Staff Reporter
Human endurance and perseverance will be tested at a religious ceremony scheduled to be held in Auckland later this month.
Trustees, devotees and volunteers of the New Zealand Hindu Temple Society will observe ‘Thaipoosam Kavadi Thiruvizha’ at the Temple Complex now under construction at 69 Tidal Road, Mangere on Saturday January 30, 2015 at 10 am. The Society’s current Temple is at 41 Stanhope Road, Mt Wellington.
The actual festival is on February 3, 2015, to pay tributes to Lord Murugan, also known as the ‘God of the Tamils.’
Society Trustee and President Ilango Krishnamoorthy, who has been working hard with other members of the Society for the past three years pooling human, material and financial resources to complete the Temple Project, said that the forthcoming Festival has religious as well as mental and physical connotations.
Varied connotations
“Hindus believe it was on this day Lord Shiva’s consort Parvathi handed over the sacred Spear (Vel) to vanquish the Asura king Soorapathman and his two brothers, oppressing the Devas and ill-treating them. It is also said that Lord Shiva performed with Parvathi, ‘Thandavam,’ the Dance of Destruction at the Golden Hall in Tamilnadu’s Chidambaram town on this day, earning him the name of Thandaveswarar.”
According to his Facebook posting, Mr Krishnamoorthy was in Chidambaram last month as a part of his pilgrimage in South India.
Self-Purification
Apart from prayers, the Festival is marked by penance and self-purification, with devotees observing fast and abstaining from alcohol, non-vegetarian food and sex. They believe such self-denial, renunciation and meditation would lead them towards Nirvana or eternal liberation.
‘Kavadi’ forms a colourful and exacting aspect of Thaipoosam, undertaken in fulfillment of vows. It comprises a horizontal pole displaying overarching decorations of peacock feathers put together in a semicircular design. Pots of milk, coconut water, honey and other offerings by devotees are hung on both ends of the pole, carried across their shoulders. They dance in ecstasy before the deity of Murugan in procession.
Further details can be obtained from Ilango Krishnamoorthy on 021-739879; Bobby Naidu on 027-2799154; Charanya Mohanakrishnan on 021-2530397; Subbiah Mahalingam on 021-2050347; Rajaguru Rajamanickam on 027-2721651 or Rajkumar Velu on 022-1873807.
