Have you ever visited the Vailankanni Shrine? More important, have you seen the manner in which several devotees walk on their knees on a hard, hot sand path for almost 1500 mtrs (roughly 1 and a half kilometers) in penance? Even more importantly, have you ever crawled those sands yourself seeking enlightenment on the very purpose of your being?!

The Vailankanni Shrine is a masterpiece of architectural imagination! Its history dates back 400 years and you can get more information on the source of this beautiful Shrine if you Google it on the net. So lets keep that aside...

I have visited the Shrine almost 3 times in the past, but never had the guts to crawl on my knees on this sand path. However, last December, when I happened to visit the Shrine, I decided to do a penance crawl on my knees, just for the experience...

It was a hot morning and the sand felt hard and scalding. But I got onto my knees and began the crawl. I really didn't know why I was doing it?! Maybe it was out of sheer ego considering the fact that many devotees were doing it and so, why couldn't I? Maybe, it was out of challenge...after all when you start life, professionally speaking, as a nobody and 35 years later you reach the level of a CEO...you have this enormous ego of invincibility since you've grown used to it! Maybe I did it to prove to myself that I was, and will always be, the ULTIMATE, sans all spiritual influences! And thus began my journey to prove to everyone and myself that I could do this too...what the heck!

And as I walked on my knees, my skin started splitting. The sand path was hard and was interspersed with small jaggered stones that dug into my hands and feet. The pain, thereafter, was horrifyingly unbearable. And yet I had to cover a long distance and I had no intention of giving up! After all, I've spent my entire life facing challenges and creating my own destiny..so this was just another of those challenges which I was sure I could handle like several others I did over 3 decades of my professional life. And as the journey continued, the excruciating pain spread across the entire body, numbing my egoistic attitude and creating a new thought process of spiritual obeyance. This was a new feeling I honestly, had never felt before. My mind began chanting prayers that I knew as a child but never really practiced over the years. Amazing how what we learn as children remain embedded in our sub-conscious minds for a lifetime! And as I prayed and crawled the sands (now on my all fours bleeding and torn), my mind went through some amazing changes, almost as if it was being tutored or advised by some Supreme Power!

We spend our lives experiencing several facets which either bring pain or happiness to us. The facets that create pain in our lives and hearts are consciously wiped out of our minds by us because we need to take our lives forward, creatively and innovatively with each new day. But the pain remains embedded in our latent consciousness and at times, influences major decisions we take in our professional lives without us knowing why! And most of these decisions are negative for growth.

Like a balm, the Supreme Power cajoled my mind to think differently. I could feel the effects of years of my negative experiences flow out of my mind as smoothly as the blood flowed out from my knees and hands. Every incident of the past that caused pain and suffering seemed to release out of my mind and body and in its place I could feel a rejuvenating feeling of love and warmth for all those I was unconditionally devoted to.

And as I did the final 'crawl', my knees suddenly sunk into cool soft sands. I had reached the end of the sand path. Tremendously exhausted, I bowed down, crunched over my knees, face in my palms, tears flowing down my cheeks. An absolutely new existence. A great new feeling...unexplainable! A different human being...reborn again!! A great life changing experience!!!