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Photo by DEV GOGOI

ARUNACHALA HILL

Each of the spiritual centers of India has its own character and line of tradition. Among them all it is Tiruvannamalai - Arunachala, that represents the most direct, the most formless and the least ritualistic of paths, the path of Self-enquiry, whose gateway is silent initiation. This is expressed in the old Tamil saying: “To see Chidambaram, to be born at Tiruvarur, to die at Banaras or even to think of Arunachala is to be assured of Liberation.” “Even to think of” because in the case of the direct path physical contact is not necessary. Hence, it was no accident that the Maharshi made Tiruvannamalai and its sacred Arunachala Mountain his home.

The Maharshi called Arunachala the spiritual Heart of the world. Aruna, which means ‘red, bright like fire’, does not signify the mere fire that gives off heat. Rather, it means Jnanagni, the Fire of Wisdom, which is neither hot nor cold. Achala signifies hill. Thus, Arunachala means ‘Hill of Wisdom’.

Tiruvannamalai, situated at the foot of Arunachala, is a town of medium size, 120 miles southwest of Chennai, an ancient village with a large and splendid temple. Certain yearly festivals draw large crowds of pilgrims to Tiruvannamalai from all over South India. This is especially so during Karthigai (also known as Deepam), which usually falls in November. On this occasion a beacon light of clarified butter (ghee) is lit at nightfall on the summit of the mountain. At Sri Ramanasramam, the greatest festivals are the anniversaries of the birth and passing of the Maharshi (Jayanti and Aradhana), which fall respectively at the winter solstice and the spring equinox.

Lingodbhava Murthy Shiva at the Matrubhuteswara Temple in Sri Ramanasramam

There is a Puranic story about the origin of the hill. Once Vishnu and Brahma fell to disputing which of them was the greater. Their quarrel brought chaos on earth, so the Devas approached Siva and besought him to settle the dispute. Siva thereupon manifested himself as a column of light from which a voice issued declaring that whoever could find its upper or lower end was the greater. Vishnu took the form of a boar and burrowed down into the earth to find the base, while Brahma took the form of a swan and soared upwards to seek its summit. Vishnu failed to reach the base of the column but “beginning to see within himself the Supreme Light which dwells in the hearts of all, he became lost in meditation, oblivious to the physical body and even unaware of himself, the one who sought”. Brahma saw a Thazhampoo flower falling through the air and, thinking to win by deception, returned with it and declared he had plucked it from the summit.

Vishnu admitted his failure and turned to the Lord in praise and prayer: “You are Self-knowledge. You are OM. You are the beginning and the middle and the end of everything. You are everything and illuminate everything.” He was pronounced great while Brahma was exposed and confessed his fault.

In this legend, Vishnu represents the intellect and Brahma the ego, while Siva is Atma, the spirit.

The story continues that, because the lingam or column of light was too dazzling to behold, Siva manifested himself instead as the Arunachala hill, declaring: “As the moon derives its light from the sun, so other holy places shall derive their sanctity from Arunachala. This is the only place where I have taken this form for the benefit of those who wish to worship me and obtain illumination. Arunachala is OM itself. I will appear on the summit of this hill every year at Kartigai in the form of a peace-giving beacon.” This refers not only to the sanctity of Arunachala itself but also to the pre-eminence of the doctrine of Advaita and the path of Self-enquiry of which Arunachala is the center. One can understand this meaning in Sri Bhagavan’s saying, “In the end everyone must come to Arunachala.”

Om Namo Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya

Sri Ramanasramam

Photo by Dev Gogoi - 28.11.2021 - Arunachala “Aprés Kartikai Deepam, 10th night 🙏”

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O Arunesa who shine! Having given up external objects and having meditated upon you in the heart by a mind which stands when restraining the breath, the yogi sees the light. He attains exaltation in you. Know this.

~ Sri Ramana Maharshi - Sri Arunachala Pancharatnam, V.4

Explanatory paraphrase: 

O self-shining Arunesa! Having given up attending to external (second and third person) objects and having meditated upon you (the real self who shine as 'I') in the heart with a mind which has become still by restraining the breath, the yogi sees the light of self-knowledge and attains greatness in you (by thus uniting with you, the embodiment of all greatness). Know this.

