Here in Tiruvannamalai for many Westerners the focus is on Sri Ramana Maharshi and Ramanasramam. Many of these go up Arunachala to the caves where Ramana lived and taught and gave darshan.

One of these caves is Skandashram. It is perhaps one mile from Ramanasramam, up a well cared-for path, up the side of the mountain.

Ramana lived at Skandashram from 1915 to 1922. This is where his mother joined him, and started preparing meals at the ashram, rather than having prepared food carried up, as had been the case since the earliest years. After the mahasamadhi of Mother, and her subsequent interment at the base of the hill, Ramana then took residence at her samadhi, the location of the present day Ramanasramam.

I show here photos from a recent walk up the hill to Skandashram. We started about 7:15 in the morning, before it was too hot. We left out the back gate of Ramanasramam.

Getting started

Going through Sri Ramanasramam

Starting up the hill

A woman working with gathered material

Up the path we go

The path is ‘paved’ with stone, from Ramanasramam all the way to SSkandashram, stones set into the dirt, about three feet wide all the way. In steep areas there are steps. Someday these stones will be smooth, after 100,000’s of feet have passed over them. Each stone was carried to the path and set into the ground by unnamed workers.

On both sides of the path you will notice tree plantings, done as part of the Arunachala reforestation project that has been going on the the last few years. Ramanasramam has increased interest in Arunachala both around the world, and in India. It is this increased interest in Arunachala that has brought this project about.

Take the right fork. To the left is an entry into the inner pradakshina path.

Up the hill

Carol is barefoot. Arunachala, the whole mountain, is considered to be a temple, and in India you take off your shoes in a temple. Many Westerners do not do this, but Carol goes barefoot on the walk to Skandashram. I do wear sandals. Carol gets more ‘punya,’ spiritual merit.

And up the hill …

Often there are people sitting and meditating here

Up the path

View along the way down to the city

Keep going up

A Sadhu is usually here - “Sivo Hum,” he may say

There are stone carvers along the way

Up to the top of the path

The view from the top of the path

And now to Skandashram. Skandashram is the in clump of trees in the center of the photo.

Here we are, but the gate is locked

Path down to Virapakshu Cave. It is pretty steep.

Opening the gate, walking in. The attendant unlocks the gates.

Skandashram

View from Skandashram

Entering Skandashram

The inner chamber, with the attendant getting ready for the morning chant. This chant is wonderful to listen to. The voice is resonant, and you can hear the love for the teaching in the voice. When we go up to Skandashram, we try to get there for this morning chant. We will sit in the outer chamber, and listen to the chant and meditate, and continue the meditation after the chant is finished.

Looking out from the porch

The Mother’s Quarters

One last look around

One last look at Skandashram

Back down the path

The walk down the hill was harrowing. A tree with a bees nest had fallen, and the bees chased some people down the hill. I was one of these. A swarm of bees circled around my head, stinging the back of my head several times. I was able to brush then out of my ears and off my mouth and face without getting stung there. Finally, about halfway down the hill, they stopped following me.

This is why the photos end with the one above.

Advaita and Western Neo-Advaita-A Study
By Alan Adam Jacobs

‘If the blind lead the blind
both shall fall into the ditch.’
(Matt. 15:14,15)

We must be grateful to Dennis Waite and his excellent book, with its appendix, for sharply bringing this whole question to our attention. There can be no doubt that Dennis Waite’s ‘The Book Of One’ is a worthy introduction to the Ancient Teaching of Advaita. In a clear and erudite manner he summarizes the main points of this Great Philosophy and Spiritual Teaching. The book is in Sections with subsidiary chapters elucidating the chief principles. The Main Section Titles are as follows: The Unreal, The Spiritual Path, and the Real. The subsidiary 18 chapters within these Sections cover, amongst others, such topics as What I Am Not, the Nature of Man, What We Think We Can Know, Meditation, Appearance and Reality, Consciousness, the Nature of Self, Realisation, and the Direct Path.

Dennis Waite is a respected member of the Ramana Foundation UK, and there are many useful references to the Maharshi’s Teachings in the text. He has studied the subject for over fifteen years and has a working knowledge of Sanskrit. The book is definitely to be recommended for those who need a succinct overview to the whole Teaching in one medium size volume. It is easy to read and surveys the philosophy competently in an even handed way. This part of the book can well be regarded as a sound and valuable introduction to the whole field.

There is, however, a long Appendix of 24 pages packed with information on current Western Advaita Organisations, International Internet Sites, and a Reading List. This part of the book and the names contained in it raises an interesting and perplexing question of what exactly is happening to the hallowed and revered Teaching of Advaita in the Western World?

Many firm devotees of Sri Ramana Maharshi now rightly term this Western phenomenon as ‘Neo-Advaita’. The term is carefully selected because ‘neo’ means ‘a new or revived form’. And this new form is not the Classical Advaita which we understand to have been taught by both of the Great Self Realised Sages, Adi Shankara and Ramana Maharshi. It can even be termed ‘pseudo’ because, by presenting the teaching in a highly attenuated form, it might be described as purporting to be Advaita, but not in effect actually being so, in the fullest sense of the word. In this watering down of the essential truths in a palatable style made acceptable and attractive to the contemporary western mind, their teaching is misleading.

Let us examine this thesis in more detail. There are a great many so-called Advaita or Non-Dual Teachers both in Europe, America and Australasia. Dennis Waite lists numerous organisations, Internet sites, and modern books, many of which fall under this category. New teachers calling themselves ‘Awakened’ appear frequently. They are often long standing ex-students of the late Rajneesh, or people who visited Lucknow with H.L.Poonja.

Obviously, styles, personalities, emphases, delineations, and content vary considerably. But there are enough common threads to identify this tendency as ‘Neo-Advaita’. First of all, the teaching are mainly presented by question and answer at meetings called ‘Satsangs’. The teacher invites questions, and then answers them in his or her own particular way. There is no overview of the basic Advaita principles. So those who attend are left with no full understanding of the complete bases on which the Teaching stands. One is dependent on what is said there and then; after many visits, which have to be paid for, one may appreciate what the self-appointed teacher is attempting to ‘put over’. The books they have published are in the main just edited transcripts of these ’satsangs’, and are also often incomplete.

There is no doubt that many of these men and women in most cases are attractive, talented, gifted communicators. They often have a certain charisma and an intelligent quick wit. They handle concepts from an intellectual standpoint with dexterity and are often entertaining in an idiosyncratic way. Many seekers develop a psychological dependency on one favourite teacher; others move from one to another hoping to pick up some truth which will help them in their quest. But these satsangs tend to be fragmented, so many teachers and meetings need to be visited and this can lead to confusion. There is generally a lack of experiential understanding of the Real Self and its Power as deep, silent, unconditional love. When the vasanas are strong and rajistic even such rare glimpses may not happen at all.

