Epic Fail

Throughout the recorded history of Tiruvannamalai, rulers and emperors viewed Arunachala and the surrounding countryside as the crown jewel of their kingdom. Compare that attitude with the current one of disrespect and commercial opportunism. We are now in the Kali Yuga and even at the most powerful seat of Lord Shiva, the ultimate ruler in the eyes of most is money.

The Samudram is an essential feature of the area as it collects water running off Arunachala during the monsoon. In rainy years the 750 acre Samudram will be full for 5-6 months. For the rest of the time the area is dry and supports a myriad selection of wildlife including mongoose, monkey colonies, foxes, and rabbits.

Arunachala Samudram, the largest water reservoir in Tiruvannamalai, until recent times was maintained perfectly and with veneration. But now the area is being quickly destroyed; the topsoil of the Samudram being removed by the truckload and sold on nearby construction areas and pretty walkways on the top of the embankment with its surrounding forest of indigenous trees, has already been mostly destroyed in preparation for a bypass road. And this area is classified a ‘protected one’. But when it comes to a quick profit, 'protected areas' get quickly and quietly re-designated.

Compare the photographs in the before and after photographs of the walkway and area surrounding the Arunachala Samudram embankment.

Samudram Embankment Before Development

Samudram Embankment After Development

Not only has the whole area been devastated in order that a bypass road can be created by joining the housing projects (to be built) at the back of the Samudram with Perubakkam Road at the Arts College on Chengham Road, but the work itself is an Epic Fail. One heavy rainy season and the whole road will be washed away. Even the labourers who worked on this project are mystified. 

Thorny Bush

Now that the weather is heating up nicely, my evening walk with my doggies has been pushed back to as late as possible. But even though it is close to dusk when we start our promenade on the Samudram Erie, we often meet with goat and cow herders and wood cutters. This time last year a lot of the Samudram was still under water, but the rains at the end of 2011 were light and what little water fell has long evaporated.





One of the most hardy inhabitants of this area is the thorny bush which grows profusely whether it is wet or dry. As much as I love Mother Nature and all that grows under her loving gaze, must admit to having an imperfect relationship with this type of thorny bush. I actually believe this bush is spiteful as whatever way one approaches, its almost impossible not to get scratched or pronged by one of its sharp needles.





How the woodcutters manage to handle and cut the thorny bush is one of the world’s great mysteries, as even within a stone’s throw of these little villains, I somehow manage to get cut and injured . . . and I'm not even there to hurt them!






The thorny bush replenishes naturally, so there is a substantial growth of these small trees throughout the Samudram. It’s a very popular haunt for birdies, many of whom make their nests in the protective limbs of this bush.






From what I understand several institutions like the General Hospital purchase the thorny bush by the kg to use as fuel in their outside fires. But even if the woodcutters don’t sell the wood, they will happily use it as fuel for their own fires.





The ladies have probably been out on the Samudram since lunch and its now after 6 p.m. A heavy day's work -- but good success and a substantial load to either sell off or use at home.





Off they go . . .

2011 Karthigai Mahadeepam

Right click on photos to see enlargement

First sight of the Deepam of the 2011 Karthigai Deepam Festival from the Samudram Erie. The sounds of cheers and fireworks ring through the air.




As dusk quickly falls, the light on Arunachala becomes easier to see.




And now, even in the light of the moon that tomorrow will be full, the Deepam on top of Arunachala blazes like a beacon for miles around.




HAPPY AND BLESSED DEEPAM TO ONE AND ALL


Will soon post photographs of the actual cauldron Deepam lighting at the top of Arunachala, do check back.

A Beautiful Morning

It was beautiful, bright and toasty during our early morning walk and Arunachala was shimmering in an early morning haze.








My doggie scamps and I (there are three more doggies out of this photograph) take our daily walk early enough to avoid the goats, cows and wood cutters who arrive later in the morning.








Sweet little Winnie (who is now one week shy of 4 months of age) has become a confident and eager explorer. She has already learnt to swim and is fearless when hurling herself into any remaining ponds or water bodies at the Samudram.






The mornings are the happiest time of the day for hairy Victor who loves going on walks particularly to enjoy the cool waters of ponds not yet heated by the day's sun.

Kali Age

In Hinduism it is believed that the Yuga we are currently living in, i.e. the Kali Yuga is the last of four Yugas and at the end of each Kali Yuga there is pralaya, a period of dissolution and destruction.

The Vishnu Purana details the attributes of man and society during the Kali Yuga:

“The Kali Yuga is supposed to be a time in which he, who will distribute immense wealth, will be considered as master of men. Accumulated wealth will be spent on ostentatious dwellings.

