To Anonymous

The short narrative on the life of Nome that appears on Arunachala Grace, had a strong, vigorous response. In a couple of cases, I have answered directly but could not reply to anonymous comment, as there was no accompanying email address. Thus:

In Reply To Anonymous: Thanks for your response and I was interested to read about your opinion on Nome. Sri Sathya Sai Baba is my Sadguru and it was he that sent me to Arunachala and gave me instructions to take guidance from Sri Nannagaru while here. As you know currently there are huge scandals surrounding Sathya Sai Baba, Osho, and even nowadays stirring reports of Amritanandamayi. When I write about Osho or Sathya Sai Baba, I often receive negative comments and am asked not to talk about them or be involved in popularising their names, because of scandals associated with them both.

In this respect my own association with Sri Sathya Sai Baba has been one of great suffering, joy, inspiration and blessings. So I look to that to form my opinion about him. I have nothing but reverence, love and gratitude to the Sadguru. In the same way current Masters have both positive and negative associations - but in the case of Nome, I have decided to give information about him because of his service of helping publish and popularize great spiritual truths - in the form of Vedantic literature. I have never met Nome or know of him, but one thing is certain he has made the RIBHU GITA available to English speaking people and for that alone, he has performed a great service.

Always in my service to Arunachala I try to be upbeat and if I have only negative things to say about a person or situation, try to avoid doing so. There are some great Guru-Busters that perform the service very well. In fact you might have noticed I even have a link for Jody's very controversial Blog, 'Guruphiliac'. I think its important that information should be freely available on the pros and cons and that people should make up their own minds.

People get through life as best they can, and if there is any point of light or inspiration that can help or inspire a soul, that surely is a good thing. Currently on Arunachala Grace Blog there is an article about Nome, and in the upcoming there will be a narrative on the Ribhu Gita. I appreciate your comments and suggestions and invite hearing from you whenever you wish. With Light and Grace from Arunachala.

Nome

In our upcoming Arunachala Grace Newsletter, we have a narrative about The Ribhu Gita, a spiritual text extensively used by Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. It was one of the first books he read after self-realization after he came to Arunachala, with a message that clearly accorded with what he had realized within himself. During his life it was recited at Ramanasramam. It is still read at Ramanasramam today.

HWL Poonja studyingThe Ribhu Gita

Both the Sanskrit and Tamil versions have been translated into English in complete translations. This was done by Dr. H. Ramamoorthy, a Sanskrit and Tamil scholar, and Nome, a Self-Realized sage in the United States of America, who in 1974 realized the Truth revealed by Sri Ramana Maharshi and the Ribhu Gita. Both translations, The Ribhu Gita and The Song of Ribhu (the Sanskrit and Tamil versions of the text) have been printed by the Society of Abidance in Truth (SAT) and are available from their website.

Nome

Nome was born on January 23, 1955 in Long Island, New York and spent most of his childhood in New Jersey. Though not from a religiously oriented family, Nome as a child had memories and a vivid familiarity with places, images, and words that he came to know later as associated with Sri Ramana Maharshi and Advaita Vedanta. His first spiritual experience came at age 16 — without previous spiritual questing (in this life), one day in a park. It was nirvikalpa samadhi. Sri Ramana Maharshi refers to nirvikalpa samadhi as complete absorption in the Self with resultant oblivion to the manifested world, as a state of blissful trance but not permanent, like a bucket of water lowered into a well

After Nome’s 17th birthday, before completing high school, he left his family without telling them he was going. When asked by a friend why he was going, he said, “To attain Self-Realization.” He got an airplane ticket and flew to San Francisco. In San Francisco he met Swami Swanandashram, who introduced him to Sanatana Dharma (the Eternal Teaching). Nome kept the focus of his life within. He found wisdom in such books as Talks with Ramana Maharshi, the Avadhuta Gita, the Astavakra Gita and Sankara works such as Atma Bodha.

He lived in a renounced fashion, meditating, intensely practicing Atma Vichara (Self inquiry). During this period of practice, Nome saw that “Whoever we are, Bliss is within, and can no more be apart from us than we can be separated from our own existence.” Now, how to turn the mind inward, and to turn it inward steadily? The answer was the Maharshi’s steady inquiry, revealing the Bliss of the Self. The search for happiness is really the search for the Self, which is Reality. He placed himself in Sri Bhagavan’s hands, feeling that when the heart’s consecration is made, Grace is always present.

