The Great Unknown Avastha Poortheekaranam

Arsha Ramanan, Kottarakkara

Having been born with the Guru in all the births, assisting in all the Karma performed by Guru, witnessing and inheriting that Karma, there was the Will of Brahman to take up the Guru’s birth-mission… Abhivandya Shishyapoojitha became the inheritor of the Guru’s grace. She stood with the Guru with extraordinary confidence, courage, and endurance during the crucial moments of the countless spiritual trials that our Guru had to undergo over the ages.

In 1973, Guru said at Kallar, “I will give you one soul who will impart the word of Guru to this parampara forever and lead the parampara in the path of Guru.” On February 22, 2001, Janani Amrita Jnana Thapaswini realized Guru in perfection to lead the Santhigiri parampara according to God’s will and after intense spiritual trials, she became Shishyapoojitha.

In February 2003, Vijayamma, a resident of Kottarakkara, Kutttikkunnil house, and her family dedicated a silver dias (Peedom) to Guru. The concept of Pujitha Peedom emerged from the spiritual experience (darshan) of Janani Nischita Jnana Thapaswini, a member of Santhigiri Gurudharma Prakasha Sabha and grand daughter of that family, for the good of that family and the country.

On February 21, 2003, the procession started from Pothencode Santhigiri Ashram in Thiruvananthapuram had reached our home ‘Nirmala Bhavan’ around 6 pm. As per Guru’s instructions worship was done at home and family members garlanded (hara samarpanam) the Pujitha Peedom. Around 500 people and the people of my native land also participated in that holy event. After worship at nine o’clock at night, the Pujitha Peedom procession returned to the Ashram after annadanam and prayers. When I think about that day, my eyes will be filled with tears of happiness. On February 19, 2003, Shishya Poojitha called us to the ashram and informed us that the Pujitha Peedom would come home and should be worshipped. Guru instructed us to take it very carefully and to pray strongly.

What a blessing, O’ Guru! How can we undertake this karma? Even today, the scene of crying and praying about how we should undertake it is still going through my mind. As per our knowledge then, with prayer, our body as karma, offering our life to the Guru, we reverently received the Poojitha Peedom. That was the first time we saw the silver dais decorated with flowers in a white Qualis car. There we see the scene where my compassionate Guru took Shishyapoojitha through the spiritual steps and made her Gurusthaniya who established her Guru on the worshiped Pujitha Peedom. Without anyone knowing, without the world knowing, the evolution of the soul – the change of spiritual stage, all these things are passing through our minds briefly.

The great voyage called Pujitha Peedom Vahaka Yathra is the ordination of Brahman. It is a holy day that Brahman prepared to be recorded in the history of the world in the coming ages. I think that our home and the native land were ordained for that only because of the immortal love and mercy of the Great Guru.

I remember Guru’s words that the streets that the Pujitha Peedom passed, each of us, our home, native land, and this world will be shining with the radiance of nine gems in the days to come. The opportunity to participate and pray on the day of avastha poortheekaranam is a rare opportunity in the life of every human being. We can put aside hypocrisy and self-deception. Let us open our minds before Guru, and pray with innocent devotion. Let us realize that the Guru’s hands are always waiting to protect us.