Hindu Temples in Cambodia

K.S. Kanakasabaapathi

It was a dream of over forty years to visit the Hindu temples in Cambodia, when I had first read articles on the discovery of these temples in the jungles by European archaeologists. I had read about the temples in the erstwhile “Life” magazine in the late sixties.

The main temple featured in these articles was “Angkor Wat” which was claimed to be the biggest religious structure in the world. The other structures referred to were “Angkor Thom” and “Ta Prohm” among numerous other temples.

My son promised me this trip as a gift for my seventieth birthday in 2008. But we could not make the plans till 2010 as my wife and I alone were living in India with the children in USA. In 2010, my first son moved to India and planning the trip started right earnest. It took over two months of planning, collection of information regarding interesting sites, identifying hotels to stay and booking in advance.

We found that December was the ideal season for the trip as the country is in the tropical region and weather would be more conducive in winter. We planned a trip vis Thailand covering Bangkok and Pattaya in Thailand and then fly to Phnom Penh. Our group consisted of me, my wife, son, daughter in law, grandson, granddaughter and a family friend who knew Thailand well.

Phnom Penh appeared like a sleepy city and the Genocide Museum exposed the activities of the despot Pol Pot.

The bus ride to Siem Reap, which is close to the border with Thailand took about six hours with the so called highway which is similar to any ordinary road in India. We reached Siem Reap by 8 PM and moved to hotel Ta Som where we had booked accommodation by internet. The hotel was decent with air conditioned rooms under $15 per day.

The entire tour of Angkor temples requires passes with photo ID. There are passes for one day, two days, three days and one week. The photos are taken at the counter and passes are issued on payment immediately.

Our tour of the temples started the next day. We reserved Angkor Wat for the second day as we had to be at the temple by 5 am to watch the sunrise over the temple.

This article covers Angkor Wat exclusively, leaving the other sites to the postings to follow. Angkor Wat has the distiction of being the biggest religious structure in the world and is the most well preserved of the Angkor Temples. The temple also houses the biggest bas relief in the world depicting stories from Hindu scriptures. More on this later in the article.

The tearm Angkor Wat means City Temple. Angkor is the variation of “Nagar” and Wat means Temple. One would notice that the name is apt after visiting the site.

The temple was built by Khmer king Suryavarman II who ruled from 1113 to 1150. The temple was dedicated to Lord Vishnu.

The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors.


Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple mountain and the later galleried temple, based on early South Indian Hindu architecture, with key features such as the Jagati. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west; scholars are divided as to the significance of this. The temple is admired for the grandeur and harmony of the architecture, its extensive bas-reliefs, and for the numerous devatas adorning its walls.


In the late 13th century, Angkor Wat gradually moved from Hindu to Theravada Buddhist use, which continues to the present day. Angkor Wat is unusual among the Angkor temples in that although it was somewhat neglected after the 16th century it was never completely abandoned, its preservation being due in part to the fact that its moat also provided some protection from encroachment by the jungle.


Today the sanctum sanctorum is vacant with both Vishnu and Buddha moved out.


The outer wall, 1024 by 802 m and 4.5 m high, is surrounded by a 30 m apron of open ground and a moat 190 m wide. Access to the temple is by an earth bank to the east and a sandstone causeway to the west; the latter, the main entrance, is a later addition, possibly replacing a wooden bridge.There are gopuras at each of the cardinal points; the western is by far the largest and has three ruined towers. Glaize notes that this gopura both hides and echoes the form of the temple proper.Under the southern tower is a statue of Vishnu, known as Ta Reach, which may originally have occupied the temple's central shrine. Galleries run between the towers and as far as two further entrances on either side of the gopura often referred to as "elephant gates", as they are large enough to admit those animals. These galleries have square pillars on the outer (west) side and a closed wall on the inner (east) side. The ceiling between the pillars is decorated with lotus rosettes; the west face of the wall with dancing figures; and the east face of the wall with balustered windows, dancing male figures on prancing animals, and devatas, including (south of the entrance) the only one in the temple to be showing her teeth.