In 1974, at 19 years of age, waiting in the office of an oral surgeon, meditating on a small Ramana pamphlet Self Realization, Nome realized finally and completely that the notion of “I” does not refer to any actually existent ego entity, and is itself unreal. This “I” does not come from the real Self, does not come from “anything else,” and is not self-generated. This was the revelation of Truth, without these words or ideas. Everything objective disappeared, never to return. This is what Ramana referred to as Sahaja Samadhi.

In 1978, after four years spent mostly in silence, Nome started answering questions of sincere aspirants, first in a house in San Bruno, CA, then Boulder Creek, and finally Santa Cruz. Around Nome a group of spiritual seekers formed, and was first called “The Avadhut Ashram.” Satsang was held in Santa Cruz and San Francisco.

Since that time, In addition to giving satsang at SAT, Nome continues to write, translate and publish spiritual texts that support the practitioner of Self-inquiry and Advaita Vedanta. Nome started collaborating in 1988 with Dr. H Ramamoorthy, a Sanskrit and Tamil scholar, to translate original Advaita Vedanta scriptures into English. Together they translated more than 20 Advaita Vedanta texts. Of these, more than half have been published to date. The translation work proceeded from 1988 to the 2001 passing of Dr. Ramamoorthy. Nome now continues to translate and publish Sanskrit texts, including the completion of manuscripts which were started in collaboration with Dr. Ramamoorthy.

Nome has journeyed to India several times, staying at Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai and The Ramana Centre for Learning in Bangalore, India. Nome gives satsang at SAT (Society of Abidance in Truth, Santa Cruz, CA). He reveals the non-dual Advaita Vedanta of Sri Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi and Adi Sankara and the practice of Self-inquiry (Atma Vichara).

To find out more about the Society of Abidance of Truth and to order their books please go to their website.

[With thanks to Richard Clarke, Sarasvati and others]

Sand Quarrying

Last week there was an interesting article entitled ‘Sand quarrying a cause for concern,’ in the Tiruvannamalai District section of The Hindu newspaper. I had no idea, until I read the article, that sand quarrying had such negative consequences. The newspaper article which was discussing sand quarrying at Kulthigal Village raised points that apply to similar quarrying occurring at Tiruvannamalai. The articles reads:

Photo of sand quarrying before the rains at Samudram

“A visit to the quarry revealed . . . several deep and large stagnant pools of water, nearly 15 feet to 20 feet deep, formed by the act of quarrying sand using excavators. While on the one hand, the deep pools of water pose hazards to those, especially youngsters who venture into the water, additionally, the huge pits that would remain after the drying or evaporation of the water during the summer would prevent water from reaching the irrigation tanks and other water bodies during rain by sucking the water. Besides, locals fear that the continuous and unchecked quarrying of sand, using excavators, would result in the depletion of sand wealth thereby undermining the retention of groundwater at a higher level.

Excavators at Samudram

. . . Government rules state that sand should be quarried only up to a depth of three feet. Besides which the use of excavators is also illegal . . . indiscriminate quarrying of sand, would not only deplete sand wealth but also result in the fast dwindling of the groundwater table.”

Samudram, Arunachala

The above photograph is of four of my dogs (there are two more). It certainly is an unpleasant thought that after the rains, somebody could be wading in ankle deep water and all of a sudden, 'Whoops,' falls into a ten foot hole!

Sparsa Hotel Update

Stopped by Sparsa, Tiruvannamalai, the luxury hotel of the area, to see whether the Hotel is fully finished. Well, no it isn't but its getting there.

The theme of the hotel is eco-heritage and throughout the complex both granite and thatched has been used extensively.

In the next photograph are the accommodation cottages - 2 rooms upstairs and 2 downstairs of each cottage with all rooms facing Arunachala.

The Kashmiri gift shop is already open for business.

On the right are reception, ayurveda centre, and health club. The shops on the left; a flower shop and a tea/coffee bar. The big building at the end is the restaurant with conference room upstairs.

The standard room, the theme of which is repeated in all accommodation units.

The entrance to the bathroom - with a very nice sink, which I think would look very nice in my own home - hmmm!

