Guest guest Posted December 25, 2005 Report Share Posted December 25, 2005 Kollur, I sit and ponder the wildlife from the balcony of my guest house, which also overlooks the rice fields being plowed by two oxen and a man toting the two beasts, while the women simultaneously plant the fields with rice starts in the midday sun. In the distance are mountains, one peak is the famous peak from the epic the "Ramayana". It is said that Hanuman, the monkey god, brought that very mountain to Rama to cure Sita of her illness when she was captured by the evil Ramana. The cure lay in the medicine of the plant which he could not find, so faithful servant that he is, brought the entire mountain instead. I sit here penning, alone with an occasional visit of Hanuman, who thinks there is food for him in my room. I yell, but he rares his teeth, i grab my camera, point it at him, and he runs. This continues for about a half hour, until he finally gets tired of this game and decides to leave. No one really likes their picture taken.. There is a knock at the door, and i am visited by Suresh Bhatt. A local priest from the temple Mookambika, the reason for my two plus days of travel on local buses to be here. (And that is an entirely different story of itself). He is a thin man, probably about my age though it is hard to judge. He is fidgety and carries a cell phone, and a cordless phone from his house next door. Apparently, priests are very busy here. We sit down on the balcony, and begin to chat. My friend Nikki has told me to look him up when i arrive, "He will gladly show you around." I welcome his visit, and conversation. We talk for a while about this place, the temple, the goddess who i am here to see. A third generation Kollurian, fills me in on the history of this famed shakti site. "One thousand years ago, AdiShankarcharya ( sic. a famous saint, said to be a reincarnation of lord Siva himself) had a vision of this place. There is a lingim with a golden line through the middle. The right side, is the male side, the left the female, and the story goes that the line is skewed much more to the right meaning that the left is more powerful and that shakti ( sic. female procreative powers, creation) is much more powerful than the siva. The story is that the goddess Mookambika slayed a demons here. She slayed him by taking his power to speak, hence "Mook" meaning mute in Sanskrit. But there is more to this than that, because she is both shiva and shakti, anything that the devotee asks will be granted. She is all of the gods, she is adishakti the first creation of the universe.Do you think this place was also worshiped by the tribal indigenous peoples here before the Aryans came here?" I ask. "Most certainly. They also knew of the power of this place. It is here. This you will find." Now it is my turn to "find" it to discover the reason thousands of people flock here every year. I go to the temple for aarti that evening to pay my respects. There are no westerners here, and judging by the curious looks i receive the pilgrims are wondering about me, as i am about them. Yet i am not receiving the questions that i normally get at places like these well off of the beaten path. There is a calm quality of the people here. In the inner sanctum the goddess is all gold, with a green jewel where her heart is. She is ensconced in flower malas, of white and red. The lit ghee lamp circles her form, horns sound, the bells chime, drums beat, and the chanting begins. The light offered to her is the light of illumination of the soul, she grants this, she grants whatever you ask. I am surrounded by hundreds of devotees stretching to receive darshan, to receive her gaze, to be granted her boon. Men are shirtless with malas of rudraksha beads, woman in saris with flowered hair, children on the hip, old young all there. Prayers, mudras (hand gestures) and calls to MA are being tossed from every direction in a swirl of feverish devotion. This is why i am here. I join in the fro, and am raptured with the spell of the energy of Divine Creation. Once again i am reminded of essence of what we really are. Jai Ma! Gokarna, Northern Karnatika Christmas eve A small secluded beach with a few huts that are guest houses. I have come to rest from the chaos of India and celebrate virtually with all of you. I wish you all much love family, have a wonderful holiday. May it be filled with the peace and joy of all that this precious moment reveals. Blessed Andrea "No other pleasure could be equal to becoming the person we love."- Shree Ma "No other pleasure could be equal to becoming the person we love."- Shree Ma Shopping Find Great Deals on Holiday Gifts at Shopping Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 25, 2005 Report Share Posted December 25, 2005 What a real blessing this! Kollur Moogambika is one of those relatively less famous temples in India. but the Shakti in and around the temple and the town is terrific. I always enjoyed the times I spent there (we went there twice). Also, we too may have employed the services of the Suresh Bhatt you mentioned. thanks for bringing back pleasant memories. Jai Ma! , andrea vecchione <Andevec@Y...