When we joined a new company initial days are like the honeymoon period. As a new joiner, I too enjoyed this period. My day starts by visiting the Shiva temple first and then reaching the office by 11 am.

I roam around the library, cafeteria and especially park beside the office a lot. By evening 6 pm I visit the Kali Amman temple and moves back to the home. My legs will automatically be dragged towards Shiva again, just to say a good night to him before reaching home 😉.

Sometimes I sing songs in his presence. Sometimes I cry, sometimes it’s just silence, I look at him and smile and move on. What to do, it’s a kind of madness for him 😍.

You know, when two people fell in love, they talk very softly because their hearts are very close. There is no distance between them.

“When they love each other more, they exchange even fewer words, they murmur, they whisper, yet they hear each other better. Finally, they may not even whisper, they only look at each other, silence becomes more potent than speech.”

Fierce Friendship

At the entrance of the Shiva temple, there is a very small shrine for Kala bhairava. Its roof is under construction, a small wooden plank is placed temporarily. I usually ignore this shrine and straight away goes to Shiva as I didn’t connect with this fierce form much.

One day it was raining and I observed that Kala bhairava is drenching in the rain as the wooden plank has some wholes. I couldn’t see him like that. I thought to speak with temple officials and fast-track the proper roof construction for him. Days passed but I couldn’t meet any temple officials.

Later I thought to buy a metal roofing sheet but going to market is also postponed multiple times as I’m new to the city. One fine morning when I went to the temple, I again saw him wet and my heart couldn’t take this.

My heart started looking in multiple ways and realized that at least a long polythene cover could help a lot. I immediately ran into my room and grabbed my rucksack cover.

I wrapped the wooden plank with this cover and kept it back as a roof. I also kept some stones on top of it to prevent wind pulls. I’m so happy for taking this little step rather than just thinking about the permanent solution.

After a few days when I went to the temple, it’s raining and I’m curiously looked at Kala bhairava. Yeyyy, he is not drenching in rain now. I felt so proud as an Engineer for the first time in my life 😊.

From that moment I felt he is my friend, he will look at me gracefully than the original fierce form. I used to visit him first whenever I went to this temple afterward and he became so close to me than the main deity of Shiva 😅.

Later on, whenever I’m afraid of anything I used to hold his feet in my heart. When the most fearsome one is on your side who can fear you, even death can not make you fear anymore.

A few months later, temple officials constructed the proper concrete roof. Out of my happiness, I blessed the workers and everyone who supported this construction. I heard an inner voice later like,

“If I can bless someone for helping him, then Shiva himself would bless me a lot when I did this little selfless act 😇.”

That feeling is really priceless. It’s a kind of bliss ❤️.

After an exciting weekend trip, I’m back to Hyderabad. I already had a job offer here and planned everything to join quickly. But Chennai offer was quite unexpected.

Now I have to make a decision. Most of my friends suggested relocating to Chennai is not a good idea. So logically my mind starts avoiding Chennai but heart is altogether different. It starts asking why not?

It’s craving for Elliot’s beach and the mystical experiences. Well, this is also an opportunity for exploring a new culture and new temples.

So, just to convince my mind I decided to stay in Chennai for few months and then moving back to Hyderabad either by transfer or by resign 😉.

Second FLIGHT ✈️

On the day of Vijaya Dashami — October 8th, I came to Chennai. The very first thing I did here is planting 100 trees 🌳 as a token of gratitude for everything happened.

I stayed in a hotel and started searching for a hostel. After visiting many, I shortlisted one and given the advance. An interesting thing happened later. One of the house renting broker whom I reached for finding a decent hostel called me. He told “mani, I checked your facebook profile and really impressed with the volunteering works you are doing”.

He suggested me to stay as a paying guest in his close friend’s family. I like this idea because it’s a home and I will be a guest 😜. Immediately I took the address and started walking for a visit.

I’m about to reach the house and it started raining. So I quickly walked into an adjacent temple for shelter. Guess who is there? Yes, it’s Shiva 😍.

