Western lady's meeting with Ramana

The below is a very interesting narrative by M.A.Piggot, who is believed to be the first English lady who visited Sri Ramana:

"I have visited India before, but my first visit off the beaten track was in1932-33. It was my wish to meet one of the holy men of India, but so far it had been a vain one. Then I was told of Ramana Maharshi. The friend who gave me the welcome news offered to take me to him, and so we arrived at Tiruvannamalai.

He was seated on a divan in front of which sandal sticks were burning. About a dozen people were present in the hall. I sat across-legged on the floor, though a chair had been thoughtfully provided for me. Suddenly I became conscious that the Maharshi's eyes were fixed on me. They seemed literally like burning coals of fire piercing through me. Never before had I experienced anything so devasting - in that it was almost frightening. What I went through in that terrible half hour, by way of self-condemnation and scorn for the pettiness of my own life, would be difficult to describe.

When we returned for the evening meditation, the hall was compellingly still. The eyes of the Holy One blazed no more. They were serene and inverted. All my troubles seemed smoothened out and difficulties melted away. Nothing that we of the world call important mattered. Time was forgotten. From that time onwards started a routine that was to be the same for many weeks. The rickety cart would turn up at six in the morning. It took me to the Ashram and came back again for the evening journey. I soon acquired a technique of the balance that promised safety in the cart. I was given a small hut, seven feet by seven, for my use during the day; the Ashram did not provide night accommodation for ladies in those days.

Among those who had turned up at the Ashram was the well-known author, Paul Brunton. We had many enlightening talks. Asking questions in the open hall was rather an ordeal, but backed by him I lost some of my diffidence. An interpreter was always on hand; for although the Maharshi understands English he does not speak it with ease. He knows immediately, however, whether the exact shade of meaning has been accurately translated, and if not, he perserves until one has understood him completely.

One day we brought up the question of guruship and asked, "Is it necessary for spiritual attainment to have a guru?" The Maharshi ordered a certain treatise to be read, in which it was stated that as in all physical and intellectual training a teacher is sought, so in matters spiritual the same principle holds good." "And", he added, "it is hard for a man to arrive at the goal without the aid of such one."

One day a man rushed in and flung himself face down before the Maharshi. He was crying bitterly. Great sobs tore his body. The Maharshi said nothing. His head was turned aside, and he seemed indifferent. After some little time, the violence of the man's grief subsided and gradually he became quiet. Then at last, reverently the man arose and made a deep salutation. The Maharshi turned his head and smiled upon him. I felt suddenly as if all the flowers of the world had poured their fragrance into our midst.

Another time a poor person who had been bitten by a snake was brought in and laid before him. We all watched, fear gripping our heart. Not so he, who sat looking into the far distance, while the victim writhed in pain. Calm and compassion was in that look, and infinite peace. After what seemed like hours, the twitching ceased and the appeared to be in sleep. Then the one who had brought in the sufferer gently touched him. The man rose, prostrated himself before the Maharshi and went out cured. But this was unusual. The Maharshi did not heal in the accepted form of the world. Talking about it one day, I asked him if one could use spiritual power for healing. He remarked, "Yes, if you think it worthwhile," but added, "it requires a great deal of force, which might be used more profitably in other directions."

That afternoon I had my farewell talk with the Maharshi. He was so gentle and human. I again asked about the relation of body to the 'I'. He gave his smile, and said, "You came up from the bungalow this morning in a cart, yet you do not say, "The cart came." You say, "I came up." You did not make the mistake of identifying yourself with the cart. In the same way, look upon your body as you do the cart. Treat it well, and it will be a good servant and instrument. But do not be deceived into thinking it is 'I'. At the end of our talk, he quoted that wonderful saying from the Upanishad, "When, to the man who understands, the Self has become all things, what sorrow, what trouble can there be, to him who has once beheld this unity?"

