Hinduism

Matale Sri Muththumari Amman Temple annual festival:

Necessity to restrain human passions and remove attachments

Chelvatamby MANICCAVASAGAR

The annual festival of Matale Muththumari Amman Temple commenced last month and the chariot and water-cutting ceremonies took place on March 7 and March 8 respectively.

In fact, the Hindu temples are intended to instruct men in the art of removing the veil of attachment that covers their hearts. Thus, the renowned poet Thiyagarajah cried in the temple at "Thirupathi", remove the veil, O! remove the veil of attachment, the veil of pride and hatred.

Matale Sri Muththumari Amman Temple

Temples are the centres of discipline where the aspirant is guided step by step to attain a vision of truth. They are the schools for the training of the spirit, academics for the promotion of sastraic studies. They are meant for the testing of values of life and to awaken the divinity in humanity inducing men to believe that the physical frame in which he lives is itself the House of God.

Supreme Lord

In Hinduism, the Supreme Lord is represented by Maheswara and His power is represented by His consort SAKTHI, DEVI, DURGAI and KALI. Just as the husband and wife take care of the family so does Shiva and Sakthi look after the affairs of the universe. Sakthi is the embodiment of power. She is the supreme power by which the world is made to function.

In one of his poems T.S. Eliot has described the predicament of man who with all the progress and success she has made in science and technology finds that endless inventions and experiments bring us knowledge of motion, but not of stillness, knowledge of words and not of the word. Lord Shiva without Sakthi is all stillness since it is Sakthi which stirs Him to motion and speech.

Shiva is the word, it is SAKTHI which moves Him to words. The union between them is represented by the image of SHIVA as "Arthanariswara", half man and half woman. SAKTHI herself takes different forms. Sometimes, she is stern and formidable.

Furthermore, of the many Gods in Hindu Pantheon, none is revered more than Mother Goddess. She is Parvathy, Durgai and Kali. Indeed, the compassion a mother shows not only to her children, but also to the community has no parallel.

In the religious parlance the Divine mother is termed as an extra-ordinary intermediary who pleads with God to show mercy to a real penitent when he may not be inclined to do so in view of the enormity of his sins.

The Matale Sri Muththumari Amman temple is an ancient and historical temple which is worshipped by Buddhists and Hindus alike. Indeed, several miracles have taken place in this temple. Once, a woman was robbed of her Gold 'Thali' which is considered to be a sacred one, during the Chariot festival. When she lost this Gold Chain (Thali) she started crying and looked for her Thali everywhere in the massive crowd. But, to her surprise, a young girl appeared before her and handed over the lost Thali and suddenly vanished.

In fact, during the Chariot and water-cutting ceremonies thousands of peole from all parts of Sri Lanka visit this temple to receive the Divine Blessings of Sri Muththumari Amman.

During, the ethnic disturbances in 1983 this temple's Chariots were burnt down and thereafter with the grace of Sri Muththumari Amman five chariots (Pancharatham) were constructed and every year the chariot festival is conducted to the greatest satisfaction of devotees.

The five chariots (Pancharatham) carved out of pure silver and laden with Gold Deities studded with Diamonds, Rubies, Amethyst etc, move slowly from the Temple, symbolises peace, communal harmony and prosperity. The chariot symbolises human body and the statue of Sri Muththumari Amman is the soul. In front of the chariot are the wooden horses depicted as galloping and the reins are attached to their mouths and held in the hands of the image of Sri Muththumari Amman.

These horses represent human passions and the reins symbolise the necessity of restraining and guiding these passions.

The journey of the chariot through the streets symbolises the progress of life. This shows that throughout one's life, a man must control and guide his passions. These passions are the motive powers, the driving force of life, but unstrained and unguided they will wreck a man's life.

This is the symbolic meaning of chariot festival.

The Sylvan Deity of the Southern Lanka

K S Sivakumaran

After so many decades of negligence, the East, the North and the South of the island are being developed fast. In the South East corner there is a place called Kathir Kaamam. The Sinhalese call it Kataragama. In that spot the Maanikka Gangai (Manik Ganga) flows. There is a historical and famous temple in that village.

Entrance to Kataragama temple

Thousands of pilgrims visit there annually pay their homage to the gods enshrined there. The primary god is worshipped mainly by Saiva Thamilians. Others too worship him and his consorts. They are known as Murugan or (S) Kandan.

The consorts of Lord Muruga are Theiva Yaanai Ammal and Valli Ammal. Valli Ammal with dark complexion is believed to be from the Veaddah community while Theiva Yaanai Ammal is believed to have been given birth by a holy elephant. Mythologies apart, we must find out the origin of the famous Kataragama temple. Lord Shiva and his consort Parvathi have two sons- Pillayaar (known also by other names like Vinayagar, Ganeshar) Murugan (known also by other names like Subramanian).These Gods represent certain philosophical concepts to make the layman know them through their powers in human forms.

Younger readers might not have heard of a Lankan scholar and politician in the name of Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam who lived during the British period in Lankan History. He was considered a Statesman by most people in that period. In 1923 he wrote a book in English titled "Worship of Muruga or Skanda" Here is an excerpt from the article that gives you the basic information about Kathirkaamam.

"At Kataragama there is no figure of the God. He is not worshipped in any image or form. A veil or curtain, never raised, separates the worshippers from the holy of hollies, where there is only a casket containing a yantra or mystic diagram engraved on a golden tablet in which Divine Power and Grace are believed to reside. It is this casket which is carried in procession on the back of an Elephant during festival.

Kalyanagiri, a devotee from North India, came to Kataragama and performed, for twelve years, and severe penances, and austerities, and experienced a vision of the God and his consort Valli.

He settled down at Kataragama where he engraved the mystic diagram (yantra) and enshrined it there for worship, in a building constructed or restored with the help of the ruling king of Ceylon.

When the Sage quitted his earthly body, he is believed to have changed into a pearl image (Muthu Lingam) and is still worshipped in an adjoining shrine under that name (Muttulinga Swami).

Kalyanagiri belonged to the time of Rajasinghe II who administered the kingdom for his father Senarat before 1634.

The Sinhala Kappuralas were active participators of the 1818 rebellion which was suppressed with severity by General Brownrigg's (Governor and Commander in Chief) military operations in the Uva province.

The custody of the principal temple was taken from Kapuralas and delivered to the Hindu monks and a military guard was left to protect them. When the guard was removed sometime later, the Kapuralas resumed forcible possession of the temple. Hindu monks continued to be in charge of the Theiva Yaanai Amman temple and monastery (next to the principal shrine) belonging to the Hindu foundation. This institution belongs to a section of the Dasanami order of monks founded by the great Sankaracharya of Srinagara Madam in Mysore."

Lot of changes has taken place in and around Kataragama over the years since what Sir P Arunachalam wrote the above in early 1920s. There are a few books in Thamil and English and even in Sinhala on the importance of the Kathirkaamam or Kataragama temple.

Lots of Sinhala Buddhists and Christians and Thamliian Hindus and Muslims visit Kataragama during the festival season and in other times. It is a sacred area. Foreigners including Indians show a lot of interest in knowing about Kataragama.

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The Hindu god Vishnu

According to Hindu mythology, Vishnu is a member of a cosmic triad, the three gods who have the responsibility for creating, maintaining and destroying the universe.

God Vishnu

The destroyer we have already discovered in the figure of Shiva. The cosmic creator is Brahma. The god who sustains the cosmos between the times of creation and destruction is Vishnu.Vishnu and Shiva are each at the center of a vast religious following among Hindus. The religion of Vishnu is known as Vaishnavism, and it is the most popular Hindu religion. Brahma, on the other hand, does not have a significant following. Do not confuse Brahma, the personal creator god, with Brahman, the Upanishadic term for the absolute reality that is beyond conception.Vishnu was a deva in the Vedic period, but he was not specially prominent. The Vedas referred to him as the younger brother of Indra, and called him the three-stepper. Other sources relate the story of how Vishnu acquired this epithet. Bali, a demon king, invited the gods to a great sacrifice in their honor. Bali offered to fulfill any wish of each of his divine guests.Vishnu, who appeared only as a dwarf, asked only be given as much land as he could take with three steps. Bali reluctantly agreed. Vishnu suddenly grew to immense proportions. His first step covered the earth. The second step reached the sun. According to the story, there was no space left for a third step. Bali then lowered his head in acknowledgement of Vishnu's superiority.

In iconography, Vishnu is identified by the symbolic attributes he carries in each hand. In one hand he has a conch shell or Shankha, which represents his power to create and maintain the universe.

In another, a sharp-spinning discus-like weapon, signifying the purified spiritualized mind. In a third he has a mace or Gada, which symbolizes Vishnu's divine power. In the fourth he holds a lotus flower or Padma, which represents represents spiritual liberation and divine perfection.

Vishnu's Avataras

Vishnu's most salient feature is his avataras or incarnations. The word avatara literally means to descend into. According to Vaishnava mythology, the god descends to earth and assumes an earthly manifestation at critical junctures in the world's history. Tradition maintains that Vishnu has done this nine times in this era, and would do so again before the end.Vishnu's previous avataras include a boar, who carried the earth out of the primordial waters; a fish, that rescued the first human named Manu in the Hindu flood story; a turtle, a dwarf and a man-lion. He also appeared as the Buddha in his 9th incarnation. Thus the Buddha, the sage and teacher of Buddhism, has become incorporated into the Hindu pantheon.Finally, in his tenth avatara Vishnu will return at the end of the age as Kalki, a horse-riding apocalyptic judge.From the standpoint of religious practice, Vishnus's most important avataras have been Krishna and Rama. Both figures are widely revered among Hindus.

As Rama, Vishnu appeared on earth as a royal figure who defeats his wife's abductor in the great epic the Ramayana. Rama is regarded as a great example of moral conduct and his marriage to Sita is appalled as the Hindu ideal.

Krishna's Popularity

Krishna is a name that many Westerners would recognize. In the last half century, many in the West have become familiar with the name Krishna due a movement known as ISKCON, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. The Hare Krishna (as it is also known) was founded in 1966, by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami.

It belongs to the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, a devotional tradition based on the teachings of a 15th century saint and reformer named Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The focus of this tradition is abstinence of karmicly negative activities, such as eating meat, abusing sex and intoxication. It also involves the frequent chanting of the name of god. Its from their chanting that these Vaishnavites acquire the name Hare Krishnas, which is the name of one of the mantras that they recite.Krishna's popularity in India derives from two sources specially. One is his image as a playful and adventurous young man.

One of the most delightful pieces of Vaishnavite literature is the Gita Govinda.

This book tells the story of Radha's passionate love for him. It is easily some of the most erotic literature in world religion.

The Gita Govinda illustrates how on the path of devotion one might long for god as a lover longs for his beloved.

The other source of Krishna's popularity is his role in the Bhagavad Gita. This text, which is usually translated as "Song of the Lord", is probably composed between 1400 B.C.E. and 100 C.E. Its author or authors are unknown. Although it is usually read as an independent story, the Bhagavad Gita is actually part of the Mahabharata, which is probably the world's longest epic poem, with around 100,000 verses.

The Gita has been a great influence on Indian thinkers throughout its history, but it has also impressed many intellectuals in the West, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau and Thomas Stearns Eliot.

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