THIRUTHANIGAI OR KUNDRATHUR ADAL

Thiruthanigai or Kundruthor adal

Valliyai manam punara vandha mugam ondre

Salutations to the face that came to marry Valli

After the conquest over Soorapadman and his brothers, the devas got back their positions and resumed their duties of protecting the universe. The king of gods Devendra offered to Lord Subhrahmanya the hand of his daughter Devayanai who as seen in one of the earlier chapters was the daughter of Lord Maha Vishnu who along with her sister performed austerities to seek the hand of the Lord Murugan.  Lord Skanda appeared before them and blessed them that their wish would be fulfilled in their next birth and they should incarnate as the daughters of Indira the king of gods and Nambiraja a chief of the hunter clan, when He would fulfill their wish.  The king of gods had also offered his vehicle Airavatham and a sandal stone which can provide an inexhaustible supply of sandal paste. 

The Lord, after marrying Devayanai, his Kriya Shakti, in Thiruparankundram, came to Valli Malai where Valli Devi had manifested herself to the hunter king Nambirajan as a small babe.  The king discovered the doe eyed baby lying in a bush and watched over by a doe. The king took the baby in his arms and took her to his wife and they adopted the little baby girl. Sage Narada appeared before the king and blessed him. He informed the king that the girl would one day marry the God of the mountains Skanda and asked him to name her Valli. Valli devi grew up as a sprightly young maiden with the resolve to marry Lord Murugan, the lord of the hills. 

The Thinai grain in the fields was ripe for harvest and it was the time when the birds came in hordes to devour the grains.  Valli, with her attendants took charge of watching over the fields to protect the grains from the onslaught of the birds. Her weapon was a sling and stones and she would sing melodious tunes to keep herself and her companions awake. It was morning and Valli had finished her bath in the forest stream and was returning to the fields when Lord Murugan accosted her as a hunter youth and sought her hand. Valli was furious at this impudence and curtly told the youth that she would marry none other than her beloved Murugan. Just then Nambirajan and his sons were returning from a hunting expedition and immediately Muruga turned Himself into a tree. When they departed, he came again, now in the form of an old man and sought something to eat. Nambirajan and his retinue once again returned to bring Valli some eatables.  Seeing her in the company of an old man, Nambirajan felt secure and left. Valli offered the old man the Thinai flour and honey with fruits and the old man devoured them with gusto and then asked for some water to drink, Valli led him to the stream in the forest and after drinking to his fill, the old man made overtures and asked Valli to marry him. The horrified Valli declined and was about to leave the place in a huff when a wild elephant blocked her way. Valli was afraid of elephants and turned back to find the old man with his arms open. Literally caught between the devil and the deep sea, Valli chose the devil and sought protection from the elephant. The old man agreed to make the elephant go away if she agreed to marry him. The hapless girl agreed and the elephant, none other than Lord Ganesha, Muruga’s brother disappeared.

Valli now reneged on her promise saying that it had been obtained under duress and walked away. Again came the elephant and she rushed back to the waiting arms of the old man, this time promising to marry him in right earnest. She opened her eyes and saw that the old man was not there and in his place was her own dear Muruga. King Nambirajan was overjoyed to hear this and sage Naradha Maharshi performed the marriage.

The story part should not make us think that the supreme is also like humans with feelings and emotions, achievements and failures, and the like. Primarily, puranas are there to attract our attention towards the divine, When we listen to a story we get inclined to relate ourselves with the characters depicted and slowly try to imbibe the good qualities that we observe in the divine beings which in turn elevate us further and further when ultimately the story fades from our memory and the truth that the story conveys only lingers on.

Lord Skanda represents the manifestation of the supreme Godhead when His help was sought to dispel the dark forces of the demons that torment us as evil thoughts urging us towards a life of vices that will bind us to the cycle of birth and death. In our sincere efforts to break this vicious circle, our good deeds done in the past (Punya karma) make us turn to our inner core (the Higher self called God) and supplicate ourselves to the Lord to rescue us from falling into the abyss. The Lord manifests Himself and through His power of Wisdom (Gnana Shakti) in one blow destroys the evil tendencies and makes our mind resplendent, pure and truthful like the peacock and the cock. Having overcome the evil forces as we turn to our goal of self realization with vigour, we should get the Lord’s blessings to act in a fitting manner to earn His grace and to have for ever within us the drive to reach the goal. The action is represented by Kriya shakti and the will to pursue our goal with a single pointed effort is the Iccha shakti. However, these two forces are not our own, but given by the Lord when we pray for the same (Avan Arulaale Avan thaal vanangi). When our prayers reach culmination the three forces of Ganana, Kriya and Iccha unite and are absorbed in the Supreme Self with whom we can now easily identify ourselves.

The sporting of the Lord to woo Valli is also not without significance.  The Lord does not discriminate amongst His creations like we do. For Him all are equal, whether it is Indira the king of gods or Nambirajan a tribal hunter. God Himself seeks out His devotees. All that is required is that we need to take the first step forward and He will walk ten steps to come near us. If Valli’s love for her Lord was unparalleled, it was the Lord who sought her out. We might have our own conception of God and we are entitled to do so; but the trick is that God will appear as He pleases and it is for us to recognize Him. It is for this reason we need a Guru who can point out or drive us into His arms like Lord Mahaganapathi who  came in the form of an elephant. When we ultimately realize that whatever form the Lord had taken, He is the same as what we had all along been thinking, our joy knows no bounds.

After the marriage with Valli, the Lord Subhramanya reached Thiru Thanigai Malai where He sat in absolute tranquility and bliss with His two consorts, Devayanai and Valli. Thanigai in Thamizh means ‘to reduce’. The Lord’s anger against the demons Soorapadman and His desire for Valli had subdued representing the subjugation of Kama and Krodha and He sat as Suddha Sivam – Pure Conciousness Bliss, with all His three powers withdrawn into Himself in Thanigai Malai.  Access to His temple which sits atop the hill are through 365 steps each step representing a day of the year or simply ‘Time or Kalam’. One has to keep trudging through time to reach the end of one’s journey. We also infer that the Lord is timeless and to reach His abode we should lose the sense of time and transcend from the gross to the subtle as the gross is always ruled by the three factors of Space, Time and Cause and Effect. The elephant Airavatham and the huge Sandal stone given by Indira stand testimony to the puranic lore. Intrinsically, Airavatham represents ego and sandal stone our vasanas or tendencies, which we leave behind as we enter the Lord’s precincts.  We then feast our eyes on the divine spectacle of the Lord Subhramanya with His parivaram of Valli, Devayanai, the peacock and the cock along with His Vetri Vel.  We move from Samiibhyam (being near) to Saalokyam (being able to see) and then become one with His forms (Saaroopyam) and finally dissolve ourselves into Him (Saayujyam).