I had been in despair of ever getting the Maharshi alone. It is hard to unburden the soul before a crowd. One morning, I went into the hall early and found him there unattended, emanating a wonderful stillness and peace. I asked quietly if I might talk with him. He nodded and smilingly sent for someone to translate. My first question was, "What are the hindrances to the realization of the true Self?" He said, "Memory, chiefly habits of thoughts, accumulated tendencies." When I enquired, "How does one get rid of these hindrances," his answer was:

"Seek for the self through meditation by tracing every thought back to its origin, which is only the mind. Never allow thought to run on. If you do, it will be unending. Take it back to the starting place - the mind - again and again, and the thought and the mind will both die of inaction. The mind only exists by reason of thought. Stop that and there is no mind. As each doubt and depression arise, ask yourself, "Who is it that doubts?" What is it that is depressed?" Go back constantly to the question, "Who is the 'I'? Where is it? Tear everything away until there is nothing but the source of all remains. Live always in the present; there is no past or future, except in the mind."

Regarding meditation, he said, "Meditate on what you are in Reality. Try to realise that you are not the body, emotions or intellect." As the days passed, I saw more and more clearly that this was no theoretical philosophy. He himself lived it continuously and joyously. He was one of the few I have met who were not only happy but untroubled. Not that the sorrows of the world left him untouched, but he knew where they belonged and was not identified with them. To any sufferer his compassion was unlimited."

Diwali Distress

We are in the middle of the Diwali Festival and most of my dogs are hiding in different parts of the house, distressed by the noise of neighbourhood crackers and fireworks. We live in a sparsely populated area but even so the noise is constant, unpleasant and distressful. Its easy to see the affects on wildlife as many birds have taken shelter in our garden and other habitual visitors are noticeably absent from the area.

I feel distressed for the cows of the area who are tethered tightly on short ropes near their masters' home as they can't escape the noise of bursting fireworks being set off on the streets and lanes by neighbourbood kids. I also worry about the street neighbourhood dogs who don't have the luxury of living inside a house and consequently have nowhere to hide from the constant onslaught of noise and danger of bursting fireworks and crackers. During Diwali not only is there a huge noise pollution, but also as a result of burning chemicals of the firework - atmospheric pollution increases 5%.

So, Happy Diwali? -- well I don't know how much 'happiness' can be gained based on the torture and misfortune of so many creatures and people. I will be posting facts relating to the degree of pollution during Diwali (in this area) in upcoming weeks.

Mother Meera at Tiruvannamalai

Mother Meera was born on December 26, 1960 in the village of Chandepalle in Southern India. The state of samadhi soon became constant for Her. Under the auspices of Her uncle, she lived for some time in Pondicherry. She now lives at Thalheim, a village in Germany. It is said of her: "Darshan is Her silent bestowal of Grace and Light through Her gaze and touch. Mother gives darshan in silence. It is Her gift to humanity".

On November 13th of this year, Mother Meera will give darshan at Tiruvannamalai,with venue to be announced. From the 16th – 18th November Mother Meera will be at Madanapalle, Andhra Pradesh.

Swami Suddhananda Ashram

I have previously written about the beautiful Suddhananda Ashram on the Adiannamalai side of the Hill.

The Suddhananda Ashram in Tiruvannamalai (which welcomes visitors) is part of the Samvit Sagar Trust, founded by Swami Suddhananada to reach out to people in all walks of life and enable them to live happily. The purpose of the Ashram is not only for imparting Self-Knowledge but also to promote Swami Suddhananda’s humanitarian vision by providing care for the under-privileged sectors of society through orphanages and educational institutions.

Swami Suddhananda

To find out more about Swami Suddhananda and his work check out this link here.



Suddhananda Words


Love for self: Everybody should love himself/herself. A garbage given to us is that loving yourself is selfish. That is rubbish. On an airplane, if the cabin pressure falls you're asked to first wear the oxygen mask and then help the child. That is not selfish, because if you want to help somebody, you must first find strength in yourself.

Happiness: Be happy, an unhappy man cannot give happiness to others. If he does, he will demand his pound of flesh.

Faith: Often, in the name of faith they ensure that your sense of self is sacrificed from childhood and your spine is broken. If you don't question god, how will you understand yourself?

Leaders: We lack real leaders; when a mob selects leaders, what kind of leaders are you creating?

Following rules: On a small road if two people ride a cycle, both will be very careful. But the moment you have four-lane highways and powerful cars, don't expect the fellow with a Ferrari to go in the last lane at slow speed. He'll go in the first lane at the fastest speed; he has both power and speed. At one point in society everybody followed rules but as more money and power came in so did decadence and degeneration. Don't expect the rich and the powerful to follow rules.

