Vintage India

The below vintage photographs from the late 19th Century and early 20th Century, show an India, that in many places outside the metro areas, is even now not that unfamiliar.


Right Click on photographs to view enlarged versions:

Four Ascetics 1862

Bullock Cart Outside Hut 1863

Vegetable and Fruit Vendor (date unknown)

Rural People Outside Huts, 1870

Five Women Dressed with Jewellery, 1870

Village Well, 1900

Lee Lozowick, A Tribute

Lee Lozowick, the spiritual son of Sri Yogi Ramsuratkumar of Tiruvannamalai, died November 16th, 2010 in his own bed in Prescott, Arizona, after a long battle with cancer. They say he died with a smile on his face.






Even though I have been fortunate over the years to meet many saints and holy people at Arunachala, there have only been two to whom I have felt a special connection. The first of these two is my own Guruji, Sri Nannagaru and the second is Lee Lozowick.

Many in Tiruvannamalai used to look forward to Lee’s regular annual visits to Arunachala, which in the last few years had to be curtailed due to Lee’s increasingly poor health. Whilst visiting Tiruvannamalai he would generally stay at his ashram ‘Triveni’ where he would make himself available at open meetings held at that facility. Lee was one of the most amusing and provocative gurus out of the many spiritual teachers visiting Arunachala.

In a famous book entitled 'Holy Madness', the writer Georg Feuerstein dedicates a chapter to Lee Lozowick, exploring his crazy wisdom guru tactics. My own experience was that whatever methods Lee Lozowick used, in personal interactions he was unfailingly kind and gentle. He has had a big impact on my life, and obviously his influence is still upon me, as I am now being inspired to write this tribute.

In 1975 Lee Lozowick was transformed by an 'event" that occurred upon waking up one morning from a night's sleep. Since then he has worked with hundreds of students and disciples in the U.S. and Europe.

He considered himself a "Western Baul," related to the itinerant tantric Baul musicians from Bengal, India. Additionally he was lead singer and lyricist for the rock band ‘Liars, Gods and Beggars’, the blues band ‘Shri ‘and the fused rock band the ‘Lee Lozowick Project’. Go to this link here:










To many an introduction to the teachings of Lee Lozowick is his book, “In the Fire”, which is a powerful look at enlightenment, ego transcendence, and the teacher-student relationship.

“The guru cuts a strange figure in the eyes of society. Indeed, the functional condition of the Divine contradicts all conventional standards. The cherished notions of the world are pointed out as delusions by the guru, and the movement towards union is declared invalid. The truth of existence is so potently simple that once you understand it, it seems totally unreasonable not to expect everyone to acknowledge your obvious grasp of the Divine process that is life. What does happen when you express this simple clarity? Not only are you not lauded, you are ostracized, vilified and attacked. The world does not take very kindly to the guru, because the awakened one is a living challenge to convention itself. The only challenge.”
[In the Fire by Lee Lozowick]

As an author he was very prolific and some of his most read books include; ‘The Only Grace is Loving God’, ‘The Alchemy of Love and Sex’, ‘Conscious Parenting’ and several volumes of poetry written to his Guru, Yogi Ramsuratkumar which communicate the essence of his teaching. His book website is at this link here and his own books are listed here:

Even though by nature he was approachable and easy going, with his devotees he demanded strong commitment and observance of structured sadhana.

In an interview with Andrew Cohen (video posted below), Lee Lozowick explains his attitude to sadhana and the results of skillful living thus::

“I am a firm believer in structure . . . I’m a firm believer in tradition, in the essence of tradition because I think that the laws of consciousness are the same now as they ever were but the world we live in is not the same as it ever was. So, I’m a firm believer in the need for a response to universal laws but not necessarily trying to recreate the old times and the old forms.

Every human being at the level of intrinsic dignity and intrinsic nobility, automatically knows how to live. If we are intelligent and educated, we know how to adjust to the circumstances that we find ourselves in. Obviously different than the circumstances fifty years ago.

