Arunachala Girivalam

To those who have contacted me recently using the ‘contact me’ facility at the left top of this page, I can only respond to you personally if you include your email address.

In this respect in reply to a nice email from a Malaysian Arunachala devotee (who gave no return address) requesting information on girivalam, I am heretofore answering some of the questions raised in that email. If more particular recommendations or suggestions are required regarding accommodation please get in touch using the ‘contact me’ at the top of the page:-


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The practice of pradakshina consists in making a circuit on foot of a sacred place, a temple, a statue or of some person who is the object of reverence. The circuit is always clockwise, starting from the east towards the south, so that what is thus venerated is always on one’s right hand. People sometimes take a vow to carry out pradakshina of Arunachala or Arunachaleswarar Temple for forty-eight consecutive days, with a view to obtaining certain blessings or else in thankfulness to God.


Specific instructions for Arunachala girivalam are outlined in the Skanda Purana thus:-

38. The learned devotee should put on a clean dress after bath. He should apply sacred ash over his body and adorn himself with Rudraksha beads. Remembering Siva he should take steps slowly.

39-40. He should think about the likelihood of collision with thousands of Devas, invisible Siddhas and other of gaseous forms as well as Manus who walk ahead. He must think about the consequent rush and obstruction to the path. He should be a true devotee and go ahead slowly putting down his step along the path.

41. Or the devotee should circumambulate along with other devotees chanting the names of Siva, singing excellent songs and dancing like Siva.

42. Or he should, with his mind not dwelling on anything else, listen respectfully to my greatness and circumambulate slowly feeling the thrill of the bliss.

43. He must offer different kinds of charitable gifts. He must perform meritorious deeds. He should render assistance to suppliants. He should be pious and merciful in a manner he things best. Thus he should move round.

[Chapter 9, Verses 35-43 inc. Skanda Purana]

The length of the outer girivalam roadway is 14 kms and ideally circumbulation starts in the east at Arunachaleswarar Temple. However nowadays with large crowds thronging the girivalam pathway during full moon, its probably more suitable to start from the place you are at, whether it’s a Temple, Ashram or Hotel with the only essential being (for proper girivalam) is that you should complete the full 14 kms, thus ending up at the original starting place.

Its essential to pay attention to the realities of our time and for this reason I often suggest to first time visitors performing girivalam to have a pair of slippers in their bag in the case of pain or difficulties. Its particularly important for overweight people, diabetics and/or elderly people to protect their feet. Please be gentle with yourself and understand there are NO regulations against wearing shoes on girivalam. Be assured you will not be the only person with shoes performing pradakshina. This is the age of tarred roads, gravel chips and juggernaut lorries hurtling along at 60 kph, so for devotees unused to walking in difficult conditions its best to take it easy.

The importance of Girivalam is not to mortify the body, but to slow the mind. In this respect I would suggest that the most essential aspect of girivalam is DON’T TALK to your companions whilst walking or when stopping at Temples etc.

Another reality in this age of Kali is to be aware that as well as many wonderful Arunachala devotees travelling the Girivalam and visiting Shrines and Temples (including Arunachaleswarar Temple), there will also be a number of male and female expert thieves and pickpockets. Pay attention to your belongings and if its necessary for you to carry large sums of money and/or documents, please make sure to keep such items secreted in hidden pouches or compartments.

A quiet, leisurely walk of the Hillround will take approximately 4-5 hours. But many prefer to go slower and stop at Temples, Tanks and Lingams. My own most enjoyable girivalam took nearly 14 hours to perform, stopping at Temples, and for quiet sitting and also twice at hotels for meals.

When Sri Ramana Maharshi used to perform Girivalam with his devotees it would sometimes take his group up to three days to walk the 14 kms; sleeping at various Temples and often stopping for bhajans, to cook food and rest.

During the 24 hours of Full Moon, the Arunachaleswarar Temple Sannidhis remain open. At each entrance to the Temple visitors will be checked at metal detectors and have their bags examined, so remember to leave your shoes at designated booths located at numerous spots outside the various Temple Gates. No matter one’s condition, the wearing of shoes are not allowed inside the Temple Compound. However, one may wear socks. So to visitors who need to be gentle with their feet, it is advisable to keep a clean pair of socks in one’s bag and after passing into the compound to put them on.

There are many Hotels, Choultries, Ashrams and Rooms available for visiting pilgrims. If one wishes to stay near the Temple, the two largest and most comfortable Lodges are the Trishul Hotel (vegetarians should be aware that the Trishul Hotel restaurant also serves non vegetarian food) and the Ramakrishna Hotel. In the Ramana Nagar area (which is about 2 kms West of the Temple there are a number of Ashrams such as Ramana Ashram, Seshadri Ashram, Andhra Ashram, Siva Sannidhi etc., that offer accommodation to pilgrims – visitors need to make reservations in advance at all of these places.


Virtues of Pradakshina by Sri Ramana Maharshi

"What is there superior to pradakshina? That alone is sufficient. Even if you sit and do japa, the mind will wander, but if you do pradakshina that mind will remain one-pointed even though the limbs and the body are moving. Doing japa or meditation with a one-pointed mind, while moving about, without having any thought other than the japa, is known as absorption while moving (sanchara samadhi). That is why in the olden days pilgrimage on foot, without using any other conveyance, had so much importance.

