As for as we are
concerned Maha Periyava is everything. It never occurred to us to go to any
other place specifically other than Kanchipuram. Every time when we go to
Kanchipuram, we would have Dharshan of Maha Periyava and get His Blessings and
return. We even went to Kamakshiamman temple only occasionally. Kamakshi and
Maha Periyava are not different. It is purely His Blessing that my daughter
Madhumati survived her strormy childhood and it is a miracle that she herself
has a son!
When my daughter was 6 years old, my wife asked one
day ‘why don’t we go to Thiruvannamalai and perform Giripradhakshanam?’ I
didn’t take it seriously. She kept repeating it. At that point I said jokingly
that it is said that even by thinking of Thiruvannamalai one can attain Mukthi
and so she might think of the malai! To that she said ‘it is said that by doing
girivalam our ‘karma’ our karma would get reduced’. It made me to think. Soon
we decided to go and fixed a date.
At this point I
have to mention about my wife’s suffering. She has severe sinusitis and was
having severe headache, fever etc. and taking medicines. The day before we were
scheduled to perform the journey, she was having fever and didn’t sleep the
whole night. We heard that many obstacles would come before we embark on this
holy journey. So we decided not to go back on our determination and started on
that day with the Blessings of Maha Periyava. After we locked the house and
reached the road, an autorikshaw was waiting. He took us to the nearby auto
stand in Mylapore and arranged one for us to go to the bus stand and he refused
to take money from us!
Then we reached
Thiruvannamalai by bus and stayed in a hotel. By evening we went to the temple
and then to Ramanasramam where we bought a book on Girivala Mahimai. We learnt
that the Giri itself is Siva, many many Rishis, Mahans, Thapasvis are all doing
Giri pradhakshinam in an invisible form even today. We have to do Giri valam
with utmost dedication, respect and Bhakthi chanting mantras silently, and do
it in slow pace and in straight line and not in criss cross fashion in order
not to cause inconvenience to the Rishis performing girivalam. We vowed to do
accordingly.
The next day
early morning at 4 we started after shower even though she was not well.
She could not even do namaskaram in from of the temple due to severe pain.
‘Maha Periyava thunai vara vendum’ was our prarthanai. There was no road, light
or any facility in those days. We didn’t think of these things. Our minds were
filled with Bhakthi and divine thought of pradhakshinam of Siva and there were
no expectations. Accordingly we did and completed the girivalam in 4 hours
chanting Gayathri and did namaskaaram in front if the temple.
It was a divine
experience during the whole stretch experiencing the smell of Vibuthi, Mooligai
etc and had dharshan of many sannathis on the way. After completing, we had
breakfast and boarded a bus back to Chennai. On the way she asked me if they
have left something. I checked everything and said we didn’t leave anything
back. After reaching home she found out what she had left! She pressed her face
and said there was no headache and that she had left her illness in
Thiruvannamalai. Remember she was able to do namaskaram after completing! It
was nothing short of a miracle and the sinusitis did not surface until now even
after 25 years!
After that the
Giri attracted me so much that I started going every Pournami to the extent
that my relatives and friend used to say ‘ if it is Pournami Ravi would have
gone to Thiruvannamalai! I was running a clinic in Tambaram. After finishing at
about 10 pm, I used to board a bus, reach at 2 am, leave the slippers in a
roadside shop, start doing Girivalam, finish at 5, return at 10 and go to
hospital. That was routine. Some days there would not be a seat in the bus so
that I would go standing, do girivalam and come back standing.
On many
occasions my wife and daughter would join me. On one Karthigai day it started
raining after we started Girivalam. We did not stop. But continued in heavy
rain and completed. My daughter’s Bakthi and devotion at that tender age in
spite of her physical suffering simply was spell bounding. On one occasion we
saw a Sanyasi with ‘Visiri’ in his hand and got His blessings. We came to know
in later years that He was the Mahan called Visiri Samiyar or Yogi
Ramsurathkumar.
After I came to
Malaysia, I was not fortunate to do Girivalam as often as I used to do earlier.
Now a days there is a lot of change there. There are proper roads, lights and
other facilities but there is a risk in going in the darkness. Times have
changed. Yet there is an interesting experience on one occasion… One day we
started Girivalam after doing namaskaram in front of the temple. I started
moving in front. They were behind by about 10 feet or so. Suddenly a totally
black dog lying near the temple was startled when I crossed, jumped and stood
up. This was told by my wife and daughter. Then he started escorting us,
closely following us, touching us with his body on and off and wagging his
tail. He came along upto Adi Annamalai temple, half way until day break. After
that he disappeared. Was he a Siddha? It was a divine and strange experience
for us.
Thus we can go
on about Thiruvannamalai. Even now I am doing maanasiga Girivalam during my
daily Sahasra Gayathri japam along with my family members. A few months earlier
I had written on Paramacharya’s 3 Commandments in http://mahaperiyavaa.wordpress.com/2014/06/30/paramacharyars-3-commandments/ .
In that I had
mentioned about breathing exercise during Gayathri japam that in one breath 10
Gayathris can be chanted. Instead it is easier and useful to do 5 Gayathri in
one breath as given below.
My wife is
instrumental in my attraction towards Thiruvannamalai. Now I must tell
something about her here. I am fortunate to have got her in my life. She has
some divinity in her. She is like a Spatikam. Those interacting with her get
reflected through her and they see themselves. If they are pure and good
hearted, they like her and don’t like her if they are otherwise. It is a fact.
The proof of this is that she was instrumental in our daughter Madhu getting a
new life from the utmost adverse situation early in her childhood with Maha
Periyava’s Blessings and it is a miracle that she has a son of her own!
Last time I had
written about my getting Blessings from Sri Musiri Periyava and I had mentioned
that He is one of the 4 Mahans Maha Periyava has mentioned in His own voice.
The other 3 are Sri Sivan Sar – Maha Periyava’s poorvasrama brother, Sri
Pradosham Venkatraman mama, and Sri Angarai Periyava – Sri Kalyanarama
Bhagavathar from Triplicane – His Adhishtanam is situated in Pazhur on the way
to Musiri from Trichy.
Sri Musiri
Periyava has ruled that Gayathri japam is not for ladies and should be done by
only those who have got Upanayanam done.
I have given the
relevant hyperlinks for ease of reference only and not to promote myself. This
is done with the sole purpose of telling the world of Maha Periyava’s Grace on
my family as a gratitude. His Grace is self spreading and Blessing us all. I
will be gratified if someone is inspired and advance spiritually with His
Blessings.
I want to end
this write up now. I request you all to do Girivalam whenever possible without
any expectations and with complete devotion and Bhakthi, chanting stotras, in a
proper way and get spiritual advancement and all good things in life with Maha
Periyava’s Blessings.
Jaya Jaya
Sankara Hara Hara Sankara.
Ravichandran.
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