Nalambalam Pilgrimage in Kerala

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St Gregarios of Parumala / Parumala Thirumeni, of the Pathanamthitta district

About Parumala in Pathanamthitta District
Parumala is located in the Pathanamthitta district of the state of Kerala in India. Pathanamthitta  is a small town located by the side the River Pampa. Parumala is well known  for the Tomb of  Parumala Thirumeni, St Gregarios. St Gregarios was one of the greatest saints of India who belonged to the Indian Orthodox church or the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and the Syriac Orthodox church.

Parumala Thirumeni was the first declared saint of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church   and the first canonized Indian saint. Orma Perunnal or the commomeration day of the saint is celebrated  on the1st and the 2nd of November every year. You can see large number of devotees  and visitors flock to the Parumala church to worship the saint.

Life History in Brief of the St Gregarios of Parumala 
Saint Gregarios Geevarghese was born in a well known priestly family of Pallathattu Thanagattu, located in the village of Mulunthuruthy in the Ernakulam district on the 15th June 1848. He was christened as Geevarghese / George  at the Mulunthuruthy Marthoman Church. He lost his mother in his early years and was under the loving care of his elder sister Mariam. He had followed a very austere life even in his childhood and had lots of time for prayer and fasting.  In the early days he had  a fascination for Syriac, the liturgical language of Syriac Orthodox Church. He had the extraordinary ability of singing Syriac hymns perfectly and clearly which came to the notice of Malpan Kassisso Geevarghese who was an authority in Syriac and a celibate priest, as well as his father's brother. Thoroughly impressed with the boy's ability, Kassisso Geevarghese gave proper guidance to him.  Malpan Kassisso Geevarghese Konattu (later Geevarghese Mor Julius) and St. Yuyakkim Mor Koorilos Bava, the Syrian Metropolitan who was the Reesh Episcopa to Malankara were the two other personalities who influenced the boy's mind greatly.  The boy became a monk in the later years  at the malankara Church and  made it clear to the world that Prayer and devotion is mightier than any worldly possession.  The Holy Saint's life was remarkable, he was a deacon at 10, a priest at 18, a bishop at 28 and died at the age of 54. He passed away on the 3rd November 1902, after a saintly life of prayer  to become the brightest jewel of the Universal Syrian Church.

How to Reach Parumala?
You have to reach either Chengannur or Thiruvalla to go to Parumala.  From there you have to travel about 10 miles either by auto or taxis  to reach Parumala.
If you are travelling by air, you can reach KOchi airport and then travel by train  to Chengannur or Thiruvella to go to Parumala.
If you are travelling by rail, you can reach Chengannur / Thiruvella through the Broad gauge railway network. Most of the trains running to and from Thiruvananthapuram stop at Chengannur.
You can get Kerala state transport buses from wherever you are in Kerala to reach Parumala via Chengannur and Thiruvella.

How to perform austerities / Vratham for 41 days before the Sabarimala Pilgrimage

Sabarimala trip is an arduous trek which should be taken seriously and  the preparations should be in earnest. The devotees who had already been there have prepared a list for all things to do and not to do while on the pilgrimage austerities.  Nowadays the vehicles go till the Pampa river but even from there the trek is difficult and steep through dangerous and dense forests which are full of wild animals.

Before leaving for Sabarimala to see Lord Ayyappa these devotees have to go through rigorous rituals and fasting for 41 days. The austerities he has to cover are very severe.
First before starting to undertake the Vratham he has to get permission from his parents, and then from the Guru under whose guidance he has to visit Sabarimala. After this the date is fixed for the starting the vratham.

On the eve of the starting of fasting
On the eve of the day of Vratham he has to clean himself physically and then offer prayers to his family deity by making a knot of 1.25 rupees in a yellow cloth, within that knot. He has to present it to the family deity and take permission to start the vratham.
On the eve he is supposed to cut his hair, shave and clip and clean his nails which he will not be allowed to for the 40 days he is vratham. The holy mla has to be cleaned and smeared with sandal paste and placed before the idol of Lord Ayyappa. He has to buy and start wearing dhothis of colours Black, blue and saffron along with towels or shawls.

What he has to do on the first day
On the first day of the vratham, the devotee shall rise early have bath and offer prayers to the family deity, navagrahas and then perform pooja to the holy mala. After praying at home he has to go to the temple with his Guru and receive the mala from him among the chanting of Saram Ayyappa. He becomes an Ayyappa himself and is asked to face the demands of the pious life.
The devotees will withdraw themselves from attending all the festivals and feasts, social activities and spend the time by taking part in praying singing bajans, visiting temples, cleaning temples, feeding the poor. helping the poor and the sick and attending religious discourses of the stories about Gods etc.

He shall have to bath at least twice daily and perform Pooja by chanting 108 ayyappa saranam and chant the Lord's name under breath wherever he is, either at work or at home. He is not supposed to oil to his hair or body and take oil bath.
He is not supposed to think of hurting anyone even verbally and treat all the other devotees as Lord Ayyappa himself. He is not supposed to feel proud of himself of the respect and the privileges he gets when he is wearing the holy Tulsimala. He is not supposed to cause inconvenience to other family members. If he is starting the vratham every year, each year should be a new experiance and should never feel proud that he is doing this again. He shall strictly follow Brahmacharya and should have only motherly and sisterly feelings to all the women, including his wife.