The swimming pool, with Arunachala in the background obscured by a young tree. The upstairs will be used for out-of-door functions.

A better view of the swimming pool. The logo in the centre is a 'fingerprint' and is repeated throughout the Hotel. The word 'Sparsa', is Sanksrit for 'touch' of which the fingerprint represents.

The next photograph is of the health club, which is still being equipped and organised. But nearly there.

The restaurant, will be open 24 hours a day with seating capacity for 48. I ate there on Christmas Eve and very nice it was too.

A view of Arunachala from the Hotel compound.

The accommodation units are distinctively two storey, with red facade. Most of the other buildings encompassing shops, administration etc., are single storey structures.

The landscaping is going very well and I noticed that the grass was laid in long, wide strips like carpet - the painless gardening method. Wonder what everything is going to look like after 3-4 months of the scorching summer heat - probably green will turn to brown!

These nifty old fashioned motor scooters are available for rent to Hotel guests.

There are several areas that need to be completed, the ayurveda centre and health club are not yet open and more landscaping work waits. But so far, so good, and everything looks fine. If you want more information about this Hotel you can get in touch at: arunachalana dot fastmail dot com

That Electric Supply!

There has been very little in the way of information and/or updates on Arunachala Grace for a while due to the combined circumstances of suspect electric supply, improvements to my house and the introduction of a new dog into the family that we have adopted from our local Animal Shelter. The dog is a very nice German Shepherd (Alastian) we have named Victor (much more about him in later posts).

On the electric front, the problem has been a dangerous and highly erratic electricity supply - so much so, that having the computer on was a nerve wracking experience. Well, everything came to a head one evening last week when in this area for the whole evening 440 current was passed through lines meant for 220 – consequently LOTS of blown T.V.s, lights, fridges etc. in the neighbourhood. On the night it happened, I fortunately had my computer off, but lots of other electric items in my home got 'fried'.

Happily the Electricity Board seems to have recitied the problem, so hopefully from now on computer access in this area will be simpler and safer.

Explore Vodpod

You may enjoy looking at the new 'Vodpod' at the bottom left margin of this site. The Pod, which is entitled 'Explore' invites you to explore both the inner and outer Universe. To begin with there is a very nice Shiva (who is representative of consciousness) montage. Which is rather appropriate as Mahashivaratri, the major Shiva festival celebrated both at Arunachala and throughout India, occurs (this year) at the beginning of March. The second video is a short compilation of Sri Ramana Maharshi's teachings with photographs of the sage and Arunachala. In the third video, Robert Anton Wilson, the brilliant and witty scientist, talks about perception. He explains how perception is a gamble and how we believe what we see and our interpretation of it without even realising that most of the time, we have even made an interpretation. And finally the fourth video of the 'Vodpod' is of ten extraordinary photographs of the Universe taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.

AKSP needs support

We have written many times on Arunachala Grace about the Arunachala Kattu Siva Plantation and about their excellent reforestation work. One of the most unique aspects of their work is that the structure of their organisation is such that it empowers the forest worker with a voice in decision making. Sadly, as is often true in the case of the worthiest of organisations, AKSP is in a precarious financial position and urgently needs the support of Arunachala devotees to help fund their work. Otherwise their organisation might have to fold - which will be sad day for Arunachala reforestation.

To understand exactly what it is they do, please check an earlier posting here. And also to meet some of the friendly, hardworking decent forest workers, please read about a recent Saraswati Puja at this link.

Funny House

This funny little house is a real head turner. It is located at the back of Kubera Lingam, and seems wonderfully bizarre. What happened? Is it some kind of strange joke? How is it possible that the construction has advanced to this point, without anybody seemingly to notice that it definitely is not safe or in anyway fit for habitation?

Such tiny little columns to bear the weight of such a chunky house - how is it possible?

Now would you feel safe walking up this flight of stairs?

The below photograph shows the funny house in all its strange glory. But the scariest thing of all is that the reed bars on the top of the house, indicate that the builders intend going up another floor. Tell me it isn't true?

