Tiruvannamalai, India - Travel Diary

This video is about a group of Russian pilgrims (male and female) arriving at Tiruvannamalai in a coach, which documents their experiences over the course of a couple of days.

The video is about 55 minutes long. Below I have listed a guide to specific parts of the video, and depending on how much time you have, you might want to directly access your preferred interests.

Video Sequence

Beginning: Coach to Tiruvannamalai. Stopping at village for visit with Swami Velliananda Swami. Journey continues. Looking at Kolams.

Minute 13: Visit to Ramana Ashram, including VERY beautiful coverage of puja at the Ramana Samadhi 

Minute 16: Group walks to Skanda ashram, sitting there

Minute 23: Shopping in Ramana Nagar and walking about streets

Minute 25: Visit to Pachaiamman Temple, footage taken inside the Sanctum Sanctorum

Minute 26: At water tank, having bath with nearby housewife washing clothes

Minute 28: Visit to Virupaksha Cave

Minute 29.30: Sadhus on street. Walking on roadway.

Minute 30: Agreeing rickshaw price. Visit to x-ray clinic. Visit to Doctor

Minute 38.30: Evening at Car Street at Big Temple. Procession passes by.

Minute 40: Lunch at Ramana Ashram

Minute 42: Walking on Chengam Road in Ramana Nagar, stone cutter lingam order.

Minute 43: Evening Puja at Ramana Ashram Samadhi. Spending time in Samadhi Hill

Minute 46: Ironing Man

Minute 47: Taking food

Minute 50: Evening Ramana Ashram—chanting in Samadhi Hall

Minute 53: Coach on girivalam roadway. Stop for tea. Leaving.

Words about this Video from the Russian Video Producer

“Without words, without explanation, without voice-over this is a spotless actual flood of reality that takes you instantly to this place. Using a live documentary camera, I tried to just watch and as much as possible not interfere. I did not make any specific movie to necessarily fit into the expectations of a clean, bright sacred place. 

Tiruvannamalai is a city which is located around one of the most sacred and revered places in India - Arunachala hill. There are Temples of Shiva, an ashram of Sri Ramana Maharshi, and a multitude of Shrines, Temples and sacred place—it is a Holy city with life around it.

India is a very photogenic country and while shooting the video, one slowly seizes this Indian stream and watching this you begin to disappear and you're not here, you're back there somewhere at Arunachala. 

It does not seem abnormal that the local folk work in their shops and in the evening go to Puja at the Arunachaleswarar Temple. Waking up early in the morning with a cotton dhoti wrapped around the waist, dressed appropriately for the unbearably hot day ahead, and yet wearing a shawl over the shoulders because it is early morning and still cold. Performing giripradakshina around Arunachala and in the evening visiting Ramana Ashram to listen to the chanting in the Samadhi Hill, seems just like a day in a normal life.”

22 July Eclipse

The below photographs chart the progress of the July 22 Solar Eclipse. The photographs were taken by a professional photograph from the vantage point of outside the Virupaksha Cave on Arunachala.

In the upcoming Arunachala Grace Newsletter there will be a narrative on various mythologies concerning an Eclipse. If you are not yet a subscriber to the free Newsletter, please visit the subscribe facility at the left hand column of this page to ensure receiving the bi-monthly Newsletter on Arunachala direct to your email inbox.

Ganapati Muni Day

Tomorrow, July 25th, Ramana Ashram celebrates Kavya Kanta Ganapati Muni Day. Ramana Maharshi’s prominent devotee, Ganapati Muni, popularly addressed as Nayana, was a mighty spiritual personality in his own right and had a large following of illustrious disciples.

One day assailed by troubles and doubts, Ganapati Muni climbed Arunachala and found the young sage sitting outside Virupaksha cave. Ganapati Muni prostrated and said, "All the scriptures that have to be read, I have read. All the mantras and japa that have to be done, I have done. Still I have no peace. Please save me." The young Swami silently gazed at him and then said:

"If one watches whence the notion 'I' arises, the mind is absorbed in That; that is tapas. When you recite a mantra, watch where the sound is coming from, within you; when you sing a song or prayer, watch where it is emanating from: your Heart. Put your attention on That. That is tyaga, that is Tapasya, that is all.”

Sri Ramana and Ganapati Muni

It was Ganapati Muni that renamed the young sage, whose former name was Venkataraman as Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi.

About a year after his first meeting with Sri Bhagavan, while sitting in meditation in Ganapati Temple of Ganapati at Tiruvottiyur, Ganapati Muni longed intensely for the presence of Bhagavan. At that moment Sri Ramana entered the Temple. Ganapati prostrated himself before him and, as he was about to rise, felt the Maharshi's hand upon his head and a force coursing through his body from the touch. Confirming the astral incident in later years, Sri Ramana Maharshi said:



"One day, some years ago, I was lying down and awake when I distinctly felt my body rise higher and higher. I could see the physical objects below growing smaller and smaller until they disappeared and all around me was a limitless expanse of dazzling light. After some time I felt the body slowly descend and the physical objects below began to appear. I was so fully aware of this incident that I finally concluded that it must be by such means that Sages using the powers of siddhis travel over vast distances in a short time and appear and disappear in such a mysterious manner. While the body thus descended to the ground it occurred to me that I was at Tiruvottiyur though I had never seen the place before. I found myself on a highroad and walked along it. At some distance from the roadside was a temple of Ganapati and I entered it."

