For the last five years we have been spending our New Year eve in Tiruvannamalai, entering the New Year in deep meditation with Jacqueline at the Singing Heart Ashram.
After having spent many years partying on the New Year ’s Eve, it is amazing how peaceful and tranquil it is to open the eyes to the next year from meditation. The first thing we see on January first is the magnificent sun rise from the Arunachala hill.
Arunachala
Arunachala (red mountain) refers to the holy hill at
Thiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu. The hill is also known by the names Arunagiri,
Annamalai Hill, Arunachalam, Arunai, Sonagiri and Sonachalam. It is one of the
five main Shaivite holy places in South India. At the base of the hill is the Annamalaiyar Temple, a
temple of Lord Shiva.
According to the legend associated with the Temple, a dispute occurred between Brahma the creator, and Vishnu the preserver, over which of them was superior. In order to settle the argument, Lord Shiva is said to have manifested as a column of light, and then the form of Arunachala.
In the Maheswara Khanda of Skanda Purana, sage Veda Vyasa
describes in great detail the wonder of Arunachala.
Ramana Maharshi
Arunachala is also an important place for devotees of Sri
Ramana Maharshi, with Sri Ramana Ashram situated at its foothills.
A verse in the Arunachala Mahatmyam, translated from
Sanskrit into Tamil by Sri Ramana Maharshi says: "Arunachala is truly the
holy place. Of all holy places it is the most sacred! Know that it is the heart
of the world. It is truly Siva himself! It is his heart-abode, a secret
kshetra. In that place the Lord ever abides the hill of light named Arunachala.”
Asked about the
special sanctity of Arunachala, Ramana
Maharshi said that other holy places such as Kailash, Varanasi and Rishikesh
are sacred because they are the abodes of Lord Siva whereas Arunachala is Lord
Siva himself.
As the above verse of Arunachala Mahatmyam says, Arunachala
is a secret kshetra. It is this place that bestows jnana (Self-knowledge) and
because most people have so many other desires and do not truly want jnana, Arunachala has always remained comparatively
little known. But to those few who seek jnana, Arunachala always makes itself
known through some means or other.
Mahadeepam
Every year in the Tamil month of Karthigai
(November-December), the Karthigai Deepam (Light) is lit atop the hill. Devotees take embers in pots from the sacred
fire lit in the Arunachaleswara temple and carry them to the top of Arunachala,
along with cloth wicks. An enormous cauldron is placed on the highest of
Arunachala's five peaks and filled with hundreds of gallons of ghee mixed with
camphor. At precisely six o'clock, as the sun sets and the full moon rises,
lights are lit on the top of the Hill, on a flagstaff in the temple, and at Sri
Ramanasramam, accompanied by chants of Arunachala Siva by the vast crowds. The
fire on top of Arunachala can be seen for miles around.
Sri Ramana Maharshi described the meaning of this event
in this way:
"Getting rid of the `I am the body' idea and merging
the mind into the Heart to realize the Self as non-dual being and the light of
all is the real significance of darshan of the beacon of light on Annamalai,
the centre of the universe."
The Thought of Arunachala
By seeing Chidambaram, by being born, in Tiruvarur, by
dying in Kasi, or by merely thinking of Arunachala, one will surely attain
Liberation.
The supreme knowledge (Self-knowledge), the import of
Vedanta, which cannot be attained without great difficulty, can easily be
attained by anyone who sees the form of this hill from wherever it is visible
or who even thinks of it by mind from afar.
Such is the assurance given by Lord Siva in the Arunachala Mahatmyam about
the power of the mere thought of Arunachala, and this assurance has received confirmation
from the life and teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana.
According to
Ramana Maharshi, anyone and everyone can think of Arunachala from wherever they
may be, and they will surely attain liberation.
30 December 2016
While I was meditating on 30th December 2016 in Arunachala, I felt a column of red light
coming from the hill and occupying my spinal column. I could feel the heat,
vibration and then there was immense peace.
I have been doing puja and sadhana according to the instructions
from the Universe for many years and there has been presence of divine feminine energies with me all the time. This time I could feel the masculine energy getting
integrated into my being.
Confirmation from tarot card
Since the last three years, we join Pia Sofia Koren to check tarot card for the new year. This year the
card that I picked up promised integration of masculine and feminine energies for me.
That was a confirmation of what I felt during the meditation, and it made me really happy.
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