Giripradakshina is unique. As there are many types of herbs on the hill, the breeze that blows over them is good for the body. Even today there are many siddhas and great souls on the hill. They too go around the hill, but we cannot see them. Because of this, when we do pradakshina we should keep to the left of the road. If we do this, we do pradakshina without causing any inconvenience to them. We also get the merit of walking round these great souls, thereby receiving their blessings. As we do pradakshina, the body becomes healthy and the mind attains the peace of the Self. Because of all these things, pradakshina is an extraordinary sadhana."
[Ramana Maharshi]

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


To get more specific guidance regarding the more rarely walked inner path go to this link here. And to this link here for more information on the more commonly walked outer pradakshina pathway.

Incense in India

Of all our senses, the most primal and that which directly affects our brain and mind is our sense of smell. Incense has been and is used in; religious ceremonies, ritual purification, aromatherapy, meditation, mood creation, masking bad odours, creating a fragrant aroma and in ancient times, pleasant-smelling perfumes were offered to royalty and saints and diffused over roads on which revered personages travelled.

Although used in a multitude of cultures throughout the world, some of the oldest references to the use of incense appear in the Atharva Veda, indicating that the use of incense (Hindi=agarbatti) in India dates back to over 3500 years ago.

When used in Hindu rituals, incense purifies the atmosphere like havan fire working through the power of fragrance as in flowers. For Temple worship, incense is not only an offering but serves to purify the atmosphere and calm the mind of Temple visitors enhancing their spiritual awareness. Deities within Hinduism have specific aromas associated with them; Tulsi for Krishna, Kewra for Shiva and Jasmine or Sandalwood for Lakshmi.

According to Ayurveda, an individual's qualities are harmonized when the inherent qualities of various medicinal herbs and flowers are introduced. Herbal ingredients may be prepared as natural incense and used to prevent infections, purify atmosphere and energize prana.

Indian incense-making involves a wide variety of ingredients. In accordance with Ayurvedic principles, all the ingredients that go into incense-making are categorized into five classes: Ether (fruits e.g. Star Anise), Water (stems and branches e.g. Sandalwood), Earth (roots e.g. Turmeric), Fire (flowers e.g. Clove) and Air (leaves e.g. Patchouli).

In Ayurveda astrology it is believed aromas can strengthen planetary energies: Sun: Sage and Camphor, Moon: Jasmine and Sandalwood, Mars: Musk and Camphor, Mercury: Sandalwood and Basil, Jupiter: Lotus and Frankincense, Venus: Nag Champa and Plumeria, Saturn: Cedar and Myrrh, Rahu: Sandalwood and Myrrh and Ketu: Sage and Camphor

Monkey House

This morning I visited the Animal Shelter to consult with its chief veterinarian, Dr. Raju about one of my own dogs.

Animal Shelter with Arunachala

While there I visited the two cows who recently had operations, a horse recuperating from years of neglect, two orphan bonnet macaque monkeys living in the shelter since the death of their mother and of course some nearly 150 dogs either permanently living at the shelter or temporarily resident during treatment and/or sterilization.













I have written many times about the remarkable work done by the Animal Shelter and you can view some earlier postings here and here.

The Animal Shelter was originally intended to treat only homeless dogs. But subsequently many dogs are brought in after road accidents or serious illnesses. In addition an increasingly large number of “owner dogs/pets” are being brought in the Shelter for treatment.

Before the shelter opened there were no small animal specialists within 75 kms of Tiruvannamalai. As the reputation of the Shelter has grown, more and more “owner dogs” are being brought in for treatment. In addition there is an ongoing ABC Sterilization activity at the clinic and around 300 dogs brought to the clinic monthly for treatment.

Current monkey cage

Raja, the monkey's best friend

As well as dogs other animals treated by the shelter (which is open seven days a week plus special emergency services), includes: cats, birds, cows, calves, goats, horses, bullocks, donkeys, pigs, monkeys, squirrels, rabbits, eagles, parrots, peacocks, deer and snakes.

Almost all Shelter services are provided free of cost. However people with owner dogs are asked to pay a small amount, but in the case of financial difficulties, their dogs are given free care. There is no charge for homeless dogs. And to encourage adoption, free medical treatment (and family planning) is provided for life for dogs or puppies adopted from the Shelter.

Of particular concern to me this day was the welfare of two dear orphan monkeys (one of whom is recovering from a broken arm) and the obvious restriction of their small cage. The wish of the Shelter is to construct a cage of around 10 by 15 feet for convalescing monkeys, located inside a quiet area of the Shelter, far from barking doggies.

Size of proposed new monkey shelter

There have previously been many monkeys residing at the shelter. In an earlier posting I wrote about two juvenile monkeys who had been recuperating at the Shelter and were on that day going to a new life at an Animal Refuge specialising in the rehabilitation of monkeys into their natural environment at the Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary.

Quiet spot for monkey shelter

Please visit the Arunachala Animal Shelter website to read more about the wonderful work of the Arunachala Animal Shelter and also learn about how to make a donation so that perhaps current and future monkeys staying at the shelter can have a large and comfortable environment in which to recuperate and recover.

Spiritual Questions

Twelve questions were asked of sixteen different Indian spiritual teachers (the majority of whom are still alive) that cover the main issues that arise on a spiritual seeker’s journey to awakening. A sample of videos of the questions and answers of these teachers are available at this link here.

Many of the spiritual teachers come from the tradition of Vedanta, a metaphysical Indian philosophy derived from the Upanishads, and from Advaita Vedanta, a non-dual school of Vedanta philosophy, whose chief spokesman was Adi Shankara, teaching the Oneness of God, soul and the universe.

Most of the teachers are connected with Arunachala, either spending time here or in fact having Ashrams as this place; and the dialogues are based on the teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi.