Arunachala Grace News, February 2008

This day, the February issue of Arunachala Grace News was sent direct to subscribers email inboxes. The issue includes a narrative and explanation of the Thiruvoodal Festival, an important Festival at Arunachala but hitherto mostly unknown to non-Tamil speakers as a result of lack of availability of information in English. There are also interesting narratives on Dakshinamurti, the relevance of 'colour' in our daily lives, a delightful short story entitled, 'A priest who worshipped luck,' which explores the adage; 'A fool's curse can be a wise man's blessing!' and an essay on 'Life Purpose'. Our indigenous bird and plant/fruit of the month; are the Brahminy Kite and the ayurvedic and health properties of the versatile Coconut. As usual we have a section on 'Arunachala Tidbits', inspiration and poems.

For a free subscription to this monthly Newsletter, please go to the facility at the lefthand margin of this website frontpage.

Balaji at Tiruvannamalai

Visited the beautiful new Temple of Lord Venkateshwara currently being constructed southeast of Arunchala near to the Kubera Lingam.

click to enlarge

The above is a photograph of the beautiful statue in the inner shrine, which is identical in all aspects to the famous Lord at Seven Hills, Tirupati. In front of Balaji are his consorts, Sridevi and Bhudevi. More soon.

Mantra Jam

As promised here is additional information on earlier events at Tiruvannamalai; Ramana Rocks and Arunai Rocks, check out this posting. Both musical evenings featured rather unusual musical fusion by a group of contemporary musicians. One of the members of the musical ensemble is; J. Jayaraman who has been a resident of Ramana Ashram since 1985. He heads the Ramanashram Library and handles the Book Review column of the Ashram’s, ‘Mountain Path,’ magazine and has also served on its editorial board. He is an editorial advisor to the Tamil Journal, Ramanadhayam. J. Jayaraman’s interests range from afforestation and modern science to metrical chanting, mantras and movies.

To find out more about the group and events, read in the following in his own words.

Ramana Ashram Jam

“A month ago I left for Bangalore for a recording of 3 mantras for the Dances of Universal Peace's workshop at Sao Paulo, March 15-22nd. I am hoping to have at least one of them, if not all eventually, to be incorporated in a Dance designed around the sacred meaning exuding off each mantra.

My maternal cousin, is the founder and Lead guitarist of a trio, progrock band, which was rated the Best Band by World Space Radio for 2007. I had jammed with his group [Thermal and a Quarter] at some varied venues, and it had sounded and felt good on every occasion.

After completing the recording and mailing them off as .mp3 attachments to email, I got to witnessing the next act in the slick and simple Studio of my cousin's Band in downtown Bangalore. There was to be a rehearsal of ‘The Karthik Mani Fusion Group,’ [a motley group composed of skilled musicians from across genres]. There was Prakash Sontakke, a triple graduate from BHU [veena, vocal and guitar] and honoured with several awards [his website is worth a visit, vast and well endowed as he himself is]. He is a consummate artiste, and freely flows across cultures.

Ramana Ashram Jam

Karthik Mani, the leader of the Fusion Group, is a master percussionist facile in all types of Carnatic percussion as well as Jazz-Rock explorations, and can work up the instant magic of the blur of multiplying limbs that gives soul to skin and metal.

Rzhude's electric Bass can pack a mean rhythm and yet alternate with ethereal softness.

Adarsh on Tabla, youngest of them all, is a perspicacious player, providing exciting Northern foil to the Southern percussion,. and oozes romance in the rub.

President of Ramana Ashram with J Jayaraman

The Fusion Group conferred among themselves and didn't take long to decide on their 'starter' number for the concert the following evening. They started the rehearsal with Prakash's guitar 'sliding' into a raga [Naattai, perhaps, one of the few ragas reserved for primal invocation to] Ganesha. Then it was a roller-coaster ride into Fusion -land, what with Prakash's solo succeeded by solos from Bruce's guitar, Rzhude's bass and back to Prakash, and ending in a rush of flaming percussion in a Drums-Tabla dialogue that could only rightfully end in a Konnakkol Bol [verbal percussion duel]. But did it?

Arunai Hotel Jam

I couldn't help noticing how complete the whole thing would be if the Vedic mantra to Ganapati could be heard just at that juncture. When the Bol stopped on the 'samam', I was ready and chanted out the mantra for the rest to play along without break:

Arunai Hotel Jam

gaNAnAm tvA
gaNapati gam havAmahE
kaving kavInAm
upama sravastamam

Thou art the Lord of all groupings
To thee we offer Worship
O Poet of the poets
Whose fame is well-known

jyEshTha rAjam brhmaNAm
brhmaNaspata AnasruNvan nUtibhih sIda sAdhanam
mahA gaNapatayE namah

The Foremost thou art among the Great groupings
O thou Lord of the Chanters
Come to hear us
Heal the road by thy Presence!