The outer wall encloses a space of 820,000 square metres, which besides the temple proper was originally occupied by the city and, to the north of the temple, the royal palace. Like all secular buildings of Angkor, these were built of perishable materials rather than of stone, so nothing remains of them except the outlines of some of the streets. Most of the area is now covered by forest. A 350 m causeway connects the western gopura to the temple proper, with naga balustrades and six sets of steps leading down to the city on either side. Each side also features a library with entrances at each cardinal point, in front of the third set of stairs from the entrance, and a pond between the library and the temple itself. The ponds are later additions to the design, as is the cruciform terrace guarded by lions connecting the causeway to the central structure. While the library buildings exist, the sanskrit literature has all vanished.


Miniature model of the central structure of Angkor Wat. In the foreground the cruciform terrace which lies in front of the central structure.


The temple stands on a terrace raised higher than the city. It is made of three rectangular galleries rising to a central tower, each level higher than the last. Mannikka interprets these galleries as being dedicated to the king, Brahma, the moon, and Vishnu. Each gallery has a gopura at each of the points, and the two inner galleries each have towers at their corners, forming a quincunx with the central tower. Because the temple faces west, the features are all set back towards the east, leaving more space to be filled in each enclosure and gallery on the west side; for the same reason the west-facing steps are shallower than those on the other sides.


The outer gallery measures 187 by 215 m, with pavilions rather than towers at the corners. The gallery is open to the outside of the temple, with columned half-galleries extending and buttressing the structure. Connecting the outer gallery to the second enclosure on the west side is a cruciform cloister called Preah Poan (the "Hall of a Thousand Gods"). Buddha images were left in the cloister by pilgrims over the centuries, although most have now been removed. This area has many inscriptions relating the good deeds of pilgrims, most written in Khmer but others in Burmese and Japanese. The four small courtyards marked out by the cloister may originally have been filled with water.

Here are some pictures before you read on.

Sunrise at Angkor Wat 

Bas Relief Bhishma on Bed of Arrows 

Archeological Survey of India Working

on Restoration of Nas Relief Churning of

the Ocen of Milk

Inside the Angkor Wat Complex 

Inside the Angkor Wat Complex 

 Inside the Angkor Wat Complex 

Was this a Temple Pond? There  are four of them

Lotus Pond in front 

Moat Around the Temple Compound

Beyond, the second and inner galleries are connected to each other and to two flanking libraries by another cruciform terrace, again a later addition. From the second level upwards, devatas abound on the walls, singly or in groups of up to four. The second-level enclosure is 100 by 115 m, and may originally have been flooded to represent the ocean around Mount Meru. The sets of steps on each side lead up to the corner towers and gopuras of the inner gallery. The very steep stairways represent the difficulty of ascending to the kingdom of the gods. This inner gallery, called the Bakan, is a 60 m square with axial galleries connecting each gopura with the central shrine, and subsidiary shrines located below the corner towers. The roofings of the galleries are decorated with the motif of the body of a snake ending in the heads of lions or garudas. Carved lintels and pediments decorate the entrances to the galleries and to the shrines. The tower above the central shrine rises 43 m to a height of 65 m above the ground; unlike those of previous temple mountains, the central tower is raised above the surrounding four. The shrine itself, originally occupied by a statue of Vishnu and open on each side, was walled in when the temple was converted to Theravada Buddhism, the new walls featuring standing Buddhas.

Integrated with the architecture of the building, and one of the causes for its fame is Angkor Wat's extensive decoration, which predominantly takes the form of bas-relief friezes. The inner walls of the outer gallery bear a series of large-scale scenes mainly depicting episodes from the Hindu epics the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. These are called, "the greatest known linear arrangement of stone carving". From the north-west corner anti-clockwise, the western gallery shows the Battle of Lanka (from the Ramayana, in which Rama defeats Ravana) and the Battle of Kurukshetra (from the Mahabharata, showing the mutual annihilation of the Kaurava and Pandava clans). On the southern gallery follow the only historical scene, a procession of Suryavarman II, then the 32 hells and 37 heavens of Hindu mythology.


