The Glory Of Giripradakshina Of The Holy Hill Of Arunachala

By Muktha Manu and Peter Berking

The Holy Hill of Arunachala is one of the oldest and most sacred holy places in India. Lord Shiva, the very embodiment of wisdom, out of His supreme compassion and to bless the world, manifested in the form of the Holy Hill. This led devotees to start the practice of Giripradakshina, walking around the Holy Hill as an act of reverence and worship.
Devotees who come from far and wide together to worship the Swayambhu lingam thus understand that they are not doing Giripradakshina around an ordinary hill of rocks and mud, but to Lord Arunachala Himself. It is one of the most important forms of worship of Lord Shiva and, in fact, one of the most efficacious forms of sadhana.
Giripradakshina has been practiced since time immemorial by saints, sages, devotees, and siddhas. Authoritative references to this fact are found in the Vedas, Puranas, Stotras, and devotional hymns. The importance of Giripradakshina and the benefits that accrue from it have been proclaimed by Lord Shiva Himself. He is ever ready to grant the prayers of devotees who go around the Hill, remembering its nature and seeking its blessings.

Bhagavan Ramana declared that the holy Hill of Arunachala is the heart of the earth, the spiritual centre of the world. He expressed His adoration in action, by doing Pradakshina to the Sacred Hill countless times. While emphasizing the importance of Self-enquiry, Bhagavan Sri Ramana taught His devotees the importance of Giripradakshina by His own example.

Let us humbly Pray to Arunachala Ramana to Grace us with the strength to do the circumambulation of the Holy Hill of Arunachala with devotion.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Muktha Manu
• Release date: May 17, 2013
• ISBN: 9789382788249

Muktha Manu

Mrs Muktha Manu is a devotee of Bhagavan Sri Ramana and resides in Bangalore. She came into the fold of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi when she got married in 1965 through the family of her husband, Sri. R. Manu. She was hardly aware when she was young that she could write books. She was inspired and blessed by Bhagavan to write books on Lord Arunachala and Sri Bhagavan Ramana at the age of 64. She has written books both in English and in her mother tongue Kannada. She has written two books in Kannada, ‘Prani Mitra Bhagavan Ramana’ and ‘Arunachala Mahatme’ and two in English ‘A Guide to Giripradakshina’ with Sri. Richard Clark and Sri. Peter Berking and ‘Bhagavan Ramana, A Friend of All’, which are published by Sri Ramanasramam, Thiruvannamalai, and all of them have been reprinted.

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1

ARUNACHALA THE DIVINE HILL

THE SPIRITUAL CENTRE OF THE WORLD

There is no greater holy spot than Aruna,

There is no greater Lord than Arunachaleshwara

There is no greater penance than circumbulation of

Arunachala

– Skanda Purana

Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi was drawn to Lord Arunachala, leaving His home in Madurai as a teenager. Henceforth He never left its proximity; such was the intensity of His devotion to the Divine Hill. His devotion is expressed in the many hymns He wrote, full of emotion and bhakti [devotional worship]. Bhagavan sang in the following verse:

To search for God ignoring You who stand as Being and shine as Awareness is like looking, lamp in hand, for darkness. In order to reveal Yourself at last as Being and Awareness, You dwell in various forms in all religions. If still there are people who fail to see You whose Being is Awareness, they are no better than the blind who do not know the Sun. O mighty mountain Aruna, peerless Jewel, stand and shine, One without a second, the Self within my Heart.

– Sri Arunachala Ashtakam, verse 4,

translation by Prof K. Swaminathan

The Holy Hill of Arunachala in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu is one of the oldest and most sacred holy places related to Lord Shiva in India. It has been attracting seekers of Truth from time immemorial due to its deep mystical quality and timeless spiritual resplendence. The Skanda Purana declares: This is the holy place. Of all, Arunachala is the most sacred. It is the heart of the world. Know it to be the secret and sacred Heart-centre of Siva. In the Maheshwara Khanda of the Skandapurana, sage Veda Vyasa explains in detail the glory of Arunachala in thirty-seven chapters. In the Lingapurana also the glory of Arunachala is narrated in detail.