It was an electric moment. When the chant got over, there was unanimous exclamation that the chant should start the song at the show.

Arunai Hotel Jam

As I got onto the bus after the show the following night, it was clear to me this group would serve as an admirable vehicle for my purposes of making mantra-jam. There was spontaneous acceptance all round by the members to come to Tiruvannamalai for a concert at the Ashram that I'd wanted focussed on selected verses from Bhagavan's ‘Monday Tamil Parayana’, the short poems of Sankara alongside their equivalent Tamil verses composed by Sri Ramana and sung at the Parayana.

As I returned, I was witness to a miracle in the form of an amazing coincidence ...A Concert video had been placed on my table at the Library by a friend on the day of my departure to Bangalore. When I returned I found it was the fusion concert of the group Khanda-5, with Karthik Mani's parents [both of whom are the founders of the Karnataka College of Percussion] jamming with Bulgarian and Irish musicians. What a coincidence that the parents of a person who was outside my domain of contacts had 'arrived' at my space in a DVD, weeks before I met the son incorporeal jam.

Arunai Hotel Jam

When I returned to the ashram and spoke about the concert and the rest of it, I found the President and Sri Mani very positive about having such a concert in the Ashram.

It was obvious that The Mantra-JJam Sextet would have to work out its game within the restriction of the impossibility of group practice before a concert, given the facts of location and careers. Pushing decision easily onwards to a focus on Spontaneous Unfoldment was the fact that the none of the five had ever been exposed to Ramana lore's poems while most of us here are well acquainted with their resonance. It was obvious it was a momentum intended to flow on its own powered by mantric vibratory presence amplified thru the manifested rhythm ornamenting the self-declared metric structures of the mantras.

The rest just flowed...and what followed as an unfolding flower was there for all to hear and see.”

THE MANTRA-JAM SEXTET
[Composed of]

Vocals: J Jayaraman [ashram]
Slide Guitar: pt. Prakash Sontakke [Bangalore]

www.prakashsontakke.com
Electric Guitar: Bruce Lee Mani [Bangalore]

www.ThermalAndAQuarter.com
Electric Bass: Rzhude [Bangalore] [Thermal and a Quarter]

Jazz & Carnatic Percussion: Kartik Mani [Karnataka College of

Percussion]
Tabla: Adarsh [Bangalore] "

The above narrative is all in the words of J Jayaraman. The Mantra-Jam Sextet hope to be performing soon in Chennai. Will post information as to venue and dates of their performance as soon as it is available.

************************************************

What the MJS hopes to present at its concert at Chennai under the auspices of the Chennai Ramana Kendra:

Excerpts highlighting metres and enunciation so that meaning flowers as experience as one sings along.

From:
[1] Arunachala Mahatmyam/Navamani Malai/Ashtakam

[2] excerpts from Sankara's small poems which Bhagavan had translated into Tamil verse

In original Sanskrit followed by Tamil

[3] Appalap-paattu/Anma Vidya Keertanam

[4] excerpts from 40-verses Anubandham

[5] excerpts from Kavya Kantha's Ramana Chatvarimsat, Guru Stuti, Ramana Gita and UMa Sahasram.

This is a Fusion which aims at manifesting the foot-tapping rhythms inherent to all metres. These lie hidden in most our metres since Indian metres are on hierarchical [binary] structure and so are very vast in their 'progeny'.

The duration allotted to a guru is twice that of laghu
The duration allotted to the gap at the end of each pada is more flexible, even a laghu could be uttered as laghu and the gap that follows before the start of the next pada, is solely a function of the filler needed to complete the counting of say a given number [say 32, or 16, or 8 or 4 for an even gait
OR
36, or 18, or 12, or 9, or 6 or 3 matras of matras per pada, for a Waltz-like gait [all Tamil venbas, for example].

Mysterious Neem Tree

On Tuesday this week was in Ramana Ashram bookshop when I overhead a couple of folk talk about the 'milk' from a Neem tree. A couple of hours later at Ramana Ashram Library, JJ (J. Jayaraman) the Librarian, asked me whether I had yet gone to visit the mysterious Neem Tree. Well it was all too fascinating and as soon as I had finished my work at the Library, headed of for the Gokulam at Ramana Ashram.

