“HOLY ARUNACHALA HILL – THE SPIRITUAL HEART OF THE WORLD”

Introduction

In the history of religions and culture, nature worship, in all its paradigms, as a definite and complex system or as a predominant form of religious practice, finds a very important place. The power of force within nature has been venerated as ‘Deus otiosus” – the indwelling God in natural objects like hills, rivers etc. Prominent mountains or hills are favourite places for worship. The psychological roots of the worship lie on the belief that mountains are close to the sky as heavenly ladders, the clouds surrounding the top of mountains are givers of rain, and that mountains with volcanoes form approaches to the fiery insides of Mother Earth. Mountains do serve as abodes of the gods. In cosmogenic myths, mountains are the first land to emerge from primeval water. The Mountain frequently become the cosmic mountain that is symbolically represented by a small spur of the hill where the God is seated. Kalidasa refers to the Himalayas as the Devatatma or the ‘soul of Gods’. Pilgrimages to mountains are favourite religious practices. The mountain ranges especially in Eurasia, from the Pyrenees to the Alps, the Carpathian Mountain, the Caucasus, the Himalayas, the Mountains of Northern China and Japan, the Rocky, the Andes, the hills of South India like Arunachala, Palani etc. are centres of worship of nature. In the early civilizations, the cult of high-places or hills are often closely combined with that of the earth. (Olympus of the Greeks, the mountains of Entil or the mountain of Mother Cybele in Western Asia and the Meru mountain of India are believed to bring heaven and earth into close relationship.

They are often viewed as the ‘World Pillars’, upholding the sky or heavens. Arunachala hill in South and Macchu Picchu hill in Peru are viewed as the two poles of the world axis. The Mountain deity of ancient Japan, ‘Yama-no-kami’ is the Goddess of vegetation and agriculture. Gods and Goddesses like Siva and Parvati have their abodes in the mountains. The Israelites also associate the divine presence with elevated hill-places like Mount Sinai (‘Bama’ in Hebrew). The hills have also served shrines for the Canaanite fertility deities (‘Baals’ and the ‘Asherot’) with the conquest of canaan by the Jews, Jews used these temples in hills to worship the God, Yahweh.

As seen above Mountains and hills in the orient are not mere geographic forms, but are worshipped as the manifestations of the Omnipotent. Arunachala, (Tiruvannamalai in Tamil) is one of the oldest and most sacred of all holy places in India. Sri Ramana Maharshi declared that it is the Heart and Spiritual Centre of the earth. Sri Shankara calls it Mount Meru. There is the mystic abode of Siva as Aruna yogi on the hill; and inside the hill is believed to be the abode of yogis. The legend says that Siva appeared as the Column of Light to settle the dispute between Vishnu and Brahma. Later He took the form of Arunachala the “Red-Hill”. Metaphorically Vishnu represents the individuality, Brahma the mentality and Siva is Self (Atma), “Arunachala is OM itself which bestows Liberation to all those who meditate on it” through ‘Atma-Vichara’ in Advaita. Here the hill itself is the ‘Siva Linga”. The legend says that those who circumambulate the hill (13KM) with its five spurs symbolizing five Primary Gods of the Hindu Pantheon, will witness and pray to the huge ghee lamp lit on the hill-top whose light is visible to several-kilometres for several days. This light represents Siva or the Self. One who meditates in Arunachala would find his mind effortlessly focusing on the Self and palpably feel the presence of Consciousness in the psychic plane, as narrated by several by several practioners from the East and the West.

Arunachala, the nodal centre for jnanis and seekers

As Guru Namasivaya says, Arunachala continues to beckon all the seekers and adepts through aeons. Rishi Gautama, Virupaksha Deva, Guhai Namasivaya, Guru Namasivaya, Arunagirinatha, Seshadri Swami, Yogi Ram Surat Kumar et al  arrived here through centuries responding to the call of Arunachala. Arunachala’s name became well-known when Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi arrived as a 16 years old, enlightened Self in 1896 and continues guide the seekers in spiritual enfoldment. Even after shedding his mortal frame in 1950, Sri Ramanasramam continues to attract millions. Those who arrive there feel the guiding presence of Ramana.

