ri Vekkali Amman's posture at the famous temple in Woraiyur in Tiruchi, by itself, is unique in several

aspects.
Firstly, the presiding deity faces north, a specific direction usually meant for blessing the devotees with
victory in their endeavour or initiative. It is because of Sri Vekkali Amman's posture towards the northern
direction, that a few Chola rulers used to worship Her before proceeding to the battlefield.
Usually, Sri Amman, in Her sitting posture, has the left leg folded and the right leg in a resting position. But,
at this temple, the posture is quite unusual. The right leg is in folded form and the left leg in the resting
position. The left leg is seen kept on the Asuran.
Legend has it that to be seated in this form, it requires a lot of energy and power to keep the Asura (evil)
forces under check.
Hence, Sri Vekkali Amman used Her extraordinary power to control the Asuran and hence the change in the
sitting posture.
The legend has also a reference to the competition between Lord Nataraja and Goddess Kali in a dance
performance. Lord Nataraja, during the performance, changed His leg.
In response, Sri Kali changed Her sitting posture at this temple.
All around the sanctum sanctorum, a pair of the holy feet (padham') of Sri Vekkali Amman has been set up.
S Govindaraj, the temple priest, says that Sri Vekkali Amman's posture signifies kindness, love, affection
and compassion to Her devotees.
The upper right hand carries a Damaru' (a udukkai' with a snake rolled over it); lower right hand carries
Tirusoolam; the left upper hand paasam'; and the left lower hand kabalam'. The holy head of Sri Vekkali
Amman signifies nine Agni jwalai' or sacred flames with a snake embedded across it.
Other idols
The other idols at the temple: The temple has several important idols around its prakaram'.
They include Sri Vallaba Ganapathy; Sri Visalakshi and Sri Viswanathar; Sri Mayura Murugar along with His
Consorts Sri Valli and Sri Devasena; Kathavarayan, Periyannan and Madurai Veeran. A special feature is that
the processional idol of Sri Vekkali Amman and the stone idol of Sri Durgai have been set up in a single
shrine.

The idol of Sri Pongu Saniswarar is the attraction for many devotees.
It is believed that offering worship to Sri Pongu Saniswarar will bring about prosperity to the devotees.

Uraiyur Vekkali Amman

Uraiyur in Trichy can be called a temple town because of the prescence of several temples. One such place of
worship is Vekkali Amman Temple. The temple has a hoary past. History
and spirituality are inextricably intertwined with Uraiyur.
The deity faces north and it is believed that gods and goddesses who
personify valour and chivalry and face north will bless kings with victory in a
war. Thus, all kings used to propitiate Vekkali Amman before proceeding to
the battlefield.
Sarama Munivar had an exotic garden and used to offer flowers to lord
Thayumanavan and used to adorn the deity with garlands. Meanwhile,
Pranthakan, a florist, was enchanted with the variety of flowers and decided
to give them to the king to create a rapport with him. Thus, Pranthakan,
without the permission of Sarama Munivar, kept supplying flowers to the
king.
The sage found that the flowers were missing in his garden and kept a vigil. To his utter shock and disbelief, he
found that Pranthakan was the culprit. The sage told the king that flowers are meant only for lord
Thayumanavan. The king turned a deaf ear to his appeal and encouraged Pranthakan to pluck flowers from the
garden.
The sage at once pleaded with the lord to put an end to this act. The lord, unhappy over the kings behaviour,
decided to punish him. A severe sandstorm hit the place and thousands were rendered homeless. Not knowing
what to do, the people surrendered to Vekkali Amman and invoked her blessings.
The goddess made the king realise his fault. Though the sandstorm stopped, yet, people did not have a house to
live in. It is believed that the goddess also decided to reside in a roofless temple with only the sky for a cover.
She pitied them for living on the streets and resolved to stay likewise till such time that they got a house. This
incident has been narrated by Tamil scholar Ottakoothar.
There are other deities in the temple like Murugan with Valli and Devasena, Saturn and the Navagrahas. The
icon of the Goddess radiates divinity and she is consecrated in a sitting posture. The temple calendar is packed
with festivals.
Uraiyur Vekkali Amman Temple