Many a saint have been blessed with the divine darshan of the Lord in Thiru Thanigai amongst whom are Arunagiri nathar, Vallimalai Swamigal and Sri Muthuswami Deekshitar, one of the music trinities who earned the sobriquet ‘Guru Guha’ used by him in his krithis, from the Lord in Thiruthanigai.

Thiruthanigai represents the Aagjnya chakra, the sixth and final chakra through which the great power Kundalini passes. Aagjnya means to command. The command centre for the entire nervous system is the Pons, a part of Medulla brain in our body. It is considered to be the seat of the supreme Atman or life force. The Chakra also is believed to be our third eye or the eye of wisdom.  It has two petals which whirl around the central point which is of the shape of an eye or a spear head. The two nadis Ida and Pingala originate from the Mooladara chakra and meet at the three granthis and finally at the Aagjnya chakra. The central Nadi Sushumna stands like a ramrod (Vel) piercing all the six chakras and ends in the Aagjnya chakra.  The two nadis are like the two vallis (creepers), Valli and Devayanai which intertwines the Gnana Vel, carrying the supreme energy Kundalini to the Aagjnya.  This is the seat of the six faced Lord (shadanana) whose colour is pure white (shukla varna) and whose guna is Satvic. At the base chakra, the foothill of the mountain, sits Ganapathi in red colour representing Rajasic guna and at the top is His brother Skanda as Shanmukha resplendent in His Satvic form with six faces.

A darashan of the Lord in Thiruthanigai is sure to dispel our vasanas and afflictions and guide us on our path to salvation.

TIRUCHENDUR

Tiruchendur or Thirucheer alai vai

Marupadu soorarai vadaitha mugam ondre

Salutations to the face that annihilatesthe differing personalities called asuras

Lord Skanda took the Vel fromHis mother Goddess Durga and led the army of the Devas into battle againstSoorapadman and his brothers who were tormenting the three worlds havingoutclassed the devas in battle. On His way the Lord was confronted by a demoncalled Krauncha who was cursed to take the form of a mountain, but yet trappedpassers by in his fold and gobbled them up. As he tried his pranks on youngSubrahmanya, the boy playfully threw the Vel and it shattered to a thousandpieces the rocky demon.  The Lord pitchedcamp in Thiru Chendur on the east coast of south India and challengedTarakasura the youngest of the three brothers. Taraka came with a huge army toattack Skanda and the devas but Kumara’s Vel consumed the army of the demonsand in a trifle annihilated the demon Tarakasura. 

Soorapadman, after defeatingthe devas did not occupy the throne of Devendra and make Alakapuri as hiscapital for the simple reason that Indira’s dominion will change wheneveranother Indira emerges by performing the requisite yagnyas. He thereforecreated his own city par excellence called Maha Indra Puri (Mahendrapuri) whichwas full of magic. Skanda led the army of devas to the gates of Mahendrapuriand sent Veerabahu, his trusted lieutenant to counsel the demon to return tothe Devas whatever had been usurped from them or meet their end in the battlefield.  Soorapadman laughed at thesuggestion, and expressed surprise at the fact that a mere child had come tochallenge him, forgetting for a moment that the boy was Shiva Kumara andaccording to the boon he had got from Brahma, he had chosen to be conqueredonly by the son of Lord Shiva.

In the battle that followed,there were huge losses on both sides as the armies of the devas and the asurasfought valiantly and without any let up. Banugopa, the son of Soorapadma was killed by Veerabahu and Ajamuki alsomet a similar fate from him.  Simhamukafought with great force, but was no match for Skanda and felled to theVel.  Soorapadma was distraught at the deathof his beloved brother and came on to take Kumara in single combat. All theastras (weapons) used by the Asura against Skanda were futile.  When the demon launched the Maha PasupathaAstra against Kumara, the three worlds trembled, but Siva Kumara caught theastra with one hand and laid it aside. The dumbfounded asura vanished from thebattle field and returned the following morning with his army regrouped. He sawSkanda in His Virat form and went down on his knees to worship him. But thiswas momentary as Skanda resumed his original form of a boy and the demonmounted his magic chariot to fight his adversary. Skanda took away the magicchariot of Soorapadma and showered a volley of arrows on the Asura who againdid the vanishing act and appeared as a huge bird. Skanda blessed Indira tobecome a peacock and mounted the huge bird and clipped the wings of Soorapadma.The relentless demon came back as a lion and an elephant which were speared bythe Vel and finally came as a huge tree to crush Karthigeya.  Out went the spear Vel from the hands of SivaKumara and cleft the tree into two, one portion of which became the cock andthe other the peacock which the Lord took as His banner and mount.

With the annihilation of thedemons peace returned to the three worlds and devas regained their luster andDevendra his throne. The good and evil tendencies within us are constantly atwar with each other vying for supremacy. When we give up our austerities andallow desires to take over, we are pushed into an abyss, but when our times aregood and we realize our folly and turn to God to rescue us, He appears as thelight to show us the way. He dons the mantle of the Guru (Gu-darkness Ru-light)and takes us through the dark passages of the life dominated by tamasic andasuric tendencies as we have to experience these tendencies as part of our karmaanubhava and cannot avoid it. We can definitely avoid the pitfalls if we haveGod as our guide.  The Devas prayed toLord Shiva for such a guide and Shiva Himself manifested as the six sparks ofwisdom which combined to form Guru Guha and sent Him to lead the devas intobattle with the asuric forces. Tarakasura represents the thought of me and mine (Madham) which like anelephant trounces all that comes in its way, thinking only about itself,oblivious to the fact that it might itself fall one day. When the gnana Veltouched him, Taraka was no match and hence surrendered to the might of the Vel.When our alter ego gets a beating we come down to reality.

Simha mukha is the embodimentof lust and anger (Kama and Krodha) and again he is destroyed by true knowledge(gnanam) represented by the Vel. Ajamukhi is the tendency to stick to ones own beliefs and dogmas likethe goat which always follows the clan wherever they go. Unless we getourselves free from the shackles of beliefs and dogmas we will never be able togo beyond our conditioned mind which is the greatest obstacle in selfrealization. We need to have no conditions in our spiritual pursuit and shouldcultivate the mind to accept whatever comes our way as the present of God, inother words, to live every moment in the present.

