Major temples to close during eclipse

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Tue, Jul 21 07:31 PMTirupati/New

Delhi, July 21 (IANS) Major Hindu temples across India will shut their

doors for a day July 22 to ward off the negative energy said to be

generated by the total solar eclipse, which, priests and spiritual

gurus say, weaken the natural 'positive aura' of idols in shrines.While

the Venkateswara temple in Tirumala will close its gates at 9 p.m. July

21 to 8 a.m. July 22, the Lakshmi-Narayan temple in the capital, also

known as the Birla Temple, will remain closed during the period of the

eclipse .'The temple usually opens at 4.30 a.m. But on

Wednesday, it will open at 7.30 a.m. During the eclipse, we will keep

tulsi leaves, holy water from the Ganges, kusha (grass) and rudraksha

inside the sanctum as a shield. After the eclipse, we will sprinkle

water from the Ganges to purify the temple before getting on with the

morning rituals. The scriptures day it is inauspicious to invoke the

deities during eclipse because the shadow on the sun depletes

psychological strength,' Ravindra Nagar, the head priest of the Birla

Temple, told IANS.All Birla temples across the country will remain shut during the eclipse.A

statement by the Tirumala Turupati Devasthanam, which manages the

famous temple at Tirupati, said 'ekantham' or service to the lord,

performed in the morning, will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday.The

famous Sri Kanakdurga temple at Indrakeeladri hill in Vijaywada,

Brahmarambika Mallikarjuna Swamyvari Devasthanam at Srisailam,

Sitaramachandra Swamy temple at Bhadrachalam and Satyanarayana Swamy

temple at Annavaram in Andhra Pradesh and almost all temples in Kerala

will remain closed.'However, the dhyanalinga shrines remain

open. As all temples in India are energy centres, the extreme pull

exerted by the combined energies of the sun, moon and the planets

during solar eclipse makes it a good time for devotees to visit

Dhayanlinga temples and make use of the energy. Dhyanalinga temples are

usually meditation space,' spiritual guru Jaggi Vasudev, head of the

spiritual organisation, Isha Foundation, told IANS from Coimbatore.As

the core of the Dhyanalinga deity, usually Lord Shiva, is solidified

mercury, eclipse activates the energy centre and makes it more easily

avilable to people, he explained.In most temples across south

India which will remain shut druing the eclipse, the idols and sanctums

will be covered by organic material like 'grass, leaves of the neem or

vila trees or raw silk shroud to prevent the natural aura from being

destroyed', the seer from Coimbatore said.Usually, deities in

temples which have been consecrated by mantras and rituals have an

external energy field around the form which combined pull of the sun

and moon during the can weaken during the eclipse.http://in.news./43/20090721/812/tnl-major-temples-including-tirupati-to.html