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“Seeing the light” is the same as “knowing clearly the form of ‘I’”. What is the light which is to be seen? It is the light of self-consciousness, which shines as ‘I, I’. Thus seeing this light which shines as ‘I’ is the same as clearly knowing the form of ‘I’.

The means he prescribed to see this light is meditating upon Arunesa. What is that Arunesa which is thus to be meditated upon? Sri Bhagavan begins this verse by saying: “O Arunesa who shine, [the mind] having given up external objects”. Therefore, since the name and form of Arunachala is an external object, it is not the dhyana-lakshya or object of meditation meant by Sri Bhagavan in this verse. He is referring to that which shines when all external objects have been given up. 'External objects' mean all second and third person objects. That which shines when all second and third person objects have been given up is only the first person. But though we call it the first person, the ‘I’ which then shines is truly not a person but the impersonal reality of the false first person, the ego. Therefore the real self, which shines as ‘I’, is alone the Arunesa who can shine in the absence of external objects. Thus meditating upon Arunesa, who ever shines self-luminously as ‘I’, is the same as scrutinizing “where does this ‘I’ rise?” Only by the effort to attend to self will the “mind which has become still by restraining the breath” be transformed into “that pure mind which is facing selfward”. Only such a pure mind will be able to see the light of self-knowledge by meditating upon Arunesa, who shines in the heart as ‘I’.

“Having meditated upon you, O Arunesa, the yogi will see the light”,  ‘will attain greatness equal to you’ or that yogi will become you.

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https://www.davidgodman.org/bhagavans-deposition-on-arunachala/

A 1949 view of the path to Skandashram on the eastern slopes of Arunachala.  Near the top of the photo is the clump of trees around Skandashram. 

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In the late 1930s Bhagavan made a legal deposition on behalf of the Arunachaleswara Temple which was fighting to retain control over a portion of Arunachala. In his submission Bhagavan spoke about his own relationship with the hill and provided evidence of the historical sanctity of the mountain.

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Bhagavan’s Deposition on Arunachala - I

Until the 1930s the eastern slope of the mountain of Arunachala was administered by the Arunachaleswara Temple in Tiruvannamalai. Prior to 1934, its right to do so had been accepted by everyone on and around the hill. From time immemorial the temple authorities had maintained the tanks and temples on the mountain, put out any fires that broke out, and arranged for all the forest produce to be sold in an orderly manner. The unquestioned authority that the temple authorities had wielded over this area had arisen because of the local tradition that the hill was Siva Himself manifesting in the form of a lingam. Since the belief was widespread and largely unchallenged, the local people felt that it was natural and correct that the main temple in Tiruvannamalai should administer all affairs pertaining to the hill.

This traditional arrangement was challenged by the Government of India in 1934. In May that year the Government issued a notification in the district gazette which stated that the whole of Arunachala was a reserve forest and was thus the property of the Government of India. The temple authorities challenged the Government’s order in court, maintaining that the temple was the legitimate owner of 1,750 acres on the eastern side of the hill. This area included all the tanks and temples on the slope of the mountain that begins at the back of the Arunachaleswara Temple.

One of the temple trustees approached Bhagavan and requested him to give evidence to the court that would support the Arunachaleswara Temple’s claim to the land. Bhagavan agreed and in 1938 lawyers for the plaintiff and the defendant came to the ashram to hear his evidence and to cross-examine him on it. Bhagavan’s initial evidence took the form of a written deposition. A small part of this deposition was recorded in Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, talk no. 492. The full text is given below.

I came to Tiruvannamalai in the year 1896 and lived on the hill from 1899 to 1922. In that year this ashram was started, and since then I have been living here [at Sri Ramanashram]. From the time I first lived on the hill, all the hill areas have been in the possession of the Devasthanam [the Arunachaleswara Temple authorities]. The ashram on the hill where I used to live was started in 1902. The building which is there now was completed in the year 1916. This particular ashram was built with the permission and kindness of the Devasthanam. [The permission was oral, for no written Government order or permission was ever received]. From the year 1899 until a date a few years after I left Skandashram, the front side [the eastern slope] of the hill was never in the possession of the Government.

