The Story of Saint Poosalar: Conquest of ?kaama? ------------------------------------------------ through Sublimation of Desire -- --------------------------------- ?bhakti yOga? ----------- At around the same time that Poosalar was engaged in his project of mentally constructing a temple for the Almighty at Tiruninravoor, there ruled a local king called Kaadavar Komaan at Kanchi. Kaadavar Komaan too, like Poosalar, had been busy for many years with a project that had been given royal commission. It was to erect a grand temple of stone and marble at Kanchi, endowed with all riches at his kingly command. After several years, and after several thousand sums of money spent, Kaadavar Komaan's temple neared completion. The King was really proud of the grand temple that had been raised under his royal patronage. Excitedly, he began to prepare for its festive inauguration after which he could throw open the temple doors to the general public. The King consulted his ministers and palace priests and after much planning and deliberations an auspicious date was fixed for the "mahA kumbhAbhisEkam" Sekkizhar writes: "On the day before the date of consecration of Kaadavar Komaan?s great temple, the Lord came in the dead of the night in the king?s dream and said: ?Tomorrow I wil not be able to grace the consecration of your great temple, O king, since tomorrow it is that my devotee Poosalan too has fixed the date for the consecration of the temple that he has raised for me at Ninravoor. So skip tomorrow and fix for a later date your temple consecration?. The Lord then vanished. Waking up from sleep the King was aghast. Impelled by a desire too meet Poosalan immediately, and to enquire about the extraordinary temple raised by him for whose consecration the Almighty did not mind postponing the King's own invitation, Kaadavar Komaan set out for Tiruninravoor. The King arrived at Tiruninravoor and asked the local people "Where is the temple erected by the devotee Poosalan?" They were dumbstruck by the King's inquiry. They replied: ?There is no such temple, O good King! We know no such temple here that Poosalan has built!?. But the king would not relent and after making further enquiries about the whereabouts of Poosalan, finally came face to face with the devotee. The King worshipped the holy Poosalan and then asked him gently, ?Holy Sire, which is the temple praised so highly by the Lord in my dream that has been erected by you here at Ninravoor? The Lord tells me today is the blessed day of the consecration ("mahAkumbhAbhishEkam") of your temple. I have come to witness the grand event where the Lord Himself is going to be present and preside?. When Poosalan heard about the King?s dream he was both astounded and exultant. His joy knew no bounds. ?O good King, is that what the Lord said to you in your dream? What wonder, what a miracle! "Your majesty, I have not built a temple in the physical sense. I built it inside my mind where my inner eye alone can feast upon the magnificent structure! If my Lord deemed even me a thing of worth and graciously said thus, well this is the chimera of a temple which I erected with my mind since there were no funds coming forth with which I could build it otherwise?. Saying so, Poosalan narrated and explained in detail how all the years he had been engaged in mentally erecting the temple, with his thoughts alone serving him as as bricks and mortar, limestone and granite, marble and gravel. The King heard the account and was simply overwhelmed and overcome by amazement by the tale of Bhakti. He exclaimed: ?How remarkable is the greatness of the devotee Poosalan of the flawless mind!?. Thus he praised him and fell prostrate on the ground at Poosalar?s feet. ************** Poosalan later completed the consecration of his "abstract temple" that had taken shape out of the purity and extraordinary bhakti of his heart. What had once been mere petty passion of "kaama" for a personal home, had transformed itself (through the slow process of Sublimation) into a greater "kaama" for the Lord, and now it stood before him, after all the years, momumentalized as a grand Abode of God, deep within the landscape of the mind. Poosalan thereafter continued to live in Tiruninravoor, lovingly performing with good effect, for many a day and many a year, all the necessary worship unto the Almighty who thus resided in the temple of the mind. At the end of his days on earth, the Nayanmaar entered into the haven of the golden feet of the Lord Almighty. ************** (TO BE CONCLUDED) Regards, dAsan, Sudarshan __________________________________________________________ Yahoo! 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