Stated briefly, what has happened is that an advanced teaching pointer, normally give to the Sadhak by a fully Self Realised Guru, Jivan Mukta or Jnani, has been taken over as the preliminary step and is now given ‘piecemeal’ to any new adept. The suggestion that no further effort is necessary is only stated when the Sadhak has reached the point where effort is no longer possible .The mark of the true Guru is that peace, Love and Silence are palpably felt in his presence. What Neo-Advaita gives in fact boils down to the seductive formula that ”there is nothing you can do or need to do, all you have to know is that there is no one there.”

That the mind is a bundle of thoughts ,and that there is no entity called ‘me’ is ancient Upanishadic teaching, and not a new revelation as some purport. Paradoxically, and for a reason difficult to explain, all of the leading International Neo-Advaita teachers have themselves engaged in spiritual practices of one kind or another, sometimes over a long period, then they deny this necessity to their pupils.

The suggestion by the Neo-Advaitins that effort builds up the Ego giving it a sense of pride in its ability to meditate is only true in a small number of eccentric cases. In fact, the effort of developing one pointedness leading to Self Enquiry in order to discover the source of the ‘phantom me’, the root of all thoughts and feelings, actually undermines this recalcitrant ‘egotistical ghost’. Effort can give some modicum of necessary mind control, and one pointed attention.

By sidelining Self Enquiry and treating it as an idea rather than a practice along with Devotion and the support practices for Self Enquiry, the student is left in a comfortable conceptual mental zone where it is stated cosily that ‘there is nothing to do and nowhere to go’. One can park in this space forever, coming once a month and paying for another satsang, hoping Grace will descend. It is like trying to win a major lottery prize, without ever having bought the ticket of turning deeply and persistently inward and enquiring into the source of the ‘phantom me’. Friendships are often made and a lifestyle developed which is psychologically rewarding. Retreats and intensives are held.

The charge is made that effort is trying to ‘get something’ and therefore suspect as coming from the ‘me’. In fact, the ‘ghost of the me’ doesn’t really exist as an entity. The notion of ‘the false me’ is very powerfully fuelled subconsciously by the selfish-will and compounded by the vital force. It has to be diligently enquired into to be destroyed.

The Maharshi says emphatically that our only freedom as an ajnani is to turn inwards. It is not trying ‘to get something.’ It is rather trying to ‘get rid of something’, the sense of separation, i.e. identification with the thoughts, mind, and feelings. Otherwise, there is a permanent occlusion, the Granthi Knot, permanently screening off the tremendous power of the Real Self, which is the Absolute Unborn Deathless Consciousness, God, Unconditional Love, Dynamic Silence, and Oneness. Instead, the Neo-Advaitin pupil merely basks in his or her Reflected Consciousness, designated as follows: ‘All there is, is perfect, whatever manifests.’ The clear distinction between Absolute and Relative consciousness is not made, and possibly may not even be known about.

To summarise, the main Neo-Advaitin fallacy ignores the fact that there is an occlusion or veiling formed by the vasanas, samskaras, bodily sheaths and vrittis, and there is a Granthi Knot forming an identification between Self and mind which has to be severed . If this were not the case then the whole of humanity would be living from Absolute Consciousness. As it is, humanity still lives from Reflected Consciousness, including the Neo-Advaitin Teacher with his or her active vasanas, still identified with the mind. In effect Neo-Advaita gives the ego licence, without attenuation, to live on under the justification of a seductive, hedonistic argument.

Sri Ramana Maharshi’s remedy to this whole trap is persistent effective Self Enquiry, and/or Complete Unconditional Surrender of the ‘phantom ego’ to Self or God, until the Granthi Knot is severed, the Vasanas, Samskaras and Vrittis come out, and are rendered harmless like a burned out rope. Support practices and directions are given for those who find Self Enquiry too difficult to commence. Partial surrender is possible for all, leading to total surrender through Grace consequent on efforts made through earnest one pointedness. In his foundation Essay, Self Enquiry {Collected Works}, Bhagavan clearly draws a diagram which shows how the Ego, composed of thoughts, bodily sheaths, and tendencies, forms a mirrorisation which reflects Pure Absolute Consciousness through the door of the senses onto the world as Reflected Consciousness.

The Neo-Advaitin often says somewhat wryly that Awakening is actually very ordinary and nothing special. Obviously it will appear ‘grey’ if vasanas are still active. How can living in Sahaja Samahdi and from Absolute Consciousness with unconditional love, great peace and dynamic silence abounding, be called ‘ordinary’ ? For the Neo-Advaitin teacher, there is a process of cleverly intellectually deconstructing the ’sense of doership’ or the ‘false sense of me’ or ‘phantom ego’ which can, if performed intensively, lead to an experience, usually temporary, that there is ‘nobody there’ and even making the sense of doership temporarily dysfunctional. This is then termed as ‘ an awakening has happened’ or some such hyperbole and the aspirant rests content and may even develop a desire to teach the same technique to others.

The subtle part of the ego believes itself to be ‘enlightened’ but the vasanas are still active, so the awakening is conceptual, and possibly imagined, rather like the ‘born again’ experience in evangelical Christianity. No Jnani ever claims to be Enlightened. It remains for others to recognise his qualities. To say ‘I am enlightened’ is a contradiction as the I which would make such an assertion is the ‘I’ which has to be destroyed before Enlightenment can happen.

The Neo-Advaita teacher is still talking from the mind in reflected Consciousness not from the ‘no mind’. To claim to have awakened others prematurely in this tentative way then becomes further proof of a teacher’s ability. This builds up a false sense of expectation in the mind of the naive and gullible adherents that they may become awakened too, if they are lucky. This then becomes a vocation, and in many cases a very successful means of earning a livelihood. Pupils gravitate to the teacher with this kind of agenda which confirms what he or she wants to believe, that no effort is needed. The result is that the Teacher, still living from the ordinary mind, with vasanas active, can never go back on the promise that he is ‘awakened’ and therefore forfeit the right to teach. That the vasanas have been accumulated and consolidated in previous ‘life dreams’ is not examined, and if raised, the teachings about ’samsara’ , ‘maya’ , jiva, karma and re-birth, are often considered too metaphysical to explain or grasp. They are invariably dismissed as old superstitions. Teaching from the ‘no mindstate’ or ’silence of the Sage’ can never happen while the powerful vasanas are active. They have to die down and become harmless, and this means self-enquiry and surrender, until the mind, through Grace, when the Real Self recognises the Jiva with a one pointed mind, has fully turned inwards. The nervous system has been prepared and The Self then draws the mind into the fully opened Heart. This is Self Realisation.