The final obstacle in thepath is of course EGO. Even when we get rid of all our bad qualities and becomevirtuous, ego takes pride in it and this would send us back in our path. It iswell nigh impossible to drop ego and live without a trace of it. Here we reallyrequire the grace of God to cut off the final chord that binds us to the cycleof innumerable birth and death. While there are many paths to release ourselvesfrom this bondage, it is ultimately true knowledge or gnana that can fullyliberate us. Karma yoga leads to Bhakti yoga which ultimately leads to gnanayoga which alone can burn away our ego. The spear or the Vel in the hands ofthe Lord represents knowledge and single pointed unwavering concentration(ekagra chitta) on the ultimate goal. The shape of the Vel is like a leaf standing firmly on a long rod withits tip tapering off to a sharp point. The rod represents our faith which should be firm and steady. Theportion above that which looks like the leaf of the Arasa tree (Sacred fig alsocalled as Bodhi tree) is our spiritual practices represented by Karma yoga onone side and Bhakti yoga on the other. The tapering point is Gnana Yoga which cleaves its way into the darknessfelling the demonic traits in us and ultimately destroys the ego which is theumbilical chord that binds us to the cycle of birth and death.  Soorapadman prostrated before the Lord whenhe saw His virat rupam, but his natural tendency did not allow him to retainthe vision and hence when he saw it was only the small child Murugan, his egogot better of him and he continued to battle him.  It is necessary for us, therefore, to clutchand hold on to the vision of the divine when and if it becomes manifest so thatwe do not slide back to our nefarious ways once the vision disappears.

Unlike the annihilation ofother demons like Shumba and Nishumba, Hiranyaksha, Hiranyakasipu, Ravana andthe like where the demons were killed, Soorapadman when he was split into twoby the Vel became the cock and the peacock which in turn became the banner andvehicle to the Lord.  The basic physicsteaches that in this universe matter is neither created nor destroyed, but onlychanges. In the death is another birth and in birth there is death. The waterin the sea changes into vapour, only to cool and return as water. In the deathof a demon, the physical body falls, but the evil might live on and take birthagain and again in different forms and names. The Lord Shanmugha was very kindto change the evil in Soorapadma to good and accept him as his banner andmount.

The Cock represents Sound andthe Peacock the Light in the beauty of creation. The banner is carried in frontof the procession and this gives an indication to the onlooker on who iscoming.  The Cock gives the clarion callto us to awaken from our deep slumber enmeshed in Tamo guna and heralds thearrival of the Lord who rides the beautiful Peacock.

The Peacock is a bird withoutparallel. Although it cannot fly high or long distances, its very gait ischarming and its dance exquisite. It represents strength and victory over evilforces. The splash of colours in its tail unfolded when it dances makes themind happy. The peacock therefore represents all that is bright and spectacularin God’s creation, in other words, Nature in its full glory. This is calledPrakriti or bojyam that which is created to be enjoyed and the Purusha, theSupreme Being is the bhokta or enjoyer. We are all part and parcel of thisdivine drama and it is the ONE which has split itself into many for thispurpose.

The Peacock holds firmly inits feet a snake with the risen hood and another in its beak. Some interpretthis as the evil tendencies in us which are held in check by the Lord’s mountin order to help His devotees. Another explanation is that these two snakesrepresent the Ida and Pingala nadis that intertwine the ramrod like Sushumnanadi meeting at the three granthis (knots). When Kundalini raises, it should bechannelized only through the Sushumna and not through Ida or Pingala becausethen there would be severe imbalance in the flow of energy and it wouldpermanently impair the physical and physiological bodies of the sadhaka.  That is the reason that such practices areconfined to a few who do it under the watchful eyes of the Guru. We find todaymany advertisements that seek to bestow this immeasurable knowledge onunsuspecting people for a paltry fees. Suffice to add here that the celestialmount of Lord Shanmuka keeps in check the Ida and Pingala nadis and allows theprimordial energy to raise only through the Sushumna nadi represented by theVel. When the energy rises thus and flows into the Sahasrara and back again, itfills the other two nadis which in turn carries the energy to the other partsof the physical and subtle body thereby fulfilling its task.

Tiruchendur represents theVishuddhi chakra, the fifth chakra, which can be attained after crossing onemore granthi (knot), the Rudra Granthi. Rudra is the Lord of dissolution andone has to cross the illusion of birth and death to reach the stage ofimmortality. Vi – Shuddhi means the highest form of purification which happensin the throat chakra.  We are familiarwith the narration of how Lord Shiva swallowed the terrible Hala Hala poison tosave the universe and Devi Uma stopped the poison in the throat region of theLord which became blue, giving the Lord the name Neela Kanta. The poison HalaHala was neutralized by the Lord in the throat region and hence this chakra iscalled Vishuddhi. Once we pass through the Rudra granthi all our vasanas areleft behind and so are our emotions. From here it is a passage through thesublime realms of spiritualism where we come face to face with various siddhisand riddhis which we need to transcend to see our TRUE SELF.

Speech is called Vak. Thereare four components that go to make the thought become words and thenspeech.  The vibrations that start in theabdomen (nabhi) is called ‘Para’ or indiscernible power. When this vibrationmoves up to the heart region it becomes ‘Pasyanti’ or perceptible as it merges withthought and takes shape. Further up, it is called ‘Madhyama’ when it reachesthe region of the vocal chords and makes them vibrate and finally it is called ‘Vaikari’or ‘Vak’ when it flows out of the mouth with the action of the tongue as words.It is in the Vishuddhi chakra that the thoughts crystalise and become thespoken word through the vibration of the vocal chords. When Thought, Words andAction match one another then we infer that it is Truth. When there is anydistortion of what is thought and said and done, then there is no truth. As weutter words which are not truthful, the Vishuddhi chakra tries to stop thisdisharmony and this has an effect on the five sense organs which reveal to the factto the onlooker. If we learn to control our speech and speak only what istruthful then we will not hinder the working of the Vishuddhi chakra which willthen allow us to progress further. Skanda in the Vishuddhi chakra is ‘Vak’. The deaf and dumb child Kumara gurupara was blessed with the power ofspeech and the ability to create poetry by the Lord and he instantly composedhymns in praise of the Lord. We should pray to Vageeswara to bless us with suddhaVak (truthful speech).