> wrote: > > Dear Devi Mandi family, > > I have enjoyed your postings on this blessed holiday. I too would like to offer my own experience for this auspicious time. From Southern Karnatika, happy holiday. > > Jai Ma! > > "Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." -Hellen Keller > > Kollur, Southern Karnaktika, India > Dec. 22nd, 2005 > > In the heart of the Mookambika forest preserve, tigers and jaguars prowl freely. In forests so dense and diverse as these one cannot see through the underbrush, yet can only imagine what kind of mischief lurks beneath her canopy.In this tiny town of Kollur, I sit and ponder the wildlife from the balcony of my guest house, which also overlooks the rice fields being plowed by two oxen and a man toting the two beasts, while the women simultaneously plant the fields with rice starts in the midday sun. In the distance are mountains, one peak is the famous peak from the epic the "Ramayana". It is said that Hanuman, the monkey god, brought that very mountain to Rama to cure Sita of her illness when she was captured by the evil Ramana. The cure lay in the medicine of the plant which he could not find, so faithful servant that he is, brought the entire mountain instead. I sit here penning, alone with an occasional visit of Hanuman, who thinks there is food for him in my room. I yell, > but he rares his teeth, i grab my camera, point it at him, and he runs. This continues for about a half hour, until he finally gets tired of this game and decides to leave. No one really likes their picture taken.. > There is a knock at the door, and i am visited by Suresh Bhatt. A local priest from the temple Mookambika, the reason for my two plus days of travel on local buses to be here. (And that is an entirely different story of itself). He is a thin man, probably about my age though it is hard to judge. He is fidgety and carries a cell phone, and a cordless phone from his house next door. Apparently, priests are very busy here. > We sit down on the balcony, and begin to chat. My friend Nikki has told me to look him up when i arrive, "He will gladly show you around." I welcome his visit, and conversation. We talk for a while about this place, the temple, the goddess who i am here to see. A third generation Kollurian, fills me in on the history of this famed shakti site. > "One thousand years ago, AdiShankarcharya ( sic. a famous saint, said to be a reincarnation of lord Siva himself) had a vision of this place. There is a lingim with a golden line through the middle. The right side, is the male side, the left the female, and the story goes that the line is skewed much more to the right meaning that the left is more powerful and that shakti ( sic. female procreative powers, creation) is much more powerful than the siva. The story is that the goddess Mookambika slayed a demons here. She slayed him by taking his power to speak, hence "Mook" meaning mute in Sanskrit. But there is more to this than that, because she is both shiva and shakti, anything that the devotee asks will be granted. She is all of the gods, she is adishakti the first creation of the universe." > "Do you think this place was also worshiped by the tribal indigenous peoples here before the Aryans came here?" I ask. > "Most certainly. They also knew of the power of this place. It is here. This you will find." > Now it is my turn to "find" it to discover the reason thousands of people flock here every year. I go to the temple for aarti that evening to pay my respects. There are no westerners here, and judging by the curious looks i receive the pilgrims are wondering about me, as i am about them. Yet i am not receiving the questions that i normally get at places like these well off of the beaten path. There is a calm quality of the people here. > In the inner sanctum the goddess is all gold, with a green jewel where her heart is. She is ensconced in flower malas, of white and red. The lit ghee lamp circles her form, horns sound, the bells chime, drums beat, and the chanting begins. The light offered to her is the light of illumination of the soul, she grants this, she grants whatever you ask. I am surrounded by hundreds of devotees stretching to receive darshan, to receive her gaze, to be granted her boon. Men are shirtless with malas of rudraksha beads, woman in saris with flowered hair, children on the hip, old young all there. Prayers, mudras (hand gestures) and calls to MA are being tossed from every direction in a swirl of feverish devotion. This is why i am here. I join in the fro, and am raptured with the spell of the energy of Divine Creation. Once again i am reminded of essence of what we really are. Jai Ma! > > Gokarna, Northern Karnatika > Christmas eve > > A small secluded beach with a few huts that are guest houses. I have come to rest from the chaos of India and celebrate virtually with all of you. I wish you all much love family, have a wonderful holiday. May it be filled with the peace and joy of all that this precious moment reveals. > > Blessed > Andrea > > > > "No other pleasure could be equal to becoming the person we love."- Shree Ma > > > > > > "No other pleasure could be equal to becoming the person we love."- Shree Ma > > > > Shopping > Find Great Deals on Holiday Gifts at Shopping > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 26, 2005 Report Share Posted December 26, 2005 In a message dated 12/25/2005 12:00:39 A.M. Mountain Standard Time, Andevec (AT) (DOT) com writes: A small secluded beach with a few huts that are guest houses. I have come to rest from the chaos of India and celebrate virtually with all of you. I wish you all much love family, have a wonderful holiday. May it be filled with the peace and joy of all that this precious moment reveals. Blessed Andrea Namaste Andrea, It is wonderful to hear of your stay in India, a blessing. For me India is the bliss within. Om Namah Sivaya With Love Kanda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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