Palani Murugan Temple – Legends of Bhogar

Palani Murugan Temple – Legends of Bhogar

Bhoganathar or Bhogar, the Jnana Guru of Babaji, in the poem "Bhogar Jnana Sagarama" (Bhogar's Oceanic Life Story, consisting of 557 verses, verse number 2, lines number 3 and 4), identifies himself as a Tamilian, (Ramaiah, 1979; 1982. p. 17). In the same verse he states that the great Siddha Kalangi Nathar initiated him in Jnana Yoga (supreme self-knowledge).

Kalangi Nathar was born in Kasi (Benares). He attained the immortal state of swarapa Samadhi at the age of 315, and then made China the center of his teaching activities. He belonged to the ancient tradition of Nava ('nine') Nath ('lords') sadhus (ascetics), tracing their tradition to Lord Shiva.

There are nine important shrines associated with this tradition, five of which are in the Himalaya Mountains: Amarnath (where Shiva first taught Kriya Yoga to his Shakti partner, Parvati Devi), Kedarnath, Badrinath (India), Kailasanath, (Tibet) and Pasupathinath (Nepal).

Meanwhile, Bhoganathar practiced Kundalini Yoga in four stages. The first three stages are described in a later chapter on "The Psychophysiology of Kriya Kundalini Pranayama". Bhoganathar chose the Palani Malai (mountain) in what is now southwestern Tamil Nadu as the site for intensive yogic practice (tapas) for the final stage. He attained swarapa Samadhi at Palani, through the grace of Lord Muruga, or the eternal youth, "Kumara Swami".

The Kumaraswami temple at Palani became the epicenter of his activities. He visited many countries astrally, and physically and through transmigration. In one of his songs Bhoganathar claims to have flown to China at one point in a sort of airplane which he built: he held discussions with Chinese Siddhas before returning to India (Kailasapathy, 1969, p. 197-211). His visit to South America has been confirmed by accounts left by the Muycas of Chile:

"Bocha, who gave laws to Muycas, was a white, bearded man, wearing long robes, who regulated the calendar, established festivals, and vanished in time like others (other remarkable teachers who had come across the Pacific according to numerous legends of Incas, Aztecs and Mayans)." (Lal 1965, p. 20).

He convened a meeting of many siddhas just before the beginning of the present Kali Yuga, in 3102 BC, to determine the best way for humanity to progress along the spiritual path during the upcoming period of darkness. The Yoga of love and devotion, Bhakti Yoga, was chosen as being the best means. Bhoganathar was entrusted by the siddhas with the task of defining the rituals for the worship of their favorite deity "Palani Andavar", the Lord (Muruga) of Palani.

Many rituals that center around the bathing (Abhishekam) of an idol of Palani Andavar with many substances, including panchamirtham consisting of five fruits and honey, were developed by him and continue to be followed to this day. The idol had to be created from a substance that would last throughout Kali Yuga.

The most resilient of known substances, granite, was known to wear and crack after thousands of such rituals. So Bhoganathar fashioned it out of nine secret herbal and chemical ingredients, nava pashanam, which made it harder than granite. Eight of the ingredients were combined in a mold of the idol. The ninth, was added as a catalyst, to solidify it.

In recent times the scientists who attempted to determine the composition of a small sample of the material of the idol, were startled to find that it immediately sublimated when heated. Thus its composition remains a mystery to date. The traces of the substance are contained in the ritual offerings in which it is bathed. When these are returned and consumed by the devotee, their spiritual progress is enhanced.

A mission to China and transmigration

Kalangi Nathar decided to enter into Samadhi in seclusion for 3,000 years. He summoned Bhoganathar telepathically from Tamil Nadu to China to take over his mission. Bhoganathar traveled by sea, following the trade route. In China, he was instructed by Kalangi Nathar in all aspects of the Siddha sciences. These included the preparation and use of the kaya kalpa herbal formulae to promote longevity.

