Sri Lanka Travelogue Part 2

Our two monks continue their journey.

We began our second day in Jaffna with a visit to Nallai Aadheenam, located near to Nallur Kandaswamy Temple. Gurudeva first visited the Aadheenam many years ago when the present head of the monastery had just been appointed to this position. He was very happy to see Yoginathaswami and they had a long talk.

Finally, we have arrived home. Here at Columbuturai, Yogaswami lived under an Illupai tree for many years before moving into a small hut where he lived to the end of his earthly life.

This small shrine contains the ashes of Yogaswami. His presence filled the room.

This panorama shows the area where he actually lived, the room on the left, and also the samadhi shrine containing his ashes. The raised tile area in front of the large picture of Yogaswami is where he slept. The small hut that he lived in was replaced by this building only after his Mahasamadhi.

We were surprised to know that Yogaswami kept a set of stone Tiruvadi across the street from the hut in which he lived and which he worshipped daily. Those same Tiruvadi are still there and this small shrine has been built to hold them.

Dohadeva and Nagavathi walk toward the Selva Sannathy Koyil. This is a seaside temple located a bit away from Jaffna. It is know as the Kathirgama of the North and the main sanctum only houses several Vels and a Yantra, no images of the presiding diety, which is Murugan.

Outside of Yogaswami Samadhi Shrine

After visiting the Selva Sannathy Temple, we were taken to this small hall near the temple which is one of six maintained by the temple.

We were taken inside a small shrine where this pile of rice was being blessed. Each day each of the six halls gives free meals three times a day to anyone who comes. As a result, the area is known to be frequented by sadhus who find it easy to do sadhana and to be fed regularly. Today we stopped for lunch and were among the many people that the temple feeds!

This man runs the hall and sees to the feeding. He did not say a single word during the time we were there.

Back to the Kopay Kottam where we are staying. The children at the Kottam were studying when we arrived, then they all cam and sang Nachintanai songs and bhajans for Yoginathaswami. Here is the lighting of the Kuthavilluku before they began. Yoginathaswami also performed aarti to the photo of Gurudeva and to the Tiruvadi in the nearby shrine.

Yoginathaswami gave each child a Rudraksha bead from Kauai Aadheenam and a small packet of vibuthi that had been blessed at Kadavul Temple on Kauai, then we all posed for a group photo.

In the afternoon we went shopping and were amazed at the vibrant robust and energetic nature of downtown Jaffna. There was no sign of the war, either in the physical surroundings or in the attitudes of the people. The area has made an amazing recovery. We stopped by the Sattanatha Sivan Temple but it was closed.

This is the beautiful gopuram at the Sattanatha Sivan Temple, another gopuram that is either new or fully rebuilt within the last year or so.

For dinner on the second day we visited the Tinnan Hotel where the Innersearch will be staying next year. As we pulled into the temple we were greeted by this larger than life bas-relief. The Tinnan is a beautiful new establishment which has just opened. There is still construction in process but much of it is finished.

A five foot tandava poster we discovered. Aum Namah Sivaya.

Nallur Temple during sunset

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