The Uniqueness of Arunachala

In India, there are innumerable holy places; many of them are more well-known than Arunachala. Yet, Arunachala Mahatmiyam declares “Arunachala is truly the holy place. It is the most sacred! Know that it is the heart of the world. It is truly Siva Himself. It is his heart-abode, a secret Kshetra. In that place, the Lord ever abides the Hill of Light named Arunachala” Other holy places such as Kasi, Kailas and Chidambaram are sacred because they are the abodes of Lord Siva, whereas Arunachala Hill is Lord Siva Himself. It is the holy place that bestows jnana and liberation. Since only a few people among multitudes want this, this remained comparatively less known. For those who seek jnana, Arunachala surely bestows them. The uniqueness of Arunachala is also brought out by the fact that in Arunachala, Lord Siva remains ever motionless (Achala), unlike in other places like Chidambaram where he performs dance. Hence here, Sakthi, the Mother Goddess effortlessly merges in Him through exemplary love and devotion. This is the place for Siva-Sakthi aikyam (Union). It is the foremost holy place because here, Sakthi who has created all this manifold appearance Herself merges with the Lord. For the aspirants who want to loss duality the most powerful place is Arunachala.

The Legend of Arunachala

Arunachala Hill is located in the town of Tiruvannamalai, 185 km Southwest of Chennai. Here the Hill itself is considered Sivalinga, the largest Sivalingam in the world. The legend has that once there was a despute between Brahma and Vishnu as to who is superior. They went to Lord Siva for arbitration. Siva told them he would take the form of a pillar of fire. One should seek and find its summit; the other should seek it lowest point. Whoever returns first is the winner. Accordingly Vishnu took the form a wild boar and started tunneling the earth. Even after having dug in infinite length, he could not find the nadir. He returned and confessed that he failed. Brahma took the form of a swan and flew upward to find the top. His effort was also failing as that of Vishnu. However, he attempted to falsely claim that he reached the summit. A flower which was falling from the infinitely tall summit was prepared to give a false alibi. However, Siva knew the fact and chastised Brahma. The two Gods bowed before the Great colum of fire which then subsided as the Red Hill of Arunachala. Siva gave the boon that whoever meditates on the Hill will get liberated.

Arunachala is the spiritual cornucopia that embraces all spiritual seekers. Saint Guru Namasivaya says that, “It is the great spiritual magnet that attracts all Saints and spiritual seekers from all corners of the world.” We can see that even today when aspirants and saints arrive here in endless stream, irrespective of race, religion or nationality. It is the quintessence Jyotir Lingam.

It is said that there are numerous siddhas in their subtle forms inhabiting the caves of Arunachala, bestowing spiritual blessings on those engaged in spiritual practice in Arunachala.

Girivalam or Parikrama

It is a spiritual sadhana to circumambulate the Arunachala Hill. The parikrama path is 13 km long. Normally the devotees are expected to walk bare-feet with slow-steps like a fully-pregnant lady’s walk. While walking the devotees mind should focus on the Divine; he is sure to get the grace of the Lord as well as the blessings of the siddhas. The devotee can see multitude of forms of the Divine in the facets of the Hill. He can also see face of Nandi, the divine bull on the hill. He also offers worship to the primary Gods – Shiva, Parvati, Ganesha, Subramanya as well as Chandikeswara at the ‘Pancha-Mukha darshana’ point, where the five spurs of the hill present a magnificently elevating appearance. At various points on the perambulation path, eight temples of Siva are situated to represent the lords of eight cardinal directions, who bow to the Hill. Devotees, who circumambulate, offer worship here.

The festivals of Arunachala

Though one can see everyday being celebrated as a festive occasion here, the important festivals are Maha Sivaratri day, where Shiva appeared as the effulgent column of light, and the Karthigai Deepam day. On the evening the Karthigai Deepam day, a huge lamp is lit on the summit on the Hill, representing the Divine Light within. Simultaneously lamps are lit on in every house in the area. The huge lamp burns continuously for nearly ten days, which is visible for several kilometre around. Literally millions of the devotees congregate here during these days. Milling crowds devotedly perform the parikrama.  Free food is given the visiting the devotees by several religious organization in the town as well as by the munificent resident. Several religious lectures, musical discourses etc are held every day during the occasion.

The Meditation on Arunachala

There is an ancient Sanskrit verse which says:

‘By seeing Chidambaram, by being born in Tiruvaroor, by dying in Kasi or by mere thinking of Arunachala, one will certainly get released from the cycle of births and deaths’.