So, my whole emphasis is on an instinctual search for that intrinsic dignity and that intrinsic nobility and from that, by definition, to be noble and to be dignified, is to have integrity, practice with impeccability, to live rightly and justly . . . I mean who knows how to? . . . If people don’t make an absolutely fundamental decision, an irrevocable radical decision . . . then they play around the edges . . .”

Interview with Andrew Cohen:

Or go direct to watch at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ6rG38eql8

And by way of inspiration to all of us in our sadhana and journey towards God, I complete this Tribute to Lee Lozowick, with his joyous, inspirational words:

"To ultimately "make it" in this Work of Awakening, of Transformation, you have to embrace the miraculous -- always. And that miracle is you being so much at peace with yourself that you can turn your energy towards welcoming and using the opportunities that are always falling into your lap. To embrace and devour these opportunities will make you free, happy, full of life, full of passion."

A Very Short History

Arunachala is in the Eastern Ghats of the North Arcot District. Its about fifty miles inland from the Bay of Bengal and rises into a peak some 2,268 feet above sea level, forming a conspicuous object in the landscape for miles around. Arunachala has many other names: Arunagiri, Sonagiri, Sonasaila and Sudarsanagiri are some. Sometimes it is referred to as Jothirlingam or Tejo Lingam, which means lingam of fire. Lingam being the formless (nishkala) emblem of Siva.

The Hill is referred to in the Puranas as the oldest hill on earth, and is regarded as the heart of the earth owing to its sanctity. The Deccan plateau, particularly the Eastern Ghats, has been thought to be the oldest land of the earth.

A geologist has stated about this Hill:

“Arunachala should have been thrown up by the earth under the stress of some violent volcanic eruption in the dim ages before even the coal-bearing strata were formed. This rocky mass of granite may be dated back to the earliest epoch of the history of our planet’s crust, that epoch which long preceded the vast sedimentary formations in which fossil records of plants and animals have been preserved. It existed long before the gigantic saurians of the pre-historic world moved their ungainly forms through the primeval forest that covered our early earth. It was contemporaneous with the formation of the very crust of earth itself. Arunachala was almost as hoary and as ancient as our planetary home itself.”

Even though Arunachala, is regarded as the physical embodiment of consciousness, of Shiva, and of the Divine Principle itself, it has always been explicitly associated with the androgyne (ardharnisharva) siva-sakti representation of the Divine. That aspect of the divine locked in union, with no distinction between consciousness and its contents, and no world.

As can be evidenced by the still remaining practice of fire worship and fire walking (here and here) at Shakti Temples (including Unnamalai Temple, Tiruvannamalai), of animal sacrifice in many Temples dedicated to the Goddess and the relics of a multitude of sacred groves, there have been occasions in the history of the Hill, that the primary worship in these parts were primeval veneration and Animism.







Arunachala has constantly been attracting saints, teachers, gurus and pilgrims to itself since time immemorial. As far as our own recorded history goes, it is said that the great Adi Shankaracharya himself visited Arunachala. Which is most fitting since it is believed that Sri Adi Shankara was an exponent of self-investigation or self-attentiveness (atma-vichara) which is often translated into English as ‘self-enquiry’. Atma-vichara denotes the practice of examining, inspecting or scrutinising the essential consciousness of ‘I am’.

In one of his Ashtakas, Sri Sankara calls Arunachala ‘Meru’ and says that Siddha Purushas are found here and also on the Himalayas. Shaktas regard this hill as Sri Chakra, a diagram of forty-three triangles. Some consider that the form of the hill resembles the first half of the Sri Chakra which is called Meruprastana, the emblem of the Cosmos.

Sri Ramana Maharshi’s (of more recent history) greatest legacy has been his emphasis of the practice of self-investigation and self-attentiveness to ‘Who Am I?’ A practice of attentive examination of the basic consciousness of our own being, which we always experience as ‘I am’.