Many of the teachers claim Ramana Maharshi as their lineage, often displaying his photo prestigiously, but are not at all erudite in his Teaching. Often the Teaching is stripped of its devotional content. Some merely pass over him and are content to be the sole authority. To give ’satsang’ in Arunachala gives some Teachers added credence. How has this fundamental fallacy come about? Why is it so attractive to mostly young contemporary Westerners, that they are content to by-pass Self Enquiry, Devotion and the Surrender of the ‘false self’ or ‘ego’ to the Real Self or God, and so hand over all the cares and responsibilities of their lives, with great faith, before entering the spiritual life?

This advanced teaching of ‘no effort needed’ drawn from advanced Advaita and Cha’an Buddhism [the Sudden Awakening School] has slipped in as the fundamental Neo-Advaita pointer. It is then easy for the radically skeptical Western mind to accept this lazy way in our micro wave culture of wanting instant gratification now, instead of having to work at studying the Teachings of the great Sources of the contemporary Advaita Renaissance, Sri Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi, Adi Shankara and other great Sages. Nor do they need to develop some power of attention and concentration. Nor does Hindu terminology have to be understood, and the traditional language assimilated even in translation. This demands study and effort. The making of an effort can arise without a sense of personal doership just as one makes efforts in life spontaneously when needed, from the vital energy. It is said that we are utterly helpless and there is nothing we can do, but this ignores the All powerful Self and the Grace which starts to flow as a response to the initial and persistent effort of Self Enquiry and Surrender. The idea that this ‘awakening’ may not be immediate does not appeal to the current desire for materialistic instant satisfaction. Hedonism, without pain, dominates Western culture, religious values are at a low ebb, and a humanistic teaching is much more appealing.

Besides it lets the Teacher off the hook. He can dispense with advising on Sadhana altogether. Peace and quiet is preferable to Sadhana as the prerequisite for Enlightenment. This has a therapeutic value. In addition the idea of a ‘living Teacher ‘is appealing. It is not understood that the Supreme Guru, the Jivan Mukti who has left the body, is still available both in the Heart as the Sat-Guru within or as Absolute Consciousness, the Deathless Unborn Self, beyond the mind. But to reach the Sat-Guru inwardly needs the effort of turning inwards and this is not a popular word to use, although effort is applicable in every other walk of life.

The Neo-Advaitins claim there is no one there to make any effort. This is absurd. The energy for the wish for liberation arises and the intelligent part of the ‘phantom ego’ begins Self Enquiry and its support practices leading to one pointedness. If there was no one there to make effort, how does any work get achieved on this planet at all? Self Enquiry needs preparation, as David Frawley has pointed out in his excellent books on Advaita and articles in the Mountain Path.

Self Enquiry may not yield an immediate perceivable result. It commences a graceful process of removing the obstacle of obscuration to the Realisation of the Real Self. To borrow metaphors from the Gospels, the Kingdom of Heaven within is the pearl of great price. It has to be earned by earnest enquiry and surrender. The real purpose of Life in this birth is not merely to enjoy oneself in sensual pleasure but to summon the necessary effort to remove the phantom ego’s sense of separation and identification with the mind, thoughts feelings and body. “If the blind lead the blind both shall fall into the ditch.” It is truly a marvel of Maya that some Neo-Advaita teachers can state personal views which suggest that their knowledge is more profound than that of the Maharshi.

It must be said that this Essay is a generalisation based on visiting the many Neo-Advaita teachers who come to or are resident in London, and seeing videos of others in the USA and elsewhere. My criticisms do not apply equally to all. Each one has his or her own emphases, angularities, and delineations, but the basic thrust of my reservations are generally applicable.

However, Neo-Advaita, no matter how faulty and incomplete, has a distinct advantage. It can serve as an introduction to the true Advaita Teaching. Flawed as Neo-Advaita may be, it undermines ‘the phantom ego’ intellectually at least, after several satsangs. At its best it is a partial surrender , but without full devotional content, and therefore cannot lead to total surrender when the mental occlusion is absorbed in the Heart . One can only accept that the Neo-Advaitin movement with its proliferating teachers and burgeoning web sites is here to stay, although some have prophesised that the tide is beginning to turn and that many are now beginning to earnestly enquire into Ramana’s Teaching.

Nevertheless, Neo-Advaita is a necessary part of ‘what is’ and as an aspect of the divine plan has its place as a preliminary introduction. It is therefore a valid, if imperfect stepping stone, for those who are ready and mature enough to walk on to true Advaita, instead of just reclining half way up the Mount Arunachala.

Allow Sri Bhagavan to have the last word on this question….”There must be human effort to discard them [vasanas]….how could God be expected to be favourable towards you without your striving for it’” [Letters pg 151].

Life is a pure flame, and we live
by an invisible Sun within us.

Alan Jacobs is Chairman of the Ramana Maharshi Foundation UK , A Moderator of Ramana Maharshi and Atma Vichara at Yahoo Groups, author of The Bhagavad Gita a Poetic Transcreation and The Principal Upanishads A Poetic Transcreation.

This article published with permission from The Mountain Path.
Image of entrance to Virupaksha Cave courtesy of Gabriele Ebert.

By Dr. Harsh K. Luthar

I am very often asked by Sri Bhagavan’s devotees what I feel about modern day teachers and gurus.

I don’t know how to answer that question well. I do not personally know most of these teachers.

For sincere devotees of Bhagavan, I recommend that they seek company of other devotees. Sri Ramana exemplified all that is best in a living Self-Realized sage in his actions. The Sage of Arunachala was liberal, tolerant, compassionate and for him all faiths and religions had a place and were welcomed with an open heart.

Sri Ramana lived as a recluse first but when a community formed around him, his life became public. He was in the spotlight 24 hours a day, seven days a week for over 50 years. During all this time, he lived as an ascetic and served all those who came to him and answered their questions.

The devotees know that Sri Bhagavan was so alert to everyone’s welfare and that included not just people but also animals and plants and trees in his vicinity. He refused to eat unless enough was available for everyone. I recall that when the plague came to that area of India, one of the devotees came down with it. Others wanted to leave that devotee and for Bhagavan to come with them. They assured Bhagavan that food would be periodically sent to the afflicted individual. Sri Ramana told them that they could go but he would stay with the devotee who had come down with the dreaded disease and continue to serve him.

