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Showing posts from December 26, 2018


Story of Nandanar – The Untouchable Shiva Devotee – one of the 63 Nayanars

Sage Nandanar was an untouchable and one of the 63 Nayanars. His devotion showed that man-made rules and restrictions are not applicable to Shiva. He does not look into the caste of devotee before blessing Him. An untouchable caste farm worker, Nandanar was craving to have a sight of Lord Shiva at Sivalokanathar Temple in Tirupunkur. However, his Brahmin landlord would not permit him to enter the temple, as his entry would pollute the sanctity of the temple. One day, pushed by his desire to see the Shivling in the temple he stands before the outer gate of the temple and looks. However, the big murti of Nandi Bull in front of the sanctum sanctorum obstructs his sight. Nandanar cries and pleads to Siva to remove the obstacle so that he can at least have a glimpse of Shiva from a distance. Suddenly, the huge murti of Nandi bull moves out of the line to enable Nandanar to see the Shivling. Nandanar has his darshan and in ecstasy, he sings in praise of Shiva. S

Thayumanavar – Lord Shiva Took The Form Of Mother – Story of Thayumanavar Form of Shiva

Thayumanavar Temple is located near Trichy in Tamil Nadu and the story of this form of Shiva is associated with Him coming to the aid of a pregnant woman in the form of her mother. An ardent female devotee of Shiva lived on the banks of River Kaveri. She used to offer daily prayers to Shiva on a nearby temple atop a hillock. She was pregnant and the delivery time was nearby when heavy rains flooded the river. This prevented her mother who was on the other bank of river from attending on the woman’s delivery. The delivery time neared and the woman was in intense labor pain. There was no one to help her. She pleaded Lord Shiva atop the hill to come to her aid. Suddenly, her mother arrived, did the delivery and went away. As the rain subsided, the actual mother of the woman came and apologized for not making it on time. Then only did the woman realize that Lord Shiva himself came in the form of her mother and did the delivery. The god on the hill temple got th

Story – Sword of Indra and the Sage - Symbolic Meaning and Lesson For Life

The story of the sword of Indra and the sage was narrated by Mata Sita in the Ramayana to Bhagvan Sri Ram. Legend has it that once there lived a great sage who had offered intense penance for several years. His piety and austerities alarmed Indra. The king of Devas feared that soon the Sage will replace him due to his holiness. To distract the Sage and make him fall from his present stature, Indra went to the sage, who lived in a forest, in the form of a warrior armed with a sword. Indra then convinced the sage to keep the sword in his safe custody. The Sage then spent all his attention on the sword. The Sage gave too much importance to the trust shown by the soldier on him. While guarding the sword he neglected his spiritual activities. Thus his spiritual powers declined and ultimately lost all his yogic powers. Thus Indra saved his throne. Neglecting one's duties and giving too much importance to unwanted things will take us far away from our destination. To

Sage Yajnavalkya Quotes - A collection Of Teachings Of Sage Yajnavalkya

This is a collection of teachings and quotes of Sage Yajnavalkya from Upanishads The senses are in the nature of hindrance only as long as they are not directed inward, towards the Atman. The eye cannot choose but see; and the ear cannot choose but hear. Similarly the mind. Make the senses calm, make the mind almost blank; do not think of anything in particular, and then you will hear in your heart the voice of the infinite. If you find it to be too hard a path, let the ear hear of the Atman, let the eye see that all this is the manifestation of the Atman and let the mind meditate uninterruptedly on the nature of the Atman. In this way, the scattered faculties are all coordinated and directed towards the Atman. That is the way. That will reveal to you that the knowledge of the Atman is superior to all else. The Atman is all in all. There is nothing in this world but the Self, the Atman. Describing the root cause of fear, Yajnavalkya says: Where there are two, o