Visiting Mooku Podi Swami

Rightclick on all photos to enlarge

Yesterday morning decided it was a good time to visit with Mooku Podi Swami. He is currently residing at the Srinivasan Secondary School on the Girivalam Roadway near Nithyananda Ashram.

I often visit the nearby Rajarajeshwari Temple, a spot that Swami Mooku Podi regularly frequents so have seen him many times. But this time I wished to sit and visit and particularly wanted to take photographs as the ones I previously posted on Arunachala Grace were out-of-date and taken at the time Swami used to spend sitting on the ice-cream fridge, inside the Deepam Hotel on Car Street.

As it was a Sunday the school was on holiday and the compound was very quiet. An absolute ideal time to visit.

Swami was wearing dirty, old rags and his clean, fresh clothes lay next to him in a heap at his side. Instead of his usual stick, he was holding in his hand a fan and other than a clean, white cloth wrapped around his head was otherwise completely naked.

I noticed Swami’s eyes were shining and very twinkling. While there he handed me two thayam stones and urged me to cast them with Arumugam the Srinivasan School watchman. There was also a young man named Prabhu visiting Swami but all through he kept silent.

A photo of thayam -- a gambling game played in Tamil Nadu

Don’t know the exact reason why Swami has chosen Srinivasan School as his present abode. It is a Secondary School started by a Jeevan Mukta at the beginning of the last century. The Samadhi of this Jeevan Mukta (i.e. Srinivasanlu) is inside the school compound.

Srinivasanlu -- Jeevan Mukta

From the upstairs verandah, where Swami was sitting, I could see Parvati Hill – which is the only place of the 14 km girivalam roadway around Arunachala, from which you cannot see the flame during Deepam.

I spent about an hour with Swami Mooku Podi and other than his occasional shout, it was a peaceful and enjoyable visit. I hope the above is enough information, for those eager to meet Swami, for them to be able locate him on the hillround roadway.