How many modern day teachers and gurus can do that?

Like many saints, Bhagavan led a pure and spotless life.

Sometimes, people write me very moving letters detailing how they have had experiences with certain gurus thought to be enlightened who actually were very abusive. Given below is an answer I recently gave to someone after hearing their heart breaking account.

Thank you for your sharing. I am so glad to know that you came through OK what must have been some very difficult experiences and trying times in your spiritual journey. Surely Bhagavan was with you all the way.

I have known of many gurus not treating their students well and have written about it in the following article.

http://luthar.com/2006/11/18/wisdom-eye/

I know that many teachers use Sri Ramana to bolster themselves but are not able to live up to the teaching. Once someone asked Sri Ramana the fate of a false guru and those who followed that guru. Sri Ramana said, “each according to their merit.”

People should be very alert to gurus who are on power trips and abusive of others. If someone asked me for advice about any guru, I would counsel them to be patient and cautious before deciding to follow someone. Those of us who have Bhagavan as our Sat Guru have nothing to gain by following anyone else.

My teacher Chitrabhanu-ji used to visit Sri Ramana in his teenage years. He told me when I was very young to follow Sri Ramana and study the teachings of the Sage of Arunachala. It was like magic for me. That was back in 1978 when I rediscovered my connection with Bhagavan. I have never felt the need to follow any other guru.

But each to their own. This is the way of the life and we can only wish the best for others. If someone asks me about gurus, Sri Ramana is the only one I can point to.

Yours in Bhagavan

Birds in the sky and fish in water
Dart and leave no track behind.
And none can trace the path by which
The sages journeyed to the Self.’

(Ramana Mandiram; Sri Muruganar)

I am Being

Which alone knows.

I am Bliss,

Which along shines.

I am the Self

Known as “I” by all.

I am the Existence

That is the Existence of all.

I am the Essence

Ever undivided

(Nome, from Mandala Eight, Self-Knowledge)

Nome, giving Satsang

Nome gives satsang at SAT (Society of Abidance in Truth, Santa Cruz, CA, www.satramana.org). He reveals the nondual Advaita Vedanta of Sri Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi and Adi Sankara and the practice of Self-inquiry (Atma Vichara).

Early Life and Spiritual Experiences

Nome was born on January 23, 1955 in Long Island, New York and spent most of his childhood in New Jersey. Though not from a religiously oriented family, Nome as a child had memories and a vivid familiarity with places, images, and words that he came to know later as associated with Sri Ramana Maharshi and Advaita Vedanta.

Nirvikalpa Samadhi

His first spiritual experience came at age 16—without previous spiritual questing (in this life), one day in a park. It was nirvikalpa samadhi, in which the meditator makes himself free from all thoughts and distinctions, free of all differentiations such as the knower, knowledge, and the known, and in which the mind ceases to be active. (A more detailed definition is found at the end of this article).

After this samadhi he sought out the solitude of mountains and woods, and spent much of his time in the forest meditating. While others were building their personalities, he took his down—for good. He lost interest in worldly acquisitions and activities. He saw that the source of happiness is within. There were further instances of samadhi.

Seeking Self-realization

After his 17^th birthday, before completing high school, he left his family without telling them he was going. When asked by a friend why he was going, he said, “To attain Self-Realization.” He got an airplane ticket and flew to San Francisco.

In San Francisco he met Swami Swanandashram, who introduced him to the Vedanta teachings of Sankara, and the Upanisads, in which Ajata Vada is revealed. This is the Sanatana Dharma (the Eternal Teaching, called in the west, Hinduism) teaching of the Uncreated, where there is only Brahman, only the Absolute, only God. Nome recognized this teaching as his actual experience.

Introduced to these teachings and finding materials to help deepen his practice, Nome kept the focus of his life within. He found wisdom in such books as Talks with Ramana Maharshi, the Avadhuta Gita, the Astavakra Gita and Sankara works such as Atma Bodha.

He lived in a renounced fashion, meditating, intensely practicing Atma Vichara (Self inquiry). If in line at the supermarket, he would meditate. Waiting, he would meditate. He had no documentation, and worked at the kind of jobs where none is required, rough physical labor.

Turning Inward

Nome continued to inquire, realizing that the Truth revealed by the Maharshi cuts the imagined knot that seems to tie our true being with a bodily form. During this period of practice, Nome saw that “Whoever we are, Bliss is within, and can no more be apart from us than we can be separated from our own existence.”

Now, how to turn the mind inward, and to turn it inward steadily? The answer was the Maharshi’s steady inquiry, revealing the Bliss of the Self. The search for happiness is really the search for the Self, which is Reality.

Nome realized that turning inward is essential. He felt that by the Grace of the Maharshi, this is accomplished. Self-effort is needed. When self-effort meets with Grace, the highest good results. Turning inward, how to go outward is forgotten. Accustomed to detachment, one forgets how to be attached. “Who am I?” becomes the only true question.

Asthma and the desire for Liberation

While practicing, Nome’s body was afflicted by asthma, intensifying the desire for spiritual liberation. He felt, “If I do not fully awaken to the Truth, I will live and die in an unreal world. If I practice right through the last breath, it will all be worth it; and if the Truth is realized even at the last moment, the Liberation from samsara (birth and death) will be for all eternity.”

Pictures from Sri Ramanasramam

Sri Ramana Maharshi

At this time, pictures arrived from Sri Ramanasramam. There had been no picture of any kind in his home for months. Then they arrived from Ramana’s Ashram on the other side of the world, beckoning Nome to leave the world altogether.

Nome felt on this day filled with a profound joy. It was the joy of devotion, of faith, of being blessed with the guiding light of the Guru’s Presence. The whole place seemed sanctified by Sri Bhagavan.

Reliance on the Guru

He placed himself in Sri Bhagavan’s hands, feeling that when the heart’s consecration is made, Grace is always present. Nome saw what the Maharshi revealed—thought’s utter unreality, and that the real Self is all. He saw the objective nature of all thoughts, and the existence of That which is formless and always nonobjective. Only the nonobjective is who we are; we cannot be a thought of which we are aware.

The senses do not determine Reality, nor does the mind.

For whom is the world?

Nome came to know experientially that the world, including the body, is the sensory experience, the sensory experience is entirely in the mind, and the mind is but “I” in different guises or forms. So he inquired, “Who am I?”

The world seemed to Nome as an unreal dream. Detached from this unreal dream, he did not take it to be the source of happiness. The inquiry “Who is bound and who desires liberation?” becomes the way the Truth is realized.

