Light and Shadow, Absolute and Ego, Consciousness and Freewill

Growing up as kids in the 80s had its own non-tech charm. When we had power cuts and I believe it was often, the best way to pass time was to create shadows on the wall and ground. What fun! I think this is the best memory I have of shadows. If not, I rarely notice it, although it is a constant.

The school did its bit by highlighting the reason and cause of shadow’s existence, and opened up a whole new world to us, the Solar system. The formation of an eclipse seems as magical today as it did then. Though there is enough reasoning and science backing the theory, it still continues to baffle and fascinate us as it did 1000s of years ago, that we are but a minuscule part of this infinite space where everything seems to follow an order, in order to move towards a controlled disorder. As they say, the entropy of the universe is only increasing and will drive it to its conclusion. 

The ancient Vedic texts also mention, that for reasons best known to Brahman, the Absolute, the eternal spark that remains unaffected in this dance of creation and destruction, will again, willingly go through the many possibilities of manifestations and bear the consequences of its interaction with the world, at all levels of its existence, the gross and subtle, and while the Karmic cycle begins to unfold, the awareness of freewill at play also increases, and becomes the cause of its return to the state of Absolute Consciousness, where all that isn’t, ceases.

While we are aware of the causal effect of the shadow, i.e. the occurrence when the object blocks a light, and some obvious benefits it has given mankind in general such as understanding the shapes and size of objects, judging the location, direction and intensity of light source; the spiritual aspect comes alive every time we have an eclipse formation.  The shadowy effect on the Sun and Moon, i.e. the Solar and Lunar eclipse continues to help scientists make new discoveries about the Sun and our space environment, and our elders continue to guide us with remedial measures to safeguard ourselves from the negative effects of the eclipse from a spiritual point of view.

Our shadow being a constant in the presence of light, we don’t really take notice all the time. May be that’s why seeing my tall ghost-like shadow in a recent selfie I had taken, made me reflect on its presence, the darkness that cannot exist without light. As long as there is a spark of light, the shadow too exists. That which is transparent and formless allows the light through but that which identifies itself with a form, becomes a barrier to the all-pervading light.

What blocks the know-how of the Self? The Ego? When all that isn’t ceases to exist, what remains? Gurus and the enlightened beings have called it, Para Brahma, the Supreme Consciousness, the Self. Having forgotten the real Self, we start identifying ourselves with this body, this mind, the Ego or as Ramana Maharishi explains, the I-thought. That very moment, duality manifests itself. .

Dvaita (duality) is the nature of this creation and Advaita (non-duality) is the nature of the Divine – the only, and no other. If that’s our true nature then what do we have to do to not dwell in the state of forgetfulness? To become a doctor you learn medicine, to become a software engineer, you enrol for software development courses, and so on. And when you realise you are the Divine? What do you do? Unlearn all that the I-thought has accumulated and be, for you are already that.

Having visited a few more ancient Temples in the recent past, I think it really helps to enter Temples with ‘I don’t exist’ attitude, which I would like to call the formless/transparent Self, If not, how will the Light pass through? How will the prayers, mantras, vibrations, and all the blessings you are there to receive, enter you and become you?

Most of the Swayambu/Self-manifested temples, i.e., Temples that house the self-manifested deities, have a similar story to tell. It is when the Bhakta/devotee reaches a point of complete surrender, that the Divine manifests. The following is a brief  write-up on the three temples I had visited during my most recent travels around Tamil Nadu.   

Sri Uma Maheswari Suyambu  Natrajan Temple of Konerirajapuram in the Mayiladuthurai district.

Unlike most of the Temples that are built by Kings, this was built by the Queen, Sembian Mahadevi in memory of her husband, Gandaraditya. In the inscription she refers to herself as Sri Gandaraditta deva tam-pirattiyar (beloved of Shri Gandaraditya).

The main highlight of the Temple being the Divine bronze Suyambu murti of Lord Siva’s Natraja form. Natraja signifies the movement of the whole universe, the Absolute. The murti’s manifestation, more than a 1000 years ago, was an answer to a Bhakta’s prayer.

The King wanted to install the biggest Natraja idol in the Temple. He thus asked one of his finest sculptors/ Sthapati to put all the efforts to make one of the biggest idols of Lord Natraja.

It was taken that all art forms, including sculpting, were a way of expressing devotion to the Divine, and the art, an offering. The Sthapati would have been an ardent devotee himself and in his first attempt, created a beautiful 1 ft tall Natraja. However, the King wasn’t impressed. He wanted a bigger version. The sculptor continued to work arduously and went on to make a 2 ft tall Natraja.

But the King’s expectation wasn’t met. The next 3 ft murti was rejected as well. The Sthapati continued with his efforts but just couldn’t deliver as the wax model cast wouldn’t set for anything bigger. He kept trying until the moment, when he became completely disappointed and frustrated. He surrendered to the thought ‘I dont know ….this isn’t in my hands’ and asked the Divine for help.