The minds of men will be wholly occupied with earning money and that will be spent on the gratification of selfish desires. Women will follow their own inclinations and will be given up to pleasure seeking. Men will endeavour to acquire riches even dishonestly. No man will part with the smallest fraction of his wealth at the sacrifice of his own interest even when requested by his friends.

In the Kali Yuga everyone, possessing vehicles and elephants and horses, will be a Raja; anyone who is feeble will be a slave. In the Kali Yuga, cows will be held in reverence only because they supply milk. People will be subject to all sorts of infirmities of mind, speech and body which will result in all manner of sins being committed and great viciousness taking place in society.”
[Vishnu Purana]

"In the Kali Yuga, less than one-fourth of the normal amount of righteousness remains in the world. Everything is in flux and always changing. But, the texts say that Kali Yuga is the best of all ages because it is the age in which everyone, regardless of caste or karma, can realise God. The problem is, most people are so overcome by Maya that they have no desire to know God.

Kali Yuga eventually develops into GHORA ('terrible') Kali Yuga, when things get really bad in the world, at which point the gutters are overflowing with filth. Nature then cleans out the gutters, by whatever means She sees fit to use, and Satya Yuga begins again."
[Robert Svoboda]

My experience of the world combined with my intuition makes me accept unequivocally the predictions of the Kali Yuga as set out in the Vishnu Purana. I totally believe that the world is caught in a stranglehold of greed and adharma.







There was a time at Arunachala, the premier Shiva site in all of India, that devotees would come to laud and worship the great Lord Shiva by digging tanks and wells and creating flower gardens for the Lord’s enjoyment. And now for the sake of a few paisa, tanks and wells are being filled so that land sellers can extend their land by a few square feet to sell off as plots. Trees are being cut down in order that new roads be created through reserve forests populated by Arunachala wildlife. And the earth of natural reservoirs lakes such as Arunachala Samudram (and many others around the Hill) are being disembowelled and degraded so that a very few can make a fortune selling off the sand for house building.






How have we come to this? How is that Tirupathi is able to create a spiritual centre which is clean, organised and safe and yet (if that’s what your interested in) be the most financially lucrative spiritual centre in all India – and we at Arunachala are daily witnessing the accelerated degradation of land surrounding the Hill? Those that come for girivalam, climb the Hill, or even just move about the town, known only too well of the increasingly denuded area and of the dirt and plastic refuse filth throughout Tiruvannamalai.

I can only write what I know about, and in this respect a very few years back, Arunachala Samudram was pristine clean and unmarked by the ravages of sand diggers and tractors. Locals would come and cut down acacia bushes to use as fuel, but would also take care to plant trees to replace that which they took. Nights on the Samudram would be silent and blessed – just as things should be during night in the countryside.














And now, increasingly as new buildings are being built in Tiruvannamalai, both locals and land developers are using the reservoir as a dump. Giant holes, some already 30 feet deep are appearing randomnly throughout the lake bed as a result of sand quarrying. And noise and fuel smoke is constant day and night as trucks and land diggers take their loads of Samudram earth to sell to local builders. During the rainy season when these huge artificial holes fill with rainwater, in the stealth of night and early morning huge vehicles come and pump out untreated human waste taken from the septic tanks in nearby homes.

I believe that we are better than this, that the majority of people living at Tiruvannamalai are devotees of the great Lord Shiva and that with cooperation from NGOs that officials and government would be eager to participate in helping to create a Tiruvannamalai that would be the crown jewel of South India.






Conservation, intelligence, planning, ecology are words that help create a beautiful environment, and it is this that would add true wealth to each of us.

Happily great emphasis is nowadays being placed on the reforestation of Arunachala, however attention also needs to be focussed on the great swathes of agricultural land surrounding the sacred Hill. Over the last few hundred years as Arunachala was denuded of its natural vegetation, so too surrounding land was stripped of natural plant life in order to support intensive farming with crop cultivation up to four times a year. Some of these farms have already been sold to property developers for densely packed housing estates, and undoubtedly this trend will escalate over the coming years.

In this respect there is a need to create and maintain sanctuaries around Arunachala providing safe haven for birds and other wildlife, thereby adding to the rich diversity of life around the sacred Hill. The jewel of these sanctuaries should be the 600 acre Arunachala Samudram as its so perfectly placed at the very foot of the Hill.







Even a huge city like New York understands the importance of beauty and nature in the midst of urban sprawl and their 770 acres Central Park is maintained by the Central Park Conservancy, a private, not for profit organization under a contract with New York City. Incidentally the real estate value of Central Park was estimated by the property appraisal firm, Miller Samuel, to be $528,783,552,000 in December 2005.