Making permanent the state without thought

Thought ceased. Then it resumed, again it ceased. And again it resumed. The focus of practice for Nome then was “How can I extend and make permanent this state without thought?”

Following the Maharshi’s teachings about the three states (waking, dream, and deep dreamless sleep), Nome saw that which is continuous, in which the states seem to appear, the one thing that does not change. “It is perpetual Existence. What is that? It is perpetual Consciousness.”

Elimination of all Vasanas

Nome would look at recurring experiences, examining them to see what brought them about, and what brought samadhi to an end. “What takes one up, and what brings one down?” was the investigation. It helped to eliminate vasanas—misidentifications and attachments. The Maharshi’s revelation of the Truth eliminated the entire field, “Who is the knower?”

Questions about samadhi were difficult to raise, for one could not expect an accurate answer in any less expansive or more formed state of mind, and in samadhi itself the questions do not arise. Meditating with Sri Bhagavan’s guidance, Nome saw that what is experienced in samadhi—the essence—does not come and go; the boundaries constituting the before-the-beginning and the after-the-end appear and disappear, for they are composed only of illusions. “Who goes up or down?” “Who enters into or merges with what?” “Who realizes what?” He cut each knot, vanquished every illusion, and dissolved every vasana.

Absence of Individuality

Nome came to know that the utter absence of individuality (called “an ego”) is Realization. The ignorance seems to rise with the ‘I’-thought and is identical with the ‘I’-thought. “I want to be free of individuality. I may be free from its appendages in the form of various characteristics, etc. but the ‘I’ itself must also disappear. How is the elimination of the individual ‘I’ to be brought about?” Like this was Nome’s meditation. Sri Bhagavan’s instructions, “Can ‘I’ eliminate itself?” and “Find out that the ego does not exist,” revealed, upon inquiry, the answer that the ego does not exist.

The Maharshi’s teaching lays out the direct path—Who am I? —and this is the ultimate guidance. “Are there two selves, one to realize the other?” This instruction blows away the dust of dualism and reveals Sri Bhagavan’s silent presence. This is what Nome’s inquiry revealed.

Final Realization

May 14, 1974, at 19 years of age, waiting in the office of an oral surgeon, meditating on a small Ramana pamphlet Self Realization (later reprinted by SAT), Nome realized finally and completely that the notion of “I” does not refer to any actually existent ego entity, and is itself unreal. This “I” does not come from the real Self, does not come from “anything else,” and is not self-generated. He realized that there was “no me,” no individual, there is only the vast Absolute, and I am That. This was the revelation of Truth, without these words or ideas. Everything objective disappeared, never to return.

This is what Ramana referred to as Sahaja Samadhi, pure, uninterrupted Consciousness, transcending the mental and physical plane, yet (to an observer), with awareness of a manifested world, and full use of mental and physical faculties.

“The Self is only Being—not being this or that. It is simply Being. Be, and there is the end of ignorance.” Meditating on Sri Bhagavan’s revelation of Reality—realizing its meaning, supremely profound—the “I” does not survive.

Speaking now about the period of practice, Nome says that persistence was important. Clearly the deep desire for Liberation was also key, as was his surrender and devotion to Sri Ramana Maharshi.

The writer observes that Nome was not satisfied with nirvikalpa samadhi at age 16. Rather this brought him to look deeply and intensely within to find the Truth that is within, to look beyond what comes and goes for what is changeless and eternal. Finding That as his identity, then to stand in Sahaja Samadhi.

After Realization

In 1978, after four years spent mostly in silence, Nome started answering questions of sincere aspirants, first in a house in San Bruno, CA, then Boulder Creek, and finally Santa Cruz. Around Nome a group of spiritual seekers formed, and was first called “The Avadhut Ashram.” Satsang was held in Santa Cruz and San Francisco.

The SAT Temple

When the room in which satsang was held got too small, a temple was built in Santa Cruz by those who practiced and meditated with Nome. The SAT temple is dedicated to Sri Ramana Maharshi. The doors opened on August 20, 1989. By then the name Avadhut Ashram evolved into “The Society of Abidance in Truth (SAT).”

SAT Temple

The SAT Temple is nestled into the side of a hill. After entering the Temple, first comes a large hall, called the Lotus room. The Bookstore is also found here. Then, after climbing a set of stairs (and greeted by a large picture of Sri Ramana Maharshi), the shrine room dedicated to Sri Bhagavan is first encountered. Then the eight-sided satsang hall is entered. In the rear of the hall are several murtis (statues) familiar in Hindu temples. These include a bronze Dakshinamurti, Nataraja (Dancing Siva), Ardhanarisvara, and a stone Lingodbhava. This Lingodbhava is also found in any Siva temple in India, and in the Mother’s Temple at Sri Ramanasramam.

Satsang at SAT Temple

Satsang is held regularly, every Sunday morning at 10 AM. After meditation in the deep quiet that seems to envelope the hall, Nome will give a short discourse on the Nondual Truth. The listeners, absorbed in the discourse, are taken to spiritual—nondual—depths. After the discourse come questions by seekers and answers from Nome. Many questions are asked: about inquiry, about the nature of Reality, about how to deepen one’s practice. The answers plunge into the depths of the questioner, aiding the questioner to thoroughly examine his own identity, and to see what is always there, to see just who he is. Always is revealed the nondual truth of who we are, and the utter nonexistence of what is not real. Then will come a chant, often from the Upanisads, in Sanskrit then English. Finally, there is more meditation in the quiet of the Satsang Hall on what has been imparted.

The satsang hall is a place of real peace and silence. Many find this so. Old devotes that remember the silence of Sri Bhagavan’s presence, have commented that the SAT satsang hall is the place most like the old hall at Ramanasramam during the days of Ramana.

For directions to the SAT temple, go to http://www.satramana.org/html/directions_to_sat.htm

Writing, Translations and Publishing

In addition to giving satsang at SAT, Nome continues to write, translate and publish spiritual texts that support the practitioner of Self-inquiry and Advaita Vedanta. Nome started collaborating in 1988 with Dr. H Ramamoorthy, a Sanskrit and Tamil scholar, to translate original Advaita Vedanta scriptures into English. Together they translated more than 20 Advaita Vedanta texts. Of these, more than half have been published to date. The translation work proceeded from 1988 to the 2001 passing of Dr. Ramamoorthy. Nome now continues to translate and publish Sanskrit texts, including the completion of manuscripts which were started in collaboration with Dr. Ramamoorthy.

Nome is married to Sasvati. Sasvati provides much assistance with the creation and publishing of these books; Sasvati also provides spiritual guidance and support to those who come to SAT.

