Arunachala

Arunachala, a sacred mountain in Tiruvannamalai, India, is strongly associated with enlightenment and spiritual awakening in Hindu tradition, particularly within the Saiva tradition and the teachings of Ramana Maharshi. It is considered a powerful center of spiritual energy and a doorway to liberation. Many enlightened beings, including Ramana Maharshi, have sought and attained enlightenment through their connection with Arunachala. 

Here's a more detailed look at the connection between Arunachala and enlightenment:

1. A Place of Spiritual Power:

Arunachala is revered as a manifestation of Lord Shiva, specifically as the element of fire (Agni).

It's believed to be a place where the energy of the divine is concentrated, making it conducive to spiritual practices and self-realization.

The mountain is considered the "spiritual heart of the world" by Ramana Maharshi, highlighting its significance for those seeking enlightenment. 

2. Ramana Maharshi and Arunachala:

Ramana Maharshi, a prominent 20th-century sage, attained enlightenment after a profound experience at Arunachala. 

He spent a significant portion of his life in the caves and ashrams surrounding the mountain, teaching and guiding seekers. 

Ramana Maharshi emphasized self-inquiry (Atma Vichara) as the path to enlightenment and viewed Arunachala as a powerful catalyst for this process. 

3. The Significance of Girivalam:

Circumambulating the mountain (Girivalam) is a common practice for devotees visiting Arunachala.

It's believed to be a powerful way to connect with the spiritual energy of the mountain and deepen one's spiritual practice.

The path around the mountain is considered equivalent to a world-circling pilgrimage, condensing the entire world into the sacred space. 

4. Siddhas and Arunachala:

The Tamil Siddha tradition, with its emphasis on achieving divine knowledge, also has a strong connection to Arunachala. 

Siddhas, or enlightened masters, have sought solitude in the caves and forests of Arunachala to deepen their spiritual practices. 

These enlightened beings are believed to have attained liberation through their connection with the mountain's energy. 

5. The Promise of Liberation:

Arunachala is associated with the promise of liberation from the cycle of birth and death (reincarnation). 

It is believed to be a place where one can transcend the limitations of the ego and realize the true Self. 

Many ancient texts and traditions highlight Arunachala as a powerful place for spiritual seekers to attain liberation and enlightenment. 

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Arunachala: Holy Mountain of Cosmic Vibrations along the Spiritual Axis of Earth

The first blog of Cosmic Maps would have been about one of the several energy centers nestled in the supremely energising Himalayas. But there is a lone hill in South India that is a Lingam-shapped mountain-powerhouse of spiritual energy: the holy Arunachala – the Mountain of knowledge and fire/light. ‘Aruna’, means ‘red, bright like fire’ which signifies Jnanagni; the Fire of Wisdom, and ‘achala’ signifies ‘hill’. Thus, Arunachala means ‘Hill of Fire of Wisdom’. The sacred hill, located in the temple town of Tiruvanamalai, is in the shape of a lingam thatmakes it the largest naturally-occurring lingam on the planet. Can you comprehend the spiritual vibrations emitted from a mountain-Shivling? The holy hill’s magnetic call to those on the path of awakening spread outwards in all directions to the multiverses in waves of glorious light. Such are the powerful vibrations emitted by the Hill.

People with reasonable perception are drawn to the hill and keep coming back purely out of their personal experiences of the overwhelming spiritual vibrations emitted by the mountain-lingam. Devotee or atheist, any person whose perception is reasonably open can feel the Grace of Divinity here. If one’s consciousness is high, one can almost feel every cell in the body vibrating as if every cell was the cosmos in itself – continually in a state of flux. Many who visited the hill never left for where they came from and synchronicity is not uncommon around this spiritual energy center.

