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Sabarimala-9
Pilgrimages that deepen awareness
The Symbolism of Ayyappa Story
Ayyappa who sent in search of leopards encountered the Mahishi in the forest. He
caught hold of Mahisi by her horns, lifted her and hurled her downwards. She
fell near the river, Azutha. Lying there incapacitated, and having had the
divine touch of Ayyappa, she immediately recollected her original divine
nature and sang in praise of him. As the compassionate glance of Ayyappa
fell on her, there emerged out of her bizarre body an extremely beautiful
Goddess, now worshipped as Goddess Maaligappurath-amma in Sabarimala.
Killing of the Mahishi is the killing of the Ego. The moment the veil of Ego
is removed, the inner light of Consciousness is realized. We understand our
True Self to be Consciousness and not the Ego, body and mind. Then such a
realized person would live a royal life in the palace of bliss. "Maaliga"
in Malayalam means palace. This state of a Self-realized person is an
honorable state and so symbolically worshipped as "Maaliga Purathamma", the
would-be wife of Lord Ayyappa.
When the Mahishi was killed, Leela emerged and
remembered her real nature to be the divine energy of Consciousness. She
asked Ayyappa to marry her. Ayyappa refused saying that he has to take
care of people who needs his help. When there are no more help needed
then he would marry her, until then she has to wait, indicated by
no more arrows in "Saram kuthiyaal". In the section about the Journey
to Sabarimala we will discuss about this very interesting aspect in detail.
A self realized person immediately does not leave the body, if he
or she has any trace of vasanas (desires) left. This will be extinguished
through the action of Service to others. This is symbolized by the refusal
of marriage (Union of jiva with the supreme Atma). The nil arrows in
Sarankuthiyaal represents this symbolism.
Thereafter, Ayyappa returned to the kingdom of Pandalam with the leopards.
A Self realized person who has killed his Ego , would have all the mystical
powers under his control as seen As Ayyappa riding on the leopards.
The king, the queen and all others realized the divinity of Ayyappa and
surrendered to him before him. Ayyappa imparted to them spiritual wisdom
about the meaning and destiny of human life. The king prayed to the Lord to
bless them with his everlasting spiritual presence in a temple to be
dedicated to him, for showering his Grace to millions for generations to
come. That would be especially necessary in the present Iron Age (Kali Yuga)
when people would increasingly tend to be self-centred and materialistic,
bringing much disharmony to life. Thereupon, the lord suggested a holy spot
and advised the king to construct a temple there. The Lord assured him that
the temple would ever be vibrant with his Divine Presence and then He
disappeared. Eventually the king constructed a temple in the deep forest of
Sabarimala as suggested by the Lord. An idol of Lord Ayyappa seated in the
Yogic pose Veeraasanam and showing the mystic sign of Chinmudra by the right
hand was installed in the temple.
In a self realized person all the thoughts are under his control. He
recongizes his divinity asinscriped in the Sabarimala temple "ThatTvam Asi",
which means "You are that supreme Consciousness".
This is the meaning of chin-mudra that ayyappa shows. Little finger represents body,
ring finger represents mind (that is why in wedding ring is worn in ring
finger or mind finger because the event is the joining of two individuals
are mind level) . The middle finger is the senses and the fore finger is the
“I” or ego thought. The thumb is the consciousness finger or intellect
finger without which the other fingers are useless. The forefinger is always
found associated with the other three fingers and when it transcends them it
merges with the thumb to form a circle which indicates that this
consciousness has no beginning and end. This is the thatva of chin mudra
that Ayyappa shows and tells his devotees to achieve in life.
Knowing the
Symbolism of Sabarimala Ayyappa, let us now take the Journey to
The Source. We will understand how each ritual in the journey
represents the symbolism of Ayyappa story actually represents our
inward spiritual journey to our own source, the Consciousness.
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