Nome has journeyed to India several times, staying at Sri Ramanasramam, and The Ramana Centre for Learning in Bangalore. He was invited to speak at both locations.

Books and Publications:

Below is a partial list of books written or translated by Nome. They are available at http://store.satramana.org/

Nirguna Manasa Puja – Worship of the Attributeless One in the Mind by Adi Sankara, 1993, English translation by Dr. H Ramamoorthy and Nome. Published by SAT.

Ribhu Gita – The Sanskrit Ribhu Gita, 1995, English translation by Dr. H Ramamoorthy and Nome. Introduction by Nome. Published by SAT.

Timeless Presence, 1996, written by Nome at the request of Ramanasramam for the centenary celebration of Sri Ramana Maharshi’s arrival at Arunachala. Republished by SAT.

Song of Ribhu – The Tamil Ribhu Gita, 2000, English translation by Dr. H Ramamoorthy and Nome. Introduction by Nome, with extensive glossary of nondual Sanskrit terms. Published by SAT. Reprinted by Ramanasramam.

Svatmanirupanam – The True Definition of One’s Own Self by Adi Sankara, 2002, Sanskrit with English translation by Dr. H Ramamoorthy and Nome. Published by SAT.

Self-Knowledge, 2003, written by Nome. Published by Atma Jnana Publications.

The Four Requisites for Realization and Self-Inquiry, 2003, written by Nome. Published by SAT.

Nirvana Satkam- Six Verses on Nirvana by Adi Sankara, 2004, English translation by Nome. Published by SAT.

Essence of Inquiry, 2005. English translation of Ramana’s Vichara Sangraham with Nome’s commentary. Published by The Ramana Centre for Learning in Bangalore, India.

Origin of Spiritual Instruction – an edited reprint of Sri Natanananda’s A Catechism of Instruction (republished later by Sri Ramanasramam as Spiritual Instruction). 2006. Edited by Nome. Published by SAT.

Bouquet of Nondual Texts - Eight texts by Adi Sankara, 2006,
Sanskrit with English translation by Dr. H Ramamoorthy and Nome. Published by SAT.

Glossary

Nirvikalpa Samadhi

(Definition from the Glossary of The Song of Ribhu, English translation by Dr. H Ramamoorthy and Nome. Published by SAT.)

Nirvikalpa Samadhi, in which the meditator makes himself free from all thoughts and distinctions, free of all differentiations such as the knower, knowledge, and the known, and in which the mind ceases to be active. It may be divided into two subcategories:

1. Subjective: Here the mind is steady like an unflickering flame in a windless place, indifferent to both objects and sounds and in which the ideas that arise in Savikalpa Samadhi are absent. It is likened to an empty pitcher placed in the sky having nothing inside or outside.

2. Objective: Here the meditator, plunged in bliss, perceives no external objects. He is completely absorbed in the contemplation of Brahman; all illusory phenomena are merged in Brahman; he is indifferent to the manifest world and also to such ideas as akhanda (the undivided), eka rasa (the single essence), and such. It is likened to a pitcher placed in the sea with water inside and out.

Sri Ramana Maharshi refers to nirvikalpa samadhi as complete absorption in the Self with resultant oblivion to the manifested world, as a state of blissful trance but not permanent, like a bucket of water lowered into a well. In the bucket is the water (the mind) that is merged with the water in the well (which is the Self), but the rope and the bucket still exist to draw it out again.

Sahaja Samadhi

(Definition from the Glossary of The Song of Ribhu)

The Maharshi declares that Sahaja Samadhi is pure, uninterrupted Consciousness, transcending the mental and physical plane, yet (to an observer), with awareness of a manifested world, and full use of mental and physical faculties; Sahaja is a state of perfect equilibrium, perfect harmony, beyond even bliss, comparable to the waters of a river merged in those of the ocean. Sahaja signifies what is effortless, natural, and innate. It is the state of Being the Self and the Self Alone.

This article was written by Richard Clarke, who has attended satsang with Nome since 1990. Much help and guidance in the writing was provided by Sarasvati.

Acknowledgements

Much of the material for this article came from “Timeless Presence,” written by Nome. It some cases it is quoted directly, with the permission of SAT.

Your true nature is always the undivided, nondual Brahman,
Which is a mass of Being-Consciousness-Bliss,
Motionless, ancient, still,
Eternal, without attributes,
Without confusions, without sheaths,
Without parts, without impurity,
Completely free from any illusion of duality,
Full, peerless, and the One.

From Song of Ribhu, Chapter two.

The Ribhu Gita is a spiritual text that was extensively used by Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. It was one of the first books he read after Self-Realization, one whose message clearly accorded with what he had realized within himself. For many years during his life it was read to those at Ramanasramam. It is still read at Ramanasramam today. Ramana’s use and recommendation of this text has brought it into much wider visibility among those interested in his teachings and Advaita Vedanta.

A number of teachers in the tradition of Sri Ramana have been using these translations of the Ribhu Gita in their teaching. Above is a picture of Papaji reading from the English Translation of the Sanskrit version.

The Ribhu Gita is a book that is best read aloud, a few verses at one time. It is in an ancient form designed to be chanted, and they way it is written is most conducive to reading aloud, even if one is reading it to oneself.

The Ribhu Gita presents the timeless teaching of Self Knowledge, emphasized by Advaita Vedanta. Its fundamental tenet is the identity of the Self with Brahman, a term signifying the vast Absolute. This scripture presents the teaching given by the sage, Ribhu, to Nidaga to become enlightened into his true nature.

According to Annamalai Swami, “Bhagavan often said that we should read and study the Ribhu Gita regularly. In the Ribhu Gita it is said, ‘That bhavana “I am not the body, I am not the mind, I am Brahman, I am everything” is to be repeated again and again until this becomes the natural state.”

In describing the Self or Brahman, negation is primarily used because the Self can never be an object, can never be what is perceived or conceived. By negation in the process of Self-inquiry, the ignorance of identifying ones own existence with an individual body and mind is destroyed. This “destruction” of ignorance is really not the destruction of anything real, as the false identification as an individual just consists of assumptions, ideas. What remains after this so-called destruction is not anything new. It is not something achieved. It is not a transformation. It is what has been your innermost identity all the time.

As all differences are an illusory appearance
On Brahman, which is not different from the Self,
Due to conditionings of the Self like the defect of nescience (ignorance)
And conditionings of Brahman like maya (Illusion, delusion),
One should realize, by a practice of negation,
That all appearances are not a whit different from the substratum
And one should cognize the originless, endless,
Undivided identity of the Self and Brahman.