Essence of change: A small car can be made powerful by changing the engine, tyres, steering. But the driver must also change; otherwise, there will be havoc.

Yoga: Its purpose is to go into the stage of samadhi or absolute freedom. But today yoga is associated only with asana, out of the eight limbs people are stuck to only one limb and thus is yoga vulgarised. In the US they now have doga... yoga for dogs. When people come for yoga with their pets, the pets are taught doga!

Meditation: Meditation has become a business with gimmicks, a job... telling people hold your nose, close your eyes, listen to music, dance or stand on one foot. Temporary suspension for 15-30 minutes is touted as meditation. If suspending your mind for half an hour is so good, what about the deep sleep that god has given? Forget god if you don't like god... in deep sleep any average person is suspended continuously for 7-8 hours. If seven hours of natural suspension doesn't enlighten you, how will 30 minutes of suspension do that?



Upcoming programmes at the Ashram are as follows:


Health Camp-Diabetes Management from 11-11-2008 to 16-11-2008
Self Knowledge Camp from 20-11-2008 to 30-11-2008
Deepam Camp from 08-12-2008 to 14-12-2008

Contact Information

Suddhananda Ashram
38 Girivalam Road
Adiannamalai
Tiruvannamalai 606604

Phone Number:
+91-(0)4175-233553


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Most recent contact information for Swami Suddhananda is as follows:

http://selfknowledgeonline.com/contactus.php

SUDDHANANDA FOUNDATION FOR SELF KNOWLEDGE

3/143 V V V Salai
Suddhanandapuram,
East Coast Road, Uthandi,
Chennai - 600 119, Tamilnadu, India.

Phone: +91 44 2453 0638/24530813

Tiruvannamalai Traffic

This is a fun, short video giving you an idea of 'light' traffic activity on Car Street in Tiruvannamalai. Car Street is a main thoroughfare of the city which runs directly in front of Arunachaleswarar Temple, which is regarded as the centre of Tiruvannamalai. Towards the end of the short clip, the cone- shaped figures in both corners of the video are the 'garages' for the ceremonial vehicles that carry statues of the Gods during processions around the Temple at Deepam.

Traffic on Car Street

Seasons and Rhythms

The rainy season has started and everything is now cold and damp. This evening by the time I generally take my dogs for a walk, it was already dark and gloomy because of a heavily overcast sky; with rain clouds both going out and coming in. Taking opportunity of the lull in the rain, I immediately started to prepare my six doggies for their regular walk. Three of whom absolutely refused to leave their protected seated area on the verandah, but the other three were willing and eager to wade through muddy fields and risk the possibility of getting caught in a thunderstorm. So off we went.

This climatic and seasonal change reminded me of an interesting narrative I had read about the affects cycles and rhythm have on the body’s physiology. On returning home I dug out the narrative and post it below.


Dancing with the Universe

"Our body, our mind, our emotions; everything in our physiology is changing moment to moment, depending on the time of the day, the cycles of the moon, the seasons and even the tides. Our body is part of the Universe, and everything that happens in the Universe ultimately affects the physiology of our body. Biological rhythms are an expression of the rhythms of the Earth in relationship to the entire cosmos, and just four rhythms: daily rhythms, tidal rhythms, monthly or lunar rhythms and annual or seasonal rhythms; are the basis of all of the other rhythms in our body.

As the Earth spins on its axis, we experience a 24 hour cycle of night and day that we call the circadian rhythm. This rhythm is based on the spinning of the Earth, and everything in our body, being part of the Earth, is also spinning and following the rhythm of the Earth. Tidal rhythms also have an effect on our physiology. These rhythms are the result of the gravitational effect of the sun, the moon and the stars in the distant galaxies on the oceans of planet Earth. We have an ocean within us that is similar to the oceans of our planet. More than 60% of our body is water, and more than 60% of our planet is water. So we experience a low tide and a high tide, and the tides ebb and flow in our own physiology. When we feel out of sorts, our body is out of synch with the body of the universe. Spending time near the ocean, or anywhere in nature, can help us to synchronize our rhythms with nature's rhythms.

