Nobody on this earth is free from worries or problems from which there is no escape. The nature of problems may vary from people to people and they could be health-related, marital, financial, etc. Having exhausted all other attempts, for the final remedy, we ultimately take refuge in providence. This is true of people belonging to various religions world over. In the Hindu pantheon, there are gods and goddesses who are believed to have certain curative powers. What you need is dedication, intense prayer and above all trust in the deity whom you worship.
Understanding the basic concepts of well-being and happiness is a prerequisite to study health and healing traditions that are in practice in many faiths. With the advent of modern medical technology, a rapid growth of materialistic life and gradual erosion of faith in god due to the intrusion of atheist forces in a few places like Tamil Nadu, the strong belief in prayer, participating in temple rituals, making offerings at temples, etc., has not declined. On the contrary, it has been going up in the past a couple of decades. Along with the modern medicine, the majority of Hindus turn to God, as a last resort, for cure and mental happiness. "Well-being" (su asti or svasti from which the word swastika is derived) is dependent on many things such as a perfect harmony with the earth, planets and the stars. There must be a perfect equilibrium among various activities within our body, family and society. Proper fairness has to be maintained by us with our living space (control of pollution of soil, water, air, etc.), our forefathers and above all our deities.Trust is a fundamental factor when we approach the god for remedy. "In any relationship, the essence of trust is not in its bind, but in its bond. So, hold the hand of the person whom you love rather than expecting them to hold yours". Likewise, if you put faith in god and say you prayer from your heart he will help you out and that is what the followers of Hinduism have been doing for centuries.
One can not always expect the continuance of a perfect balance among the factors mentioned above, as we may run into rough roads and, sometimes, experience pit falls and roadblocks due to imbalance and disharmony. There may be some blemishes in our Jathagam - astrological chart and this may lead to loss of peace of mind, delayed marriages, children not doing well in studies, sudden onslaught of poor physical or mental health and so on. The tough phase may be short, but the pain may be unbearable. The Hindu traditions have many ways to deal with them; besides other choices, their traditional idea of well-being, disease and health is often seen in a religious prospective. The Hindus believe that certain rituals in the name of gods and goddesses (Shakti) have positive results in the case people experiencing a bad period due to the influence of certain position of the planets and stars in the astrological chart of a person. In the rural India, particularly in the south, it is believed that some diseases are caused by the fury of the almighty. The customs, narratives and traditional cure are passed on from one generation to another and the idea behind it is to instill the belief and faith in such tradition-bound custom-oriented temple rituals.
In India, there exists a pluralistic theism among the Hindus who believe that some gods intervene in their lives and keep them healthy. There are pan-Hindu gods such as Shiva, Vishnu, Ganesha and some goddesses. In the south, particularly, in Tamil Nadu devotees seek the help of some Goddesses for childless couple, delayed puberty, cure of some diseases, etc. Dhanvantri (Vishnu), Vaitheeswaran or vaihyanathan (Shiva), Mariamman (goddess Parvati/Parasakthi) are a few examples.
There are innumerable Hindu temples that are believed to have mystical powers to cure human ailments. Mentioned below are a few Hindu temples and their curative power.
Trikkur Mahadeva Kshetram, Kerala:
Trikkur Mahadeva Kshetram, near Thrissur is a rock-cut cave temple dedicated to lord Shiva (in Swayambu form - self manifested). It is a pretty old temple atop a hillock and is being maintained by the ASI. There are other shrines dedicated to
Ganapathi, Sastha, Bhadrakali, Bhagavathi, Chamundi and deities.
Fascinating facts:
01. This temple, it is believed, gives relief to those who have bouts of breathing difficulties like Asthma, and breathlessness.
02. What is the remedy for it? It may sound strange, but it does work. People follow what is called Kayar Vazhipaadu (in Tamil/Malayalam kayar means rope )-the Rope Offering. It is strongly believed to have divine powers to cure problems related to lungs and breathing.
Understanding the basic concepts of well-being and happiness is a prerequisite to study health and healing traditions that are in practice in many faiths. With the advent of modern medical technology, a rapid growth of materialistic life and gradual erosion of faith in god due to the intrusion of atheist forces in a few places like Tamil Nadu, the strong belief in prayer, participating in temple rituals, making offerings at temples, etc., has not declined. On the contrary, it has been going up in the past a couple of decades. Along with the modern medicine, the majority of Hindus turn to God, as a last resort, for cure and mental happiness. "Well-being" (su asti or svasti from which the word swastika is derived) is dependent on many things such as a perfect harmony with the earth, planets and the stars. There must be a perfect equilibrium among various activities within our body, family and society. Proper fairness has to be maintained by us with our living space (control of pollution of soil, water, air, etc.), our forefathers and above all our deities.Trust is a fundamental factor when we approach the god for remedy. "In any relationship, the essence of trust is not in its bind, but in its bond. So, hold the hand of the person whom you love rather than expecting them to hold yours". Likewise, if you put faith in god and say you prayer from your heart he will help you out and that is what the followers of Hinduism have been doing for centuries.
One can not always expect the continuance of a perfect balance among the factors mentioned above, as we may run into rough roads and, sometimes, experience pit falls and roadblocks due to imbalance and disharmony. There may be some blemishes in our Jathagam - astrological chart and this may lead to loss of peace of mind, delayed marriages, children not doing well in studies, sudden onslaught of poor physical or mental health and so on. The tough phase may be short, but the pain may be unbearable. The Hindu traditions have many ways to deal with them; besides other choices, their traditional idea of well-being, disease and health is often seen in a religious prospective. The Hindus believe that certain rituals in the name of gods and goddesses (Shakti) have positive results in the case people experiencing a bad period due to the influence of certain position of the planets and stars in the astrological chart of a person. In the rural India, particularly in the south, it is believed that some diseases are caused by the fury of the almighty. The customs, narratives and traditional cure are passed on from one generation to another and the idea behind it is to instill the belief and faith in such tradition-bound custom-oriented temple rituals.