A contemporary of Sri Ramana Maharshi was the great Sri Seshadri Swamigal. Seshadri who arrived at Arunachala six years earlier than Ramana, was an exponent of Sri Vidya and a tapaswi of a very high order. One result of the mantras and sadhana he practiced from his earliest years was the development of various siddhis and psychic powers.

Throughout his life and teachings Sri Seshadri continuously emphasised the glory of Arunachala:

‘This is Siva Lingam. It is enough to worship this. One can become spiritually enlightened and attain liberation’.

Nowadays many saints, holy people and spiritual teachers who regard themselves as being of the lineage of Sri Ramana Maharshi in so far as they have accepted Bhagavan as their Guru or their Guru's Guru, have thus adopted the practice of Self Enquiry as a pivotal part of their spiritual teachings. Such holy people, now deceased, include H.W.L. Poonja (Papaji) Robert Adams, and the still living Sri Nannagaru, and Laksmana Swamy and Sri Saradamma.

Some ten years ago a great change came about in these parts. Previously Arunachala seemed to be the country’s best kept spiritual secret. How was it possible that in a country where pilgrimage is a national past time, and Arunachala’s glory has been lauded in the Puranas and texts of antiquity and expounded by such great saints as Arunagirinatha, Guhai Namasivaya, Guru Namasivaya and Isanya Desikar – should still remain such a comparative secret? There was a time, not long distant, that even on full moon, the numbers of pilgrims performing girivalam around Arunachala could be numbered in the hundreds. And now the numbers are the hundreds of thousands and ever increasing.

And as to the future, read below a fascinating narrative recorded by Sri Ramana Maharshi in [Day by Day with Bhagavan Pages 116-117]:

“In those days these Rajas used to fortify their hills and live there. See Ginjee for instance. The Ginjee fort was built on three hills. They are all in ruins. Padaiveedu nearby in this District was once a great city. Hampi was a great city and the capital of an Empire. It is said that the town was built on the model of a Sri Chakra and that there has been some slight mistake somewhere, and that is why, though the Empire flourished well for a time, it did not endure but failed.

There is a rumour that a prophecy made by Vidyaranya, earlier a Dewan of Hampi Empire and later a Shankaracharya, has declared that when again a descendant of that Empire or a successor of his in the Mutt builds a city on the model of Sri Chakra, a great Empire will again flourish with that city as capital.

Some people have even thought that the present Shankaracharya (note: the now deceased Sri Chandrasekhara Saraswati) might be the person for such destiny. Our Naina used to feel that as this town is by nature itself built on Sri Chakra model, by the Gods themselves, if only we could build houses all round the Hill and make a city of it, this will become the capital of a big Empire. He used to be always thinking and speaking of swaraj (note: self-governance or home rule i.e. from the British) dreaming and planning for it and saying what he would do when swaraj is attained. People say there was a town in the old, old days somewhere here to the South of the Hill. Who knows that will happen hereafter? Did we imagine that all these houses now here were going to be built?”

Game of Dice and Annapoorna

The legend of Shiva and Parvati’s Game of Dice, explains the creation of the phenomenal world in that before they begin to play, they are the androgyne, Ardhanarisvara and locked in union; with no distinction between consciousness and its contents, and no world.

To learn more about the role of Siva-Sakti go to this link here:





There are many subtleties and esoteric meanings connected with the mythology and legends of Arunachala. One of the most famous being that of Ardhanarishvara - a form of the divine which is particularly celebrated at Arunachala and not more so than during the festival of Deepam and on the day of Bharani Deepam. To read more go this link here:

The game of dice between Shiva and Parvati symbolises the beginning of manifestation.When Parvati takes the dice and begins to play, she separates herself from Shiva so that they become two different players thus initiating fragmentation and the creation of the phenomenal world. Shiva represents consciousness, and Parvati represents prakriti.

At first Shiva beats Parvati, but then more is wagered and Shiva loses all his attributes to Her. After losing the game, and seemingly losing his powers, Shiva accepts the defeat with a shrug of his shoulders and withdraws into the forest to meditate. Symbolising that consciousness can detach itself from its experience and from its own contents, and withdraw into a peaceful state.

