Letters from India

22. Tiruvannamalai - May 1985

Tiruvannamalai

May 08, 1985

Tiruvannamalai

Dear Family (…and others),

Well, I feel like bringing you up to date on the happenings/craziness here sooo… here goes:

Barbara and I left on the 2 PM bus to Tiruvannamalai. We arrived and were let off at the Ramana Maharshi Ashram at about 6:30 PM. We were showed around, got a room and had dinner there. It’s a place of Peace…the huge Arunachala mountain paints the background, beautiful. The ashram itself has a few one-story buildings, tiny office & bookstore; bare dining room and kitchen, the main temple; a meditation room, etc.

Since the Arunachala hill is Siva Himself, Siva is the One worshipped here, mostly in the form of the sacred Lingam. Nandi the bull (Siva’s vehicle, said to be Siva’s first and most devoted follower) is everywhere, always facing Siva or Lingam. Strong vibrations in the temple, very high.

We stayed in the ashram accommodation rooms that are in a walled-in compound outside and across the street from the ashram itself. Our room, #7, had two beds, a writing table, closet, fan and separate toilet (Indian style) and shower rooms. Luxury!!!

Nothing cost anything at the ashram – you get a room, are served breakfast, lunch & dinner, and are given guides, all completely free. But then at the end of your stay, you can give a donation. Anything you want but we were told by people who had visited there, that Rs 5 a day was fine. One Sai devotee friend, Carol, visited there recently, stayed ten days. At the end she asked how much she should donate and they suggested Rs 10! Cheaper than Parthi!

The program there is mostly only Vedic chanting and pujas in the temple - that’s it. So you’re not as occupied as in Parthi. But you do get Darshan – Darshan of Arunachala. One Sai devotee said, “I went there and had Darshan of Sai,” and it’s true! The mountain is so sacred, so worshipped, powerful and special – it is like having Darshan of Sai. No kidding.

The next day the 4th, we planned to go around the mountain. A Sanyasi friend, Sathya, had had a bad staff infection on her foot, very painful, and she said going around Arunachala was the only thing that made it feel better. So, so much for my bad-foot excuse! Well I wanted to go around the hill anyway, it was so special.

It was a full moon night, the most auspicious month in the Tamil year and a full eclipse of the moon from 12 midnight to 3 AM! A group of 20 of us trekked off around 11 PM, so we could go around during the eclipse. Usually takes about 4 hours to go around – it’s 8 or 9 miles.

But this group, they stopped a few times, once even for ½ hour. So it took longer. By like ¾ of the way through, Barbara and I were leading the way, far ahead of the rest. As for me, I needed to keep up a fast pace because when I slow down, I get lazy & tired. My foot didn’t hurt at all the whole way - ! But my legs started to hurt like the last ½ mile.

It was wonderful – soo sacred. Real blessings. The next day I felt a definite change in me – can't explain but something had happened. Special.

We finished at around 4:15 AM. Slept for a few hours then up for the day (the 5th).

Forgot to say, before going around the mountain Barbara & I went up the hill to a cave where Ramana Maharshi spent over 20 years, meditating, remaining in bliss. They’ve built a small temple over the spot (rather, an entrance to the cave). Very high, peaceful vibrations.

On the 5th, we went to the Arunachala temple in the village. It’s huge, huge - hundreds of years old. It was much bigger that the huge temple we went to in Madras, the famous one we were living by.