9. Seven Seas in Madurai
Henceforth we will refer to the king as God, since he is one to his people whom he protects. Internalising the qualities of Siva, the king himself becomes Siva.
Thatatakai’s mother, through the urging of her guru, wishes to visit the seven holy seas, take a dip in them and make religious offerings. She expresses her desire to her daughter and requests her to arrange for a pilgrimage.
Devi in turn told her husband of her mother’s desire. Scriptures say that keeping in mind her age and the difficulty to travel alone in that age, Somasundarar decides to bring the seven seas in a small pond in Madurai.
Let’s examine the inner meaning of this episode. We see today people running to temples, performing rituals and believing in superstition for everything these days. But they are not aware of the reasons for this.
By visiting temples, bathing in holy waters, performing Vedic rituals, charity and service can all bring down the impact of our negative karmas, the mind will calm down and we will become spiritually more aware. SAL energy will go up. In India especially, we consider water as an important tool for spirituality.
Water makes one understand the concept of the mind. Through the holy dip, the mind should attempt to clean dirt in the body and mind. Especially water found in elevated places and consecrated has the ability to awaken spiritual thoughts in one’s mind. It is important to realise this while taking a dip. The water should create in one’s mind a generosity to help others selflessly. That is why our ancestors stressed on the importance of bathing in Rameshwaram, Varanasi and Thalakaveri. In some places, the water is worshipped as God.
Son-in-law’s word is law
The Lord explained the concept of holy waters clearly to his mother-in-law. She understood his explanation well and thought of Vaigai river and the Golden Lotus Pond in Madurai as the holy waters. Isn’t it a fact? After all, every water body on earth has its roots in the sea. It is the sea that forms the different water bodies. That is why all the water bodies associated with Siva temples has Ganga as part of its name. There is only one Ganges, but its properties are shared by the other waters too. Why is that? Because of true faith.
By making the elderly lady realise that everything is one, the Lord then created a pond through his divine powers where all the seven seas were contained. The mother also took a holy dip in that pond.
Be it Ganga, Kaveri or Vaigai, it is our heart that should change. Piety has to be born in our hearts after all.
Om Namah Shivaya!
