The Ayappan is the God who is there in Sabarimala. The Sabarimala Temple is a powerful place that exists in Kerala. Many devotees do penance for 48 days to visit the Sabarimala. There are many rules and regulations to be followed in the Penance.
Table of Contents
Rules and Regulation
1. Firstly, There are a lot of rules and regulations to be followed if a person goes to the Sabarimala.
2. Only with the grace of Lord Ayyappa one can reach the Sabarimala for workshipping.
3. Here the God Lord Ayyappa decides who should come and worship the temple.
4. Before going to the temple one soul should be in penance for almost 48 days.
5. One soul should be clean and neat inside & outside of the body. We should take a bath 2 times a day. ie. One should perform Pooja 2 times daily (Morning and evening).
6. One should be able to utter the mantra while doing pooja.
7. Flowers should be placed to the god. One should not wear the slippers/shoes for 48 days.
8. There is a scientific reason behind this following. ie. While stamping the stones and mud, the nervous system in the legs gets activated & blood circulation becomes good for the human body. All the nervous system connection is there in the foot.
9. The Sabarimalai is one of the religious/spiritual places in the earth.
10. In Sabarimalai the lord ayyappa is in the meditation stage. There are a lot of histories behind the Sabarimala.
Temple
- Only the Gents are allowed to the Sabarimala Temple.
- Exactly, The journey of Sabarimala starts from Erimalai. It takes almost 48 miles. Therefore, The entire path is located in the forest.
- The Lambodiri does one pooja to close the mouth of the wild animals. This is done to safeguard the devotees from wild animal attacks.
- Generally, Before entering the temple top, there are 18 steps to be climbed. One should take Irumudi to God. ie, Coconut filled with Ghee. Ghee is used to do Abhishekam for the God Lord Ayyappa idol.
- The Ayyappa temple came into existence before so many years.
- The rules and regulations to be followed are given by Agasthiyar Munivar.
Ghee Abhishekam
After the Ghee Abhishekam, the coconut is put on fire. Hence, Coconut represents the body and Ghee indicates Atma.
2. Finally, When the Ghee is done as Abhishekam, the Atma gets mixed up with the God.
3. Sabarimalai is the place of God Lord Ayyappa who is a brahmachary.
4. There is a powerful vibration in the entire surroundings.
5. Many souls in the devalogam also visit the place to worship the god to receive God’s grace.
6. Yearly many devotees come to the place of Sabarimalai to see God.
7. The Lord Shiva is the one who took the form of Ayyappa mainly to give maturity to all the souls.
8. In this way one can get spiritual upliftment and growth.
“Going to Sabarimala with long Penance gives a lot of Health Benefits. The Lungs get refreshed after getting oxygen from the Herbal trees which are very tall and old”.
Garland
- On wearing the garland for the God Lord Ayyappa one gets all the necessary wishes satisfied.
- Generally, 48 days of penance is maintained by the Ayyappa devotees to receive the grace of the god.
- The Manjamatha goddess is also there in Sabarimalai and gives blessings to all the devotees who come to Sabarimala.
- Generally Sabarimalai is usually in the mountain place where there are many big trees which provides good shelter for the peoples and it gives good fresh air.
- Thus, This place is suitable for the animals who live there.
- Hence, Only in November, December, and January the door of the lord Ayyappa is open.
- Rather than that in other months the door is closed as the devargal in the devalogam worship the god lord Ayyappa.
Question & Answer 1.
What is the story behind the star that appears in Sabarimalai.?
- The star indicates the Jothi which is there inside the body. It should be seen with the help of yoga and meditation.
- We can see as Manikavasagar had said in Thiruvasagam that he had seen the jodi inside his body. Many Saints also stated that the Jyoti is inside our body and that is considered to be the God.
- In meditation, this is considered to be the final stage. The Jodi can be seen by the continuous meditation practice.
- Jothi can be seen by doing various types of meditations like chakra meditation, Kundalini meditation, panchabhuta meditation, and Navagraha meditation.
- The Jyoti is seen in our forehead which is in the third eye chakra. This must be practiced continuously by the soul to get good results.
- This can be practiced in the jeeva samadhi places, temples, caves, and mountains. With the help of Lord Shiva, we can be able to go to the next level in meditation and Yoga.
- So one must love God so that God gives Grace and with grace only we can reach Sivalogam.
Question & Answer 2.
What are some tips for walking from “Pampa” to “Sabarimalai” following Hindu rituals during the “Ayyappan’s Makkathayattam” season at the end of the year in Kerala?
- One of the important tips to be followed while going up in the Sabarimala is, that one must chant Om Swamy Saranam in their heart with true love.
- One must do penance for at least 48 days to reach the temple. The 48 days of penance give a good energy level in the body and make the body very perfect. So while going we have to think the mantra or say loudly.
- One Must think of God and think of all the incidents that happened with the god in the temple. So those are the memories that we must be recollecting. So only the thinking of god must be there in the mind no other things should come into the mind.
- This makes a good connection between the soul and God so to practice this one has to be in penance for 48 days and one has to be in Mounam that is should not talk anything for at least 12 hours at 24 hours a day.
- It is good that the soul maintains a silent state while going from Pampa to Sabarimala so maintaining the mouna one Gets a good connection with God.
Therefore, one must have done good things in the previous birth to go to Sabarimala. Also, the grace of the Lord Ayyappan is important. The Lord Ayyappa decides whether a person should get the worship or not. Hence, We should do many good things in our lives to get Spiritual Growth.