In Tiruchendur the Andavan(God) stands alone with the Vel and Kodi (banner) in His arms. Just behind thesanctum sanctorum there is a chamber where five Shiva Linga murthis are housed.These are the murthis worshipped by Lord Skanda after destruction ofSoorapadman and his clan to rid Himself of the Brahmahathi dosha of killing thedemons who hailed from the lineage of Brahmins. The sea here is calm and serenewith the waves rocking against the outer wall of the temple rhythmically andhence the place is called Seer Alai vai the place where the waves play to arhythm, the rhythm of the primordial sound OM. Tiruchendur is also consideredto be one of the Navagraha kshetras dedicated to Brihaspathi or Guru. The LordHimself is called Kumara Guru Para or the supreme preceptor in the form of ayoung boy. Any defects in the horoscope of a person pertaining to the planetJupiter will vanish when one comes here, takes a bath in the sea and a sweetwater spring called Nazhi kinaru which is on the sea shore and worships theGod. Worshipping the Lord here along with Lord Ganapathi and Shakti and thefive Shiva murthis is believed to shower the grace of the Lord for a long andpeaceful life on earth and thence eternally in the abode of Skanda.

THIRUPARAMKUNDRAM - PART 2

The facts about Thiruparankundram are mentioned in Sathyagiri mahatmyam one of the minor puranas.  As mentioned in the first of these essays, Skanda or Karthigeya is unique to Tamilnadu so much so that he is called as the god of Tamils (Thamizh kadavul).  In the north people consider Subhramanya as the eldest son of Shiva Parvati and worship him as a bachelor.  In haryana there is a temple dedicated to Lord Karthigeya where he is worshipped as a brhamachari and women are forbidden from entering the temple like the sabhari hills in Kerala where Lord Aiyappa is worshipped as a bachelor god. probably that is the reason for Murugan's marriage with Valli devi not getting much prominence in the north.  Valli Devi and Devayanai devi are believed to be the daughters of Lord Maha Vishnu.  They performed severe penance to get Lord Subhramanya as their husband. While Devayanai was adopted by Lord Indira, Valli Devi manifested herself in a community of hunters and performed penance to marry Lord Murugan.

The Vel is considered to represent the Sushumna Nadi which is located between the two Nadis Ida and Pingala which intertwine the same like creepers. Incidentally Valli means creeper and Valli and Devayanai are like the two creepers that embrace Subhramanya who stands in the middle like the Vel. 

Shiva and Vishnu are two aspects of the supreme and there it is a sin to create difference (bedha) between these two manifestations. Ariyum Aranum Onnu ithai ariyaathavan vaaiyil Mannu (death) is an old saying.  While the Vaishnavas and Shaivas fight it out between themselves as to whose God is supreme, the Puranas add fire to this debate with one Purana saying the Shiva is supreme and Vishnu worships him while another states otherwise. If we understand that Puranas have come up only to make it easy to comprehend the doctrines expounded by the Vedas, we will not have any ground to quarrel as only the name and form differs and the entitiy remains the same.  Smarthas who follow the Advaitic principles accept this as for them everything is Brahman and everything rests in the Brahman.

I do not know whether the great Vaishnavite saint Sri Ramanuja was hounded out of Tamil Nadu by the shivites as depicted in the film Dasavatharam, but it is a fact that he was not tolerated by the members of his own sect when he defied his guru and gave the Ashtakshari to the masses by standing on the unfinished tower of Srirangam temple. Ultimately Udaiyavar came to Srirangam and his jeeva samadhi is there in the temple precincts.

THIRUPARAMKUNDRAM

Thiruparankundram or Sathyagiri

Kundruruva Vel vaangi nindra mugam ondre

Salutations to the face that took the Mountain like Spear

The Spear or the Velayudham is the gnanashakti of Lord Subhramanya and used by Him to rid the world of the torture heaped on the people and rishis and the devas by the terrible demons Tarakasura and Soorapadman.  Both Taraka and Soorapadman had performed intense tapas to gain boons of invincibility from Lord Brahma which they used to torment and torture the three worlds.  On the sixth day of the advent of Skanda as Shiva’s son, He took the form of a six year old and was crowned as the commander in chief of the vast army of the Devas (Deva Senani). In order to overcome the invincibility of the demon Tarakasura, Murugan chose to perform tapas seeking the blessing of His mother Goddess Durga.

He chose Sathyagiri near the famous temple town of Madurai and performed intense tapas invoking Durga who appeared before Him and blessed Her boy with the Spear, nay She Herself became the Spear in the hands of Her son. That is why the Vel is called Shakti. The term Durga has many meanings – Fort, Hill, that which cannot be crossed and that which is invincible. So, to fight the demons who had the power of invincibility, the Lord was armed with Shakti, His own mother in Her form as Durga the terrible. Arunagirinathar beautifully describes this by the term ‘Kundru Uruva’ which means in the form of a hill. Durga, as seen above also conveys the meaning of hill which cannot be crossed. Although Taraka got a boon from Lord Brahma that he should meet his end at the hands of the son of Lord Shiva, he did not bargain that his end would come from the VetriVel which was none other than Shakti thrown playfully at his chest by the little boy Subhramanya.  The same Velayudam was used by the Lord for laying low Soorapadman and his siblings.

There was once a contest between Adhisesha, the serpent bed of Lord Mahavishnu and the god of Wind, Vayudeva as to who was stronger. They both decided that Adisesha would hold tight the five peaks of Mount Maha Meru with his thousand hoods, Vayudeva would try to dislodge the peaks with his force. The contest began in right earnest and Vayu shook the mountain with all his might while Adisesha held the mountain intact by tightly coiling his body around the mountain and held together its peaks. In the tussle a small fragment of one of the peaks got dislodged and was blown away by the force of the wind and landed itself near Madurai and got embedded in the earth.  This peak came to be known as Sathyagiri or the mountain of truth.

The absolute truth is one and is the primordial Sound OM called Nadam. Its form is pranava which is denoted as Bindu from which has sprung the universe. This is also called Para or the Supreme which is beyond everything. Param is the term which denotes that which is beyond and when associated with the absolute truth it becomes Para Brahman. The Para Brahman has two aspects – Nirguna, that is without any name and form or qualities and Saguna in which it takes a name and form and the resultant qualities.  In the Nirguna form it is called Shiva and denotes potential energy which is pure consciousness where matter and energy are latent. When this equilibrium is disturbed it leads to the flow of energy activating inert matter to start creation. The energy is called Shakti and the flow is called Vishnu (that which moves fast). When matter is energized the first movement is spanda or rotation on its axis and the second movement is spurana, revolution around another. Together these two constitute the basis of creation.  Vishnu denotes the male aspect and is called Purursha and Shakti denotes the female aspect and is called Moola Prakriti.  They are considered to be brother and sister and together they manifest themselves as the universe and all the bodies that are present in the universe.

