During breakfast this morning, Richard, a member of our group and also an artist, and I discover we have a mutual friend. Our friend Stephen was best man at my wedding and an artist colleague of Richard's at Chapman College. Small world. Before heading off on today's adventure, Babe takes a photo of Richard and me that we send to our mutual friend. |
This morning is a short drive into Puducherry, formerly known as Pondicherry. Due to its French style avenues, many colonial buildings and having once been controlled by France, it is considered the French Riviera of the east. It is also home to one of the most important ashrams in India.
After being let off, we walk to the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, the former home of Sri Aurobindo and his spiritual collaborator, The Mother.
Born in Calcutta in 1872, Sri Aurobindo was taken to England for his education at seven years old. He studied at St. Paul’s School (London) and later at King’s College (Cambridge). In 1893, he returned to India and worked for 13 years in the service of the Maharaja of Baroda and as a professor in that state’s college. In 1906, he quit his post and moved to Calcutta, where he became one of the leaders of the Indian nationalist movement, and editor of a newspaper through which he advanced the idea of complete independence from Britain. Aurobindo was arrested several times for treason, and was released each time for lack of evidence. |
In 1905, Sri Aurobindo began the practice of yoga and within a few years achieved several fundamental spiritual realizations. By 1910, he withdrew from politics and moved to Pondicherry to concentrate on his inner life and work. Over the next 40 years, he developed a new spiritual path — Integral Yoga — whose essential aim is the transformation of life through the power of supramental consciousness.
With the help of his spiritual collaborator the Mother, he founded the Sri Aurobindo Asram, in 1926, and articulated his vision of life through numerous works of prose and poetry, including theses on human unity, yoga, and “the life divine.” He left this earthly plane on December 5, 1950. |
2018 Message from Sri Aurobindo Ashram "One has to be more persistent than the difficulty -- there is no other way. Nothing can prevail against the soul's entire will to reach the Divine." Sri Aurobindo | Before going inside, Andrew tells us that another expression of Shiva is "Lord of Love." In this regard, one can chant the mantra we've learned to Shiva — On Nama Shiva — to engage this aspect. He describes it this way: "As butter is hidden in cream, so love hides in us all." The Ashram is not what I imagined. Rather than a quiet place of retreat in a rural area, it is a vibrant center in an urban setting. The Ashram consists of a number of interconnected blocks of houses . . . and unfortunately I am unable to photograph it. |
Once inside, we queue in a line that leads to a tree-shaded center courtyard where the bodies of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother are laid to rest in white-marble tombs (samadhi). After it is my turn to kneel at Aurobindo’s samadhi in prayer, I find space close by to sit in meditation among scores of others. Andrew had told us enroute that Sri Aurobindo’s tomb is believed to be a “nuclear reactor” that radiates transformational power. I don’t doubt it. The energy emanating from it is strong — like that from huacas or sacred sites I've experienced in Peru — and it is easy to release everyday thoughts and slip into deep meditation.
After slipping out of my meditation, I make my way to the bookstore to look for The Mother, a book Andrew had suggested we purchase. It is one of the most widely read of Sri Aurobindo’s short works and explains some of the central principles of his system of Yoga and describes the nature and powers of the Divine Mother and affirms her central position in his Yoga. Additionally, I purchased The Renaissance in India and Other Essays on Indian Culture and The Divine Life Upon Earth: The Future Evolution of Man. |
The teachings of Sri Aurobindo are born from the ancient sages of India:
“Behind the appearances of the universe there is the Reality of a Being and Consciousness, a Self of all things, one and eternal. All beings are united in the One Self and Spirit, but divided by a certain separativity of consciousness, and ignorance of their true Self and Reality in the mind, life and body. It is possible by a certain psychological discipline to remove this veil of separative consciousness and become aware of the true Self, the Divinity within us all.” |
Sri Aurobindo understood that this One Being and Consciousness exists in Matter, and evolution is the method by which it liberates itself. He stated that, “Life is the first step of this release of consciousness; mind is the second; followed by a release into something greater, a consciousness which is spiritual and supramental."