From Song of Ribhu, Chapter One

“The text is a relentless reiteration of uncompromising Advaita―that the Supreme Brahman, ‘That,’ is all that exists and exists not, that nothing else exists, the Self is Brahman and Brahman is the Self, I am that, I am all, and That is myself. This Awareness is moksha (liberation) which is attained by the way of knowledge and the certitude I-am-Brahman,” says Dr. H Ramamoorthy, one of the co-translators, in his Translator’s Introduction to the English translation of the Sanskrit version published by The Society of Abidance in Truth in 1995.

The origins of the Ribhu Gita are uncertain. It is contained within the Sivarahasya, an ancient Sanskrit epic devoted to Siva. It has been compared to the better-known Bhagavad Gita, contained within the epic, Mahabharata. Similar dialogs between Ribhu and Nidagha on the Self and Brahman are also found within the traditional 108 Upanisads, so it appears that the origin of the Ribhu Gita dates from the Upanisadic period, generally thought to be about 600 BCE.

The Ribhu Gita exists in two forms, the traditional Sanskrit version, and a Tamil version rendered in the late 1800s by Bhikshu Sastrigal, also known as Ulagantha Swamigal. Both versions have been translated into English by Dr. H. Ramamoorthy, a Sanskrit and Tamil scholar, and Nome, a Self-Realized sage in the United States of America, who realized the Truth revealed by Sri Ramana Maharshi and the Ribhu Gita in 1974. Both books, The Ribhu Gita and The Song of Ribhu (the Sanskrit and Tamil versions of the text) have been printed by the society of Abidance in Truth (SAT) and are available from their website (www.satramana.org).

These English translations have become the basis for a widening appreciation of this ancient nondual work. Translations have been made from these English translations into a number of other languages, including Italian, and Hindi. The Song of Ribhu has also been reprinted by Sri Ramanasramam and is available from their bookstore.

In addition to these two complete translations, there have been a number of partial translations published. One is a small pamphlet, Essence of Ribhu, available by download from Sri Ramanasramam - www.sriramanamaharshi.org . The other is The Heart of the Ribhu Gita, by F Jones, Los Angeles: Dawn Horse, 1973.

Nome has been teaching Self-inquiry, as taught by Sri Ramana, for about 30 years. He gives satsangs and holds retreats at the temple of The Society of Abidance in Truth (SAT), in Santa Cruz, CA, USA. For more information go to www.satramana.org. He has translated and published a number of books of Advaita Vedanta that otherwise would not be available in English. Many of these translations were done in collaboration with Dr. Ramamoorthy.

Saturday night was full moon night again, this time special due to the Tamil New Year. Carol and I had not done pradakshina around Arunachala on such nights and had planned to do so this night.

We have been preparing. This is a big effort for aging Westerner bodies. From our house, Brindavanam, it is between 9 and 10 miles to circuit Arunachala. For the last two weeks we had been doing ‘half pradakshinas’ (about 5 miles from our house along the inner path to the Ramakrishna hotel, where we would stop, get breakfast – vadas and dosa, and Indian milk coffee – then take an auto-rickshaw the rest of the way home. To get ready we have been walking about 25 miles a week on Arunachala, either around it or up and down to one or another of the caves and meditation spots.

It is April now, and the summer heat is starting. Saturday at our house it was 38 C (100 F). When we left about 6:15 PM it had not cooled off much.

We walked out to Bangalore Road, west of where the pradakshina roads turn round the holy hill. The road used for pradakshina is blocked off from traffic, and traffic is rerouted for this night. When we got to Bangalore Road we saw many busses parked along the road, and thousands of people streaming towards the pradakshina route. The foot traffic was light, we found out in a few minutes – only maybe 5 or 6 abreast taking only half the road.

We joined the pradakshina crowd about 2 miles into the route many take. It is common to start at Arunachaleswara Temple, in the center of Tiruvannamalai. We joined after the route has left Tiru and is starting around Arunachala to the West of town.

Since this was a big night there was a big crowd. We heard crowd estimates of 10 – 15 lakhs (1 to 1.5 million people) - this in a city of about 100,000. When we joined the route the road was packed, maybe 10 or 12 abreast and taking up all the (recently widened) road. To get a sizing of this number of people, in the US there is each year a ‘Super Bowl’ championship of American Football. This gets many 70,000. For European football (soccer in the US) the best teams, like Manchester United gets crowds of maybe 75,000. Lesser teams get maybe 20,000. So the crowd is like 15 or 20 Super Bowls or Manchester United matches.

Visitors commonly take busses here. When they arrive they start the walk. When they are finished, they may eat by the bus then get back on the bus and sleep on the drive back home.

We saw men, women, children, lovers, families, babies asleep being carried over the shoulder and being passed from Dad to Mom along the route. There were small groups of young women walking without parental supervision and human chains of young men, each holding the shoulders of the man in front, pushing their way through the crowd, chanting Siva chants. Many people walked holding hands or in some way staying connected to the people in their group.

Though we were walking at night, the road was mostly well lit, lit up from all the roadside shops and temple that line the route. Most of the ‘shops’ were temporary, built from poles and erected just for the one day. They supplied everything you can imagine. This included drinking water, green coconuts (for drinking), fruit juice stands, soda stands, food stands, spiritual picture stands, toys, clothes, women’s bags, jewelry (mainly the bracelets that almost all Indian women always wear and color-coordinate with their sarees or salwar suits) food staples like rice and lentils, and many more. I even noticed a motorbike display, showing the latest models. Sometimes it had a bit of the feel of a Western trade show, with all the vendor booths showing off their wares. .

Occasionally there was no light and the crowd was illumined just by the moonlight. I liked this the best.

In the crush of the crowd the walking was not easy. One could not set up a stride and keep it up. People pushed their way past you, crossed the road in front of you, and there was a surprising number of bicycles, motorbikes, and even a few cars and vans going the other way. We were almost hit by an unlighted bike crossing the road against traffic in the dark. Often the most aggressive at pushing their way past us were women.

Though the purpose of the walk is spiritual, it seemed that many making the walk were not really doing so with this approach. We passed many temples. Some walkers were going in. Many were not. Some were chanting as they walked. Most were not. Some were paying attention to Arunachala as they walked. Most were not. Most were talking with the group they came with. Many were chatting on cell phones.

Here is a photo of a small, simple temple altar to the side of the road after we passed Adi Annamalai. All the others had many people. This just sat a bit away from the road, lit but mainly unvisited. It looked homemade.

