A Trip to Tiruvannamalai / Arunachalam….

A Trip to Tiruvannamalai / Arunachalam….

Day 0:

Before starting from home I called up my mother-in-law and Swamini Jyotirmayananda to take their blessings for this holy trip. Swamini Jyotirmayananda told aruna = no runa; which means that one can come out of all the clingings or bondages after visiting Arunachalam.  With that blessing started off from Hyderabad in Sabari Express to Katpadi. 

The mind is slowly taking a setback and the chanting of

Arunachala Shiva Arunachala Shiva Arunachala Shiva Arunachala;

Arunachala Shiva Arunachala Shiva Arunachala Shiva Arunachala

 is going on very gently at the background without any effort, completely involuntarily. Due to summer it is very hot and I had to keep a wet cloth on my head to keep myself cool. Spent some time in silence and some time in reading. Slept a bit early to wake up at 2:30am. Got off at Katpadi railway station and moved towards bus stop in an auto. Took the bus to Tiruvannamalai and it started at 4:15am from the bus stand. It took almost 2 ¼ hrs to reach Tiruvannamalai and reached there by 6:30am. Somehow suddenly there was an anxiety in me related to that of a child seeing its father after a very long time. Felt a bit strange. Moved to the place Shiva Sannidhi which is on the opposite side of Ramanasramam where I booked my accommodation.

Day 1:

I started from Shiva Sannidhi and went to Ramanashramam…, had the darshan and moved on to the dining hall and had breakfast of 2 idlis and pongal. After breakfast moved into the meditation hall and sat there for a while and started the Girivalam or the Giripradakshina, the circumambulation of Arunachala Hill. It is a pleasant experience. 

The chanting of

Arunachala Shiva Arunachala Shiva Arunachala Shiva Arunachala;

Arunachala Shiva Arunachala Shiva Arunachala Shiva Arunachala

is constantly going on at the background of mind.

Visited the first of the Ashta Lingams, the Yama Lingam and started moving along the path. After walking for about 9km got a bit tired and as I was not much used for long walks it was pretty tiresome walk across the stretch of 14km of Girivalam or Giri pradakshina. As it was said in many writings over the internet, …………………………. the mind does not function much. The mind takes a setback ……………….. along the path of Girivalam at various instances.

The identification with the body is very very less, …………………………… except for the pain in the body which is felt intermittently and the heat, there wasn’t any thought much. 

The chanting was going on….

Arunachala Shiva Arunachala Shiva Arunachala Shiva Arunachala;

Arunachala Shiva Arunachala Shiva Arunachala Shiva Arunachala

always at the background of the mind.

There is a sense of silence always all through the walking……..even after I entered the busy streets of Tiruvannamali where the Girivalam almost ends………the silence is present as substratum and is felt very clearly. I think it is that awareness of silence which is felt and makes whole Giripradakshina very holy and as a meditation. Visited at the end the Arunachaleshwara Temple also and came back to room, had lunch and slept. Because of the 14km stretch walk I think body got tired and went aloof.

Got up around 2:30pm and set a foot to Ramanashramam to go to Skandashramam. I asked a guy at Ramanashramam……. how to go there? He said it is straight up and questioned, “why are you going in the heat?” I said …… “I just wanted to go”.

I thought it would be too long to go to Skandasramam. The path is well laid with the natural stones from the rock of Arunachal Hill and within 25 minutes I reached skandasramam. And there it is……..the silence is completely prevailing. I sat in the cave for meditation, I thought I would sit for 5 minutes. As I sat, I could not realize that half-an-hour just slipped away. Then took the path downhill which is pretty steep to Virupaksha cave. It is hardly about 7 minutes walk from Skandasramam. Again sat there in silence in Virupaksha cave and there also again time just slipped away. Thought of sitting for 5 minutes but half-an-hour just went aloof. Then it was time for the cave to be closed. So got up and went downhill till the main road at the Arunchaleshwara Temple and then walked down slowly to Shiva Sannidhi.

Day 2:

Got up early and meditated in the room itself. After breakfast started slowly towards Skandasramam. I walked very slowly and rested at various places on the path and sat on small rocks which were laid a bit away from the path.

It is very nice to observe the nature from that place. The shades of the trees, the sunlight passing through between the branches, between the leaves, here and there sometimes lizard moving around making a typical bustle on the fallen dried leaves, wind gently blowing and every where the silence which is embracing the whole atmosphere.

It was anything more than pleasant…......... the whole atmosphere.

As usual mind does not function much. Spent about an hour in the cave at Skandasramam and went downhill to the Virupaksha cave and spent there also an hour in silence.

While coming downhill from Virupaksha cave, met an old man in a small building/hut where he prepared ayurvedic oils and selling them. Two types of oils are being prepared using natural herbs. One is for curing about 100 diseases (but more famous for healing joint pains) which is for both internal & external use and the other one for only external application. His name is Sri Valasitar and his Guru's name is Sri Sadananda Yogi who attained Maha Samadhi in 1993 after living for about 220 years.

The whole Arunachala hill is so much embraced in silence that one can get into the awareness of silence without much effort. I don’t mean to say there will not be any thoughts, but there will not be any clinging towards the thoughts. We don’t remember anything much about the thoughts. The mind does its job of wavering, but the silence also does its job of creating the absolute awareness of the intimacy with the cosmos.

Afternoon, I spent most of the time meditating in the room itself.

Day 3:

Got up a bit early and meditated in the room. Went to Ramanashramam and spent some time in silence. Moved all around the asramam and saw all places. Bid a final adieu. 

Came back to Shiva Sannidhi. Had breakfast and got ready to move to Tirupathi.

Overall it was a trip where No-thing was there and No-thing was felt. It was a Nothing-ness trip. Silence embracing silence.