The lunar rhythm is a 28 day cycle that occurs as a result of the movement of the Earth, the sun and the moon in relationship to one another. This rhythm is evident in the waxing and waning of the moon. As the Earth moves around the sun, we experience seasonal rhythms as distinct biochemical changes in the body-mind. Seasonal changes affect not only the biochemistry of the human body; they affect the biochemistry of trees, flowers, butterflies, bacteria and everything throughout nature.

To separate the body-mind from the rest of the cosmos is to misperceive things as they really are. The body-mind is part of a larger mind; it's part of the cosmos, and cosmic rhythms result in profound changes in our physiology. The universe is truly a symphony of the stars. And when our body-mind is in synch with this symphony, everything is spontaneous and effortless, and the exuberance of the universe flows through us in joyful ecstasy.

When the rhythms of our body-mind are in synch with nature's rhythms, when we are living in harmony with life, we are living in the state of grace. To live in grace is to experience that state of consciousness where things flow effortlessly and our desires are easily fulfilled. Grace is magical, synchronistic, coincidental, joyful. It's that good-luck factor. But to live in grace we have to allow nature's intelligence to flow through us without interfering.

Once we start to synchronize our rhythms with the cosmic rhythms, the body feels quite different. It feels vital; it doesn't get fatigued. We feel more energy subjectively. We begin to experience that state of consciousness where everything in our life is flowing with ease. Vibrant health is not just the absence of disease; it's a joyfulness that should be inside us all the time. It's a state of positive wellbeing, which is not only physical but emotional, psychological and ultimately even spiritual. What will make us healthy is to be aligned with the forces of the universe, to feel that our body is part of the body of nature, to commune with nature, to commune with our soul by spending time in silence and solitude. "

[Abridged – By Deepak Chopra]


Shiva as Nataraja

Shiva is often referred to as the Destroyer but since he is often associated with creation that comes out of destruction, he is also a God of Transformation. In addition he has different aspects that appear at different times. One aspect is that of Shiva Nataraja, The term 'Nataraj' means 'King of Dancers' (Sanskrit nata = dance; raja = king). It is believed that the energy from this dance of bliss (Ananda Tandavam) sustains the cosmos, and when Shiva is finished with this dance, the Universe will end and a new one will begin. The dance is said to symbolize the five divine acts (pancha krityas) of creation, sustenance, dissolution, concealment and bestowment of grace.

To read a full and earlier posting of Shiva as Nataraj, go this link here

Mantra and the Flame

Tara Dhatu is an organization dedicated to empowering and uplifting humanity through the sacred arts. It was formed at the request of His Eminence Tai Situ Rinpoche, an accomplished Tibetan Buddhist master who had witnessed the Dance of the “21 Praises of Tara”, which was choreographed by one of his students (Prema Dasara). He asked that an organisation be established to protect the dance’s integrity as a Vehicle of Liberation.

The Artistic Director of Tara Dhatu is Anahata Iradah and its spiritual director is Prema Dasara. It was through a pilgrimage to South India that the two met J Jayaraman. As well as Librarian of Ramana Library (Tiruvannamalai), J Jayaraman is also an acclaimed writer and musician and a permanent resident of Ramana Ashram well known to many visitors to Tiruvannamalai.

The organisation of Tara Dhatu teaches groups (all over the world) working closely with Tibetan Buddhism and using Tibetan Buddhist methods of mind training. The work is participatory and not performance-orientated and is about achieving the human potential through prayer, ritual and meditation.

click on schedule to enlarge and read

The above is the Brazilian schedule of ‘The Mantra and the Flame,’ facilitated by Anahata Iradah and Prema Dasara of Tara Dhatu, with J Jayaraman participating as a special guest from Tiruvannamalai, India.

It is hoped that sometime in the near future the Tara Dhatu organisation will revisit India and Arunachala with their dance programmes. To view their current schedule check their link here.

The Ubiquitous Crow!

One of the most common and to some definitely the most annoying bird to be found throughout Tiruvannamalai District is the ubiquitous crow. Of which the most usual varieties seen are the house crow and the jungle crow. The crow has lately been in the headlines as its being proclaimed, in some scientific circles, to be even more intelligent than the ape.

the jungle crow

To read more about the differences between the house crow and jungle crow check out my Tiruvannamalai bird blog at this link And to find out more about the intelligence of crows go this link here.

