Some of the Temple that we
would be visiting.
IFC India
Welcome to 2008 Tantric Pilgrimage of India.
From Madurai we will travel to Kanniyakumari. Located on the shore, in the very Southern tip of India is the temple of the goddess Kanya Kumari who is an aspect of Parasakthi (the highest aspect of female energy).
We will also meditate where Swami Vivekananda one of India's great sage, meditated in 1892. Vivekananda was a disciple of Swami Ramakrishna, another very great saint. We will also visit the site where mother Kanya performed penance
The processional deity in the Kanyakumari temple is called Thyagasundari. The Holy Mother, who appears in the state of being ready for marriage, is called Syamasundari.
Pushpakasi a virgin was very much devoted to Lord Siva and by her stern penance attained Sayujya Moksha. Sayujya Moksha means entering heaven with human body and remaining in human form with the Supreme lord.
During that time Bana an Asura had won a boon that he could not be killed by anyone other than a Kanya (virgin). It became a problem to destroy his and save mankind. People approached Lord Siva for redress. Lord Siva knew that only a virgin could kill this Banasura. With the blessing of Lord Shiva she does destroy Bana.
Our Virgin Mother has the power to remove the demons within us. The temple is very special, for it energy and the priest here is very honoring of people who want to meditate, this is not so in most temple in India.
Every Hindu believes that if they bath in the sea at the Cape and makes their offerings to their guru would attain salvation. A visitor to Cape Comorin rarely misses this holy bath.
Swami Vivekananda used to plunge in deep meditation on the hill facing the Goddess. He prayed there for the salvation of mankind. Hence the Hill is called the Vivekananda Hill.
The one distinguishing feature of the sand at the Cape is that it is of various colors. The modern scientists call it monazite sand.
We will spend 2 nights here, visiting the Virgin Mother and also practicing Kundalini Meditation at the beach, this will help to release some of the toxic materials that are lodged in our organs, especially the Navel, and the nine gates.
After festiving on Mother Kanniyakumari's grace and energy we will travel to we will visit Lords Nagaraja Temple, where we would spend connecting with our inner serpent. This temple is situated 12 miles from Cape Comorin, in the midst of paddy fields. The following is the traditional story of its origin.
In the fields where the temple now stands, one day, a worker, while harvesting the crops, came across a granite stone and, as soon as the sickle came in contact with it, blood came out of the stone. This being an unusual happening, the news spread like wild fire and it became the talk of the town. Thus the temple came to be built. He represents the snake within your inner self.
People from all over south India travel to this temple every Sunday and on Anuradha days with offerings of milk. It is said that many serpents live all round the temple. But there has been no fatal case of snakebite within a radius of one mile from the place. The earthen prasadam taken from the place where Lord Nagaraja is installed (on bare earth where it was originally found) has never diminished in quantity even after its use for many many years. It is also remarkable that this prasadam will be white in color for six months in the year and turn light black for the remaining six months
We would have lunch here and travel to Rameswaram where we will visit Lord Ramanathar and Mother Parvatavartini (Shiva, Parvati)
A huge temple known for its towers and its longest ornate corridor worldwide, its origins date back to the days of the epics. It is a pilgrimage center of nationwide importance, as Rama is said to have worshipped Shiva here on his way back from SriLanka. The temple is in the island of Rameswaram the Banares of the South , connected to the mainland by a bridge. The deity here constitutes one of the 12 Jyotirlingams of India. Its praises have been sung by the Saivite Saint Poets.
Rameswaram, the Temple City, is situated in the Ramanathapuram District of Tamil Nadu about 413 miles Southeast of Madras.
The Temple City is an island of 31 miles length and 7 miles width in the shape of Vishnu's Conch.
The island has derived its name from Lord Rama who installed a Shivalinga (one of the 16 primeval Jyothirlingams of Lord Sankara) here, to get rid of the Brahmahatya Papa having killed Ravana. Sanctified by the footprints of Lord Rama together with the installation of the Linga and its worship, the island is one of holiest places of India.
Every Hindu cherishes the desire to have a darshan of the Siva installed and worshipped by Sri Rama. Rameswaram is thus one of the four most popular pilgrim of Hindus.
A few miles south, of Uppoor is Devi Patnam. It is popularly called Navapa- shanam. The shallow bay one can find 9 stones standing upright. They are said to have been planted by Rama to represent the nine planets worshipped by Him for the success of His mission. It is common in Hindu life to obtain the blessing of the planets before commencing any arduous task. It is called Navagraha Puja. Even Sri Rama, the incarnation of God, had to act like the common man for educating the common mind.
The path to Dhanushkodi is dotted with a number of Teerthams or holy waters which a pilgrim must dip into to cleansing of one's past.
The Gods collected all the Teerthams, and Sage Dadhichi took his bath here and then gave up his body. The following are the Teerthams where pilgrims bathe. It is said that Lord Krishna had to take bath to purify himself.
The list below are the Teerthams.
1.Maha Lakshmi. 2.Savitri. 3. Gayatri. 4. Saraswati 5. Madhava.
6. Gandhamdana. 7. Gavaksha. 8. Gavaya. 9. Nala. 10.Neela.
11.Sankha. 12.Sakra. 13.Brahmahatya Vimochana. 14. Surya
15.Chandra 16.Ganga 17.Yamuna 18.Gaya. 19.Siva. 20.Satyamrita.
