Glimpses of the Temple
This text was machine-transcribed from the printed book and may contain errors. Select the words and choose “Report a mistake”.
Indian temples are a symbolic reflection of the human body. The macrocosm is reflected in the microcosm. The great cosmos is reflected in the human body. By entering a temple, the awareness that we are but a chip of the microcosm enters us. When this awareness grows within us, we start merging with the macrocosm.
Just as our body has five sections - namely head, neck, chest, legs and feet - a temple also has five corresponding sections.
Garbha mandir - the sanctum sanctorum. This houses the presiding deity and represents the head of the human form. The deity is invested with sight, life and breath, thus making it a virtual living force.
Ardhamandap - the hall space in front of the sanctum that represents the neck of the human form.
Mahamandap - the space outside of the inner space that represents the chest of the human form.
Prakaras - the circumambulation space and walls that represent the legs of the human form.
Gopura - the main gateway of the temple that represents the feet of the human form.
Here, Nithyananda entrusts the work of building the temple to Sri M.S.Sivaprakasam, Srirangam Rajagopura Sthapathy, who built the world's tallest temple tower in the temple of Srirangam in South India. Sthapathy is the name given to people who are specialised in the design and construction of Hindu temples. Sri M.S. Sivaprakasam hails from a family that has been in this profession for nine generations.
With the chief architect of the temple
B h o o m i p u j a
(obeisance to Mother
Earth) in the spot
where the temple
construction is to
commence
Bhoomi Puja - Mother Earth is worshipped first
Ashramites
join in the
construction
work under the
delightful
supervision of
the Master!
Temple construction
- Synergy at work!
Nithyananda
personally
supervises the
deities in the
making at the
artisan's
workshop
Deities making
- Personal supervision
Prior to consecration,
the deities went on a
grand procession
under the banner
'Kodikkan Ratha Yatra'
in South India,
offering darshan to
more than one crore
pairs of eyes.
Darshan to one crore people
11 - 12 Dec 2006 - Historic event in the history of planet Earth - consecration of the Anandeshwara sanctum, past midnight.
Temple
- Grand Inauguration
1 Jan 2007 - grand inauguration
of the temple coinciding with the
30th birthday celebrations of
Nithyananda.
Ambal - be blessed with a
child by praying to Her! She
is the female form of the
all-pervading Existential
energy.
Ambal
- Pray to Her and be blessed with a child!
Maha Meru - a divine
source to acquire mental
strength and materialize
what you want. The Maha
Meru is a 3-dimensional
representation of the entire
cosmos, including all the
animate and inanimate
objects in it. It represents
the 'Self'. It has no
afflictions of caste, colour,
creed or gender; it vibrates
pure divine energy.
Worshippers of it vibrate
with the Divine energy and
also radiate it for the welfare
of society.
Maha meru - Worship the entire Cosmos!
This meru has the rare distinction of
having been energized by an
enlightened master. It is said that
when the meru is energized in the
right way, it does not even need to
be sanctified further.
Maha Meru as Shiva and
Ambal as His Consort -
smeared with holy ash
Guru Puja - humble obeisance to the Master (Guru). Performed twice daily, this offering is a personal way of remembering, honoring and thinking of the Guru. It is an
Guru Puja - Gratitude to the Guru
opportunity to
express gratitude
towards Him for
everything that He
so compassionately
bestows upon us.
This offering can
cause a shift in our
consciousness and
take us to realms of
higher divine
energies.
Arati - an offering of lit camphor and other items.
Arati is offered to Sri Anandeshwara and under the banyan tree everyday. Camphor burns itself out completely while offering itself to the Lord. It represents our un-manifested desires that need to burn out. It symbolically represents that if we take refuge at the feet of the Lord, our un-manifested desires will get burnt out. Also, it emits a nice perfume while burning itself out. When we burn our desires out in serving society, we too will spread the perfume of love and happiness to all.
Arati - at the banyan tree
_Yagashala_ - your
power space to
connect with the
Divine! Here is where
fire rituals are
performed. Fire rituals
are a powerful way to
connect with the
Cosmic Energy
through the fire
element.
Yagashala - Connect through fire!
Tulabharam - an ancient custom
of offering valuables and food
items to the weight of the Lord.
This act of offering if one of
divine devotion, can cause the
scale to rise in no time! So it did in
the first ever Tulabharam that
happened at the time of Lord
Krishna. A small basil leaf from
Radha, His beloved, lifted the
scale to His weight!
Tulabharam
- Offer your devotion!
Masters happen on planet Earth time and again. Expressing our devotion as an offering to them can cause many good things to happen in our inner and outer space. Here is a lifetime opportunity to offer to a great Master who has happened yet another time.
Maheshwara puja - an offering for the peaceful resting of departed souls. By offering to an enlightened Master and his ordained monks, who are considered to be mediums of Existence, one believes that the offering will be received by the departed souls and by Existence itself.
Maheshwara Puja
- Offer to Existence!
_Dhvajasthamba_ - Pray here
for victory!
This is the flagstaff of victory
found at the entrance of the
temple. It carries the
Foundation's flag atop it. This
67 feet tall flagstaff is carved
out of a single piece of wood
and adorned with metal. It
bears intricate carvings of the
Paramahamsa (Supreme Swan),
the Master, Sri Anandeshwara
- Anandeshwari and the banyan tree.
Dhvajasthabha
- Pray here for victory!
_Bali peeta_ - a seat to surrender your ego. This is a seat of offering where the temple priest offers food for the crows and other birds. This seat is also the seat of sacrifice of the ego.
It symbolizes
surrendering of the ego
at the altar of the
Divine. By prostrating
in front of it, one
consciously offers
one's ego to the Lord.
Bali Peeta
- Surrender your ego!
Nandi - your divine messenger to Anandeshwara! Nandi is the sacred bull and vahana (vehicle) of Shiva. It symbolizes our very soul. It is always seen seated in line with Shiva. It looks at him
Nandi - Your Divine messenger to the Lord! intently with great devotion and adoration. It conveys to us that while we are immersed in the outer world activities, we should direct our whole inner attention towards the Divine.
Ananda Nandi - a calf from the Goshala, cow shelter Nithyananda declared of the calf: This calf is Nandi itself, the sacred bull of Lord Shiva. It has taken a conscious birth with perfect timing, on my own Jayanti day at exactly pradosha time, and in front of my own quarters as per my prediction! It has
come to be with me! It will be called Ananda Nandi. Worship it everyday. You will see many miracles happening as it grows!
Ananda Nandi
- The sacred bull of Shiva takes birth!
Anna dhaan -
Receive prasad
(free food) in the
divine field of
Anandeshwara.
Rid yourself of
poverty and give
way for Kubera
shakti (prosperity)
to step in to your
life.
Anna dhaan - Blessing from the Lord
Shakti sthal - A special energy installation
Shakti sthal -The integrated seat of Ashtalakshmi - the eight female manifestations of the Existential energy. This divine seat radiates the eight divine powers of health, food, courage, luck, children, wealth, victory and education.