April 1983
Millions Worldwide Worship Muruga on Thai Pusam With Puja, Pilgrimage and Penance
Ananthan, P.
During the Saivite religious
festival of Thai Pusam, near the end of January each year, in the modern,
cosmopolitan countries of Mauritius, Malaysia, Singapore and South Africa,
the Worshipping throngs make a stunning picture. The onlooker may see
hundreds of devotees in procession carrying the "Kavadi" - an arch-shaped
object, brightly painted and decorated with flowers - over their head and
shoulders. Thousands of more devotees walk along in festive procession,
singing and chanting, or worshiping in silence as drummers drum and music
plays. The melodious bhajans ring out, all in praise of the God Muruga.
Tourists snap photographs. During the height of certain portions of the
three-day festival one may see devotees with long metal spears, or Vels,
passed through their cheeks and tongues. Metal hooks piercing their skin
adorn their chests and backs, and their bodies glisten with holy ash. This
year in Bellair, South Africa, for example, Narain Chetty pulled a heavy
chariot with the ropes attached to hooks in his back. This staunch devotee
has taken part in the festival for past 15 years.
Batu Caves Temple
outside of Kuala Lumpur holds perhaps the grandest Thai Pusam in the
world. This year an estimated 800,000 people were in attendance. Over
2,000 devotees carried the kavadi. A much fewer number performed unusual
physical ordeals. More Hindus in the Republic of South Africa turn out for
this festival than any other, and it ranks as one of the most popular in
Mauritius and Singapore as well. Reports from South Africa and Malaysia
state that increasing numbers of young people are
participating.
The thousands of devotees combine their energies
during these three special days to draw Muruga's attention, His power, and
receive His blessings. Additionally, to carry the kavadi is to take an
active part in the festival, to perform a special symbolic act of worship
which involves one fully and leaves an enduring memory. The Hindu concept
of penance is central to Thai Pusam and oftentimes the moving force behind
the physical hardships which attract the attention of the onlooker.
Penance - to intentionally undergo suffering or austerity to atone for
misconduct - is taking karma in one's own hands. Often with the help and
blessings of the God, the Hindu devotee may thus settle a particular
karmic debt consciously and deliberately, rather than wait for its karmic
effect to come in its due course.
Two thousand devotees carried the
kavadi on the second day of Thai Pusam at Batu Caves Temple this year,
ranging in age from toddlers to men in their 80's. "It all begins before
daybreak near a river situated along the temple grounds," explains P.
Ananthan. "Each kavadi bearer would have undergone a period of fasting,
refraining from consuming especially meat and alcohol. This is done in
order to get rid of all evil deeds and influences and to think of only
Lord Muruga at that particular fasting month." A bath in the cool river is
taken by each, and those who are to carry hooks or vels through their body
are then prepared. With great care and knowledge which constitutes an art
in itself, experts insert the metal objects. No pain is felt, for trance
has been entered, and no blood is spilled. Soon the procession makes its
way slowly and festively across a large flat expanse and climbs the 272
stone steps leading up the side of the mountain to a mammoth limestone
cave wherein is found the shrine of Lord Muruga. A festive, worshipful
spirit fills the air. After reaching the top, they proceed to the shrine.
Experts place holy ash on the forehead of each one and reawaken them from
the trance. The whole event, from the river to the shrine, has lasted
three hours.
Thai Pusam celebrates the giving of the Shakti Vel,
the lance-like symbol of spiritual knowledge and incisive discrimination,
to Lord Muruga by Parvati, the female or creative aspect of God Siva. The
word "Thai" denotes the Tamil month of January/February.
On the
first day of Thai Pusam at Batu Caves, thousands of devotees gather at 4
A.M. to follow the bullock-drawn chariot of Lord Muruga from the Maha
Mariamman Temple to Batu Caves, a distance of several miles. The pujaris
by then have conducted puja for the Deity, taken the parade image around
the temple and now place it in the chariot waiting outside. Effectively,
the priests have invoked the presence and power of the God in the parade
image. The chariot stands an impressive 25-feet tall, the whole structure
carved of teak and covered with silver, donned with colorful and dazzling
lights. Illuminating the quiet darkness, the procession slowly moves
ahead, stopping at numerous temples along the long route where pujas and
archanas are performed for the benefit of the hundreds of people lined
up.
On the final day of Thai Pusam at Batu Caves the image of Lord
Muruga is carried in His chariot back to the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple.
The processions begins in the morning and at sunset, the Deity once again
installed in His sanctum inside the temple, the festival comes to an end
for one more year. A massive event honoring a god invisible to the
physical eyes has taken the cooperation of the government and combined
efforts of several religious world, Hindus have once again voice their
testimony of faith in Muruga - as if to say that though outer life styles
and world circumstances many change, their inner relationship with Him is
abiding.
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