Gateway to Heaven

When I was exploring the ShriRangam temple at Trichy during my trip, I found a strange door in the temple complex. Then I came to know about its spiritual importance. This door is called “Vaikunth Dwaar”. The word “Vaikunth” means the abode of Lord Vishnu and “Dwaar” means the “gate”. This door is opened only once a year. This mega event happen on the 11^th tithi(date) of hindu caalender in the month of Maargshish. It is believe that one who passes through this divine gate on this day,will attain salvation.This great event has a special significane in 3 temples-Shrirangam,Bhadrachalam and Tirupati. Fasting obsereved on this day is considered as so auspicious that it is believe that one who keep fast on this day will accrue all the punyas equivalent to remaining 23 ekadashi. Reciting Vishnu-sahastranama is best mantra on this day.

Ashta-Vinayaka

In Maharashtra state there is a pilgrimage known as “Ashta-Vinayaka” which is considered as very sacred. It is believe that a person who undertake this journey get librated from the problems related to materialistic world.The word “Ashta” means "eight" and the word “ Vinayaka” is another name of lord Ganesh. This spiritual journey involves the journey to 8 temples of lord Ganesha that are spread around the radius of 120 km around Pune. The importance of these temples confirms from the fact that the idols of the Lord Ganesha are not man made.The idols are “Swayambhu” which means they appear on its own(self-begotten).All the idols appeared at different period of time. It is very auspicious to perform the yaatra in a specific order in accordance with the chronological order of appearance of idols.It is believe that after completion of the journey of 8 temples , one must visit the first temple of Moreshwar(the starting point) again which signifies the completion of journey.
Following is the order in which the journey should be performed.
1. The Moreshwar Temple, Moregaon
2. The Siddhivinayaka Temple, Siddhatek
3. The Balleshwar Temple, Pali
4. The Varadavinayaka Temple, Maha
5. The Chintamani Temple, Theur
6. The Girijatmaj Temple, Lenyandri
7. The Vighnahar Temple, Ozar
8. The Mahaganpati Temple, Rajnangaon

The Mystic Temple

Tamilnadu is the only state in India, where there is a special temple for each of the nava-grehs. These places are located in Thanjore district making a sacred place called Nav-greh sthalam. Amongst them , there is a place called “Vaitheeswaran Koil” which is dedicated to Lord Mars(Mangal). It is 24 km from Chidambaram. The term Vaitheeswaran means ‘Lord Doctor’ in Tamil. The presiding deity is Sri Vaidyanathaswamy, who is believed to be healer of all diseases. Legend has it that once Mangal(The mars) was suffering from leprosy due to curse and was cured by Lord Vaidhyanathaswamy. It is very auspicious to have a bath in holy tank in the temple to get rid off ill effects of Mangal and cure of all diseases. Since Mangal is associated with red colour, so as an offerings, it is custom to offer red flowers along with Toor dal(a kind of pulse). Intrestingly, it is custom to offer pepper and salt with jaggery to get rid from the diseases. Also , as per legend it is here,Lord Rama performed the last rites of the bird, Jatayu who died while saving Sita from the Raavan. Here the consort of lord Vaidyanathaswamy is “Thaiyalnaayaki”. She is seen having the "Sanjeevi Thailam", the medicinal oil for all illness. Other important deities of this temple are Lord Murugan, who is believed to have acquired trident here. The God of ayurved medicines, Lord Dhanvantri is worshipped here in this temple which make this temple unique. Even our divine 7 sages ,sapta-rishis also worshipped here. As a prasaad, ashes and sandalwood paste is given to the worshippers. It is believe that it contains special divine powers to cure many diseases.

Me performing the rituals in the holy tank

The Mystic Tank

The Corridor of Faith
The Abode of Lord Mangal

The Aquatic Navagrehas

As per the concept of Hinduism, we get all the happiness and sufferings in our lives because of our past life karmas. The nava-grehas or the nine planets in our horoscope are the key controller of our destiny. Even Lord Rama was not spared from the effects of navagrehas. Before proceeding for Lanka , Lord Rama needed the help of nature to overcome the powerful enemy, Ravana. The reason behind that was Ravana was himself acquired many divine powers. Once Goddess Durga appeared in the dream of Lord Rama and guided Lord Rama to perform navagreha pooja in order to overcome the adverse effects planets.So after consulting sages, Lord Rama decided to perform special pooja of nava-grehas. He placed nine stones pillars which symbolically represented the 9 planets and do praan-pratishtha(invoking divine powers). Only after performing the pooja Lord Rama proceed towards to Lanka. This confirms the importance of Navagrehas . So every human being on this earth is under the influence of 9 planets. During my teerath-yaatra to Tamil Nadu I got a chance to witness these magical navagrehas, which are still there. These pillars are half submerged in the sea. They are located in a place called Navapaashanam in Devipattinam . It is 14 km North-east of Ramnathpuram in Tamilnadu. This place is considered as very powerful place to perform the tarpan for our ancesters. The unique thing about Devipattinam is that it is the only place in the world where the Navagrahas are located inside the sea.




I performed the pooja in Navapaashanam