2014 Mahasamadhi Final Celebrations

Above are photos from our final day of Gurudeva's 13th Mahasamadhi celebration.

The day began with a short padapuja, followed by a final satsang with Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami, at which he presented each pilgrim with a copy of our new Guru Chronicles Audio Book USB drive. The afternoon began with an elaborate havana in kadavul performed by Kumar Gurukkal, and culminated with a final puja to Gurudeva's black-granite tiruvadi. The whole afternoon event lasted about four hours.

From Dancing With Siva:
The satguru is like the sun. He is just there, radiating this very pure energy like the sun evaporates water. The satguru hardly does anything at all. It is the seeker who opens himself to the great accumulated power of darshan which the guru inherited from his guru and his guru's guru, as well as the natural darshan he unfolded from within himself through his evolution and practices of sadhana and tapas. It's all up to the aspirant at first. A satguru doesn't do a thing. The guru can amuse himself externally with anything. It does not make any difference in his darshan when he is at a certain point in his unfoldment. If you are around him long enough, and if you are honest with yourself and persistent in the tasks he asks you to perform and directions he gives you, psychic seals lift after awhile. But you have to do your part. He does his in an inner way, and as he does, you will feel the psychic seals melt away under his fiery darshan, just like a blowtorch penetrates and transforms the metal it touches.

From the Kularnava Tantra:
Devotion to the Satguru is the one main prescription. Without this, all learning, all austerity, family status and observances are useless. They are only decorations, pleasing to the worldly eye. The sishya who has complete devotion, steady and constant, what has he to worry about? Moksha is in the hollow of his palm. For him who remembers, “My Satguru is Siva Himself who grants Liberation,” fulfillment is not far off. As the steady devotion for the Satguru grows, so grows one’s knowledge. Neither yoga, nor tapas, nor ritual of worship are sufficient for spiritual attainment. Only gurubhakti excels. Service to the guru performed with devotion, according to one’s means, holds the same merit whether offered by the wealthy or the impoverished. Even if you give the whole of your wealth to the guru but without devotion, the fruit will not accrue to you, for indeed devotion is the only cause. The sacred paduka of the guru are the ornament. Remembrance of his name is japa. Carrying out his command is duty. Service to him is worship.

This is a special day and we start it with Ganesha, who was elaborately decorated before the morning padapuja.

Nirvani Nilakanthanatha and Nirvani Tejadevanatha perform the padapuja

Nandi feels the warmth of the rising sun as Gurudeva is felt permeating the atmosphere

Jai Gurudeva!

Everyone then sits for a silent meditation

Bodhinatha gives his final class

He then gifts everyone The Guru Chronicles audio thumbdrive

First to Gurukkal

They were all blessed in the Siva shrine before being gifted

The pilgrims then have a final lunch together

Nandinatha and Sivarathna have been working hard to cook all the needed food for the pilgrims

The afternoon homa begins

Gurukkal performs this lengthly agamic homa with precision and power

a final offering to the flames

The Sivakumbha is placed upon the guru\

s head, to be paraded around the kodimaram'

We then gather inside for the final abhishekam

Vibhuti is abundantly placed on Gurudeva\

s paduka'

with great fanfare, Bodhinatha pours the Sivakumbha

Pancharati

Gurudevas 108 names are chanted by all

Final arati

Jai Gurudeva! Jai Kailasa Parampara! Jai to the Nandinatha Sampradaya!

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