Updates on the construction!!!

Sri Lakshmi Nrsimha Para Brahmane Namaha!
Sri Hanumathe Namaha!
Sri Gurubyo Namaha!

Sincere apologies for the lack of progress updates for the last couple of months. It is not like Rayar has stopped his guidance but owing to a lot of factors beyond our control, have not been able to keep giving updates on the progress.

The construction of Rayar mrithika brindavan near to Kanchipuram has been progressing albeit slowly. Currently, purely by HIS grace, the roofing and construction of the gho-shala, office and store rooms and temple madapalli has been completed. The small video shoot available at the following URL gives us an idea of how these parts looks like currently:

      http://tinyurl.com/85oowr2

The signs of the first planting of banana tree has started sprouting finally has started to happen and the following URL gives an idea of the same:

      http://tinyurl.com/d5fppcr

The next plan is to start the construction of the main temple including the main sanctum sanctorum, artha mandapam and maha mandapam above the current foundation that has been laid out. We plan to start this after around 6-8 weeks by which time our father's abdik would be getting over as well as to get a sufficient corpus collected for this. 

Eagerly looking forward to start the activity by Rayaru's grace at the earliest time that HE has himself chosen.

Please pass along the message to all people whom you think might be interested in participating towards the construction of main sanctum sanctorum.

There are land plots that are available in and around the site in which this brindavanam is coming up for Guru Raghavendrar. The promoter of this land has graciously accepted to donate a proceeds of the sale to the construction activity. This will be a double bonus to all devotees - to make an investment that has great appreciation potential as well as get a mental satisfaction of having contributed towards the construction of this temple for Rayar. Interested people can get in touch with vasan.vs at gmail dot come for further details.

Sarvam Sri Krishnarpanamastu

Rayar needed some flowers from me!

Sri Lakshmi Nrsimha Para Brahmane Namaha! Yesterday, there was a news article that appeared in the newspaper 'THE HINDU' about the construction of the new mrithika brindavana project for Sri Guru Raghavendra: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-fridayreview/article2739611.ece Incidentally, do not think that the material for this article was given anytime recently. It was given a few months back itself - and out of the blue, this was taken up suddenly by the paper and then published yesterday in the printed and online versions. Again, all this should be only Rayar Kripa! Since this has not been coming for some time, I also didn't follow up closely to keep continously checking to see if it has appeared or not in the daily papers. When I was going for the early morning dhanur masa visit of the Rayar mutt, I got a message from my sister stating just that the news item has come out very well - I didn't realize what news item she was talking about and when I called up, there is this news article that has come in the paper. I was very happy that this has come out through Rayar's grace and felt some how confident that the fund flows should start happening to this project enabling it to get completed. After I visited the temple and offered the flowers at the usual place to be made use of by them, I got the theertha and mantrakshathe prasadam from the assistant to the aachar in the mutt. This particular assistant always acknowledges my arrival in the mutt every time I visit by nodding his head at me when he sees me but never talks with me in all the time that I had visited the mutt. Suddenly, he comes behind me and whispers in my ear that since it is dhanur masa, the nirmaalya and alankara happens very early in the morning and said that I can give "4 mozhum" flowers tomorrow morning before around 5.30AM for it to be used in the alankara on the brindavana that day itself. Now since this came from someone who does not talk to me, I took it as a direct order from Guru Rayar itself - through this person. Immediately, I made sure that the flowers were ready for today early morning and went to the temple at around 5:45 AM early morning and gave the flowers - Co-incidentally, as if the assistants were waiting for this to come, at exactly the same time, I went inside the temple, they were taking all the flowers to inside the garbha graha for starting the alankara - For some reason, Rayar passed me a message that he needed some flowers to be given by me, and I was happy that again with HIS grace, I was able to meet the same. Sri Krishnarpanamastu Vasan

Progress in Gho-shala construction!

Sri Lakshmi Nrsimha Para Brahmane Namaha!