Dancing Bear

Local animal officials here at Tiruvannamalai were recently notified that two sloth dancing bears are currently performing for the public in a village about 20 kms distant. It is expected that local animal officials from Tiruvannamalai with the appropriate organisation will work to rescue the bears and transport them to the nearest bear rescue facility.

As well as an inhumane barbaric custom, bear dancing is also illegal and if you ever see a 'dancing bear' while travelling in India, please get in touch with Wildlife SOS, the India Bear Rescue Organisation at:

email wsos@vsnl.com or phone : 09837042266

To get full information about the rescue facilities that are now home to the bears and where you will be able to visit and spend time with some of these beautiful creatures. Check out Wildlife SOS's link at:

http://www.wildlifesos.org/IBR/bearhome.htm

Thus far 491 bears have been rescued from a life of suffering and torture.

undisturbed sloth bear

The Cruelty Behind The Dancing Bear Spectacle

“Qalandars, a nomadic gipsy tribe date themselves and the origin of bear dancing back to the 13th century and the pre- Mughal era. Qalandars gained prominence as the royal entertainers in the courts of the Mughal emperors where they also performed magic tricks and staged wrestling bouts. Once the emperors and kingdoms became history, they started to perform 'Bear dancing' for the general public.

Domestic and international visitors to India would often see these bear dancers on the highway between Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. Today, about 800 dancing bears are performing on the streets across the country. In India, bear dancing is banned by the Wildlife Protection act 1972. But various socio-economic and political factors have made it a difficult task to implement this law.

Qalandars purchase the sloth bear cubs from tribal poachers/traders and then train them to dance and respond to commands using the crude tools of pain and fear. At the tender age of just six months, a crude iron needle is heated and driven through their muzzle without anesthesia or any other antibiotic, and a rough rope is pulled through the sensitive swollen muzzle. This agony of grossly swollen muzzles and torn tissues together with a fair amount of beating and systematic starvation usually teaches the bears who the master is. The bears live the rest of their lives at the end of a four foot long rope and with no stimulation at all, thus causing several mental and stereotypical symptoms. Male cubs are also castrated at a very young age to keep their owners safe, again crudely by use of a razor, without anesthesia or antibiotics. Canine teeth are removed when one year old, by knocking them out with a metal rod.

For the rest of its life, the bear will dance on the road to earn money for the Qalandar. The wound on the muzzle will never heal and often be infested with maggots. Most of the bears will "bear" the suffering only for a few years since they will die due to Tuberculosis, Leptrospirosis or Rabies. We have noted that a large number of dancing bears are blind due to malnutrition but were still being used by the Qalandars for dancing.”

[Taken from the Wildlife S.O.S Website]

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For more information of the Dancing Bear please check out the excellent organisation International Animal Rescue which is dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of suffering animals. You can read a full PDF report of the Dancing Bear and watch a video of its sad life at this link here.

Visit to the Shelter

Stopped by the local Animal Sanctuary to meet with Dr. Raju about my doggies and also to get up-to-date with whats happening -- but definitely don't need an excuse to go to the Shelter as I'm always happy to visit the ever growing animal family there. And one of the first doggies I met was this nice little fellow hiding in a large bundle of hay. It certainly seems like he's found a comfortable spot!

Oh my, this is sooo snuggy!

All through the Animal Shelter compound there are little hideaways and bamboo leaf huts for the animals. And in the below hut I found Lakshmi the cow.

She is around eight years old and proved to be a good mother and milker, sadly she damaged her leg and her owners sent her in her weak and injured condition to the slaughterhouse. The Animal Shelter intervened while the cow was in transit, appropriated her and brought her back to their facility.

Below is Leslie Robinson the founder of the Animal Sanctuary at Tiruvannamalai spending time with what has now become a BIG favourite of his - Lakshmi the cow.

Below a photograph of her damaged leg. It is expected that Lakshmi will stay at the shelter for several months and then move to a large farm facility some kilometres distant where she will live a life of ease and retirement -- and good for her after all the milk she has produced in this lifetime!





Couldn't leave the shelter without checking on my own favourite -- 'Baby' the monkey. Check out the March Posting to view photographs of the little monkey when she arrived at the Shelter and the improvement of her injuries and condition just five weeks later at this posting.