On the eastern gallery is one of the most celebrated scenes, the Churning of the Sea of Milk, showing 92 asuras and 88 devas using the serpent Vasuki to churn the sea under Vishnu's direction (Mannikka counts only 91 asuras, and explains the asymmetrical numbers as representing the number of days from the winter solstice to the spring equinox, and from the equinox to the summer solstice). followed by Vishnu defeating asuras (a 16th-century addition). The northern gallery shows Krishna's victory over Bana and a battle between the Hindu gods and asuras.


This part is being restored by Archeological Survey of India and entry is barred.


The north-west and south-west corner pavilions both feature much smaller-scale scenes, some unidentified but most from the Ramayana or the life of Krishna.

Comments on Quest

Follow Up on Quest.

Here are some comments received by me through facebook or email on the subject:

“Kanakasabhapathi has written about Third Eye in a lucid manner. Read on.”

Dr.PVM

“It was nice reading your article Quest.

Human mind is always unsatisfiable. Our quest for each item continues till we are unable to reason further.. Today we are not going to educate our children that eclipse occurs due to Rahu/Ketu swallowing the Sun/Moon. While Navagrihas were known, it is also a fact that more have been discovered.

We, in religion, talk of Papum & punyams. There are many items which we ignore consciously as we wish to live. Truth and false are human interpretations while Facts are reality.

While transistors were discovered in 1948, none expected it to grow to such levels as super computers. The search for special memory devices continues including bio transistors. None can replace the human brain. In a handicapped person some devices assist to a limited extent.

If we accept our limitations we are liable to be complacent.

There are many cases reported where persons have shown supernatural powers. Many read your mind instantaneously.

The present thinking should be to make the best use of available knowledge/information.

God as a concept, will give us the moral strength to meet our aims and commitments.”

S R

“The article is very interesting. The presentation and flow are also very good.
As an extension of your thoughts …
Similarly, we are confined within our 6 senses and there is nothing to disprove the theory that higher senses are available. There is no sanctity to the number “6” !!”
K S

'The super-sense to see, predict and endure, has been know to our great Gurus.
But, the Masters say that these come to us naturally, in the course of our sincere and enduring sadhana.

Just for information, I have been doing the 'Kriya Yoga', for the past fifteen to eighteen years. I do perceive forebodings that are to happen, in a limited way. One thing is for sure, whoever does meditation sincerely and regularly, will be endowed with 'intuition', which is a wonderful thing, which tells and fore-warns about things. You will feel that you are constantly guided by Almighty God, who is father/mother/friend. Swami Ramdas has lucidly explained this us to all to be child-like, and surrender entirely to His will, as a result our will and His will become one.”

K V R

There is one question I have which still needs an answer. I have searched the web on the topic but could not find an answer.

How is the information transmitted from the client to the one who sees the future? What is the form of energy that does it from "Future" to "Present"?

Has any scientist worked on this? If so what are his/her findings?

Corporate Hospital

My Experience as an Inpatient and Outpatient

in a Corporate Hospital

K S Kanakasabapathi

It so happened that I had to seek treatment in a corporate hospital. We were interested in a very good surgeon and an equally good oncologist who could coordinate well available in the same hospital.

Once we found the doctors, the choice of hospital was reduced to one. The hospital's reputation as being expensive did not deter my son.

