Narayani Jaya Jaya
Narayani Jaya Jaya
Viswaroopa Lokeswari
Narayani Jaya Jaya
Soundarya Subhakamini
Shanghu Chakra Bhavadharini
Narayani Jaya Jaya
Narayani Jaya Jaya
The magnificent Universe is manifested with the Power of the Divine. This Power is not seen by the naked eye and this is what we call “God”. This Power is not known to the five senses nor can it be perceived or felt by the five senses. We will be able to understand this Divine Power only if we have the blessings of the Divine.
Manickavasagar, a devotee of Lord Shiva and one of the 63 ‘Nayanmars’ has written a verse in the ancient Tamil scripture ‘Sivapuranam’ which says, “It is only with His blessings that you can worship the Divine”. It is this verse of the ancient scripture that comes to our mind when we say that we will be able to understand this Divine Power only if we have the blessings of the Divine. The Divine Power has no form, colour or characteristic of its own. Although water is clear, it takes the colour of the place where it flows. Likewise the Divine Power manifests in the form of a particular being. The Divine Power is not a thing that can be pointed at to be viewed, but can only be experienced and experienced with great happiness. There is no beginning or end.
This world has seen 3 Yugams (Age or Period) and is currently experiencing the 4th Yugam. What is Yugam? Why do Yugams come to an end? These are some of the questions that come to our mind. Yugams cannot be measured by the numbers of years, weeks or even months. The reason being, a Yugam begins when Dharma (righteousness) enlightens the world and ends when the world reaches the outer boundary or edge of Adharma. Thus a Yugam is brought an end by the Divine Power. The word ‘Yugam’ means ‘long’ or ‘extended’.
Therefore, Yugam is an ‘extended’ period. Yugam does not end in a short duration. This is because the Divine Power has immense patience to bear with the evil ways of mankind. Only when Adharma reaches its peak and when the Divine Power is not able to tolerate anymore, it manifests as an Incarnation or Avataar to end evil and establish righteousness or Dharma in this world. This will bring in the birth of a new Yugam. In this manner, three Yugams – Krutha Yugam, Thretha Yugam and Dwapara Yugam have ended and we are presently living in Kaliyugam.
As mentioned earlier, when evil increases, the Divine Power moves from the seat of the Divine and manifests in the form a human being, to re-establish Dharma or Righteousness. This act of the Divine manifestation in the human form is called ‘Avataar’ or Incarnation. The Divine which is actually formless manifests in the human form to lead mankind to the path of righteousness.
In the Krutha Yugam, evil was born in the form of Hiranya Kashipu. Evil was in its fullest form that it did not spare even his son – a son who was born after performing a lot of penance. Prahaladan was Hiranya Kashipu’s son. He was an ardent devotee of Sri Narayanan. Prahaladan’s devotion was extremely intense. He would chant the Hari mantra (Om Namo Narayana) at all times. Hiranya Kashipu’s ego and arrogance did not spare even his son. He had ordered that people should only worship him and chant his name as the mantra and not chant any other God’s mantra. Those who failed to follow this rule would have to face death. All the fourteen worlds shuddered and were scared by his threats. The Deva Loka (Devas abode) was also included in this. All those who opposed him were killed. He was blood thirsty and behaved like an animal. To put an end to his evil doings, the Divine Power / God came down to the earth and manifested as ‘Narasimha Avataar’. Evil was wiped out and righteousness was established.
In the Thretha Yugam, Adharma or evil came in the form Ravana and created suffering and anguish for the earthly beings, for the Devas and all other living beings. The Goddess of virtue Sita was abducted by Ravana. The Avataar of Rama manifested to kill the evil called ‘Ravana’. The Divine Power revealed in the form of Rama and killed Ravana to ascertain Dharma or Righteousness.
Mahabharata was created during Dwapara Yugam. When evil descended on the earth in the form of Duryodhana’s clan, the Divine Power was born as Krishna to direct mankind in the path of Justice.
The present Age is Kaliyugam. In today’s world, all of us see that there is a decline in Justice, Righteousness and Devotion and Evil is playing a dominant role in one’s life. Why has Evil and wickedness prevailed? There are many reasons but the three main ones are:
Lack of Knowledge among mankind: Knowledge means wisdom. There is no wisdom to differentiate between the good and bad and therefore man tends to go in evil ways. Evil attracts people greatly. People tend to get allured and they do the wrong things and end in suffering. Their families also follow the same path as their ancestors. Thus the number of people who get attracted by evil increases and this leads to the decrease of Righteousness.
Lack of Wealth: This means existence of Poverty. When people are not able gain riches, they seek shortcut and devious methods to become wealthy. Evil spreads and thrives in such an environment.
