Haven in Arunachala Countryside

Today I made a trip to the countryside to visit friends who have just purchased a parcel of 5 acres some 5 kms from the Arunachala girivalam roadway. After making sure that my own dogs would be well looked after in my own compound, I set off on my adventure.

The land is located at Periyarpalliyapattu, a small rural, unspoilt area with darshan of Arunachala. The purchasers a married couple (Philippe from France and Kiran from North India) are now busy overseeing the development of their land. A large crew spent a few weeks unearthing and breaking up large stones, more workers set up posts on the land boundaries which later will be fitted with barbed wire and another group of specialist workers have been busy digging an agricultural well. The well which is supposed to be 40 feet deep is already beginning to fill at only 10 feet, so the workers will have to be inventive in how they continue their dig. Only another 30 feet to go.

Next month work commences on a house, cottages and several other structures. All buildings will be made with local ecologically friendly material according to traditional South Indian designs and concepts.

Philippe and Kiran, who are devotees of Sri Sathya Sai Baba have already been given permission by local authorities to designate the area Sathya Sai Nagar. Their wish is to create a haven in the Arunachala countryside where pilgrims can concentrate on their sadhana in the shadow of the great Hill. I will be giving regular updates on progress on the development of their haven “Greenland”.




Arunachala from Land




Area surrounded by Hills




Beautiful Expansive Area




Vinayaka has Already Arrived




Nearby Pond




Babysitting my Friends' Dogs




The Well Crew




Hot Work on a Summer's Day




Well is Already Over 10 feet Deep




Checking out Workers' Hut




Their Ingenious Outside Cooker




Philippe with Doggies




Posts Marking Land Boundary




Kiran and Phillipe
with doggies Jodhaa and Akim

Thorny Bush

Now that the weather is heating up nicely, my evening walk with my doggies has been pushed back to as late as possible. But even though it is close to dusk when we start our promenade on the Samudram Erie, we often meet with goat and cow herders and wood cutters. This time last year a lot of the Samudram was still under water, but the rains at the end of 2011 were light and what little water fell has long evaporated.





One of the most hardy inhabitants of this area is the thorny bush which grows profusely whether it is wet or dry. As much as I love Mother Nature and all that grows under her loving gaze, must admit to having an imperfect relationship with this type of thorny bush. I actually believe this bush is spiteful as whatever way one approaches, its almost impossible not to get scratched or pronged by one of its sharp needles.





How the woodcutters manage to handle and cut the thorny bush is one of the world’s great mysteries, as even within a stone’s throw of these little villains, I somehow manage to get cut and injured . . . and I'm not even there to hurt them!






The thorny bush replenishes naturally, so there is a substantial growth of these small trees throughout the Samudram. It’s a very popular haunt for birdies, many of whom make their nests in the protective limbs of this bush.






From what I understand several institutions like the General Hospital purchase the thorny bush by the kg to use as fuel in their outside fires. But even if the woodcutters don’t sell the wood, they will happily use it as fuel for their own fires.





The ladies have probably been out on the Samudram since lunch and its now after 6 p.m. A heavy day's work -- but good success and a substantial load to either sell off or use at home.





Off they go . . .

Five Pancha Bootha Sthalams

There are five pancha boothasthalams or designated sacred spaces, where Shiva is worshipped as the five elements of nature: agni or fire (nerupu) at Arunachaleswarar Temple here at Tiruvannamalai, bhumi or earth at Ekambareswarar Temple in Kanchipuram; neer or water at Jambukeswara Temple in Thiruvanaikaval, vaayu or wind (kaatru) at Srikalahasti and as akasam or the sky at Chidambaram.

Arunachaleswarar Temple has a wealth of mythology attached to it which tells of its association with fire, heat, light and the sun. Primarily of which is the story of Shiva manifesting himself in the form of a massive column of fire, whose crown and feet could not be found by the Gods Brahma and Vishnu. A celebration of this manifestation is observed in particular during the festivals of Shivaratri and Karthigai Deepam. The lingam inside the Mulasthana of Arunachaleswarar Temple itself generates such intense heat radiation, that it is uncomfortable for pilgrims to spend more than a few minutes in the Siva Sannidhi.