In India, there exists a pluralistic theism among the Hindus who believe that some gods intervene in their lives and keep them healthy. There are pan-Hindu gods such as Shiva, Vishnu, Ganesha and some goddesses. In the south, particularly, in Tamil Nadu devotees seek the help of some Goddesses for childless couple, delayed puberty, cure of some diseases, etc. Dhanvantri (Vishnu), Vaitheeswaran or vaihyanathan (Shiva), Mariamman (goddess Parvati/Parasakthi) are a few examples.
There are innumerable Hindu temples that are believed to have mystical powers to cure human ailments. Mentioned below are a few Hindu temples and their curative power.
Trikkur Mahadeva Kshetram, Kerala:
Trikkur Mahadeva temple www.tourismeveryone.com |
Ganapathi, Sastha, Bhadrakali, Bhagavathi, Chamundi and deities.
Fascinating facts:
01. This temple, it is believed, gives relief to those who have bouts of breathing difficulties like Asthma, and breathlessness.
02. What is the remedy for it? It may sound strange, but it does work. People follow what is called Kayar Vazhipaadu (in Tamil/Malayalam kayar means rope )-the Rope Offering. It is strongly believed to have divine powers to cure problems related to lungs and breathing.
Trikkur Mahadeva temple rope offering. alayamkanden.blogspot. |
04. With intense prayer/puja, ropes are offered at the thrupatham (holy feet) of the lord. This kind of cure is called Daiva Vyaapaashraya Chikitsa’ in Ayurveda.
05. That the temple has heaps of ropes suggests how much faith the devotees have in the presiding deity here and the prevalence of breathing problems among the people in this region.
06. The other offering is anointing or bathing of the idol. Devotees have Dhara (Abhishekam) performed on the idol at noon and it consists of 108 and 1008 pots of water to be used for this ritual, once the people are freed from the ailment.
07. In all Shiva temples, the main Viruksha (holy tree) is Vilva/Koovaram). Offering Pushpanjali - offering of a certain number of Vilva leaves is done as a token of gratitude for the cure.
08. Karuka Homam or lighting of oil lamp (lamp behind the Lord) is practiced on behalf of young children who have breathing problem.
http://aalayamkanden.blogspot.in/2012/03/where-short-hands-grew.html
Ettumanur Mahadevar temple, Kerala:
Ettumanoor Mahadevar Temple, Kerala Temple Advisor |
Ettumanur, a small town, about 60 km from Kochi in southeastern Kerala, has a pretty old temple dedicated to lord Shiva; here he is Mahadeva. This traditional Kerala-style temple is believed to have curative powers and lots of devotees come here for health reasons and for a permanent cure of their ailments. People are known to have been cured of stomach ailments, epilepsy attacks, etc., and in many cases the doctors gave up on them. Once cured, the devotees offer Thulaparam - rice equal to their body weight as a token of their gratitude to the lord here. In many cases the head temple priest gives them prasadam medicated ghee that must be taken for 41 days in the morning after bath and puja. They must chant the mantra "Om Namah Sivaya" and do meditation. After the stipulated date, they can see the result. The deity here is highly revered
and Sri Adi Shankaracharya (788-820) of Kaladi once
visited this shrine and composed his great devotional work "Saundarya Lahari" here.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ettumanoor_Mahadevar_Temple
Garbharakshambigai Temple, Tamil Nadu:
Garbharakshambigai Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva is in Thirukarukavoor, Tamil Nadu, and is about 6 km east of Papanasam town and is 20 km south east of Kumbakonam. It is a popular prarthana sthala. The place is also called Tirukalavur(Karu means womb, Ka means save and oor means village. Since the womb (Garbhapai in Tamil) is believed to be saved by the goddess, the village is called Tirukarukavoor. Lots of couples visit this temple for the safe delivery of the baby and the health of the mother and the baby.
Gopuram Garbharakshambigai shrine,TN./en.wikipedia.org/ |
Gunaseelam Vishnu Temple dedicated to Mahavishnu is located 20 km (12 mi) from Trichy city, Tamil Nadu. It is on the banks of the river Kollidam.
Gunaselam Perumal with a cane. Anudinam.org |
gunaseelam Perumal temple, TN. FindMyTemple |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prasanna_Venkatachalapathy_Temple
Vaitheeswaran Koil, Tamil Nadu:
Vaitheeswaran Koil, a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Shiva located in Tamil Nadu is a famous one and the temple is always crowded on auspicious days. Shiva is worshipped as Vaitheeswaran or the "God of healing" (vaidhya Natha Swamy) and it is believed that prayers to Vaitheeswaran can cure all kinds of ailments. It is also one of the nine Navagraha (nine planets) shrines and is associated with the planet Mars (Angaraka). It is 7 kilometers from Sirkazhi and 16 km from Mayiladuthurai (Mayavaram)..
Vaitheeswaran Koil. tamilnadu-favtourism.blogspot.com |
The holy waters of the Siddhamirtham tank within the temple complex contains medicinal properties, and a holy dip is believed to cure all diseases.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaitheeswaran_Koil