Leaving the Ashram, I walk with Andrew and others to a temple several blocks away before meeting up with the others for lunch at Satsanga. Seated in the outdoor courtyard, service is painfully (for our hungry bellies) slow . . . so slow that I would have much preferred to have gone off separately to eat and explore (and photograph) more of the French-influenced architecture in Puducherry!
What's left of the afternoon is spent driving to our hotel — Lakshmi Vilas Heritage Hotel — which takes about 90 minutes or more past fertile agricultural land. Much of the drive I spend skimming Sri Aurobindo's books purchased at the Ashram. I am most drawn to "The Future Evolution of Man," which is an anthology of his writings on the meaning of terrestrial life and of the present evolutionary crisis that lays out a vision of our future and offers a key to secure its realization: "Man's highest aspiration — his seeking for perfection, his longing for freedom and mastery, his search after pure truth and unmixed delight — is in flagrant contradiction with his present existence and normal experience." Thankfully, our hotel for the next two nights is located about seven miles outside of Chidambaram in the village of Puthur. I feel myself needing space for more silence. |
Upon arrival, we are greeted with a traditional Indian welcome — a garland of flowers, a blessing with a red bindi, and a cool drink.
After settling into our room, Nandi asks if Babe and I are interested in being dressed in Indian saris, as we are going to the Natraja Temple tonight. “Of course!” we answer. The process of dressing in a sari is slow — wrapping, pleating and pinning 5 or more continuous yards of material — and I cannot imagine a woman doing this herself! As a result, we are late to meet our group at the appointed time, and are surprised to find that none of the other women are similarly dressed.
Chidambaram is considered a traditional Hindu temple town with rites and rituals enacted continually. Enroute to Natraja Temple, Andrew tells us that Lord Shiva is the supreme bestower of blessing, as well as the “Lord of Love,” and we should ask Shiva for expansion of our mind, opening of our heart and liberation of our soul so we can be in service to others.”
One of the five holiest Shiva temples, Natraja Temple is magnificent. It was build when Chidambaram was the capital of the Chola Dynasty (10th-century) to honor Shiva as Nataraja, the “Lord of Dance.” This particular representation of Shiva symbolizes nature’s cycle of evolution and transmutation.
One of the five holiest Shiva temples, Natraja Temple is magnificent. It was build when Chidambaram was the capital of the Chola Dynasty (10th-century) to honor Shiva as Nataraja, the “Lord of Dance.” This particular representation of Shiva symbolizes nature’s cycle of evolution and transmutation.
Each element of the classic Chola sculptures of Nataraja hold meaning:
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- Small crescent moon in Shiva’s hair symbolizes the passage of time;
- Fire in Shiva’s “other” left palm denotes power of destruction/destroyer of evil;
- Dwarf figure, Apasmara, held down by Shiva's right leg symbolizes ignorance;
- Ring of flames surrounding Shiva represents the cosmos.
I am delighted and grateful to be here dressed in traditional attire — though I must look like a crazy tourist to the hundreds of Indian men, women and children who are milling around, sitting in conversation and staring at their cell phones or eating in the first well-lit hall we enter. Here there are hundreds of tall pillars holding up the ceiling with as many painted scenes. As I walk on the stone floor, I can’t help thinking of the thousands (perhaps millions) of others who have walked here before me over the centuries. Humbling.
In silence, we walk stone steps polished absolutely smooth over a thousand years to an inner hall with massive carved pillars holding up the several story ceiling. Some of the floor areas of stone are brightly painted with geometric designs. The polychromed surfaces remind me of the Indian stone columns perched around one side of our pool at home. It pains me when I am motioned to stop photographing.