At one time the authorities at the Temple planned to install an air-conditioner in the sanctum because of the reports of devotees fainting due to the extreme heat. But the plan was abandoned as a result of public opposition – as people felt that cooling the sannidhi would be interfering with the divine presence.



Arunachaleswarar Temple,
Tiruvannamalai (fire)



In Kancheepuram, the lingam is made of sand as Ekambareswarar is perceived to be in the form of earth. It is said that Parvati made the lingam from the sand on the river bank and did penance to unite with Shiva. Local devotees say both that the present lingam is made of sand and that the sand inside the temple is of a different colour to sand found elsewhere in the area.



Ekambareswarar Temple,
Kanchipuram (earth)


At Thiruvanaikaval, Jalagandeeswarar is in the form of water. The lingam is in the midst of water and a spring is present inside the shrine. It is linked to the River Cauvery which runs close to the Temple. Even when the river runs dry, water is present inside the shrine all through the year. Goddess Akhilandeswari is said to have been pacified by Adi Sankara. Devotees consider the Goddess to be more powerful in this place than Shiva.



Thiruvanaikaval Temple,
Trichy (water)


At Kalahasthi, there is no window in the sanctum and just one solitary lamp flickers. No one knows where the wind comes from to make the lamp flicker. Sri Kalahastheeswara is in the form of air in this temple.



Kalahasti Temple (Air)


At Chidambaram, Shiva is present as Nataraja, the cosmic dancer, in the form of ether. Though there is an idol of Nataraja, he is Arupa or formless. There is a separate enclosure covered by a screen in the sanctum decorated with bilva leaves made of gold. Shiva is Arupa here and this is also called the Chidambara Rahasiyam - the secret of Chidambaram.




Chidambaram Natarajar Temple (Sky)

Humble (By Nasruddin)

‘My beloveds, I remember a time long ago when I was still a Mullah. I lived in a small town. I remember one evening, we had finished our prayers. The stars were clear and bright, and seemed to fill the sky solidly with lights. I stood at the window, gazing at the lights so far away, each one bigger than our world, and so distant from us across vast reaches of space. I thought of how we walk this earth, filled with our own importance, when we are just specks of dust. If you walk out to the cliffs outside the town, a walk of half an hour at most, you look back and you can see the town, but the people are too small to see, even at that meagre distance. When I think of the immensity of the Universe, I am filled with awe and reverence for power so great.






I was thinking such thoughts, looking out the window and I realized I had fallen to my knees. "I am nothing, nothing!" I cried, amazed and awestruck. There was a certain well-to-do man of the town, a kind man who wished to be thought very devout. He cared more for what people thought of him than for what he actually was. He happened to walk in and he saw and heard what passed. My beloveds, I was a little shy at being caught in such a moment, but he rushed down, looking around in the obvious hope someone was there to see him. He knelt beside me, and with a final hopeful glance at the door through which he had just come, he cried, "I am nothing! I am nothing!"

It appears that the man who sweeps, a poor man from the edge of the village, had entered the side door with his broom to begin his night's work. He had seen us, and being a man of true faith and honest simplicity, his face showed that he entertained some of the same thoughts that had been laid on me by God. He dropped his broom and fell to his knees in a shadowed corner, and said softly, "I am nothing...I am nothing!"

The well-to-do man next to me nudged me with his elbow and said out of the side of his mouth, "Look who thinks he's nothing!"’

New Ramana Library 2012

One of the current construction projects being undertaken at Ramana Ashram is the development of a new library (to be known as the Sri Ramana Granthalaya) at the site between the Ashram dining hall and the back wall adjacent to the lower slopes of Arunachala.

The downstairs of the library is to be dedicated to meetings, talks and workshops with the library and reading room located upstairs.

Work has been nearly completed on this structure.




Main Front Door of Library


Ashram Wall with Arunachala
in background



Front Door of Library from Outside


Front Door of Library from Inside


Ornate Pillars at Library Front


Ashram storerooms located at
front left of Library


Open Downstairs of Library


Ramp on side of building
going to next floor


Side View of new Library





Photograph of new Medical Building
at Ramana Ashram


Hotel being construction directly
opposite Ashram side gate

The next two photographs are of the increasingly busy Chengam Road, which runs directly in front of Ramana Ashram.