In the forest Shiva meets Vishnu who offers to help. Afterwards Shiva wins back all he previously lost and causes Parvarti to accuse him of cheating. Vishnu reveals to Parvarti the secret of Shiva’s victories. “My spirit entered the dice. The dice moved not according to your moves but according to my wish. So neither has Shiva really won nor have you really lost. The game was an illusion; your quarrel a product of delusion.”

Shiva tells Parvati that the world is an illusion, nature is an illusion, matter is a mirage, and even food is just maya. Parvati, mother of all material things including food, loses her temper, saying; "If I am just an illusion, let's see how you and the rest of the world get along without me," and disappears from the world. Her disappearance causes havoc in the cosmos. Time stands still and in the grip of a terrible drought, the earth becomes barren. Seeing such suffering, Parvati's heart melts and she appears at Kashi to give relief.





Hearing of her return, Shiva presents himself to Parvati with other hungry mendicants. The Goddess feeds him, and Shiva admits that food cannot be dismissed as mere illusion as it is required to nourish the body in which resides the Atma.

Since that time, Parvati is worshipped as Annapoorna Devi, the Goddess of food and sustainer of prosperity. Legend has it that Shiva made an agreement with Goddess Annapoorna that she look after life before death, ensuring that no one goes hungry in the sacred city of Kashi, while he will ensure they receive liberation.

In 2011, the date of Annapoorna Puja is April 11 and is mainly performed by women. For more details of Annapoorna Puja observances go to this link here:

To listen to the Annaporna Strotram with English translation watch the video below.





Or go direct to this link here:

Why are we Here?

The below 'You Tube' video is one of a series of light hearted talks by (tongue-in-cheek) Advaitic Master, Puppetji.

These series of humourous and light-hearted spiritual videos have developed quite a following by reminding us; to laugh every day, to see the funny side of life and not to take anything too seriously!

2011 Mahashivaratri Appreciation

Right Click on all photographs to view enlarged version:



All the below photographs were taken at Arunachaleswarar Temple during this year's Mahashivaratri Festival celebrated March 2nd-3rd. Kolams were created in the morning of March 2nd, on the floors throughout the Temple Compound.

The first photograph is of the 12 Jyotirlingams.

12 Jyotirlingams

The next kolam is of Kannappa, the great devotee of Lord Shiva. To read an earlier posting on this Shiva devotee check out this link here.

Kannappa Nayanar

The next kolam is of the Tamil Siddhar, Idai Kadar, a saint who was believed to have lived in the third or second Century B.C. in the place that is now known as Tiruvannamalai. There are 18 Siddhars, who are mostly Saivaite saints from Tamil Nadu, who practised an unorthodox type of Sadhana (spiritual practices) and attained siddhic powers.

Idai Kadar’s story goes that once whilst grazing his goats he met and was blessed by a Siddhar of immense divine powers.

Foreseeing difficult times of drought in the world, it is said that Idai Kadar built a house with walls of grain and fed his goats plants that survived without water. To discover the secret of his survival during the drought, the Navagrahas (9 planets) visited Idai Kadar. After eating grain and goat’s milk, the Navagrahas fell asleep. As soon as the planets were sleeping, Idai Kadar arranged the planets in such an order that the world would benefit. Immediately after the planets were repositioned, rain started to fall upon the world.

Kolam of Idai Kadar Siddhar

One of the biggest contributions of Idai Kadar is the invention of the Kayakalpa techniques (i.e. the system of total body rejuvenation).

Idai Kadar attained mahanirvana at Tiruvannamalai and it is believed that his Jiva Samadhi is behind the Siva Sannidhi at Arunachaleswarar Temple.