Thus the Holy trinity of Shiva, Shakti and Vishnu are considered to be the different aspects of the primordial Parabrahman and are denoted by the term Param.  When the three aspects of the absolute decided to take lodging in the dislodged peak of Mount Maha Meru lying embedded in the earth, the hill itself became home for the absolute truth and hence called Sathya Giri (Truth mountain).  Lord Shiva, called Satyagiri Ishwarar is in the form of Shiva lingam facing west and in a bass relief are the images of Lord Shiva and Shakti behind the lingam.  Facing the sanctum sanctorum of Lord Shiva is the shrine for Lord Mahavishnu who gives darshan with Maha Lakshmi. As Lord Mahavishnu is positioned facing Lord Shiva which rightfully belongs to Lord Nandikeswara, the temple is called Mal Vidai kshetram (Mal – Vishnu, Vidai – the divine bull Nandi and kshetram – temple), that is the temple of Maha Vishnu in the place of the divine bull.  That Nandikeswara is Shiva Himself and hence Vishnu, is another matter. The name of Shakti is Govardanambikai and Her shrine is situated separately one tier below the main temple.  Again the name Govardanam is associated with Lord Mahavishnu in His Krishnavataram and hence the relationship between Maha Vishnu and Shakti is established. 

To the right of the shrine of Satyagiriswarar, facing south is the shrine of Karpaga Vinayagar who was worshipped by Lord Skanda before He entered into tapas. As the name denotes, Lord Vinayaga will instantly grant whatever one prays for like the celestial tree Karpaga vriksham.  To the right of the sannidhi of Lord Karpaga Vinayagar and again facing south is the shrine of Goddess Durga who manifested Herself as the divine spear Vel when Muruga prayed for Her blessings to conquer the asuras.  The shrine of Subhramanya is situated next to the shrine of Durga and again faces south. The Lord is swayambhu and the image is reinforced with a mixture of various ingredients to give an appropriate shape.  The Lord’s image is in the sitting posture with the Sungod and Moongod in bass relief on either side on the top and the images of sage Naradha and Goddess Devayanai in sitting posture on either side of the image.  This is the depiction of the marriage of Lord Skanda with Devayanai after the annihilation of Surapadma and other asuras.

Lord Mahavishnu had two daughters who performed severe penance to get Lord Subhramanya as their husband.  They were blessed to grow up in the care of the king of Gods, Devendra and the king of hunters as Devayanai and Valli.  Skanda was offered the hand of Devayanai after the extinction of the scourge of asuras Soorapadman and his brothers, by Devendra and the marriage is believed to have taken place in Param Kundram or Satyagiri. Devendra represents the indriyas or faculties in a human being. His daughter therefore represents Kriya shakti, that is the action which follows the functioning of the faculties. Valli devi is the Icha shakti or the desire that impels one into action. Marriage of Devayanai to Murugan after the asuras were conquered would signify that after annihilation of the bad tendencies (vasanas), there is rightful action which leads one to the union with the supreme.

Sage Parasarar was the father of Sage Veda Vyasa. He had six other sons who were cursed to become fish. When they prayed for deliverance, they were told to perform penance in a small pond called Saravana Poigai on the foothills of Sathyagiri and that when they have the vision of Lord Skanda, they would be redeemed from their sin. The muni kumaras waited for the return of Lord Subhramanya from the conquest of the asuras and when He returned, His glance fell on them and they regained their position. The images of Sage Parasara and Sage Vyasa are present in the temple as testimony to this tale.

Nakkeerar was a poet par excellence during the sangam period.  He had challenged Lord Shiva by finding fault in a poem written by the Lord Himself and was chastened by the Lord and given a new lease of life. He was directed to take upadesa from Lord Skanda in Tamil grammar and hence he performed tapas in Thiruparam kundram. One day when he was performing Shiva pooja beside the Saravana poigai, he was distracted by the tussle between a stork and a fish.  The stork had caught hold of a big fish and was unable to pull it out of the water as the fish was too huge and kept dragging the stork into deeper waters.  Immediately a demon caught hold of Nakkeerar and imprisoned him in a cave where there were ninety eight others who had violated the code of conduct while performing Shiva puja. The demon was in search of the hundredth victim so that he could complete his number for sacrificing them to Goddess Kali.  Nakkeerar was non plussed and sought the intervention of Lord Skanda and sang the beautiful hymn Thiru Muruga Atru Padai and no sooner than the hymn was completed, the Lord’s spear Shaktivel came out of the Lord’s hand, clove the cave into two and killed the demon too.

Satyagiri represents the Anahata chakra which is associated with the heart, mind and its functionalities.  The presiding deity of the Anahata chakra is Lord Shiva.  The mind has four functionalities known as Manas or the mind, Buddhi or the intellect, Chitta or the thought and Ahamkara or ego. Kundalini shakti after crossing the manipuraka chakra has to cross one more knot called Vishnu granthi which opens the gates of the heart chakra. Here begins the transformation from the gross to the subtle realms in spiritualism. The heart is the seat of emotions triggered by ego acting on the Mind. If the mind is controlled through the intellect, there will be purity of thoughts (Chitta sudhi) which will in turn subdue the ego and make it absorbed in Shiva.  Shiva represents limitless love and compassion. Love when released from its limitations caused by attachment to ones near and dear, kith and kin and so on, becomes pure and limitless and embraces Shiva whose form is Love supreme. In this state the aspirant experiences sublime bliss caused by contentment.

Satyagiri stands for the absolute truth with manifestation of Maha Vishnu as Sad (energised matter), Goddess Govardanambikai as Chit (consciousness) and Parameshwara as Ananda and hence is the whole (poornam). Subhramanyam is the pure form of the absolute Brahman as Shiva putra and worshipping Him with His consort Devayanai (kriya shakti) along with the holy trinity of Shiva, Shakti and Vishnu at Sathyagiri, He will touch us with His gnana Vel which will immediately dissolve all our past karmas and make us realize the truth of ourselves being the Supreme Brahman.

THIRUVERAGAM

Thiruveragam or Swamimalai : Easurudan gnana mozhi pesum mugam ondre

Salutations to the face that talks of true knowledge with the Supreme Lord

Swamimalai is a small sleepy town near the temple city of Kumbakonam. The principal deity is Lord Subrahmanya who stands atop a small man made mound which gives the appearance of a small hill. Like Pazhani, the Lord’s form is that of a small boy, a brahmachari, in standing posture with a danda and the Vel on His right hand and the left hand deftly placed on His hip.

