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Thanjavur’s great temple
This morning on the way to the heart of the Chetinad region we stopped in Thanjavur to visit the temple built by the great south Indian king Raja Raja Chola.
The temple’s name is Brihadeeswarar and is an architectural marvel. The 216 feet (66m) tower with its monolithic 80 ton dome is spectacular. The temple is dedicated to god Siva in the form of a lingam which represents god in the aspect of timeless, formless and spaceless known as Parasiva in Sanskrit. The Chola kings were great temple builders and this temple is the crowning example of Chola architecture.
Rishis Patanjali and Vyaghrapada worship God Siva in the form of Nataraja, the Divine Dancer.
I can’t concentrate!
A question came in to me on email asking for some insights on concentration. “I can’t concentrate. Please help.” Here are some of my thoughts on concentration. Most people can’t concentrate because they have not been taught how to concentrate and they do not practice the a...
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Visiting the home of a Sari Weaver
After our ceremony at the Airateswar Temple in the village of Darasuram we visited one of the local sari weavers. The town is famous for sari weaving and most of these weavers supply the larger stores in the big cities with their stock of saris. We entered a small home to find a loom taking…
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A Deer Friend in Swamimalai
No, it’s not a spelling mistake. I do mean a deer friend. Two years ago we stayed at the Anandham Eco hotel in the village of Swamimalai during one of our spiritual adventures. A day before we had arrived during that trip a baby deer was born on the property. 2 years later we are…
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Inside the sanctum of Chidambaram
Through our close connections with the priests of Chidambaram, we were able to go into parts of the vast temple that are rarely seen by outsiders. From an elevated balcony, we can look directly onto the golden roof that covers the inner sanctum where Shiva Nataraja is worshipped. We were given sp...
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Lunch with a priest’s family
The only way to taste true Tamil cuisine is to be fortunate enough to be invited for lunch with a family. We had that pleasure yesterday when we dined at the home of Kailas Deeksitar, a priest at the spectacular Chidambaram temple. We were greeted by his wife, son and daughter. Both sons also ser...
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