The supreme knowledge, the impart of Vedanta, which cannot be attained without great difficulty can easily be attained by anyone who sees the form of this hill from wherever it is visible or who even thinks of it by mind from afar.”

Such is the assurance given by Lord Shiva in ‘Arunachala Mahatmyam’ about the mighty power of Arunachala and this assurance has been strikingly vindicated from the life and teaching of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi.

In the second line of the first verse of Sri Arunachala Ashtakam, Sri Ramana informs us that from his very childhood, when he knew no other things, Arunachala was imprinted in his mind as the greatest. And this ever-pulsating thought of Arunachala so worked in his mind that at the age of 16, the powerful focusing on death arose in him and turned his mind Self-ward to drown forever in his source. In his wittingly and talks, he has repeatedly confirms that mysterious power of the thought of Arunachala over the mind. This is the experience of great saints who came to Arunachala through centuries like Guru Namasivaya, Guhai Namasivaya, Virupaksha Deva, Seshadri Swami et al. The Saivite saint Tirujnana Sambandhar who can be verily called the father of Hindu renaissance in South India had the vision of Arunachala as a resplendent column of light when he was miles away from it and he sung a decad on his experience.

Sri Ramana, in his seminal bridal-mystic work ‘Aksharamanamalai’ repeatedly stresses on the powerful impact of Arunachala on eradicating the ego of the devotee: “O Arunachala! You root out the ego of those who think of you in the heart as Arunachala” (Verse 1).

“O Arunachala! The moment I thought of you I was caught in the snare of your Grace. Can the net of your Grace ever fail? (Verse 102). In the last line of the second verse of Sri Arunachala Navamani Malai (The Necklet of Nine Gems), he sings: “Arunachala, the mere thought of you bestows liberation. In the tenth verse of Arunachala Pathikam, he actually reveals how the thought of Arunachala works in the mind to root out the ego.

“I have seen a wonder, the magnetic hill that forcibly attracts the soul. Arresting the activities of the person who thinks of it even once drawing the soul to face itself, the One, making it motionless like Itself, It feeds upon that sweet (pure and ripened) soul. What a wonder is this! O Souls! Be saved by thinking of the great Arunachala which shines in the mind as the destroyer of the soul (the ego).”

The usage by Bhagavan of the term ‘drawing it to face itself, the one’ is the mystic way of saying ‘drawing the soul to turn inwards and face self, the one reality.’ – the path of self enquiry. Thus Sri Ramana reveals how the thought of Arunachala works within the mind to arrest its activities to attract its attention towards self and thereby to make it still. This is the ‘direct path’ for annihilation of the mind.

The form of Arunachala

Is Arunachala a mere geographic entity? It is much greater than that.

Arunachala is the Supreme Self that shines as ‘I’ in the hearts of all beings. It is the non-dual entity that transcends time, space, name and form. Hence the prayer hymns to Arunachala being mystic in nature can well be interpreted as applying to the nameless and formless Self, the substratum of all, not merely to the gross entity in the form of the hill. This may lead to some confusion. In order to comprehend the special significance of the name and form of the hill, in verse five of Ulladu Narpadu (the forty verses on reality), Sri Ramana says, “If oneself is a form the world and the god will also be likewise.” That means the world and god will also have a form if you consider yourself having form (gross form). Again, “when approach you regarding you as having, you stand here as a hill on earth”.

That is, so long as we identify the body as ‘I’, it is equally true that this hill in physical form is God. Because in our ignorance we identify that body as ‘I’, the supreme reality, Lord Siva, out of his compassion presents himself in the form of the hill, as ‘I’, so that we may contemplate on him or meditate on the hill and thereby receive his grace. “Only to reveal your transcendent state without speech (i.e., through silence) you stand as a hill shining from earth to the firmament (Sri Arunachala Ashtakam, verse 2). So long as we objectify the name and the form of our body to be ‘I’, we cannot conceive of God as being anything but a name and form. Even if we do meditation on the formless, that very thought about God itself is a form or a mental concept. Sri Bhagavan says, “If one tries to think of your nature as formless he is like the one who wanders throughout the world to perceive the sky. (Ashtakam verse 3).

Thus even the great exponent of Advaita knew the importance of the form of God for the aspirant in the initial stages; because the human mind is always attached to forms. Here also the form of Arunachala Hill is unique. The personal experience of great yogis bears testimony to the unique power of Arunachala Hill, a power that cannot be found in such abundance in any other form of God, namely the power to turn the mind inwards towards the Self and thereby root out the ego.

