Sri Lanka - Part 1

Sannyasin Yoginathaswami and Yogi Adinatha were joined by long time members of Saiva Siddhanta Church, Dohadeva and Nagavati Sanmugam for a five day pilgrimage to the home of our Parampara, the Jaffna District of Sri Lanka.

Jaffna is a peninsula separated from the rest of the island nation by a tiny strip of land called Elephant Pass, and it is here that we begin our tale. There is a tree at elephant pass which has a gnarled root resembling Ganesha. A tiny temple has been built around it and the root is considered a Ganesha murthi. Camphor is burned continuously and tradition has it that this worship has been consistent for nearly 1000 years. It is traditional that anyone entering the Jaffna peninsula by road stop at the Elephant Pass Temple. Gurudeva stopped at this temple when he was first brought to Jaffna by Kandiah Chettiar about 70 years ago, and it is only fitting that we stopped to worship as well.

We entered Jaffna late at night and were up early the next morning to begin a whirlwind tour of temples and other sites throughout the area. It was hard to imagine we packed so much into one day.

We are being hosted at the Kopay Kottam, a children's school run by long time members Rishi Thondunatha and his mother Sivaloshiani. A small group of children waited hours for our arrival so that they could sing for us and get the blessings of Yoginathaswami.

The next day we are up bright and early to begin our pilgrimage. Without having planned it, our pilgrimage has begun on the full moon day of May, sacred to Lord Murugan and the day that Gurudeva was initiated by Yogaswami.

After almost 24 hours of nonstop travel, Sannyasin Yoginathaswami and Yogi Adinatha were met by Dohadeva and Nagavati Sanmugam of Singapore. Two of Gurudeva\

s earliest devotees the have been dynamic and staunch supporters over the years. They are joining Swami And Yogi on their pilgrimage to the homeland of our parampara, Sri Lanka.'

Arriving in Kuala Lumpur after long hours of travel, Sannyasin Yoginathaswami and Yogi Adinatha were met at the gate by Kumar, an employee of Nagarajan Pillay of Vancouver. As if they had their own personal genie they were whisked through the airport smoothly and quickly without a break. It is a great boon to have such a cheerful and capable person there to help with the challenges of travel.

Swami and yogi have arrived in Colombo and on their way to Jaffna.

Ganesha temple at Elephant Pass

We begin our pilgrimage at a Gurudeva Tiruvadi shrine at the Kopay Kottam. Our hostess is Sivaloshiani

Arati at the Kopay Kottam

The famed Nallur Kandaswamy Temple where Yogaswami first met his guru, Chellapaswahmi. With us is Arumuganathaswami Thirumurugan, our host for the day.

The Theradi at Nallur which houses the temple chariot. Chellapaswami was known to frequent the steps pictured here.

This alley holds the small Samadhi shrine where Chellapaswami made his transition from this earthly plane.

Arati at the small Pasupatheeswara shrine which was started by Girudeva.

Today was the Mahotsava, festival, at the Kumbhalavalai Pillaiyar Temple (far left) during which the huge temple chariots are brought out and a paraded around the temple.

Devotees line up along the giant ropes that are used to pull the chariot. Before the chariot began to move, 1008 coconuts were smashed to clear the inner forces and a long line of devotees were preparing to roll in the hot sand behind the chariots as a special sadhana to seek the blessings of Lord Ganesha.

Competition was fierce but Yoginathaswami and Dohadeva were able to squeeze in to help pull the chariot.

The Sivathondan Society was created by Yogaswami and he stayed in this small room during some of the last days of his life. These Tiruvadi are worshipped daily.

Yogaswami\

s bed and wheelchair'

The Durgadevi Temple at Tellappalai

We expected to see some evidence of the recent Sri Lanka civil war, but were greeted in Jaffna by a vibrant and bustling culture. One of the most evident signs of this was the large amount of new constructions on the temples. This is a new gopuram at the Durgadevi temple.

These girls are from an orphanage run by the Durgadevi Temple. They sang beautiful Devaram and Yogaswami songs for nearly half an hour.

On to the Naguleswaram Temple at Keeramalai and another beautiful gopuram under construction.

A small building adjacent to the Keerimalai Temple. The banners on the wall tell of an elders home and school which we visited later in the day.

Inside the Madam there is a small shrine for Lord Siva and next to it we found an old friend, this small murthi of Yogaswami.

Many years ago, Gurudeva had two murthis of Yogaswami cast in bronze then gold plated. One stayed in our Guru Peedam on Kauai, where it remains to today, and the other was sent on a journey around the world to Jaffna. It would go to the home of one devotee, or to a temple where it would be worshipped for a time, then sent on to another temple or home. On the wall behind the shrine is a map of its journey. It finally has come to rest here in Keerimalai.

Yoginathaswami performs arati to the Siva shrine where we found the Yogaswami Murthi.

Another gopuram, this one being repaired. The ancient Sri Kanthaswamy temple at Maviddapuram was heavily damaged during the war and is undergoing major reconstruction. Three generations of temple priests at this temple fondly remembered Gurudeva\

s many visits to the temple and to their home.'

Our last stop for the day was the Sivapoomi Elders home where Yoginathaswami gave vibuthi to the many elders, much to their joy, then we had dinner. It was a touching end to a long and inspiring day. This is only one of the many buildings which are part of the home and which have been built through donations from many sources around the world. Hindu Heritage Endowment also has an endowment for this facility. We will see you once again tomorrow as we continue our adventures!

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