Bhagavan Ramana declared that it is the heart of the earth, the spiritual centre of the world. Sri Adi Shankara spoke of it as Mount Meru. Arunachala’s magnetism has attracted devotees and the seekers of the Truth from time immemorial. It is the abode of the Supreme, where sages and Self-realized beings walk the earth. It is worshipped by saints, scholars and simple folk alike.

After the advent of Bhagavan Ramana to Arunachala in 1896, and as the fame of Arunachala-Ramana spread far and wide, there has been a tremendous influx of devotees from all over the world to Arunachala. Regardless of religion, caste, race, or creed, pilgrims have come together to worship the Swayambhu lingam [self- created symbol of the formless reality] of Arunachaleshwara, and to go round the Holy Hill reverently, and to worship Bhagavan Ramana, the human manifestation of Arunachala. Arunachala has thus been a universal, silent, guiding beacon for spiritual aspirants.

Seekers of Truth have realised that Arunachala is their own all-pervading Self which has taken the form of the Holy Hill to attract devotees to itself. The Vedas and Sastras mention a number of significant signs and symbols. The symbol of Sri Chakra pertaining to Shakti has great mystical powers. Arunachala and Tiruvannamalai itself possess the natural formation of Sri Chakra. Shaktas [followers of Shakti, the female form of the Divine Mother and protector of creation] worship Arunachala as the Symbol of Sri Chakra.

The symbol pertaining to Vishnu is the disc Sudarsana, the concentration of spiritual and temporal energy. Vaishnavites [followers of the male deity Vishnu, the sustainer of the creation] worship Arunachala as Sudarsana Giri. Both Shaktas and Vaishnavites derive their form and power from the supreme Lord Arunachala Siva by worshipping Him. This has been observed by the scholar devotee of Bhagavan, Kavyakanta Ganapati Muni, who cited Adi Sankara’s verse in support of this. This point also has been endorsed by Bhagavan Ramana.

Arunachala’s compassion is evident in the easy and gentle path that it provides for devotees who want to worship it. It allows the aspirant to follow his own chosen discipline according to the innate tendencies of the mind, thus adapting to the aspirant’s individual needs. The aspirant performs whatever sadhana [spiritual practice] has been laid down by his particular system of discipline or what his guru teaches. But as the sadhaka [spiritual seeker] progresses steadfastly and sincerely in his sadhana, Arunachala slowly turns him towards Himself. Finally, sadhaka and sadhana cease, and all that remains is the eternal Self, Arunachala. With the dissolution of the mind comes the dissolution of all systems and practices. All sadhakas eventually merge into that infinite expanse of Knowledge. They become one with Arunachala, their own Self.

The first record of the glory of Arunachala is in the Rigveda, acknowledged as the most ancient scripture in the world. Arunachala is extolled in the Rigveda as the embodiment of SadaShiva, the great Mahadeva. In the Rigveda there is a reference to the dispute between creator Brahma and the sustainer Vishnu as to which of them is superior. Lord SadaShiva, the Supreme Being, chose to appear as a column of agni [fire] or Jyotisthamba [effulgent column of light]. This column of Effulgence, which had no dimension, pervaded all space and time and transcended all comprehension, including that of Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu. Surrendering to this effulgence, Brahma and Vishnu prayed for Lord SadaShiva to become less brilliant so that mortals could behold His form.

Thus it was that SadaShiva who took the form of the Holy Hill of Arunachala. For purposes of puja [ritual], He took the form of Swayambhu lingam [Shiva’s sacred symbol, usually an oval-shaped stone] of Lord Arunachaleshwara which is enshrined in the Sanctum Sanctorum [the shrine where the main deity is installed] of the main temple at the eastern foot of the Holy Hill. It is believed that the Holy Hill and the lingam in the Temple of Lord Arunachaleshwara are the first items to manifest in the universe.

