'Swamy ye Saranam Ayyappa !'

The life of the man can be improved and re-energized by performing Tapas or austerity. Tapas may be performed in body, speech and mind as per 'Gita'. When man applies himself to these three components, he changes for the better.

Given below are the austerities and regulations that has to be strictly followed for taking pilgrimage to Shri Sabarimala

Deeksha has to be undertaken after getting permission from parents. Then one has to get the permission of the the Guru. After this the date is fixed to commence the deeksha. The previous day before the said date one has to offer prayers to ones family deity and make a holy knot with yellow cloth with 1.25 currency units within and present it to the family deity, thereby taking Her/His permission to commence the deeksha.

Previous day before starting the deeksha, the devotee willcleanly shave, clip his nails, trim his hair and make himself physically clean. The holy mala / garland (tulsi / uthradsham) should be cleaned and smeared with sandal paste and placed before the portrait of Lord Ayyappa. The devotee should also buy a new pair of coloured (ONLY BLACK) dhoti and towel/shawl.

On the day of starting the deeksha the devotee shall raise early, bath and offer prayers to family deity, Navagrahas and perform pooja to the holy mala. Then he shall go to temple with his Guru. The mala has to be received from the Guru in midst of chanting of Saranam. After wearing the mala the devotee becomes Lord Ayyappa himself and starts the demands of pious life.

The devotee shall withdraw from all social activities and spend his time by taking part in praying, poojas, bajans, visiting temples, cleaning temples, feeding the poor, helping the poor/sick and attending religious discourses.

He shall take only satvic foods and refrain 100% from taking meat, intoxicating drinks / drugs, chewing betel leaves and from smoking.


He shall bath twice, if possible thrice, daily and perform pooja by at least chanting 108 Ayyappa Saranam. He shall continuously chant Saranam Ayyappa in mind, both at work and at home.

He shall not hurt anybody verbally or physically.
He shall treat all co-devotees as Lord Ayyappa himself and serve them in all the ways.

He shall not feel proud of the respect and privileges he gets when he is wearing the holy mala. When others prostrate themselves on his feet he shall not feel proud but dedicate the same to Lord Ayyappa and say aloud 'Lord Save everybody for their faith in you'.

He shall not cause inconvenience to his family members on account on observing the vritham.
As he starts his deeksha every year, he shall think that he is doing the same for first time and follow all the rules of the deeksha strictly.

He shall strictly follow brahmacharya (continence), refrain from sex, thinking of sex, develop passion against all women including his wife, and treat all women with motherly feeling.

He shall not apply oil to his hair and shall not take bath with oil smeared over his body.

He shall not attend any social function like birthdays, engagement, and wedding, etc. and shall feast in anyone's home who have not undertaken the deeksha.

He shall avoid being in the proximity of dead body and shall not eat anything till he bathes if he accidentally sees one.

He shall always carry a tulsi leaf with him to prevent him from evil feeling and from Thitu.

He shall not sleep on bed but on floor, he shall not use pillow but wooden block, he shall not use footwear but walk with bear feet.

He shall totally surrender himself to Lord Ayyappa.

One should remember that the grace and power of Sabarimala increases and reflects back by observing the above rules strictly



18 STEPS 

1st step- Getting knowledge and consciousness to make think is called first step.
2nd step- The bhakters ultimate consciousness is second step. Dvaita & advaita are same. Advaita means God & Dvaita means soul.
3rd step- vision or insight, imagination, understand, act, excercise, law to be connected with intellect.
4th step- pure consciousness image of knowledge it refers.
5th step- not in pure form & enlightened like bhagavathi gods form.
6th - past several births (purva janam) goodness if we climb sixth step and we can see lord shiva.
7th step- will-power, we will have will-power to get god blessing
8th step- yaga inner form. rahoyagam.
9th step- supreme celestial light , "paramjyothis" in order today also "makara jyothi" is seen.
10th step- meditating and knowing universal supreme lord.
11th step- ascetic meditating. God and devotee uniting.
12th step- samadhi non dualistic state of consciousness.
13th step- atma, soul changes happens.
14th step- supreme brahma, indicates knowledge person god subramanian. Ultimate supreme brahma is also called this step
15th step- nadabrahma means ecstasy continues.
16th step- jyothiswarupa- illumination of god. A supreme effulgence, the proper form of god.
17th step- trigunathitha means tri characters of god
18th step - which is considered as parama feet- the ultimate supreme feet of lord ayyappa swamy.
Swamiye sharanam ayyappa.


Makara Jyothi

Makara (Sanskrit: मकर) is the name of a zodiac sign in Indian languages known as Capricorn in English. "Jyoti" means "light" in Sanskrit. Thus "Makara Jyoti" (also spelt as Jyothi) means "Light of Capricorn".

The Sun appears to move from one zodiac constellation to another every month and the day on which Sun changes the constellation is called Sankrānti (= transit) in Sanskrit. Makara Sankranti (Sanskrit: मकर संक्रान्ति, Malayalam: മകര സാന്‍ക്രാന്തി, Kannada: ಮಕರ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿ, Tamil: தைப்பொங்கல்,Telugu: మకర సంక్రాంతి ) is the Sun’s transit into Capricorn (Makara) constellation that usually occurs on 14 January every year and is a very important Hindu festival celebrated all over India in various forms. Uttarāyaṇa, the six-month period when the sun travels towards the north on the celestial sphere starts on Makara Sankranti and ends on Karka Sankranti (around July 14).

One of the places where a large number of devout Hindus reach on 14 January for worship is Sabarimala located in thick rain forests of Kerala. 

Makara Jyothi is worshiped as a part of ritual in Sabarimala Temple on Makara Sankranti on 14 January every year. Devout Hindus believe that the jyothiis a celestial phenomenon and its sighting is auspicious and brings good luck and blessings.


Popularity of the Ritual

Lord Sri Rama and his brother Lakshmana met Sabari, an urban devotee, at Sabarimala. Sabari offered the Lord fruits after tasting them. But the Lord accepted them gladly and whole-heartedly. The Lord then turned and saw a divine person doing tapas. He asked Sabari who it was. Sabari said it was Sasta. Rama walked towards Sasta and the latter stood up to welcome the Prince of Ayodhya. The anniversary of this incident is celebrated on Makara Vilakku day. It is believed that on Makara Vilakku day, Lord Dharmasasta stops his tapas to bless his devotees.

Another popular mythical belief is that the Makara Vilakku is lit there in commemoration of the aarathi performed by Dev rishis and Devas at the time of revelation of His Divine form (Roopa) by Manikantan (an incarnation of Sasta).

This event marks the culmination of the long and arduous pilgrimage to Sabarimala shrine. The light disappears in the evening after theThiruvaabharanam (divine ornaments) are brought into the sanctum sanctorum and are placed on the Lord. The most significant rituals of worship are performed at the day of Makara Sankaranthi (14 January every year). It draws the second largest number of pilgrims to a place of worship in India. Of particular significance is the fact that this is a remote forest in the Western Ghats in Kerala.

The most famous Ayyappa shrine in India is the one at Sabarimala with over 50 million devotees visiting it every year.

The huge crowd of pilgrims that witnesses the event has been on the rise every year. It is believed that 1.5 million devotees witnessed Makarajyoti light in 2010.