After the annihilation of all the asuras tormenting the devas like Taraka, Soorapadma, Simha muka and the rest, the playful boy Muruga once went to Brahmaloka and was received with due honours by Lord Brahma. Skanda innocently asked Brahmadeva to explain to him about the source of all creation which Brahma replied was the Omkara or Pranava and also explained its meaning. Karthikeya was not satisfied, but Lord Brahma felt that being a little boy, He was probably not able to comprehend the meaning of his explanation of the intrinsic truth most difficult to understand even by the most advanced divine beings.

Sensing the vanity in Lord Brahma, little Murugan decreed that Brahma was unfit to carry on with his ordained duty of creation and put him behind bars.  The news reached Lord Shiva the supreme Lord who summoned Karthikeya and asked Him what happened. The boy sweetly replied that He did not get a satisfactory explanation from Lord Brahma on the meaning of Pranava. Lord Shiva asked His son whether He knew the meaning as it would not be possible to judge someone or something without first having knowledge of the subject. Lord Subrahmanya replied in the affirmative. Lord Shiva asked Kumara to explain to Him and those assembled the meaning of the ultimate truth Omkara, but Skanda declined saying that the meaning of Pranava can be explained only by a guru to his sishya and if Lord Parameswara wished to know the meaning of Omkara, He should approach him as a guru and seek the explanation.  The Supreme Lord immediately came down on His knees and lifting the small boy Skanda to His right shoulder, He reverentially requested Skanda to explain the meaning of the Pranava.  Muruga explained the meaning of the absolute truth to the one who was absolute truth Himself. Skanda released Brahmadeva from the prison and a chastened Lord of creation resumed His office.

The Vedas are believed to have originated from the single syllable Omkara. This is called as the ‘word’ and ‘lagos’ by ancient religions. The Bible says that ‘First there was the word and word was with God’. Lord Brahma creates with the help of Vedas which have their origin in the Pranava. Pranava is called the Nada Brahmam or Shabda Brahmam and this primordial sound together with Light called Bindu is the source of all creation.  This is also postulated by the scientists of today in their ‘big bang theory’ on the creation of the universe. Brahmadev had become a bit complacent and although He was aware of the valour of Skanda, He was skeptical about the knowledge of the little boy who dared to question Him, the Lord of creation on the basis of creation!!

Subrahmanya, who is none other Lord Shiva Himself as He had come out as sparks from the five faces of the Lord representing the five syllables called Panchakshara, together with the Pranava which came from Lord Shiva’s mind, is Pranava Himself and Brahmadeva should have known this fact and with this mistake landed Himself in the prison. What is a prison? It is a place of seclusion and is meant for self contemplation. Skanda bade Brahmadeva to contemplate and find the true meaning all by Himself.  The prison itself was the primordial sound Omkara from which emanated Sriman Narayana floating on a ashwatha leaf from whose navel had sprung Brahmadeva. The supreme Shakti had only manifested Herself as the primordial sound and light and sheathed in the same She created the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswara.  As She is sheathed in Pranava, She is called the parrot in the cage of Omkara. As Taitireeya Upanishad states, it is the supreme brahma shakti which created this universe and entered the same as its life force. This supports the statement ‘Omkara Panchara Suki’ as it is the divine Shakti that is imprisoned in all Her creations of Her own volition.  Thus Lord Brahma returned back to His origin when He was imprisoned by Karthikeya in Omkara and came out to resume His work with more vigour.

It is decreed that no Mantra may be learnt or explained unless through a guru. Lord Shiva was no exception and Muruga made the Supreme Lord Himself as an example to establish this.  When approaching a guru, there shall be no ego in the mind of the student. Even if the student had some glimpse of what the Guru would explain or even if he had full knowledge of the subject, he should never show off and approach the guru with a clean mind. Lord Parameshwara, who is none other than Pranava took the mantle of the disciple and reverentially requested His own son to explain the meaning of the Pranava. Subrahmanaya Himself being a part of Shiva-Shakti and hence Pranava, gave the upadesha to His own father and hence earned the sobriquet ‘Swaminatha’, one who is the god to the Supreme. Swami means that which master and Natha means Lord or Protector and the term Swaminatha means one who is the master (guru) to the supreme Lord (Shiva).  There is another meaning when we consider the term Swami Nada. Nada means sound and Swami Nada means the Master of Sound. As all sound emanates from the Omkara, Swaminada means Omkara itself. The difference is only in Samskrit and in Tamizh the two words are written in the same way.

Lord Dhashinamurthy taught the absolute truth to His four disciples, Sanaka, Sanaadi, Sanandana and Sanathkumara for eons and ultimately fell silent with the chinmudra in His hand allowing the disciples to learn by themselves the meaning of Omkara.  As seen earlier, it was Sanathkumara who had come as Skanda and perhaps He wanted an affirmation from Lord Shiva (Dhakshinamurthy) on His understanding of the Pranava as contemplated and understood by Him in His advent as Sanathkumara !!!

Swami Malai is the Swadishtana kshetra which is the second chakra situated a little above the Mooladara and is associated with Lord Brahma.  Swa means own and Adishtana means resting place. The fiery serpent Kundalini sleeps in the Mooladara chakra coiling herself three times and a half and resting her head on the second chakra Swadishtana. When she awakens, she releases her grip on the chakra and proceeds to pierce the Brahma granthi the first knot, to travel upwards to the next chakra.

Worshiping the Lord in His form as Swaminath(d)a bestows knowledge of the absolute truth depicted by the Pranava mantra. He is the Guru of all Gurus and hence is Parama Guru. When we supplicate to Him, He is always beside us to guide us in our endeavours.

SKANDA SASHTI - THIRU AVINAN KUDI

SKANDA SHASHTI

Skanda sashti is a festival celebrated in Tamilnadu and the adjoining areas as a six day festival culminating in soora samharam on the Shashti day. The six days beginning with the day after deepavali in the month of Tulam – Vrischigam (Aippasi – Karthigai) are considered very sacred for the worship of Lord Skanda. There are people who fast for all the six days and take a sip of water only after soora samharam. As seen earlier, Tarakasura and Soora padman depict the obstacles that deter our progress in the evolutionary process and we require the aid of Subrahmanya to dispel the darkness and annihilate the innate evil in us so that we can become beings of light (devas).