Little 'Baby' gets lots of time and spoiling at the shelter and in the below photograph she is preparing to eat her nice crunchy snack. She looks loved and contented - quite a change from the horrors she experienced at such a young age. Before the opening of the Animal Sanctuary at Tiruvannamalai there was no facility in the area that was either interested or capable of intervening in such cases. Now everyone in town knows that they can get help for their own animals or for any creature in distress or difficulty.

Navaratri Pujas

To keep track of the wonderful daily pujas undertaken at Ramana Ashram throughout the whole of Navaratri Festival, check out the official Ashram site at this link, where they have photographs and videos of each day's puja.

Navaratri
Navaratri is celebrated in the lunar month of Ashvina (September-October). Hindus observe the Festival in a wide variety of ways, depending on their region, local history and family influences. Some see it as a way to commune with their own feminine divinity. A widespread practice honours the Goddess in every woman by inviting young girls to the family's home, feeding them and offering new clothes. During the Festival, women also perform tapas and selfless acts. Families in Tamil Nadu traditionally prepare in their homes a kolu, an exhibition of small dolls, figurines and small artifacts on a stepped, decorated shelf. At least one murti of Shakti must be present, as well as wooden figurines of a boy and a girl together to invoke auspicious marriages.

The Navaratri festival or 'nine day festival' becomes 'ten days festival' with the addition of the last day, Vijaya-dasami (day of victory) its culmination. This year the dates of the Festival are September 30th to October 9th. On all these ten days, Mother Mahisasura-mardini (Durga) is worshipped. According to the narrative from the Devi Mahatmya of the Markandeya Purana, the form of Durga was created as a warrior goddess to fight a demon. The demon's father Rambha, king of the demons, once fell in love with a water buffalo, and Mahisha Asura (the demon Mahisha) was born out of this union. He is therefore able to change between human and buffalo form at will (Mahisha means "buffalo"). Through intense prayers to Brahma, Mahishasura was given the boon that he could not be defeated by man or god. He unleashed a reign of terror on earth, heaven and the nether worlds which met its end when he fought and lost against the Goddess Durga.

In South India the Goddess is worshipped in three forms. During the first three nights, Durga is revered, then Lakshmi on the fourth, fifth and sixth nights, and finally Saraswati until the ninth night. Durga ("invincible" in Sanskrit) is the epitome of strength, courage and ferocity. Her devotees approach Her, sometimes with difficult penances, for those qualities and for the protection she Bestows.

A more gentle worship is observed for Lakshmi also called Annapurna "Giver of food," Lakshmi is the Goddess of abundance, wealth and comfort. She is the ever-giving mother, worshipped for well being and prosperity. A traditional way of invoking Her is chanting the Sri Suktam. In Her honour, food is prepared and offered to neighbours and all who visit, thus strengthening community ties. On the full moon night following Navaratri, it is believed Lakshmi Herself visits each home and replenishes family wealth.

The last three days of Navaratri, exalt Saraswati, the form of Shakti personifying wisdom, arts and beauty. Her name literally means "flowing one", a reference to thoughts, words, music and the Saraswati River. Mystically Saraswati is believed to be the keeper of the powerful Gayatri Mantra, which is chanted during the festival to invoke Her supreme blessings. Devotees meditate for days on this mantra alone, as it is considered the door to divine wisdom.

Before and After

Here are some great archival photographs of Arunachala before the current reforestation.

The below photograph of Big Street, Tiruvannamalai which eerily reminds me of a Western movie - it looks so different -- maybe its the sandy street. Sort of expect horses to come galloping along! Nonetheless a brilliant snap.

The next is taken at Ramana Ashram from where the Hill looks sadly denuded -- not a tree in sight.

Below a more recent photograph of the same area with a nice collection of trees and greenery.

The next two photographs are taken of the pathway on the way to Skandashram. If you would like to see a collection of recent photographs of the scenery on the way uphill to Skandashram and of that Ashram, check out this link.

Temple Museum

A museum featuring various aspects of the history of the Arunachaleswarar Temple will be set up in the Thousand Pillar Hall of the Temple. As well as the historical aspect, it is hoped that the museum will give an opportunity to the devotee and visitor to view the unique sculpture of the Hall.