Arrived at the pretty Gokulam at the back of Ramana Ashram and headed for the much discussed Neem Tree.

And here it is, exuding some strange kind of white liquid - which is not the colour of Neem sap - and also the tree has been exuding for nearly three days. Frankly, people are rather perplexed by the strange phenomenon of this 20 year old tree. What is going on? Certainly ashramites are regularly visiting the tree and some are taking little drops of the exude, in the form of a kind of prasad.

In the next photograph the tree with Arunachala in the background.


And the last photograph of the series, the curious exuding Neem tree in closeup.

Speed of Development

The result of the last quiz on Arunachala Grace asking readers thoughts on the speed of development of the Tiruvannamalai area; 69% believe the area is developing too fast, 24% said that there were too many tourist concessions, 22% think tradition is being ignored. Interestingly NOT one person voted that the speed of development of Tiruvannamalai is a good thing. (readers were allowed to vote for more than one option)

Thiruvoodal Festival

An important festival connected with Arunachala occurs during the time of Pongal and is known as the Thiruvoodal Festival. This Festival is celebrated on January 16th and is ennacted inside the compound of Arunachaleswarar Temple, on the streets delineating the perimeter of the Temple, and on the girivalam pathway itself, by iconic representations of Shiva/Parvati in order to convey moral and social truths to their devotees.

The word 'Voodal,' means 'petty quarrel' or 'tiff' and emissaries are employed by both of the Divine Couple to convey messages between the deities and participate in ‘brokering a deal’ between them.

A variety of sagas (all listed below) concerning the Gods are used to create the scenario of the 'petty quarrel' that needs resolution.

And at the end of their quarrels, finally:

Returning to his residence at the Arunachaleswarar Temple, Shiva knocks at the door but it has been bolted by Parvati. As if he didn’t know, Lord Shiva asks,
‘Oh my darling why have you locked the door?’
‘Sir after we came to an understanding still you went without me. And see now look you have lost everything there is no ornament or clothes. Not, only that but you went and gave darshan to all kinds of people. So, I am now requesting you must establish your manliness to me and retrieve everything that is lost and give the special one-legged dance.’
Shiva starts the dance, Parvati forgets everything and opens the door.

******************************

Thiruvoodal Sagas

Story of Ganga

Goddess Parvati is happy watching the one-legged dance of Lord Shiva, but on noticing Goddess Ganga in the matted locks of her Lord, Parvati becomes recalcitrant and withdrawn. Shiva asks his emissary Sundarar to;
‘Please go and tell her the reason. My dear friend Sundaram, I do not do anything for my own self-interest; Bhagavati did intense tapas to bring down the river of the Gods, the Ganga, in order to pacify the souls of the 1,000 ancestors that had been burnt by the look of Kapala Rishi. Because Bhagavati did tapas, the Ganga was brought down, I had nothing to do with it and when the water came down it was so forceful, everyone said it had to be stopped or it would destroy the earth. So, what was meant to be the medicine is turning out to be another story. So they asked me to do this thing, so please explain this to Parvati. Tell her that all the creatures of the world, her creatures would have been destroyed unless I had helped negate the power of the water cascading unto the Earth.’

Mohini and the Sages

Because the Rishis of Dwaraka got too proud in that they had technology that could yield anything and attain all fruits, they started to believe that there was no need for any divine person as they had the use of; ‘yagna’ technology. In addition they had wives of unquestionable chastity.
Shiva informs Sundarar to convey to Parvati that;
‘To show the Rishis, that they are born of you (i.e. Parvati) and me and are our progeny and shouldn’t think that power is coming to them on its own. If their activities bear fruits it is because we have laid down the laws for it.
To show this, I ordained that the enchantingly beautiful Mohini (a manifestation of Lord Vishnu) appeared to the Rishis, who were completely ensared by her, as too were the rishis’ wives to my own Form as an mouna ascetic. I did this to the reduce the ego of these rishis and also grace their wives by affording them darshan of my mouna ascetic manifestation.