Lack of hard work. There is no willingness to work hard but there are only desires. Even if the body is strong to do hard labour, there is no willingness to do so. Instead, the strength is used for doing all the wrong activities in a wicked manner to attain the desires. Evil deeds like murder, theft etc., are spreading rapidly.
All of us are aware that evil and wickedness is prevailing in the world in the abovementioned three ways and is not decreasing. Evil has been existing for many years now and has revealed itself in different forms. This has yielded suffering to many good and wise people. The wise people, the sages and devotees prayed to God for the well being of the world and mankind. It is due to their prayers that Goddess Sri Narayani has descended in this world in the form of Sri Sakthi AMMA at Thirumalaikodi, to reduce Adharma or Evil through the various Yagams, Poojas and Blessings to all.
Goddess Sri Narayani is the combined form of Goddess Saraswathi, Goddess Mahalakshmi and Goddess Durga (representing Knowledge, Wealth and Power). All these three attributes have reduced greatly and evil has increased in the world today. Goddess Sri Narayani has manifested in the form of Sri Sakthi AMMA to provide these to the human beings and reduce evil.
There is another question that may arise in our minds. When the Divine is descending on the Earth, why is it always in the form of an Avataar? Why can’t the Divine appear as the Divine directly? The Divine does not reflect Light that is obtained from some other source. The Divine is self luminous in its radiance. When devotional songs are sung, the Goddess is said to be reflecting, ‘The brightness and the radiance that reflects the sunlight hundred thousand times.’ (one crore). If the Divine is reflecting such brilliance then how can the human beings view this radiance? If the Divine descends directly, then the whole world will be turned into ashes in no time. Even if that is not the intention of the Divine, the brilliance is so stunning.
The Divine manifests in a human form and descends as an Avataar in order to live along with other human beings, partake in all the sufferings both physically and mentally and then help to reduce the suffering of the people. Therefore, as normal human beings we should not take the Divine Avataar lightly just because of the human form. This will only create more sufferings and ignominy for us.
The meaning of Sri Narayani – ‘A Power that is all pervading or omnipresent’. We shall now see in the following pages how Sri Narayani has manifested in the form of Sri Sakthi AMMA. The Divine chooses a place to be born as an Avataar and also decides on the couple who have done virtuous deeds as the parents of this Divinity. The parents would have been people who have done virtuous deeds in all their previous births and are due to gain the love and affection of God.
It is in this manner that Thiru. Nandagopal and Tmt.Jothiammal lived near Vellore in Tamil Nadu. Their family is steeped in the tenets of Vaishnavism and believes strongly in Righteousness. Even though they were a family with less income, they believed in caring and sharing with others. A virtuous family which abounds in performing Poojas. The family had limited desires and earned a good name for its principles and morals. Therefore, it was fitting that they were chosen as the parents of the Divine Mother Sri Narayani. And in this manner, the lady Jothiammal, carried the Divine fetus and gave birth to this Divine Child on 3rd January, 1976. This was the second child to the parents and he was named ‘Satish’. The child had the Divine symbol of ‘Namam’, a distinct mark on its forehead even when it was born. The doctors and nurses were surprised to see this symbol. To some people it seemed as if someone has drawn a line with red coloured ink on the child’s forehead.
Even after the child was given a bath, the Divine symbol was fresh as if it was drawn just then. (Even today, the symbol can be seen). The Saivites have the habit of smearing the holy ash on the forehead and hence it is said ‘Forehead with ash’. Similarly, the child had a ‘Forehead with the Thirunamam or the Divine symbol’. Those who saw this Divine symbol considered the child to be a Divine child. The mother was blessed during her pregnancy by sages and wise people who revealed to her that she was carrying the Divine child and wished her well.
The love for the Divine Mother was revealed even when the child was a toddler learning to walk. There was much adoration and happiness when the child came across an idol or a picture of the Divine Mother. When all the children use a walker to learn to walk, this child would go around holding the picture of the Divine Mother. The sound of Poojas and the ringing of the temple bells were lullaby for the child. When all the other children were drinking milk, this child would go seeking the milk after the abhishekams at the temples. When the child is taken to the temple, instead of worshipping the deity in the temple, the child would be seen showing the right hand in the form of blessing all the people who visited the temple. Even though the child was taught to fold hands and worship, it was the others who worshipped the child. Such was the wonder that was evinced in the minds of people and the child continued performing miracles as the days went by.
The child was more attached with the landlady of the house, in fact, more than the parents. The landlady used to visit temples often and would take the child along with her. The parents admitted the child to school at the right time. As the child was gaining knowledge through education, his interest in Divinity was also growing at a fast pace in the mind and at a given point, Divinity overtook everything else. If the child happened to hear the temple bells ringing either while going to school or coming back from school, he would start moving towards the temple automatically. Like a magnet attracting a piece of iron, the child was attracted to the poojas that happen in the temples.