“Om namah shivaya! Oh, my children! Don’t praise me for anything small I did. Don’t praise petty humans. It’s all because of the power of Lord Shiva and Krishna. So, praising them would make you all flawless souls. Wherever festivals are conducted for them, there will be endless joy and happiness. Worshipping them will liberate you all from your burdens and sorrows. Whenever you have difficult times, believe in God, devote your whole heart and mind to the problem you are facing and the solution for it, don’t worry about the outcome, do your best. You will win the battle for sure. Om namah shivaya!”

Abhishekam of the Temple's giant Nandi

In an earlier posting I listed the sequence of the major pujas that were performed at Arunachaleswarar Temple during the night and early morning of March 2nd and 3rd, 2011.


As is customary on the night of Mahashivaratri, Arunachaleswarar Temple stayed open throughout the night. The Temple tanks were illuminated with ghee lamps, and crowds milled throughout the Temple's grounds.

Nandi facing the Shiva Sannidhi

In the Temple Auditorium the Festival was celebrated by musical programmes, dramas and classical dance

Dance Programme

Below are photographs of the Lingodbhava puja (at the back of the Shiva Sannidhi) which was performed on the night of Mahashivaratri.

Ketaki flower (screwpine)
resting on Shiva's heart

Mahashivaratri is the only night of the year that the Ketaki Flower (screwpine) is used in the worship of Lord Shiva -- to read the story of how the Flower supported Brahma's lie to Shiva and the consequences of the lie, check out this link here.

Radha Ma

In response to various requests for information about Radha Ma, it has been reported that she has now succumbed in a Chennai Hospital from burns after being rushed there from Tiruvannamalai, after what is reported in the local Tamil papers, to have been an attempt at self-immolation.






One hopes that her devotees and followers find solace in thoughts of Arunachala and receive relief from the shock they must be experiencing from the unexpected and tragic death of their Guru.

The Eternal Festival

Right Click on photograph to view enlarged version

For an excellent article on Shivaratri by Dadaji which explores the historical and esoteric significance of Mahashivaratri, go to an earlier posting on Arunachala Grace at Mahashivaratri -- Story of an Eternal Festival.

Which begins:

"Once celebrated on a vast scale throughout India, it now only sees peak performance at two places, separated by a considerable distance as well as a border. The best celebration to be witnessed is at the Pashupatinath (Lord of Animal Life) Temple at Kathmandu, Nepal. The other is celebrated on the Teleti, the sacred area at the base of Mount Girnar in Saurashtra."

Mount Girnar

Origin of Mahashivaratri

There are a number of legends connected with the origin of Shivaratri. One is that Goddess Parvati and Lord Shiva were married on this day.







Our own Arunachala legend, proclaims it to be the day Lord Shiva appeared as a luminous Jyotirlingam before Brahma and Vishnu.

And it is believed that on the day of Mahashivaratri, all twelve Jyotirlingams of India manifested.


The Shiva Purana relates another legend extolling the glory of Mahashivaratri:-


“In ancient times, a Bheel (forest inhabitant) named Gurudruha trudged through a forest to hunt deer. At night, without having sighted a single animal, he climbed a Bilva (Aegle marmelos) tree on the banks of a lake. Later at night, a doe arrived to drink water. Gurudruha aimed his bow and arrow at her. While aiming, he unknowingly dropped some Bilva leaves and his drinking water below on a Shivalingam that happened to be under the tree. The deer then requested him to allow her to entrust her fawns to her husband, after which she would return. After much haggling he agreed.


While awaiting her return, he stayed awake by aimlessly plucking leaves and dropping them below. Again they fell on the Shivalingam. Thus he unknowingly performed its puja (worship) while remaining awake all night. Finally the doe returned with her family, She informed him that along with her, he'd have to kill her family too. As he aimed, some more leaves fluttered down on the Shivalingam.


The collective punya (spiritual merit) accrued from the puja performed unknowingly, eradicated all his sins. This purified his heart. Repenting his flawed life of sin, he set the deer free. As he sat repenting, Lord Shiva manifested in front of him and granted him a boon, "You shall be born in a town known as Shrungver, as a man named Gruha. Lord Vishnu will grace your home as Lord Rama and redeem you." (This event is described in the Ramayana.) Shiva also blessed the deer, which attained a better destiny.”