Having given his views on the ownership of the hill, Bhagavan then cited a few examples of how well the temple authorities had administered the hill during the period when he had been living on it.

[Many years ago] a man called Saraswathy Swami lived on the hill. That Swami advertised that he intended to perform a ceremonial worship of an image of Lord Subramania [on the hill]. The Devasthanam objected and stopped it. In an official notice they said that the hill itself is linga swarupa [God in the form of a lingam] and that to perform worship of another deity on it, and to celebrate a festival there, was against the tradition of the sastras. On another occasion, when my mother attained [samadhi], they raised a precautionary objection that her samadhi should not be on the hill. They feared that we might build her samadhi on the hill itself. On this occasion also their objection was that the hill was Iswara swarupa [God’s own physical form].

In those days the Devasthanam authorities gave out orders that the wood cutters should not cut the trees on the hill. Every year during the time I was on the hill the Devasthanam gave licences to various people to cut the grass and to collect the other forest products. Whenever there was a fire on the hill, it was put out at the expense of the Devasthanam. On one occasion when we happened to cut some of the cacti that were causing an inconvenience to the ashram, and then burned them, the Devasthanam objected, saying that we should not have a fire in that place. All these incidents took place on the eastern slope. This eastern slope has fixed boundaries.

Bhagavan then went on the describe why the hill was sacred and why, in his opinion, the temple authorities should be allowed to administer it.

There is an aitikya [tradition] that this hill is linga swarupa, that is to say, that this hill itself is God. This aitikya is not to be found anywhere else. That is the cause of the glory of this place. The tradition of this place is that this hill is the form of God and that in its real nature it is full of light. Every year the Deepam festival celebrates the real nature of the mountain as light itself. Authority for this is found in the Vedas, the Puranas and in the stotras [poems] of devotees. Because this tradition maintains that this hill is Siva swarupa, the practice of giri pradakshina, walking clockwise around the mountain as an act of reverence or worship, has arisen. I also have faith in giri pradakshina and have had experience of it.

There is no sastra to separate the hill from the temple. The inseparability of the hill and the temple can be observed during Kartikai Deepam when the festival [of kindling the light] is conducted simultaneously in the temple and on the summit of the hill. Further proof of the tradition that the hill is the form of God can be found in the bi-annual festivals in which the image of Arunachaleswara in the temple performs pradakshina of the hill.

In the account in Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi Bhagavan is reported to have also said: 

‘Siva always remains in three forms: 1) as parabrahman; 2) as linga (here as the hill); and 3) as siddha.’ 

The third category refers to Siva in the form of Arunagiri Yogi whom Bhagavan said resides on the north slope of the hill. Although this quotation summarises views that Bhagavan had expressed on other occasions, there is no record of this remark in the court transcript.

The bare eastern slope of Arunachala around 1980. The trees midway up the photo on the left are the ones at Skandashram. The gopuram in the centre, near the bottom of the photo, is the entrance to Guhai Namasivaya Temple.

Bhagavan continued:

In accordance with the tradition that the hill is Iswara swarupa, the Devasthanam performs abhishekam to the top of the hill in the same way that it would do to a lingam. For the last ten to twelve years the cauldron that contains the Deepam light on the top of the hill is carried to the summit every year during the festival. Prior to this, for many, many years, the cauldron was left there throughout the year.

I am a devotee of Arunachaleswara. I have composed a poem in Tamil which says that the Arunachala hill is Iswara swarupa.

The Government’s lawyer objected to Bhagavan introducing this poem as evidence, but the objection was overruled. It seems that no one recorded the original Tamil verse. It now only exists in the following English translation:

Lord Arunachala appeared out of the hill and at the request of Brahma and Vishnu merged back in the hill. Simultaneously he manifested as the lingam at the bottom of the hill. The hill continues to represent the Lord.

A similar idea, which may be derived from this verse, can be found in the account in Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi: 

‘Siva originally appeared as a column of light. On being prayed to, the light disappeared into the hill and manifested as [a] lingam. Both are Siva.’ 

After Bhagavan had submitted his verse, the case was adjourned for five days. On its resumption, Bhagavan added a few extra comments on the traditions and mythology of the hill.

Even after this [the time when Siva appeared to Brahma and Vishnu in the form of Light] Ishan [Iswara] appeared to Devi in the form of Light before disappearing graciously into the form of the hill.

