Visited

Do you have a favorite place you have visited? Where is it?

The Namakkal Sree Anjaneyar Temple carries a peace that cannot be described, only felt. The moment you step inside, the air becomes still — almost soundless. There is no echo in the sanctum, only a soft, hollow vibration that seems to flow directly from Lord Anjaneyar Himself. It’s as if the entire temple breathes in silence.

The priests there follow divine discipline. Every prayer, every offering, every archanai has its own sacred timing. Devotees who wish to do a prayer must book in advance, for the temple does not accept last-minute archanais at all. This strict alignment to time creates an atmosphere of order, purity, and devotion.

In that disciplined stillness, the heart naturally becomes calm… as though Lord Anjaneyar is reminding each visitor:

“Be steady, be sincere, and the inner silence will reveal everything.”

The Narasimha temple, an ancient sanctuary standing strong for more than 1500 years since 6th century and now is 21st century in the year 2025, next to the Namakkal Shree Anjaneyar temple, has truly endured the tests of time. The moment I stepped inside, something shifted within me. The vibration of the temple wasn’t just around me — it moved through my whole body, a subtle trembling that felt like a blessing.

For the first time in my life, my mind became completely empty. Not a single thought, not a single worry. Only calm… only peace… only a deep, silent serenity. I stood there in the divine presence, feeling lighter than ever before, as though the temple itself had lifted all burdens from me.

The devotees around me were just as calm, moving gently and silently, adding to the atmosphere of holiness. Outside the sanctum, vendors were doing their business quietly. No hassle, no bustle — only a simple flow of life, untouched by chaos.

For a moment, it felt like time had stopped. It was just me… the ancient temple… and the sacred emptiness that brought peace to my heart.

This Murugan temple is like a maze, and we needed to arrange a guide to enter the main sanctum. My sister and I followed two priests to enter the temple using the back exit that led into the sanctum. It was so complicated, as the priests took a small family of three together with the both of us. The priests walked super fast, and we had to catch up with them, walking quickly into the sanctum. I can the two priests who bought us into the sanctum had white lights shining out from their foreheads as they kept saying you follow us we will take care of you. That’s we followed the flow maze by the two priests that took us.

They took us through the maze of the temple where all the gods were placed. We reached the Parvati sanctum, followed by Ganesha, and my tears flowed nonstop even before reaching the Murugan sanctum. I kept crying uncontrollably until I faced the Murugan sanctum and prayed so hard as the gust of crowds pushed towards me. The security kept telling me to move. The priest saw me crying uncontrollably and asked me to pray for a few more minutes.

As the guard kept requesting us to go, we kept moving into another maze of the outer inner sanctum, then had to sit cross-legged inside the temple grounds waiting for prayers. Then we got up and kept moving to another outer inner sanctum until my sister requested the hand-tying kayiru for our hands.

The priest of the Valli Ambal sanctum allowed us to enter inside the smaller temple, and I noticed the beautiful peacock tiles and Lord Krishna tiles surrounding this small sanctum. Inside the tiled walls was the Valli Ambal sanctum.  Then we moved on to the next sanctum. The priest prayed, and sambarani was waved towards us for us to breathe in. Vibhuthi and tulasi leaves were given. I put the vibhuthi into a small packet given by the priest, as I requested. Then entering another smaller sanctum is maha vengata follow by right side  was Maha Lakshmi and on the other side was Maha Vishnu, lying down beautifully adorned in yellow sandal paste. I ate all the tulasi leaves and kept the stem as my toothpick. The priest asked to hold the tumeric sandal growing on the wall of the temple and asked to pray for what we needed. My sister and I touched the cooling tumeric sandal hardener paste there and prayed.

The surrounding temple walls were cooling, with no need for air conditioning at all. The breeze inside the temple was super cool. Then we had to leave the sanctum and go out from the inner sanctum to the outer sanctum, through another maze. I am thankful to those two priests for helping us and sharing their experience of the Thiruchendur temple maze. Without a guide, entering the inner sanctum would truly have been like navigating a maze. I am glad my sister and I rode the maze of this temple.

My sister and I climbed all 683 steps on foot to reach the temple. The ascent was demanding, made harder by the lack of water and the weight of each breath. We were assisted by a guide who charged a high fee, which we chose to accept as a donation for the privilege of visiting the sacred space.

With every labored breath, I paused to steady myself before continuing upward. Each breath felt like a silent prayer—an invocation to Lord Ganesha, the remover of obstacles, guiding us step by step. The climb felt far more intense than Batu Caves—almost three times more demanding—and this time, it was on Indian soil.

After reaching the top, we followed the guide through another maze-like path leading toward the sanctum. Inside, we were asked to sit cross-legged to pray. The moment I sat down, a powerful vibration rose from the ground into my body. It felt electric, as if energy was flowing directly from the deity into me. Within that intensity, I sensed both inner chaos and profound peace—an overwhelming yet deeply calming experience.

Beside me, my sister began crying and yawning as she gazed at the deity, visibly moved by the energy. The priest chanted mantras continuously, amplifying the sacred atmosphere. Tulasi leaves were given, which I consumed with devotion. As we exited, prasadam was distributed.

The descent down the staircase felt surprisingly fast, as though the journey back was effortlessly carried by the grace we had received above.

The driver refused to take us to the Hanuman temple. Despite the pouring rain, I insisted—we had to go. Something within me would not let it pass. When we finally arrived, I felt an immediate sense of relief, as if I had reached exactly where I was meant to be. Outside the temple, I noticed many Caucasian devotees standing quietly, drawn by the same unseen force.

The Hanuman temple itself was small, but its power was immense. The moment I stepped inside, my body reacted—I began yawning and crying uncontrollably. My sister followed behind me as I prayed with all my strength. I lit a lamp, surrendering my worries and asking sincerely for my prayers to be answered.

And they were.

Soon after, we were guided to another Hanuman temple, and as we arrived, the rain stopped completely—as if the skies themselves had listened.

That night, we stayed overnight in Madurai. Both the Indian and Malaysian travel agents had made serious mistakes, leaving us stranded and uncertain. Every moment required a solution—each problem demanding clarity and quick decisions just to move to the next step of the journey.

Through it all, my sister remained calm and serene. Her gentle voice and steady patience eventually softened both travel agencies. Where force failed, her sweetness prevailed. Watching her handle the situation so gracefully felt like another form of divine intervention.

In the midst of confusion, rain, and delays, faith carried us forward—step by step, solution by solution.

Off to kaishi by sadhguru,