the Silver Chariot...

again, 4 years in a row, i made my way behind the Silver Chariot to Batu Caves..:)
this year however, i decided to walk barefooted for the 20 km journey. just to see if im strong enough to take it. if a 60 year old grandma can do it..im sure a 23 year old pampered kid would be able to do it too.i guess it all depends on how you set your mind to it. and thankfully i made it to the caves without a scratch on my feet.
and besides the normal muscle cramp..i didnt face any other complications..after a good nap, everything is back to normal now..:)

well, i just tought i would like to give my friends some explanation on whats thaipusam all about. at least the next time when thaipusam comes, you'll have a brief idea on what's the festival all about.

Thai + Pusam is made of 2 different words.
Thai, is the 10th month in the hindu calendar and Pusam refers to a star which is at its brightest during the period and it also coincides with the full moon at the end of January and beginning of February.
On this day, Lord Muruga received the Vel (a spear) from his mother Goddess Parvathi.
The vel denotes spiritual insight, ability to differentiate right from wrong, righteousness and steadfastness. And the reason he was given this vel is to vanquish the demon Soorapadman.
And this demon Soorapadman is no other than the representation of the demon within us, which is our ego.
So to sum this all up in a simple phrase, Thaipusam is a day when we observe fast, self control and discipline and worship god to request him to remove the demon ego, sellfishness, and arrogant attitude within us to make us humble humans..respecting others for who they are and always believe that we are not the only one who is above all and of course, we should maintain this behavior throughout our lifetime and not only on this one day of the year else it would be pointless to even observe the fast.

Now, why do we have a chariot procession?
For one whole year, devotees go to temple and worship god at his home. Once in a year, to express his love and appereciation to us for taking the trouble to come to visit him, he does us the honour, by visiting us instead.
He comes out of the temple to not only visit our homes, but to also give the sick and disabled a chance to see him right at their doorstep. For those who were unable to come out of their home due to illness and disability, this is their chance to see him. And another important reason we bring the chariot along the streets is to purify the energy and vibration around that place. Im sure that we cant deny that sometimes evil spirits (negative energies) surround us and this causes our homes and the inhabbitans to feel sad and go through a period of misery. The chariot absorbs all these negative energy while it moves and releases positive vibration to that area. Thus resulting in a more happy and recharged feeling within us.

The chariot carries more meaning that just a decorated piece of moving object as a chariot's structure is actually the representation of a human body, from head to toe.
The topmost part of the chariot is our head, where we our brains are, the highest point and one of the most important part in a humans body. The carved angels and gods at this particular part of the chariot represents those who guard our actions, the way we talk and the way we behave.
Slowly moving down, we reach the shoulder and the mid point where the statue of the deity is placed, thats where our heart is..and thats the most important part of a humans body. if the heart stops, you are no longer alive. At that point, the chariot explains to us that only He decides when you live and die, thus he is placed at that spot...symbolically telling us that he is the one who controls birth and death of a human.
As we move lower, we reach the wheels of the chariot, representating our leg...and the list goes on.
Each part of it the chariot has its own significant meaning and I wont be able to write it all here...heh..it will get too long, i just wanted to give u guys a brief explanation on it.

Why milk pots and kavadis?
Milk is a symbol of purity and presenting it to god symbolizes that we seek his blessings to purify our sins and forgive us and that is why we see people carrying milk pots. and kavadi is meant to be a simple wooden arch decorated with flowers and peacock feathers that we balance on our shoulders which symbolizes the carrying of the abode of Lord Muruga (Palani - a famous hilltop temple in india) on our shoulders. And Lord Muruga enjoys tandava (dance), and usually some devotees would dance to religious songs/chantings while carrying a kavadi, to make Muruga happy as Muruga is sometimes depicted as a handsome looking small boy, a master in poetry and literature who enjoys when devotees sing and dance for him.


But as we all can see, the kavadi's are getting more and more sophisticated nowadays and what with flying kavadis and bicycle kavadis, we seem to have a wide choice of kavadis to carry these days. And in addition to that, we have extreme piercing and poking as well.
And sad to say that all these not only causes extreme damage to the true meaning of thaipusam, but alse results in the younger generation to pick up these misleading practises and do the same. I really hope the authorities would put a stop to these misleading practises and accept the fact that thaipusam is not a day to attract tourist to watch a carnival with stunt shows and then leave the religion and future generation with a damage that is so hard to be undone.

I truly am dissapointed watching all these extreme poking and piercing as i dont see a reason why do we have to hurt ourselves in order to reach god..as he himself has never requested for us to do such things. And in malaysia and singapore, thaipusam has become a day for the country to earn money through the hundreds of tourist who come to witness these wild acts. And instead of singing songs and poems full of beautiful words and music that pleases the ears, nowadays those mat rockers with hair dyed and ciggarets in their hands have started singing their version of "beautiful songs" with their extremely pleasing to hear rockers voice.
i never knew muruga too had to adapt to such music just because he is living in the new millenium...seriously, i really dont know what to say.

But somehow i am quite glad that compared to years before, nowadays these extreme acts have been reduced to a smaller amount..i see the authorities standing guard at the entrance of the temple and not allowing such people to enter the temple compound..good, that is how it should be done.
It's slowly dying off and more and more devotees are opting to fulfil their vows in the right way, a way that leads them to the right path of their final goal.
Finally im seeing some changes and thanks to the authorities for doing something to preserve the true meaning of thaipusam and they are doing a great favour for the young kids out there.

So that's it folks, hope now u'll at least have some idea on whats thaipusam all about...hehe..;)

** i dont proclaim that i am a expert in explaining everything, i just gave my point of view based on my reading and understanding of the various sources i've got. if i did make a mistake, or offend anyone, pls forgive me..:)