His Ever Present Presence, Lord Arunachaleshwara

Anecdotes

oi-Staff

Tuesday, December 1, 2009, 17:40

Our trip to Thiruvannamalai was discussed and I voiced out my wish to my friends to spend my birthday there at the feet of my Master. It was customary of us to visit the temple of Arunachaleshwara and Unnamulai Amman during our visits to that spiritually vibrant place. My joy knew no bounds when my friends consented to make it during the discussed dates.

I shared the news over the phone to my mother regarding our plan. I could sense the disappointment concealed in the faint approval. A deep longing, an expectation that revealed the tender motherly feeling of wanting her baby by her side on the special day, for both.

The next few days rolled on into the routine. Suddenly I felt that I should be rather spending my birthday with my old parents and aunt who actually look forward earnestly for my visits. After all Arunachala is all pervading. The love of my parents is verily the expression of His infinite love. I did not take long for me to inform my friends that I had changed my mind. I felt instead, that we (my family) should make a temple trip to Madurai, which did not require much time for travel from my native place.

The older folks at home were very happy and I too looked forward earnestly for the trip. As circumstance should have it, our trip to Madurai was dropped. On the previous day of my birthday we decided we would visit Pallasena, a place in Kerala instead, which was even more closer to our native place. Another fact was that this temple was dedicated to Meenkulati Bhagavathy who was none other than Goddess Meenakshi of Madurai who hailed in Kerala for the devotion of Her devotees there.

We started at the wee hours of the morning with the view to have a peaceful darshan. On reaching there on the contrary, we found a long queue that proceeded up some steps to a bridge like structure and descended at the entrance of the shrine. We were totally unaware of this arrangement as our previous visit to the temple a couple of years ago did not hold this. With my old parents and my aunt with an impaired eyesight I stood perplexed at the trailing end of the queue. Then there emerged a temple staff who must have been watching me escort the three old people, instructed me to take them to the temple entrance directly without having to follow the queue. He further said that another staff there would guide us further.

On reaching the entrance, the staff in charge seeing us, asked us to take our seats on a lengthy stone seater and wait to be called. After having my aunt seated I happened to glance casually above. I found my self staring at a picture right above my aunt's head. Arunachaleshwara and Unnamulai Amman of Thiruvannamalai ! With folded hands in salutation, I stood speechless, looking at the photo. Just then we were asked to enter the shrine for the darshan. Our eyes caught sight of Bhagavathy gleaming in gold in her usual grandeur. It seemed that the Lord presented Himself in the form that I most adored before having the darshan of the form in the temple.

Way back home, with a sense of gratitude filling my heart, I reflected on the different aspects of the almighty. His all pervasiveness, His infinite mercy and over all, His acute earnestness that subdues even the devotees' longing to behold Him, that He rushes to reveal Himself even for an unworthy devotee like me, especially in the form that I regularly resort to worship Him.

Hey Arunachala I surrender at your feet to realize your eternal presence.

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