To sample one of these taped dialogues watch the now deceased Sri Satchiananda respond to the question:

“It has been suggested that the mind must be destroyed for liberation to occur. Do you have a mind? How to destroy the mind?” go to this link here.

In 1985 I was fortunate enough to be able to spend two months at Anandashram, Kanhangad, Kerala. Many devotees of Arunachala know of this beautiful ashram and of its long, loving links with the Hill. During my stay there I spent time with Mother Krishnabai and Swami Satchidananda and thereafter over the years occasionally wrote to Swamiji with spiritual questions. Even though he probably didn’t remember me, he always wrote lovingly and at length in response to my queries. Because of the link with Anandashram and Swami Ramdas, it was Swami Satchidananda who inaugurated the ashram of Yogi Ramsuratkumar at Tiruvannamalai.

To read an earlier posting about Swami Satchidananda go to my earlier posting at this link here.

Vintage Photographs

Right Click on all photos to view enlargements


Below are a set of vintage photos taken in Tamil Nadu which show the lives of ordinary people at the end of the 19th Century.

Fishermen, Madras, c1870

House Servants, Madras, c1870

Priest Kotagiri Temples, Nilgiri Hills, c1870s

The next four vintage photographs are taken in the late 1940s and show spiritual Tiruvannamalai.

Sacred Grove Shrine, c1940s

Arunachaleswarar Temple, c1940s

Ramana Ashram Gate, 1940s

Sri Ramana, c1940s

Joyful Song to Lord Siva

Here is a lovely joy-filled video of verses excerpted from the Thiruvasagam, which is a Tamil sacred chant sung for Lord Shiva and written by Manikkavachakar in the 8th century

Life of Manikkavachakar:

"Manikkavachakar was born in a village called Vaadavur (Vaatapuri) in Pandya Desa. Because of that people used to call him Vaadavurar. He was sent to school very early. He read religious books, absorbed the lessons therein, and became noted for his devotion to Siva, as also his kindness to living beings. Having heard about him, the Pandya king sent for him, made him his Prime Minister and conferred on him the title of “Thennavan Brahmarayan” i.e., Leader among Brahmins in the south. Though he performed the duties of a minister with tact and integrity, he had no desire for material happiness. His mind was always absorbed in spiritual matters.

Feeling convinced that for the attainment of jnana, the grace of the guru is essential, he kept on making enquiries about it. Once the Pandya king directed the minister to buy a few good horses and bring them to him. As he was already in search of a guru, Manikkavachakar felt that it was a good opportunity and started with his retinue, carrying with him the required amount of gold. He visited all the temples on the way and reached a village called Tiruperundurai. For about a year before that, Parameswara had assumed the form of a school teacher and was teaching the poor children of the village seated on a street pial, near the temple. He had his meal which consisted of only cooked green vegetables, in the house of his pupils everyday by turn.

Well aware of the mental maturity of Manikkavachakar, Iswara anxiously awaited his arrival. By the time Manikkavachakar came, Iswara assumed the form of a Siddha Purusha (realised soul) and sat under a Kurundai (yellow amanth) tree within the temple. Many sannyasis had gathered around him. Manikkavachakar came to the temple, had darsan of the Lord in the sanctum sanctorum, and while doing pradakshina around the temple, saw the Siddha Purusha. He was thrilled at the sight and tears welled up in his eyes. Spontaneously, he lifted his hands above his head in salutation and prostrated at the feet of Iswara. He then got up, and prayed that he, a humble being, may also be accepted as a disciple.

Having come to earth solely to bestow grace on Manikkavachakar, Iswara, through His mere look, gave him jnana upadesa (initiation into knowledge). Manikkavachakar felt indescribable happiness and the upadesa given by Iswara took deep root in his heart. With folded hands and tears of joy, Manikkavachakar went round the guru, offered salutations, stripped himself of all his official dress and ornaments, placed them near the guru and stood before him with only a kaupina on. A deeply felt inspiration resulted in his spontaneously composing and singing beautiful and moving devotional songs in praise of his guru. Iswara was pleased, and addressing him as ‘Manikkavachaka’, commanded him to remain there, worshipping Him and singing His praise. His mission fulfilled, the Lord disappeared.

Fully convinced that he who had blessed him was no other than Iswara Himself, Manikkavachakar was stricken with unbearable grief and fell on the ground weeping and saying, “Oh! My lord, Why did you go away leaving me here?” The villagers were very much surprised at this and began a search for the person who was till then working in their village as a schoolteacher but could not find him anywhere. Then they realised that it was the Lord’s leela. Some time later, Manikkavachakar got over his grief, decided to act according to the injunctions of Iswara, sent away his retinue to Madurai, spent all the gold with him on the temple and stayed there alone.

Hearing all that had happened, the king immediately sent an order to Manikkavachakar to return to Madurai, but then how could he go to the king without the horses? If he wanted to purchase them, where was the money?

Not knowing what to do, he prayed to Lord Siva for help. That night Lord Siva appeared to him in a dream, gave him a priceless gem and said, “Give this to the king and tell him the horses will come on the day of the Moola star in the month of Sravana”. Startled at that vision he opened his eyes but the Lord was not there. Manikkavachakar was however, overjoyed at what had happened, put on his official dress and went to Madurai.

He gave the gem to the king, discussed the auspicious time when the horses would be arriving and then anxiously waited for the day. He did not however, resume his official duties. Though his body was in Madurai, his mind was in Tirupperundurai. He was merely biding time. The Pandyan king, however, sent his spies to Perundurai and found out that there were no horses there meant for the king and that all the money meant for their purchase had been spent in the renovation of the temple. So he immediately imprisoned Manikkavachakar making him undergo all the trials and tribulations of prison life.