Currently, the gho-shala, madapalli, office room portions of the project site is getting constructed. Some of the captured moments are highlighted in the below mentioned picassa web album. These photos also capture the growth of some of the plants on the different corners of the site - Rayaru has decided to make the place ready with the flowers and other items that he would be requiring once he comes and seats himself there! - These small things also give us a tremendous amount of joy!

https://picasaweb.google.com/108088776324596254157/GoshalaConstruction

Please spread the word around to like minded devotees who might be interested in participating in this project.

Sarvam Sri Krishnarpanamastu

A new message from Rayar!!!

Sri Lakshmi Nrsimha Para Brahmane Namaha! At the beginning of this week, I had been to Srirangam to do a gho-dhana since my father's 6 months masik was coming nearer at the end of this week. By HIS grace, the gho dhana went off successfully and the new cow and calf was named as vasuki and ranganayaki respectively in the gho-shala there. Since this was tula maasa and a dip in the cauvery river during this maasa is considered to be very special (more special even than a ganges river in this month), I also had the fortune for this in the early morning before performing the gho-dhana.

Prior to this in the last week, had been to Vijayawada Uttaradi Mutt to donate for a gho-rakshane there on the banks of Krishna river. It is very strongly believed that the gho dhana or gho rakshane on the banks of this river especially for pitrus is highly special. I had gone there to perform this on 03-Nov (Thurs). Coincidentally(!) I didn't know that it was the special gho-ashtami day - in which all the cows in gho-shalas all over are typically done special puja to please all the abhimani devatas inside the cow. It is also widely believed that Sri Krishna had started taking the cows out for the first time on this day. Whether this was a mere coincidence or a divine acceptance of this offering is left to our imaginations - our belief is on the latter option since this is another example that anything offered sincerely is always accepted in manifold times!

Today early morning - maybe around 3:30AM or 4AM - I had a dream. I along with a few others (some of them are relatives and some of them are unknown persons) are travelling a slightly long distance and reaching a place. This place is not something that I had seen earlier but it is of open land where there is a puja that is being done on the ground and also after the puja we are waiting for signing off some papers. After this incident is over, we start back but at that time, I clearly recall that the place is the site where we are currently constructing the rayar brindavanam and I mention to the person standing next to me stating that this place has got so much developed now with a lot of buildings. Right at the time, I see a huge temple with a huge gopuram at the entrance(I am not sure of whether this is because of looking at the huge gopurams of the Srirangam temple just a couple of days back!). After looking at this, we start back from the place - and suddenly I got up and looked at the watch - It was around 4:30AM in the morning and I got up.

I am not a person who gets dreams very often in sleep but when they happen by the grace of Sri Hari, they always are very significant ones. Today being Guruvaar and Pournima, I thought that there should be a deeper significance for this dream. When I had requested for the interpretation of this dream from a gynani and a realized soul, I was told that this was nothing but a message from Rayar that he is going to be more splendorously coming and seating himself on this project site as compared to what ever we are currently envisaging. It was also an indication that the vision of this project has to be more broad based now as far as this project is concerned.

After this sudden announcement and conveyal of the message to us, we are currently awaiting further directions from Rayar on how this vision had to become more broad based and then converted into concrete steps for implementation.

I wish and pray that till the last breath HE gives an opportunity to be ever at HIS service

Sarvam Sri Krishnarpanamastu

Gho dhana in a Rayar mutt!!!

Hare Srinivasa!!!

I Wanted to write this post for some time but could not get down to do it till now. We wanted to perform a Go-dhana in the name of our father before atleast 3 months passed after his demise! As some of the visitors to this blog would be aware, there is a very beautiful and serene Rayar mutt established and run in a place called Hanumantapuram (very close to Chidambaram in TN). There is a famous Sri Lakshmi Narayana temple which is supposed to be a very old temple visited by SriMadwacharya on his way back from Sri Mushnam. This is also the first swarna brindavanam for Rayar was installed and consecrated in the last week of December. You can visit http://hanumanthralaya.in/ for more details on this temple.

