It’s a Sunday morning and this Chennai suburban apartment sees a flurry of activity. A group of men, women and children board a van. A couple of hours later, they arrive at the village of Vanjivakkam and make their way to the ancient Agastheeswarar Temple. They are joined by devotees from the village. For the next few hours, the temple premises resound with the singing of songs from the Tirumurai (sacred Tamil scriptures of Saivism), even as the priest performs Vazhipadu (ritual worship) to the deity. After honouring the village elders, interacting with the residents and sharing lunch they start their journey back home.
This is not just another weekend temple visit. These men and women belong to Pazham Thirukkoilgal Thiruppani Sangam (Association for devotional service at ancient temples). Founded by S. T. Rajmohan, they have been taking devotees to ancient Siva temples every third Sunday of the month for the past 18 years.
The number has crossed 200. Their mission is to spread awareness about the importance of worshipping and maintaining our ancient temples and the teachings of Tirumurai.
Tirumurai class in progress
“We started out as a group of youngsters visiting ancient temples every month,” says Rajmohan, who holds a full time job as DGM, Marketing, in a private firm. The association was formed in 2002. Rajmohan’s late father Thiaga Ganesan and mother Rajalakshmi have family ties with the Aadheenams of Dharmapuram, Thiruppanandal and Velakurichi. Their knowledge in matters concerning ritual worship and reciting of the Tirumurai has been a great source of guidance. His homemaker wife Alli, a qualified civil engineer, and the couple’s young daughters are fully involved in the Sangam’s activities.
“We have a lot of volunteers in our team, who share the responsibilities,” says Rajmohan. “However, it is only due to the grace of the Lord that we have been able to make such sustained efforts.” Over the years their activities have expanded to include Tirumurai classes, Annadanam (distribution of food) and contributions for the upkeep of ancient temples. When necessary, they arrange funds for daily worship, priests’ salaries, offer garments to decorate the Deities, name boards, electricity costs, saplings and so on. How a single family has managed to do so much in this field is a lesson in commitment and discipline. Above all their devotion has opened several doors and shown them new avenues.
Young Tirumurai singers
“We usually choose temples where even daily rituals are a problem,” says Rajmohan. It was not easy in the beginning. “We met with resistance, with local residents looking at our interest with suspicion. Today we get invitations from villagers,” he explains.
According to Rajmohan, any act done in devotional service to the Lord is Thiruppani. Well wishers advised them to focus on the area of Nitya Thiruppani (daily devotional service). The free monthly classes at home to introduce children and senior citizens to the Tirumurai is an offshoot of this advice. The instructor Vivekanandan, a retired principal from Tiruvarur says, “Although I give Saivite lectures at many places, I look forward to teaching here because of the dedication, which, coupled with the love of Tirumurai, attracts likeminded people.”
Rajmohan believes that Tirumurai should be taught in their prescribed “Pann” (Ragam) and twice a month, the teacher Hariharasubramaniam does just that. At the annual Annadanam, devotees from all walks of life are served a traditional sit-down lunch. Last year’s event was at the consecration of the Siva Temple at Tiruneiper near Tiruvarur, birthplace of Naminandi Adigalar (one of the 63 Nayanmars or Saivite Saints). Over 3,000 devotees partook of the Annadanam. An annual Sadhu Annadanam is arranged, a tradition the Sangam wants pass on to the next generation.
Handing over a sapling
Service and Tirumurai classes are linked. Rajmohan elaborates: “First, we enlist local participation. During the event we distribute the Tirumurai song books so that everyone can join the chanting or singing. We explain the importance of daily temple worship and upkeep. We give them the “Archanai Pottri” and tell them to chant it daily at the temple even in the absence of an officiating priest.”
The results were visible. “When visiting temples in adjoining villages, these residents make the effort to join us. They invite us for Sivaratri, ask for guidance on conducting festivals, renovations, or for song books,” says Rajmohan, who feels the contribution of social media in this cannot be overemphasised.
Membership in the Sangam serves as an identity for which a token fee is collected. While the core team has remained the same over the years, there have been changes in members. With new members joining, the chain is never broken. “Change is inevitable” he says. “But those who drop out tell ten others about our work. Besides, they continue to help by sending us materials for devotional service,” he elaborates.
Garnering funds could cause anxiety. “We have Divine support,” states Rajmohan. “Without that we wouldn’t have conducted over 200 Vazhipadu, 45 monthly classes, several major Annadanams,” he adds. And for the same reason he calls it Tapas (penance). There are no advertisements and no sponsors are approached. For the past seven years their stall at the Hindu Spiritual Fair has been visited by lakhs of people.
Personal resources
For the monthly programmes, there are no fees although some participants may offer to contribute or share costs. While the instructors are compensated for their travel and the teaching time, the family quietly fills the gap from their personal resources without sacrificing any element of the programme. “Surprisingly, Annadanam programmes, regardless of the scale, leave little in terms of deficit,” says Alli.
The 100th programme at the Kulathur temple was graced by the Adheenmas of Tiruvavaduthurai and Velakurichi. On this occasion, a power point presentation of the Sangam’s work was done. The Kanchi Math awarded them the title, “Bhakta Seva Mani.”
Conducting the monthly programmes does pose challenges. Family functions may have to be missed, but relatives now understand their commitment.
What next? “More teams should come forward to visit village temples. Villages are the backbone of our religion. While famous temples draw devotees by the lakhs, there are many with no one to carry the deities in procession,” says Rajmohan.
Another factor is distance. The day trips limit them to choosing temples within 100-120 km radius of Chennai. “Imagine how much more awareness can be created if we had such units in each district. Also it can be taken to schools. Tirumurai scriptures contain everything we need for this life... and after.” Rajmohan also feels that there is tremendous scope for field work and institution of some kind of recognition for such work can act as a motivating factor. Meanwhile, the Rajmohan family and their team of volunteers continue their journey, touching new locations, facing new challenges and showing how we can make a difference to the world we live in, simply and elegantly with whatever resources are at hand. Rajmohan can be reached at 9444038030 and the Sangam’s Facebook page is at: https://www.facebook.com/ pazhamthirukoilgal. thirupanisangam
Simple oath
The Sangam’s pledge is startlingly simple:
At least...
Once a day let us think about an ancient temple; once a week, learn about the legend of an ancient temple; once a month, participate in worship at an ancient temple; once a year, worship with our family at an ancient temple; once a year give financial or physical help to and honour those doing work or worship at ancient temples.