Meanwhile, as originally arranged, on the day of the Moola star, Iswara assumed the guise of a horseman transformed the jackals of the jungle into horses, and brought them to the king. The king was astonished at this, took delivery of the horses and according to the advice of the keeper of the stables, had them tied up at the same place where all his other horses were kept. He thanked the horseman profusely and after sending him away with several presents, released Manikkavachakar from prison with profuse apologies. The same night, the new horses changed into their original forms, killed all the horses in the stables, ate them, created similar havoc in the city and fled. The king grew very angry, branded Manikkavachakar a trickster and put him back into prison.

Soon, in accordance with Iswara’s orders, the waters of the river Vaigai rose in floods and the whole of the city of Madurai was under water. Alarmed at that, the king assembled all the people and ordered them to put up bunds around the river.

For that purpose, he ordered every citizen to do a certain amount of work with the threat of dire consequences, should they fail to do their allotted work.

There was in Madurai an old woman by name ‘Pittuvani Ammaiyar’. She was a pious devotee of Lord Siva. She was living alone earning her livelihood by daily preparing and selling ‘Pittu’ (Pittu is sweetened powdered rice pressed into conical shapes). She had no one to do her allotted work on the river bund nor had she the money to hire a person to do it. She was therefore greatly worried and cried. “Iswara! What shall I do?”

Seeing her helplessness, Iswara came there in the guise of a coolie, with a spade on his shoulder, and called out, “Granny, granny, do you want a coolie?” “Yes”, she said, “But I do not have even a paisa in my hand to pay you. What to do?” He said, “I do not want any money and would be satisfied if you gave me a little Pittu to eat. I shall then do the allotted work on the river bund.”

Pleased with that offer, she began making Pittu, but they did not come out in full shape but were broken. Surprised at this she gave all the bits to the coolie. He ate as many of them as he could and went away saying that he would attend to the bund-raising work. Surprisingly, the dough with the old woman remained intact even though she had prepared and given bits of the Pittu to the coolie. The coolie went to the work-spot but instead of doing the work lay down there idly coming in the way of others doing their work.

The king went round to inspect the progress of the work and found that the portion allotted to Ammaiyar remained unattended to. On enquiry, his servants told him all about the pranks of that coolie. The king got infuriated, called the coolie and said, “Instead of doing the allotted work, you are lying down and singing”. So saying, he hit the coolie on the back with a cane he had in his hand. The hit not only recoiled on the king himself, but on all living beings there, and all of them suffered the pain on that account. The king immediately realised that the person hit by him was Parameswara Himself in the guise of a coolie. The king stood aghast. Parameswara vanished and soon a voice from the sky said, “Oh king! Manikkavachakar is my beloved devotee. I myself did all this to show you his greatness. Release him and seek his blessings.”

Soon after hearing that voice, the king went to see Manikkavachakar and on the way, he stepped into the house of Pittuvani Ammaiyar to see her. By that time she had already got into a vimanam (a heavenly car moving through the skies) and was on her way to Kailas. The king was greatly surprised and saluted her and from there he went straight to Manikkavachakar and fell at his feet. Manikkavachakar lifted him with great respect, and enquired of his welfare. The king said, “Please forgive me and rule this kingdom yourself.” Manikkavachakar, looking at the king, said with kindness, “Appah! (a term of endearment) As I have already agreed to serve the Lord, I cannot be bothered with the problems of ruling a kingdom. Please do not mistake me. Rule the kingdom yourself looking after the welfare of the people. Henceforth you will have nothing to worry about.”

So saying, smilingly, he put on the dress of a sannyasin and went about visiting holy places singing the praise of Siva."

[Spiritual Stories as told by Sri Ramana Maharshi]



Thereafter Manikavachakar led a life dedicated to Shiva worship and visited shrines of Shiva throughout what is now Tamil Nadu.

His devotional Tamil songs, praising his Guru, Lord Siva and His Grace which changed his life from worldly to divine were compiled into a single form and named as Tiruvachakam.

There are many autobiographical remarks in his Tiruvachakam which is full of references to the Guru-disciple relationship. This relationship turns afterwards into the lower and beloved relationship. here Manikkavachakar is the bride of the Lord Siva. e speaks of the complete stripping of his soul when he was united to God Siva.

“The Thiruvachakam relates an autobiographical story of the different stages of Manikavachakar’s spiritual life and experience which ultimately enable him to attain bliss ineffable and eternal. It is a torrential outflow of ardent religious feelings and emotions in rapturous songs and melodies. The work may be regarded as a convenient handbook on mystical theology.”
[Ramachandra Deekshithar]

There is a common saying that "Those hearts melted not to Tiruvachakam would melt to no other Vachakam". Tiruvachakam, particularly, the very first decad 'The Civapuranam' is daily sung in Temples and homes throughout Tamil Nadu.

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi

Tomorrow, September 1st is Ganesh Chaturthi, the birthday of Lord Ganesha. Chaturthi always falls on the 4th day of the bright fortnight of Bhadrapada (August-September).

Mushikavaahana modaka hastha,
Chaamara karna vilambitha sutra,
Vaamana rupa maheshwara putra,
Vighna vinaayaka paada namasthe

“SALUTATIONS to Lord Ganesha who is Brahman Himself, who is the Supreme Lord, who is the energy of Lord Shiva, who is the source of all bliss, and who is the bestower of all virtuous qualities and success in all undertakings.”