This incident of the origin of the Hill cannot be dismissed as mere myth, for then one would have to deny as unfounded everything that men of wisdom earlier and later have said of Arunachala. It is impossible to think that the countless jnanis [Self-realized beings], seers, and mystics who have experienced Arunachala and become one with Him could be wrong. For them, Arunachala forever shines as the infinite, dazzling column of jyothi [light]after destroying the innate tendencies of their minds. They still see Him as Brahma and Vishnu saw Him originally, since to those who worship Him with intense fervour and faith, the Lord reveals His original form. Thus the column of jyothi that appeared long ago can still be seen. As the Sage of Arunachala, Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi has cautioned his devotees that one should not consider even for a moment that Arunachala is merely a Hill of rocks and boulders. The Hill is the very essence of wisdom.

Arunachala is one of the Panchabhuta-lingams [the lingams representing the five elements – space, air, fire, water and earth] representing the fire element (Agni). Arunachala chose to appear as Jnana [Self-knowledge] Agni to quell avidya [ignorance]. The Vedas begin by singing His praise. In the Vedas, Agni is extolled as the flame of aspiration that finally fills the human heart with the all-consuming fire of Pure Awareness. Agni represents all forms and aspects of the Supreme Being and proclaims the ultimate unity of the jiva [individual soul] with the Supreme, the Paramatman. In fact, in the Vedas, the most important place is assigned to Agni. The very first word in the Rig and Sama Samhitas is Agni. Since the Rig Veda is one of humanity’s oldest scriptures, the ancient seers attached great importance to the Rig Veda. The Yajur Veda has one whole canto (Canto IV) dedicated to Agni called Agnikanda. The Skanda Purana declares: That is the holy place. Of all, Arunachala is the most sacred. It is the heart of the world. Know it to be the secret and sacred Heart-centre of Siva.

The concept of Arunachala is enshrined in the four great Mahavakyas of the Upanishads. A+Runa+Achala means "destroyer of one’s karma [destiny due to past actions]". Runa literally means injury in Sanskrit. Figuratively it means karma. Another analysis of this name is as follows: the first of the three terms, "A in Arunachala, signifies the Self; the second term, Runa", refers to the jiva; the third, "achala", refers to the unification of Self and jiva.

The four Mahavakyas [sayings] from the four Vedas are: Ayam Atma Brahma (This Self is Brahman); Aham Brahmasmi, I am Brahman; Tattvamasi (That Thou Art); and Prajnanam Brahma (Consciousness is Brahman). Each of these can be split into three syllables, each declaring the ultimate union of the jiva and the Self. jiva. Thus we see that, phonetically, the three components in the name Arunachala signify the great Mahavakyas. In short, Arunachala is beyond thought and word.

To earnest seekers of Truth – sages and saints and devotees – Arunachala drops its material nature. It is no longer earth and rock. They have felt Arunachala in the hill, Arunachala in the temple, and Arunachala in Ramana. They live and breathe Arunachala. They speak of Arunachala as a mother would of her child or a lover of his beloved, not in measured terms, but in awed tones and with overwhelmed sensitivity.

The divine Arunachala is beyond thought. Touched by the magic of devotion, it becomes suffused with the light of Knowledge and stands out as the symbol of the Supreme Lord of the Universe. It assumes a spiritual identity and guides the seeker as an inner Guru. Its physical properties are now the attributes of Divinity and excite the deepest and loftiest emotions. What a sense of confidence its mighty strength and benevolence inspire! What serenity and detachment, what lofty aspiration devotees feel as they behold its divine form with its peak embracing the sky.

