| 2 Nov: Mother Pratyangira |
 We sped down the wet road, leaving the puddles and muddy moods behind. After about ten minutes time, we were back onto a paved road which Ashok, our driver, assured us would take us to our next destination in no-time. We were still drying off from begin caught in the downpour at Auroville and couldn’t figure out why exactly we were guided to visit there. A moment later Swami shouted, "Stop, stop stop!" We screeched to a halt about a hundred feet from where Swami alerted us to stop. He said that we had to back up because he saw a familiar image.We backed up on the shoulder of the road, narrowly missing a goat grazing the roadside. At a junction in the road, opposite our side, there was an old worn and faded sign and on it was the familiar image of Mother Pratyangira. Below something was written in Tamil, Amma explained that there was a temple dedicated to Pratyangira Devi just down the road and that it was home to a 72 foot statue of Her. As suddenly as it had rained on us before, we all felt elated and deeply moved by the morning’s events. Though we had not understood the purpose of our visit to Auroville or the reason that we were rained on, it was now clear that we were meant to visit the Mother here. And naturally, a bath beforehand is always necessary!  We headed down another muddy dirt road, the sun was blazing and slowly drying the soaked earth. Just beyond a row of trees, a huge lion’s face, colored blue, gave a wide and toothy smile in the sky. A row of cobras, with their hoods spread created a great umbrella just over Mother Pratyangira’s crown. She sat atop a massive lion and held the head of some poor evil-doer. Her neck was adorned with skulls and we all looked on in awe. The Pathala Pratyangira Parameswari Temple is an entity unto itself. It stands alone in a large open field, there are not rows of buildings around the temple, just a few small shops in a line, which were opened up by devotees. We had arrived in the middle of a late morning abishek and waited outside the entrance behind a family of Brahmin men. All of the men in our group removed their shirts as it a prerequisite for men entering the temple. The entrance, created no doubts about where one was entering. A fierce and massive lion’s head opened its mouth, showing a dimly lit staircase leading underground to the main sanctuary of the temple. Whomever constructed the temple intended those visiting to hold this Mother highly and to pay Her proper respect.  After sometime we were invited down into the sanctum. The walls were lined with images of illumined Rishis and the Demigods that pray to Pratyangira. A black stone lion sat majestically in front of the sanctum, bowing to the Mother inside. Mother Pratyangira sits here beautifully with a deep black stone figure. Her eyes are enchanting and all of us noticed a strange comfort, all sharing a feeling of being home, though it was a place none of us had ever entered before. There was a short arati and afterwards the priest gave some vibuthi (holy ash) and the groups of people slowly headed back up the stairs, into the daylight. Amma felt a great urge to sing to the Mother with all her heart. She sat just in front of the sanctum and soulfully sang a Tamil song about Mother Pratyangira. This seemed to be an uncommon act at the temple and the main priest came over to talk with Swami and Amma afterwards. The priest revealed that his father was a devotee of this Mother. He then said he noticed Amma and Swami’s faces when they entered, but went about his duties naturally. He said that from their eyes he knew they had taken their last birth. It would later be revealed that this priest, who carried himself very simply and naturally, is actually a Parmahamsa.In tears of devotion, Amma and Swami shared their experience of this Mother and how their entire lives have been devoted in service to Her. After seeing the uncommon and deep love that Swami and Amma have for Mother Pratyangira the priest suggested that we stay for the afternoon arati. This is an extremely rare and divine opportunity, as this arati is, in most cases, only seen by those performing and their temple assistants. Seeing that Raghudas was carrying a camera bag, he even invited him to take photographs, which is totally unheard of in such traditional temples. We truly had been brought ereh by the Mother and were being treated like children in Her home. We were left without restrictions for over an hour as the priest prepared Mother for the Arati ceremony. He tied a maroon Saree for Her and adorned Her with sandalwood paste and kumkum.  The Arati began and we were the only people inside the temple aside from the priest’s assistants. As the Parmahamsa began the arati the entire sanctum filled with divine smelling smoke that billowed from the tray of camphor that he lit. A younger Brahmin boy repeatedly blew a conch from behind us, as another beat a drum with an energetic tempo. The priest lit a large arati with many candles and slowly waved them for the Mother throughout the ceremony. The whole experience was surreal. It absorbed each of the senses and left us all feeling a total and full contentment. Words of thanks cannot do justice for the gratitude that we all felt in our hearts. After the ceremony the priest sat with Amma and Swami for some time. He wanted to hear more about their background and how they "fell into this Mother’s lap." They shared again for some time and Amma said that the photos would be sent to the temple as a form of Seva, and maybe they could use the images for temple materials or promotion. The priest was grateful and mentioned that they actually were conducting a very auspicious ceremony on November 9th. On this day there would be an all day homa conducted for Sri Maha Pratyangira Devi. At this moment Swami and Amma had the realization that the Mother had brought us here on behalf of everyone. She guided us to Her abode and would make Her blessings available to all. Amma and Swami need to contact the temple and make sure that enough prasads will be available and blessed for everyone. The Parmahamsa then invited us for a short tour of the temple grounds, by one of the other priests. We were shown the Samadhi sites of two Siddha masters on the grounds itself. One site was where the Mother stands at 72 feet and another site is where a great stone figure of Sarabeshwara (a form of Shiva) has been erected. He invited our group to join him for a simple lunch of rice and sambar. We all filled our stomachs, knowing that the Mother brought us here and filled our hearts. In all, we spent over 3 hours at this temple and were content with our day. Little did we know, that later on, the hand of the Divine would guide us once again to an unexpected place for another truly remarkable experience. |
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