He is not supposed to go near a dead body and should not eat anything without taking a bath if he sees one accidentally. He has to carry Tulsi leaf with him wherever he goes to prevent him from feeling evil and from Theetu.
He is supposed to sleep only on the floor and use a wooden block or a plank for the pillow.He should walk barefoot. He shall totally surrender himself to Lord Ayyappa.
It is said that the grace and power of Sabarimala increases when you observe the rules correctly and regularly as you are expected to and it is reflected back to the person who observes it.

Simple living, absolute cleanliness and holy thoughts are the mainstay of the vrutham. The mind and the body are impeccably maintained  pure and absolute celibacy is maintained.   Without a proper vrutham  for 41 days and irumudikettu,  you cannot attempt climbing the 18 steps. You have to do that to prepare yourself for the physical fitness and mental conditioning to be achieved before the arduous trek.  

How to prepare the Irumudikettu for Sabarimala Yatra?

Since the trip to Sabarimala and the trek to Sannidhanam was through dense forests, they had to survive without any assistance. So the Irumudikettu was readied with two compartments. They carried sustenance materials such as rice, 'Chammandi Podi', Pappad, Malar' 'Aval' etc.  and sometimes cooking containers as well . Since they need to stay in te nights they had to take a bedding and a blanket and  this proved a soft cushion for the irumudikettu so that they could carry it comfortably.

Just before Ayyappas prepare to leave home for Sabarimala, the irumudi is filled at the temple or in their own pooja room. The ceremony is conducted with the  assistance of a guru/peria swamy amidst the chanting of 'Saranam Ayyappa'. Irumudi is carried on the head with due reverence.

About the Irumudikettu
Irumudikettu is nothing but the travelling kit of the pilgrims / Ayyappas, as they are called  who have finished the stipulated vratham / fasting for 40 days. Without this Irumudi one cannot enter the Sabarimala sannidhanam and climb the 18 golden steps. The Irumudi has two compartments, one is Munmudi and the other Pinmudi with an opening at the center. The munmudi will have the Pooja articles offered to the deity and the pinmudi will have his personal belongings which the pilgrim needs during the trip.

Munmudi and the Pinmudi of the Irumudikettu
Munmudi or the front portion consists of 2-3 mudra bags one for the cleaned and  ghee filled coconuts and the other mudra bags are for the Pooja items needed at the temple are kept in the munmudi. They are;
Ghee filled in coconuts for abhishekam of the Lord
4 coconuts
Betel leaves and nuts with coins for offering
pieces of Jaggery, cashew, raisins, dry ginger / chukku,
Aval or the beaten flakes thin and thick variety, cardamoms, dates, honey and sugar
turmeric pieces, turmeric powder, blouse piece, kumkum, vibhoothi / basmam, sambrani, camphor, agarbathi, rosewater, rice, dal and lemon as offerings to God.

The 4 coconuts in the irumudi  are kept there,  to break one each at Erumeli, Sharamkuthi and the two for pathinettam padi one while going up the steps and one while coming down the steps.

In the Pinmudi items for the use of the pilgrim from the day he commences his journey after Kettu nira till his return home. There are some items like some snacks to eat as and when he feels hungry, pulses and rice needed for cooking etc.

As the pilgrim leaves home with the Irumudikettu he breaks a coconut near the house where a member of the family lights a lamp daily at least for a few hours daily  till he returns. When he returns after the pilgrimage he breaks a coconut there again to signify the end of pilgrimage. Then he removes his irumudi and the mala which he had worn when he started fasting.  That signals the end of austerities for the Sabarimala Pilgrimage.

Sivagiri Mutt and the Sivagiri Pilgrimage, Varkala

Sivagiri mutt is an important  pilgrimage  center built in 1904 at the top of the Sivagiri hill near Varkala. Sivagiri is the place where Sree Narayana Guru's Samadhi is located. Even now, after many decades, his Samadhi is visited by thousands of devotees  from all over, donned in yellow  attire, during the Sivagiri pilgrimage days from 30th December to 1st January.

About Sree Narayana Guru or the Gurudevan of Sivagiri
Sree Narayana Guru was born in 1856,  in the pretty hamlet of Chempazhanthi near Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of the state of Kerala in India. He grew up to be a great sage Sree Narayana, the most revolutionary social reformer Kerala had ever produced.  He was born into a backward community of Ezhavas in the days of caste ridden Kerala sociaty.  Gurudevan as he was fondly called by his followers  and friends, led the reform movement  revolting against casteism and there by transforming the Kerala society.  Sree Narayana Guru was revered for his  Vedic knowledge, poetic proficiency, openness to the views of others, non-violent philosophy and his unrelenting resolve to set aright social wrongs.

About  Sivagiri Pilgrimage  and the goals of the Pilgrimage
Sree Narayana Guru paased away on 20th september and the samadhi is there at Sivagiri. Sivagiri Pilgrimage is on 16th and 17th Dhanu ( Malayalam Month) which usually falls on the 30th and 31st December. They have to go through Purification before they come on pilgrimage for about 10 days in the mode of Buddha's teachings. The devotees are to follow the Pancha dharma, namely, body, food, mind, word and deed.  The pilgrimage should be conduted peacefully  and chanting of the hymns. No shouting is allowed during the pilgrimage.  The goals of the pilgrimage are Education, Cleanliness, Devotion to God, Organization, Agriculture, Trade, Handicrafts and Technical training.    The devotees are to wear yellow coloured clothes like the ones which Gautham Buddha wore. The devotee can just dip the white Mundu in turmeric water and wear them for the pilgrimage and need not buy new ones.