SantoBaba
The Moon governs the mind. Monday temple visits and a quiet pradakshina calm emotional turbulence, especially during Chandrashtama days.
Moon
Visitors come to Akshardham for stillness in the middle of Delhi. At the Abhishek Mandap devotees pour water over the murti of Neelkanth Varni, the teenage yogi form of Swaminarayan, while offering what the mandir describes as a prayer for peace and the fulfilment of wishes. Many sit through the morning or evening arti, walk the Narayan Sarovar and the gardens, and keep the Hall of Values' themes of non-violence, prayer and family harmony as a practice to carry home.
Pilgrims come for the darshan of Badri Vishal and for the peace of ending a long journey at the last of the Char Dham. Families perform pind daan at Brahma Kapal on the Alaknanda for the peace of departed ancestors, and devotees bathe in the Tapt Kund before darshan to begin afresh.
People of every faith come here for peace of mind. They sit by the Amrit Sarovar listening to the kirtan that flows from the sanctum almost all day, bathe in the pool, bow before the Guru Granth Sahib and listen to the hukam, the day's reading. Many then do seva in the langar, rolling rotis or washing plates beside strangers, and say it is that service, as much as the prayer, that quiets the heart.
Jagannath means Lord of the Universe, and devotees come to him as the friend of the fallen; his image Patitapabana is painted at the gate for those who cannot enter. Pilgrims seeking peace complete their Char Dham here, eat Mahaprasad seated together in the Ananda Bazaar without distinction, and believe that darshan of the wide, unblinking eyes of the Lord settles a troubled heart.
Devotees seeking calm in the home and freedom from quarrels sit by the big tank, circle the prakaram and offer lamps to Karpagambal. In the middle of a crowded city, tradition holds that a quiet hour here settles the mind and the household.
Pilgrims come here for the peace that comes from facing the end of life without fear. The elderly come to spend their last years in Kashi, families bring the ashes of loved ones, and the Mangala and Shringar aartis give even short visitors a stillness they carry home.
Devotees undertake the hard trek as a tapas in itself. The silence of the high valley and the darshan of the Jyotirlinga are sought for inner peace, release from grief and the strength to start again after loss, in the spirit of the Pandavas' own atonement.
Devotees seeking calm at home and freedom from family disputes circle the Golden Lotus tank, offer kumkum to the Goddess and sit in the Thousand Pillar Hall in silence. Meenakshi is approached as a protective mother who settles the household.
For many families Rameswaram completes the Char Dham pilgrimage. Devotees come after a bereavement, after a long illness in the house or simply when the mind is restless, bathe in the theerthams and stand quietly before Ramanathaswamy, asking for calm and a settled home.
The pilgrimage is itself a practice of calm: 41 days without anger, profanity or alcohol, with daily temple visits. Devotees believe the ghee of the Neyyabhishekam carries the merging of the individual soul with the divine, and that hearing Harivarasanam, the lullaby sung as the sanctum closes each night, settles the mind. Families seeking a peaceful home sponsor Nitya Pooja or offer Aravana and Appam prasadam.
People in distress sit in Dwarkamai or before the samadhi with Baba's 'Shraddha and Saburi', faith and patience. The daily aartis, the free meals and the quiet of Lendi Baug are sought for calm after loss, debt or family trouble.
Families come seeking protection and calm from the mother who, devotees believe, freed this land from Mahishasura. Many prefer the early-morning darshan after the Suprabhata Seva to sit quietly before her.
Many come simply for calm: a dip in the Krishna, a quiet darshan of the linga and the Goddess, and time in the old stone halls on the forested Nallamala hill.
The Brahma Purana says that those who worship Vaikuntha Rama here attain salvation and that the Lord grants knowledge. Devotees seeking calm bathe in the Godavari, sing Ramadasu's kirtanas and sit through the evening Darbar seva.
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