Sri Matrubhuteswarar Mahapuja

Today I visited Ramana Ashram to attend part of the celebratory Sri Matrubhuteswarar Mahapuja, commemorating the mukti (Liberation) of Sri Bhagavan’s mother Alagamma. It was observed at the Ashram today, Thursday, May 29th and according to the Hindu Calendar corresponds with Vaishaka Bahula Navami. Special abhishekam and puja to Sri Matrubhuteswara Lingam over the Mother’s Samadhi was performed. On the evening of the previous day, a Classical Carnatic style Ramana Music by Dr. Ambika and Dr. Sarada was performed.

Most of my photographs were taken after the occasion, when the crowds of devotees had decreased. To view the official Ramana Ashram photographs of both the musical evening and the puja, go to this link. To watch an official video of the puja, click here.

After a very delicious prasad lunch at the Ashram, I had a nice stroll of the beautifully maintained Ashram grounds. Of particular interest was a visit to the well (outside the samadhi hall) to see how the fishy inhabitants are doing.

In the below photograph, at the left is the Ashram kitchen where they cook all the delicious Ashram food, and to the right is a dormitory for longterm male sadhakas. At the background you can just see the tip of Arunachala peeping out from behind the trees.



In the next two photographs separate pictures of two different peacocks.

And then a walk around some more of the Ashram grounds.

The below yellow house, is the place Sri Ramana Maharshi attained mahanirvana in the evening of April 14th, 1950. You can peep in through the glass door of the mahanirvana house and see various artifacts used by Bhagavan during his life.

New Videos Posted

Thought it would be a good idea to update the vodpod at the bottom left hand margin of this page. So, have deleted the old videos and in their place now have:

1) Angel by Enya - which is very beautiful, soothing, inspirational song by a Celtic singer. The lyrics of the song are in a scroll immediately over the Video Pod.

2) Ramana Maharshi Rare Video - is the second video on the Vodpod. It has footage of Sri Ramana that I have never seen before. Probably one of the nicest video compilations I have seen of Bhagavan.

3) Chariots of Fire - The beautiful, inspirational theme song of a very old movie called Chariots of Fire which is about courage and dedication to one's beliefs. ''But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and be not weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." The composer of the music is a Greek man, and in this clipping he is the person playing the electronic piano in a wonderful Grecian setting.

4) India My Love - A music clip of the song "India My Love" by Shantam Arjun, with images of Arunachala. Its definitely one of the nicest musical videos I have seen of Arunachala - except for the part with the bullock!

Newsletter, June -- 2008

Yesterday, Arunachala Grace News for June, 2008 was sent out direct to subscribers' email inboxes. This month there is an extract from the Arunachala Mahatmyam, talking about the nature and glory of the Hill, Arunachala Tidbits full of local news and information about whats happening in the area, a short story about God's Will, poems and inspirational quotes. This month, information is given about the Drongo, a commonly found bird of this area and the properties and uses of the Papaya (which curiously enough is not indigenous and was actually brought in from Mexico). To become a free subscriber to the Newsletter please use the subscribe facility at the left margin of this page, and you will be sent a copy of the current issue.

Eucalyptus Cultivation

I have recently made several postings on the Eucalyptus Tree and its cultivation in the Tiruvannamalai District. There is no doubt that the Eucalyptus is a fantastic tree with a host of ayurvedic properties and benefits – but perhaps it would have been better to have left the tree in its native Australia and Tasmania. Already there are several Eucalyptus plantations around Samudram Lake, (south of the Hill) which is probably not a good decision considering severe water shortages often experienced in this area.

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"The recent move of the Tamil Nadu Forest Department to reintroduce large-scale cultivation of Eucalyptus trees in the State invites stiff resistance from environmentalists on the ground it would create ecological imbalance.

Experts have raised concern over the extensive cultivation of this species. “Monoculture of Eucalyptus cannot be recommended. If the intention of the Forest Department is to increase forest cover in the State, it should plant indigenous species of trees and herbs and maintain the bio-diversity of the region,” said a representative of the Tree Foundation. In a study on ‘Eucalyptus in India,’ it was pointed out that extensive cultivation of Eucalyptus was introduced in the country in the 1960’s. Since then some of the States took advantage of the centrally sponsored scheme and raised Eucalyptus plantations by felling even moist deciduous forests.

The Forest Department wants to increase the forest cover in Tamil Nadu from the present 23,023 sq km (21.25%) to 33%. To achieve this target, it will have to promote social forestry on at least 20% of the total 75 Lakh hectares owned by them. “This project is to be carried out on privately owned land and trees will be grown like any other cash crop. Earlier the mass cultivation, was carried out on land possessed by the Government and hence there was an uproar against it,” said a representative of World Wide Fund for Nature.

