Hari Om!
Here is the update for last week's class.
Stotram: We chanted Mahalakshmi ashtakam.
India, Sacred Land: Temples of 5 elements- The pancha bootha sthalams:
The 5 elements make up the whole cosmos or the Lord's expressions. We worship the elements as the Lord is all pervading.
1. Formless space at Chidambaram/ Thillaisthanam/Thillai Vanam is the worship of space as a supreme being. He is in the Ananda Tandava posture, (The dance of the delight) with the raised left foot and shows the abhaya hasta on the right palm. He's dancing in the Golden hall of consciousness ,The ponnambalam or the chitsabha or the kanakasabhai. The formless form is the Chidambara rahasyam (chit- consciousness, amber-space and rahasyam the secret)The temple opens for the darisanam -a garland is found hanging in space. The temple lingam is Akasa Lingam- Chidambaram Natarajar is the name of the Lord and Sivagamasundari ammai is parvathi.
2. A flickering lamp in the Kalahasthi shows the play of Wind/Vayu/Pavan- emphasizing the worship of Lord as AIR. The movement of air inside the sanctum sanctorum never puts off the deepajyothi /lamp near the lingam- you might see the flicker as if blown by moving air. Vayu lingam is a self manifested lingam, Kalahasteeswara lingam. Gnana prasunambigai ammai is the mother parvati called here.
3. Shiva is worshiped as Arunachalesvara or Annamalaiyar, in the form of agni lingam The lamp at Thiruvannamalai is worshipped as fire (Agni) lingam. The lord takes the fire form which has no beginning or end. The entire mountain is believed that the Lord is within and shows darsan at the time of karthigai festival in the form of annamalai deepam. Arunachaleswara lingam and mother Parvathi is Unnamulai Ammai.
4. The water spring in the innermost sanctum of the Thiruvanaikkavil temple near Trichy is the worship of water as the lord. The lingam is called Appu lingam. Underneath the lingam , all the time water keeps flowing and is also trickling over the lingam. The name of the Lord is Jalagandeeswarar/Jambukeswarar -Agilandeswari is the name of mother parvati. The daily afternoon pooja is very famous in this temple, the priest dresses up in a saree, representing Goddess Parvathi, and performs Abhishekam on the Appu Lingam.
5. The swayambhu lingam in the sand of Kanchipuram signifies the deity's association with the earth, 'Bhoomi' / "Prithvilingam". The temple has a huge rajagopuram and a huge outer prakaram. Lingam made of sand by matha parvathy. It was the godesses Kamatchi or Elavar Kuzhali that stopped the water flow from engulfing the lingam. This lingam has no abhishekam.
Class Presentation: The entire class presented their personal experience and heritage as related to India. It was a very fulfilling experience for us to see children being well-informed about their heritage and proudly sharing it with their friends. It was very enriching for all of us to listen and learn the varied cultural, religious, geographical aspects of India. We sincerely appreciate all the effort of the children and the support given by the parents.
Our next class is on June 4th, which will be the last class of the year. We are planning an outdoor class, with a light potluck picnic brunch. We will send sign-up sheets with instructions and requests shortly.
Regards
Keerthi Kobla and Abhirami Shrinivas