Phases of the Moon 2012

I have previously made postings on Arunachala Grace on the relevance of the Moon at Arunachala, on the story of Lord Ganesha and the Moon, and also a posting telling of a charming legend called Moonlight.

At the time of this March Poornima (full moon) I thought it would be interesting to post the below video which has recently become available.

For the last three years NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has been taking high resolution photos of the Moon's surface. The below video was composed by the Goddard Visualization Studio, by using a selection of the NASA photographs, to show all the Moon Phases and Libration (i.e. oscillation) in 2012.

To read more about this project check out this narrative at Discover Magazine.

Arunachala Yoga Retreat 2012

In 2012 Mansoor will be offering a Silent Yoga Retreat at Arunachala. The venue of the Retreat is to be Sri Nannagaru Ashram (1 km west of Ramana Ashram) which is located at the foot of the southern slope of Arunachala. The date of the Retreat is December 15 to December 22, 2012. (The date of Mahadeepam in 2012 is November 27th).


“The Retreat offers an opportunity for yoga students to recognize awareness, to enter more deliberately into their Yoga and Meditation practice, and to sharpen their capacity to understand Indian philosophy through the study of selected sacred texts. Silence will be observed during the Retreat whenever possible."



Mansoor


"Mansoor was born into a traditional Muslim family in Old Delhi in 1954. In his teens Mansoor, by chance, started reading books by Ramana Maharshi, whose teachings were to later have a profound influence on him.

At the age of 17 Mansoor travelled around Europe and then went on to live in America for the next 24 years. There he was able to view life from many different angles and explored a wide range of spiritual traditions: Vedanta, J.Krishnamurti, Zen, Catholicism, Transcendental Meditation, EST etc. He travelled on pilgrimages, and at times was also actively involved with different spiritual organizations.

In 1992 Mansoor returned to India, discovered Vipassana and then started practicing Yoga in the Sivananda tradition. A whole new path opened up for him, combining the practice of awareness learnt in Vipassana with Hatha Yoga. Mansoor became a Yoga teacher, and has now been teaching and conducting retreats in USA, India and Europe for the last 13 years. His multi-faceted background, and his openness to embrace and to experience knowledge from many different sources, has given Mansoor a unique approach to stir and motivate students from all over the world."

Mansoor will be supported in the Retreat by Clarissa Mitchell.



Clarissa

For photographs of the venue and information about the Retreat structure please go to this link here.

Tamil Nadu Tourism

More than 14 crore (i.e. 140,000,000) tourists visited Tamil Nadu during 2011, marking a 42.34% increase over the previous year in which the State played host to 10.58 crore visitors.




According to the State Tourism Department's data, the flow of foreign tourists into the State was 33.08 lakh last year (i.e. 3,300,008) as against 28.04 lakh in 2010. Domestic tourists accounted for 13.67 crore in 2011 against 10.30 crore the previous year. Since 2008, the domestic tourists' arrivals have doubled while that of foreign visitors has gone up by 50 per cent.

Out of the 14 crore tourists, Tiruvannamalai received (81.05 lakh = 8,100,005), Chennai 1.29 crore, Rameswaram 97.58 lakh, Madurai (84.93 lakh), and Kodaikanal (79.10 lakh). Check out this link, to read more about tourism in Tamil Nadu.

Snake Lesson

I love snakes, not that I go looking for them, but for some reason our paths often cross and there is usually a snake either living inside the house or in the garden. This morning one of my doggies was looking fixedly out of the window at our current snake live-in, a very handsome Rat Snake (which can grow up to 2.5 metres), that was languidly making its way up a tree in the garden. His home is under our verandah, and we often notice him slithering around the garden and up and down the sides of the house.



Rat Snake showing off new skin


Sometime ago a beautiful Rat Snake made its home at the back of the almirah. It stayed for months and then one day it disappeared. The Rat Snake was soon followed by a Cobra. The Cobra who looked to be either a female or a youngster would spend its time either wrapped around the fish tank, pressing its belly against the cool glass, or snoozing comfortably under a bed used by my doggies.



Cobra's tail peeping out
around corner of fish tank

He was with us for nearly a week, and then one day I realised that a long term relationship wasn’t on the cards as the house is too small and the dogs are too many. I called for help and dear snakey was gently and expertly removed from my house and put into the undergrowth outside the compound.



Our friend sadly leaving
the compound

And talking about snakes, below is a very nice story about a snake. The moral of the story illustrates that of all virtues why people prize goodness most of all.


Snake Lesson

Once upon a time, King Brahmadatta of Benares had a very valuable adviser priest. He came from a rich noble family. He was intelligent and full of knowledge. He was generous with all he had, holding nothing back. People thought of him as a kind and good person. By practicing the Five Training Steps, he trained his mind to avoid the five unwholesome actions. He discovered that giving up each unwholesome action made him better off in its own way: destroying life, since you have to kill part of yourself in order to kill someone else; taking what is not given, since this makes the owner angry at you; doing wrong in sexual ways, since this leads to the pain of jealousy and envy; speaking falsely, since you can't be true to yourself and false to another at the same time; losing your mind from alcohol, since then you might hurt yourself by doing the other four.

Seeing how he lived, King Brahmadatta thought, "This is truly a good man." The priest was curious to learn more about the value of goodness. He thought, "The king honours and respects me more than his other priests. But I wonder what it is about me that he really respects most. Is it my nationality, my noble birth or family wealth? Is it my great learning and vast knowledge? Or is it because of my goodness? I must find the answer to this." Therefore, he decided to perform an experiment in order to answer his question. He would pretend to be a thief!

On the next day, when he was leaving the palace, he went by the royal coin maker. The good priest, not intending to keep it, took a coin and continued walking out of the palace. Because the money maker admired the famous priest highly, he remained sitting and said nothing. On the following day the make-believe thief took two gold coins. Again the royal coin maker did not protest. Finally, on the third day, the king's favorite priest grabbed a whole handful of gold coins. This time the money maker didn't care about the priest's position or reputation. He cried out, "This is the third time you have robbed his majesty the king." Holding onto him, he shouted, "I've caught the thief who robs the king!"

Suddenly a crowd of people came running in, yelling, "You pretended to be better than us! An example of goodness!" They slapped him, tied his hands behind his back, and hauled him off to the king. But on their way, they happened to go by some snake charmers. They were entertaining some bystanders from the king's court with a poisonous cobra. They held him by the tail and neck, and coiled him around their necks to show how brave they were. The tied up prisoner said to them, "Please be careful! Don't grab that and don't coil that poisonous snake around your own necks. He may bite you and bring your lives to a sudden end!" The snake charmers said, "You ignorant priest, you don't understand about this cobra. He is well-mannered and very good indeed. He is not bad like you! You are a thief who has stolen from the king. Because of your wickedness and criminal behavior, you are being carried off with your hands tied behind your back. But there's no need to tie up a snake who is good!" The priest thought, "Even a poisonous cobra, who doesn't bite or harm anyone, is given the name "good." In truth, goodness is the quality people admire most in the world!"

When they arrived at the throne room, the king asked, "What is this, my children?" They replied, "This is the thief who stole from your royal treasury." The king said. "Then punish him according to the law." The adviser priest said, "My lord king, I am no thief!" "Then why did you take gold coins from the palace?" asked the king. The priest explained, "I have done this only as an experiment, to test why it is you honour and respect me more than others. Is it because of my family background and wealth, or my great knowledge? Because of those things, I was able to get away with taking one or two gold coins. Or do you respect my goodness most of all? It is clear that by grabbing a handful of coins I no longer had the name 'good'. This alone turned respect into disgrace!"

The king pardoned his most valuable adviser priest. He asked to be allowed to leave the king's service in the ordinary world and become a forest monk. After refusing several times. the king eventually gave his permission. The priest went to the Himalayas and meditated peacefully. When he died he was reborn in a heaven world.
The moral is: People prize goodness most of all.

Walking Barefoot

Probably because I am so used to taking off my shoes and walking barefoot in sacred places, I hadn’t considered significant additional reasons (other than reverence) for walking barefoot whilst performing Arunachala girivalam. So was very interested to recently read an article about the health benefits accrued from ‘grounding’ by making a barefoot connection to earth.

Below I reproduced a short extract from ‘The Healing Benefits of Walking Barefoot’

“Have you ever wondered why it felt so wonderful to fall sleep on the sand, or lying on the earth looking up at the clouds? Do you notice how different you feel when you sleep on the ground under the stars?

