at his discretion to plan and complete his activities. So he will learn the art of managing his time, which will probably help him in his career when he goes to higher levels of his career. Not only in professional life, also his personal life, things will become easier and smoother, if he learns how to effectively manage his time. Because time in a way is directly linked to money, so time management will help him also learn money management. He will learn how to value time and money, this one skill will change his life in a positive way that, slowly prosperity will be bestowed on him and which will lead to harmony, peace in his life. These all together will bring a balance in his life and he can enjoy his personal as well as his professional life with ease.

Communication Skills:

The majority of people doesn't know how to communicate properly. First principle in communication is being ready to listen what others are speaking, then have the minimum common sense not to interrupt while others are speaking, and to know when we need to pause while we are speaking to others, checking whether others are able to understand what we are speaking, then have the ability to speak concisely or elaborately depending on the situation, then to have the skill to know what to speak, how to speak and when to speak.

Lack of knowledge about the above things will create a gap between the speaker and the listener and this is where people fail. The deeksha gives the flexibility to improvise these skills a lot. Because, first deekshadari will listen to what guruswamy is saying, so he will learn the art of listening. Then when guruswamy says some instructions and to communicate with other group members, he learns what to speak, how to speak. Then how to communicate with other senior swamy's as well to younger swamy's. How to speak to individuals and how to communicate with the entire group. All these activities and scenarios are possible. Then always there is guruswamy to guide and correct if we are making any mistake. So the best tool to learn the art of communication.

Have no fear:

The major problem which humans face is fear, fear of survival, fear of death, fear of unacceptance, fear of rejection, fear of hunger etc. Whatever it may be, but if we analyze the situation and try to identify the root cause, it will lead to some sort of fear only. And one more thing is the expectation. Humans will have this and feel hurt when the situations or circumstances or people do not go according to their expectations. The deekshadari's will learn to accept things as they come and do not expect things to happen as they think, rather what ayyappa thinks, they will be ready to accept. For this, they get the assurance and courage that swamy is there to protect them and to guide them. This only a person taken deeksha and who has mala around his neck only will be able to understand, others may not experience it or understand this. When things do not go according to our expectations, we feel irritated and get angry, and because of which we lose our temper and our ego will get hurt. When a deekshadari learns to accept the divine play of swamy, he will not have any expectations, so he will not be hurt and he will not lose his temper, so he will be balanced and will not loose talk, his ego will not be hurt and he will be happy always. When a person is happy, his health will be good and his happiness will be reflected on the people around him and his circumstances will be good and his perspective will be positive and seeing his happiness, people around him also will be reflected or influenced with happiness.

Live to help others:

Slowly a deekshadari over a period of time will have the inner peace, every year whenever he is taking swamy deeksha and every year after doing Sabari yatra he will cross the inner hurdle which lies between him and reaching the goal of tatwamasi or knowing god or thyself.  Over the years when there are no more hurdles between him and swamy and he had reached the goal, when his ego vanishes, then swamy will use him as a tool for the benefit of the society when his life becomes an example to others, where others can follow him. He will live simply to help others and be useful to this universe. He will be beyond the raaga and dwesha, having a balanced life.

In essence, we can say that youth who have lost the track or youth who want to be successful in their lives by getting inner transformation if take ayyappa swamy deeksha and if they follow all the deeksha rules sincerely will definitely be useful to themselves, to their families, to their countries and to this universe. For a lot of things which are not being carried forward between generations of earlier ones to the present ones, the bridging of the customs, traditions, knowledge is given to the youth through senior guruswamys. In a way, we can say that swamy deeksha will also protect our traditions and customs and make youth learn the right perspective of knowing the real truth (namely tatwamasi).

Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa!

Sabarimala Virtual Q

http://www.sabarimalaq.com

Sabarimala VirtualQ is an Online Portal for Devotees to book a slot on the separate Queue maintained by Kerala Police. This helps devotees to reach Sannidhanam without waiting in the long queue usually formed at Pampa. The system generate fixed number of coupons for every hour, devotees can plan to reach Pampa on the specified time, and enter on to the queue without any waiting. This dedicated queue will be manned by Kerala Police exclusively for those coming with the VirtualQ coupon. The coupons and ID card will be verified by Kerala Police, before allowing them to enter the Queue.

The availability of slots can be searched by entering the number of Devotees, and the preferred time slots for a month. The slots will be opened on a weekly basis. The search results will show a calender view of the month with the dates in Green colour box, if slots are available. By clicking on the date, available slots for that particular day will be displayed on right side, Devotee can choose a slot from the list. The availability will be displayed here. After this, if devotee wish to book that slot, he can Sign up and create his profile first by adding Name, Address, District, Pin Code, Photo ID card, Photo (Upload a jpeg file with less than 30 KB size). If he  have a log-in ID at SabarimalaQ.com, he can sign-in and book the slot or add other devotees profile and add them to a group by creating an new Group or add to an existing group he had created.