I could track our progress by the changing face of Arunachala as we walked. From our walks on the inner path, I now pretty well know were we are by the view presented by the holy hill. We start on the west side and see the view from our house, the mountain, and to the left side, the hill called Parvati. As we walk then we pass Parvati, then the ‘knob’ (whose name I do not know) that I associate with the Adi Annamalai Temple on the backside of the hill. Then we pass the forest to the right that marks the end of the inner path. This means that we are nearing the road back into Tiruvannamalai.

Finally we walk the three miles through town, passing Arunachaleswara, then Ramanasramam. We stopped at a restaurant, Usha’s just before we came to Ramanasramam, to sit and get a bite to eat. I am so tired by now I can barely take the steps, and much of this body hurts, the lower back, hips, legs and feet all hurt, some parts more than others. To keep going I have to think of near term objectives – it is just one block to Ramanasramam, I can make it one more block – like this I was able to make the last couple of miles.

Emerging from Usha’s, now it is about 11 PM. Though late at night, it still must be 90 or 95 F, still surprisingly hot. The crowd we are with is mainly a new group, just starting out. We thought the road was crowded before, but now there seems to be almost twice as many people. The road is packed from side to side with so many people that the pace has slowed to about half of what it was before. At one point, right before Bangalore split off from the pradakshina route, the crowd actually came to a standstill, too many people to even move.

Finally we could turn off the pradakshina road and continue walking without all the crowds the last half mile back to our house. I can make it to the light, I can make it to the corner, I can see our house, I can make it past the guest house, I can make it across the field, I can make it to our gate, I can make it to our house! In the house, we will fill the shower bucket and wash off all the sweat and grime from the night. My feet are just about as dirty as I have ever seen them. We got to bed around midnight.

I got up about 4:30 this morning and went up to the rooftop to be with Arunachala and meditate. In our usually quiet country location, there was still much noise from the road. I think a lot of this noise was horns of busses, trying to make their way out, to start back home. And in the dirt road in front of our house, there were, even at 5 AM, many rickshaws (which usually we do not see at all) which were, I guess, carrying walkers too tired to go further, back to their busses.

By Dr. Harsh K. Luthar

Sri Ramana used to say that just like an elephant wakes up upon seeing a lion in the dream, in the same way the devotee wakes up to his own True Reality, upon seeing the Guru in this world dream.

Once someone asked Sri Ramana how could one’s own True Guru be found. The Sage replied, “By intense meditation”. Another time Sri Ramana said that the disciple is more important than the Guru. If the disciple has faith, even a stone can serve as the Guru.

This morning, I am being visited by Dr. Lakshyan Schanzer, a well known Master Yoga Teacher and a Psychologist. Lakshyan has studied with a number of famous Gurus over the last 30 years including Swami Satchitananda, who found the community of Yogaville near Charlottesville, VA, here in the U.S. Lakshyan lived in that community for a while and also visited India to study with other teachers as well.

After Lakshyan and I talk this morning, we will go to an Indian Restaurant called “Rasoi” in Providence, RI for an “all you can eat” vegetarian lunch Buffet. I skipped breakfast in preparation for that anticipated big meal.

I should mention that Lakshyan has studied not only with the traditional Gurus but also spent time with Nisargadatta Maharaj. His account of the visit to Maharaj is on the following url.

http://luthar.com/2007/02/10/meeting-nisargadatta-maharaj-by-dr-lakshyan-schanzer/

Of course, I respect all Gurus and traditions. But my mind has naturally been inclined to Sri Ramana since I was very young. It just does not go in any other direction at all. Ammachi used to come here and many people lined up on their knees to get a hug from her. I respected these devotees but for me such things have absolutely no meaning. I accept that for others, it may be a lifetime experience. No matter how well known or famous or charismatic a Guru, I never feel any attraction other than for the person as a human being.

Sri Ramana is truly like the bright afternoon Sun at the height of the summer for the devotees. When the Sun itself is shining, one does not need candle lights to see the way.

Well, no words can be adequate. Sri Ramana’s devotees from the early 1900s to 1950 were some of the greatest saints and yogis of the day. But they were content to stay in Bhagavan’s shadow. Having found the Heart, one remains in the Heart as the Heart. No other place to go or be except where one already is and what one already is.

Namaste and love to all

In so many ways Arunachala is the focus of our life here in Tiruvannamalai. I want to show some of the views that we live with, since many are interested in this holy mountain.

Views of Arunachala

Classic pictures

Ramana’s drawing

Arunachaleswara Temple

Arunachala from around the hill

People climbing Hill for Deepam

Arunachala Views

From Inner Path

Arunachala from ‘yenga veedu’ (our house)

Altar for Mahasivaratri

Richard and Carol

Photos walking around the hill

Sri Ramanasramam

Inner Pradakshina Path

Papaji’s Cave

Sadhu’s and Sadhu tank

Pool at Reforestration Project

Backside of the Hill

Adi Anamalai Temple entrance

Nearing the end of the Path

Last Temple before Tiruvannamalai is re-entered, Panchamukha Shrine

We explore Arunachala frequently. We walk from ‘yenga veedu’ (our house) to the mountain. I wanted to live on the SW side of the mountain because the forested area at the base of the hill interested me, as does this side of Arunachala.

The pictures here are from a walk we took this week from our house up to Papaji’s cave. It takes about 30 minutes to get to the side path off the inner pradakshina path, then another 30 minutes up the hill.

To get to the path from where we live, we walk out to Bangalore Road and then walk in towards Tiruvannamalai. Just before where the pradakshina road turns off of Bangalore Road there is a Nandi, shown above, pointing to Arunachala. On the other side of the road is where the path starts. Follow the trail to the left.

Everywhere here, Arunachala dominates the horizon. Carol, my wife, is shown above walking up the path with Arunachala in the background. Notice the trees by the path here. They were planted long ago, I guess as shelter for this access path. This path is marked with ‘trail markers’ for the pradakshina path (A white ‘cup’ holding a red ‘flame’).

When we get to the inner path, we turn right and go against the usual clockwise pradakshina direction for a few hundred feet until we see the Om marker on a rock. We then turn left towards the mountain. Where this path starts there is another Om Amma mark with an arrow.

Om Amma is a local woman, quite old now, who lived in a cave on the hill close to the cave where Papaji stayed for some time. She is said to have a natural Om symbol on her forehead. People would climb up this path in order to get to her for her darshan. Now some people have moved her down the hill to a location near AHAM’s ashram. She is still available at least once a week at her “new place.” It is said that she does not respond in any normal kind of way, and often does not take any notice of other people. Locals feel that she is somehow ‘touched by God.’

From here the trail gets more difficult, but is still pretty easy to walk and climb up. As always, Arunachala forms the background (and the foreground and is Reality itself).