After Kalangi Nathar entered into trance, Bhoganathar assumed his teaching mission to the Chinese. To facilitate this, he transmigrated his vital body into the physical body of a deceased Chinese man, and thereafter went by the name "Bo-Yang". "Bo" is a derivation of the word "Bhogam" which means bliss, material and spiritual.

This bliss, for which he was named "Bo-Yang”, is experienced when the Kundalini Shakti, the feminine primordial yin energy awakens, passes up to the crown of the head, the seat of Shiva, the masculine yang pole, in the Sahasra chakra at the summit of the head and unites with it. The result of this integration of feminine and masculine parts of the being, or union ("Yoga") of Shakti and Shiva, Yin and Yang, is Satchidananda: Absolute Existence-Consciousness-Bliss.

Transformation of his physical body

Bhoganathar decided to overcome the limitations of the Chinese body, with its degenerative tendencies, and prolong its life through the use of the kaya kalpa herbs long enough for the effect of Kriya Kundalini Pranayama and related yogic techniques to bring Swaroopa Samadhi. In his poem Bhogar Jnana Sutra 8, verse number 4; he describes vividly what happened after carefully preparing a tablet using thirty five different herbs:

“With great care and patience I made the (kaya kalpa) table and then swallowed it: Not waiting for fools and skeptics who would not appreciate its hidden meaning and importance. Steadily I lived in the land of the parangis (foreigners.) For twelve thousand years, my fellow! I lived for a long time and fed on the vital ojas (sublimated spiritual energy) With the ojas vindhu I received the name, Bhogar:
The body developed the golden color of the pill: Now I am living in a world of gold.”

(Based upon translation by Yogi S.A.A. Ramaiah, 1979, p. 40-42)

He chose three of his best disciples and his faithful dog, and took thorn to the top of a mountain. After first offering a tablet to the dog, the dog immediately fell over dead. He next offered it to his leading disciple, Yu, who also immediately fell over dead.

After offering it to the two remaining disciples, who by this time were extremely nervous, and who promptly hid their tablets rather than swallow them, Bhoganathar swallowed the remaining tablets and also fell over unconscious. Crying with grief, the two remaining disciples went down the mountain to get material to bury the bodies. When the disciples returned to the spot where the bodies had been left lying, all that was found was a note, in Bhoganathar's handwriting, which said:

“The kaya kalpa tablets are working. After awakening from their trance
I restored faithful Yu and the dog. You have missed your chance for immortality. “

This kaya kalpa enabled Bhoganathar to transform the Chinese body over a period of 12,000 years, during which time it developed a lustrous golden color. (The physiological transformation to the state of swarapa Samadhi was, however, completed only later, at Palani in the final phases of Kriya Kundalini Yoga and related practices. These phases will be described in chapter 11. Bhoganathar's own graphic description is recorded in the poem at the end of this chapter Initiation into Samadhi.)

In this poem Sutras of Wisdom — 8, he sings prophetically of the taking up of the practice of Pranayama in modern times by millions of persons who would otherwise have succumbed to drug abuse:

“Will chant the unifying verse of the Vedanta, Glory to the holy feet of Uma (the Divine Mother of the Universe Shakti), Will instruct you in the knowledge of the sciences, ranging from hypnotism to alchemy (kaya kalpa). Without the need for pills or tablets, the great scientific art of Pranayama breathing, will be taught and recognized. By millions of common people and chaste young women”

Verse no. I (based upon translation by Yogi S.A.A. Ramaiah, 1982, p. 40).

Lao-Tzu, founder of Taoism

After this incident with the Chinese disciples, Bo-Yang became also known as Lao-Tzu, and was accessible for nearly 200 years, and trained hundreds of Chinese disciples in Tantric Yoga practices, wherein semen and sexual energies are conserved and sublimated into spiritual energies. The advanced techniques which he taught involve raising the energies from the Mooladhara chakra corresponding to the perineum up to the sahasraracakra during sexual intercourse with a spiritually minded partner, resulting in sublimated energy, Thejas, Manifesting throughout all the cells of the body. In the fifth century B.C., Confucius met Lao-Tzu Bo-Yang and afterwards said of him:

“I know a bird can fly, a fish can swim, and an animal can run. For that which runs, a net can be fashioned; for that which swims, a line can be strung. But the ascent of a Dragon on the wind into heaven is something which is beyond my knowledge. Today I have met Lao-Tzu, who is perhaps like a Dragon. Among the Chinese, particularly, the Taoists, the Dragon are the symbol of Kundalini Shakti, the primordial force.”

