Lord Ayyappa

Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa The background Lord Ayyappa had his human incarnation as the son of the King of Pandalam, Kerala. During one of the Kings hunting expeditions, the wails of a child on the banks of the River Pampa puzzled him. As he moved in the direction of the voice he found a resplendent and helpless infant there. The beautiful baby with a radiant face had a gemstone around his neck, hence the name Manikantan ("Mani", means gemstone and "kantan" means wearer around the neck). Manikantan was born of Hari (Lord Vishnu) and Hara (Lord Shiva), with Hari assuming the form of a female (Mohini). Hence Ayyappan is also named as Hariharasuthan (Suthan meaning Son).The king had no children, though he was pious, charitable, just, and God-fearing. The king and the queen were the ardent devotees of Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu respectively. King accepted the child as God's gracious gift to his fervent prayer for an heir to his throne. Meanwhile the Rani (Queen) gave birth to a son; however the king regarded Manikantan as his elder son and decided to crown him as the Yuvaraja. On the coronation day of Manikantan as Yuvaraja, the queen pretended to be suffering from unbearable stomach ache, and said that she was unable to get any relief from the treatment of any doctor. Finally came a fake practitioner and prescribed "the milk of a tigress" as the cure for the queen's illness. This drama took place at the instance of the minister. The king appealed to everyone to get the tigeress-milk, but no-one dared, as all feared death. At last, Manikantan came forward and went to the forest in search of tigress milk, despite the king's attempt to stop him as he was deeply frightened that the deemed Yuvaraja may not come back alive. Manikantan came back to the palace with a Tigress. Filled with emotions of happiness, grief, fear, wonder and 'Bhakti' (devotion to God) and selfsurrender, the King stood praying for the mercy and blessings of Manikantan. He repented that he could not fully visualize the truth of the divine powers of the Lord and repeatedly requested him to forgive him for behaving as if he were his son only. The Lord lovingly embraced the King who prayed to bless him by freeing from ego and the worldly life of birth and rebirth and grant Moksha (salvation). The Lord told the King that he was destined to return. The King requested Lord Manikantan to allow him to build a temple and dedicate it to him and the Lord assented. Manikantan then enlightened the King on the path of attainment of Moksha. The Lord shot an arrow that fell at the top of Sabrimala in Kerala and told the King that he could construct a temple at Sabarimala, north of the holy river Pampa and install His deity there. Lord Ayyappan also explained how the Sabarimala pilgrimage shall be undertaken, emphasizing the importance of Penance, vratham and what the devotees can attain by His 'darshan'. The King duly constructed the temple at Sabarimala, dedicated to him. The deity for installation was prepared by Parasurama, believed to be an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, and was installed by him. The name Ayyappa in the South Indian languages, denotes the embodiment of 5, the 5 Primordial elements of which this Universe or Prapancha is made of. Ayyappa is also known as an embodiment of Dharma .Dharma is not just noble deed but means the very characteristic of Nature itself.

This celebration of Ayyappa Pooja, brings to our focus, our understanding of the annual turning of the Sun , of the changes taking place in Nature and new hope of life. Ayyappa as the name suggests is the embodiment of 5 basic elements. They being Akasha (space), Vayu (air), Agni (fire), Apah (water) and Prithvi (earth). The significance of Eighteen Steps: The first five steps symbolizes the five human senses (Panchendriyas) i.e. visual (vision), auditory (hearing), olfactory (smell), gustatory (taste) and tactile (touch). These signify the `mortal nature of ones body. The next eight steps symbolizes the eight Ashtaragas i.e. Kama, Krodha, Lobha, Moha, Madha, Maltsarya, Asooya, Dhumb (Love, Anger, Avarice, Lust, Pride, Unhealthy Competition, Jealousy and Boastfulness). The next three steps stand for three Gunas or Thrigunas (nature-born qualities) i.e. Satva, ( perspicuity, discernment) , Rajas (activity, enjoyment) and Thamas (inactivity, stupor). The last two steps represent Vidya (Knowledge) and Avidya (Ignorance). There are literally thousands of Ayyappa temples around the world. We are very fortunate to have a temple for Lord Ayyappa at the Hindu Samaj Mandir, Mahwah. We are celebrating Lord Ayyappa Sangamam (gathering of devotees) on Oct/12 and Oct/13. Each and Every member of the temple is invited to participate in the events and get Lord Ayyappas Blessings. Swami Saranam