Self-Realised Ramana Maharshi:

Like flowers attract bees, Arunachala has been drawing mystics, masters, yogis, truth seekers and enlightened beings from time immemorial. One jnani (jnani: one who rises over the convincing veil of maya and Duality, and perceives everything as the Self)/Self-Realised soul who left his home after he felt an insatiable urge to visit the hill on merely hearing his uncle utter the word ‘Arunachala’ is the Ramana Maharshi. Ramana Maharshi called Arunachala the spiritual heart of the world, and never left it since the day he visited the holy hill. Ramana Maharshi. The jnani urged seekers to realise the Self by means of Self-inquiry be inquiring ‘Who Am I’ (in silence). The quintessence of Ramana Maharshi’s teachings on advaita and Self-Realisation is found in a small booklet called ‘Who am I?’ which can be downloaded here for free. You can alternatively watch Ramana Maharshi’s supreme advaita teaching summed up in Upadesa Saram video that is 5:32 seconds long.

Ramana Maharshi is one of the enlightened men who’ve walked the earth in recent times, and put many seekers on the path of enlightenment and liberation. Ramana Maharshi’s teachings strike an instant cord among earnest seekers seeking enlightenment and liberation as he shunned religious dogmatic beliefs for simple Self-enquiry. His ashram, Sri Ramanasramam, is another spiritual center located at foot of Arunachala. The ashram brims with the grace of the presence of Ramana Maharshi in the form of immovable calm that can be felt by anyone who visits the ashram. Elegant peacocks, spirited squirrels and monkeys, and revered cows dot the ashram besides mystics and the spiritually-inclined. Expect synchronicity and introspection. At the time of his departure from his physical body when the sage went into Maha Nirvana, a bright light similar to that of a comet flashed and was observed above Tiruvanamalai till as far as Madras. The same was also recorded by the Madras Observatory.

Spiritual Axis of the World:

Ramana Maharshi was certain that Arunachala was the top of the spiritual axis of the Earth, and hence strongly felt that there must be another mountain corresponding to Arunachala at the exact location on the opposite side of the globe on the corresponding pole of the axis. Machu Picchu is the closest known energy center-mountain that resonates great spiritual power. The ancient Inca (Quechua) site of Machu Picchu in Peru is at the other end of the axis passing though Arunachala and the center of the Earth.

The global coordinates for Tiruvannamalai and Machu Picchu are as follows:

Tiruvannamalai: 12n13, 79e04; &

Machu Picchu: 13s07, 72w34

The geographical coordinates of Machu Picchu are not exactly opposite to those of Arunachala, but it would be unreasonable to expect it to be exact since the earth is not a precise sphere. There are striking similarities between ancient Inca beliefs and Indian beliefs. The Incas worshipped Machu Picchu as the manifestation of the Divine Mother Goddess of the Universe. They referred to Her as ‘Paachamama’, a name that bears a striking similarity to the name ‘Pachaiamman’ used as another name for Parvathi in South India.

The architecture of the temple city was astrologically and astronomically determined. Various points of the city serve as a kind of giant sextant or observatory from where specific constellations and celestial objects can be plotted and observed. A closer look at the Meru architectural topology of the city reveals a striking resemblance to the Sri Yantra/Sri Chakra architectural topology that characterises Indian temples. Both Arunachala and Machu Picchu are either ends of an axis of spiritual energy.

Summary:

Arunachala is the largest naturally-occurring lingam on the planet.

It is regarded as the hill for those seeking liberation as per Lord Shiva’s utterances in the Skanda Maha Purana.

Of the five elements-Shiva temples, Arunachala with the flame atop is the manifestation of Shiva in the form of agni/fire.

Ramana Maharshi called Arunachala as the spiritual heart of the world.

Ancient Inca site of Machu Picchu is the closest known energy center that resonates great spiritual power on the other side of the globe on the corresponding axis passing through Tiruvanamalai and the center of the earth.

Machu Picchu’s Meru architectural topography and Tiruvanamalai’s Sri Chakra/Sri Yantra architectural topography are identical.

For thousands of years, spiritual enegery center Arunachala has been attracting true seekers, Realised and enlightened beings alike and serving as a doorway to knowledge and liberation that transcends the space-time continuum.