At the end of his mission to China, about 400 BC, Bhoganathar, with his disciple Yu (whom he also gave the Indian name Pulipani) and other close disciples, left China by the land route. As recorded in the Taoist literature, at the request of the gatekeeper at the Han Ku mountain pass Lao-Tzu crystallized his teachings. He did so in two books, the Tao Ching, with 37 verses, and the Te Ching with 42 verses (MacKintosh, 1971).

In book two he says ‘Do good to him who has done you injury', which was also said by the contemporary Tamil Siddha, Thiruvalluvar in his Thirukkural. Taoist yoga traditions continue to seek physical immortality using techniques remarkably similar to those taught in Tamil Shiva Yoga Siddhanta.

Return to India

Along their way, they visited several shrines in the Himalayas and Kamarupa, the famous Tantric Shakti shrine in Assam. He composed his greatest work of 700,000 verses near Mt. Kailasa with the blessings of Lord Shiva. It was later abridged to 7,000 verses, and is known as Bhogar Sapta Kandam. He later visited Gaya, India and Arabia.

Upon his return to Tamil Nadu he introduced the Chinese salts and chemistry, which he called Cina-caram and porcelain making. He submitted his 7,000 verse manuscript for evaluation to his guru, Agasthyar at Courtrallam and to an academy of siddhas there. It was endorsed by all of them as a great work.

Following this, many siddhas, including Konkanavar, Karuvoorar, Nandeeswar, Kamala Muni, Satta Muni, Macchamuni, and Sundarandar became his disciples to study the sciences of kaya kalpa and yoga. He eventually turned over his teaching mission to Pulipani.

Establishes shrine at Katirkamam and attains Swaroopa Samadhi

After performing tapas at Sathura Giri, and Shiva Giri, he went to Katirkamam in Sri Lanka to perform tapas and win the grace of Lord Muruga. Under inspiration from the Lord, he established the famous Yantra shrine representing the 1, 008 petalled lotus chakra. Next he went to Palani where he attained Swaroopa Samadhi. He retired to Katirkamam around 211 AD.

Second Mission to China

Later, after the period of the Six Dynasties (220 to 590 AD), Bhoganathar returned with some Tamil disciples to China. He left his mission in Tamil Nadu with Pulipani, the Chinese Siddha. During the construction of the Brihadeeswarar Shiva Temple in Tanjore, Tamil Nadu, around 900 AD., Bhoganathar advised its builders as to how to raise the eighty ton capstone to the top of the temple, more than 200 feet high. This was done through his disciple Karuvoorar and another Tamil disciple who acted as intermediaries and through messages tied to the legs of courier birds, like today's homing pigeons.

At Bhogar's suggestion a gradient ramp five miles long was built, up which the stone was pulled to the top of the temple. This was one of the most remarkable engineering feats of all times. About this time he also advised the King of Tanjore to build a small shrine dedicated to one of his greatest disciples, Karuvoorar, behind the Brihadeeswarar Shiva Temple.

Current Activities

While Bhoganathar is reported to have left the physical plane at Palani, he continues to work on the astral plane, inspiring his disciples and devotees, and even in rare instances he transmigrates into another's physical body for specific purposes.

The Life of Bhogar Siddhar

Bhogar was a South Indian by birth, belonging to the caste of goldsmiths, who became a Siddha purusha under the guidance of Kalanginaathar. In Bhogar's Saptakanda he reveals details of various medicinal preparations to his disciple Pullippani (so named as he is believed to have wandered in the forests atop a Puli or tiger) and at every stage he quotes his guru as the authority. Also Pullippani must have been a young man then, as he is often referred to as a balaka.