The foyer, situated near the Raja Gopuram of the Temple, which houses the Thousand Pillars with their wonderful sculptures was once used as warehouse by the Tamil Nadu Civil Supply Corporation and for a long time was filled with bags of rice that were said to harbour a large infestation of rats! When the Government vacated the warehouse it was turned into a resting shed for Temple elephant Rukku. A few years ago Rukku moved to a Hall near Thirumanjana Gopuram.

Traditionally there are only two occasions in the year when one was able to enter the Thousand Pillar Hall, i.e. Ani Thirumanjanam and the Arudhra darshan Festival. Due to the influence of art lovers and concerned parties the Government decided last year to establish a Museum in this Mandapam. At that time the Temple administration sent a letter to the Commissioner of Museums seeking suggestions on the setting up of a Museum. Acting on this request the Commissioner visited the Mandapam and thereafter sent detailed recommendations to the Temple authorities.

Subsequently engineers were consulted and the task of setting up the first phase of the Museum was handed over to the District Building Centre. According to Temple authorities 8,000 square feet in the western side of the Mandapam is to be utilized for the first phase. In this phase pillars will be stone varnished and separate enclosed rows devoted to different themes i.e.; paintings, portraits, wood carvings and stone sculptures. In this respect a section of 108 portraits representing different dance postures of Lord Shiva will be on display.

It is proposed that unprotected objects of antique value found in other Temples in Tamil Nadu will be diverted to the Arunachaleswarar Temple Museum. The first phase of this work is estimated at Rs.15 Lakh. Temple authorities have assured devotees that the Museum will be opened as soon as possible.

Arunachala Newsletter -- October

The October issue of Arunachala Grace News will be sent out within the next few days direct to subscribers’ email inbox. If you do not yet have a subscription please check out the ‘subscribe facility’ at the left hand column of this page.

This October issue of Arunachala Grace News has an article about the ongoing Navaratri Festival and an extract from the related Durga mythology of the slaying of the demon Mahishasura at Arunachala. As well as the usual section of Arunachala Tidbits, this October Newsletter features the Tiruvannamalai herb “Withania Somnifera” – often called the ‘Indian equivalent to Ginseng’.

The bird in this issue is the ubiquitous, noisy crow (both House Crow and Jungle Crow), and the Navagraha in this month’s Arunachala News is 'Shukra' which is identified with the planet Venus. As well as the usual pot-pourri of inspiration, poems and extracts, this month’s Newsletter also has a lively, amusing story about an Arunachala monkey called “Buddy,” from Apeetha Arunagiri who is currently associated with the reforestation programme of Arunachala Greening.

Temple Crowd Management

We have all been saddened by the news of tragic incidents at Temples in this country and for this reason feel it relevant and important to give some feedback from the police authorities about security systems undertaken at our own Arunachaleswarar Temple here at Tiruvannamalai. The following extract was put out by local State news organisations:


“The police force in Tamil Nadu have devised scientific methods to manage crowds — be it at Temples or otherwise. In Temples, particularly during festive occasions, the police work in close co-ordination with Temple authorities to monitor the movement of devotees and rush in at the first sign of possible disorderliness.

Perhaps the explaination of the rarity of stampedes in Temples in Tamil Nadu is that whenever there is a huge gathering of devotees, police use modern gadgets to monitor the crowd movement and never allow the concentration of people beyond a level at one point. In many Temples, CCTV cameras are installed to check that people do not cluster at any point.

The three methods devised by police for crowd management are: Spatial segregation, time segregation, and structural stability. “We first find the space availability of the Temple and the average time a devotee takes for performing the rituals. Based on that we enforce security,” said the local Superintendent of Police.

“For instance, if three lakh devotees (i.e. 300,000) visit Arunachaleswar Temple in Tiruvanamalai for Deepam festival, we would allow them in queues and barricades would be placed to control the devotees’ movement,” adding. “The inflow and outflow of the crowd would be monitored through CCTV cameras.” He further said that barricades play a decisive role in crowd management. ”

Animals at Arunachala

Fido on Arunachala looking at the world

Glad for the rest from pulling that cart!

Is this angle okay?

Ahhhh!

I've always wanted to be a jockey!

Peacock fanning atop Ramana Ashram