The second full day at Suttur Mutt was extraordinary. Here are some more photos of the events described in previous TAKA posts.

The utsava murti was paraded in the morning. The parade included floats and musicians hard to beat. New York's labor day parade? Venice's carnival? Rio? No, Suttur is much more cool.

In the afternoon, Paramacharya Palaniswami gave a rousing speech and announced the Indian edition to an attentive crowd from the stage, maybe two thousand people. He wove into his speech kavi cloth and iPads, the past and the future, East and West. We were honored boy our hosts. The public, so open and friendly, was also intrigued. After the event people began to follow paramacharya around, just to ask questions.

It's becoming evening on the plains of Karnataka state and Swami Almitta comes to the guesthouse to escort us to the night's Big Event, a firewalk. Off we drive through a throng of people (think of people shoulder to shoulder walking down an 8-lane freeway) heading for the firepit half a mile away.

Swami takes our hand and deftly carves a portal in the wall of bodies, and we find ourselves at the pit's exit. Ten men are tending the coals which have been burning since ten in the morning. They are flattening them, and fanning them to a fierce heat. We are 20 feet away and the heat bakes our cheeks. They clean off the long iron shovels used to manipulate the coal, and steam instantly tells us how hot this fire is. We wonder about doing it ourselves, and we are told it is OK, anone can walk. We would, but we are in our robes and might trip. Next time for sure.

Sri Sivaratree Desikendra Mahaswamigal arrives, and comes to the it, drawing us near him so we can have the best view of the run.

Kala Bhairava is dancing in his warrior garb, frenzied, shouting, spinning as drums beat a tribal rhythm that is hypnotic, just what a firewalker needs. He will be the first across the coals.

A second man comes, with a pink cloth on his head holding a kumbha. He is already in a trance, barely of this world, guided by a team that holds him up and keeps his direction. He will walk second.

Swami presides over a little puja, and we all throw flowers into the pit. Drums roll, crowds cry for action, dancers to the ready. Here they come. Fast, lmost with pain bending their face, two who remain serene. One, then another, nearly tripping, racing for safety, right at us and by us. In less than a single minute it is done, and done well. They have come to do penance or to fulfill a vow spoken to God and they have fulfilled it. We drive off with swami, three horsemen riding ahead to part the mass of people. Back to our guesthouse with some rare time to tell our tales at Suttur Mutt.

Our adventure at Suttur Mutt continues. The swamis come to get us at 4am, off to the temple where we are first taken to the samadhi shrines of the previous gurus, which are lined up on the left and right of the temple sanctum in two rows, open and worshipped daily by devotees. We ask about a book sitting on the shrine of the Satguru who lived about 150 years ago. They open it for us, and inside we see the most intricate Aum Namasivayas written, page after page. We are told he sat and wrote these every day of his reign, filling over 200 books and writing the Panchakshara mantram, in Kannada, 70,000,000 times! Amazing.

Then off to the Abhishekam. We are asked to chant Siva's 108 names, for they are charmed we can, and we sit with their priest and chant, then offer a bilva leaf for another 108 mantras.

Breaking for breakfast in our rooms, we returned two hours later to find the shrine transformed. Ganesha is sitting on a pile of 108 coconuts on the floor, and Nandi has been covered with butter and decorated with grapes, dates, cherries and such. Such alankara are seldom seen.

We continue to be amazed by how the Suttur founder resembles Gurudeva in their murthis, and sometimes are caught unaware, stunned by a sense of, "Gurudeva, there you are!"

Off we go for a lightening three-hour visit to three temples. The Chola Sri Kanteswara Temple is on the banks of the Kapila River, and there are massive crowds gathered on this Sunday. The temple itself is amazing, with unique pyramidal pillars at the entrance and stunning towers, obviously renovated in recent times to pristine condition.

We end up on the top of Chamundi Hill, to join throngs seeking the blessings of this fierce form of Shakti. The silver work on the doors is like nothing we have ever seen, so intricate and perfect in its artistry. And these doors are 20 feet tall! Our Sutter hosts seems to have a magic power and all gates open to us.

On the way down the hill we visit the famed Mysore Nandi, that gargantuan black bull that must be 15 feet tall, and takes the breath away. How ever did they get it here? Who could move such a stone in those days even one meter? Nearby, we bend low to enter a cave where Siva resides, and fall at His feet. All that, and the day is only half done!

