Bhagavan reaches Arunachala

On this day (September 1), in 1896, Venkataraman Iyer of Tiruchuzhi reached the town Tiruvannamalai where the sacred hill Arunachala is. He immediately entered the temple, where strangely not a soul was present. He proceeded to the innermost shrine to report his arrival (so to speak) to Arunachala.

Later, reaching the Ayyankulam tank he threw away his belongings, clothes and money into waters. His head was shaved. As he was about to enter the temple, there was a short sharp shower, so that he had a bath before entering the temple.

From there he went deeper into the Patala Lingam to avoid street urchins, and spent many days lost in meditation before he was found bleeding and oozing pus due to the vermin who were feasting on their unconscious prey.

He moved frequently, to the Subrahmanya temple, and from there to the Mangai Pillayar temple where he had his first constant attendant, Uddandi Nayinar. He later moved to the Gurumurtam where he spent the next 18 months, mostly in samadhi.

It was later that Kavyakanta Ganapathi Muni was to name him Sri Ramana Maharshi, suggesting that he be addressed as Bhagavan. Such was the beginning of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi's life at Arunachala.


Tags: RamanaMaharshi | Acalayoga