4 June News from Nayaswami Nirmala

(see photos below)

Dear Ones:
As I wrote last time, Swamiji asked us to take his place for the Bhoomi Puja ceremony in Kerala for the new Agasthiya temple that is being built there. (As you know, Swamiji is in Italy now with a very busy schedule.)

We flew to Trivandrum from Delhi on June 3rd, and, along with the other guests, were met by a band of drummers and musicians, and a group of ladies who blessed and garlanded us all.

From there we went by car to the town of Coutralam, near the sacred Kutalam Falls, a lovely 3-hour trip on winding roads at high speed. Great fun! There were caladiums growing wild by the side of the road, beautiful tropical plants I've grown indoors in America. Rubber tree plantations were everywhere, with their trunks tapped to collect the rubber; not exactly maple syrup, but the same idea.

At sunset we reached Saaral Resort, and were met by the Guruji who had kindly arranged for our trip. I've included a photo of him so you can see his sweet face.

Just as we arrived, we noticed a beautiful rainbow in the clouds: an auspicious gift from Divine Mother. (It often happens that rainbows appear on Swamiji's birthday and other joyful occasions, and we felt Master's blessing in this sign in the heavens.)

The next morning we continued up into the mountains to a little town where we parked the cars and continued by jeep. We went through dense jungle and up a dirt road until we were as near to the temple site as vehicles could venture.

By then the road had opened up to an endless view of the valley. As we got out of the jeep, we heard the chanting of the pujaris projected over loud speakers from the temple site down the mountain to where we were. You could feel the sacred words changing the molecular structure of the whole area! The preparations to help people climb to the future temple site were extraordinary, and much appreciated! (Everyone arrived at precisely the right moment as had been specified for the ceremony; excellent planning.) We crossed a wooden bridge over a ravine, and then followed a path of rough wood stairs, and steps cut into the hillside.

When we reached the temple site, it was an open-air structure of steel poles and roofing. The altar inside was dominated by a large Ganesha and many other carved black stone deities. Later we met the sculptor; he had a joyful devotee's face. One of the other devotees told me that the puja instills life into the deities, which I can believe: chanting is powerful.

We were grateful for the shade of the temporary structure, and the occasional cool breeze was blissful. Though we didn't understand many of the Sanskrit words, the vibration was high and we felt very blessed to be there. The Guruji's "chacha" (uncle) helped Dharmadas and myself through the small ritual that we were to perform, and his kindness made us feel as though he was our own uncle. In fact, all the people we met on this trip felt as though they were old friends indeed.

As the proceedings were drawing to a close, the musicians led people up more cut-in stairs behind the building. Dharmadas went up with them, but I stayed behind to talk with one of the devotee guests who had come, like us, from Delhi. She told me that the stairs led to a huge rock in the form of Ganesha, and that since it is considered still part of the temple, it was good not to wear shoes to climb up there.

She wasn't able to go herself, but I decided to try, and since most of the people had already made the pilgrimage, the stairs were not crowded, and it was much easier for me to go quickly over the hot earth, which I was grateful for.

Dharmadas and I were able to meditate for a few minutes up there with the beautiful Ganesha Rock, and would have loved to stay much longer. The forest, the view, and the powerful formation in the rock made time stand
still.

I was happy to have gotten the photo of Ganesha's profile that I've included here to show the devotee lady who couldn't make the climb; it made the effort all the more worthwhile. I hope you enjoy it, too!

After the Bhoomi Puja, Dharmadas and I went to Kanyakumari to meditate near the Swami Vivekananda statue, as had been specified in the Agasthiya reading also, but that is a story for another day...

Blessings and joy! Aum, nirmala