It is said that as per the last wishes of his guru, Bhogar proceeded to China to spread the knowledge of Siddha sciences and strangely enough his journey is said to have been made with the aid of an aircraft; he demonstrated to the Chinese the details of the construction of the aircraft and later built for them a sea-going craft using a steam engine. The details of these and other experiments demonstrated by Bhogar in China are clearly documented in the Saptakanda.

Bhogar’s guru, Kalangi Nathar, is believed to be a Chinese who attained Siddhi in South India and thus became included among the Eighteen Siddhars.

Lao Tse - the founder of Taoism (5th century B.C.) was the first Chinese to propound the theory of duality of matter - the male Yang and female Yin - which conforms to the Siddha concept of Shiva - Shakti or positive-negative forces. This very same concept was first revealed by the adi Siddhar Agasthya Rishi, whose period is as old as the Vedas, which have been conservatively dated at 3500 B.C.

Also alchemy as a science was practised in China only after B.C. 135 and was practiced as an art until B.C. 175 when a royal decree was enacted banning alchemical preparation of precious metals by the Celestial Empire; these details are recounted in the two existing Chinese books of alchemy Shih Chi and Treatise of Elixir Refined in Nine Couldrons, both dated to the first century B.C.

The emergence of Lao Tse with his theory of duality of matter and the journey of Bhogar to China seem to have taken place about the same time and it is even possible that Bhogar himself went under the name of Lao Tse in China, like another Siddharishi Sriramadevar, who was known as Yacob in Arabia.

This seems likely considering that:

·        Before Lao Tse the concept of duality of matter finds no mention in any Chinese treatise;

·        Alchemy as a science emerged only after B.C. 135, i.e. four centuries after Lao Tse;

·        There was a sudden spurt of alchemical practice after the emergency of Lao Tse; and

·        The dualities of matter and alchemy have been mentioned in South Indian scriptures that antedate Lao Tse by centuries.

The shrine at the top of the hill, though later than the Tiru Aavinankudi temple, has overshadowed the older temple in the present century due to its popular appeal. Created by Bhogar, it was maintained after him by sage Pullippani and his descendants almost as their personal and private temple.

During the time of Thirumalai Nayak, his general Ramappayyan handed over the puja rights to newly brought Brahmin priests. The descendants of Pullippani were compensated for the loss of this right by being given:

·        Certain duties of superintendence

·        Right to some annual presents

·        Right to shoot off, at the Dasara Festival, the arrow which symbolizes Subramanya victory over asuras

·        Right to be buried at the foot of the steps leading to the hill, if some of them so chose.

Gateway of Earth & Stone

At the top of Palani Hill, near the holy Murugan which Bhogar had crafted from nine poisonous substances, there is an opening in the Earth; it is a hole in the ground; the mouth of a cave which lies below. Bhogar often lowered himself into the Earth, sat in the cave, accessing Life's hidden secrets. He performed great austerities there, the magnitude of which very few in this modern age can fathom.

There at the opening Bhogar erected a humble shrine to the Great Mother: a few yantras, a couple of five-metal icons baring the form of the Mother and her son Murugan. He worshipped a small emerald lingam there, about ten inches in height. His one and only disciple, Pulipani (perhaps the only one who truly understood the sage), kept him company at the entrance to the underground cavern on the top of Palani Hill.

When Bhogar felt that his outer work was done, he entered the gateway of earth and stone and sat down in the darkness of the cave. Faithful Pulipani heaved a stone slab over the entrance, sealing Bhogar forever in the blackness of his earthen womb.

For thirteen generations Pulipani's descendants have watched over that stone slab that marks the gateway to the underground chamber. Long ago, Bhogar's little shrine was set atop that hallowed spot, and even today, is still worshipped by the vigilant sons of the faithful Pulipani. They say that Bhogar is seated quietly in meditation even now; alone in the darkness; watching the slow passage of time.