So if New York, can forgo dipping their hands into the kitty for the sake of the community, I think we at the sthala of Lord Shiva can do MUCH better.

A New Day

Right-click on all photographs to enlarge

Now that the temperature is regularly in the early 100s (degrees Fahrenheit) my doggies and I have taken to very early morning walks. And even though Samudram Erie is drought-like, there is one wonderful watering hole, which is an overflow from an agricultural tank, that is available for grazing goats and sheep.

Being that those creatures won't be arriving for a couple of hours, my doggies enjoy a very refreshing swim and have fun splashing around, chasing frogs in the pond.

Below are three of my scamps drying off after their swim.

And my three other scamps enjoying a nice cooling soak.

Samudram Erie is dry and crispy in the early morning sunshine.

And the in background, the presence of Arunachala heralding a New Day and a New Life.

Walking on Samudram Erie

Its around midday and I'm looking out of my window watching rain pour down outside. The last few weeks have been really wet but the day started pleasantly, and my six doggies and I took the opportunity to have an early morning walk on the Samudram Erie. Currently there is little water on the Erie, which still resembles a large puddle more than the 750 acre lake which it usually grows to by the end of the rainy season.

Still plenty of time for it to fill nicely as the Samudram is a catchment reservoir for water which pours off the Hill during the rains and runs through channels to the Lake.

Samudram is currently just a big puddle

Arunachala Samudram before rainy season

Arunachala Samudram after rainy season

One Look

In an earlier posting, Samudram Evening, I mentioned various interesting facts about this water reservoir area located south of Arunachala. Its a significant spot for many reasons and has several stories associated with it. I include below the narrative, 'One Look' - by T.K. Sundaresa about a conversation during a walk to Samudram Erie with Sri Ramana:

‘Bhagavan talked of many things on that walk [to the Samudram Lake] with us, but at this distance of time I remember only two topics that interested me.

At one place He pointed out a palmyra tree which had decayed in the embrace of a parasitic banyan tree. Some bird had dropped a banyan seed into the palmyra, and as it began to grow the palmyra became cloven and stunted in its own growth. Drawing our attention to this phenomenon, Bhagavan remarked that this is just what the look of Grace from a Jnani does. One look into a soul, and the whole tree of past tendencies and prejudices (vasana), gathered up through long cycles of past births, is burned up and decays away. Then the reality of the Self is experienced.


Thus He explained to us the effect of contact with the Great and He said the supreme Jnana obtained with the touch of the Saint can never be won through the study of any number of Scriptures, or by any store of good deeds, or by any other spiritual practices and efforts. Later, on return to the Ashram, I put this in verse form as below:

“A bird drops seed upon a tree and causes its decay.
So Guru's grace rays knowledge into the seeking mind.
Replacing ego-shadows with resplendent Jnana's light.”’

[T.K. Sundaresa Iyer -- At the Feet of Bhagavan]

Bonnet Macaque

On our daily walk through the conservation area, I was startled to see a lone monkey scampering through the underbrush. I have never seen a monkey in this area before as there is too much open, exposed flat land and not enough high trees to clamber up for safe sanctuary.

No idea where he was heading and to begin with thought he was one of my dogs so started to call to him. The monkey seemed to have experienced some degree of human socialization because although he did not actually come, he did appear very interested. Perhaps it was my mad, bad dogs that helped the monkey make his final decision, TO RUN AWAY!

Bonnet Macaque monkeys are not hard to spot at Tiruvannamalai; they are everywhere! Being so smart they have easily made the transition to the increasing urbanisation of this area. They are as easy to spot in the middle of the bustling marketplace in town as they are on the hillside of Arunachala.

Bonnet macaques (Macaca radiata) have a grayish brown back and a well-defined circular tuft of hair (hence the derivative of its name bonnet). Their tail is two-thirds the length of its body. The monkeys are diurnal, arboreal, and terrestrial. Bonnet macaques are good swimmers.

They search the ground for insects and chase flying grasshoppers. Their diet consists of fruit, seeds, leaves, flowers, cereals. Bonnet macaques eat approximately 40 different plant species, as well as being necessarily conciliatory at temples and homes to get tasty handouts!

Adult males spend more time on the ground. These macaques sit in contact with others or huddle together when they rest. The monkey is around 35-60 cm long plus a tail of 35-68 cm. Males weigh 5.5 - 9 kg., females 3.5 - 4.5 kg. A Bonnet Macaque monkey can live more than 30 years.