When a slot is booked, he can print the Coupon, also a coupon will be send to his registered email id.

The role of Kerala Police

Kerala Police plays a pivotal role in the conduct of Sabarimala Festival. It is one of the significant duties of Kerala police. The services are rendered to the Pilgrims by the Police Personnel with a sense of devotion and commitment. The duty place spread over a vast area spanning around 100 Sq. Kms of uneven terrain poses major challenges for police functions. A total of 3000 Police personnel will be in the service of Ayyapa Devotees. In addition to the Police arrangement, a temporary Police Station will function at Sannidanam for the entire season for the maintenance of law and order. 

The major services rendered by Kerala police at Sabarimala are

• Ensuring safety and security of Sabarimala and pilgrims.
• Providing facilities for Good Darsan by proper crowd control.
• Maintaining Smooth traffic system.
• Managing an Efficient Vehicle Parking System.
• Ensuring smooth VVIP movement.
• Providing security for Thanka Anki Thiruvabharanam procession.
• Providing Ambulance Service.
• Ensuring effective Disaster Management.
• Maintaining Law & Order.
• Preventing the occurrence of crimes.

The role of Devotees

• Should see to it that they maintain the cleanliness and serenity of sabarimala
• Should avoid using plastic at sabarimala
• Should keep the trekking paths and premises of the temples clean and tidy.Do their best to keep the sacred river clean.
• Contact police stations and police aid posts at Nilakkal, Pampa and Sannidhanam if in need of assistance
• Utilize oxygen parlors and consult health centers in route for medical needs.
• Be cautious while ascending and descending hills to prevent slipping and avoid short cuts
• Be vigilant while driving through the forest roads. Ensure mechanical fitness of their vehicle before and during journey
• Do not park their vehicles in road sides. It will cause heavy traffic bottle neck from Nilakkal to Pampa
• Park vehicles at the parking slots assigned. Heavy and medium vehicles shall drop pilgrims at Pampa and be parked at Nilakkal.
• Be careful about their valuables and personal belongings.
• Avoid climbing trees and high rise buildings to view Makara Jyothi.
• If any abandoned baggage or suspicious things found, please do inform the police personnel on duty.
• Photography will not be permitted in the premises of Sabarimala Temple. So devotees should avoid taking photographs within the premises of temple.
• Cooperate with Kerala Police to have a safe and pleasant sabari yatra

Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa

Irumudi Kattu

Irumudi the important component before a swamy begins his sabari  yatra and an important compent to allow a swamy to climb the holy 18 steps (padunettambadi). The devotee swamy has to have the belief that he is carrying the Swamy on his head and with love and devotion he need to carry the irumudi on his head.

Basically IRUMUDI means two packing, the MUNMUDI (Front packing) belongs to the Lord and PINMUDI (Back packing) belongs to the devotee.

Before starting the process the devotee or the swamy going for sabari yatra has to get blessing from his parents and Guru.

STRICTLY FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS GIVEN BY THE GURU or guruswamy

In MUNMUDI we carry:
Pure ghee in an eye opened water emptied Coconut.  Before filling the ghee, has to put a leaf of Thulasi, this is to preserve the purity.

Should close our Nose and Mouth with a towel so that our breath or saliva does not get inside the ghee.  Both the devotee and Guru has to do this.

Should pray well before filling the ghee and it is said that those wishes will surely get materialized.

Has to seal the coconut opened eye with a cork and Arakku seal.

Also should carry the abhishekam items like – Bashmam, Aval, Vellam, Nel Malar, Kalkandu, Mundhiri, Dry grapes, honey, paneer (rose water),  pacharasi (non boiled rice)

Public who wants to put dakshina to sabarimala can deposit in the mun mudi only.

The mun mudi after tying has to be sealed by the Guru or guruswamy and can be opened back only by him and no other person has the right to open mun mudi.

 In PINMUDI we carry:

The basic items, food items for the devotees – Rice, Dhal etc..,  The devotee can open the pin mudi where ever he wants.  It will be better if we can restrict the number of opening to a limited numbers.

While carrying the devotee has to take care that munmudi is in front and should carry only on his head and should not carry it in other body parts.

While urinating or during any other natural calls, ensure the irumudi is kept in a safe place and the devotee should not hold the irumudi in his head or hand during that time.

It is also told that, once the IRUMUDI is being tied, except the Guru or guruswamy, Devotee or senior devotees, no other person should touch the IRUMUDI (especially ladies).

Different devotees have different personal experiences with irumudi, somebody felt heavy, somebody felt light while carrying irumudi during their climb of sabari hill. Having irumudi on the head and moving is a divine experience which cannot be explained in words and has to be experienced.

Om Sri Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa