These photographs were taken earlier today of pilgrims visiting the Arunachaleswarar Temple and others performing giripradakshina of Arunachala. The crowds start light in the daytime and builds up exponentially as the day progresses into the evening. Right now I can hear the distant hum of traffic on nearby Perumbakkam Road, which is used as a diversion road during Full Moons and Festivals.
Even just ten years ago no barriers were necessary at the Temple to control crowds lining up for Darshan at the Shiva Sannidhi. Its very different nowadays.
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| Devotees waiting for darshan at Arunachaleswarar Temple |
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| Line of Devotees around the side of the Siva Sannidhi |
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| Chengham Road in front of Seshadri Ashram |
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| Crowd building up |
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| At the beginning of girivalam roadway at the Chengham turnoff |
My goodness, such crowds! Excellent exercise on top of the spiritual benefits! :-D
ReplyDeleteThe crowds are tiny in these photographs. You should see the crowds at the busiest time of major girivalam dates. Then the crowds are so huge that a person can't walk, they can only shuffle.
ReplyDeleteIf your awareness is inside yourself then the crowds and noise will not bother you. It is when your awareness is still outside that you are bothered by everything.
ReplyDeleteThe Inner Girivalam Path was closed for precisely this reason. The inner path is not an escape from the outer. It is when people have harmonized their energies outside themselves that they are ready to go inside. Otherwise they will create big problems for themselves. The problems come in life, like diseases and accidents.