HEAVEN ON EARTH BY PEPITA SETH

[Guest guest]

AUM NAMO NARAYANAYA

Dear Members,

This is to share a few thoughts on “HEAVEN ON EARTH: THE UNIVERSE OF

KERALA’S GURUVAYUR TEMPLE†by PEPITA SETH. I do not profess any expertise

on Guruvayur Temple or on the references given herein nor do I belong to the

category of exalted devotees of Guruvayurappan. But after reading this work I

could not resist from writing this.

 

Through the many centuries of existence from its mythical origin, Guruvayur

Temple has inspired many pious devotees who have immortalised the Temple by

their deep faith in and extraordinary devotional outpourings before the Lord

of the Temple. In the realm of myths we have the stories of the divinity of the

Idol the same being handed down from none other than Mahavishnu himself and the

worshipping of the same by Krishna and that of Janmejaya. From the historical

perspective we have the Pandian King, Poonthanam, Melpathur, Kurur

Amma,Vilwamangalam ,Manjula and Manavedan to name a few and the many unsung.The

devotional outpourings of some the aforesaid pious souls composed in the 15/16th

century are now available to us in the form of Jnanapana, Narayaneeyam,

Krishnageethi(Krishnanattam) and some other works. These works mainly are in

direct relation to Guruvayur/Guruvayurappan. Though there are plenty of great

works in Hinduism on Krishna, as

we know the aforesaid works are fine examples of exemplary devotional fervor

and in an enviably unique place in relation to Guruvayur Temple/Guruvayurappan

and are into a class themselves so much so that over the years these works

especially Narayaneeyam have been totally identified with the Lord and His

earthly Abode in Guruvayur. And here comes, in my humble opinion, a work in the

name of “Heaven on Earth†by Pepita Seth as a contribution in the modern

era to that exalted category of works. To me it is one of the finest works on

Guruvayur/Guruvayurappan . Let me borrow the publishers words from this book:

“from these mythical beginnings, Guruvayur became one of India's most

important temples, the small shrine that the Lord once occupied, now a

mahakshetram, a great temple. It is a temple whose elaborate poojas have

survived the many vicissitudes of history, of wars and changing times, always

adhering to the rules that Adi Sankaracharya is said to have laid down a

thousand years ago. That the temple has not only preserved this remarkable link

with its divine origins, but has also continued to respect and honour its unique

customs is largely due to the presence of the hereditary families, priestly and

otherwise, who continue to fulfill the duties assigned to their ancestors many

centuries ago. It is also a temple where devotion to Guruvayurappan has remained

undiminished by the passing centuries, where the thousands of devotees who seek

His compassionate blessing still uphold the mystery of His divine presence.

Heaven on Earth: The Universe of Kerala's

Guruvayur Temple takes the reader into the heart of this complex universe,

chronicling the temple's myth and history, describing its rituals and beliefs,

its traditional style of management, its festivals and patronage of Kerala's

ancient art forms, its elephants and, of course, the beliefs of all those who

worship within its precincts.â€

 

The work has been organised under the following titles/Chapters.

 

Chapter 1 The Temple outlines the Temple structure/compound with lay out and

plans. (But no details regarding the architecture is available)

Chapter 2 Myth and History traces the mythological origins of the Temple and

historical and social changes that had tremendous bearing on the Temple

Chapter 3 The Ooralan and The Zamorin discusses the original owners of the

Temple.

Chapter 4 The Idol describes the divine Idol with as much as made available

for public knowledge

Chapter 5 The Priests is about the priests – Thantri, Melsanthi and

Keeshsanthis

Chapters 6 The Worship of The Lord & Chapter 7 The Daily Poojas elaborate the

worshipping of and the poojas offered to the Lord -the core activity of the

Temple.

Chapter 8 The Dawn to Dusk Pooja is about Udayasthamana pooja.

Chapter 9 The Servants of The Lord is a tributary to the Servants of the Lord

-those with hereditary rights to service the Temple.

Chapter 10 The Devotees discusses those ardent devotees of the Lord who

immortalised the Temple and also about the feelings of the ordinary devotees

Chapter 11 The Arts details Krishnanattam and other Temple Art forms patronised

by the Temple.

Chapter 12 The Elephants discusses the Lords Elephants

Chapter 13 Ekadasi explains celebration of Guruvayur Ekadasi

Chapter 14 The Temple Year discusses the auspicious days celebrated in the

Temple.

Chapter 15 The Bhagawathi is about the Bhagavathi at Guruvayur Temple.