Our January 2012 news video covers events in December 2011, including the Pancha Ganapati holiday festival, progress on the Iraivan Temple and other carving projects, our Digital Dharma Drive and the massive influx of visitors that came to the monastery during the holiday season. httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-8hH958DwU

The utsava murthi of the Suttur Mutt founder begins a parade through the temple and out into the villages. It will return 10 hours later, having given darshan to those living in the rural neighborhood. There is frenzy and chanting, near danger and nearly impossible to believe devotion. That is Mahaswami below, who took care that we were at his side every moment and never trampled. Swamiji is so beloved here, and everyone you meet tells tales of his goodness, his quiet intelligence, his "elephantine memory. " Swamiji takes us to the chariot, as fire works (well, more like miniature bombs) shatter the sky above. We are asked to be among those who first tug on the giant ropes. Then Swami calls a devotee to take us through the parade, with its dozens of floats, all with a spiritual theme. Among it all, a Brahma bull being decorated with, yes, money. Note the Rudraksha halter. As we preside over the afternoon session and give a small talk, we can see Swamiji from the stage, sitting for five hours as devotees come to have his blessings and fall at his feet. On and on, the line moves quickly, but it never ends. Swami patiently sits, saying hardly a word, but not moving, just honoring each one, and offering sweets to the children. He will do this for days at a time, they say. It's a remarkable discipline, meaning so much to so many. After the amazing Sivalingam puja with Sri Shivaratree Desikendra we were off to the mela site, again fighting our way through crowds, if you can call 250,000 devotees a crowd. They are so well behaved and disciplined. Here is the entry gate to the main temple and gathering tents.

We arise early at Suttur Mutt, and head for the temple, through the rajagopuram doors

There is a flag raising. We have had to await the arrival of a chariot, and then the dvaja goes up with chanting, fanfare and a few speeches. The sanctum is marvelously decorated with tens of thousands of fresh flowers. A Nandi is there and behind him the murthi of the mutt's founder, Shivaratree Shivayogi Mahaswamiji, who founded it over a thousand years back. We dared not ask about photography, but one of the organizers invited us to grab our iPhone and shoot. The founder was a great yogi. In his left hand is the Ishtalinga which all Lingayats wear, and worship daily. God is within, they say, and that is where He is worshipped. The crowds gather, some 250,000 today. The streets are not large enough and there is a crush of humanity, and in the middle of it all a series of dances and musicians and performers. We are told this annual festival is all the entertainment many will have the rest of the year. It is their TV and Internet and movies all rolled into one. So they are eager and crush close for a view. Police on horseback aggressively push the crowds back as they press forward against the barriers. The horses get a lot of respect when they come near. It is a cacophony of sounds, to which are added portable loudspeakers on wheeled carts, each blaring a different tune.

Suddenly the 250 couples who will soon be married parade through the crush. Their every expense has been covered. There are some blind grooms and disabled brides, who may never have pondered marriage were it not for Swamiji's initiative. Brahmacharis chant at every event. Sitting here with a swami, who name is Sadasivanatha Swami.
Conversation:

Your name: I answer Sadasivanathaswami.

Yes, but your name is? Again, Sadasivanathaswami.

I know, but what is your own name? Swami, I too am Sadasivanathaswami.

Disbelief, followed by understanding. Oh, I see. Two of us! Swami whisks us into a car and off to a nearby temple, just three minutes by car. Tavil and nagasvaram greet us. It's a Chola temple, and was renovated by our own V. Ganapati Sthapati some 8 years back. It feels every bit a 1,000 year old sacred home for Siva. We are told the temple's story. Rajaraja Chola was feuding with a local king. Rajaraja came with his army, and before engaging the enemy saw Shivaratree Shivayogi, who was meditating on a rock in the middle of the nearby Kavari River. Instantly, Rajaraja heard the Aum, the high-eee in his head, and was transfixed by the mystical sound. The experience and Sivayogi's presence resolved the kingly dispute and in appreciation Rajaraja Chola asked the yogi to come with him, but Shivayogi refused. So Rajaraja Chola built this temple to express gratitude and to make sure he would stay here.

We meet later with renowned teacher and iconoclastic character, Vasudev, who later invited us to share lunch with him. Wonderful, odd, wide-ranging conversations ensued. Then off to the mass wedding. Held in a small Indian tent, about two acres. Hardly room for another person inside. We are taken to the stage and speeches ensue. I sit next to Sujita Ghandi Kulkarni, the lively granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi. A lovely child-like lady of great intelligence and insight. She gives me a fan to keep cool, and says she must give it because it's hard enough for an Indian to become a true Hindu, and she can't imagine how we did it!

I am the only one on stage with an iPad and iPhone, and the photographers love that little fact. I use my Dermandar app to capture this pano of the room from my seat on the stage. Afterwards we walk completely around the room, blessing each couple with a handful of rice. Then off to a place we can take a final group photo with the couples. This is about half of them. The day is yet young, so off we go. Vasu driving the car and telling little jokes along the way.