Swami Sivananda Recommends:

”On Ganesh Chaturthi, meditate on the stories connected with Lord Ganesha early in the morning, during the Brahmamuhurta period. Then, after taking a bath, go to the temple and do the prayers of Lord Ganesha. Offer Him some coconut and sweet pudding. Pray with faith and devotion that He may remove all the obstacles that you experience on the spiritual path. Worship Him at home, too. Have an image of Lord Ganesha in your house. Feel His Presence in it.

Don’t forget DO NOT LOOK AT THE MOON on this day; remember that it behaved unbecomingly towards the Lord. This really means avoid the company of all those who have no faith in God, and who deride God, your Guru and religion, from this very day.

Take fresh spiritual resolves and pray to Lord Ganesha for inner spiritual strength to attain success in all your undertakings.”

The Festival ends with the immersion of the idol on Ananta Chaturdasi Day (this year September 12, 2011).

On that day, statues of the God will be taken through the streets in a procession accompanied with dancing, singing, and fanfare to be immersed in a river, sea, lake or water tank symbolizing a ritual see-off of the Lord in his journey towards his abode in Kailash while taking away with him the misfortunes of his devotees, this is the ritual known as Ganesh Visarjan.

To find out more about this loved elephant God, read this article about Ganesha by Sri Swami Sivananda.

However we decide to celebrate this Ganesha festival, lets all try to remember to keep everything as eco friendly as possible and avoid the dreadful pollution and environmental damage caused by Plaster of Paris idols and chemical paints. For help in understanding the environmental impact of this Festival and what we can do to help, visit this link here.

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi to all.

Lord Ganesha and the Moon

There are many stories of the loved and popular Lord Ganesha, but one particularly connected with the day of Ganesh Chaturthi (this year September 1st) is a favourite with many. The story goes thus:

Lord Ganesha is very fond of Modakas which are sweet balls made of rice. One Ganesh Chaturthi day, the Lord visited the homes of his devotees accepting their offerings of Modakas. After having eaten a large number of Modakas, the Lord set out that night for his home riding his vahana the mouse.

Seeing a snake, the mouse got afraid and stumbled, resulting in Ganesha falling down, his stomach bursting open and the sweet Modakas rolling out. The Elephant God gathered the fallen Modakas and stuffed them back into his stomach, and catching the snake that had caused the mouse to stumble, tied it round His belly.

Seeing all this, the moon in the sky laughed heartily. The Lord furious at the behaviour of the moon, pulled out one of His tusks and hurled it at the moon and cursed that no one should look at the moon on the day of Ganesha Chaturthi (this year September 1st) and that if anyone looks at it on that day, the person would earn censure and ill repute.

The moral of this tale is that the moon who behaved unbecomingly towards the Lord is a metaphor that we should avoid the company of those who have no faith in God or in the Guru.

A Beautiful Morning

It was beautiful, bright and toasty during our early morning walk and Arunachala was shimmering in an early morning haze.








My doggie scamps and I (there are three more doggies out of this photograph) take our daily walk early enough to avoid the goats, cows and wood cutters who arrive later in the morning.








Sweet little Winnie (who is now one week shy of 4 months of age) has become a confident and eager explorer. She has already learnt to swim and is fearless when hurling herself into any remaining ponds or water bodies at the Samudram.






The mornings are the happiest time of the day for hairy Victor who loves going on walks particularly to enjoy the cool waters of ponds not yet heated by the day's sun.

Self Enquiry

Sri Nannagaru, a living Master who regularly visits Arunachala, and attributes his realisation to the Grace of Arunachala/Sri Ramana has stated that the core of Ramana Maharshi’s teachings are set out in the slim booklet ‘Who am I?” And that an earnest seeker will receive incalculable benefit by daily reading a small part of that booklet.

The history of the booklet entitled “Who am I?” is thus. Around 1902 a visitor to Arunachala, Sivaprakasam Pillai, visited Ramana Maharshi who was then living in silence at Virupaksha Cave on the slopes of Arunachala. On his visit the seeker posed a series of spiritual questions starting with ‘Who Am I?’ The questions posed were answered by the silent Saint in writing and constitute, what is believed to be, one of his first sets of spiritual instructions.

To download a free PDF booklet of “Who am I?” go to this link here:

Answers specifically addressing Self-enquiry can be found in another booklet entitled “Self-Enquiry”. The book was compiled from answers to questions asked by Gambhiram Seshayya, a devotee of Lord Rama and yoga practitioner. In the same way as “Who am I?”, the questions raised by Gambhiram Seshayya were answered by the then silent Ramana living in the Virupaksha Cave in the 1900s.

To download a free PDF booklet of Self Enquiry go to this link here:

To find more free downloads of the books and works of Sri Ramana visit the ashram’s website book section for a list of Ramana’s book. Free PDF downloads are typed on the list in bold face.

Quiet Places

'There are quiet places also in the mind', he said meditatively. 'But we build bandstands and factories on them. Deliberately -- to put a stop to the quietness . . .

All the thoughts, all the preoccupations in my head -- round and round, continually What's it for? What's it all for? To put an end to the quiet, to break it up and disperse it, to pretend at any cost that it isn't there. Ah, but it is; it is there, in spite of everything, at the back of everything. Lying awake at night — not restlessly, but serenely, waiting for sleep -- the quiet re-establishes itself, piece by piece; all the broken bits . . .

we've been so busily dispersing all day long. It re-establishes itself, an inward quiet, like the outward quiet of grass and trees. It fills one, it grows -- a crystal quiet, a growing, expanding crystal. It grows, it becomes more perfect; it is beautiful and terrifying . . .

