Swamiji visited different places in South India during the month of June 2023. Visits to Kollur Mugambikai and other kshetrams along the coastal Karnataka and western ghats turned to be a visit full of blessings. Swamiji along with members of Yoga Vidya Gurukulam started from Bengaluru on the morning of June 20th Tuesday. The group reached Kukke Subramanya temple in the afternoon and had darshan of Lord Subramanya. In this temple Lord Kartikeya is worshipped as Subramanya, lord of all serpents. Kukke Subramanya is one of the seven holy places created by Saint Parashurama. Divine serpent Vasuki is believed to have taken refuge in Kukke Subramanya while being hunted by Garuda.
Travelling across the dense forests, mountains and rivers, the group reached Kollur on the night of June 20th and had darshan of divine mother Sri Mugambikai. The village of Kollur lies amid the green canopy of the Western Ghats, on the base of Kodachadri Hill. Murti of devi Mookambikai was established by Sri Adi Shankaracharya. Sage Kola Maharishi was performing Tapas here and he was persistently troubled by a demon called Mooka. Kola Maharishi worshipped the Divine Mother for help. So, Devi Shakthi came down and vanquished the demon, Mookasura. Lord Shiva also appeared before the sage. Maharishi Kola asked that the Lord with His Consort should remain here forever. To grant his wish, a Jyotirlinga appeared, with a Swarnarekha (golden line) in the middle. Thus, one half of this Linga stands for the purusha principle as embodied by Lord Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma, while the other stood for the prakurti principle in the form of Mother Parvati, Lakshmi and Saraswati.
Next day morning(21st June), the powerful and auspicious Chandi homam was performed inside the Kollur Moogambikai temple by the temple priests in the presence of Swamiji. With the blessings of Swamiji, members of Yoga Vidya Gurukulam participated in the chandi homam and received the blessings of ultimate mother, goddess Mookambikai.
After the homam, the group left to Sringeri Sri Sharadhamba temple. The ancient temple of Sri Sharada, the presiding deity of Sringeri has a glorious history that begins with the setting up of the Dakshinamnaya peetham by Sri Adi Shankaracharya. Originally it was an unpretentious shrine with the Murti of Sharada made of sandalwood, installed over the Sri Chakra that Sri Adi Shankara carved on a rock. Subsequently Sri Bharati Krishna Tirtha and Sri Vidyaranya had a temple built with timber and tiled roof. Sri Bharati Krishna Tirtha substituted the sandalwood idol with the present golden idol.
Swamiji along with members of Yoga Vidya Gurukulam had darshan of mother Sri Sharadamba and also visited the Sri Matham. Swamiji met Sri Vidhusekara Bharati Swamiji, the present peetathipathi of Dakshinamnaya Sri Sharadha peetham established by Sri Adi Shankaracharya and had conversation. Swamiji invited Sri Vidhusekara Bharati Swamiji to Uttarkashi Gurukulam. After the traditional exchange of words between the Swamijis, members of Yoga Vidya Gurukulam took blessings from Sri Vidhusekara Bharati Swamiji and left Sringeri.
The group reached Sri Hariharapura Dharmapeetam on 21st evening. Located at the holy banks of river Tunga, Lord Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy and Goddess Sri Sharadambika are the chief deities of the Dharmapeetam. This ancient Dharmapeetam boasts an unbroken illustrious chain of Acharyas, right from the time of Sri Adi Shankaracharya. Swamiji met Sri Swayamprakasha Sachidananda Saraswati Swamiji, the 25th peetadhipathi of Sri Hariharapura Dharmapeetam and had traditional introduction. In the conversation happened with Swamiji, Sri Swayamprakasha Sachidananda Saraswati Swamiji expressed his great reverence for Pujya Sri Swami Dayananda Saraswati and Arsha Vidya Sampradaya.
On 22nd morning, Swamiji along with the group visited the temple and received the blessings of Lord Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy and Goddess Sri Sharadambikai. After the darshan, Sri Swayamprakasha Sachidananda Saraswati Swamiji presented a Rudraksha maala along with a momentum to Swamiji and blessed the members of Yoga Vidya Gurukulam.
The group then reached Belur and visited the historic Sri Chennakeshava temple. Chennakeshava Temple, also referred to as Keshava, Kesava or Vijayanarayana Temple of Belur, is a 12th-century Hindu temple that was commissioned by King Vishnuvardhana and was built in the Hoysala architecture. The temple was built over three generations and took 103 years to finish. It was repeatedly damaged and plundered during wars, repeatedly rebuilt and repaired over its history. After receiving the blessings of Lord Sri Chennakeshava, Swamiji and the group reached back Bengaluru on 22nd evening. The travel ended with full of blessings.