Lord shiva, who is praised as the God of any region, has many abodes which stand gloriously reminding us of His eternal Grace. These abodes of the Lord are the focal points which radiate the grace of the Divine which stands omnipresent; these are the places worshiped by great sages and dEvas; these are the places where the divine knowledge spreads from the saints to all the people; these are the places of art and history.

These temples being the centers of upliftment, they need to be taken care of with real interest in them. Timely renovations, regular maintenance, ensuring the smooth and regular performance of the worship, developmental activities, divine chantings and praises are very much required for these holy centers to stand uplifting all including each one of us. It is in fact the duty of all of us that we serve to these abodes in whatever little way we can.

The current state of many of these ancient abodes is real cause of concern. They have been left uncared unworshiped with the pests and plants creeping over them. The AgamAs tell us about the bad repercussions of not caring for the abodes and they also tell the good effects they produce when renovated in time and worshiped well. Most of us do not forget to put a list of requests under the feet of the Lord looking for benefits, but very few really do something for the abodes and glory of the Lord. Yes, the Lord is beyond any requirement or look for fame, but these abodes and spiritual developmental activities are for the upliftment of us, the pashus. One trying to ignore these could be referred only as selfishness. But doesn't it involve a lot of cost for us to maintain these abodes? No, certainly not, if each of us come together and pull the car.

The present need is not in waiting for lots of money to do the services to the abodes. It rather requires inclination to serve. This service could happen with millions in currency or could be without a penny. It depends on what one could and one would like to give. One who is wealthy materially and mentally could do the renovations and maintenance of the abodes verily on his/her own to that Supreme Lord who gave the most admired wealths to kubera in a moment. Those who could come together pooling in the drops making an ocean could very well serve the Lord of all. One who could not afford even a penny could offer the work with the body in the service of the Lord and abode. One who is not physically fit to do that could at least sit in His presence, chant and inspire others to do the service.

The life of thirun^Avukkarachar perumAn (1) should be a great inspiration for us. Whichever abode of the Lord who Danced blissfully in his heart, he went, he did whatever required and possible for the environment of the temples using the instrument uzavAram he always held in his hand. This does not require any cost other than the not so big cost of the instrument itself, but the service offered is great! Even today these services which involves physical effort and not much of cost are called uzavArap paNi and is done by the devotees in many abodes. Various services could be offered without incurring much cost including,

• Removing the accumulated pests and other plants that hinder the way to the abodes
• Forming gardens for worship
• Cleaning the temple premises
• Illuminating the temples
• Organizing the thirumuRai/vEda classes
• Organizing discourses on shaivam

All it requires is motivation and devotion. We could do whatever little we can in order to ensure that they stand gloriously in the time to come delivering the divine grace to the generations that would thank us for this service.