We set off on the afternoon at around 1PM on Jul 9th to this place from Chennai since we wanted to do the gho dana on Sunday Jul 10th. On the drive down from Chennai, one of the temple trustees who was accompanying us from Chennai, mentioned that Bhuvanagiri - the birth place of our dear RAYARU is on the way and whether we would like to visit the place as well? If someone gives us sweet to eat, will it be like a sour taste to our tongue? We immediately jumped to this idea and just took a small detour to that place since I had not visited the house that RAYARU was born to save us all in this Kali yuga! When I set foot on that place, there was just a thrilling experience within myself to be in the same place as in which RAYARU was born that it cannot be expressed in words but has to be only felt!!! When we had a good darshan of RAYARU, imagine our surprise when the aachar there mentioned that he has come only that morning from MANTRALAYA and offered us the mantrakshathe - It was like RAYARU blessing us on the event of the GO DHANA saying that HE is going to accept it even before we actually did that the next day. Is there anything greater than this that one can hope for in this world!!

Next day, July 10th, Sunday was the auspicious SWATHI nakshatre - the star in which Sri Lakshmi Narasimha took his avatar to protect his very favorite bhaktha Prahalad - What other day can be more favorable for the same Prahalad (as our GURU RAYARU) to accept the Gho dhana from us? When we planned the trip, we didn't realize that it was going to be SWATHI nakshathre but wanted to do that since it was a weekly holiday on SUNDAY but HE had arranged itself to happen on a very happy auspicious day. After the gho dhana was done, we were treated to a very blissful panchamrutha abhisheka and alankara of RAYAR brindavana there. After having theertha prasadha there, we started back from that place half-heartedly since the purity and serenity of that place had mesmerized us and reached back at around 6PM back in Chennai.

On the completion of the third masik ceremony of father, we are planning to slowly re-start the construction activities of the rayar mrithika brindavanam work near Kanchipuram. Our sincere prayers to HIM to guide us in the proper direction for this activity to get completed whenever HE wishes and then come and seat there permanently!!!

Sarvam Sri Krishnarpanamastu

Our Guru Rayar's bhaktha vatsalyam!!!

Thanks to all of the visitors who had sent emails asking for the lack of any new posts for the last few months in this blog... Happy to note that this blog detailing our mystical experiences with Rayar is being followed actively...

The main reason behind the inactivity of the last few months has been owing to the sad demise of our father, a man of 86 years old. He was suffering very much for his last few months with the advanced stage of Parkinson's disease in which slowly one by one his organs refused to continue working. While he was struggling in the last few months and with the slow degradation of his memory, one of the questions that he used to frequently ask was "What is the name of the place where Raghavendra is there", "What is the name of the railway station that we have to get down for going to see Raghavendra" etc. During the time when we were deeply saddened and worried what to do next at those excruciating days, suddenly out of blue, I receive a cover through normal post from Mantralaya primary aachar - Parimalaachar - stating that the cover contains mantrakshade with a small packet containing HIS mantrakshathe... By HIS grace, I have a pretty good memory power and nowhere I recall ever giving my address to Aachar for him to send this mantrakshate to us - What else can we call other than the fact that this was one way to tell us that HIS grace and benevolance is there on us!!! Our father had affinity to Kanchipuram Varadaraja swamy. Just a few days after receiving this mantrakshate and a day after we had the prasadam from Kanchipuram Varadaraja Swamy, he breathed his last on May 19th (Thursday) at 10:10AM in the morning. Here again, it is our strong belief that Rayar had shown us that our father's atma is going to be in safe place at Sri Hari's feet since he breathed his last on a guruvaar - Thursday. Again, it was Krishna Paksha and Dwithiya thithi on this day - the same paksha and thithi that Sri Guru Raghavendra chose to go into his Brindavanam. So can we call all this as a mere coincidence? Or as something else.... What else will a bhaktha vatsalya like our Guru Rayar will do when by HIS grace in his last few days, he was asking for the place in which he is present etc. that too in a situation his whole memory was slowly fading away!!!!

Owing to this sudden unfortunate development, there might be a slight lull in the activity of constructing the mrithika brindavanam for Rayar along with Sri Lakshmi Narasimhar and Anjaneyar. This should also be Sri Hari's sankalpa since who are we to fathom what HE has in store for all the activities that we do!!!

Sarvam Sri Krishnarpanamastu

Fund raising concert went off very well by HIS grace!!!!