To read an earlier post with more legends of the origin of Mahashivaratri and also explains its esoteric significance, go to this link here.

2011 Mahashivaratri Pujas

Right Click on Photographs to view enlarged version



Mahashivaratri falls on the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight of Phalguna, and is dedicated to the worship of Lord Shiva. Mahashivaratri this year will be celebrated at Arunachala Shiva Sthalams on the night of Wednesday, March 2 through Thursday, March 3, 2011. On this night Shiva Temples in Tiruvannamalai will follow the lead of the famous Arunachaleswarar Temple and stay open all night.

While almost all other festivals are celebrated during the day, Mahashivaratri is celebrated at night, which stands for all that is evil: injustice, ignorance, darkness, sin, violence, treachery, falsehood, and misfortune. Mythology says that Shiva appeared to save the world from Tamoguna (darkness and ignorance).








Shiva symbolizes the atman (self), and worship of Shiva denotes meditation and contemplation by an individual on his or her own self. Thus the only way to achieve peace and happiness is by worshipping Shiva at night, that is, by meditating on one's own self during the night when the individual is free from the distractions of the physical world. In the case of Arunachala, premier Shiva site of South India, circumbulation of Arunachala Hill will be observed by many.









The name Shiva signifies a quality that means 'Auspicious' or 'The Auspicious One'. To a few, Shiva is Paramatma, Brahman, the Absolute, but many more prefer to see Shiva as a personal God given to compassion for his worshippers, and the dispenser of both spiritual and material blessings. Related to the Absolute concept is Shiva as Yoganath, the Lord of Yoga, wherein he becomes teacher, path and goal. As such he is the Adi Guru or Highest Guru of sannyasins who have renounced the world to attain the Absolute.



Arunachaleswarar Temple
Siva Sannidhi Puja Programme

March 2nd – 5 a.m. until 6 p.m. the performance throughout the day of One Lakh Archana at the Siva Sannidhi Shrine

8.30 p.m. First Kala Puja
11 p.m. Second Kala Puja

March 3rd
12 a.m. to 1.00 a.m. Lingodbhava Puja

2.00 a.m. Third Kala Puja
4.00 a.m. Fourth Kala Puja (completes before sunrise)

It is only on the day of Mahashivaratri (third Kala Puja) that the Screwpine flower is used for the worship of Shiva. As a result of a dispute between Brahma and Vishnu the Lord declared that henceforth the flower which hitherto had adorned his head in worship would no longer be used in his adoration.

To read the story of the Screwpine and about the dispute between Brahma and Siva, go to this link here.

The pujas above are followed by pujas to Chandikeswara and Bhairavi.

To view photographs of previous Mahashivaratri Festivals celebrated at Arunachaleswarar Temple, click here for 2009 archives and here for 2010 archives

Mahashivaratri 2011 -- Cultural Programme at Arunachaleswarar Temple

This year Shivaratri falls on the night of March 2nd through the day of March 3rd. And as is customary at the Arunachaleswarar Temple, the Festival will be celebrated by musical programmes, dramas and classical dance in the Temple Auditorium on Wednesday, 2nd March through the early hours of Thursday, 3rd March:-



Programme Details


5.00 p.m. to 6.00 p.m. Devaram Music (Hymns to Shiva)


6.00 p.m. to 7.00 p.m. Classical Bharat Natyam by Meenakshi Angappan Troupe









7.00 p.m. to 8.00 p.m. Classical Bharat Natyam by Vanavaka Rajendran Troupe


8.00 p.m. to 8.00 p.m. Nattiya Nagadam (singing and Drama) by Mount St. Josephs School, Tiruvannamalai


9.00 p.m. to 10.00 p.m. Classical Bharat Natyam by Lalita Thiyaganrajan Troupe


10.00 p.m. to 12.30 a.m. Grammiya (Village) Cultural Programme by Mayial Swamy Troupe (comedy cinema actor from Chennai)