On realising this, there comes a sense of great wonder. Sri Ramana states “Lo! How many are there like me whose separate identity has been annihilated by contemplating this Hill as the Supreme.” Though Arunachala appears outwardly as a hill of insentient formation of rock, the true aspirant knows it to be the Omniscient, Omni-potent, Omni-loving Supreme God, who is guiding him from within and without at every step and at every turn of life, leading him steadily towards the goal of egolessness. “What a wonder! It stands as if it is an insentient hill, yet its action is mysterious-impossible for anyone to understand (Arunachala Ashakam, verse 1).

The Name of Arunachala

‘Arunachala Siva’ is a great mantra. It is said that Sri Satya Baba, at the very first public announcement of his incarnation of Shirdi Saibaba, has sung the refrain “Arunachala Siva”. Sri Ramana has sung the Marital Garland of Letters with each couplet ending with the name of Arunachala with the refrain ‘Arunachala Siva’. The name ‘Arunachala’ is no less powerful than the form of Arunachala “O Arunachala! The very moment I thought of your name, you caught me and drew me to yourself. Who can understand yourself? Michael James writes: Though Sri Bhagavan never gave mantra diksha, nor formally accepted anyone as his disciple, many devotees believe that Arunachala is the nama-mantra that he has bestowed upon the whole world. When a Guru formally gives a mantra to his disciple, he explains to him the meaning and significance of each letter of the mantra and, tells him the fruit to be gained by meditating upon that mantra in the same manner, in the second verse of Arunachala Navamani Malai, Sri Bhagavan has explained each syllable in the name of Arunachala and has declared that mere thought of this name will bestow liberation. From this, we can infer that Arunachala is the Jnana-Panchakshari, the five-syllable-mantra that bestows jnana. Moreover, tradition tells us that when a mantra is given by a jnani and when he explains the  significance of each syllable of the mantra, he is actually putting his own power into that mantra [Michael James in “The Mountain Path” 1982, pp. 75-84.) A devotee who had written the name ‘Arunachala Siva’ several thousand times in a note-book and wanted to die in Kasi to get liberation, Sri Ramana told him ‘Smaranat Arunachala’, which means ‘by remembering Arunachala (you will get liberation), this being the last sentence of the verse which mentions that death in Kasi will bestow liberation.

Arunachala Mahatmyam says “One Arunachala is equal to One Crore ‘Om Namasivaya’. Not everyone can see Chidambaram, not everyone can be born in Tiruvaroor, not everyone can die in Kasi, but everyone can chant of Arunachala from wherever they are will certainly be liberated.

Antipode to Arunachala-The Macchu picchu Hill

There is a defnite antipode to everything on the surface of the planet. And there is an antipode of Arunachala! The Antipode of Arunachala is a hill or mountain in the sea which correlates exactly to the opposite coordinates of Arunachala on Earth.

Reading the following extract from A Sadhu's Reminiscence, by Sadhu Arunachala (Major A. W. Chadwick), it would appear that Bhagavan was quite certain about a corresponding holy hill exactly opposite the globe to Arunachala. Major Chadwick writes:

“He used to say that Arunachala was the top of the spiritual axis of the earth. 'There must,' he said, 'be another mountain corresponding to Arunachala at exactly the opposite side of the globe, the corresponding pole of the axis.' So certain was he of this that one evening he made me fetch an atlas and see if this was not correct. I found, according to the atlas, the exact opposite point came in the sea about a hundred miles off the coast of Peru. He seemed doubtful about this. I pointed out that there might be some island at this spot or a mountain under the sea. It was not until some years after Bhagavan's passing that a visiting Englishman had a tale of a spot, supposed to be a great secret-power centre, in the Andes somewhere in this latitude. Later I found that though a centre had certainly been started, it had failed. Since then I have been told of another person who is practising meditation in solitude in the region of the Andes in Ecuador. So it does appear as though there were some strange attraction about that part of the globe. The earth is not an exact sphere and maps are not so accurate as all that, so we are unable to pin it down to any definite point. It is quite possible that more is going on in that part of the world than we know and this would fit in well with what Bhagavan said. However, I could never discuss the matter with Bhagavan, as it was not until many years after his passing that I had any indication that anything of this sort was happening in those parts. I had many years ago travelled extensively in that country, but had never seen anything which would lead me to think that there might be important spiritual centres there."

Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi always insisted that the Holy Hill Arunachala was the spiritual axis of the world, even in a physical sense, similar to the geographical North Pole, with a South Pole axis. So strongly did he maintain the view that another holy hill existed on the opposite side of the globe to Arunachala - which was itself remarkable since he normally did not take very rigid positions except on matters concerning the Self and the Heart - that he once made a devotee pull out a world atlas and look for a similar mountain opposite to Arunachala. The only mention we have of this endeavor was that the search indicated a spot on the continental shelf beneath the Pacific Ocean immediately off the coast of Peru. No further effort seems to have been spent after this, though it appears that Bhagavan may not have supported the conclusion of that research, since he seemed convinced that a land-based mountain existed at the other end of this "spiritual axis".

The Latitude/longitude Coordinates of Arunachala (Tiruvannamalai) are: 12n13, 79e04

In the high Andes mountains of Peru that is reputed to be a site of great spiritual force there exist, called Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu was discovered by Yale archeologist Hiram Bingham in 1911, and is the site of an ancient Inca temple city. This city appears to have evaded discovery by the marauding armies of the Spanish Conquistadors, yet it represents one of the immense mysteries of the Inca civilization. It appears the Machu Picchu Mountain itself was known as sacred to the Incas from a time before their own civilization, since the Inca's speak of the mountain as the "Ancient One," who preceded the civilization of their ancestors.

There are several striking parallels between the Machu Picchu site and the Shakti culture. The Inca's worshipped Machu Picchu as the manifestation of the Divine Mother Goddess of the Universe. They referred to Her as “Paachamama”, a name that bears a striking similarity to the name “Pachaiamman” used for Parvathi in South Indian shrines. [In the early 1900s, the Maharshi spent many months at the Pachaiamman Temple at the foot of the Hill, outside the town of Tiruvannamalai.] The architecture of the temple city was astrologically and astronomically determined. Various points of the city serve as a kind of giant sextant or observatory from where specific constellations and celestial objects can be plotted and observed. A closer look at the topology of the city reveals a striking resemblance to the Sri Chakra, the Meru architectural topology that characterizes Indian Shakti shrines.

Geologists have pointed out  that the eastern Ghats of the Deccan plateau  as the oldest land formation in the globe.

The form of the Arunachala Hill resembles Srichakra, the emblem of the cosmos with its substratum.

Arunachala   Hill is one of light.  People at times can see manifestation of light on the Hill. In the early years, a French Devotee, Sujata Sen,  once spent the night on the Hill in protest against an order of Ramanashram Management in not allowing women devotes to remain in the Ashram after dark.  Sujata dwelt on her grievance of not being allowed to be near  Bhagavan’s radiant silence in later hours.  Her mind was a tota;lly one-pointed on the thought of   Bhagavan during this in the night.  Next morning she informed Osborne that she was taken inside the Hill by the Siddhas and found a whole mystic world in it.  Years later, another devotee S.N.Tandon had a similar experience which he described in detail.  (Mountain Path, April 1970). He is reminiscent of Dante’s description in the Divine comedy leading by stages to light on which manifestations disappear in the pure feeling of  I-am-ness .Jnanis say that the Universe is like a painting on a screen,  the screen being Arunachala.  That which rises and sinks is made up only of what it rises from. The finality of Universe is Arunachala. Meditating on Arunachala or the Self, there is a vibration “I”. Tracing its,  source the primal I-I alone remains and is expressible “Arunachala” is the centre and the path where physical communication with Guru is not necessary. The silent teaching acts and speaks to the Heart.

On the psychic plane, multiple individuals with siddhic/occult capacities have separately asserted on visiting Machu Picchu that the city is a place where the feminine aspect of the Universe is especially palpable.

Lastly, the Latitude/longitude coordinates of Machu Picchu are: 13s 07, 72w 34. While the geographical coordinates are not exactly opposite of those of Arunachala, it would be unreasonable to expect it would be exact since the earth is not a precise sphere.

As in the lifetime of Bhagavan, as also now , one can turn and speak to Arunachala Ramana far more effectively in one’s own words.

Finally, Go to Arunachala and meditate upon the glorious hill of God. You will surely transcend the eternal cycle of births and deaths and abide in Him forever!