We make our way to the Urdhava Tandava, the holiest part of the temple complex. This main sanctum, the Chit Sabha or Chitambalam, houses one of the five elemental lingas of Shiva. Hindu belief recognizes five essential elements — air water, fire, earth and ether, which created man and the Universe. As one of the three main gods, Shiva is the embodiment of these five elements, and is honored for each individually at five different temples. Here at Chidambaram, Shiva represents ether (akasha) — the all-pervading element central to human existence — the most sacred of the five elements.
Standing in front of the Chit Sabha, we watch as the priests pray over and adorn the akasha linga with flowers and incense. When prayer time ends, a black curtain is drawn symbolizing what is known in the Andean cosmology as illya, pure potentiality of energy before form. We are told this veiled sanctum is often referred to as the Sacred Secret of Chidambaram because of the aura of mystery behind the sacred rituals.
The priests themselves are fascinating to watch. They carry on the religious traditions of their ancestors — one generation to the next for more than 3,000 years. Known as dikshitars, they wear their hair in top-knots and are strikingly handsome men, many who have families.
Afterwards. we walk around the temple complex to view the other three towers (gopurams). The temple has nine major gopuram gateways connecting the various courtyards. Four of these are huge and colorful, visible from afar, a symbolic and convenient landmark for pilgrims. These gateway towers or gopurams each have seven stories. All gopuras are built of precisely cut large stone blocks all the way to the main cornice. Upon this is a stone, brick and plaster structure with layers of pavilions. Above these talas (storeys) is a Dravidian style barrel vaulted roof, crowned with thirteen kalasa finials. All four are approximately similar in size, about 140 ft high, 100 ft wide and 30 ft deep. Each gopuram is colorful and unique in its own ways. They narrate stories from various Hindu texts, showing religious and secular scenes from the various Hindu traditions. This art is presented in each gopuram with anthropomorphic figure panels and about fifty niches with stone sculptures in every gopuram. The earliest built western gopuram is the only one with inscriptions below each artwork that identifies what it is. The artwork on it includes Durga fighting the evil, shape shifting buffalo demon and Skanda sitting on peacock and dressed up for war.
Standing in front of the Chit Sabha, we watch as the priests pray over and adorn the akasha linga with flowers and incense. When prayer time ends, a black curtain is drawn symbolizing what is known in the Andean cosmology as illya, pure potentiality of energy before form. We are told this veiled sanctum is often referred to as the Sacred Secret of Chidambaram because of the aura of mystery behind the sacred rituals.
The priests themselves are fascinating to watch. They carry on the religious traditions of their ancestors — one generation to the next for more than 3,000 years. Known as dikshitars, they wear their hair in top-knots and are strikingly handsome men, many who have families.
Afterwards. we walk around the temple complex to view the other three towers (gopurams). The temple has nine major gopuram gateways connecting the various courtyards. Four of these are huge and colorful, visible from afar, a symbolic and convenient landmark for pilgrims. These gateway towers or gopurams each have seven stories. All gopuras are built of precisely cut large stone blocks all the way to the main cornice. Upon this is a stone, brick and plaster structure with layers of pavilions. Above these talas (storeys) is a Dravidian style barrel vaulted roof, crowned with thirteen kalasa finials. All four are approximately similar in size, about 140 ft high, 100 ft wide and 30 ft deep. Each gopuram is colorful and unique in its own ways. They narrate stories from various Hindu texts, showing religious and secular scenes from the various Hindu traditions. This art is presented in each gopuram with anthropomorphic figure panels and about fifty niches with stone sculptures in every gopuram. The earliest built western gopuram is the only one with inscriptions below each artwork that identifies what it is. The artwork on it includes Durga fighting the evil, shape shifting buffalo demon and Skanda sitting on peacock and dressed up for war.
Hungry, we drive to a restaurant where Nandi orders food family-style so our wait is greatly shortened. There are plenty of delicious dishes to try and some of the most popular ones are reordered again and again!