Guest guest Posted November 19, 2002 Report Share Posted November 19, 2002 This year's Aiyappan worship started on 18th November. The Aiyappan worship is a Hindu form of bhakti worship, where the worshippers express their longing for union with the Godhead without Brahmin priests as intermediaries between gods and men. Every year on or about January 14th, a large number of pilgrims assemble on and around the Sabari Mountain in the jungle of Southern Kerala. According to some statics, in 1999 more than ten million people came here, which makes this the third-largest annual religious gathering of people in the world, after the Vatican and Mecca. The preparation phase for the pilgrimage may last up to 50 days. In this period the pilgrims are obliged to lead a "clean" life, i.e. abstain from eating meat, drinking liquor and having sexual intercouse. After a time of preparation the time has come for departure to the temple on Sabari in Kerala. The pilgrims are dressed in clothes, which are clearly different from ordinary clothing; Most of them wear black clothes. It is difficult to explain why Aiyappan has become so overwhelmingly popular in South India. There can be many explanations; the exiting journey, the experience of travelling with so many others in a spirit of equality, and escape from caste and class tensions. http://www.directoryindia.com/religion/hindu/aiyappan.shtml Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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