One day, when the child had visited the temple of the Divine Mother, a devotee said to this Divine child, “when the pooja is being performed today, do the job of ringing the temple bell”. This gave so much happiness to the young Sri Sakthi AMMA that it was not only this but other such jobs in the temples were also carried out regularly. The temples became more blessed and sacred. Was it only the temples? All the devotees who visited the temples were also blessed. It was indeed a magnificent and astonishing spectacle – ‘the Divine serving the Divine’. This did not happen only then…on that day. It happens even today and many of us reduce our Karma by witnessing the amazing manifestation.
While conducting classes if the teacher happens to mention the words, ‘temple’, ‘God’, ‘Divine’, ‘Pooja’ etc., the child’s mind would start wandering and will unite with the poojas in the temples and it would take a long time to come out of this. This could be explained as a ‘blissful’ state of mind and this bliss and tranquility happens very rarely to others. But this happened at a very young age for Sri Sakthi AMMA. While in this state, AMMA would come up with a number of philosophical teachings and the sparkle of Divinity was evident immensely in the face.
AMMA’s Divinity was revealed in a number of ways. One day a strange event occurred. Malaikodi was a small village near Vellore. There was a co-operative yarn spinning mill that was run by the Government. Sri Sakthi AMMA’s father was an employee in this mill. With the money he earned, he bought a piece of land in Malaikodi and built a small house. The date was fixed for the house-warming ceremony. The day before the function, a huge bush full of thorns was found near the house and they decided to remove this.
When they had cleared the bush, they found three holes in the earth. AMMA’s mother said to her husband, “It could be a snake hill, so please remove it.” He accepted. But the young AMMA strongly opposed it. AMMA argued, “A snake hill is the abode of the Gods. A snake itself is a form of Goddess, the Divine Mother. There seems to be a great Divinity existing here. It is only good for us and not harmful.” It was decided not to remove the snake hill but to capture the snake if it is there and leave it somewhere else. AMMA was not happy about this decision and was not at peace with the occurrence. AMMA was dejected but submitted to the decision of the parents.
AMMA was the Avataar of the Goddess Sri Narayani. But in the human form it is the duty of the child to obey the parents and AMMA adhered to the world’s principle and remained an example for obedience. They then brought a person to capture the snake and it was then the rare occurrence happened. The snake charmer went close to the snake hill and placed his nose at the mouth of the hill to sense the presence of the snake. It is said that if a snake is in the snake hill, there would be a smell of jasmine and the snake charmer was trying to sense this smell. However, in a few seconds he was lifted and thrown at a distance of about 5 feet. He tried again twice and the same thing happened. He came up and worshipped the snake hill and said, “In all my lifetime, I have not seen an event like this. This seems to be an abode of the Goddess. I will not be able to do anything” and departed. The snake charmer quit his profession since that day. Sakthi AMMA’s face had a knowing smile. The parents looked at Sakthi AMMA with great devotion and faith. The housewarming function was celebrated in a grand manner.
Once the house warming was over, the parents rented the house to a tenant and continued to live in Vellore. The reason was that Sakthi AMMA’s mother was a teacher in a school in Vellore and therefore it was convenient to stay there. It was decided to stay there for sometime and continue to teach. After sometime, Sakthi AMMA’s family moved from Vellore to live in a nearby area called Sattuvachari. However, AMMA’s mind and thoughts continued to linger on the snake hill and the Goddess residing there. Thoughts slowly progressed into action. On Thursdays every week, after school, AMMA would come on a bicycle to Malaikodi and stay the night in a family friend’s place, a person who was working with AMMA’s father. On the next day, Friday, AMMA would wake up early, venture out to the snake hill with all the items required for the Pooja and perform pooja with a lot of devotion.
Soon after the Pooja, AMMA would go to school in the bicycle. This act continued week after week. AMMA was studying in Voorhees High School. The school was blessed as it had the Divine Mother as a student. It continues and will forever be a sacred and blessed school for life. So, the days went by, with AMMA being involved in pooja, education and temple service.
The time was ripe. In May 1992, Sakthi AMMA had visited a temple out of town and was returning in a bus along with other devotees. AMMA was sitting near a window in the bus and was gazing at the sky at a distance. In normal circumstances, all elders or children who travel by bus will be looking at all the sights and scenery around them. No one will stare at the open space. What will they be able to see in the open space? However, only Divinity in human form will view the open space as this gives them an opportunity to see and understand Divine spectacle or vision.
In that manner, when Sakthi AMMA was sitting near the window and staring into the sky, a marvel happened. A ray of energy emanated from AMMA into the sky and took the form of Goddess Narayani and the emanated energy returned back to AMMA and merged with AMMA. Since then AMMA would not talk much. Silence prevailed. Peace ruled. Words were like pearls, not easily available and tranquility increased.
It was a few days after AMMA had seen the Divine vision. One night AMMA was sleeping soundly. AMMA felt that something had fallen on the left side of the face on the top portion of the left cheek.. AMMA woke up and wiped the cheek and found a small boil like a sweat rash. At the
same time, the entire house was filled with the fragrance of camphor and the aroma continued to increase. Sakthi AMMA did not understand this and therefore woke up the mother and asked her about it. “We have not purchased any specially perfumed camphor and I am not getting any smell. It won’t be anything. Just go to sleep” said AMMA’s mother and went back to sleep.
The aroma lasted for 10 minutes and then slowly decreased. By dawn, AMMA had developed extremely high temperature and fever. And the face had small boils like pox. The parents assumed that this was some kind of an allergy and took AMMA to a doctor. The intensity of pox increased. At that time, one of the women in the neighborhood received the Divine blessing (Deiva arul) and in the frenzy said, “I am the Divine Mother and I have descended and manifested on this small boy. Not aware of this, you have taken him to the hospital for treatment and this is wrong. I will take care of this. Do not worry” and then left the woman’s body. The parents then took all measures to cool the angered Goddess and thereafter peace existed.
The fragrance of camphor was an indication of the revelation of the Goddess or Divine Mother. Ordinary human beings do not comprehend the arrival of Divinity and they do not have the strength to perceive it. Since Sakthi AMMA was the Avataar of the Divine Mother, AMMA was able to understand this. If human beings get pox, it will disappear after sometime. In the case of Sakthi AMMA, the Divine Mother remained in AMMA permanently.
Soon after this, on 5th May 1992, Sakthi AMMA came to the house of the old lady, a grandmother, who was very fond of AMMA. AMMA smiled at her and went straight to the Pooja room and called the grandmother in and told her, “Grandma, please perform abhishekam for me with turmeric water?” The Grandmother was surprised and chided the boy saying,” You do not have any other work to do”. But since AMMA asked again, she brought a small vessel containing turmeric water. Sakthi AMMA did not accept this and told the grandmother” Get one whole pot filled with turmeric water and perform the abhishekam.”
Sakthi AMMA’s firm yet mellowed voice controlled the grandmother and also left her spellbound with its charm. She never realized what she was doing. She just went ahead and mixed a pot of turmeric water and performed abhishekam for Sakthi AMMA. “Bring neem leaves” was the next order of Sakthi AMMA. The grandmother immediately went across and got a bunch of neem leaves and gave it in the hands of Sakthi AMMA. In the next second, the Divine boy’s form and voice changed. A Divine face that was beautiful along with a voice that allured people was revealed. Sakthi AMMA then looked at the grandmother and said, “Grandma, what do you think of me? Do not think of me as a child playing pranks with you. I am the Divine Mother ruling this entire Universe”. The grandmother did not understand anything and so stood quietly. Sakthi AMMA held the bunch of neem leaves in her hand and then told the grandmother, “Come and sit in front of me”. The grandmother came and sat in front of AMMA. “Do you know who I am?’ was the question from AMMA. The grandmother answered, “What is this question? You are Satish.” AMMA said, ’this name is given to this human form in this birth. In reality it is not so. If you really want to see who I am, close your eyes and think of your ancestral family deity, meditate and then open your eyes to see me”. The grandmother followed the instructions.
The family deity of the grandmother was “Sholapuri Amman”. She closed her eyes, worshipped the Goddess in her mind, meditated and opened her eyes. She forgot her surroundings. She raised her hands in the form of worship and prostrated before AMMA. At that time, AMMA disclosed in the form of “Sholapuri Amman”, as Sarva Alankara Roopini. “AMMA, please forgive me. If I have done any mistakes without my knowledge, I request you to forgive me” cried the grandmother on seeing this form of AMMA.
“I have descended on this earth as an Avataar of Goddess Mahasakthi Sri Narayani, to save the world. I am a combination of the three attributes of Goddess Sri Saraswathi, Goddess Sri Lakshmi and Goddess Sri Durga. I have manifested in this Avataar to make the world prosperous with these three attributes” was Sakthi AMMA’s message to the grandmother. The grandmother felt that her devotion had made her fortunate to see the Divine and was rendered speechless and was filled with immense happiness.
For some time there was absolute solitude. Sakthi AMMA then moved from the Divine state to normalcy and said, “Grandmother, you will have to convey a message to my parents. That is, ‘your son does not belong only to you. Hereafter the child belongs to the world. The boy who was your son will now become the Divine Mother for the human beings in this world. Therefore, if the child gets separated from you, you should not worry about it’ is what you need to convey to them”. The grandmother first refused to convey this message, but later on accepted to do it. She informed the parents of all that she saw and heard.
As soon as the parents heard this, they began to cry. Who are the parents who will be willing to let go a 16 year old son at such a young age to gain spiritual knowledge, relinquishing home? Divine state is different. Human beings are different. The spiritual tenets spoken when the person is in a Divine state cannot be understood by normal human beings. Humans who are controlled by delusions will not be able to understand the actions of people who are no longer bound by such illusions. For a person who sees Death from a Divine state, it is ‘rest’ for one’s life. But for human beings, Death is a terrible loss. Therefore, the parents looked at the situation from a human being’s point of view and therefore cried. However, what was due to happen at the right time went on without any grievance and finally took place in a grand manner.
AMMA’s entry into Thirumalaikodi
It was on 8th May in 1992, that the 16 year old Divine child Satish made an entry into Malaikodi and made it ‘Thirumalaikodi’ and became ‘Sakthi AMMA’ for the people. Since then, the anniversary of the Peedam is celebrated on 8th May, every year. Compassion began to rule the world. The people in Malaikodi rejoiced in their happiness. Since the Divine entered their town, the Divine Mother Goddess Lakshmi entered their homes. Prosperity became their property. The Divine became their wealth.
Why Malaikodi was chosen by Sri Sakthi AMMA:
Even though there are number of places in this world, there is a great reason for Sri Sakthi AMMA to choose Malaikodi.
Siddars, wise men and Sages were performing penance in this earth. They still exist in this place although without any form. Malaikodi is such a virtuous place. All three Murthis – Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva reside here. There is a hill in Malaikodi called Kailasagiri. Lord Shiva resides here. In the Kailasagiri hill there is a waterfall called ‘Brahma Theertham’ and Lord Brahma lives here. This heritage location is within the district boundary limits of ‘Ariyur’ and Lord Vishnu exists here. All the elements of the three Murthis are here. Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are three forms and they are the three Murthis. Knowledge, Wealth and Power seen in the forms of Saraswathi, Lakshmi and Shakthi are contained within the bounds of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Therefore if one says Saraswathi, Lakshmi and Shakthi or Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, it is all one and the same. The blend of all the Powers is Sri Narayani.
Malaikodi became Thirumalaikodi only after Sri Narayani entered this place. The Divine footprints have blessed the place and all are aware of it. When you see the form of Sri Narayani in Thirumalaikodi, it is easy to understand that the form of Sri Narayani is the confluence of the three powers. Sri Narayani has matted hair on her head. This represents Lord Shiva. She has the Shanghu (conch) and Chakra (Chakram) in her hands. This represents Lord Vishnu. The mudra in one hand is in the form of blessing (Chin mudra) which stands for imparting Knowledge and therefore represents Brahma. Thus, Sri Narayani represents the three Powers and three Murthis both in form and in inner strength and a number of people have come to worship and have been blessed. Malaikodi is the central point and Sri Narayani’s Divine blessing is protecting the entire world.
Malaikodi means the end of the hill or end of all the hills. ‘Kodi’ means ‘end’. Malaikodi remains the final confluence of all the hills. Anything that comes down from the top of a hill has to reach the end or the bottom. If you stand at the highest point of Malaikodi, you will be able to view hundreds of hills and hillocks all around. Some of them include Rathnagiri, Vallimalai, Parvathamalai, Kailasagiri, Theerthagiri and some more sacred hills can be seen. The sanctity of all the sacred hills come down and finally converges in this place and so, this place is known as ‘Thirumalaikodi’.
It is because of this, that many thousand years back, sages, rishis and siddars have stayed here and performed penance. It is as a result of such penance that Sri Narayani has chosen to descend on this earth in the form of Sakthi AMMA as an Avataar and is showering blessings on all. Even now it is believed that the sages and rishis are continuing to worship Sri Narayani in a formless manner.
Sri Mangala Narayani
When Sakthi AMMA came to Malaikodi, Poojas would start from early in the morning. It would start with the Pooja for the snake hill. After that Sakthi AMMA would impart messages to people. When people heard AMMA’s messages they felt that their sufferings were reduced. They were able to anticipate any problems that may arise and safeguard themselves from it. They shared the difficulties that have already been faced and received Divine blessings to overcome them in the future. Hundreds of devotees thronged the place. One day the devotees made a request to Sakthi AMMA.
“AMMA ! We surrender to you. We want to see your actual form. We do not know the form of Sri Narayani. So it is our desire to see it” was the request of all the devotees. One day, AMMA after a grand Pooja, invited one of the devotees to fill a big vessel with turmeric water and performed pooja for it. AMMA then asked the devotee to put his hand inside the vessel and reveal Sri Narayani. Everyone was awestruck… The Divine Goddess was seen with Shanghu (conch) in one hand, Chakra (wheel) in the other, a lotus Flower in the third and the fourth was in the posture of showering ‘blessings’. ‘Om Namo Narayani’ was the sacred chant that was piercing the air shooting towards the heaven. It is this Divine Goddess that Sakthi AMMA worships as ‘Mangala Narayani.’
“Riches great, they will get,
Knowledge fine they will get,
A mind that never tires, they will get,
Godly beauty they will get,
Friends who do not deceive they will get,
And all this and more they will get,
From the incense filled flower haired Abhirami’s,
Slanting sight from her beautiful eyes.”
Abirami Andhadhi
This verse is from Abirami Andhadhi as sung by Abiramibhattar. As said in this verse, since then, Sri Narayani has been granting her devotees all that they should get. A pair of eyes is not sufficient to see this Divine Goddess who is the embodiment of Beauty. She is auspicious in form and this Divine Mother is ‘Mangala Narayani’.
Swayambhu Temple:
In the middle of 1993, Sakthi AMMA made a Divine pronouncement in the presence of the devotees, “I am born in this earth in the human form of Sakthi AMMA. The sages, wise men and rishis have been performing poojas for a number of yugams now. They have performed innumerable yagams also for AMMA. They have sung the Vedic hymns and chanted the Vedas and have worshipped AMMA in many varied ways. ‘AMMA. You have to descend on this earth as an Avataar’ has been their request and not a day has passed without this request being made. Today even after AMMA has manifested as Avataar, they are still continuing the poojas in an invisible form. The poojas that they have been doing for a number of years has already helped the accumulation of Powers in this place. I am going to gather all the powers together in unison and emanate from the ground as a Swayambhu” said AMMA in the Divine message. This news appeared in all the newspapers and the information spread widely among people.
On 11th September 1993, at 6 pm in the evening, thousands of people and devotees had gathered together and Sakthi AMMA was also present. No one knew where the Swayambhu was going to appear. AMMA called seven unmarried girls. AMMA indicated a particular place and asked them to sit in a circle. Seven pots of turmeric water were placed in front of these 7 girls. AMMA did pooja for the seven pots with seven different auspicious items like, flowers, kumkum, sandal, neem leaves, turmeric and rice smeared with turmeric (Akshadhai). Each of the girls was then asked to get up and pour the water from the pot in the place where they were seated.
The girls did as they were told. When the seventh girl poured the turmeric water, the earth exploded and a milky substance came out. Following this, the Swayambhu rose upwards in the form a ‘Lingam’. The devotees’ delighted screams filled the air. AMMA built a temple in this place and made it a place of worship. The consecration (kumbabhishekam) of the Swayambhu temple was performed on 9th January 2000 by AMMA in a grand manner. A number of people worship the Swayambhu and gain happiness.
‘Swayambhu’ means ‘self emanating vigraha’ where the Divine reveals on its own and provides a vision to its devotees without anyone installing the vigraha. Normally, four types of people install the idol or vigraha and proceed to worship.
Sri Narayani Temple
A ‘big’ temple was built and a magnificent and beautiful idol of Sri Narayani was created, consecrated and installed by AMMA. This temple is called the ‘big’ temple by the devotees and Sri Narayani is in a seated form and blesses one and all. One of the Chola kings Rajarajan built a temple for Lord Shiva in Thanjavur which has been referred to as the ‘the big temple of Thanjavur’. However, it is worthy to note that the devotees here refer to this temple as the ‘big’ temple even though the temple is small.
This temple’s Gopuram (temple tower) is in the octagonal (Ettupattai) shape. The temple has been majestically designed with Artha Mandapam and Maha Mandapam. With 750 Sivachariyars chanting the Divine Goddess’s mantra a hundred thousand (one crore) times, and with the installation of the ‘Sri Chakram’, the first ever and a unique temple for Sri Narayani was created here in Thirumalaikodi. The temple was consecrated on 20th January 2001 by Sakthi AMMA.
On Sundays it is Goddess Durga, on Thursdays it is Goddess Saraswathi and on Fridays, it is Goddess Mahalakshmi… these are the various types of alankaarams (decorations) for the Divine Goddess and people are able to see the different forms of Sri Narayani and are also blessed with all the three different attributes by ‘ Sri Narayani of the big temple’. Other than these three days, on all other days, the Goddess is seen as Sri Narayani. The melody of the Veena and the flute are always around the Divine form. When the music is not heard it is the turn of the chants of the Vedas. The sound of Nadaswaram also lingers on. Vinayagar (Ganesha), Tirupura Sundari, Mahalakshmi, Brahmi, and Durga are the retinue of deities that can be seen in the temple.
AMMA does Pooja for Mangala Narayani in the ‘Shanthi Mandapam’ every day. Witnessing this pooja helps us retain the Divine vision in our minds, which removes all the evil thoughts and purifies the mind.