Wind is breezing, rain is drizzling. My heart & breath stops for a while when I saw him ❤

That’s all, my heart decided to stay here even before visiting the house. Because I can see him nearby and be in his presence.

My mind started poking about the non-refundable advance given to the hostel. This kind of conflict between mind and heart will always be there.

I simply followed my heart and became a guest in their home. Even today they treat me like their own family member 😊.

When we follow our heart, we are aspiring for something deeply fulfilling and meaningful in our lives.

At the Greatest Cremation Grounds

Being in Chennai and not visiting any of the beaches will be a sin. As my weekend trip is about to over in a day, I want to visit nearby Elliot’s beach. Witnessing the sunrise or sunsets will be a pleasant experience.

There lies an Ashtalakshmi temple on this shorelines. I fascinated to witness both. This temple was built when Shri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swami had wished for it. He was affectionately called as “The Walking God”. The Divinity that walked on earth in the 20th century 😇.

Tears of Ecstasy

29th September: I reached the beach early morning and enjoyed the sunrise. Then I went to the Ashtalakshmi temple. Here the eight forms of goddess Lakshmi are present in four levels in nine separate sanctums. View from the third floor is spectacular. The roaring of tides and the cool breeze of the ocean will make anyone utterly pleasant.

I sat there in front of Vidyalakshmi (associated with learning & wisdom) in a meditative posture and started singing Sri Rajarajeshwari ashtakam. The environment is so supportive, I’m consciously aware that I’m losing my senses and slipping into the transcendence state of meditation. My eyes remain closed and continue to sing in a voice trembling with emotion.

Someone came to me, I don’t know what divinity he has found by seeing me like that. He gently blessed in my forehead. I only felt the sensation of his fingertips on my forehead. For a while, I felt he is Shiva himself. Tears of ecstasy had washed my cheeks 😭.

I couldn’t open my eyes until I completed the Rajarajeshwari Ashtakam. No one is around by the time I open my eyes. I simply bow down to Devi and offered my pranams 🙏.

You might be wonder, because I am at Lakshmi temple and singing Devi’s chant then how come Shiva would appear? Well, Devotion is like that. No matter where and what one is doing, the heart of a devotee always hankers the lotus feet of his chosen God 🤗.

As I promised you before, let me reveal my engagement with Shiva.

Kashi

It was June 2014, I’m like any other teenager and just accompanying my mother to visit Varanasi. Varanasi or Kashi is also known as Maha-Smashana or the greatest cremation grounds. This is because the fire used to light the pyre is never allowed to go out. There will be at least one dead body burning in the banks of Ganga. This city humbles anyone by bringing the balance of Life and Death face to face.

I neither have any materialistic wishes nor a strong devotion for shiva by that time. I went to Kashi Vishwanath temple, one of the 12 Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva. When I saw him, he is radiating in pitch black. Black generally absorbs everything, here he absorbs everything of me 😍. He became my world from first sight itself. My soul filled with love and devotion.

Purpose of my eyes are fulfilled by seeing You
Purpose of my hands are fulfilled by touching You
Purpose of my legs are fulfilled by walking towards You
Purpose of my life is fulfilled by being in presence of You 🙇‍♂️

I heard the above verse inside me as if someone had implanted a radio there.

The two weeks I spent in Kashi are the most valuable days in my Life.

Even today for most people, their only dream is to go to Kashi. People believe that whoever enters the city will break the cycle of rebirth and attain salvation for sure because it was such a powerful space. Above all, the heart of the city was Vishwanath Temple 🖤

Much later when I thought of my crush Krishna, I came to know that

शिवस्य हृदयं विष्णुं विष्णोश्च हृदयं शिवः |

Vishnu is Shiva’s heart and vice versa. It’s such a wonderful feeling that nature offered me this as an experience.

My crush is the heart of my partner 😜

Let’s come back to Chennai, after visiting the Ashtalakshmi temple I came back and gave the send-offs to all my friends in my own way.
You are the first one I said hi & the last one I said bye in Chennai 😉.

