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Lord Ayyappa installation at the parashakthi temple took
place on april 2 – april 4,2004. The program took place
with devotees participating in homas ,108 kalasa puja
AND jaladhivaasam. yanthra stapanam was done by Dr kumar
who had been chanting the lord ayyapa mantra for 60 days
prior to the installation and had given life to the
mantra.Lord ayyapa devotees chanted the bhajans with
great enthusiasm “ Swamiye sharanam ayyappa".
An abhishekam for Lord Ayyappa is conducted every Sunday
at 10.00 AM
The pratishta for Lord Ayyappa took place in April 2004.
Loka Veeryam Mahaa Poojyam Sarva Rakshaakaram Vibhum
Parvathee Hirdya-anandham Saasthaaram pranamaamyaham
Meaning: I bow to Lord Shasta (Ayyappa, the upholder of
Dharma and Sastra) who gladdens the heart of Parvathi.
He is a peerless warrior who protects all. His glory is
great and he deserves great reverence and devoted
worship.
Panguni Uthram Nakshtram (Uthram star in the month of
Meenam as per Malayalam era), which falls on March 25,
2005, is celebrated as the Birthday of Lord Ayyappa.
Some religious scholars state that his birthday is in
Makara Sankranthi day (Vernal equinox day in January)
when his human avatar merged with the divine vigraham in
Sabari Malai. However, most religious authorities agree
that the correct date of his birth is in Panguni under
the star Uttara Phalghuni, based on his appearance on
Earth in Human form. This day also coincides with the
installation of the Ayyappa Deity in the Parashakthi
Temple.
What Puranaas say about Lord Ayyappa
Lord Ayyappa is also known as Hari Hara Putra, Dharma
Shasta, and Manikantan, The episode of Ayyappa is
described in "Brahmananda Purana,", and "Skandapurana.
Ayyappa or Hari-hara-Puthra is the divine avatar as a
consequence of the union of Lord Mahavishnu's Mohini
avatar and Lord Siva. This avatar of Hariharaputhra was
necessary to destroy the evil demoness Mahishi ( Buffalo
Faced Asura).
Baby Ayyappa was found on the shores of the holy Pamba
river by the heirless king of Pandhalam, Rajasekara,
when he was out on a hunting trip. As the divine child
was wearing a golden bell around his neck, the king
named him Manikanta, and adopted him as his son. Soon
the queen had her own child. As the children grew up,
young Manikanta was loved and admired by all, and the
queen started feeling jealous and wanted her own child
to ascend to the throne. The queen feigned a strange
ailment, which required tiger's milk, and Manikanta took
up the task of getting it for his mother. He ventured
boldly into the forests, caught up with Mahishi and
fulfilled the purpose of the avatar by killing the
demon. The divine child returned home triumphantly
riding a tigress and the queen realized the divine
nature of her foster son. Prince Manikanta explained to
his foster parents his divine mission, helped install
his younger brother on the throne and went to the crest
of Sabari Hills to be there eternally as a divine yogi.
The king wished to have an abode made in his memory.
Accordingly, a sanctum was built to install an idol made
of panchaloha (an alloy of five metals), climbing 18
steps to reach the sanctum. These 18 steps represent 5
indriyas, 8 rajas, 3 gunas, Vidya and avidya. Ayyappa
also advised the king of the nature of the austerities
to be observed before the pilgrimage to this temple. On
the day of consecration and installation of the idol,
amidst the sound of Saranam chanting and conches, pipes
and drums, Ayyappa was transformed into a stroke of
lightning and got absorbed in the idol of Dharma Shasta.
How the Devotees should worship Lord Ayyappa
A devotee who wishes to perform the pilgrimage should
undergo penance consisting of strict celibacy, morning
and evening ablutions, growing of beard and daily
prayers for forty-one days. Saranamvili or the call of
dedication and refuge in Lord Ayyappa is an essential
part of the daily worship. The 3 austerities prescribed
for devotees are Austerity of body (Purity, uprightness,
continence and non violence), Austerity of mind
(Tranquility, gentleness, silence, self control and
purity of thought), and Austerity of speech (speech that
causes no annoyance to others, truthful, pleasant and
beneficial and recitation of scriptures). Vegetarianism
has been prescribed during the 41 days vritham to help
achieve the above austerities. Brahmacharya (continence)
will help convert the physical energy to spiritual
energy. Self surrender leads to self realization. The
self that surrenders is the ego and the self that
realizes is God. The carrying of irrurnudi on the head
and chanting of Saranam is a total surrender to God. The
devotee undertakes the pilgrimage to liberate the human
soul from the worldly possessions with great
determination, devotion and dedication. During the
journey to Sabari Hills the devotees recite "Swamye
Saranam; Ayyappa Saranam" (Thou protect me and I
surrender). The minds of the devotees are filled with
the thought of Ayyappa and devotees call and recognize
each other by the name of Ayyappa! Everyone seems to
dress alike, look alike, talk alike and think alike!
