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Report on

A Trip to Dharmasthala

Submitted by,

Jacob Thomas

11082

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Index

1. An Introduction to Dharmasthala

2. Meeting the Chairman

3. Shantivana

4. Ratnamanasa

5. Annapoorna

6. Car Museum

7. Manjusha Museum

8. SDM Ayurveda College , Hassan

9. Shri Chenna Keshava Temple at Belur

10. Conclusion

11. References

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An Introduction to Dharmasthala

Dharmasthala is a temple village on the banks of the Nethravathi River in the Belthangadi taluk of the Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka.

The temple is devoted to Shiva and the principal object of worship is the linga. The temple is unusual in that it is run by a Jain administration and Poojas are conducted by Hindu priests of Madhva order.Around an average of 10000 pilgrims visit the temple every day. A mechanised kitchen (Annapoorna) provides free food for all pilgrims and there are guest houses with modern amenities. The guest houses are free of cost and any pilgrim can avail the facility free of cost for three days. The principle of Dharmasthala is not to help the poor but to serve all guest and pilgrims who come to Manjunatha swamy Temple.

The word “Dharmasthala” means “Place of Dharma”. The word 'Dharma' traditionally means religion, ritual, duty, righteousness, alms. Equality and secularism is followed at this divine temple of Dharma. . High or low, rich or poor, devout or atheist - at Dharmastala all are equal.

As said above, though the diety is Shiva, the priests are Vaishnavite Brahmins and the guardian of the temple a Heggade, a Jain by faith. This religious harmony itself is one of kind in the whole country.

To those who come here for justice, Dharmastala is the scale that does not tip in favour of a lawyer. Here, without any legal formality or argument the Heggade dispenses justice, acting in the tradition of his ancestral role as the Heggade and representing the presiding deities. The practice has been following since decades and every verdict given in the presence of Lord Manjutheshwara is recorded with great precision.

To those who come in need, Dharmasthala is a gifted land. Dharmasthala follows the following Daanas

• Aanadhana • Abhayadhana • Aushadadhana • Vidhyadhana

The trust provides accommodation to all the pilgrims. There are about 400 rooms in 4 with a capacity of 3-4 per room. The rooms are well maintained and the guest is well taken care by the servants at the accommodation.

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Meeting the Chairman

After offering our respect to Lord Manjutheshwara, we got a chance to meet Dr D

Veerendra Heggade's, the Chairman of Dharmathshala trust. Despite his busy schedule, he shared

with us the role of Dharmasthala in society and the historic and judiciary practices at Dharmasthala.

The fact that the verdict at Dharmasthala in disputes is considered final took us by surprise.

Heggadegi also shared with us the experience and future scope and expansion plans of RUDSETI.

Started in 1982, the first Rural Development and Self-Employment Training Institute (RUDSETI) was

at Ujire. This was an innovative approach to help the rural youth stand their own. RUDSETI identifies

opportunities, trains participants in developing the desired skills and assists them in activity like

setting up their own shop or getting them into a skilled profession like a Barber or mechanic. So far,

Rudseti has trained 2.41 lakhs youth of which 1.69lakhs trainees have settled with their self

employment ventures.

Visit to Shanthivana

Shanthivana, where the doctors described as a place where “food is medicine“ was quite a

revelation to all of us . The place, located in a 16 acre campus had a combination of peaceful

environment and natural beauty. The SDM Institute of Naturopathy and Yogic sciences also known

as “Shanthivana” had a series of treatments for various ailments ranging from Bronchial Asthma and

Bronchitis to Rheumatism and Arthritis. The ways of treatment include Hydrotherapy (Jalachikitsa),

Prithvichikitsa , Air Therapy ( Vayu Chikitsa), Helio Therapy ( Surya/Agni Chikitsa) , Rejuvenation /

Massage Therapy , Acupuncture Therapy , Magneto Therapy was explained to us in detail . The

benefit of Yoga and how Yogasanas and Pranayamanas come handy in day to day life was also

emphasised upon. We had a visit to all the sections in the hospital and after an hour we returned

with the nourished wisdom that the elements of nature are the best healers and food can become

the best medicine.

Rathnamanasa

Rathnamanasa, situated in Ujire in Dakshina Kannada district is one of the dream projects of

Heggadegi under Vidhyadhana. The institution aims at providing the students with 'Education for

life' under the project 'Jeevana Shikshana'. The school is a residential program for a group of

selected students who clear the screening test. A student here is moulded to take the challenges of

life Head on. The school emphasis on getting the students to learn a variety of skills like farming ,

gardening , milking the cow and small handy skills like cutting hair . Any student who studies here

has to face the tough discipline. There is special emphasis on integrating these budding minds to the

fertility of nature by making them cultivate vegetable and use of compost and cow dung as manure.

Here, the children are not bound by the hidden thread of religion or caste. Everyone is

bound to each other by the unseen string of ‘Brotherhood’. The children are fully aware of the in

house chores and takes part equally in all of them. Also, the students have to milk the cow every

morning. It was a surprise when the cow responded to the call of one of the students. The students

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are also multi-talented and did demonstrate their talents in singing and their explicit knowledge

about vegetable farming.

The vegetable farm done by the students under the supervision of experienced farmers

Annapoorna

Feeding an average of 10,000 people per day with just 363 employees seemed quite a

mystery at the beginning. A classic example of well planning, dedication and organisation,

Annapoorna is for sure a management marvel. The place is kept clean and well maintained. All guest

who come are fed well. A glimpse of the Kitchen and the Vegetable cutting section gave us and

insight to how this is being achieved. Rice is boiled by cookers heated up by pressurised steam

steam from boilers which is the most effective way of getting tons of Rice boiled in a couple of

minutes . There is hugh 1000 and 750 litre Rasam and Rice cooker. The cookers need less manual

labour as the valves are engineered to ensure that filling and draining the cooker happens just by the

turn of the right valve. The stock room is well prepared for a week and is continuously refilled. Pest

control takes place by smoking the room every day.