Chapter 16 the Sahasrakalasm is about the annual Shasrakalasa Pooja

Chapter 17 The Lords Festival describes the conduct of Guruvayur Utsavam.

 

Visitors from the west generally get carried away( there are however marked

exceptions as well) by the superficial aspects of this country’s customs and

rituals and their glittery and glamour and are prone to be judgmental and make

finalised statements based on such superficial knowledge. Pepita Seth and her

work under review are pleasantly and refreshingly an exception to this general

trend. As she has stated this is a work of seven years of research and one can

confidently say that she has remarkably imbibed the spirit of Guruvayur Temple

and its customs and ritual. This work is a standing testimony to this

conclusion.

Each chapter of this book is sufficiently explanatory of the topic covered,

explains the spiritual significances behind many of the beliefs, customs and

rituals and throws light on many aspects/facts which a devotee is otherwise

unaware of(like the detailed lay out of the sanctum, why the kotimaram is

slightly left off centre, why women do not do sayanaprdakshina, etc) – all

done with a fine balance of the mythical, devotional, logical and factual.

While discussing some of the myths the rational mind of the author surfaces but

without colouring the theme of the work and finally giving in to the beliefs

as if that is what is required in the given situation. The work is interspersed

with many photographs which are stunning. In the second Chapter on Myths and

History the author has thoughtfully used old black and white photographs. The

whole book though a bit heavy to handle(presented as a coffee table book) has

been beautifully printed and

presented. It is a book so inspiring for reading in one sitting but I do not

think that is possible as one has to pause and read to capture its real

significance.

 

After a Darshan at Guruvayur Temple all that an ordinary devotee can remember

is about the inexplicable experience s/he had in the time spent in the Temple

however long or short it may be. Nothing else be it the idol, the temple proper

, the customs and rituals and the significance behind them, who does and what

and a host of other things about the Temple will not come to her/his knowledge

for a variety of factors and even if s/he manages get to know some of these,

the memory of these will be erased by the overwhelming divine experience that

s/he had for the brief time before the Lords Sanctum. I was fortunate enough to

get undisturbed Darshan standing in front of the Sanctum for sufficiently long

time on two occasions and had thought of on both occasions to get a good view

of what it looks inside the Sanctum and also to get a look of the idol. But on

both the occasions the overwhelming chaitanya emanating from the Sanctum left

me so

transfixed and that unique experience is all that I can remember now.

Nothing much also about other aspects of the Temple do remain in my memory. The

same could be the experience of most of the devotees. As Pepita Seth explains

it is virtually impossible to have a detached darshan which only can enable one

to see the inside of the sanctum and have proper look of the idol. With the help

of this work of hers one can mentally visualise what it all looks like and what

all go on in the Temple .Even as this work can stir the deepest chords of ones

heart inspiring endless waves of devotion it also provides a platform to have a

detached understanding of the Temple and all that is about the Temple . The

entire work is a delicate texture of devotional literature (devotional

literature need not necessarily be only of stotras and the like) and a treasure

of pristine knowledge about this great Temple and that is why I want to call it

one of the finest

work on Guruvayur/Guruvayurappan. Truly a priceless possession for any devotee

of Guruvayurappan.

 

So much about the positive aspects of the work. Bringing out a few pitfalls

may not be out of place.

The Lords cows and the Gokulam, the memorials for Melpathur and Poonthanam which

are integral parts of the Temple do not find place .

In chapter 1(page 15)referring to devotees prostrating behind the Sanctum the

author explains-“many devotees prostrate immediately behind the sanctum,

perhaps seeing that its 2 storied roof is gold plated and exterior walls are

painted with fine example of Kerala distinctive mural style.†No one

prostrates for the reason cited.

In Chapter 2(page 24) it is mentioned-“India, like many ancient cultures often

gives much greater importance to myth than to history, preferring the limitless

universe of magic and power to the precisely contained facts of the perceived

reality.†What the author wants to say in the latter part of the sentence is

not clear .To the Indian point of view Reality is not perceivable and graspable

by human mind and intellect. Facts are after all matters of mind and intellect

and these faculties fail to grasp the Reality. Reality can only be

experientially realised and this experience cannot be effectively communicated.

The book is exorbitantly priced(Rs.2995)-may be it has the foreign readers as

the target and may be because the Author has put much of her own money in to

the Project.

Perhaps if it is priced reasonably and also got translated into Malayalam and

Tamil there can, I feel, substantial sale. After all this great work needs to

reach the devotees at large to achieve its true objective.

 

Wishing all the members a happy, peaceful, healthy, prosperous and wonderful

2009

 

saseedharan