His breath is still. His mind is quiet, his heart unwavering; but through the dense dark matter of his earthly form stabs the vibrant & relentless flame of the Kundalini Shakti. There he waits.

Navapashanam Idol

Palani is the most sacred religious abode of Lord Dhandayuthapani. Attracting people in large numbers regardless of their religious faiths and breaking language barriers, Palani has long been a powerful religious healing centre. A scholar thus remarked of Palani as having "a past steeped in antiquity, legend, mythology, epic battles, and stories of great sages echoing the days gone by and in time honoured literature."

Put these together and you have Palani, the temple of Lord Dhandayuthapani on Sivagiri Hill, a part of the Eastern Ghat range of hills in Tamil Nadu, located at an elevation of about 1500 feet above sea level.

From time immemorial the Palani temple has been sanctified by the penance of sages and siddhas, favoured by the patronage of kings and nobles and finally glorified by the enraptured songs in praise of Lord Dhandayuthapani by Tamil poets. The vibrant spiritual atmosphere combined by the traditional rituals, helps to preserve the Hindu way of life without even the slightest sign of disturbance. The hundreds of thousands of pilgrims visiting this temple bear ample testimony.

Out of the six sacred bastions (Patai Vîtukal) of Lord Murugan, Lord Dhandayuthapani at Palani represents the third stage of spiritual attainment, called the maniparakam. The greatness of Palani Temple can be better understood from the immortal songs of the great Saint Arunagirinathar: "My Lord, You sit on a Holy Hill which is superlative and exceeds even the spiritual glory of Kasi (Benares)."

For this reason, the presiding deity at Palani attracts people from all over the world. Even the orthodox Muslims make regular visits to the Palani temple and worship the Lord. For them, the Lord is known as Palani Badshah. Palani Andavar lights the spiritual path by which the pilgrims walk through in search of their spiritual goal to attain self realization.

The temple of Lord Dhandayuthapani at Palani is unique in several aspects. It also differs in many aspects from the other abodes of Lord Murugan.

The basic and the foremost factor is the presiding deity, known as the Moolavar. It is a normal practice to sculpt the idols for all Hindu temples in granite stone. The main reason to choose granite is it's tensile strength. But other than this enormous strength, only granite stone contains all the five elements of creation, namely the pañca bhutas. They are earth, water, fire, air and ether.

As an exception, in Palani the idol for the Moolavar or presiding deity is believed to be made out of an amalgam known as nava Pasanam. In Sanskrit the word nava has two meanings. Nava means both 'new' and also 'nine'. Similarly the word bhasana also has two meanings. Bhasana means 'poison' and may also mean 'mineral'.

The observations made by the researchers who delved into the ancient literature lends support to the theory that the Siddha Munivar Bhogar was the one who formulated this amalgamation of nava Pasanam. The idol for the presiding deity was sculpted out of this nava Pasanam. It is believed that this amalgam is a clever mixture of nine poisonous metals. By this amalgamation, the poisonous nature of all these metals was harnessed, hardened like granite and converted into a beneficial amalgam with medicinal and curative values. The idol for the presiding deity was subsequently carved out of this hardened amalgam.

To evolve such a unique amalgam reveals the alchemy expertise possessed by the Siddha Munivar Bhogar, the enormous spiritual heights achieved by him and the endless concern he had about the welfare of the followers devoted to Lord Murugan in future generations. The antecedent of this saint is seen from the very ancient literature. The bull god, Nandi Deva, is the supreme head of all siddhas. His main disciple was Tirumular amongst the total of seven. The seventh disciple is Kalangi Kañjamalaiyan who in turn had five disciples. Kalangi Kañjamalaiyan disciple was the Siddha Munivar Bhogar.

All these facts about Bhogar, the creator of the unique idol for Palani Andavar are found in the hymns of Tirumular called Thirumandiram. Tirumular is the pillar of Saiva Siddhanta who showed the right path for spiritual evolution of souls by self realization, a process for our soul to merge with the Ultimate.