21.Sarva. 22.Kodi
From here we will travel to Kumbakonam where we will stay for 7 days, during which time we will do Kundalini Meditation and also visit the planetary Temples around Kumbakonam to remove obstacles in our life. This journey is important to overcome the effect of the Planets. Planetary rays form and structure our mind, emotions and senses. They organize the systems of our physical body. Our circulation of blood, for example, mirrors the revolution of the Sun and Moon in the heavens. The intelligence of the planets function within our bodies and minds as the natural and organic intelligence responsible for their marvelous functioning.
The stars and planets are not just outer entities; they are alive within us as well. They exist within our own minds as our guiding lights. The planets show the energies in life that we need to master to calm our minds. For example, anger, is a typical lower energy of the planet Mars.
Vaitheeswaran- Temple at Angarah for planet Mars and Ketu in Keezhperumallam, which will be on a Tuesday. To Thiruvenkadu where we will visit Mercury temple, on Wednesday. To Alangudi on Thursday to visit Guru-Jupiter temple. To Kanchanur we will visit Venus-Sukra on Friday. On Saturday we will visit Saturn-Sani at Thirunallaru. On Sunday to Surianar temple to visit Sun-Surya and on Monday we shall go to Thingalur to pay our visit to planet Moon temple on Monday.
Let us together enjoy this journey as sisters and brothers, wanting to experience the love within, with total spontaneity and as a total act of love.
Listed below are some of the Temples that we will be visiting.
Chidambaram- Lord Siva is worshiped as Sky. Lord Shiva is worshiped in two forms, Nataraja, the Lord of Dance, and as Akasha Lingam, which is the subtlest element of ether or space. The Lingam is one of the five elements and is invisible. The temple is one of the most beautiful and important temples in India. This is one of the few temples in India that is owned by the people rather than the government. Here the priest in the temple would give us a personal tour. We will be staying here for 2 days for there are many temples within one temple complex.
Tiruvanaikkaval- here he is worshiped as water. Located at a distance of 7 kilometres from Trichi, Tiruvanaikkaval is an important spot to visit, especially for its religious importance. The city is famous for its Jambukeswarar temple. According to a legend, an elephant had once worshipped the linga (phallus) under the holy Jambu tree at this very site due to which it got its present name-Jambukeswarar. The temple is famous for its Siva lingam that is almost submerged in water which flows from a subterranean spring in the sanctum sanctorum. The temple has five walls and seven gopurams.
Tiruvannamalai - here he is worshiped as fire. Arunachaleswara Temple is one of the largest temples in India, 13-story high sculptured gopuram. There are also temples dedicated to Subrahmanya, the Lord who presides over Venus, which is the planet of love, art and music. People who are born on the 6th, 15th and 24th of any month are ruled by Venus, and also those with a weak Venus in their chart.
Kanchipuram - Sri Ekambaranatha Temple is the largest in Kanchipuram where the Lingam is known as the earth Lingam.Kanchipuram- is known as the "Golden City of Temples" and one of the seven main sacred cities of India and situated about 45 miles southwest of Madras. It has over a hundred temples. It is believed to give eternal happiness to one who goes to the temple. The city is divided into two parts, Sivakanchi and Vishnukanchi. Kanchipuram is also known throughout India for its high quality hand-woven silk fabrics and saris.
We will be visiting Sri Kamakshi Amman Temple, the love eyed goddess. Her temple is one of the three main places of Sakthi worship in India. Mother Kamakshi is said to be the Super Goddess, Parasakti, having Sarasvati, Lakshmi and Parvati as her eyes. She blesses all that dedicate themselves to her. The sanctum sanctorum faces southeast in the center of Gayatri Mandaparn. The tradition says that there was a delightful grove of Champaka trees around the main temple now known as Gayatri Mandaparn. The Divas took the form of parrots and worshipped Sri Devi here.
Here we will also visit a very special Vishnu temple of Varadarajaswami situated on the top of Hastigiri or Elephant Hill. One has to ascend 24 steps up the hill to reach the main temple.
Kanchipuram- is regarded as one of the three most important centers of Vaishnavism, the others being Srirangam and Tirumalai (Tirupati), It is also regarded as one of the four Vaishnavite centers in South India, with the addition of Tirunarayanapuram in Mysore. Every Vaishnavite even today prays to the presiding Lords in these four places three times a day from wherever they might be.We will be visiting Sri Kamakshi Amman Temple, the love eyed goddess. Her temple is one of the three main places of Sakthi worship in India, and a few other temples of important.
Visit to the areas below will depend on the time we have.Sri Kalahasti- here he worshiped as the element air. Kalahastiswara Temple is on the right banks the Suvarnamukhi River. This temple has the air Lingam. There is a lamp inside the inner sanctum that is constantly flickering despite the lack of air movement inside. The air Lingam can be observed to move even when the main Deity room is closed, which does not have any windows. The Lingam is white and considered to be self-manifested. The main Lingam is untouched by human hand, not even by the priest. This temple is one of the most impressive temple in India.
After lunch we will leave for Banglore. We will stay the night at Banglore, one of the most westernized city in India, Send half the day shopping and we would leave for Mysore, where we would visit Goddess Chamundi, this temple is very beautiful and has lots of energy. Here one could buy Mysore silk garments that are inexpensive and beautiful. Mysore is renown for it silk trade, both to the west and the east
Depending on time that is available we would also visit Mantralayam, where one of India very famous Saint Ragavandra is buried. He does appear from time to time to spiritual aspirants who visit him with total intend, receive his blessing. This place is indeed very powerful
This will take us to the end of the pilgrimage.
Tantra Sri Chakra Temple and Tantra Teachers Training College building project
IFC Temple of Divine Love Australia | Europe | Indian
Tantric Goddess | Women's Network | Tantra Goddess Network | IFC Mahavidya