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A 1000 and 700 litre Rasam cooker at Annapoorna. Note that the cooker is heated up by steam

Heap of boiled Rice at Annapoorna Kitchen. The heaps are usually 4 -5 feet tall.

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Vegetable cutting section: In this section we saw automated grinders, coconut scrapers and a

couple of manual equipments to crush and grind. There are middle / old aged women who are

masters in the art of cutting vegetables.

Effective use of Trolleys and lift: The kitchen section has a lift that is used to transport loads of Rice

/vegetables cut from one section to the next . Also, trolleys are effectively used in serving food and

distributing plates. Manual Labour is minimized but inevitable as flexibility to the extreme core

cannot be automated.

Automated dish washer: The cleaning of plates happens with the help of an automatic dish washer

where after a preliminary round of washing, the plates are fed in to the dishwasher. There is a jet of

hot water / steam rushed to the batch of plates that ensures that the plates that are served are

clean.

Boiler: As said above, the cooker at Annapoorna runs on steam and the steam is provided by a

boiler adjacent to the kitchen. Kerosene is used as the fuel in boiler. Water is constantly introduced

to the boiler and this is converted to steam at around a temperature of 150 degrees. Now, the steam

is compresed using a compressor and using pipelines transmitted with a minimum loss to the

cookers in the kitchen.

Cleaning: Cleaning happens at lightning pace at Dharmasthala. The workers are talented to sweep

with both hands and also moping the floor seemed quite an art when it was performed within no

time. There was an automatic cleaner to scrub the floor which is used twice a day.

1. Guest having food at Anapoorna 2. Automated Dishwashing 3. Lift and trolleys used.

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Car Museum

It was really amazing to find a car that had just 6 BHP. The Manjusha car museum at

Dharmasthala had around a range and variety of car that clearly took us through the time line of

evolution of cars. There was a variety of cars that once symbolised power, luxury but fell behind to

technology and innovation. There was a variety or cars and bikes that once were the dream of many

a leaders and politicians. The vintage cars were well maintained and are in running condition. There

were companies of all kind ranging from Hindustan Motors to Ford, Chrysler and Rolls Royce. We

also got a chance to see the cars used by Mahatma Gandhi and C V Raman. The museum is truly a

delight to all who love cars.

Manjusha Museum

Manjusha museum at Dharmathsthala was a collection of heritage, culture, economy,

weapon, science, invention and art. Artifacts range from pottery of Indus Valley Civilisation to the

Portuguese and British weapons used a century ago. The ivory carving of Saraswathi Devi was an

embodiment of precision and talents. The Chinese artifacts were also quite a feast. Coins and

currency of various countries ranging across time line was another part of history. The evolution of

still and movie cameras, cigarrattes, and jewellery designs were well illustrated by the arrangement.

It felt good to realize that India had commendable culture, a breath taking history which was not lost

over the generations. We need to ensure that such museums are visited more often to understand

our pattern of evolution in various fronts and make it a point to pass the information on to the

generations to come.

SDM Ayurveda College, Hassan

On our way back to Mysore, we got the opportunity to visit SDM Ayurveda College at

Hassan. A sumptuous lunch was served to all after which the Principal of the college interacted with

us. He gave us a broad picture of the college and the activities happening there. He also gave us an

outlook into a better living in harmony with the nature.

Shri Chenna Keshava Temple at Belur

Located at Belur, Karnataka is the temple of Shri Chenna Keshava which is quite a marvel of

architecture than a temple. There was variety of carvings that represented Dasavthara (The ten

incarnation of Lord ‘Vishnu‘). There were also art works on walls of the temple that explains the

story of many a myth. There were strict emphasis on Brahma, Vishnu and Siva who is considered as

the creator, mentor and the destructor of Life. The temple was built in 1268 AD during the reign of

King Narasimha III. The sculpture of Chennakesava Temple is predicted to be a specimen of later

Hoysala style because of certain architectural elements. It is said that during the Muslim invasion in

India, the local worshipers covered the temple in a pile of sand to avoid destruction.

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Shri Chenna Keshava Temple, Belur

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Comments and Conclusion

The trip was good and we did enjoy it. It could have been made better by choosing any other

season than the rainy season. Uninvited rain did put us back in schedule and was mounting more

pressure to the crisis situation when one of the wheels got punctured during the onward journey.

We could also have clubbed the trip with nearby places like Ooty making it more rejuvenating.

It is usually said that life is a journey. Journey becomes meaningful and complete when there

is learning and value addition added to it. I am sure that the Trip to Dharmasthala has made all of us

think in a dimension of spirituality, History, Culture, heritage and Technology at some point of the

trip. These are the seeds of wisdom that if given proper attention can guide us a long way in life.

References:

http://www.naturecure.org.in/pages/about.html

http://www.mangalore.com/documents/dharmasthala.html

http://chickmagalur.blogspot.com/2008/01/ratnamanasa-worth-of-its-name.html

http://www.shridharmasthala.org/pages/annadaana.html

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/vintage-cars-classics-india/79766-manjusha-museum-

dharmasthala.html

http://www.panchakarma.com/sdm-college-of-ayurveda-hassan-karnataka-p-281.html