Here are my observations both positive and negative:

Positive observations:

1. The doctors were good and generally punctual.

2. The nursing staff did their duty efficiently with a smile.
3. The staff in the HDU (High Dependency Unit) were particularly efficient and handled emergencies well without disturbing other patients.
4. The catering was very good. Complaints if any were handled immediately. The catering supervisor met me personally on day one and gave his contact details.
5. Food for attendant was priced moderately.
6. Sanitary staff attended to their work efficiently. Linen was changed every morning and room was disinfected every day.
7. All medicines were only obtained through their pharmacy and I was not to take any medicine taken from home. Medicine prices as per MRP.
8. Physiotherapist attended every day to give me exercise and did his job well.
9. The costs may appear high but the quality of service seemed to justify the cost.
10. Nobody expected any tips.

Negative observations:

1. There were no checklists for patients seeking admission.
2. We were not informed that I should get clearance from anesthetist before admission.
3. Similarly we did not know that we had to make advance payment for surgery and otherwise surgery will not be done. I came to know about these two from a doctor friend.
4. No information was available about approximate total charges but were asked to pay an advance of Rs.2 lakhs at the time of admission. Luckily the credit card came to my rescue.
5. The return to ward from HDU was long delayed with attendants waiting outside.
6. Cashless facility was not available in spite of the hospital being listed as one with cashless facility. We had to pay all bills and make insurance claims later. Of course the claim allowed was just about 30% of the total expenditure!
7. While I was being given a sponge bath every day after surgery, it was always at an unearthly hour of 4:30 am!
8. The discharge procedure was delayed badly (even though it had been decided the previous day) as the papers like discharge summary were not ready. My son had to run from pillar to post to get the papers.
9. The nursing staff had a lot of paperwork to do. At least one person was continuously engaged on paperwork in HDU and the ward with the result their availability for nursing duty was hampered.
10. The security staff prevented any visitor outside the visiting hours. But there were alternate routes available to enter without passing through security.

My overall experience as a day care patient in their Specialty Hospital:

1. We had to fix appointments at least three weeks in advance to avoid delays as the consultancy room was always crowded.
2. The doctor was thorough and was approachable on phone and email any time of the day.
3. The day care centre was always over crowded with patients waiting for hours.
4. There were no chairs for attendants. The attendants had to look for empty chairs outside and bring them in. Sometimes the attendant had to sit on the footrest.
5. The staff were efficient and courteous.
6. Some medicines were very expensive in the pharmacy attached. A tablet ( I had to take 4 per day) was costing Rs.175 each. The doctor himself gave an address where it was available for Rs.80.

It was a harrowing experience to see small children aged less than one year being given intravenous injections. Their non-stop cries reverberated through the entire hall which had about 20 beds.

Trips to Arunachala

The Trips to Arunachala

K S Kanakasabapathi

My first experience of Ramana Maharshi was on the day he left this material world back in 1950. I was

a boy of about 12 walking on the road to meet my brother who was running a small restaurant. The

time was in the early part of the night on April 14. I suddenly noticed a “Jothi” rising in the sky. It was

very much different from an aircraft or a meteorite. I got the immediate feeling that a great soul had left

this world.

The next day's newspapers carried the news of Maharshi shedding his material body and of the “Jothi”

rising up in the sky, witnessed by many all over the country. I was then too young to realize the greatness of the man fully and the incident only just remained in the back of my mind. Years later, I happened to read Somerset Maugham's book “The Razor's Edge” which was partly influenced by the author's stay in Ramanashram. Later, a friend of mine loaned me a book by Paul Brunton “A Search in Secret India”, which I found very interesting. Later I was presented the same book by the management of Shanthi Malai Trust.

A couple of trips to Tiruvannamalai and a visit to Ramanashram later brought me closer to the Ashram

and a latent desire to spend time at the Ashram was developing. I was able to get permission to stay in

the Ashram last September and we all (I, my wife, son daughter-in-law and grandchildren) went over to

Tiruvannamalai, spending time on the way at Senji Fort. We had the darshan of Arunachaleswara and

other deities in the temple. My daughter-in-law Vidya and grandson Skandan sang Thiruppugazh in the

Sannidhi of Murugan and also sang devotional songs in the main Sannadhi.

We all then moved to the Ashram, where I was provided a room to stay for three days.All of us had

dinner at the Ashram and leaving me, the rest returned to Chennai.

