6. Gurudeva Chitra Puja Sadhana
Attend Gurudeva’s chitra puja in Kadavul Temple. During the final arati, strive to feel Gurudeva’s presence in the room blessing you. After a guru’s mahasamadhi (passing), he or she is honored each month on the nakshatra day of the maha samadhi. The nakshatra for Gurudeva’s mahasamadhi is chitra. §
Quote from Gurudeva§
Darshana (more popularly darshan) is a Sanskrit word meaning “vision, seeing or perception. But in its mystical usage, it is more than that. Darshan is also the feeling of the emotions of a holy person, the intellect, the spiritual qualities that he has attained and, most importantly, the sakti, the power, that has changed him and is there constantly to change others.§
Supplementary Reading§
Dancing with Śiva, Lexicon§
Padapuja is the ceremonial worship of the guru’s sandals or holy feet, often through ablution with precious substances and offering of fruit and flowers. After the ceremony, the water of the bath, the fruit and other precious substances are partaken of as prasada by the devotees. §
Sri paduka refers to the sandals of the preceptor, the traditional icon of the guru, representing his venerable feet and worshiped as the source of grace.§
The feet of God, a God, satguru or any holy person, often represented by sacred sandals, called sri paduka in Sanskrit and tiruvadi in Tamil. The feet of a divine one are considered especially precious as they represent the point of contact of the Divine and the physical, and are thus revered as the source of grace. The guru’s sandals or his feet are the object of worship on his jayanti (birthday), on Guru Purnima and other special occasions.§
Additional Resources §
Dancing with Śiva, Maṇḍala 31: Kailasa Parampara§
Merging with Śiva, Chapter 44: Darshan, Grace of the Guru§
