Ramana Calling

A Revisit to the GURU's abode

A 100 thoughts hover around me!! There seems to be a competition among them. “Write me, Write me “ compete my thoughts. I finally took a deep breath and calmed myself. I slowed down my thought process and just forgot that I am going to blog my travelogue. After controlling my thoughts, and streamlining them, I sat down to pen a few lines.

Bharath , a land of brahma Jnanis is probably the most holy land on the earth. No other country has such a huge number of saints who have stepped onto this holy land and made it a spiritual destinations for millions of people irrespective of caste and creed. The contribution that our country has given to this world in a big way is her GURUS and their philosophies.

Lord shiva has 5 mains temples where he manifested as the 5 elements of creation. He represented agni in Thirruvannamalai as Arunachala, vayu in kalahasti as Vayu lingam , Space in Chidambaram as lord nataraja, Water in Trichy as Jambulingeswara and earth in kanchipuram as Ekambareswara. All these places are must see at least once in a lifetime.

Thiruvannamalai is one such place which has given a great GEM in the form of Bhagavan Shri Ramana Maharshi. Not only him, Seshadri swamial, Yogi ramsuratkumar are also from this holy place who have tried to preach love and brotherhood among fellow humans. They have elaborated about Amta Jnana and its importance to a great extent. The world only knows a few but there are several unknown saints and siddars in this place.  When we went to the ramana ashram, it was a wonderful feeling of being one with the lord. 

The main hall in the ashram where Shiva and Shakti are worshiped is a treat to watch. The dedication of the gurukal who does the puja is worth a mention. The garlands that adorn the lord are specially made and are of different lengths so that they can be arranged in a specific way. This gives a majestic look to the lord. The peacocks, the monkeys and the dogs that roam freely in this ashram are indeed blessed that they get to be in the company of satsang always.

The blessing bestowed on Ramana was instantaneous. He had a turning point in his life by which he transformed himself completely. I was just wondering, there are many such saints who have had such turning points in their lives, some incidences which changed their outlook and life drastically. I have read that even some non-believers are initiated and they go on to become great saints or bhaktas. Our lives seem to be going always in a straight line. There doesn't seem to be any turning point. Looks like the wait will be for long. This, was of course in a lighter vein that I was discussing with Sundar. A turning point for us is asking for too much. We must have done a million tons of punyam to feel realised which I am sure is not in our books of deeds. And this is possible by that one omnipresent alone. He must pick us to be so blessed. We must atleast start now so that after a few 100 births, we will feel realised.

The book shop and the library are adorned with numerous books. When we sit to read, the passage of time for a few hours seem to be a few minutes. It does not restrict to Ramana’s teaching alone but has a wide range of books on different philosophies and paths. The Anna danam or free food offered is extremely tasty. One noteworthy act is that anna danam is done everyday. Generally, we have food to our heart full and then give the remaining to the beggars. But here, destitute and beggars are first fed. It is only after them, we are given food. No one is high or low in HIS court.

The Arunachala temple with all its grandeur is a must see. Tamilnadu is known to have big temples. The prakaram, the deities, the gopuram, the temple tank are all huge and gives a sense of fullness when you see them. It also reflects the patronage that spirituality and religion were receiving from the kings who built these temples.

It was time to visit thirukoilur where we had been to the ashram of one more saint: Gnanananda. The ashram is quiet and serene. They too have a lot of rooms which are free. One must stay and spend time in the serenity of the GURU’s teachings.

The Arakandanallur Shiva temple is on a hillock with a cool breeze that beats the summer heat. The name of the swami is Athulanatheswarar and the name of the goddess is Soundaryakamalabikai. One of the popular nayanmars: Sundarar sang in praise of Lord Shiva in this temple. He had a darshan of the Thiruvannamalai hill from this place. Ramana also had been to this temple before venturing to thiruvannamalai.

The Ulagalanda perumal temple in the heart of the town in Thirukoilur is a again a testimony of the support that temples and religion received by the kings of pre independence period. We could not see the main deity as the kumbhabhshekam is scheduled for July 4^th. We could see only the presiding deities. This temple is one of the divya desams. The three alwars : Poigi alwar, Boothat Alwar. And Pei Alwar experienced the divine presence in this place and started to sing the divya prabandam. The divya prabandam is a collection of 4000 songs sung by the 12 alwars of the sri vaishnava sect in praise of Lord Vishnu. Time and again we are re-iterated with this tamil saying" katradu kai man alavu, Kallaadadu, Ulagau Alavu.". What is known is only a handful, what is yet to be knows is as big as the world."

It was 10.30pm when we reached the ashram hotel. The next day, we had just planned to spend time in the silence of the ashram. Though the ashram has a continuous stream of visitors, there is always silence. The meditation hall is absolutely calm. You feel totally disconnected with the world. A few minutes of meditation and concentration gives an untold happiness and bliss. “Pin drop silence” is a crude word. I would say “Feather drop silence”. The quietness and the positive vibrations felt at this place is immense and cannot be explained by words.

We left to Bangalore after having a sumptuous and tasty meal. The road from thiruvannamalai to Krishnagiri is pathetic and very badly maintained. It was the positive mood which kept us driving without cribbing.

Few Tips: If you want to avoid the bad road between thiruvannamali and Krishnagiri, you can take the more round path through katpadi. But this add anotehr 90kms t your distance.

If you wish to stay at the ashram and enjoy the serenity, you can write to them one month before your planned date. Write to stay@gururamana.org. The stay, food is absolutely free. But I am sure none of us would like to come back without offering anything. The donation that we make is very small compared to the bliss and blessings that we take back.

Of late, I have had the kripa of visiting a number of guru sthalams. It started off with Shirdi last year. I then started reading the teachings of Kanchi MahaPeriva. Then to Ramanashram, Yogi ramsuratkumar’s ashram, visit to the ashram of sheshadri swamigal and to thapovanam, abode of Gnanananda. I hope this anugraham continues. Thus begins the wait for the next call!!!

RAM RAM