For one's alone in the crystal, and there's no support from the outside, there is nothing external and important, nothing external and trivial to pull oneself up by or stand on . . .

There is nothing to laugh at or feel enthusiast about. But the quiet grows and grows. Beautifully and unbearably. And at last you are conscious of something approaching; it is almost a faint sound of footsteps. Something inexpressively lovely and wonderful advances through the crystal, nearer, nearer. And, oh, inexpressively terrifying. For if it were to touch you, if it were to seize you and engulf you, you'd die; all the regular, habitual daily part of you would die . . .

one would have to begin living arduously in the quiet, arduously in some strange, unheard of manner.

[Antic Hay by Aldous Huxley]

Lingashtakam

I bow before that Lingam, which is the eternal Shiva,
Which is worshipped by Brahma, Vishnu and other Devas,
Which is pure and resplendent,
And which destroys sorrows of birth.

I bow before that Lingam, which is the eternal Shiva,
Which is worshipped by great sages and devas,
Which destroyed the god of love,
Which showers mercy,
And which destroyed the pride of Ravana.

I bow before that Lingam, which is the eternal Shiva,
Which is anointed by perfumes,
Which leads to growth of wisdom,
And which is worshipped by sages, devas and asuras.

I bow before that Lingam, which is the eternal Shiva,
Which is ornamented by gold and great jewels,
Which shines with the snake being with it,
And which destroyed the Yagna of Daksha.

I bow before that Lingam, which is the eternal Shiva,
Which is adorned by sandal paste and saffron,
Which wears the garland of lotus flowers,
And which can destroy accumulated sins.

I bow before that Lingam, which is the eternal Shiva,
Which is served by gods and other beings,
Which is the doorway for devotion and good thought,
And which shines like billions of Suns.

I bow before that Lingam, which is the eternal Shiva,
Which is surrounded by eight petals,
Which is the prime reason of all riches,
And which destroys eight types of poverty.

I bow before that Lingam, which is the eternal Shiva,
Which is worshipped by the teacher of gods,
Which is worshipped by the best of gods,
Which is always worshipped by the flowers,
From the garden of Gods,
Which is the eternal abode,
And which is the ultimate truth.

Any one who chants the holy octet of the Lingam,
In the holy presence of Lord Shiva,
Would in the end reach the world of Shiva,
And keep him company.

Lingashtakam

Brahma Murari Sura architha Lingam,
Nirmala bashitha Shobitha Lingam,
Janmaja dukha vinasaka lingam.
That pranamami sada shiva lingam.

Deva Murari pravarchitha Lingam,
Kama dahana Karunakara lingam,
Ravana darpa vinashana lingam,
That pranamami sad shiva lingam.

Sarva sukandhi sulepitha lingam,
Budhi vivarthana karana lingam,
Siddha surasura vandhitha lingam,
That pranamami sada shiva lingam.

Kanaka mahamani bhooshitha lingam,.
Panipathi veshtitha shobitha lingam,
Daksha suyagna vinasana lingam,
That pranamami sada shiva lingam.

Kunkuma chandana lepitha lingam,
Pankaja hara sushobitha lingam,
Sanchitha papa vinasana lingam,
That pranamami sada shiva lingam.

Deva Ganarchitha sevitha lingam,
Bhavair bakthi pravesa lingam,
Dinakara koti prabhakara lingam,
That pranamami sada shiva lingam.

Ashta dalopari veshtitha lingam,
Sarva samudbhava karana lingam,
Ashta daridra vinasana lingam,
That pranamami sada shiva lingam.

Suraguru sura vara poojitha Lingam,
Sura vana pushpa sadarchitha lingam,
Parathparam paramathmaka lingam,
That pranamai sada shiva lingam.

Lingashtakam, Idam Punyam padeth Shiva Sannidhow,
Shivalokam avapnothi shive na sahamodathe.

[Translated by P. R. Ramachander]

Arunachala as Lingam

“When I approach regarding Thee as having form, Thou standest as a Hill on earth. If the seeker looks for Thy form as formless, he is like one who travels the earth to see the ether. To dwell without thought upon Thy nature is to lose one’s identity like a doll of sugar when it comes in contact with the ocean and when I come to realize who I am, what else is this identity of mine but Thee, O Thou Who standest as the towering Aruna Hill?”
[By Aquarius]

At this Shiva Sthalam Arunachala; the non-anthropomorphic form Shiva Lingam is a representation of the infinite cosmic column of fire.

The Hill itself as Lingam (and Lingam in the Shiva Sannidhi, Arunachaleswarar Temple) is authenticated in various scriptures including the Skanda Mahapurana (both sections) and the Vidyeswara Samhita of the Siva Mahapurana. The mythology of the Hill, its manifestation as a Lingam and the development of Arunachaleswarar Temple and the surrounding city of Tiruvannamalai (then known as Aruna) is traced in the following passages of the Skanda Mahapurana [.iii(U)]







Sri Siva said:

Let this perpetual and immobile Fiery Form of mine, famous as Arunadri, be present here forever.

Brahma and Vishnu said:

If it has to be so, O support of the Universe, let this mountain remain as the support of this Universe. But this brilliance is unbearable.

. . .

Hence it is better, O Rudra, that its refulgence be like that of an ordinary mountain. Let it stand with indivisible greatness. Let it be the great mine of salvation.

It discloses its own inherent brilliance and refulgence for the sake of the prosperity of this Universe once every year in the month of Kartika at the close the day of the constellation Krittika.