After cleverly compounding the amalgam, Bhogar chose to sculpt the figure of Lord Murugan in an unconventional style. Normally, in all the temples of Lord Murugan, the deity is sculpted with splendour of beauty and an expression of charming adolescence. The idols always faced east. In contrast, the idol at Palani temple is quite slim with a saintly expression facing westwards with a shaven head, clad in a saffron loin cloth and holding his baton staff called the Dandayudham. The recluse and renunciation brought out in the idol's expression, clearly flashes the message, "I am the Fruit of Wisdom".

It is astonishing to note that this cleverly composed and delicately sculpted figure of the Lord has stood the effects of devotees pouring their love and devotion in the form of Abishekams. About 600 - 700 Abishekams are performed every month on Kiruthikai days. This delicate idol has withstood all this miraculously and beyond human explanation.

Nevertheless, a close examination of the idol will disturb anyone. For the region below the neck, the idol has lost its proportionate shape. The hands and feet are totally eroded by the corrosive action of the Abhishekam materials. The region below the knees has become very thin and slender and now the legs look like polio affected legs, thin like two steel rods resting on a pedestal.

The body region is not only eroded but appears rugged, with uneven surface and with sharp angular edges. During Abhishekam, the archakas are not able to smear and rub oil on the idol, fearing possible cuts from its sharp and rugged surface. At one stage, people thought that the idol would soon buckle and fall for lack of support for the eroded legs.

The devotees and the public became concerned about such a condition of the idol of the presiding deity. Several representations were sent to the Tamil Nadu State Government. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, the Government took up the issue during the year 1983-84 and started considering various possibilities to ensure that the valuable idol would be preserved without any further damage at the powerful temple at Palani.

The Government at one stage considered the possibility of replacing it with a new idol. At this point, the real problem cropped up. There is a code laid down by the agamas that every twelve years a temple should be renovated. On completing the renovation, a Kumbabishekam (consecration) of the temple should be performed. But this has never involved the replacement of the idol. This was never done and there was no precedent.

The replacement idea never occurred even in temples where the idol is sculpted out of granite. In such cases, the idol is temporarily moved to another location in the temple complex. The idol is re-installed in its original location with new astabandhanam (an adhesive material made out of herbs and made into a paste by mixing with butter).

At Palani, the scenario is totally different. The strong belief is based on the tradition that the idol of the presiding deity is made out of a unique amalgam formulated by Bhogar with his divine power and futuristic thoughts reflecting his concern for future generations. The amalgam is widely believed to have medicinal qualities and curative abilities.

The sandal wood paste in particular, applied on the idol and left overnight, is considered to act as a wonder drug, a panacea for many incurable and complex diseases. Every drop of water, coming out of Abhishekam is consumed by the devotees with pleasure and many devotees get rid of their chronic ailments. "This curative aspect has a scientific explanation," the Devasthanam claims in one of their publications.

One hypothesis says that the idol acts as a store house for millions of good bacteria and when the Abhishekam materials flow over the idol the bacteria get mixed with the materials and pass on to the devotees, who get relief from their ailments. The Abhishekam materials remain preserved for a considerable period of time, an example to show the curative nature of the Abhishekam water. Thus it is not surprising that many Siddha medical centres are based in Palani and around the Palani Hills.

Since the Lord Dhandayuthapani at Palani is the first physician of Tamil tradition, the idea of replacing the existing idol was unacceptable. In order to ensure that the Moolavar will continue to be serviceable for generations to come, the Government constituted a special committee. Justice Sadasivam, an eminent judge, a scholar of repute and a man of immense faith in religion, was appointed as the Chairman of this committee. On his assuming charge, he instituted five sub-committees to view the problem from various angles. The five respective sub-committees consisted of:

·        Heads of large mutts and religious institutions;

·        Sthapathis (temple architects);

·        Experts on agamas;

·        Priests and Pandarams; and

·        Scientists

The main objective of this committee was to find out the nature and composition of the material, out of which the idol for the presiding deity had been sculpted. As a special case, the members of this committee were permitted to enter the sanctum sanctorum along with the priests and pandarams.