The herbs growing on the sides of the Hill are supposed to possess the power to satisfy hunger, quench thirst, and cure diseases. Devotees walking round the hill are benefited by the breeze wafting over the herbs. When one goes round the hill, especially at night, wonderful experiences unfold which reinforce the Truth and Power of Arunachala. This experience helps one to go beyond one’s egoistic existence and merge with the Divine Consciousness. Those who circumambulate the hill in Giripradakshina are liberated from the effects of their past sins. No danger visits them. Thus, many devotees regularly go round the Hill, some every day.

Over the centuries, sages and saints have been attracted to visit Arunachala. The most famous are Sri Manickavachigar, Sri Appar, Sri Jnanasambandar, Sundaramurthi Nayanar, and Sri Vageesa. They have sung on the glory if Arunachala and Uma. The world-famous Tiruvembavai of Manickavachakar (songs sung during the early morning puja during Margazi month) was first sung near Adi-Annamalai Temple behind the Arunachala Hill. It was here also that the great Arunagirinathar, with his grand experience of the Self, spread the glory of Lord Subramaniam by his Tiruppugal songs.

Many Saints have lived there, merging their sanctity with that of the Hill. Guhanamasivaya, Gurunamasivaya, Isanyadesika, Seshadriswamy, and Ramana Maharshi came here from far off places, and, rejecting all spots on the way, chose to live and merge in Arunachalam, the Primal Being. This very thought uplifts our mind towards the ever-present Arunachalam.

It is said, and confirmed by Sri Bhagavan, that to this day siddhas [sages with supernatural powers] dwell in its caves, whether with physical bodies or not, and some devotees have seen them as lights moving about the Hill at night.

The glory of Lord Arunachala attracts sadhakas who are rich in Jnana-Tapas [austerities meant to bring about wisdom]. In accordance with this fame, many are the great souls who have been drawn to the Lord Arunachala. Guhai Nama Sivayar, Guru Nama Sivayar, Eesanya Jnana Desikar, Seshadriswamy, and Ramana Maharshi came here from far-off places, rejecting all spots on the way, to live and merge in Arunachalam, the Primal Being. This very realization elevates our mind towards the ever-present Arunachala.

Arunachala is more ancient than the Himalayas, forming part of the very foundations of the earth. This bare Hill, relic of an age which easily runs into a billion years or more, has stood and witnessed the rise and fall of many forms of life of which humans are but a recent and a small chapter. The Holy Hill of Arunachala, the witness of time, is the oldest natural shrine in the world.

Giripradakshina or Girivalam (in Tamil) is the practice of circumambulation of the Holy Hill of Arunachala. One walks around Arunachala in a clockwise direction, keeping the Hill on one’s right. It is one of the principal devotional activities prescribed by the scriptures. Whether undertaken as an act of devotion, duty, or to achieve boons or blessings, millions of people have made and continue to make this activity part of their sadhana. Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi and the scriptures assure that it is actually Lord Siva Himself, manifesting as this Hill.

Giripradakshina has been a sacred tradition, extolled by the Puranas and followed since time immemorial. Its immense spiritual value has been emphasized by Bhagavan and many other sages. They have said that Arunachala is the physical embodiment of sat [the reality], and hence to have contact with Him in any manner is satsang [association or meeting with a sage or group of seekers of Truth]. To think of Arunachala is satsang, to see Arunachala is satsang, and to live near Arunachala is satsang. But one very special way of having satsang with Arunachala is to do Aruna Giripradakshina [to go round the Holy Hill of Arunachala].

Bhagavan encouraged His devotees to do Giripradakshina and walk the 9-mile (14 kilometre) circuit around the Hill. He impressed on them that the spiritual benefits of Giripradakshina far outweighed any physical hardships. The experience of Giripradakshina is divine and uniquely different every time one does it, leaving a profound effect on the body, mind, and spirit. Bhagavan said that Giripradakshina is also Atma Pradakshina [going round one’s own Self]. What is very important and will yield the maximum spiritual benefit is that one should go around Arunachala with a heart filled with devotion and thought entirely focused on Lord Arunachala.