I bow down to all the forces and people for dragging me here 🙇‍♂️ — signing off

In case, if you miss you miss my previous journey have a look here 😊.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ||

Of Love Stories

I went to the nearby Krishnan tennis center and enjoyed the game for a while. Then I moved back to my friend's flat. Even though I got an amazing offer from the company I thought I won’t join here. Chennai is so hot 😜

28th September: I want to visit Mahabalipuram but I woke up late. Because of time constraints I dropped the plan. My friend suggested ISKCON Temple. Lord Krishna is my teenage crush 😍, later Shiva occupied my heart mystically. I thought I could meet my Love affair and skip dinner with the varieties of prasadam there.

It’s quite common in villages that most of the children will go to the temple, just to eat tasty prasadam :-)

I reached the temple by the time of twilight. It’s a gorgeous temple at Sholinganallur. The deities of Radha-Krishna are so cute & mesmerizing. Radha represents the “true feeling of Love & Devotion towards Krishna”, which made her even more special than the wives of Lord Krishna.

Marriage may not be the destination of every love story, this is explained well by Radha-Krishna.

In my teenage, I am an ardent devotee of Krishna. It doesn’t matter which temple I go, I just utter the names of Krishna. Be it a Shiva temple or Devi temple, I couldn’t chant that deity names even after trying consciously. It’s a kind of madness for Krishna. Credits to Bhagavatam 🙏.

I am so happy with his presence once again. Then I went to the temple gifts shop. I purchased some stickers, key chains and a drawing book. They all have awesome pictures of little Krishna. Later I gifted all of them to my friends.

When we constantly see the most beautiful things outside, Beautiful things will happen within. Be it our thoughts, emotions, etc., It’s the only reason I purchased these gifts.

It’s really a memorable evening 🤗.

I hope you will be curious about how Shiva stole my heart from Krishna, I will reveal it in the upcoming month of Karthika, stay tuned!

In case, if you miss you miss my previous journey have a look here 😊.

सर्वम श्री कृष्ण अर्पण अस्तु 🙇

Kali becomes Kala

My journey continues to my friends flat, I reached by 12:30 am. I’m seeing these passionate geeks after a long time. They are still working and fixing some production bugs 👨🏻‍💻 for the world’s best Cloud company. Officially I came to Chennai for an interview with the same company. But for me, I’m here just to refresh and visit nearby temples on the weekend 😜.

A Graceful Day

27th September: My interview is at 10 am. I don’t have any expectation & didn’t prepare for the interview. My friend surprised by looking at my dress, it’s neither formal nor ironed. He doesn’t want me to go like that, so he quickly ironed it 😇.

Along with my junior, I started towards the office. I see a lot of temples on the way for every 500 meters. I thought if the interview is over quickly, I can spend the rest of the day with temples.I am so happy because people want to live in Consecrated Spaces that’s why these many temples.

My keen interest in temples amazed my junior. He asked, if someone comes to a new place, they will ask about restaurants, tourist places etc., but you are asking about all the nearby temples. I just laughed for his innocence.

We both reached office in time. My first round of interview starts around at 10:15 am. Interestingly my interviewer has no knowledge with the technologies I worked before. So when he asks questions, I tried to guess the answer could be like this, like that etc.,. After the first round, HR told: “You are neither good nor bad” 😅. They are in confusion whether to send me for the second round or not. Meanwhile, I’m roaming in the office and looked outside through glasses. I found one more temple very adjacent to the office 😍.

Maybe because I came a long way from Hyderabad, HR confirms me for the second round. It’s purely because of grace, this time interviewer asked questions on programming & I know answers only for them because of previous interviews experience. So I qualified for the last round and again it’s the shower of Grace like before round 😇.

To my surprise, I qualified all the rounds and got an amazing offer. This day is mine.😉

Without any delay, I came out and went to the nearby Kali Amman Temple. The devotion of Tamil people hits me so hard, I see myself as a little speck in front of them 🙏. When I saw Navagraha idols in the entrance, I thought Shiva will also be there but I found only Ganesha, Kartikeya, Ayyappa and mother Kali.

