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After spending a day and a half battling treacherous and flooded roads, the monsoon clouds seemed to break up in a very timely fashion.  It was just after dusk when we arrived at the Murugan temple in Thiruchendur.  Waves from the Indian Ocean were swelling and crashing on the sands below.  This was the fourth of six of Murugan’s abodes which Babaji had directed the group to visit.  Great blessings and even more surprises were again in store for everyone. Swamiji and Amma excitedly entered the seaside temple carrying everyone in their heart. 

The village of Thiruchendur was small and noisy.  It seemed that most of the people here have congregated to accommodate the temple and seaside visitors.  There were rows of shops selling various trinkets, not unlike most beach towns.  We bypassed these, as the sun was setting behind the clouds and entered the busy temple.

All of the men in the group were asked to remove their shirts, following the traditional customs.  A priest greeted us in the large entrance corridor.  We followed him through the temple and into the main sanctum where we had darshan of Murugan.  It was quite a blessing to sit before Him and we were given some special holy ash and flowers from His feet.  The priest accompanied us throughout the temple and spoke with Swamiji and Amma.  They shared some of the experiences of the Yatra and how they were visiting this temple under the instruction of Babaji. 

Moved by their story and their surrender to the Divine, the priest invited the group to a special Homa that was being conducted early the following morning.  Surprised by this invitation, Amma accepted on behalf of the group.  She pointed out that on this journey we must be open to the blessings and experiences that the Divine presents.  Shortly after, we left the temple and Swamiji and Amma, guided by the light from the temple, walked down to the beach to rinse their feet in the sea. This was by instruction of the priest who explained that it was customary to do so at this temple and a great purifying process before participating in the Homa the next day.   We took it as Murugan’s guidance and gladly washed ourselves in the sea.

We rose at 3 AM.  Raghudas was sleepy-eyed and slow to move, Swami and Amma were already fully dressed and prompted him to quickly stir.  Once everyone had dressed for the Homa we met a Brahmin priest who was waiting outside on his moped.  Well before the morning light, we followed the man clad in traditional robes, speeding through the narrow and garbage-strewn streets.  He guided us to a Mat (monastic living quarters for priests) where the Homa was ready to begin at 4:30. 

A group of six Brahmin men sat alert and ready as our group entered the second floor of the Mat.  They must have been awake hours in advance because the floor was magnificently arranged. There were Kumbha pots (for the ceremony), colorful rice, flowers and fruits.  The elaborate set-up was to be offered to the Divine during the ceremony.  We would then learn that there were to be five consecutive Homas.  Each offering to a deity, beginning with Ganesha and then finishing with prayers to Muruga.  We prepared to hunker down for the whole morning and seated ourselves as comfortably as possible.  The ceremony began beautifully with an Archana (offering of flowers).  As the sun rose on the horizon, the morning light magically flooded the second story of the Mat.  Smoke from the incense and the burning fire pit caught the light’s rays.  The scene was very enchanting and mystical and catapulted us all into a very deep meditation. 

The priests continued the Homa(s), one after another, presenting great plates of herbs and fruits into the flames.  Smoke billowed from the windows and the hours rolled by.  More than five hours later the ceremony concluded and we were invited to share in the prasads.  We all ate hurriedly as it was now past noon and none of us had taken breakfast.  After quieting our stomachs we headed to our car and reflected on the amazing experience that we were guided to attend.  Swami spoke about the rare invitation that we had received.  It’s not common to attend a private ceremony such as this one at a Mat.  It was a true blessing to witness such a ceremony and a privilege to present everyone’s prayers at the Homa.