A visit between Dawn to Dusk! A visit to all three Ranganatha Swamy Temples on the same day between sunrise and sunset! Aren’t you excited right now to go on Triranga Darshan in one day! It is believed a visit to three Sriranganatha Swamy temples between dawn to dusk called “Triranga Darshan”
Bharathiyam was first conceived on March 14, 2000, as a seed idea — long before India’s cultural heritage found a home online. Though the domain was registered on that very day, its deeper blossoming required 25 years of experience, inner churning, and karmic purification.
Every civilization is born, grows, declines, and often disappears into the pages of history. Yet Bharat, the land sanctified by rishis, rivers, and the rhythm of Sanātana Dharma, stands apart. It is not merely a civilization of the past but a living continuum that has nourished countless generations, adapting to time yet never losing its eternal pulse.
Spiritual Movement Spiritual Movements – The Living Rivers of Awakening From the hymns of the Vedas to the songs of the saints, Bharat’s spiritual history flows through countless movements of love, wisdom, and inner transformation. Each age gave birth to seekers who re-discovered the timeless truth — that divinity lives within every heart.
My personal message is about the journey that shaped me, the lessons life taught me, and the realisations that pushed me back onto my own path. Every word you read here is mine — written from my own experiences, my own struggles, and the truths I discovered along the way.
Struggles and happiness are a part of life. If you don’t struggle, you won’t learn anything. If you don’t enjoy happiness, you won’t feel its essence. Both are just two sides of the same coin. Sometimes life feels like you’re swimming against the waves… but it’s only when you swim against the waves that you realise your own strength.
Once, a wise teacher sat beneath a tree with his disciples. He asked them, “Tell me, where do you live?”
One said, “In this village, Master.” Another said, “In this hut by the river.” A third said, “I live in this body.”
The teacher smiled and said, “You all have answered half the truth. Let me tell you the other half.”
He drew a small circle on the sand and said, “This body you call home is not merely flesh and bone — it is a city with nine gates. Within this sacred city resides the eternal king — the Self. The wise one knows he is not the city, but the witness within.”
The disciples listened intently.
“Two eyes,” said the teacher, “are gates to sight. Two ears — gates to sound. Two nostrils — gates to breath. The mouth — gate to taste and speech. And below, two more gates — for creation and elimination.
Nine gates in all. The Self dwells within, ruling silently, untouched by the gates or their comings and goings.”
He paused, letting the image settle into their hearts. “When you mistake the gates for the king, you suffer. When you know yourself as the king within the city, you are free — even while living in the body.”
🕉️ The Scriptural Verse
“Nava-dvāre pure dehī naiva kurvan na kārayan; śarīra-stho’pi kaunteya na karoti na lipyate.” — Bhagavad Gītā 5.13
Translation: “The embodied Self, dwelling in the city of nine gates, neither acts nor causes to act. Though abiding in the body, it remains untouched and pure.”
🌿 The Symbols Explained
Symbol
Meaning
City of Nine Gates
The human body — with nine openings through which life interacts with the world.
The King
The Self (Ātman) — eternal consciousness residing within.
The Gates
The senses and organs of action — the pathways of experience.
The Citizens
Thoughts, desires, emotions, and bodily functions.
The Walls of the City
The physical body — impermanent, ever-changing.
✨ The Upanishadic Insight
This parable reminds us that the Self (Ātman) is not the doer, though actions occur through the body. Just as a king remains untouched by the city’s noise, the Self remains pure while the senses act.
In ignorance, we identify with the gates — “I see,” “I speak,” “I suffer.” In wisdom, we recognize that the senses perform their functions naturally, while the Self simply witnesses.
When the realization dawns, one lives like a lotus — rooted in the mud, yet unstained by it.
🪶 The Deeper Meaning
The “City of Nine Gates” is not a rejection of the body, but a revelation of its sanctity. Our body is not a prison; it is a temple through which the Divine expresses life. Each gate is sacred — a portal to experience the outer world, yet also to turn inward toward the inner light.
The mistake is not in living through the body, but in forgetting that we are more than it. The wise one lives in the same body, eats, works, loves, and speaks — but from the awareness that “I am not the body; I am the dweller within.”
🕯️ Reflections for Modern Life
In the modern world, we are obsessed with the “city walls” — the body’s appearance, the gates of pleasure, and the noise of its citizens (thoughts and emotions). We decorate the gates but forget the king. We polish the outer temple but ignore the flame within.
This parable calls us back to centered awareness — to live in the body, but not as the body. To act in the world, but not lose oneself in the action.
When the mind returns again and again to the indwelling Self, the body becomes a tool of dharma, not bondage. This is what Sri Krishna called Jīvanmukti — liberation while living.
📜 Scriptural Echoes
Kaṭha Upanishad (5.1): “Eṣa sarveṣu bhūteṣu gūḍho’tmā na prakāśate; dṛśyate tvagrayā buddhyā sūkṣmayā sūkṣma-darśibhiḥ.” “The Self hidden in all beings does not shine forth; but is seen by the subtle seers through their purified intellect.”
Śrīmad Bhāgavata (11.7.37): “The soul, though dwelling in the body, is untouched by its actions, just as the sky remains unaffected by the movements of clouds.”
Bhagavad Gītā (13.31): “Anāditvān nirguṇatvāt paramātmā ayam avyayaḥ; śarīra-stho’pi kaunteya na karoti na lipyate.” “Though dwelling in the body, the supreme Self neither acts nor is tainted by the actions.”
🌼 The Message
“The body is the city; the senses its gates. The Self is the silent king, ruling without action.”
When we identify with the city, we are bound. When we recognize the king, we are free. The wise one continues to live, act, and serve — yet inwardly rests in perfect stillness.
The outer world remains the same; the inner world becomes luminous. That is the life of the awakened being — in the world but not of it.
🪷 The Essence
Every moment, life flows through the nine gates — sound enters, sight dazzles, touch moves, speech flows. But behind all this movement lies the unmoving witness — you. When we return to that awareness, the city becomes sacred, the senses become servants, and the Self shines as the eternal ruler.
Such a person is liberated here and now — a free soul walking in the body of light.
“When you are born with a question in your soul, the answer becomes your life’s work.”
Venkatesham is the founder and guiding spirit behind Bharathiyam — a digital dharmic initiative dedicated to reviving, preserving, and sharing the timeless soul-wisdom of Bharat.
Born into a traditional family rooted in simplicity, reverence, and moral strength, his life bridges two worlds — the outer world of technology and digital communication, and the inner world of silence, reflection, and spiritual seeking.
The articles and essays featured on Bharathiyam are not recent creations, but part of a lifelong body of work that began more than two decades ago. Many of them were originally written between 2000 and 2020, stored quietly as Word documents — reflections, insights, and learnings collected through years of sādhanā, study, and service. These writings are now being published in their original spirit, dated according to when they were first composed.
Alongside Bharathiyam, he continues to nurture two interconnected literary trilogies exploring dharma, family, and the soul’s journey — expressions of the same inner quest that began long ago and continues to unfold through his work and life.
