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Thursday, 22 September 2011

The Dome



The Dome 
At the heart of the temple, in the sannidhi or sanctum sanctorum, the visitor finally stands before the immense and awe-inspiring Dhyanalinga. Vibrating with the power of the primordial, casting its spell on all those who enter its enigmatic presence, the Dhyanalinga towers up to a height of 13 feet, 9 inches. It rises out of the seven-coiled receptacle, the avudaiyar, which has been designed in such a way that every part of the avudaiyar is 3 feet 3 inches in length and the total length of the avudaiyar is 13 feet 9 inches, the same as the height of the Linga.
Surrounding the Linga is the jalaseema, a water body that has a cooling effect on the Linga and gives the impression that the Dhyanalinga is floating on water.
The Dhyanalinga is made up of a single high-density black granite stone and the Avudaiyar is made of white granite whose density is 30% less than that of the Linga. Both the Linga and the avudaiyar are energized with the qualities of the seven chakras; hence the Linga has seven copper rings and the Avudaiyar is in the form of a seven-coiled snake.
The Dhyanalinga is kept constantly wet to enable the meditator to easily receive the energies emanating from it. Water drips onto it from a hemispheric copper dome coated with gold, which is suspended above the Linga. The resonating sound of water dropping over the Linga, the shimmering reflections of the oil lamps on the golden dome, the subdued interiors, and the all-pervasive silence makes the entire structure ethereal. The natural draught of air and the choice of natural materials make the dome a cool and soothing space, which breathes through every pore.
Time loses itself.

 



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