To read more about Ganapati Muni go to this link here.

Sites near Virupaksha Cave

With kind permission from Richard Clarke, I am here reproducing part of a blog posting of his entitled 'Arunachala – New Access to Ramana Sites Below Virupaksha Cave.'

“A group of local Tiruvannamalai people have organized themselves and are doing wonderful work to clean up, repair and open up an area on Arunachala that is near to the popular Sri Ramana Maharshi sites of Virupaksha Cave and Skandanasram.

They have organized as a part of “Global Watch Trust.” You can see more about this organization at http://www.globalwatchtrust.com This site is not yet updated to include this project.

In this area, this project is cleaning trash, clearing brush, repairing and improving paths, planting, and building benches and meditation areas. It improves access to Guhai Namashivaya Shrine and an ancient Ganesh shrine, and provides a way to reach three hillside caves that are said by local villagers to have been frequented by Sri Ramana. The Trust has been given permission to do this work by The Forest Authority, Arunachaleshwar Temple and Sri Ramanasramam.

The Approach
To get to this area, start like you are going to Virupaksha Cave. Below shows where this ‘road’ meets the street, at the northeast corner of Arunachaleshwar Temple.

Walk up the road until you see, to the left, this street. Notice the blue Global Watch Trust sign on the wall.”

Continue walking following the path, and slowly making your way up to Guhai Namashivaya Shrine

Below are Carol (Clarke) and Saravan, outside Guhai Namashiva Shrine. This shrine is an important locale in the history of Sri Ramana Maharshi. This is where he provided answers to questions on slips of paper that became the second of his small books, “Who am I?” This is probably the best known of Ramana’s works.

More information can be found about Guhai Namashivaya at http://www.arunachalasamudra.org/guhainamasivaya.html

After Guhai Namashiva Shrine, directly up the hill is the path to the caves. When finished, this area will have a nice stone path in the middle, surrounded by flowers and planting on both sides. There will be benches to sit and meditate and to enjoy this place.

On the path, we pass by a small cave, big enough for perhaps two or three people to sit in.

Old Ganesh Shrine
The next feature is an old Ganesh shrine, with this water tank. This shrine has been vandalized and the Ganesh idol taken. The Global Watch Trust plans to replace this idol.

Another small cave near the Ganesh Shrine. This cave is big enough for a person to lie down and sleep, but not big enough to stand up.

Up the hill to the best of the caves
Climbing further up the path we will get to the crown jewel (I think) of this area.
I would recommend good shoes or sandals and strong legs for the next part of the journey. The path is a bit steep in a couple of places.
The path continues up the hill . . . Some of this path is a ‘fire road’ up the hill.

In the Cave
In the cave, an oil lamp has been lighted

I think this cave is a special place. The people who live on the hill below here say that Ramana stayed in this cave, I guess during what are generally known as the ‘Virupaksha days.’

We have been here just two times and already it is one of our favorite places on Arunachala.

Working on the Mountain - Global Watch Trust

Community Development
The first part of this project was a vision from Saravan as to what could be done in this area, with encouragement from the founder of Global Watch Trust, Sathya. Together they put together a plan and a team to clean up and enhance this part of the Arunachala hill to properly respect the sacred heritage that is here.

An important part of the process has been involving the villagers who live on this part of the hill. This started with a ceremony and a ‘gifting.’ School notebooks were gifted to the children in an evening ceremony that included the local villagers. The purpose of this was to educate the villagers on the importance of this area so they might not use it as a trash dump, and to enlist their help in the work to clean up the hill.

As work started, local officials came to the group. Each interaction was similar, starting with “What are you doing?” and “No, you cannot do this.” After some discussion, permission was granted. First were officials from Arunachaleshwar Temple, then the Forest Authority, then Sri Ramanasramam.

The Crew
One big part of the effort was done with a crew consisting of local volunteers and the Global Watch Trust team, shown below. Together they worked to do the major cleanup of the hillside.

So much cleaning and clearing to do
For many years this area has been used for trash. The first thing needed was to clean up the trash.

Brush has overgrown the paths and area around the Banyan tree. All this needs to be cut away, and cuttings disposed of.

Results of the Team’s work
The path is repaired.
Here is a part of the path shown above that needed repair. Now it is easy and pleasant walking.

Global Watch Trust has funded the effort that you see in these pages out of their own funds. Those funds have run out, and for work to continue donations are needed. Evan small donations are a big help. Rs 1000 ($25 or 15 Euros) pays for one day’s work on the project. 40 days work have been done so far, and so much has been accomplished.

If you wish to help, donations can be made through the Global Watch Trust web site. Go to http://www.globalwatchtrust.com/ and click the ‘donate’ button. Credit Cards and PayPal are accepted. Also they ask, until their site is updated, that you also send an email to ceo@levicent.com and let them know that this donation is to be used for the Arunachala Hill project. "