During dinner, I made acquaintance with another visitor from Chennai, who was interested in doing the

“Girivalam” next morning. Balaji gave me company to do the fourteen kilometres starting at 4 Am next

morning. I was a bit diffident about doing such a long stretch in one shot at my age, but found it possible without too much strain. We could complete the walk around in about four hours, taking rest

whenever required. Balaji, a few years younger than me said he had done it quite a few times. I had a number of opportunities to meditate in the Meditation Hall and I used them in full. I had bought some books in the book shop and started reading one of them.

When I was meditating on the second day. I suddenly received a flash; an answer to the question”Who

am I?” (I was not contemplating on this during the meditation.) I was somewhat taken aback when I

went back to my room and read the next chapter which had elaborated the same.

Balaji and I made a bus trip to Thirukovilur the next day to have darshan of Ulagalanda Perumal or

Trivikramaswamy. The temple is huge with gopurams on four sides covering an area approximately 800 metres x 800 metres. However, the area between the outer gopurams and the inner ones is completely covered by

commercial establishments with the result the temple has shrunk to about 10% of the original intended

area. The temple premises were extremely dirty and totally uncared for. The main deity is a huge one with one leg on the ground and the other pointing to the sky. This temple is one of the Vaishnavaite “Padal Petra Sthalams”

The afternoons were reserved for the library which has a good collection of books, pertaining to

Ramana, Arunachala as well as others. The evenings were spent in meditation, listening to discourses

and veda recital as well as prayer.

We decided to climb up to Skandashram and Virupakshi cave where Maharshi had meditated for years.

I had done this climb once but I had forgotten how steep it was. When we started, Balaji, who is

younger than me, suddenly lost confidence and opted out. He told me not to proceed to Virupakshi

Cave as the climb down is very steep and at my age it is risky. I went up to Skandashram, meditated for

some time and on the spur of a moment, decided to go down to the cave.

The climb down was extremely steep and I had to take support of tree branches or rocks on the side to

maintain my balance. I reached the cave without any mishap. The effort was well worth the risk. This is

one place not to be missed by any visitor.

The cave is small and one has to bow down to enter. The inside is dark and the eyes take some time to

adjust the very low level of light. Meditating here is highly rewarding and I made a decision to visit

again in future.

My second visit to Tiruvannamalai was in February last with my wife. We had again been permitted to

stay in the Ashram for three days. The routines of meditation, Girivalam and temple visit were part of

the stay. My wife particularly enjoyed the Girivalam which we did starting at 4:45 am culminating with

darshan at the temple. Somehow we could not go up the hills and visit Skandashram and Virupakshi

Cave and I felt sad about the omission.

We took a car to visit Thirukkovilur and Thiruvennainallur. This small town is about 25 kilometres

from Thirukkovilur and the road was passing just along the river Pennayaru. We had some difficulty

locating the temple. The road was extremely bumpy. Approaching Thiruvennainallur from Villupuram

would be more comfortable.

This temple has the legend of the Lord enlightening Nambi Arooran also known as Sundaramurthy

Nayanar. The presiding deity is Kripapuriswarar or Thaduthatkondanathar or Arulkondanathar. His

consort takes the name Mangalambikai.

The temple is fairly big but in a state of semi-neglect. When we went for Darshan of the Lord, there

was no archaka even though it was just around 9:30 am. The archaka was sitting in the outer prakara

idling his time. We were the only visitors to the temple. In front of the temple on the side, is the

“Vazhakkuraitha Mandapam” where according to the legend, Lord Siva claimed that Nambi Arrooran

was his slave and proved it with palm leaf scripts. The famous song “Piththa Piraisudi” was sung at the

Sanctum sanctorum here by Sundaramurthy Nayanar. The lord is supposed to be “Swayambu”. I only wish more people come to know of the heritage of these ancient temples and visit them.

Please see below for pictures of this temple.