Having worked for hours in the sweltering heat, he just couldn’t withstand the thirst any longer and looked around for some water. He couldn’t find a single drop of water, and this added to his frustration.

At this moment an old couple walked up to him and pestered him for some water. He told them he has nothing to offer but the couple wouldn’t budge. Out of sheer frustration and knowing he himself has no access to any water, he asked them to drink the mixture of Pancha Loha (five metals) that was ready to be poured into the cast. To his surprise the couple drank the hot molten metal, giving him no time to understand what he just witnessed.

He stood there awestruck, watching the old couple manifest themselves as Bronze Lord Natraja . The idol to date has life-like relics on it.

While the architecture of the Temple is not as grand as the usual ancient Temples in Tamil Nadu, it is the devotion and surrender that comes alive so beautifully in these intricate details of the Murti. Next to the main Natraja’s Bronze murti you will also find the other murtis made in various sizes by the sculptor. The Siv Ling here is worshipped as Uma Maheswarar.

This temple is known for curing big diseases like Leprosy as the Shiva here is in the form of ‘Vaidyanatha’ or the one who cures diseases. Depicting a healing miracle that humbled the usually snooty British officers who were known to exploit Temples during the British Raj and saw them as treasure troves, there is a mural where British officers are seen offering something to the Temple or taking part in the Temple festivities.

It is believed that though they had come with a superiority mindset, they were overcome with devotion for the deity when they witnessed its healing powers cure their illness.

Sri Saraparmeswarar Koil at Thirucherain

This temple has the Rina Vimochana Lingeswarar. As the name suggests, the deity here frees one from all the karmic debts. From a spiritual perspective, a debt is anything that delays your salvation or God-realisation. However, it is the financial debts that comes to our mind first in today’s materialistic world where God or Self realisation is no longer perceived as the goal of life and the word ‘Moksha’ remains a mere word in the dictionary.

Sage Markandeya is believed to have installed the Lingam and worshipped it for his salvation. The temple is home to a Swayambu Murthy and a holy tree called Mavilangai. The rays of the sun fall directly on the presiding deity and the feet of the Mother on 13, 14 and 15th of Masi month (mid Feb to Mar). The temple was built by the famous Chola King Kulothunga Chozhan and is noted for its fertility in the Thevaram hymns. The temple is also known for its Sun worship, which is performed ardently during the whole Masi month.

Saranatha Perumal, Thirucherai

The temple is one of the 108 Divya Desams where Lord Vishnu, resides in the form Saranathan along with his consort Lakshmi as Saranayaki. Along with them you will also find idols of Goddesses: Sreedevi, Boodevi, Neela devi  and Mahalakshmi along with River Kaveri and Sage Markandeya. It is here where River Kaveri performed deep penance to attain the Lotus feet of Lord Vishnu and also ask him to bless everyone around her. God gave her Moksha and also blessed her with the same status as River Ganga and he himself accepted her as his Mother.

The location is also known as ‘Sara Kshetram’ as the story dates back to the time of Maha Pralaya, the destruction of the world after the end of one yuga, when Brahma prays to Vishnu and requests him to find a way to keep the Vedas safely as well as other tools necessary for Shrishti / creation. Lord Vishnu asked him to make a mud pot to store what needs to be preserved. Brahma tried making the pot from the mud he collected from various places, but it is with the mud from Thirucherai he could finally make the perfect mud pot to store everything safely, including the Vedas.

The temple wasn’t in the original plan of Azhagiya Manavala Naickar who ruled Tanjore after the fall the Vijayanagar empire; however, he ended up contributing to the construction and completion of the Temple. He wanted to build a temple of Rajagopalaswamy (a form Krishna) in Mannargudi and had appointed his minister Narasa Boopalan to complete this task. He asked him to get black stones from all possible places to build the temple.

This minister was a great worshipper of Saranatha Perumal of Thirucherai and wanted to erect a temple for him too. He thus ordered his men to unload one stone from each cart which passed Thirucherai. One of the King’s spy informed the King about this and the angered King planned to inspect the site himself. However, before the King could visit, Narasa Boopalan constructed this temple overnight and to please the king he created a space of worship for Rajagopala swamy too. The King was pleased with his devotion and offered his wealth to complete the construction.

“Salutations to the beautiful dancing Nataraja, the Lord Shiva, whose consort is Shivakami. Honor to Shiva who is the master of the sky of consciousness. Nataraja is the lord of the city of Parthi.”

Nataraja, Nataraja, Nartana Sundara Nataraja (2x)
Shivaraja, Shivaraja, Shivakami Preya Shivaraja (2x)
Chidambaresa Nataraja, Parthi Puresa Shivaraja