Temple of A Saint - Adi Shankaracharya (Contd)

Srinivasan felt strange, not knowing what to expect. He just felt blank as he decided to see what really lay beyond. Every step up reminded him that he had been here. The landscape, the emptiness, the strange architecture that contradicted every book and every proven theory of art...nothing seemed to have value except this moment as he took to the steps. He touched the bell and rang it, the brass resonating the sound echoing within itself rang through his mind and senses. There was strange peace within his mind. He walked up, crossing this strange wall that housed a narrow door but led to no roof beyond but just a mammoth temple, made of ancient rock, octagonal in shape rising into the sky.

A narrow door lay ahead holding secrets within its darkness. The main door appeared strangely similar to that he had seen within the pyramids of the Maya. Yet this kind of architecture was unknown and untapped back here. Srinivasan walked up to the main door, and looked at the world now at his feet. He was at the door step of the Temple of Adi Shankaracharya, an ancient Shiva temple, that came to be known by this great saint's name centuries ago when he visited it and worshiped the Lord here. Adi Shankaracharya was known to have been initiated into the Shakti cult during this period.

Srinivasan entered the narrow entrance and walked through its thick walls. What lay ahead of him was a breath taking view of the Lord. A stone linga towered in front of him, topped with floral offerings. A small chamber held more than just air and stone. Srinivasan came down on his knees, overwhelmed with the presence of the Lord in front of him. It was not just another temple, it was the world of Shankaracharya relived, the world of Lord Shiva brought alive again within his mind, the world of Shankaracharya temple waking up another soul to itself, far away and above the familiar world, one that promised experiences beyond the realm of the self, soaking the soul in the air within these chilling ancient walls experiencing the meaning of perfect life.

An ancient cult, an ancient world, ancient stone and an ancient emblem of faith still alive after so many centuries to just wake up the inner realm within the mind of Srinivasan, and make him realize there was much more to his life - Shankaracharya temple stood there as a divine outpost to the world of the Lord, and it meant much more than just a dream.