There are many ancient tirthams [sacred tanks] that exist on the hill. Among them the Mulaipal Tirtham and the Pada Tirtham, are important. There is a tradition that these tirthams were created by Siva and Parvati for the sake of Guhai Namasivaya.

The Government’s lawyer then began his cross-examination of Bhagavan, questioning him in detail on some of the statements he had made. Only Bhagavan’s answers are recorded in the court transcript. I have separated the text into paragraphs in such a way that I hope each paragraph constitutes a different answer. I leave the reader to infer what the questions might have been.

I lived in Virupaksha Cave for sixteen years. I lived in Skandashram for six years. I have stayed at this place [Sri Ramanashram] since 1922.

I constructed a building at Virupaksha Cave. No written permission was obtained from anyone for the construction of the building.

Skandashram was started in 1902. The building was completed in the year 1916. Even after that date some construction work was carried on.

At first it [Skandashram] began as a tirtham. Later it developed into a place of residence. Before Skandashram came into existence, moisture was found in another location nearby. Its source was in a rock that was twenty yards away. This tirtham is now located between Skandashram and Virupaksha Cave. It was only later that the Skandashram tirtham came into being.

Because it [Skandashram] was built by a person called Kandan who lived in the ashram, by his own hands, it became known as Skandashram. That tirtham [I just spoke about] is attached to that ashram.

No order was received from anyone for building this ashram [Skandashram]. Because I was staying there, no one objected. On the contrary, they approved of it.

During the time I lived on the hill, no written order was ever obtained from anyone to make living facilities. Nor was any order obtained when repairs were carried out in some of these places.

They were not done on my authority; others did them as their own work. I did not tell them to build, nor did I prevent them. In this manner Skandashram, Virupaksha Cave and Sri Ramanasramam came into being. The other ashrams on the hill also came into existence in this way. No written orders were received for their construction.

I knew about the notice issued to Saraswathy Swami by the Devasthanam. But I do not remember the year in which it happened. I heard that the notice had been given.

During the period I was on the hill, a vel [spear] and a statue were in the temple [of Subramania]. They [the Devasthanam] did not object to the statue being kept in that place; their objection was to popularising it through public celebrations.

There are places to stay both at Virupaksha Cave and Guhai Namasivaya Temple. It is not known whether they contain the samadhis [of the two saints who founded them]. In Guhai Namasivaya there is a lingam. In Virupaksha Cave there is an altar. In Guhai Namasivaya puja and abhishekam are done to the lingam. At the altar in Virupaksha Cave, only puja is done. It is the popular belief that both of these places are samadhis.

The time when Virupaksha Deva and Guhai Namasivaya attained samadhi may be around 300 or 400 years ago. I do not know when the buildings were first started in those places.

It is stated in the Upanishads and in the Skanda, Linga and Siva Puranas that this hill is Iswara swarupa.

I cannot say without referring to the books in which Upanishad and in which place it is stated so.

There was a jadai swami [a swami with long matted locks] who used to live on the hill. He died there. His body was brought down to the foot of the hill and interred. The same thing happened to Palaniswami. A samadhi cannot be made on the hill for anyone who dies there. They can only be burned after bringing them to the foot of the hill. Once a person died near Seven Springs [two thirds of the way up the mountain]. His samadhi was also made at the foot of the hill.

Jadai Swami attained samadhi about four of five years ago. The others attained samadhi after 1901 and before 1920.

I had no thought of having my mother’s samadhi on the hill. I did not tell anyone that the samadhi should be made on the hill.

I have omitted several of Bhagavan’s answers. Some of them merely repeat what he said earlier while others pertain not to Arunachala but to rather mundane matters of ashram administration.

~ David Godman 

☀ ☀ ☀ Continues in “Bhagavan’s Deposition on Arunachala - II”

The path from Skandashram to Ramanasramam before it was reforested in the 1990s.

https://www.davidgodman.org/bhagavans-deposition-on-arunachala/

Bhagavan’s Deposition on Arunachala - II

In one of his answers Bhagavan stated that verses in the Skanda and Siva Puranas supported his assertion that Arunachala was a manifestation of God in the form of a mountain. After the hearing was over, Bhagavan selected some verses from these two works and passed them on to the court to supplement and support his evidence. Bhagavan entitled this collection of verses Sri Arunachala Linga Pramanya Vakyani, which means, ‘Sentences giving authoritative proof that Sri Arunachala is a lingam.’ The verses he selected are given below.