Apparently you were experiencing the flow of the earth’s electric energy connecting to your physical body, which has been scientifically proven to promote healing and create a deep sense of well-being within us. You simply connect your bare feet directly to the earth and enjoy the organic healing benefits.

Our modern lifestyle has separated us from connecting to the subtle but ever-present energy that is on the earth’s surface. Many studies have been done that confirm the healing benefits of direct connection to the earth and some believe that the health benefits derived from this ‘earth connection’ may be equally as important as the Vitamin D we obtain from the sun

Throughout history cultures around the world have honored our connection to the earth. In Ayurveda it is called Prana and in traditional Chinese Medicine Qi or Chi. Native American tribal leader Ota Kte writes about how the old people of his Lakota Sioux tribe came to love the soil. They felt her mothering power and were soothed, strengthened, cleansed and healed by sitting or walking barefoot on her surface.

Research has shown significant improvements in inflammation-related disorders, chronic pain, sleep disorders, low energy, high stress, muscle tension, headache relief, hormonal and menstrual symptoms, protection from electromagnetic fields etc., by direct daily contact with the earth.”

It has been often stated that one of the benefits of walking around Arunachala, is the value of breathing in the scents of the rare, health giving herbs found on the slopes of the Hill. So if walking barefoot on earth is beneficial how incalculably more beneficial would it be to walk barefoot on the sanctified earth of Arunachala?

Ramana Maharshi would often tell his devotees that when he talked of Arunachala his words were meant to be taken literally and not figuratively.

In the Skanda Purana (Chapter 9 – The Efficacy of the Circumambulation of Arunachala’) verse 35 reads:

“If a person takes even a step by way of circumambulation, the entire earth is sanctified by coming into contact with the dust of his feet.”

2012 Mahashivaratri Festival Celebrations

The below photographs are a pictorial history of the 2012 Mahashivaratri Festival as celebrated at the Arunachaleswarar Temple here at Tiruvannamalai. To remind yourself of the programme for the Festival, check out my earlier posting.

It has become traditional at Arunachaleswarar Temple to decorate the floors inside the Temple Compound with large coloured drawings representing certain aspects of Lord Shiva and the Festival.

The first photograph is of a drawing of Five Face Shiva. To find out the significance of this aspect of Shiva, check out my link here.






The next photograph is of a drawing of Shiva with Parvati (as Pachaiamman). This aspect of Pachaiamman (i.e. green) is found in particular at the famous Shakti Temple of Pachaiamman on the Southeast slope of Arunachala. To read more about the Goddess, in the form of Pachaiamman read this earlier posting.







The below is of Seshadri Swamigal on the left and Ramana Maharshi on the right. Both of whom were known to have spent considerable time meditating inside various parts of the Arunachaleswarar Temple during their lives.






The floor decorations were created in the early part of February 20 (this year's date for Mahashivaratri) and as the day slowly turned into dusk and the evening, devotees decorated the perimeters of the Temple Tanks with small deepams.






As the evening turned into night, interested pilgrims started to congregate around the Mulasthana Lingam, where a series of puja were scheduled throughout the night and early morning of February 20 and 21.





Those more interested in cultural activities congregated at the outside Temple Hall (located near Rukku, the Temple Elephant) and watched a series of Bharat Natayam dancers.








And also a dancing display
from the younger ones


The famed musician commonly known as 'Drums Mani' performed a well received musical programme.




At 12 midnight on the 20th February a special puja and alankaram were performed on the Lingodbhava behind the sanctum of the Mulasthana Lingam.





Mahashivaratri is the only night of the year that the Ketaki Flower (screwpine) is used in the worship of Lord Shiva.





To read the famous story of the Shiva column of Light and how the Ketaki Flower supported Brahma's lie to Shiva and the consequences of the lie, check out this link here.



White Ketaki flower at
top of the Lingodbhavamurti


During the evening of this year's Mahashivaratri, statues of Arunachaleswarar and Unnamulai were taken on pradakshina around the Temple. As can be seen from the photograph, Lord Arunachaleswarar was adorned with the Gowri Ruthatcha Malai that had recently been donated by a Salem devotee.