Pooja
The compassion of the Divine gives us the benevolence of the five elements such as Earth, Water, Fire, Wind and Space to help us lead an excellent life. Everything is contained within these 5 elements. Pooja is a way of showing our love and affection for the Divine which provides these resources in abundance to us. Each person does pooja based on his affordability. When individuals perform pooja it is done with the objective of gaining the blessings of the Divine for betterment of their lives. Hence it is self-centered. But the Pooja that Sakthi AMMA does for Mangala Narayani is for the betterment of the lives of all human beings. In fact, the Mangala Narayani pooja is done with the sole objective of the well being of all living beings in the Universe.
Mangala Narayani
‘Mangalam’ means ‘auspicious’. Sri Narayani blesses all human beings to lead a prosperous life. The Divine provides all the goodness and removes all evil from the lives of all human beings and therefore is called the Divine Mother of the Universe. It is only in Thirumalaikodi that the Divine Goddess Mangala Narayani is adorned with such embellishments and decorations and this cannot be seen anywhere else in the world. The Pooja for Mangala Narayani is done by Sakthi AMMA and if one gets to worship Mangala Narayani the sufferings associated with their life will disappear. And they will enjoy happiness in their lives.
Sakthi AMMA’s Mangala Narayani Pooja
Sakthi AMMA performs abhishekam for Mangala Narayani with 27 different types of items such as milk, honey, sandal, panchamirtham(a mixture of fruits, honey, jaggery, crystal sugar, cashews and raisins etc.,) turmeric, kumkum, rose water, rice, tender coconut water etc.,. Following this, Mangala Narayani is decorated with silk cloth, jewellery, flowers and then the adoration with lamps, camphor, incense and samaram (fans) is completed. The blessings thus received from Mangala Narayani are then bestowed on all human beings. One should consider himself fortunate to attend such poojas.
Prayer
Sakthi AMMA’s eyes are closed for prayer following the completion of Poojas for Mangala Narayani. When AMMA is in prayer, AMMA gathers together all the living beings in this Earth in the mind and prays for their well-being. So, all the sufferings of the living beings are gradually reduced and they reach a state of prosperity. A pregnant mother takes medicines and selective, tasteless food and is willing to do more sacrifices for the sake of the well-being of the unborn child that she is bearing. Similarly, Sakthi AMMA performs meditation and prayer for the well being of all human beings.
Theertham
At the end of the pooja, AMMA gives Theertham (holy water) to all the devotees who have attended the pooja. This theertham is not ordinary water. Sakthi AMMA gathers all the Powers of the pooja and mingles it in the theertham. This gives the theertham extraordinary strength which AMMA gives to all the devotees. Therefore, we should accept the theertham with great respect and faith and apart from drinking it, if we sprinkle some drops of the theertham on our head, it purifies the inner and outer state of mind and body and creates an environment for the Divine to reside. The theertham cures all illnesses and relieves us of all our mental disturbances and helps us attain joy and happiness in our lives.
The greatness of Malaikodi
Even if we step into Malaikodi, our sins are forgiven and sufferings get reduced. We will get bound by Divinity. The reason is the number of Poojas and Yagams being performed by Sakthi AMMA in this place. Such poojas and yagams are not done anywhere else in the world. The chants of mantras blend in the waft of the wind. One can constantly hear the sounds of musical instruments. Auspicious items and sacred water spills in this earth and mingles with the soil all the time. One will never be able to say enough about the greatness of the soil of Malaikodi.
You can see the different types of worship only in this place. This cannot be seen anywhere else in the world. The Pournami Yagam (Full Moon Yagam) that is done every month in the presence of thousands of devotees is done in such a magnificent and grand manner that this has not been attempted even by the Emperors of this world. The prasadam that is received from the Full Moon Yagam is the best medicine for all kinds of illnesses and diseases.
Poojas such as Thulasi Pooja, Gho Pooja, Gaja Pooja, Ashwa Pooja and Narayani Yagam done by Sakthi AMMA everyday is a rare sight to be seen. AMMA performs pooja for 12 hours every day. Happiness of human beings is the only reason for poojas. People should gain knowledge, strength, valour and wealth and be successful in life. This is the purpose behind the poojas done by Sakthi AMMA.
Sripuram
Sripuram is an aesthetic and sculptural wonder – the only one of its kind in the world that has been created by Sakthi AMMA - a golden temple for Goddess Sri Mahalakshmi spreading golden radiance, majestic in its splendour and auspicious in its form. There is no comparison for this Goddess Sri Mahalakshmi temple anywhere else in the world. Spread across 100 acres of land, the beauty of this place cannot be described in words. The artistic grandeur and the sanctity of the temple are comparable to the creation of Indraloka. Who other than Sri Narayani can explain the subtlety and nuance of the place? Thousands of people visit the temple everyday to worship and are blessed with prosperity. There is nothing else that can provide such immense happiness.