I’m little disappointed for not having darshan of Shiva 🙃. This small poem by Mahakavi Kalidas comes to my mind

वागर्थाविव सम्पृक्तौ वागर्थ प्रतिपत्तये ।

जगतः पितरौ वन्दे पार्वतीपरमेश्वरौ ॥

It means Siva and Shakti are Inseparable like speech and meaning. So what Devi is, Shiva is also.

With this new perception, I again went for darshan of Kali.
Kali starts appearing like Kala to me. Kala Bhairava is the fierce manifestation of Shiva. Now the complete happiness 🥰.

It was much later only, I came to know that, Kali is the feminine form of Kala. My experience is not merely an imagination, it’s Truth.

Yes, I experienced the Truth.

Then I headed towards the Qualcomm & The journey continues, stay tuned!

In case, if you miss you miss my previous journey have a look here 😊.

“Of many journeys, we plan few…Nature plans few for us”.

I want to share my experiences in Chennai. Even though I lived a short span of time here, I have memories for a lifetime. I visited ancient temples in Tamil Nadu every weekend, each temple has filled me with the tears of ecstasy 😭🙏. I have many stories to tell, please listen with your heart along with mind. If you are a devotee you will enjoy my stories with Shiva.

Without any delay let’s start with an interesting beginning journey.

FIRST FLIGHT 🛫

Ding-Ding…! It’s 26th September 2019, I’m going for my first flight journey (SpiceJet SG-732) Hyderabad to Chennai. Well, Going above the clouds is not the first time, when we trekked the sacred Velliangiri Mountains — The Kailash of the South, clouds are under our feet 😇. There is another reason for my excitement.

It’s 5 pm in the evening, I packed my rucksack and started to the airport. Being first time & alone, I don’t know anything of airport etiquette, I just observed everyone out there with lots of curiosity and finally got my boarding pass and checked in all my baggage.

I have two hours, my flight is at 8:45 pm. I became like a CID detective meanwhile. I roamed every nook and corner of airport complex and overwhelmed with it’s ambience. I experienced different types of lounge areas & even surprised by very high costs of food items.

My eyes are drawn towards a small book store and it’s buy one get one offer. One book attracts me immediately, it’s Sadhguru, More Than a Life. I picked another free book SITA, An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana.

Finally, I stepped into the flight, it’s a window seat beside the wing. Flight takes off and yeyy i’m flying 🤘. The view is so beautiful in the night, just like we see in google maps satellite view. It seems time flies so fast, by 9:45 pm I am in Chennai.

The moment I stepped out the flight, pupil of my eyes are expanded and a smile started coming from the heart…Yes there is a being for welcoming me, it’s a statue of Nataraja 😍 . He stood exactly in between runway and the entrance of airport complex. I just overwhelmed by his presence.

I took few selfies with him and started towards collecting the baggage. He is there again, a very big lovely statue of Nataraja 🤗 in the centre of the airport complex.

I came out of the airport and booked a cab at 10 pm. After waiting for 40 mins. cab reached the airport but driver cancelled the ride 😟. Oh no! I tried another booking, it took 30 mins to reach airport but cancelled by driver again. I waited here more time than the actual flight journey 😅. Even though it’s 11:15 pm, i am neither hungry nor sleepy…maybe because of the released dopamine when i saw the Shiva 🙈.

So finally I approached a airport cab and started towards my friends flat. I must thank the driver for choosing that route, I am looking at google maps and found one of my best friend is staying in that route. She is not aware of my journey. One of the main reason I came to Chennai is to wish a happy birthday on 27th to her. Now the date is anyway going to change in half an hour, shall I go and wish surprisingly ? asked my inner voice. In the last few years, I stopped wishing anyone on the mid-night because it’s devil’s time 👻. A quote pop’s up to my mind, said by my another best friend.

Some moments will become memorable naturally…some we have to create consciously such that they will become memories for Life.

I thought for a while, for sure moments like this will never happen again. So my cab stopped at her home 🏠. After a long time, it’s a small surprise celebration 🥳 🎂

The journey continues… stay tuned!

#ChennaiDiaries