Tiruvannamalai

We rode another half hour to the town of Tiruvannamalai, population 120,000. We drove through the town and marveled at the amount of men dressed in orange cloth with dread locks. Most of them had long beards and hair. Many carried sticks, but nothing else. We arrived at our hotel, a new one out side of town and were met with a large impressive crew of “room service” guys who wanted to be of service. Couldn’t they carry my purse? Unlock the door? They showed us to our rooms, and came in with us to show us how to turn on the lights, flush the miraculous western toilet, turn on the air conditioner, the faucet to the sink! “Room service, Madame!” And how! IT was early afternoon and we were going to meet to go to dinner together at 6:30, so another woman and I decided to take a walk. I was eager to see those guys in orange again. I got my wish. The people along the road were extremely friendly and all wanted their pictures taken. We met some women sitting at an empty tank (for holy bathing) and they were crazy for us. We took their pictures and they kissed us, and we kidded them. I noticed that their teeth and mouths were very red, stained from the beetle nut they were chewing—which makes you stoned. As we walked, I saw so many things. A small shop made of fronds with a TV on it showing Ghandi, and men watching it. We saw these many man made pools (tanks) and next to them what appeared to us to be above ground tombs—but Hindis cremate their dead. They were richly painted, and some of them even had photos printed on the plaster. There were many monkeys there—sitting on the stones and the colored platforms watching us—following us at a safe distance through the brush. We saw a funeral, and they took the person and covered him with dirt above ground—there was another hump in front of him. We later found out that the tombs are not tombs, but after people bath in the tank they go and rest on these platforms. The men we saw were Swamis, holy men that devote their lives to God. They don’t work but spend their lives meditating and had made a pilgrimage to this town from all over India. People feed them. Actually, we saw a man arrive on a bicycle and hand out rice cakes wrapped in newspapers to them. We bought many of these cakes to give to people begging. They cost about a penny a piece. The streets were lined with beggars on the way into town. Back the way we came out of the city and congestion to hear crickets! What a glorious sound. I went up to my room to take a shower, followed by the 4 room service guys. I went inside, and the doorbell to the room rang. I opened it. There they all were beaming at me, “Room service, Madame?” “Well, yes, I would like to buy a bottle of water.” They all nodded and giggled and took off down stairs. A few minutes later they were back with the water on a tray. I signed and they left. The door bell rang. “The water, Madame? Is the water fine?” “Yes thank you. The water is just fine.” I took my shower and went up to the roof. They followed me up. “Madame, please. Your job?” one inquired. I told them. They all nodded in agreement at what a fine idea this was. “Madame. Please. A photo with us?” Ahh, that was it! We took a series of photos, which absolutely made them fall down laughing, “One more?” Of course. After dinner it was a repeat. My roommate and I were talking about this as one of them casually walked by our window’s balcony. There was no where for him to go out there. He peeked in, “Room service, Madame?” I collapsed laughing.

In the morning we went back into the hustle of the town—literally hundreds of Swamis were there. We saw a large Ashram (Holy commune type community) dedicated to Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950.) HE lived for the last 20 year of his life there living in a series of caves. (More on him later.) There are over 100 temples in this town, the most famous is the Arunachaleswara Temple dedicated to Lord Siva and Parvati. It is located at the foot of Mt. Arunachala and is one of the largest temples in all of India with a 198’ 13 story beautifully sculptured gopuram and a thousand pillar hall. It was builts in 1502, but the inner part of the temple dates back to the 11th Century.The temple was awe inspiring. There were pilgrims everywhere traveling to the temple. It is enclosed in a tall stone wall with cows along the top. We checked our shoes at the door and filed in with thousands of others. In the courtyard, people were having family picnics and laying prostrate praying. There were carvings on all of the walls and statues everywhere. In all of this, the building was secondary. This really felt like holy ground, and the reverence and devotion the people felt was palpable. We were included in all of the blessings and left with white flour over our foreheads and red dots. I think I was elevated, and my feet did not touch the ground.

The legend is that Shiva appeared a\s a column of fire on Mt Arunachala creating the original symbol of the linga. The fire symbolizes Shiva’s light, which eradicates darkness and evil. I bought a necklace with the image on it and am wearing it.

After the temple we hiked up the mountain through the village where they have constructed temples at each of the 4 caves Sri Ramana Maharshi lived in. A young man, 14 guided us up the mountain and gave us a good history of it all in English. The view from the top was breath taking, partly because I was out of breath. Serious hiking in serious heat. If I had not taken to riding a bike here, I never would have made it. It was somehow a very mystical experience. The enormity of the spirituality with openness is profound. Even as a white foreigner I was embraced by the puja men, and blessed, and accepted. The notion of giving up desires as a basis and working for enlightenment is very interesting. Lots of thought on those to follow.