Shiva’s ascetic manifestation

Shiva says in the course of the Thiruvoodal;
‘Don’t put your trust into anything, everything is reduced to bone – all is reduced to ashes. So this is the symbol of the final residue. So, that is the reason I am found with this skull, no other reason.’

Sage Bringi

In order to give darshan and blessings to the Sage Bringi, Shiva sets off to perform circumbulation of Arunachala, and thus enrages Parvati who is angry with the sage for his refusal to worship her.** Parvati’s anger, creates maya (Maya Swarupa), and from that maya emerge thieves who strip Shiva of his ornaments and clothes, whilst he is performing pradakshina. This stripping of Shiva is actually yearly enacted at the same spot (during Voodal Festival) upon the idol that is being carried around the Hill.
Shiva explains to Parvati (through his emissary Sundarar) that, to satisfy the desire of devotees, he has taken a vow to appear in the form in which he is worshipped. In accordance with that vow he has given darshan to Bringi. He further tells his emissary Sundarar to convey to Parvati;
‘My darling you know Sakti can never be separated from Shiva in just the way the mud pot can never be separated from the mud. You can’t say, “Give the pot without all that other stuff!” You cannot have the form just like that. You know it my dear that Shiva-Sakti can never be separated, so in accordance with the understanding of devotees, I am appearing in this form.’
‘Sundarar please explain to Parvati so that she will reduce this tiff.’
Returning to his residence at the Arunachaleswarar Temple, Shiva knocks at the door but it has been bolted by Parvati. As if he didn’t know, Lord Shiva asks,
‘Oh my darling why have you locked the door?’
‘Sir after we came to an understanding still you went without me. And see now look you have lost everything there is no ornament or clothes. Not, only that but you went and gave darshan to all kinds of people. So, I am now requesting you must establish your manliness to me and retrieve everything that is lost and give the special one-legged dance.’
Shiva starts the dance, Parvati forgets everything and opens the door.



Story of Bringi’s maya**

“Sage Bringi considered that Shiva’s Grace the ultimate source for existence. He was an ardent votary of Lord Shiva to the exclusion of any deity in the worship including Parvati! He refused to worship Shakti, a woman. Even during his daily worship, he would circumbulate only the Lord ignoring Mother Shakti, with a flashing spark of arrogance.

The divine couple wanted to enlighten the sage and hence assumed a unique form sharing his body with Parvati. The couple took the form of Ardhanareshwara and stood unified inseparable to every atom. Even then the egoistic sage took the form of a bee (Bringa is a Sanskrit for Bee and the sage came to be called Bringi because he once became a bee) and tried to pierce through the body of the Lord so that he could go around only the Shiva part.

In every human body the static force of Shiva constitutes the bone and the skin and the dynamic force of Shakti triggers the blood and flesh. Goddess Shakti, being the power as the name indicates, pulled out her energy from Bringi's body. Now he was a mere skeleton and was even unable to stand. The Lord pacified Parvati and gave the sage one more leg to stand. The sage soon realized his folly and understood that life becomes dynamic only by the blending of both grace and force which are not contradictory but complementary to each other.”

[Sage Bringi story with thanks to Aravind Venkatraman]

***********************************************

In this month's Arunachala Grace News the 'Thiruvoodal' is examined in greater depth. So if you are not yet a subscriber to the Newsletter, please check out the subscribe facility at the left hand column of this page, under Newsletter.

The Nandis

Pongal, Harvest Festival is followed by Mattu Pongal; the Cow Festival and Thiruvoodal Festival. The below photograph is of a decorated Temple Nandi during the recently celebrated Pongal Festival.

click image to enlarge

During this time the five Nandis; Pradosha Nandi, in the Moolastanam, Ratha Vilaku Nandi in the Second Prakaram, Kodi Kampathu Nandi in the Third Prakaram, Chinna Nandi in the fourth prakaram and the Periyar Nandi that stands in front of the Vallala Gopuram in the Fifth Prakaram, are all decorated with garlands and foodstuff.

Big Temple Photographs

Am posting a series of beautiful photographs recently taken of Arunachaleswarar Temple. Click on the photographs to view enlarged version.

In the below the flagpole located directly infront of Siva Sannidhi, the sanctum sanctorum of the whole Arunachaleswarar Compound, and wherein is the Siva Lingam.



The next series of three photographs are taken from upstairs, a view not often seen by visitors as it is generally off limits.