Venue: Sri Ramanathaswamy Devasthanam, Rameswaram on 17-July- 2024 after performing ‘Gangabhishekam’ and ‘Pujas’.
“In our Bharatha Desam, fostering ‘Dharma (Righteousness), ‘Bhakti (Devotion)’, and ‘amity’ are emphasized for the good life and welfare of the people at large. For instilling good thoughts and interpersonal harmony, the ancient Tamil tradition has given us golden maxims such as, “Have a charitable disposition”, “Worshipping at Temples is the best among ideals” and “Mother and Father are our foremost Gods”. These virtues have also been emphasized in the work, ‘Aachara Kovai’.
To inculcate such right thinking from a young age, our forefathers have given prescriptions like, “Don’t live in a place where there is no Temple” and the like, and on that principle they had built Temples in all small towns and villages down the ages. Given that the very sight of a ‘Gopuram’ (Temple tower) confers infinite merit on people, our forefathers, kings and sages have bequeathed to us a rich legacy of Temples and Shrines so that their universal benefit reaches one and all and enables people earn merit by doing the right things.
In line with that philosophy, devotional Tamil hymns inform us how “Lord Shiva is invoked as the Supreme God in the South (of Bharath) and how he is celebrated as the Cosmic Being of all Humanity.” It is in this Southern part of our Country, Rameswaram, which houses the famous Temple of Sri Ramanathaswamy, shines as a pilgrim centre that eminently redresses all sufferings of the people. Elsewhere we have heard of ‘sacred waters’ as found in Tanks and Rivers, but here in Rameswaram Island it is the sea itself that holds the ‘sacred waters’ called ‘Agni Tirtham’, besides Rameswaram being home to several other ‘sacred wells (Tirthams)’.
People from all over India, from Himachal Pradesh, neighbouring countries like Nepal and other countries visit Rameswaram with great reverence and devotion and offer worship to Lord Shiva. Adi Shankara, the propounder of the ‘Advaita’ Philosophy, had been here centuries ago with great veneration for the Lord.
(Acharya Swamiji rendered the Dwadasha Jyotirlinga Stotram – सौरा े सोमनाथं च Nीशैले मिMकाजु’नम् …, an amazing composition, followed by verses like:
This verse in Sanskrit informs us about the uniqueness of this Temple for Sri Ramanathaswamy and His consort Parvathavardhini as the shrine where Lord Rama had offered prayers on ‘Maha Shivaratri’ Day. It is also a great shrine whose praise was sung by Adi Shankara and is one of the 12 ‘Jyothir Linga’ abodes in the country.
The beautiful structure that this Temple embodies was built in days when there were far less construction facilities. Look at its beautiful’ Prakaras’ (circumambulatory corridors) and you can feel the aesthetics of space that has gone into building this shrine. It is this very special temple that our Paramacharya of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham (Sri Chandrasekherandra Saraswathi Swamiji) visited here at a young age in the 1920s.
Even in those days, praying for the welfare of our Country, Paramacharya Swamiji, adhering to the path of Non Violence preached by Mahatma Gandhi, gave up wearing silk clothes and had switched to wearing ‘Khadi’. Some 200 pairs of ‘Khadi dhotis’ were asked by Maha Periyava to be fetched from Madurai; Swamiji started wearing Khadi dhoti after taking a dip in the sea at Dhanushkoti, southernmost tip of Rameswaram. That remains an enduring testimony to Kanchi Paramacharya’s simplicity, devotion and patriotic spirit at such a young age. It was from Dhanushkoti at Rameswaram that Swamiji began sporting ‘Khadi’ cloth. Swamiji had visited Rameswaarm several times and had performed the ‘Abhishekam (ritual bath)’ for Ramanatha Swamy.
Following the Paramacharya’s footsteps, Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Swamiji, who succeeded him, and who is known for taking the message of ‘Dharma (righteousness)’ to the people in a simple, easily comprehensible manner, had also visited Rameswaram several times, and undertook several constructive works, besides performing ‘Abhishekam (ritual bath)’ to the Lord.
It was last year that we had embarked on a pilgrimage to Kashi (Banares), Prayagraj (Allahabad) and other places of pilgrimage in the North to worship the principal Deities there, which was special. It was in the Tamil month of ‘Aadi’, ‘Ekadashi’ (11th lunar day of the waxing phase of the Moon), this very same day last year, we were in Prayagraj where we collected water from the sacred river Ganga in a ‘Kalasam’ (a large brass pot). On that occasion, a ‘Shiva Lingam’ shaped from the sands of Dhanushkoti in the previous year, taken from here to Prayagraj, was immersed in the Ganga River.
Following this, sacred water from the Ganga was collected and stored in several ‘Kalasams’. These ‘Kalasams’, for which ‘Poojas’ were performed through the year, were brought from there to the South and yesterday we performed special ‘Pooja’ for them at Thiruvanaikaval (near Srirangam, Tiruchirappalli). From there we brought the ‘Kalasams’ containing the sacred Ganga water to Rameswaram today, where on ‘Ekadasi’ day, ‘Rudrabhishekam’ and ‘Homams’ were performed.
Just as there are hymns in praise of Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lalithambika, known as ‘Vishnu Sahasranamam’ and ‘Lalitha Sahsranamam’ respectively, we have the ‘Ganga Sahasranamam’, hymns in praise of Mother Ganga.
So, by God’s grace, we had the opportunity today to perform the ‘Abhishekam’ to Lord Ramanathaswamy here with the water stored in the ‘Kalasams’ and for which regular ‘Poojas’ had been done. The Kanchi Paramacharya and his successor Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Swamiji have blessed us to continue with what they had been doing in the service of God.
Through such service, we promote national unity, which would also keep the people of Rameswaram peaceful and happy. This day- Ashada Ekadasi- is very significant, falling on a Wednesday under the star ‘Anusham’, which is also the birth star of Kanchi Paramacharya, Sri Chandrasekhendra Saraswathi Swamiji. It is an auspicious occasion too, combining within its fold both ‘Goodness’ and ‘Secure living’. The Deity corresponding to ‘Anusham’ or ‘Anuradha’ Nakshatra (star) is ‘Mithran’, meaning ‘friendliness’ or ‘friendship’. That is the quality of the birth star of the Kanchi Paramacharya!
I sincerely wish and pray to Goddess Parvathavardhini and Lord Ramanathaswamy that good thoughts should inform the minds of people and that all should lead their lives with prosperity, safety, peace and with cordiality. The Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department have made special arrangements to make this occasion memorable.
I also wish to announce that the Kanchi Math will expand its educational activities in Rameswaram island, creating additional facilities for imparting quality education. People like Abdul Kalam (former President of India) hail from this place. The Mutt is planning to take up other initiatives as well to better the life of the people of Rameswaram. May everyone be healthy and happy.”
Hara Hara Shankara Jaya Jaya Shankara
Source: NRI Newsletter-August 2024
