Arunachala Shiva

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Om Arunachaleshwaraya Namah

Lord Shiva, the infinite ocean of Sat-Chit-Ananda, out of great compassion for His devotees, took up the form of Arunachala! Words fail to describe the glories of the holiest of all mountains! While Kailash is the home of Lord Shiva, Arunachala is He Himself!


Arunachala literally translates as Red Mountain, and He derives this name from His fiery origin as an infinite column of fire - the form Lord Shiva took in the beginning of creation. He later cooled down in the present form. Hence Arunachala is also known as Agni Lingam.

To commemorate this celestial event, every year a grand festival known as Karthigai Deepam is celebrated with great pomp and gaiety here. A huge lamp is lit atop Arunachala. It is kept alight for 9 full days by thousands of devotees carrying ghee on their heads and making the steep and tough journey to the top.


This holy mountain is located in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu. The Tamil name for Arunachala is Annamalaiyar. There is a majestic Arunachala Shiva temple on one side of the mountain. The main pilgrimage is Giri Pradakshina (Girivalam in Tamil) which consists of walking barefoot around Arunachala. This is a 14 Km long route. There are several temples all along, the principle being Ashta-dik Lingas. These are 8 Shiv Lingas present in the 8 directions around Arunachala. The special feature of Arunachala is that viewed from various locations along the Girivalam route, He takes up the appearance of various different Gods! 


The great spiritual power of Annamalaiyar can be experienced very clearly by pure devotees who perform barefoot Pradakshina around Him, while chanting the holy Panchakshari mantra with pure Bhakti. The power is reinforced when we take time to visit each temple on the Girivalam route, starting from the grand Arunachala Shiva temple.


Due to the accumulated Punya of many births, Lord Shiva awakens the desire in a Jeeva to visit Tiruvannamalai and perform Girivalam. What to speak of the great good fortune of the devotee who actually listens to this inner prompting and undertakes this pilgrimage!


All Jeevas are stuck in the extremely strong identification with their body and mind, and get tossed around in a painfully endless vicious cycle by the vagaries of the body-mind complex. The wonderful indescribable magic of Girivalam pilgrimage is that it gradually awakens the awareness of the pure 'I' consciousness in the heart of the devotee. It is like magnetic induction. The infinite Consciousness that is Arunachala induces Self awareness in the heart of the pure devotee.


He who had thought of himself only as body-mind so far, gently becomes aware of the deep dimension of his personality as the pure 'I', apart from the body and mind. The most thrilling aspect is that he can clearly start feeling that it is the same spark of consciousness shining in the hearts of all beings as the 'I' 'I' 'I', from a tiny insect to the mighty blue whale!!! 


Walking around Arunachala is compared to a cow tethered by a rope to a pole, and going round-and-round in one direction. The rope keeps getting shorter, until finally the cow reaches the pole. In the same way, the devotee experiences increasing awareness of the pure Atman Consciousness in his heart, until finally he experiences his oneness with the all pervading pure Infinite Consciousness! 


Self awareness is the great source of pure unconditional bliss. The most beautiful aspect of this great wonderful reality is that it is of the nature of one's own Self - one needn't seek it outside of oneself. This awareness is just a reflection of the infinite Sat-Chit-Ananda (pure Existence - Consciousness - Bliss). Through regular practice of Atma Vichara, one can progressively increase this awareness, and ultimately reach the highest goal of Nirvana - spoken of so highly by the Vedas.


Awakening of Self awareness is the beginning of the grand journey towards realization of our oneness with Arunachala Shiva - the infinite ocean of Sat-Chit-Ananda. May Lord Arunachala bless all His pure devotees so that they get to embark on this most wonderful voyage! 

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