Although, at your bidding, O Lord, the Sondadri is the bestower of happiness on men, it cannot be worshipped by any devotee on account of its huge size.

Hence, beginning from today at our request our Lord should be present in the form of a Linga on the ground over the tableland of this mountain.

…..

Then there appeared a certain auspicious Linga there. On seeing it Mukunda and the Lotus-seated Lord (Brahma) experienced a great surprise. Bowing down repeatedly with great pleasure, they worshipped and eulogized it for a long time.

They caused a temple of the Lord of Sonagiri to be built by Visvakarma and a multitude of other craftsmen. . . . For the sake of the ablution of the Lord they caused a sacred lake to be dug there. It was fresh and full of (the water of) all the (other) Tirthas.

Nearby they built a city named Aruna for the sake of spiritual achievement.”


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


The Lingam identical in every way to the Hill, that was thus created by the Lord is the Lingam that is now at rest inside the Siva Sannidhi of the Arunachaleswarar Temple. Over the centuries the Temple grew around the Lingam and its enveloping Sannidhi, until the present day where there is a large 26 acre Arunachaleswarar Temple compound in which inhabits a multitude of sannidhis, shrines, gardens and tirthams.

In 1938 the authorities of Arunachaleswarar Temple filed a law suit regarding the ownership of Arunachala Hill which was being claimed by the Government as Forestry Department property. The temple authorities cited Sri Ramana Maharshi as a witness. On May 9, 1938, the Court sent a Commission to record Sri Ramana Maharshi’s deposition.

In this deposition Sri Ramana Maharshi gave his own opinion as to the nature of the Hill and its association with the Temple [which housed the Lingam]:

“There is an aitikya that this hill is linga swaroopam, that is to say, that this hill itself is Swamy. This aitikya is not to be found anywhere else. That is the cause of the glory of this place. The aitikya of this place is that this hill is Easwaraswaroopam and that the Swaroopam is full of thejas. Every year Deepothsavam is celebrated in the form of Deepam. Authority for this is found in the Vedas, the puranas and stotras of devotees. Also giripradakshina is done following this aitikya that the above said hill is Siva swaroopam. I also have faith in giripradakshina and have experience of it. THERE IS NO SASTRA TO SEPARATE THE HILL FROM THE TEMPLE.”
[Ramana Maharshi]

Antonio’s Destiny

"Antonio was a civil servant in a small city in the interior. One afternoon he saw two cocks fighting. Feeling sorry for the birds, he went to the centre of the square to separate them, without realising that he was interrupting a fight between two fighting cocks. The furious spectators beat him up. One of the them threatened to kill him because he was almost winning and would have won a fortune in bets. Filled with fear, Antonio decided to leave town. People found it odd when he failed to turn up for work, but since there were many applicants for the job they soon forgot the old civil servant.

After three days of travelling, Antonio met a fisherman, and feeling sorry for Antonio, the fisherman took him home. After chatting, he found that Antonio knew how to read, and proposed a deal: he would teach the newcomer to fish in exchange for teaching him to read and write. Antonio learned to fish. With the money from fishing, he bought books to be able to teach the fisherman. Through his reading, the fisherman learned things that he did not previously know.

One of the books taught carpentry, and Antonio decided to set up a small workshop. He and the fisherman bought tools and started to make tables, chairs and bookcases. Many years passed. The two continued to fish and they contemplated during the time they spent on the river. They also continued to study and the many books unveiled the human soul. Both continued to work at carpentry, and the physical work made them healthy and strong.

Antonio loved talking to the customers. Since he was now a cultured, wise and healthy man, people came to him for advice. The whole city began to progress, because everyone saw Antonio as someone capable of finding good solutions to the problems of the region. Soon people formed study groups around Antonio and many of these people developed into disciples. A famous biographer was commissioned to report the lives of the Two Wise Men, as Antonio and his friend were now called.

The biographer wrote for five months. When the book came out, it became a great success. It was a marvellous and exciting story of two men who seek knowledge, abandon all they are doing, fight against all sorts of adversity and encounter secret masters. “It was nothing like that,” said Antonio. “Wise men need to have exciting lives,” answered the biographer. “A story has to teach something, and reality never teaches anything.”

Antonio gave up arguing. He knew that it was reality that taught everything a man needs to know, but it was no use trying to explain that. “Let these fellows go on living with their fantasies,” he said to the fisherman. And they continued, reading, writing, fishing, working, teaching disciples, and doing good.

They only promised never again to read books on the lives of saints, since the people who write these books fail to understand a very simple truth; everything that a common man does in his life brings him closer to God."

[By Paulo Coelho, abridged]

Sri Nannagaru August Visit

Sri Nannagaru recently left his Arunachala Ashram, after a stay of more than 10 days.

A large number of devotees followed Swami from Andhra Pradesh, to enjoy early morning darshan and afternoon discourses held in the meditation room of Sri Nannagaru Ashram at Tiruvannamalai.

Sri Nannagaru, who was born in 1934 has been visiting Tiruvannamalai regularly since 1957. Even though he never had the physical darshan of Ramana Maharshi, he has taken the Maharshi as his Guru, and reflects that any spiritual attainments he may have achieved are as a direct result of the grace of Arunachala-Sri Ramana.

Sri Nannagaru’s states that his mission in life is twofold; to spread the fame of Arunachala and to disseminate the spiritual teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi.







In response to the question asked of Sri Ramana, “Is it possible for a sadhaka to realise without a Guru?” the Maharshi replied, “Once a connection has been established between Guru and devotee, a devotee can realise even after the death of the Guru. But only an exceptional mind can realise without previously having experienced the connection of a living Master.”

