Page 24 - Light of Divinity
P. 24
Light of Divinity
open lotus flower and he has for his canopy the five-headed serpent
(sheshanaga).
Inside the complex, a gleaming brass visage of the Great Lord
shows him in the same posture. Significantly, Shiva, the supreme
yogi, is not meditating. He is on his tiger mat and has just uncrossed
one of his legs, ready to look into the problems of his devotees. The
sacred words Om Namah Shivay are emblazoned inside the main
hall. They offer an immortal promise: that Lord Shiva’s and indeed
Guruji’s help (for they are one and the same) is at hand to anyone
who but trusts him.
The making of the structure
That these grounds are indeed Lord Shankara’s is borne out by the
numerous incidents that have been witnessed by those involved in
its construction and those who frequent the temple.
When the mandir was being built, the work faced many challenges,
and each time these challenges were overcome miraculouisly,
showing Guruji’s involvement in every detail.
At first the ground had to be cleared of the scrubs, trees and
boulders before any construction could be started. But around every
bush and under every boulder were snakes and more snakes. The
labourers hired for the job got frightened and ran away. Undeterred,
Raghubir, Guruji’s devotee who was overseeing the making of the
mandir, hired more labourers. But again, unable to tackle the huge
number of snakes, they fled. Finally, Raghubir spoke to Guruji and
told him of the problem. Guruji just told him to hire more labourers,
assuring him that this problem would not occur again. And, indeed,
the snakes disappeared from the site and the clearing proceeded in
peace.
The basic construction was undertaken during the rainy season,
and yet, every time the concrete was to be poured, the rains would
obligingly halt. This happened so many times that everyone involved
in the construction realised that these happenings were not sheer
chance. As Guruji used to say, “Everything by choice, nothing by
coincidence.”
The architectural design, as created by Guruji’s devotee, Ajay
Bharadwaj, had to have the shivalinga superstructure (the shivalinga
is the divine symbol of Lord Shiva) above the dome of the temple.
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