Saturday, Jan 16th, we traveled to the temple town of Tiruvannamalai. My rudimentary understanding that I've gained from guidebooks and friends is that there are three manifestations of the eternal god, Brahman: Braham, the creator, Vishnu, the sustainer, and Shiva, the destoyer. Legend explains it was here in Tiruvannamalai that Shiva's phallic symbol, the lingam, first appeared as a large looming column of fire upon the mountain top of Arunachala. Kim and I joined Aparna and her parents to visit the temple and the local ashram, which is like a Hindi monastery. At the ashram, we found a tree draped with small multicolored pouches, each containing a wish. Aparna's parents were awesome (we see where she gets it) and explained many aspects of Hindi philosophy and religion. We didn't make it to the mountain top, but Kim and I fully plan on returning when there is a full moon, when thousands turn out to make the climb barefoot.
No comments:
Post a Comment