Kodajadri – In Search of Eternity

May 6, 2012

My journey to Kollur always gave me the feeling of ecstasy, making me wander through the spiritual path of enlightenment.  To me, the place is not just a pilgrim spot. By all means, this is the place which begun my life journey from a state of ‘nothingness’ to the state of this ‘something’, if I am something now.  It was nothing more than a visit with the intention to pray, to receive blessings and to return home with some photographs.  But trust me; your trip to Kollur will never let you back with nothing.  There would always be something for you from the Mother universe, which you may receive with a glittering wonder in your eyes provoking the thought to spiritual reality.

 

I believe every Devotee who visited this place would have a story to narrate which changed their life. Yes…the story of ‘twists and turns’ that fall into life ultimately by the kindness of Amma’s (Mother Mookambika Devi) blessing.  This is the destination you may once and for all lose yourself and then escalate to the purest form of selflessness and salvation.

Mornings at the temple is always enlightened by the reverberating mantras and harmonizing drumbeat ritual by a tiny hamlet.  

Drumsters at Kollur

A Devote at Temple, Kollur, Karnataka 2011

Nataraja Vigraha, Kollur 2012

Morning Ritual , Kollur, Karnataka 2012

Devi Vigraham on the Chariot, Kollur 2012

Sauparnika River, Kollur 2012

A Preach Reciting Slokas on the Saraswathi Mandapam

Decorated Umbrellas

It is believed that a devotee reaches Kollur after the intuitive call from the Mother (Devi).  I think many of the devotees might have gone through this unstudied experience.  From my first trip to Kollur, my upmost wish was to set foot at the eternal peak of knowledge (Sarvajna Peedam ) Kodajadri.  But believe it or not, baseless, my plan to Kodajadri always got cancelled forcing me to leave Kollur filled with expectation for another day. But this time Devi gave me the opportunity with all its glory and wonders to lead me there.   It was out of the strong desire for me and my two other friends to mount Kodajadri and Sarvajna peedam by foot.

It is around 5 kilometers from Nagodi, a place with a lone tea shop of Mr. Thankappan. After having a refreshing tea from there, we started mounting with a meditated mind and soul. Initially, we anticipated the journey to be rather easy but then it was not as easy as were thinking.  But the mesmerizing beauty around us turned our laborious to a heavenly blissful experience.  

Serene Landscape on the way to Kodajdari

Sweating and panting went away in a cool breeze accompanied along with the whispering of petals.  We were enjoying the warmth of bliss on the Mother Nature’s lap; we were just floating in Her lullabies. 

 

 Still we had a long way to go. After the praying session from Kodajadri, we decided to move ahead and reach ‘Shankara Peedam’. We still firmly believe that the energy we achieved to climb all the way is nothing other than the Blessings of Amma.

Mounting to Shankara Vidya Peedam

A view from the top of Kodajadri

Way To ShankaraPeedam

Ganapathi Cave

Sarvajna Peedam, a place where the Shankaracharya meditated and got the enlightenment from the Goddess of Knowledge. It is rather beautiful to feel it as a place, a spot, where the world ends, where the clouds end, where our egos ends forever. There is no doubt why that great Saint, Shankaracharya has chosen this place for his meditation and thereby, received the blessings of Mother Nature.

Me at Shankara Vidya Peedam, Image Courtesy : Arun Kumar

Though we were planning to return, an inner voice was not letting us leave the place without visiting the Final point called ‘Chithramoola Guha’ (Cave Chithramoola), which is around thousand feet below from the Shankara Peedam. A steep and rocky pathway made it even more difficult for us to reach the spot. But our determination and ‘those’ blessings fueled our journey without any hazards. We were not sure about what was awaiting for us there. It was a journey from the known to unknown, a pure spiritual journey to the mysterious wonders of the nature. Our body sweated like anything.  In no time, we befell to a crummy body of soggy cloths, which was not fit enough upon any written standards to visit a temple. But our mind was pure to the core. Throughout the journey I truly experienced that beyond the tidy and comfy surroundings of a sanctum sanctorum, God has His existence in every spores of the nature whence no dirt, no rules, no knots of DO’s and DON’T’s.

Each of our steps was lifting us to the ultimate freedom, a freedom from every chain with the material world.  Finally we reached there, Alas!!!  This is a feeling, something beyond all my senses and I can’t capsule it in mere words for you.  It is a feel, which you must feel.  So, “Just go to feel this ‘feel’ and feel it all the more!!!”   This is the only message I can pass to you, because there is nothing that a ‘real feel’ could compromise with the Chastity of that moment. 

At ChithraMoola Cave, Image Courtesy : Arun Kumar ,

The Shiva Linga at ChithraMoola cave

Burying a sigh somewhere deep within our hearts, we returned from the eternal point of the reality to the superfluous world of competitions and lust, still praying to the Superior Power to bring us back to the place and help us to live beyond the prejudices we create for ourselves. We are sure, We will survive……

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