From the SKANDA MAHAPURANA,

Maheswara Kanda, Part Three,

Arunachala Mahatmyam, First Half:

CHAPTER ONE

Sanaka said [to Brahma]:

9

O Treasure of Grace! O Foremost of Devas! On earth there are Siva lingams which are divine, which are installed by human beings and siddhas, and which are composed of the [five] elements.

10

Tell me, which lingam in the landmass that contains India is immaculate, divine, of undefilable glory, self-originated and effulgent?

Brahma replied:

22

Hear how in ancient days the wonderful and effulgent Siva, who is full of motiveless grace, manifested with the name of Arunadri [one of the names of Arunachala].

23

Narayana and I were born from Him who transcends the universe.

24

Once we two, who were self-born, began to argue with other.

25, 31

Seeing the dreadful enthusiasm with which we were fighting with each other, Iswara, who is the embodiment of grace, …rose as a column of fire between us.

Brahma said:

50

He [Lord Siva] assumed the nature of a motionless lingam in the form of Arunachala.

51

This indeed is the effulgent lingam, the sole cause of the universe, which is visible on earth and which is renowned as Arunadri.

CHAPTER TWO

Brahma and Vishnu prayed [to Lord Siva]:

31

Withdrawing Your effulgence, abide as a motionless lingam named Arunachala in order to bestow grace upon the world.

Brahma said:

50

He [Lord Siva] assumed the nature of a motionless lingam in the form of Arunachala.

51

This indeed is the effulgent lingam, the sole cause of the universe, which is visible on earth and which is renowned as Arunadri.

CHAPTER FOUR

Iswara said:

37

I truly abide here on earth in the form of an effulgence named Arunachala [in order to bestow] the attainment [of liberation].

38

Since It [this hill] removes the cruel accumulation of sins from all the worlds, and since bondage becomes non-existent when ones sees It, It is [named] Arunachala.

40

In ancient days, when a fight arose between Brahma and Vishnu, who were both born from a part of Me, I manifested myself in the form of an effulgence in order to remove their delusion.

43

At their further request I, who was in the form of effulgence, became the motionless lingam named Arunadri.

CHAPTER FIVE

Devi said to Gautama:

24

Siva told me: ‘I abide [on earth] with the name Arunachala,’ and said that I should hear the glory of Arunachala from your lips.

Gautama said:

42, 43

In ancient days Brahma and Vishnu, who had come into existence from a part of the effulgence of Siva, but who had become egotistical, fought with a desire to conquer each other.

43, 44

In order to subdue the pride of these two, who were fighting in this manner, Sadasiva, who is worthy to be meditated on by yogis, assumed the form of a column of fire without beginning, middle or end, and stood between them, illuminating the ten directions.

47

At their further request, Devesa [Siva, the Lord of the devas] assumed the form of a motionless lingam [now] renowned as Arunadri. Tranquil He shines.

CHAPTER SIX

Iswara said:

21

I abide on earth as the form of Arunachala.

22

That effulgent form alone is called Arunachala.

23

This fiery effulgent form, unmanifest and of the nature of limitless glory, cooled down in order to protect the world.

CHAPTER SEVEN

The devas said:

9

O Bhagavan! O Arunadrisa [Arunachala]! You who do good to the whole world! Although You are of the form of fire, You shine in the world, having become tranquil.

Gautama said:

5

Having been prayed to by the devas, Sriman Arunadrisa gradually cooled down and became perfectly tranquil as Arunachala in order to protect the world.

CHAPTER EIGHT

20

You [Lord Siva] are seen on earth as the famous Sonadri [another name of Arunachala].

17

Nowhere else on earth have I seen even one lingam in the form of a hill.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Brahma said:

42

This is Sadasiva Himself in the form of Arunachala, which is seen even as the supreme effulgence, the cause of creation, sustenance and dissolution.