@03-Mar-2011:

A lot of people has been sending communication either in person or on phone mentioning the reasons behind why the blog is not getting updated frequently now... It got to show how many people had been following this blog and are well wishers for this project. It is nothing but HIS grace...

The main reason behind not being able to update the blog has been simply because of the fact that we were all extremely busy to make the fund raising concert by Sangeetha Kalanidhis Smt Saroja and Smt Lalitha a success.... As every reader to this blog knows, this concert was planned to raise funds towards the construction activities of this temple. Smt. Saroja and Smt. Lalitha, veteran musicians not needing any specific introduction - No awards in this field has eluded them till date possibly. They are ardent devotees of Sri Guru Rayar and this devotion showed when they instantaneously volunteered to give this fund raising concert on a request by us. It was one of our other experiences of how HE has showered his grace on a lot of people which is primarily responsible for their ascent to the heights of their individual careers!!!

The event was scheduled on 26-Feb-2011 - Saturday - to facilitate as many people to attend this event as possible, being a weekend off day typically. Ticket sales were going on till that day and a small snippets on this programme was given out in the papers as well. Based on this, there were more calls enquiring about the tickets availability. Taking into account the large sized hall and the popularity of Bombay Sisters, we were all concerned and a little worried on how much of ticket sales that we are going to make to increase the amount of funds available through this event and more importantly of how much attendance on that event day is going to be there.

As usual readers to this blog would be aware, for the last 2 years, there has been no event in this project which Sri Guru Raghavendra would not take care of personally by HIMSELF. While we mere mortal souls think that we are the ones who are acting and doing the work, it becomes difficult for the feeling to sink in most of the times that we are mere tools in the grand scheme of things - So much of belief that WE are the doers has crept into our thoughts owing to past karmas in so much of previous births - like a very thick layer of dust over our atma - that this thought does not get removed very easily. So like a typical Guru, who does not stop till his disciple learns, digests and assimilates the concept into his subconscious level, our Guru Raghavendra also keeps giving lessons to us stating that nothing need to be worried on any facts of life and will be automatically taken care of at the right time - IF we have the 'unconditional' belief and trust on HIM and completely surrender to HIM.

As if to underline this fact, an unexpected event out of the blue - happened on the day of the event on 26-Feb-2011. While I had finished my scheduled work on Saturday in the forenoon session on that day and making the last minute touches for the speeches and other arrangements for the evening, I suddenly got an email into my account at just a few hours before the concert was about to begin. The email was from an hitherto unknown person to any of us involved in this activity with the subject line which read as "CONTRIBUTION FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF RAYAR MUTT". A little curious on getting an email with this subject and that too from an unknown person till now. I opened up the email to take a look at its contents - not withstanding the fact that I was getting late in the last minute preparations and could not afford any distractions at this time for fear of being delayed!!!!

The short and precise mail text had something to state something like this: "By the blessing of the Guru who has accepted a contribution from me and from the money earned through his kripu and blessing, I have electronically transferred Rs. 50,000/- to the trust under reference XYZ".

It took sometime for the message to sink in and after verifying it in the bank statement, was a little dumbfounded and still for some time. After the entire contents of this email sinked in and we realized that this is nothing but another act of grace from our Guru Rayar, we realized that it was HIS way to convey a message across that when the right time has to come, it will come and get done come what may... It was also a message from him stating that the event was going to be a success...

Just like the message that HE had conveyed to us, the event went off well and completed on a grand scale. Some of the pictures of this event is available at the following URL:

http://picasaweb.google.com/gururayar2009/FundRaisingConcert?authkey=Gv1sRgCProtNuO8JuD5AE#

We are submitting the success of this event to HIS lotus feet and await HIS next guidance to us on the further steps on this project... Please stay tuned for more details...

(PS: A related point to this note: The anonymous devotee has not answered back to our request for sending his/her contact details for us to get the receipt across. Multiple email requests from us to the same email address from which this email had come has gone unanswered till now - The devotee wants to possibly continue remaining to be anonymous devotee itself!!!)

Sarvam Sri Krishnarpanamastu