As well as realising without having the connection of a living Mater, Sri Nannagaru realised whilst continuing his duty as an agriculturist, husband and father. There was no question of him deserting his family and duty, going on extended pilgrims, or secluding himself for intense sadhana. In this way his life is a remarkable and inspirational example to those tied down with duties and responsibilities that one doesn’t have to retire to Himalayan caves, to connect with the Self.









There is a Brahmin Lady called Nartaki (who I will mention again in upcoming posts) who lived at Arunachala for most of her life. As a young school girl of 14 years and dressed in school uniform, she took darshan of the sage Ramana Maharshi the day before his Samadhi. She herself died recently after a long life of prayer and service. And in that life, she met many Saints and Holy People including such luminaries as; Sri Nannagaru, Yogi Ramsuratkumar, Lakshmana Swamy and others.

Of Sri Nannagaru, who she first met when he was 24 years old (before his realisation) she said to me, “I’ve always believed that the essential character of a person remains the same after realisation. And, of Sri Nannagaru, I noticed two things when he was a young man. Firstly, that he was very kind and secondly, that he had a wonderful sense of humour. Both those qualities are very evident in the person he has become.”



Sri Nannagaru:

“He is an intelligent, wise person who inquires into the heart for the truth. We get energy only from peace. You should not lose your peace as a result of small and trivial things. We should protect our tranquility and solve all problems. We should increase the span of time of a “life of love” . . . you don’t get the truth in books. You have to search in the heart. When you throw something into a blazing fire, you need not burn it, the fire itself will do that job. Similarly, your job is only to merge your mind in the heart.”

Winnie

Thanks for the kind emails from many readers of Arunachala Grace, enquiring about the absence of recent postings. Sorry. There are several reasons for the delay, but I hope that from now, I will be posting more regularly about life here at Arunachala.








But before that, I will introduce a new member of my doggie family, little 3 week old Winnie, a puppy from a pair of Himalayan Mountain Dog cross-breeds. Winnie is now over 3 months old and accompanies myself and my other doggies on our daily walks. She has already shown herself as absolutely fearless by jumping into a 20 foot deep pond of water. Needless to say, on that day she learnt to swim.

Lunar Eclipse from India

The Lunar eclipse on June 16th which will be partially visible in India, is a rare central eclipse where the Moon passes in front of the center of the Earth's shadow. The timing of this eclipse in India is as follows:

June 15th, 2011 23.56 IST – June 16th, 2011 03:04 IST







During a lunar eclipse, the moon moves through the shadow of the earth. Which means, that the earth is positioned quite exactly between the sun and moon and casts its shadow onto the moon. This is only possible at full moon and if some other requirements are met, depending on whether the moon passes the partial or the core shadow of the earth, we speak of a partial or total lunar eclipse.

When the moon touches the core shadow of the earth, the first parts of the moon surface begin to darken. If one was to stand on the moon, one would experience a total solar eclipse. As soon as the moon immerses completely in the core shadow, the surface of the moon begins to glow copper red. Towards the centre of the core shadow, the light fades and turns dark red to brownish grey.

NASA explains the Lunar Eclipse

To read the legend of the eclipse in Indian mythology, and for more information about what to do and what not to do on these days go to this link here.

The Monkey God

I have written many times about the beautiful Langur Monkey residing around Arunachala. To find out more about the Langur go to this link here and to read about the lovely Anjaneya Temple off the Girivalam Roadway, check out this link here.

The Langur monkey is held in high regard because of its historic association to the God Rama, so was particularly enchanted with the following story and video about a special event at a Temple in North India between the God Rama and the Langur.

. . . . .

The photographs below are of an event that occurred in April (2011) at the Kalika Mata Temple in Ratlam M.P.





During a recital of the Ramayana (story of Rama, Sita and Hanuman) a Langur monkey appeared. As Langurs are regarded throughout India as manifestations of the monkey God Hanuman, the crowds believed that the Langur had come to bless the function.



The Langur first went and sat near the singers and listened to their singing, then moved amongst the Swamis, blessing them and thereafter sat in front of the painting of Rama. He thereupon took prasad in front of the picture (sitting in the same way as the Monkey God in the painting) and after left quietly.





To see the whole lovely event, view the below video.

Video of Langur at Temple Function

Arunachala Birds

I hope by this time some of the readers of Arunachala Grace will have discovered my Blog Arunachala Birds.

The postings on Arunachala Birds are of Birds and Animals I have photographed or spotted either in my own garden or upon my walks near the Samudram Erie and Arunachala countryside.

As well as information about the species of indigenous and migratory Birds (and Animals) of Arunachala, I am also trying to supply information about the development of this area and how it impacts on the animals and ecosystem.

Indian Spot Billed Duck

Some of my latest postings on ‘Arunachala Birds’ are of the White Breasted Waterhen, ‘Birds’ Favourite Trees, Glossy Ibis, Indian Spot Billed Duck and a posting on ‘Explore The Tree of Life’.

So, if you are interested in ecology and connecting with the bird and animal population of the Arunachala area, I invite you to visit my ongoing and developing Arunachala Birds.

Sri Ramana Maharshi Oil Painting

Patrice Sena kindly sent a photograph of an oil painting of Sri Ramana Maharshi, that she is currently completing for an Ashram in New York. The beautiful and inspirational painting, that she wishes to share with readers of Arunachala Grace, is a 4 ft by 4 ft oil on a wooden panel.

Sri Ramana Maharshi