VDOO Travelogue

Suchindram!! Namaskar!! I would like to introduce one more gem for spiritual seekers, Thanumalayan Temple, Its a huge temple located in a  town called " Suchindram' in Kanyakumari district. Before visiting this temple, I was not much aware of its existence , I think its because of my good deeds in past life, I was given this surprise by divine. We were driving pass kanyakumari towards trivandrum, where the chauffeur surprisingly connected us and told that we are going towards Suchindram temple. I was not much aware of where we all are heading too, I thought it might be one of those rural temples in smaller villages. But, once I entered in the vicinity of Suchindram, I got to know that something bigger is going to happen. Temple is around 17 kms from kanyakumari and 8 kms from Nagercoil city. The first thing I noticed was the two big chariots in wooden carvings at the entrance of the temple, huge, fantastic art work and big wheels. Gradually, moving tow...

Bhagavathy Amman!! "Amman" means divine mother which is the source of energy for all of us. She is within all of us, her forms might be different, from Kali to Durga to Mahalaxmi to Linga bhairavi but she is everywhere, from small villages to large cities, from different regions to different communities. Remember, all are manifestation of single source, of that boundless energy which gives us our existence. Every goddess in our country is worshipped in different ways and in different forms. Kali Pooja has its particular rituals while Laxmi /Durga pooja are worshipped in other ways. If Shiv is the soul , then parvati is the energy, if vishnu is the protector then laxmi is the giver, if mahakal is the lord of kal ( time), mahakali is the bond destroyer!! Shiv Shakti/Vishnu laxmi are the union which makes us thrive through this universe. For any one of us, you can feel the difference in energies in different temples. If you visit any Devi temple, the vibrancy a...

Rameswaram!! The word  "Rameswaram"  itself is a combination of  two tatavas Ram with Eshwar! Eshwar means shiv, your utlimate consciousness. According to scriptures, with the advise of sages, seventh avatar of Lord vishnu  King Rama along with Lakshmana and his wife sita formed a Linga at the seashore for praying to the lord shiva asking him to forgive for his act of killing Brahmin king ( Brahmanhatya). King Ravana was not only a Brahmin as per his origin, he was true scholar,learnt and super devotee of Lord Shiva. Acts performed for righteous thing are never wrong, but then too praying to divine for forgiveness is the most superior virtue of any human, thats why king Rama is called " Purshottam" ( superior man) If you see, most of us feels that Ramayana is a mythology, but if you see the evidences across India and Srilanka no one can deny the facts and existence of entire Ramayana. Every incidence in Ramayan ends up teaching you the way of life. Ra...

Heavy rains! It was pouring when I got down from my Rickshaw at the front of Adiyogi statue! The statue is basically at the other end of the Isha foundation entrance! But trust me just looking at the  Adiyogi , you will start feeling that you are in some different world . This was my fifth visit to Isha and the welcome itself was mind boggling! The heavy rains, darkness everywhere ( It was an Amavasya - 2nd July 2019) and I was lucky enough to arrive at this place on this day! This was my first visit without my family to Isha foundation.! I always believe that if you want to explore the truth of life you have to travel alone, keeping aside all your luxuries and desires, keeping aside all your achievements and gains! Just be a human , simple human and surrender yourself to divine grace. So as it happens I walked through Adiyogi statue in heavy rains and in dark night! Completely wet and then finally entered in the Isha ashram premises! Got to know one of the amazing thing tha...

    Credit: Isha Foundation  Before arriving in Kashi, I had been doing lot of readings on the scriptures giving detailed information on the oldest cities of the earth. Kashi is an abode of lord Shiva who still resides in the form of Kashi Vishwanath! Its a place where liberation is for sure for the virtuous beings. Many bodies ( I won’t say human , as human has to be a conscious being ) come to Kashi before they die for liberation,  but liberation won’t be possible before you shed your desires and That's the hardest truth..                                          Credit: Isha Foundation I wont get into where all we stayed and what we did! This blog is particularly on the spiritual experiences I gained during our Kashi visit. If you see Kashi is more like a Yantra ( To keep it simple yantra ( machine) can be anything from a   place to...

It was the day of leaving Siem Reap, the city of Angkor! The plan was to travel to Phnom Penh the capital of Cambodia , 6 hours drive and on the way visiting Sambor Prei Kuk Temples! Frankly, the name didn't excited me much! But when we arrived, it turned out to be one of the archaeological wonders for me!!  Sambor Prei Kuk is an archaeological site in Cambodia located in Kampong Thom Province,30 km  north of Kampong Thom,the provincial capital, 176 km  east of Angkor and 206 km north of Phnom Penh. The now ruined complex dates back to the Pre- Angkorian Chenla Kingdom ( late 6th century), established by king Isanavarman I as central royal sanctuary and capital known then as Isanapura .  In 2017, Sambor Prei Kuk was declared as UNESCO World Heritage site. The whole compound is made of three clusters classified as a group C for central, N for north and S for south. They are enclosed in a double walled encircling 1000 acre in which there we...

It was an early morning drive, we stayed in shirdi the day before and decided to visit Sakori first, a small village near shirdi at around 5 km drive. As we all know ' Saibaba's Shirdi has become a tourist destination for travelers, people from all part of the world travel to shirdi to seek baba's blessings. Baba itself was fakir throughout his lifetime and we have made him sit on golden throne, its all baba's leela anyways! Shirdi is no more a town now,its is city in itself with all luxury of the world at the door step. Trust me Baba needs your attention and love, nothing else!! With context to Shirdi, Sakori is still a small village with less people travelling to that blessed place. People coming to shirdi might not even know where sakori is blessed. Upasni Maharaj was disciple of Saibaba who resided at this place for lifetime and did his work for society and masses supporting them in spiritual upliftment. Maharaj was one who gave fire to Baba's body! ...