As a first step towards investigation, Committee members took a close look at the idol of the Lord. Committee members were astonished when they found the face of the idol to be quite fresh with no signs of damage or deterioration. It was so clear that it looked as though the idol was recently installed. An examination of the idol under the magnifying glass, the material appeared to resemble granite or grano-dioritic material.

When they inspected the idol, their happiness and surprise were only short lived, as they moved from the face to the body of the idol. It appeared in marked contrast to the condition we observed on the face of the idol. The entire body region of the idol was full of distortions, rugged, with flaking sharp edges and the two legs were like slender sticks standing on the pedestal. With its weak support by the thinned down legs, the idol was threatening to buckle and fall down at any time.

The very distinct contrast between the face and the body of the idol disproves the theory that the primary cause was the many Abishekams. If this cause is accepted, then the question arises, "Why does the face remain fresh while the body is showing all these irregularities?" So, once in for all, this theory was rejected.

The other theory, concerns the possibility of a conspiracy between the Siddha doctors of Palani, the archakas and others who have access to the sanctum sanctorum. Under this scenario, the valuable material from the body region of the idol was being scrapped up by those who have access to the sanctum sanctorum, for marketing the scrapings to the Siddha doctors, who in turn diluted the material and included the same in their potions for their eager patients. This, once again reflects the prolific growth of the Siddha medical centres in and around Palani.

Though the preliminary visual examination of the idol revealed the possibility of the material shall be of granitic origin. It could not be confirmed as neither a microscopic examination nor a chemical analysis could be done in the absence of loose material from the idol being available for such detailed investigation. But we were aware that the Abhishekam materials flowing over the idol could possibly absorb some of the ingredients from the idol to acquire the medicinal property, curative qualities and offer relief to many devotees from their ailments.

Guided by this knowledge and taking a clue from this, we applied sandalwood paste to the idol and let it remain overnight. The next day the sandalwood paste was collected and a solution was prepared for further chemical examination, using a sophisticated instrument, the Perkin-Elmer 707 atomic absorption spectrophotometer to identify the trace elements. A standard solution required for the experiment was made to calibrate the instrument.

As the next step, the sandal wood paste solution from the paste left on the idol overnight was subjected to the experiment. The instrument showed no apparent reading. The experiment was repeated several times and the instrument showed zero absorption. When other samples were tested, the instrument showed positive results but for the sandal wood paste left overnight on the idol of the lord, the result was zero absorption. It was revealed to us as a stupendous moral - that even modern scientific analysis cannot penetrate the Divine Structure.

Accordingly, a report was prepared and submitted to the Chairman of the Committee. The Chairman gathered all the reports from all the sub-committees and sent a final report to the Government with his recommendation. The committee recommended that all precautions should be taken to protect the idol by taking a major decision to restrict the number of Abishekams on the Lord.

It is also widely believed that the Siddha Munivar Bhogar had made three identical idols and after installing the present one, the other two idols were hidden somewhere in the Eastern Ghats to be discovered at an appropriate time and by an appropriate person probably, another divine personality for replacing the present idol which had stood the test of time and started showing signs of deterioration.

It is here, that one has to understand and accept human limitations. Humans can discover and harness the power of nature, but humans cannot conquer nature which is God's creation. It will be appropriate to recall the observation made by Sir Isaac Newton when praises were showered on him for his great discovery. Sir Isaac Newton modestly remarked. "All that I have done to the human community is to make a common man understand his observable laws". He added further by saying. "God created the forces of gravity. I connect this by a mathematical equation in an understandable way".

The modesty displayed by the great scientist is reflected in the zero absorption shown by the instrument in our experiment on the composition of Lord Murugan’s idol. It will only be appropriate to recall the verses by kavignar Kannadasan, the poet of modern times when he said,

"Dwelling within the realm of Zero, ruling a Kingdom and beyond normal understanding is God. He would reveal Himself to those who understand and realize him".