Mahatma Gandhi one of my Heroes

July 18, 2013 by George Dowdell 7 Comments

Gandhi is one of my heroes. I use the word heroes with caution. No one is perfect and
we can be tempted to idolise. But there can be no doubt that Mahatma Gandhi was a

remarkable man. People have written books about him, many films have been made
about him including the well-known film directed by Richard Attenborough.
I will not attempt to retell the story but wish to explain why he is one of my heroes and to
see what we can learn from him.
He was brave
Gandhi was the bravest man Ive ever heard of. He did not shrink back from being
beaten or being imprisoned for what he believed. When he was in court and charged
with sedition he told the British judge that he was guilty as charged and that the judge
had no alternative but to send him to prison.
When I compare myself with his bravery I realise that I fall far short. Would I be
prepared to go to prison in defence of the rights of other people?
When there was fighting and much loss of life between Hindus and Muslims he knew
that he had to do something dramatic to stop the violence. He said that he would not eat
again until the fighting had completely stopped. The news spread that he was dying and
in mosques and Hindu temples the word went out that the killing had to stop. Only when
he was convinced that there was no further fighting did he agree to eat again.
Am I prepared to give my life for the community in which I live so that there will be
harmony between people of different races, religions and cultures?
A man who was completely innocent, offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of
others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world. It was a perfect
act. (Gandhi referring to Jesus Christ)
He was a man of vision
You must be the change you wish to see in the world. (Attributed to Gandhi)
Gandhi was a man of great vision. He saw a world where the Indian people would be
free to control their own destiny. Having perceived a change he wished to see he set
about trying to achieve it. He understood the system. He knew the British could only rule
by oppression and control. He realised to oppose oppression with violence was bound
to fail. With the weapon of non-violent civil disobedience he took on the might of the
British Empire and won.
A final note
Nobody can hurt me without my permission. (Gandhi)

If we do not give permission to people they cannot hurt us. But we cannot hold
everyone at arms length. If we have an open nature, we give that permission to our
family, our close friends and perhaps our colleagues. To close our hearts to the whole
world would damage us, more than the potential hurt which can come through having
an open heart. The question is this: when we are hurt by someone close to us,
how do we react? Are we prepared to talk through what has hurt us, and forgive
where necessary, or do we close our heart to them to avoid being hurt again?

Steps
1.

- Watch a 10 second video

1
Start with massaging your lower eyelids with the tips of your ring fingers. Use short and
gentle circular movements.

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2.

- Watch a 10 second video

2
Close your eyes halfway down. You will notice that your upper lids constantly tremble with
different amplitude. Concentrate your efforts on stopping this trembling. (Little hint it will be

easier to do if you look at further objects). Slowly close your eyes, like your eyelids are made out
of puffy cottony clouds. Think that your eyes get extremely comfortable in their position. The
blood filled with the oxygen flows through your eye sockets. When you inhale imagine the breezy
oxygenated air coming through your nose into the eyes. Exhale through the mouth. Breathe this
way for one or two minutes and end this exercise with a smile.

3.

- Watch a 10 second video

3
Concentrate your vision on the tip of your nose.

4.

- Watch a 10 second video

4
Blink. Always remember about the blinking to lubricate your eyes, cleanse them and at the
same time relax all of the muscles surrounding your eyes.

5.

- Watch a 10 second video

5
Sit straight, look to the most left side and hold to stretch your eye muscles.Return your
gaze back to look straight in front of you. Blink for a few seconds in order to relax your eyes.
Repeat. Blink a few times. This exercise has to be repeated for other eye positions (right, up,
bottom, right top corner, right bottom corner, left bottom corner and left top corner). Do not forget
about blinking.

6.

- Watch a 10 second video

6
Draw a horizontal number eight with your eyes. Blink.

7.

- Watch a 10 second video

7
Draw a circle with your eyes.

8.

- Watch a 10 second video

8
Blink with your eyes closed.

9.

- Watch a 10 second video

9
Perform palming to relax your eyes.

10.

- Watch a 10 second video

10
Spend 2 minutes to give yourself an eye acupressure massage to prepare your eyes for
the dynamic eye exercises.

11.

- Watch a 10 second video

11
Sit straight. Look to the most left position and move your gaze to the most right position.
Repeat 3 times. Blink a few times. Repeat looking up and down, diagonally (from the left top
corner to the right bottom corner and from the top right corner to the left bottom corner). Each
movement has to be repeated 3-4 times in the beginning. Do not forget to blink.

12.

- Watch a 10 second video

12
Perform focusing exercises. Look at the tip of your nose and then on the far object and back
to the tip of your nose. Repeat 10 times dynamically. Be inventive. Choose objects on the
different distance and look at each of them.

13.

- Watch a 10 second video

13
Finish up with palming to relax your eyes.