Why did AMMA create Sripuram? AMMA explains thus:
“Being born as a human is considered to be very fortunate as compared to other living beings. Only human beings know to love others, do service, derive happiness out of it and make other living beings happy. It is only by performing service, showing love and affection and caring for others that we can reach the Divine. The Goddess Mahalakshmi temple helps us understand this truth.
Today, the world is filled with suffering. The reason for the suffering is worldly desires. The term worldly desire is called ‘Lowkeekam’ in Sanskrit. Desire is the reason for all kinds of adversity. Human beings do not understand the purpose of being born as human beings. Therefore they fall into the trap of desires and are like the deer caught in the net facing a lot of agony and distress. The happiness derived from the service being done for other human beings is greater than the joy derived by the senses. The former type of happiness is the key to open the lock of Divine bliss.
People from all over the world should visit the golden temple, worship Goddess Sri Mahalakshmi and should acquire progression in life. This is the love and grace that AMMA showers on the people who are trapped in the mire called desire. We should understand AMMA’s message and try to do whatever service we can with a lot of love and affection. Human beings are the only ones who have acquired the ability to make the world a better place to live in.
However, people seem to have forgotten and neglected all this and are focusing only on the materialistic life. Each man’s thoughts centers around himself, each family focuses on themselves, and each country’s spotlight is only on itself – this is the state of narrow mindedness that seems to be ruling the world. No one seems to be revealing love which is the Divine thread that unites all human beings.
Thus human beings are steeped in materialism which is like a marshland or a swamp and Sripuram stands up as a motivating factor to make them understand the Divine presence. The Mahalakshmi temple in Sripuram and its brilliance is positioned as a light house that represents the direction for faith, knowledge and spirituality. While entering the temple, people will have to take the path which is in the form of a ‘Star’.
The lines in the star form have the exclusive characteristic of being able to absorb good energy and vibrations from nature for human beings. The path is adorned on both sides with fundamental spiritual messages and sayings that are common and important to all human beings from all religions in a simple and easily understandable way in different languages. While walking along the ‘Star’ path, one gets the opportunity to see, read and comprehend the messages such as the purpose of birth, the objective of life, the things that human beings should do and should not do, the importance and need for devotion. These rare messages are distinctive and cannot be found in other temples. They are AMMA’s thoughts converted into messages and messages from the holy text and scriptures from other religions also.
It is sufficient for a person who visits the temple to grasp at least one or two of these messages and retain them. This awakens the hidden spirituality and untapped potential in him and he reaches a state of Self Realisation. This change occurs not only in him, but he also gains strength and belief to change his family and others in the world. In this manner a number of families and friends benefit out of this transformation. The world becomes spiritual and there is happiness everywhere with no room for suffering.
When people enter Sripuram, their focus is just on seeing the magnificent golden temple, but when they leave there is no way they can leave without carrying some wisdom, some message with them. This is the concept of Sripuram. It gives great solace to the people who are caught in the web of materialism and desire.
If a person is ill, he visits the hospital and he is cured. Materialistic desire is an illness of the mind. Sripuram is the hospital that cures the illness of the mind. The knowledge and the spirituality that resides in Sripuram is the medicine that cures him. A hospital cures the body. Sripuram treats and heals the mind and strengthens the soul.
Moreover, Sripuram is also a web of knowledge and wisdom. An ordinary web creates problems for us but a spiritual web opens up vistas of immense happiness. Through this web of knowledge one reaches the profound bottomless depth of Divinity and spirituality. This changes him and his life. It is certain that the vivacity that he has attained enables him to serve other human beings, share love and affection with them. Most importantly he gets the blessings of Sri Narayani and will be able to continue his entire life with no distress but only endless happiness and joy.”
Sakthi AMMA’s fame has reached other countries in the last few years. It is not only people from our country but there are also a number of foreigners who have received AMMA’s blessings. The entire world is going to chant the mantra ’Om Namo Narayani’ and attain a fortunate life. AMMA”s devotees come from Canada, US, UK, Germany, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and from other countries and seek AMMA’s blessings. They follow our Indian tradition not only in the form of dressing but also in worship - by chanting ‘Om Namo Narayani’, folding their hands and worshipping to gain AMMA’s blessings.
It is believed that as the people chant the six letter mantra ‘Namo Narayani’, they will be blessed by Sakthi AMMA who is the Avataar of Sri Narayani. The Divine Mother will shower Divine grace, reside in their thoughts and minds and will provide all strength, power and energy to achieve success. It will be nothing but happiness and bliss in their lives thereafter!
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