Belief - Beyond Comprehension

Every visit to our farm house brings in new experience, as it is set in a remote village. The native villagers mostly live along with nature, may be that could be due to non-urbanization! Look at what I was intrigued at this time!

These are plantain stems. First I thought these people were slicing the stem and drying it up to make crisps, but I have never heard of such a thing. Well, we normally add these in daal or finely chop and toss it up and use as a side dish along with rice based meal. Now, curiosity got the better of me and I wanted to know what exactly it was, so started chatting up with the lady who was deftly making these stuff. She was equally excited to explain what she was doing!

They were oil lamp wicks, which is used in Hindu special prayers and it was called as வாழைத்தண்டு திரி (Vazhaithandu Thiri)! Meticulously she showed me how to make it...here we go

Slice the stem > pull out the fiber > wrap it > dry it. Roll the dried ones and make a wick, whenever you want to light the lamp. It is believed that lighting lamp with this wick will be relinquish any form of curse! 

Batu Caves

According to Hindu belief there is a saying that wherever there is a hill, lord Muruga resides. Batu Caves in Kula Lumpur is no exception to this belief. Early Hindu settlers of the 19th century made this beautiful natural limestone hills/caves as the abode of lord Muruga. Now, the 142 foot tall Golden Muruga stands majestically at the foot of the caves.



This is a holy worship place. But, some of the locals (non-Hindus) were treating the place as an exercise spot...so the temple management has put up a notice board to stop this kind of practices.



You need to climb 282 steps to reach the first level of natural caves. And, while hiking up you might feel breathless. But, the cool breeze that welcomes you at this height is so refreshing that you forget the tiredness.



Here, Moolavar or the main deity resides.



Then the second level is an open cave, again Muruga graces here in a different posture.

Batu Caves - Our World

Thai Pusam festival is celebrated annually in a large scale and it is declared as a public holiday! Even after a couple of weeks after this festival, the devotees throng to this place...



Look at the fantastic bird's eye view of Kuala Lumpur from the top of this hill.



Though going down the stairs is effortless, you need to be careful, as the steps are narrow and high. It is better to climb down in a zigzag fashion to make the descent easier.

Chitra Poornima - Brightest Full Moon of the Year

View from my corridor in Melaka, Malaysia - SOOC

Chitra Poornima - As per Hinduism, this is the day sacred to Chitra Gupta, the Keeper of Deeds. It is considered the most important full moon of the year as it provides us the opportunity to erase karmic mistakes from the eternal record book created and maintained by Lord Chitra Gupta.

Another myth specific to my home town (Madurai, India) is that Lord Indra, the King of Lords had sinned and as a penance, he was asked to go to Earth and worship Lord Shiva in Kadamba Vana (Ancient name for Madurai). There Indra finds Lord Shiva in the form of Linga and he builds a temple for Him. Also Indra builds a Shakthi (Consort of Shiva) temple next to Shiva's temple. Indra wanted to use flowers for worship and finds a Golden lotus pond near by. The day Indra did his prayers to cleanse his sins was on Chitra Poornima, the full moon that comes in the Hindu Month of Chitra!

Down the centuries, the Shiva, Shakthi temples and Golden Lotus pond (supposed to be built by Indra) was united by various Hindu rulers and now it is Meenakshi Amman temple. Here is a file shot of Golden Lotus pond on high religious day!

Golden Lotus Pond, Meenakshi Amman Temple, Madurai, India. SSS2

Navaratri/Dussehra - Victory over Ignorance!

Navaratri literally means nine nights in Sanskrit and this festival is celebrated at nights in the Hindu temples and homes. It is a colorful festival, celebrated throughout India in different names like Navaratri, Dussehra or Durga Pooja. The basis of this festival is to celebrate the Destruction of evil power, Appreciation of Spiritual & Material Riches and Enlightenment. These three factors are represented by Goddesses Durga (Parvathi), Lakshmi and Saraswathi respectively. During Navaratri, 3 days are dedicated for each Goddess successively.

In temples, deities are adorned in various forms of the Goddesses in the evenings and special prayers are conducted at nights. On the 9th day, in most of the temples all 3 forms of the goddesses are presented!

This is from my family's trust temple. For SOOC Sunday

In the above shot, Saraswathi the goddess of education (enlightenment) is on the 1st left and she holds Veena (a classical musical instrument). Lakshmi the goddess of wealth is in the center and the next is Durga or Parvathi the goddess of power. At homes, children celebrate by arranging dolls to depict various religious and day to day life activities and it is called as Kolu. So, in this season, handicraft shops and shops beside the temples sell colorful dolls.

Kolu dolls at Pudhu Mandabam in Meenakshi Amman temple, Madurai, India

Ninth day of celebration is also called as Saraswathi Pooja. As children, we were always looking forward to this day, mainly because our school books would be kept in prayers and left overnight in front of the deity, which meant we didn't have to TOUCH the books^^.

After 9 days of celebration, 10th day is called as Vijayadasami. There is a belief that Lord Rama killed Ravana (demonic ruler of Srilanka) on that day, hence it is considered as triumph over evilness. This epic war is enacted in most of the Vaishnava temples.

Rama from (Sourashtra) South Krishnan Temple, Madurai. For Skywatch.

This shot shows Lord Rama with bow and arrow!

Spiritually, Vijayadasami means victory over ignorance and gain enlightenment. Hence, goddess Saraswathi is given importance on this day and in South India, this is the most auspicious day to start a child's education. Most of the schools take new admissions for Reception classes!

Vinayaka @ Meenakshi Amman Temple Madurai

Prime God of Hindus, Vinayaka or Ganapathy is worshiped before the beginning of anything like a wedding or business. And today is His birthday. He has an elephant's face and stout with a pot belly. Here are some of His avtars @ Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple.

Vibuthy Vinayakar

He sits near the entrance of South Tower, and people shower him with vibuthy or holy ash and pray.  

Mukkuruni Vinayakar

He is the largest Ganapathy within this temple and today, special pooja or prayers will be performed. Extra large modhagam (rice based cake) will be offered to Him and later distributed to the public.

Narthana Vinayakar

Narthana means dancing, this dancing Vinayaka is near the Mottai gopuram and people pray to Him on special occasions like Sasthiaptha poorthi (60th birthday).

Couples who are not blessed with a child are advised to do milk absheka (bathing the deity with milk) for this Narthana Vinayaka. Though many beliefs sound superstitious, at times, out of desperation and yearning I tend to believe in age old customs. Belief is everything, I too have done milk abeshikam here, as I had my kid only after a long time.

Temple - Dwajasthambam (Flagpole)

The tall flagpoles in the Hindu temples have always fascinated me, that too it is a sight to see during holy festivals, as they are adorned with flowers and other religious things.

@ Sri Astha Thasa Buja Kali Temple, Durian Tunggal, Melaka

As per Hindu agama shastra (religious rules), the temples are built to reflect the human body and Dwajasthambam (Flagpole) forms the backbone! Well, am not too sure of the explanations (and I can't find trusted resources online), so let me not elaborate on it.

At Sri Astha Thasa Buja Kali Temple, I saw another, very tall flagpole, which was devoid of adornments. The rotating flash light gave a beautiful touch to that pole!

Now, am not sure why this pole was placed in front of the Dwajasthembam!