Others believe that growing Eucalyptus in ‘vulnerable zones’ like arid areas, will destroy the hydrological balance of the region. The tree is water intensive and reduces water available for other species, effectively out-competing them. Particularly vulnerable are arid areas with annual rates of precipitation that correspond to the lower range of eucalyptus demand at about 700 mm.

Studies have revealed that in arid areas, the consequent suppression of other plant life, coupled with a high water demand, reduces soil moisture, preventing the recharge of groundwater and can reduce local water tables. This is exacerbated by a high transpiration rate indicative of the inefficient use of water. Being nutrient intensive, it creates deficits for other plant life, a process that is exacerbated by the low returns in leaf litter to the soil. It does not contribute to the long-term fertility of the soil, as other species might, resulting in an overall nutrient impoverishment of the soil.

Eucalyptus is toxic, due to allelopathic properties which inhibit the growth of other plants due to bimolecules released by it. The plant also is detrimental to soil micro and macro fauna."

[With thanks to G.G. Jens]

Water Sustainability

Extract from Report on Rain Fed areas by Planning Commission, New Delhi

“About 12 per cent of India suffers from the threat of desertification in the arid northwest and in a broad semi-arid zone from the Punjab in the northwest to Tamil Nadu in the south. There is an estimated 1.7 million km2 of arid land in India and Pakistan.”

With the huge increase of private borewells being sunk in Tiruvannamalai, the below extract from 'Report on Rain Fed areas by Planning Commission, New Delhi,' is very relevant and definitely something that needs to be considered by local Government.

“The most important aspect of groundwater is that it is a common property resource, the means of access to which is privately owned. We generally access groundwater through private wells and tubewells. But withdrawal of water from our source can adversely affect the water in our neighbour’s water source. Depending on the hydrogeology of the watershed, the question “who is my neighbour?” gets answered. If the watershed is in an alluvial tract, for example, my deep draw of water can affect a farmer even hundreds of metres away. Thus, how farmers decide to collectively manage the groundwater resources of the village could have a deep bearing on how long groundwater survives. It could actually determine the entire efficacy of the watershed programme. Indeed, one could go as far as to say that sustainable and equitable management of groundwater could be the key area of rural governance in the 21st century

The unique aspect of the situation is that water below my land is not "mine". Groundwater is a non-stationary, "fugitive" resource that merges into water under another's land in a fluid sort of way. By lowering the depth of his tubewell, my neighbour can squeeze all water out of my well. Without proper collective arrangements for groundwater use, there tends to be an infinite regress of competitive extraction, with farmers outbidding each other in depths of drilling. Competitive extraction of groundwater leads to disastrous outcomes, the worst of which are observable in coastal areas of Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, for example. Here, saline ingress of sea-water poses a virtually irreversible environmental hazard for farmers who have engaged in competitive pumping of groundwater.”

Palm Leaf People

And to start off the proceedings here is Ganesha made from a dried Palm Leaf.

The below sequence of photographs are of what the artist calls the 'Palm Leaf People'. Each of the iconic figures of Indian life (Tabla Player, Sadhu, Lord Krishna etc) are made from dried palmyra leaf. The artist, Christian, has had art exhibitions of both paintings and artifacts in many cities in India and overseas.

The above is a macrame owl, who looked so great in Christian's garden that I took a photograph of it.

If you are interested in finding out more about these 'Palm Leaf People', to either purchase or commission your own 'Person', please get in touch with Arunachala Grace at the email address at the top left column of this page.

Happy Buddha Poornima

Dear Arunachala Friends:

Sorry for the long absence in postings but life has been hectic and unpredictable the last couple of months. It all began with a snake bite which I received while taking my doggies out on Samudram Erie for their nightly walk and led to me receiving Hospital outpatient treatment for over a month. Once that started getting better, I had the rather unfortunate event occur of my bamboo roof being completely blown off my roof during evening gale force winds. Winds that have been so fierce and violent that in some areas, even electric posts have been uprooted. Unfortunately my nice, expensive new bamboo roof on its way off was responsible for a fair amount of damage to the structure of the roof. Oh well!Lets get that bad karma out of the way in one go!

Within the next few days I hope to be back posting regularly. And also plan on sending out the monthly newsletter for June, albeit it may be a few days late.

One good thing is that I have spent the last few 'quite' weeks thinking about Arunachala Grace and the possibilities of new areas that would be interesting to explore on certain aspects of the Hill. So look forward to sharing results of my research with you all.

In the meantime may you all receive Love and Light this Blessed Buddha Poornima (Wesak) time. Back soon. Yours, Meenakshi Ammal