Every devotee becomes a Karma Yogi, Jnana Yogi and also
a Bhakti Yogi! The only Karma (action) left for the
devotee is to reach the Sanctum Sanctorum of the Sabari
Hill Ayyappa. The Devotee has the wisdom to dissolve the
identity of Jeeva (Ego) by filling up the mind with the
name and form of Ayyappa. The Devotee purifies the mind
through total dedication and surrender to Swami Ayyappa
What is the Spiritual Significance behind the worship of
Lord Ayyappa
Lord Ayyappa teaches us the scared principle of
brotherhood to remain happy and peaceful. We go in herds
to his sacred shrine and he is pleased. Truth, fidelity,
devotion and hard work are His ways to kill evil. With
these virtues his teachings transcend time and help to
solve the riddles of human misery.
When the human perception reaches the higher levels
beyond the physical limitation, inner peace emerges with
the protection by the recitation sound of Ayyappa. The
Eighteen Steps to the Path of Liberation: The eighteen
steps of the temple Sanctorum represent the necessary
Spiritual Sadhana to go Beyond human perception. The
eighteen chapters of Gita appear to be the most
pertinent explanation of the eighteen steps of Sabari
Hill Temple. While crossing each of the eighteen steps
to the Ayyappa Swami Sannidhanam, the Seeker expresses
great determination to relinquish the sensual
perceptions one by one. The necessary Sadhana to prepare
the mind, body and intellect to remove the sensory
perceptions are beautifully described in the eighteen
chapters of Bhagavad Gita. The crossing of the eighteen
steps symbolic completion of Sadhanas stated in the
eighteen chapters of Gita. It is possible to explain the
connection between the eighteen chapters of Gita and the
eighteen steps of the Ayyappa temple. Many devotees of
Sri Ayyappa believe that the Gita verse 66 in Chapter 18
is a direct reference to Dharma Shasta. Dharma Shasta
establishes the Dharma and the entire Gita describes the
importance of human Dharma and the only way to abandon
the Dharma is surrendering to the Lord.
Sarvadharman Parityajya Mamekam Saranam Vraja; Aham
Twaam Sarve Papebhyo Mokshayishayami Ma Sucha
(Abandon Worldly Dharmas and Surrender to Me; I Shall
Rescue You From Sins and Sorrows).
This verse is commonly present in all Ayyappa temples
and the devotees treat this verse as a direct
commandment from Dharma Shasta. First line of the verse
asks the devotee to abandon worldly Dharmas. Dharmas
refer to rules, standards and laws imposed by society to
guide material life. The root cause of material life is
desires. Sorrows, Sins and Attachments are illusions of
lower ignorant consciousness of mind. Dharmas in essence
are the barriers of our liberation from Sorrows and
Sins. In the second line, the Lord orders the devotee:
"Surrender unto Me, I Will Rescue You From Sins and
Sorrows and Help you to reach the Highest Spiritual
Consciousness. Divine life is Real, Eternal and free
from illusions of Sins and Sorrows! Liberation is
impossible without Total Surrender to His feet. He only
can release us from the worldly ties. The Lord promises
to shower his Grace to liberate and ultimately to
realize Brahman. Dharma Shasta has established this
Eternal Dharma of realizing the highest Spiritual
Consciousness, Symbolic unification of Atman and
Brahman. The devotee is reminded eighteen times that
worldly possessions hinder the progress of liberation
and finally reaches the sanctum sanctorum of Ayyappa
Swami. The forty-one days of Vritham is to force the
mind to withdraw from attachments to worldly possessions
and to direct it toward the absolute truth. The walk by
foot through the jungle symbolizes that the path to
spirituality requires greater efforts. The coconut
represents the human body, the outer shell of the
coconut symbolizes ego, and the ghee is the Atman (human
soul). Coconuts have three eyes: two eyes represent the
intellect and the third eye is the spiritual eye.
The Meditating Yogic posture of Sri Ayyappa represents
the Brahman. The rear compartment of the Irumudi
symbolizes 'Praarabdha Karma' (accumulated worldly
possessions). The devotee exhausts all the worldly
possessions during the journey. The devotee opens the
spiritual eye of the coconut, breaks the coconut and
pours the ghee (Atman) onto the idol (Brahman). At this
time, the devotee has detached the ego and worldly
possessions. He or she has developed an attitude of
total surrender to the Lord (infinite love for the
Lord). The devotee begs Him to grant the total Unity
with the Lord. This liberation of Atman from Ego and
Wordily Possessions is the Message of Vedanta in
Symbolic Language.
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