Everything about Lord Murugan revolves around the number six.  To start with, the Lord has six faces and came from the six faces of Lord Shiva. He was nurtured by the six Karthigai devis and grew up to be a boy of six years in just six days. His bija mantra is six lettered and He represents the six good qualities that are required to demolish the six evil ones within us. His trusted lieutenants starting from Veerabhahu are also six in number and He is the lord of the sixth chakra Agjnya in our subtle body.  He is worshipped in six places called the six padai veedu in Tamilnadu.

Arunagirinathar, the famous Tamil poet blessed by the darshan of Lord Muruga has described the six faces of the Lord.  An attempt is made here to visit all the six shrines of the Lord and understand the intrinsic meaning behind His manifestations.

Thiru Avinan kudi or Pazhani:      Eru Mayil Eri Vilayadum mugam ondre
Salutations to the face of the Lord who sports with a peacock.

At the foot hills of the southern tip of the western ghats called the Pazhani range, is situated the holy town of Pazhani. The Lord has taken abode on top of a hillock which stands alone in the centre of the town.  The Lord’s form is that of a bala holding a danda (stick) and is known as Bala Dandayuthapani. He wears only a loin cloth and is clean shaven with the only ornaments being rudraksha beads hung around his neck, head and arms signifying renunciation. The idol is believed to have been fashioned out of nine ingredients by the great siddha Bhogar who was a disciple of sage Agasthyar. The nine ingredients called Nava Pashanam possess immense medicinal properties and the deity is used to be anointed with Panchamrutham (five nectars), a mixture of bananas, jiggery, honey, ghee and sugar crystals.  The sandal paste applied on the deity after the final puja in the night is found to have turned dark in the morning when the shrine is opened for the first puja.

There is another shrine for the Lord in the plains below the hill which is called Thiru Avinan kudi meaning the abode of shepherds (Avinan). The Lord here is again a Bala rupi but fully decked with ornaments and is seen mounted on a beautiful peacock. It is a wonderful sight to watch the deity as a playful boy about to take off on his peacock, just as He did to earn the coveted mango fruit from his parents.

Once in the court of Lord Shiva Deva rishi Naradha brought a mango fruit and offered the same to the Lord.  Shiva wanted to give the same to his sons, but decided that he should give it to as a whole fruit to one who could accomplish the feat of going around the world three times first. Karthikeya swiftly mounted his peacock and was gone within a wink of the eye. His elder brother Ganesha made no efforts even to get up from His seat prompting the onlooking devas to think that Karthikeya will surely win the prize.  When Karthikeya passed over Mount Kailash on his second round, Ganapathi slowly got up and went around His parents three times and prostrating before them claimed the prize. The astounded devas sought an explanation and Vinayaka sweetly told them that one’s parents were one’s world and hence he had completed the task. Lord Shiva agreed with His elder son’s explanation and gave the coveted mango to Him.  As the prize was being distributed, Murugan entered the court having completed the third round and was disappointed that He was outwitted by His brother. He flew into a rage and casting away His ornaments, dresses and hair, he took a staff on his hand like a wandering brahmachari mendicant and took His abode in the Pazhani hill.  Parvathi devi had to use all Her charm and persuasion on Her second son to calm Him. Lord Muruga was called Pazham Nee in Tamil, meaning You yourself are the fruit so why crave for another, by His mother and the name stuck.

The mango fruit is the karma phala (fruition of our action) and Lord Shiva-Shakti is the karma phala data, that is God is the giver of the fruit of action. The culmination of all our actions in so many births come back to us as punya and papa and is experienced by us either in the same birth or subsequent births. God is neutral in our enjoyment of our karma like the two upanishadic birds where one bird eats the fruit and the other is merely an onlooker. When the bird had finished eaten all the fruits of its action, it moves up and finds that there was actually only one bird and not two. We always make the mistake of blaming God for not answering our prayers or wish list, but God is very considerate in giving us the fruit of our own action at the appropriate time, that is if we pray to Him and seek His help.

Coming back to the story, we have to do karma as we have taken birth only to enjoy or suffer the fruits of our past karma which in turn impels us into further karmic deeds. What left over karma could be there for the God in His form of Vinayaka and Subhramanya? That is why they were asked to perform a karma of going three times around the world to earn the fruit. Subhramanya and Vinayaka shows us the two modes involved in the performance of karma. Lord Karthikeya chose to perform the karma on the gross level by physical exertion while Lord Ganesha did the same using His intellect to reduce the physical exertion, thus combining both the gross and subtle modes and won the prize. The drama of the God was to let us know that we should not blindly do any action as advocated by the Karma Mimamsis, but should combine Gnana and Bakthi with the Karma which alone will help us reach our ultimate goal. Here there was gnana that one’s parents comprise one’s world and going around them was the act of bakthi and Vinayaka earned the pleasure of the father and mother of the universe through this act.  It does not in any way belittle the efforts of Skanda as He Himself is total knowledge (Gnana Pazham - immortalized by K.P. Sundarambal through her song), but the entire drama was intended to be a lesson to us.

Pazhani is associated with the base chakra Mooladara whose presiding deity is Lord Vinayaka. Desire and the consequent Anger which arises out of non fulfillment of desire are depicted in the story above. As Lord Krishna says in the Bagavadgita, these two are the obstacles which one faces in his spiritual progress and cause misery to mankind. When we conquer desire, we automatically conquer anger. While Ganapathi is in the Mooladara chakra defining the grossest element earth, Skanda is in the sixth chakra Agjnya which represents the state beyond elements and hence the physical body. It is the centre of command which impels the five elements to act. When we surrender ourselves to Ganapathi in the mooladara chakra we are pulled up by Murugan to the state beyond elements.

We worship Skanda as a playful boy on His peacock mount in Thiru Avinan Kudi first. Here the Lord represents Iccha and Kriya shakti (Desire and Action).  We then climb the mountain to have darshan of the Lord as Gnana shakti (pure Knowledge). Thus both our material and spiritual pursuits are rewarded by a visit to Pazhani.

OM TAT SAT

SKANDA SASHTI

SKANDA

Skanda known as Karthikeya in the northern parts of India and Muruga in the south is the son of the supreme godhead Shiva and Parvathi.  In the north he is considered to be the elder son and a brahmachari and in the south he is the second son of the divine couple and has two consorts. He is widely worshiped as the warrior god who heads the army of the Devas  (Deva Sena Pathi or Senani) and annihilates the evil forces of Asuras and brings victory to the Devas.  The Skanda Purana speaks about Skanda, His manifestation as the son of Shiva – Shakti and His valour.  Kumara sambavam is a classical work of poet Kalidasa which narrates the coming of the God to lead the devas in their battle with the terrible demon Tarakasura.  Skanda is very dear to the people of the South where He is worshipped as Murugan, the personification of beauty of various dimensions. His abode is the hill top and the saying is that wherever there is a hill there is Kumaran.

