Pournami

Every full moon day, I recollect my experiences at Tiruvannamalai. Today 17th November 2013 was no exception. Today is Karthika Pournami/Deepam. A day I wished to be at the Lord’s feet. I am almost 5,000 km apart. How I wished to get the darshan of Lord Arunachaleshwara on this special day and perform the Holy girivalam. It was a fasting day. I stepped out of the apartment to see that the roads were wet and all the vehicles were soiled. It had rained. I looked up to the sky and it was covered with ashen clouds,The otherwise fiery Sun God was today hidden behind the clouds. Might be the prayers of the imams. The flower beds and green patches of grass were looking brighter, may be because the layer of dust was washed out.

On the way to my office, I was chanting the name of Lord Shiva. The roads were slippery and it was intermittently raining. The locals were a quite joyful lot since rainfall is scarce in this arid region. At the office every time I checked through the window as the clouds were getting heavier and thicker. I was concerned.

I am not able to be at the feet of Lord Arunachaleshwar. Would I be deprived of a view of the moon also. The thought was lingering in my mind. It gets dark by 5:00 pm. Though it was not raining the clouds were menacingly heavy. I checked the moon rise and moonset times. The full moon was set at 6:16 pm. Even though I was apprehensive, I stepped out at 6:10 pm and checked the East direction for signs of the moon. The clouds only reflected the amber lights of the township in the horizon. I prayed in my heart, minutes ticked by, I was anxious, The street lamps glowed out sharply. There wasn’t any hint of breeze which added to my anxiety

Between the minutes and seconds inching to 6:16 the clouds were teasingly splitting unevenly and a silver lining appearing. it was absolutely splendid. The clouds split. Momentarily I froze, Yes ! The clouds split like somebody does to the window blinds. The moon in its full glory, in its total fullness, white to helm, appeared and passed back into the clouds.

It was a wonderfull sight, the glimpse of the moon came as I had wished. I felt I’ve not seen a moon so beautiful. All this happened in split seconds, I checked the time, 16:18 pm. I paid obeisances and thanked the Lord for what had happened. Again on this auspicious day Lord Arunachaleshwar came to me. I returned, to conduct my evening prayers and thanked the Lord with all my heart.

Om namah Shivaya!