Thiruvennainallur Temple

Vazhakuraitha Mandapam

Quest

QUEST

K S Kanakasabapathi

(All rights with the author)

Telepathy

ESP

Clairvoyance

These are but a few of the “Supernatural” expressions we have heard of. In our daily life, we do not experience any of these, but at one time or the other, we wonder whether these are real.

I have also been asking these questions to myself and this article is a product of this state of mind.

Science as we all know is a tool for the search for TRUTH. But we have not yet reached this state where we are sure we have understood TRUTH. Spirituality seeks the TRUTH by taking a different path.

Man has six senses developed and with these six senses, he is able to see, hear, touch, smell and taste things present and analyze things present or past. Future is out of reach for him until it becomes “Present”.

We have been under the impression that these six senses are the ultimate in the process of evolution. We may or may not be right.

Another sense, which could again be called the sixth sense is consciousness, or awareness of oneself. Living things are aware of their existence while non-living things are not. This is how our philosophy defines living and non-living. A famous mathematician Roger Penrose became philosophical in his later years and wrote a book “The Emperor’s new mind” where he argues as to how the known laws of Physics are inadequate to describe a perfectly well-known and real phenomenon such as consciousness. He proves that a computer, however complex it may get in the future, will never be able to simulate consciousness and thus can never become aware of its existence. In other words, even an infinitely complex computer and only be confined to its 5 senses and can never realize that a 6^th sense can exist.
 Similarly, we are confined within our 6 senses and there is nothing to disprove the theory that higher senses are available. There is no sanctity to the number “6” !!

Present day science has told us that the speed of light is the highest possible. Our senses or the instruments we have devised have not been able to perceive any form of energy faster than light. Does this mean that there is no form of energy faster than light? May be we are wrong. Now even this is being questioned by scientists themselves with the supposed discovery of “God Particles”.

Let us assume for a moment that the Universe is also filled with certain forms of energy which can travel faster than light. But only we are unable to sense these forms of energy due to our own limitations. Now we hear of “Dark Energy” to describe such unknown form.

According to Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, time is relative. Hence if we are able to use a form of energy faster than light, past, present and future become indistinguishable and we can see any of them at our choice.

Possibly this is what our ancient sages had mastered. They possibly had senses more than six – may be seven or eight or even more.

Science has taken us westward and spirituality would take us eastward. But finally east and west are bound to meet.

Reading the future

Reading a distant mind

Transcending time and space in one go

These are subjects which can stimulate anyone to explore.

But there are no scientific tools available for this purpose. Modern science has never shown any deep interest in these topics and any studies have been so far only to disprove their existence.

But what is not proved is not necessarily disproved.

Let us assume for a moment, that these powers exist in some people. Let us call them superhuman. What I mean is that they may possess senses not known to ordinary men. That is seventh, eighth, ninth and so on.

For instance, let us suppose that we have another sense organ that detects ultraviolet or infrared or X-Rays or even microwave radiation. Then our view of the universe will be totally different from what we are able to see with our six senses. If we can hear sound waves beyond the audible range, this will again change our perception. The entire universe will look different to us. Some forms of life are known to have such senses.

Do ordinary men have the capability to understand these? Like the proverbial two dimensional ant which cannot recognize the third dimension, the six senses of human beings are insufficient to recognize the existence of such powers.

We have definitely come across people who, by looking at someone’s face tell things not known about them. This may be about their characteristics, families or even about future course of events. (I do not mix up astrology here. That will be a different topic.)

Then how could these extraordinary people get to know things not known to lesser human beings? Is there something in their brains which is capable of these powers?

Let us then Assume that their brains are also something special. From where does the brain get the information? How is it passed on from the source? And how is time circumvented? Time as we know, though relative, remains a mystery. Future never becomes past until one traverses that moment.

Let us call it the “Third Eye”., which itself is invisible to the normal eye or imperceptible to our other senses.

Some day science will merge with spirituality in its quest for TRUTH.