The Journey, on the pathway to The Dhyanalinga

The Parikrama

The parikrama, leading to the Dhyanalinga, communicates a sense of both artistry and spirituality. It comprises a central pathway, which is open to the sky, establishing a visual connection between the entrance and the dome, reinforcing the integrity of the relationship of spaces. The

central pathway is flanked on either side by covered aisles.

  

Patanjali

As one enters the parikrama, on the left is the statue of Pathanjali, the celebrated author of Yoga Sutras, regarded as the father of yogic sciences. The eleven-foot tall statue is deliberately placed in a sunken shrine, thus establishing an immediate relationship between the colossal identity of Pathanjali and the dwarfed viewer at the same level. The statue sculpted in black granite depicts a fusion of snake and man, symbolizing the dual nature of life. It also symbolizes the divine nature of man evolving from his earthbound nature. Hence, the sunken shrine depicts the snake below the earth and the man above it. The snake covering the head of the statue with its hood represents the raising of energies through the seven chakras, thus reflecting the objective of yoga.

Vanashree

  On the right is the Vanashree shrine, the feminine deity of the Dhyanalinga temple and a counterpoint to the Pathanjali shrine. In contrast to Pathanjali's sunken base, the Vanashree shrine is placed at a higher level than the pathway. The Vanashree, made of green granite, is a sculptural relief of a peepal tree. A gold leaf at the center symbolizes warmth and prosperity. The energies of the deity are such that it is especially beneficial for women and children to meditate in the vicinity of the shrine. The traditional Keerthi Mukha, the glorious face, finds place above the shrine of Vanashree.

Six artistically sculptured granite panels cover the aisles, illustrating the stories of six South Indian sages who attained enlightenment. Each panel captures a moment in these extraordinary lives. On the threshold are six images of meditative postures each carved into a triangular form, which indicate the Siddhi State of six spiritual chakras.

Sadhguru Shri Brahma

 1 :: SADHGURU-In my previous life as Sadhguru Shri Bhramha, I was known as Chakreshwara. For those of you from the state of Tamil Nadu, maybe you have heard of this. It means somebody who has complete mastery over all the hundred and fourteen chakras. It is because of that mastery that now we can have people blowing up everywhere like explosions. He was known as Chakreshwara because he exhibited certain qualities of his total mastery over the chakras. A phenomenally rare thing he did was, when he left his body, he left through all the seven chakras. Generally, when yogis leave their body, they leave through one particular chakra - whichever they have particular mastery over, through that they leave. Otherwise, depending upon their tendencies, they leave accordingly, but Sadhguru left his body through all the seven chakras. As a preparation for the consecration of the Dhyanalinga, he left his body through all the seven chakras.(Now the Birth of Isha foundation)

Sadashiva Brahmendra

2 :: Sadhashiva Brahmendra , the bodiless yogi, Sadashiva Brahmendra, cast a spell on the onlooker.
Sadashiva was a nirkaya, he had no sense of the body. And because he had no sense of the body, he did not think about wearing clothes, he just walked naked. He happened to walk into the king's garden while the king was relaxing with his queens. The king became angry, "Who is this fool walking naked in front of my wives?" He sent his soldiers to find out who he was. The soldiers called Sadashiva Brahmendra from behind, but he didn't turn back, he just kept on walking. The soldiers became angry and took out a sword and chopped off his right arm, but he still kept walking. He did not even break a stride. Now the soldiers were terrified, "This is not an ordinary man. We chopped off his arm and he keeps walking." So the king, soldiers and everyone else went and fell at his feet, and brought him back to the garden. Sadashiva Brahmendra lived there for the rest of his life. Even today, this place is preserved in a certain way.

Meiporul Nayanar

3 :: Meiporul Nayanar, a famous king who showed mercy on the murderer is also portrayed. carved as a staunch Saivite.

Akka Mahadevi

4 :: Akka Mahadevi,A moving scene of Akka Mahadevi in her love and dispassion, shedding everything, including her clothes as demanded by the king and moving into a sense of bodilessness.

Sadhguru:

Akka Mahadevi was a devotee of Shiva. Right from childhood she had completely given herself to Shiva and she looked upon him as her husband. A king saw her one day and she was so beautiful that he wanted to marry her. Akka refused but then the king threatened her, “If you don’t marry me, I will kill your parents.” So, she married the man but she kept him at a physical distance. He tried to woo her but she kept saying, “I am not married to you. I married Shiva long ago. He visits me and I am with him. I cannot be with you.”

This was too much for the king to take and one day he decided, “What is the point of having a wife like this? How does one live with a wife who is married to some unseen man, somewhere?” There was no formal divorce in those days and he was just distraught. He did not know what to do. So he brought her to his court and asked the court to decide. When the court asked her, she kept talking about her husband elsewhere. This was not hallucinatory, it was 100% real for her. Your imagination, if it is empowered by life energies, it becomes reality, 100%.

The king got angry because in front of all these people, his wife was claiming that her husband was elsewhere. 800 years ago, socially it was not a simple thing to take for a king. So in great anger, he said, “If you are already married to somebody, what are you doing with me? Everything that you wear, the jewels, the clothes – everything is mine. Leave them here and go.” Those days in India, there was no way a woman even thought of leaving her husband’s house at all. But in the full assembly of the court, Akka Mahadevi – a young woman of 18 years – just dropped all her clothes and left. She refused to wear clothes from that day onwards.

Akka Mahadevi wrote hundreds of beautiful poems about Shiva and her devotion. Her devotion was such that every day she begged him, “Shiva let no food come my way. Let my body also express the longing and anguish that I am going through to become part of you. If I eat, my body will be satisfied. My body will not know what I am feeling. So let no food come towards me. If food does come into my hands, let it fall down in the mud before I put it into my mouth. If it falls in the mud, the fool that I am, before I pick it up, let a dog come and take it away.” This was her daily prayer.

Devotees are a completely different kind of people. They just have one foot in this world. Their ways of living and the power with which they exist is completely other-worldly.

Source Link :  http://blog.ishafoundation.org/yoga-meditation/history-of-yoga/im-married-to-shiva/

 

Poosalar

5 :: Poosalar, a great Siva devotee who built a temple for him in his heart, A miraculous event where his inner temple found recognition

Kannappa Nayanar

6 :: Kannappa Nayanar, considered to be the first eye donor. He offers his own eyes to Shiva.

  The form of a yogi prostrating before the Dhyanalinga suggests the sense of surrender that is required to enter the Dhyanalinga space.

The parikrama ends at a vaulted tunnel that leads to the dome of the Dhyanalinga. Carved on the threshold of the entrance are two snakes with a single raised hood, indicating the non-dual nature of the Dhyanalinga. Over the vault is a seven-hooded monolithic snake, symbolizing the seven dimensions of life reaching the peak of consciousness.

Thanks for giving your precious time to read and explore about this wonderfull place and its aspects.PRANAM