The Nature of the True Religious Life - 1.6. - Swami Krishnananda.
Chinmaya International Foundation (CIF) : Hari Om. The maternal birth-home of Sri Adi Sankaracharya, the Melpazhur Mana, renamed as Adi Sankara Nilayam by Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda, is more than 1200 years old and has witnessed the vidyarambha and the upanayana ceremonies of this great Acharya. The illom which is a ‘naalukettu’ (a four winged building) is located at Veliyanad in the Ernakulam district of Kerala. A panchaloha idol of the great Guru has been installed in the birth-room, with an ‘akhandajyoti’, a lamp that is kept lit throughout the year. Regular prayers are offered in this room by the devotees and visitors. The sanctity of the room provides an ideal ambience for the mind to effortlessly glide into the depths of meditation. The illom stands facing in the westerly direction, which is a rare style according to the architectural tradition of Kerala. It houses a number of murals that narrate the life story of Adi Sankara – the saint, philosopher, poet, commentator, re...