44

This effulgent lingam is worshipped by all the devas. Because of this, the earth is considered to possess more dharma [than any other world].

From the Second Half of the SKANDA MAHAPURANA:

CHAPTER FOUR

Nandikeswara said:

12

There God, Sambhu, the one who does what is good for the world, has Himself assumed the form of a hill and abides with the name Arunachala.

14

This hill, which is Parameswara Himself, is considered by maharishis to be superior to Sumeru, Kailasa and Mandara.

58

Neither Meru nor Kailasa nor Mandara are equal to Arunadri; they are abodes [of Lord Siva] filled with huge rocks, whereas this [Arunachala] is Girisa [the Lord of the Hill, one of the names of Siva] Himself.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Siva said:

27

For the welfare [of the world], may My effulgent form, which is motionless and eternal, abide here forever with the name Arunadri.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Gautama said:

21

This Arunadri is the hill of fire itself in a concealed form.

From the SIVA MAHAPURANA,

Vidyeswara Samhita:

CHAPTER NINE

Iswara said:

21

Since this lingam rose up as a hill of fire, it shall be renowned as Arunachala.

41, 42

Since this formless column, which reveals My nature as Brahman, possesses the characteristics of a lingam, It shall be My lingam.

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Since the Skanda Mahapurana and the Siva Mahapurana are two of the eighteen principal Puranas, these verses should have been enough to convince the court that Bhagavan’s assertions about the sanctity of Arunachala were backed up by an authoritative scriptural source. Unfortunately, the issue at stake was not the sanctity of the mountain but the ownership of it.

Property disputes in India tend to be protracted affairs, and this one was no exception. The final judgement was handed down in July 1940, more than six years after the original notification. The two parties seemed to have reached a settlement out of court, the terms of which were incorporated in the court’s decision. The Devasthanam reluctantly accepted that the Government was the sole owner of the hill. In return the Government granted the Devasthanam the right to maintain and repair all the religious property on Arunachala and to enjoy all the income from the sale of the grass that grew there. The Devasthanam was also given the right to collect dead wood from the hill and to graze its cattle there. The Government reserved for itself the right to authorise the construction of any new buildings on the hill.

The path to Skandashram from Ramanasramam. This is how it looked in the decades prior to reforestation activities in the 1990s.

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In the fifty years that have passed since this judgment took effect, Tiruvannamalai has grown enormously. The town now has a population of over 100,000, all living at the foot of the hill, with many more living in outlying villages. As the population increased, nearly all the local forests were felled to meet the ever-increasing demand for timber and firewood. Arunachala was not spared. Nearly all the old trees on the hill were cut long ago, and sporadic reforestation projects in the last few years have failed to repair more than a fraction of the damage. The temple, although constrained by a lack of finances, has attempted to fulfil its obligation to the properties on the hill that it has been appointed to maintain. The other party, the Government, was, until the 1980s, quite successful in preventing new settlements from springing up on the hill and spoiling its sanctity. Unfortunately, neither party has been able to prevent or slow down the progressive environmental degradation of Arunachala’s slopes, nor have they been able to stop the annual fires, started by the local grass-cutters, which consume most of the mountain, destroying large tracts of vegetation and wildlife. The forests of Bhagavan’s youth have long since gone. With the local population still rapidly expanding, it will need a minor miracle to bring them back.

(First published in The Mountain Path, 1990, pp. 14-20)

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Postscript, February 2015

As you can see from the date, this was written almost twenty-five years ago. The ‘minor miracle’ referred to in the last line did in fact happen. Arunachala now probably has more forest cover than at any time since the 19th century. The local forest department has clamped down on illegal grazing and wood-cutting, and also planted many trees on parts of the hill. An NGO, founded by an English devotee, Govinda, has reforested much of the southern side of the hill. This NGO has also made firebreaks all over the hill to prevent the spread of summer fires, and it has a huge body of volunteers who go up the hill to beat out any fires that break out during the summer months. The wildlife is slowly returning. Some of the trees that are flourishing on the upper slopes of the hill have actually sprouted from ancient roots that stayed alive during the century when fires, wood-cutters and grazers were destroying everything above ground level. If this welcome trend continues, in a few years’ time there will be a mature native forest covering almost all of the hill.

~ David Godman