My dad, the Guruswamy

Mandalam season (November/December) is a period of 41 to 61 days of fasting observed by devotees of Lord Ayyappan who undertake the pilgrimage to the Sabarimala temple.  In our village, this pilgrimage was started by my father a few years before I was born. Those who intend to take this pilgrimage is required to take a minimum of 41 days fast called vratham in Malayalam. The longest vratham is 61 days. The vratham is initiated on the last day of the Malayalam month of Tulam. The actual vratham starts the next day, which is the first day of the Malayalam month Vrischikam (around 15th November). On this day, the intending pilgrims go to the local temple and change their attire to a black or a blue colored mundu (dothi). The Guruswamy puts a maala (a chain of tulsi or rudraksha beads) around the neck of the pilgrim. From this moment and until the pilgrim returns from the Sabarimala pilgrimage, the pilgrims cannot remove the maala and should continue to wear the black or blue attire. During this period, the pilgrims are addressed with the Swamy title added to his name. The female pilgrims are addressed as Malikappuram. The Guruswamy is the senior most pilgrim from that village.  Since my dad was the first person to start the pilgrimage in our village, he was also the Guruswamy since the beginning. My dad's Guruswamy lived in another village across the Bharathapuzha (Nila River). It was customary for all of my dad's shishyas (disciples) to pay a visit to the senior Guruswamy once every season.

The pilgrimage to Sabarimala is pious and the pilgrims must observe stringent rules during the vratham. The important ones are:

1.     Bramacharya, which means no physical contact with women.

2.     Bath before sunrise and at sunset.

3.     Congregate in the local temple daily after sunset and do bhajans (prayers).

4.     No consumption of alcohol, spirit or toddy. Smoking is permitted.

5.     Strictly vegetarian food. Only one full meal a day during lunch, no dinner but light refreshments and fruits allowed. Food for the Swamies must be cooked by persons who is observing the vratham.

6.     Observe deeksha, which is no cutting of hair or shaving.

7.     No participation in celebrations.

8.     The Swamies are exempt from joining funerals and last rites for the dead.

9.     Respect the seniority of the Swamy without caste, sex or age considerations and offer dakshina and seek their blessings.

10.   Walk barefoot during the whole period of vratham and while trekking to Sabarimala.

11.   No visual contact of women during menstruation. If a Swamy accidentally sees a menstruating woman, he must purify by taking bath in water mixed with cow dung (don't ask me why).

All the other members of the household of a Swamy are expected to observe some of the above practices, if not all. Such households observe strict vegetarianism during the entire Mandalam season. Since my dad was the Guruswamy, we were used to these fasting rules. My father took me to Sabarimala first time when I was five. I enjoyed being the only kuttyswamy (child pilgrim) in my father's group. Those days my father had thirty plus disciples. One has to do a minimum of three trips to be qualified to be a Guruswamy. I qualified for that role at the age of eight but never became one. When a person undertakes eighteen trips, that person plants a coconut tree in the Sabarimala temple compound. This is a rare milestone in the life of a Swamy.  This is repeated after every eighteen years of completed trip. My dad had the unique opportunity to plant two coconut trees. He fell a few years short for the third one as we, the children, persuaded him to discontinue the trip due to his old age. However, he continued the vratham and being the Guruswamy. As the pilgrimage became popular, there were several junior Guruswamies under the senior Swamy (also known as Periyaswamy). All junior gurus and their team join at least once during the Mandalam season to make the routine trip to my dad's guru’s Ashram to offer dakshina and seek blessings.  They also congregate in places where Ayyappan vilakku is held and join the bhajans. Ayyappan Vilakku is a religious event conducted in households of Hindus in Kerala during the Mandalam season.

It was December 1995 when we decided to conduct an Ayyappan Vilakku at our house. My daughter was then eight years old and son was a little less than two years old. This Ayyappan Vilakku was a thanksgiving to Lord Ayyappa for giving me a perfect family. It was also a gift to my dad as it would have pleased him to conduct an Ayyappan Vilaku at our house. We also decided to go on this pilgrimage that year right after the Vilakku. We had a team of about eight family members signed up for the pilgrimage including my daughter. My father wanted to join us but due to his poor heath and age, we advised against it. He was 82.

The celebration of Ayyappan Vilakku continued. My dad switched between taking rest and sitting through and enjoying the celebration. Towards the end of the celebration, there is a ritual in which the Velichappadu (Oracle of Lord Ayyappa) dances on the coals of fire bare feet. This ritual is called Kanalchattam. Suddenly my dad, who just came back from taking rest, joined in and started jumping onto the coals of fire with the Velichappadu and his team. An unusual energy was visible in my dad. He was more energetic than all of us. He was completely divine and unstoppable. Seeing his energy, we the children felt that it will not be fair to not allow him to undertake the pilgrimage. I went to my dad and asked him whether he wants to come with us. He grabbed me in his arms, blessed me and said if we allow him to join us in the pilgrimage, it will be the greatest service I will be doing as his son. Since my dad was already on Vratham, he was all set for the journey.  He changed his attire to that of a Swamy and joined us in the pilgrimage. Throughout the trekking, he was more energetic than the youngsters. We were lucky to undertake the pilgrimage once again as our dad leading us as the Guruswamy.

P.S. This is a tribute to my dad that I decided to write after reminiscing about this event with my daughter a few weeks back.