The backdrop of Skanda’s advent is the conquest of the Devas by the demon Tarakasura who performed severe austerities and obtained the boon of invincibility from Lord Brahma. Not being able to get the boon of eternal life, he got as boon that he could only be killed by the son of the mighty Lord Shiva, who at that time, had withdrawn into deep penance after the immolation of His consort Sati at the sacrifice of Dhaksha prajapathi. Sati had subsequently taken the form of Parvathi, the daughter of Himavan, the king of the mountains and Mena, his queen, and was serving the tapasvi Lord Shiva with dedication with an yearning to be united with Him.  The Devas, having been routed in battle with Tarakasura and unable to bear the torture of the wicked demon prayed to Lord Vishnu, the protector, to help them.  Maha Vishnu told them that the time had come for the union of Shiva and Parvathi and the son born of them would lead them to victory. With Lord Shiva absorbed in contemplation and in no way inclined to marry Parvathi, the Devas turned to the god of love Kamadeva (cupid) to induce love into the stone like Lord Shiva.  Not realizing what he was upto, the insolent cupid shot his arrow of flowers at the Lord who opened His third eye instead of His normal eyes and burnt Manmatha to ashes.

The other Devas approached Lord Shiva and pleaded with Him for deliverance from the  oppression of the demon Tarakasura and requested Him to take the beautiful Parvathi as His consort. The wedding of the divine couple was celebrated in a fitting manner and the Devas prayed to the Lord to bring forth His son who could only conquer the wily demon as per the boon given by Lord Brahma. Lord Shiva assumed His form with five faces and from each face blazed forth a spark along with another one from His mind (the inner face) The six sparks joined together and presented an awesome spectacle. Devi Pavathi assumed the form of a pond called Saravana Poigai, which was fed by the perennial river Ganga, and the Lord commanded Agni (fire) and Vayu (air) to carry the conjoined sparks and leave them in the cool waters of the pond. When the sparks touched the water, they turned into six beautiful children who were taken by Parvathi in Her arms and cuddled to Her bosom. The six merged to form a child with six faces and was called Shanmugha. The six Karthiga maidens assumed charge of the son of the divine couple and tended Him for six days in Saravana poigai thereby giving the name Karthigeyan to the child. 

There is another story on the advent of Lord Skanda in this manner. Our Mahaperiyaval, the seer of Kanchi has narrated this from an upanishadic story. Sanathkumara is one of the sons of Lord Brahma who has attained perfection in all respects and is always absorbed in the state of the Pure Conciousness Bliss (Sad Chit Ananda) Brahman.  Lord Shiva and Parvathi came to Sanathkumara and blessed him and told him that he could ask for any boon that he wished. The young sage turned to the father and mother of the universe and replied that he craved for nothing as he was always in the state of Sadchitananda and if it would please the divine couple, they may ask for a boon.  The supreme god Lord Shiva and Parvathi immediately requested Sanathkumara to become their son, which he readily agreed but on condition that he would not be born out of their union through a normal process of birth.  The boon was granted and when the time came for his manifestation the sage came out of His father Siva as six sparks and was brought together by his mother Parvathi and was called Subrahmanya, the manifestation of the supreme Brahman.

Kumara was ready to assume charge as the commander of the army of the devas on the sixth day of his advent. He prayed to His mother in Her form of Durga and was blessed with the spear weapon called Shakti or Vel.  The valorous Skanda was attended upon by six veeras who were aspects of Lord Rudra Himself.  Skanda rode at the head of the Deva army and confronted Tarakasura. Like a forest fire burning out vast tracts of a forest without any effort, the huge armies of the demon were consumed by the fire of Shiva Kumara. Finally Taraka engaged the little boy in a personal combat and was felled by the spear.

Surapadman who was a cousin of the demon Tarakasura now began tormenting the devas and again the devas took refuge in Lord Karthigeya. The kind lord led the army of the devas to the gates of Mahendrapuram and challenged Surapadman and his brothers Simhamukan and sister Ajamukhi. The vast army of the demons were shattered by the army of the devas under the command of Veerabahu and five others called the six veeras (heroes). In the personal combat that ensued between Surapadman and Skanda, the demon was laid low by the unparalleled valour of Shiva Kumara.  Surapadman resorted to black magic and assumed various forms of a lion, an elephant, a goat and when each such form was destroyed by the valiant Karthigeya, he assumed the form of a massive tree which was split into two by the mighty spear of the Lord. From the two halves came two birds, a cock and a peacock. Muruga took the cock as His banner and the Peacock as His mount.

The victorious Lord was praised by the Devas who regained their position and their king Indira gave away his beautiful daughter Devayanai in marriage to the Valiant son of Lord Shiva, Subrahmanya, the personification of the highest order of spiritualism, valour and beauty all rolled into one form.

Puranas are the means for the common man, uninitiated in the process of spiritual pursuits to understand the intrinsic truth propounded by the scriptures. Outwardly they appear to narrate a story which is more palatable and easy to comprehend but when we analyse the story part deeply we find that they carry a lot of intrinsic meaning which would uplift us in our spiritual pursuits.

The process of evolution takes us step by step to the higher realms of spiritualism till we attain the supreme Brahmanhood. The path is strewn with a lot of obstacles which needs to be conquered and one has to fight ones way at each step.  We are supported in this endeavour by our good qualities which show us the light (Devas) and are pulled back by the bad tendencies (Asuras). In the fight between the good and the evil, sometimes evil triumphs at which time we turn inwards to pray for the advent of the Supreme in some form to deliver us.

Shiva – Shakti is the ultimate source of all creation representing the static and dynamic forces in the universe. The static force has within itself the potential to discharge and manifest its prowess as creation when induced to do so by its kinetic aspect. Shiva as static and potential energy remains passive (sthanu) in deep contemplation and when kindled by Parvathi, the kinetic energy, He brings forth the six sparks of wisdom which unite into one to dispel the six dark elements (Shat adhva) of lust, anger, etc., that block our spiritual progress. The light force of Kumara pierces the darkness through the Shaktivel the embodiment of gnana shakti, the knowledge that is required to remove the veils of ignorance.  Coming into contact with the Gnanavel, the latent tendencies (vasanas)  that were earlier clouding the truth and blocking our progress are converted into positive energies (the cock and peacock) to aid us in our progress.

OM TAT SAT