God Does Not Prevent Anyone from His Darshan
— Akhand Jyoti
After having darshan of Setu Madhav, Acharyaji came to Madhav Teerth. It is Rameswaram's specialty that there are arrangements for taking a bath, doing achaman, etc., at 22 different kundas (small ponds) around the temple. Pilgrims take bath in all teerths. There are facilities using which people carry a rope and a bucket. They take water from all teerths and pour it on the head and the entire body. There are two teerths outside the temple. After darshan and maarjan at all these places, Acharyaji reached the 'Sabha Mandap'. To the north of Sabha Mandap is the temple of Viswanath where the Shivling brought by Hanuman is installed — hence the name Hanumadeeswar is given to the deity.
It is a well-known story that Lord Ram decided to install a Shivling and worship it on his way back from Lanka. To fulfill this resolve, it was decided to get the Shiva-idol from Kailash. There was some delay in getting the idol from Kailash. It was close to dawn. The auspicious time for worship was approaching. Sita prepared an idol of Shiva out of sand so that the auspicious time could not be missed. With this, the worship and rituals commenced. Just then, Hanuman reached there from Kailash with the idol. That idol was kept in one place until the rest of the rituals were completed. Pran Pratishtha (consecration ceremony) was done for the idol also. This idol is popularly known as Viswanath or Hanumadeeswar Mahadev. People believe that the worship at Rameswaram temple is not fruitful without having the darshan of Hanumadeeswar.
After coming out of the Viswanath temple, Acharyaji proceeded towards the main temple. It is believed that only the holy water of Ganges brought from the Himalayas (preferably Gangotri) is offered to the deity at Rameswaram. Also, no individual can touch the Shivling and offer holy water. The water was to be given to the priest who in turn would offer it to the idol.
The Leper at the Temple Gate
A leper was moving outside the temple. He wanted to go into the temple, but some people were preventing him. Acharyaji did not like this and wanted to intervene. But Jwaladutt prevented him saying that if the people recognized him, it might lead to a new hindrance for the yagya. Acharyaji told Jwaladutt, "Don't worry. I am not afraid of being recognized. Even if I am recognized, it does not matter. Why is a man being refused admission into a temple, when bears and monkeys participated in the pran pratishtha of the Lord? Why would God not love any of His children now?"
Acharyaji went to the volunteers who were stopping the leper and said, "Brother, why are you stopping him? If these people are prevented from entering the abode of God, where else will they find refuge?"
One of the volunteers replied, "Leprosy is a punishment for one's sinful deeds. This is also a contagious disease. We are stopping him so that others are not endangered by the risk of catching this disease."
"My answer to your first argument is that if God himself wanted to stop him, he would not have created the urge within the leper to have darshan. Secondly, who knows if God himself has come in this form? You too would have heard of the story of Goswamiji (Tulasidas) wherein a leper had come to listen to Ram-Katha. People assembled there scorned him, but it was Tulsidas who recognized him to be Lord Hanuman. He did not tell this truth to others but prevented the listeners from driving away the leper. When they began to argue, he said — 'The story of Lord Rama redeems people from all sins. Everyone has a right to listen to it. There is no concept of being worthy of it or not.'"
The volunteers listened to this with rapt attention and moved away from the path of the leper. Acharyaji became engrossed in savoring the grandeur and beauty of the temple.
The Sacred Significance of Gangajal at Rameswaram
He asked Jwaladutt, "Why is there a tradition of worshipping the deity with waters of Ganga from Haridwar and Himalayan only? Why are waters from any other place not acceptable?"
Jwaladutt didn't have the answer to this question, and hence he kept quiet. An answer came from behind: "Haridwar is the entrance of Uttarakhand. The entire (Himalayan) region beyond it belongs to Lord Shiva. Ganga originated from the feet of Lord Vishnu and entered the hair locks of Lord Shiva. Haridwar has a beautiful amalgamation of devotion towards Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva. Therefore, the water from the land where the Lila of Lord Shiva begins is used for the abhishek (bathing of the idol) of Trilokinath (Shiva, the supreme protector of the three Lokas)."
The voice sounded familiar. When he turned around, he saw that it was the same leper whom he had supported a while ago! The idol at Rameswaram is ancient. Though the temple is only 350 years old, the idol according to history belongs to Treta Yug — meaning the idol is thousands of years old.
[To Continue]
"I've been fascinated by the idea that evil is the absence of empathy." — John Connolly
Tags: #Rameswaram #pilgrimage #darshan #Lord-Shiva #Hanumadeeswar #Tulsidas #inclusivity #compassion #leprosy #social-justice #Ram-Katha #Ganga #Shivling #teerth #temple #Acharyaji #devotion #divine-grace #Odyssey-of-the-Enlightened