Seekers who come to this sacred place are blessed by the call of Arunachala-Ramana. They are the chosen ones for this divine experience of going around the Holy Hill.

Truly does Arunachala, a loving mother to His children,

protect His beloved devotees.

2

OVERVIEW OF GIRIPRADAKSHINA

THOSE WHO DO GIRIPRADAKSHINA

ARE BLESSED BY ARUNACHALA

Giripradakshina or Girivalam (in Tamil) is a traditional means of worshiping the Holy Hill of Arunachala by walking around it in a clockwise direction. This Giripradakshina is meant to be done with one’s heart filled with devotion and mind centred on Arunachala Shiva. It amplifies one’s feelings of devotion and oneness towards the Supreme Self manifested by the Holy Hill; in turn, one is blessed by the Holy Hill. As described in the previous chapters, scriptures and popular belief recognize the Hill as having immense spiritual value. It is characterized in the Puranas as the Effulgence and Light of Wisdom.

Such is the recognized value of this practice that, at any time of the day or night, there is always at least one devotee going around the Hill in Giripradakshina. Giripradakshina owes its glory to the fact that it is Lord Shiva Himself, who, in a long ago age, assumed the form of Tejo Lingam in front of Brahma and Vishnu. The effulgent Tejo Lingam cooled down into the gross form of the Holy Hill as it is now. To celebrate the sacredness of Arunachala, every year the Holy Beacon is lit on the summit of the Hill during the Tamil month of Karthigai (mid-November to mid-December). The Beacon is known traditionally as Karthigai Deepam. It stays lit for 9-13 days atop the Hill and can be seen from a long distance. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims are drawn to this Festival of Lights, to have darshan of the Karthigai Deepam and to do Giripradakshina. Since this day invariably falls on a full-moon day, the earthly delight and spiritual auspiciousness are doubled.

According to the Arunachala Purana, and borne out by tradition as well, Lord Shiva, the very embodiment of wisdom, out of His supreme compassion and to bless the world, manifested in the form of the Holy Hill. He took the form of the Hill of Light, which is His linga swaroopa. This led devotees to start the practice of Giripradakshina, walking around the Holy Hill (always keeping it to one’s right) as an act of reverence and worship. Devotees thus understand that they are not doing Giripradakshina around an ordinary hill of rocks and mud, but to Lord Arunachala Himself. It is one of the most important forms of worship of Lord Shiva and, in fact, one of the most efficacious forms of sadhana. Giripradakshina has been practiced since time immemorial by saints, sages, devotees, and siddhas. Authoritative references to this fact are found in the Vedas, Puranas, Stotras, and devotional hymns.

The importance of Giripradakshina and the benefits that accrue from it have been proclaimed by Lord Shiva Himself. He is ever ready to grant the prayers of devotees who go around the Hill, remembering its nature and seeking its blessings. The secret of this sadhana, the manner in which the Giripradakshina is to be done, and the immense benefits flowing from it were first explained by Gautama Rishi to Goddess Parvathi when She came to Arunachala to do penance in accordance with the bidding of Lord Shiva.

The Skanda Purana is full of praise for Arunachala as the exceptional boon-giver. It is highlighted in the Arunachala Purana also. This boon-giving aspect is particularly emphasized in the context of Giripradakshina. That is the reason why one sees thousands of devotees on the Giripradakshina path on full moon days. Many are the benefits reaped from going around the Hill; however, one should be careful not to wish for any mundane boon. One has to surrender to Arunachala. The advantage, of course, is that the all-knowing Lord knows the best interests of His devotees. The true devotee should know that when the Lord Himself is eagerly and tenderly waiting to bestow the greatest of gifts on him, that of liberation from the vicious cycle of births and deaths, it would indeed be a sad thing to wish for transitory boons, however grand they may be! This requires total faith that develops gradually.

The traditional Outer Path (on the paved road) or the more recent option of the Inner Path (through peaceful forest