Arunachalam!

As an American I get this curious question by Indians and sometimes also by other foreigners. ”What made you interested in India?” Well, once upon a time I came across a German Meridian Travel Magazine with a picture of the Kumbha Mela, a religious festival in North India, on the cover. There were naked and almost naked men having their bodies besmeared with ashes and carrying trishuls or tridents wading in knee-deep water. They had their long hair tight up and carried it on top of their heads or had long matted strands of hair falling down to their hips or even longer. Religious markings were seen on their foreheads. It all looked pretty wild. This was in the early 1980ies and peaked my interest in India. It looked so different. I have always liked mystical things – and this for sure appeared as such.

In 1988 I met Brigitte who knew how to rave about India. She had just come back from another three months stay in Kerala in South India. It was the time before the internet age so she showed me a big stack of photographs she had taken. I was in particular fascinated with the colorful temples of South India. In 1990 we spent a few weeks at the Shivananda Ashram in London, England, and got a taste of a yogic and spiritual life.

I then got married in June of 1991 and had a child in January of 1993. That for some time was the end of going to India taking on family responsibilities. Yet my dream of going one day persisted.

When we moved from Germany to the USA in 1994 I eventually started going to spiritual groups like Paramahamsa Yogananda’s Self Realization Fellowship and Ramakrishna Paramahamsa’s Vedanta Society. I also attended services and festivals at the local Hindu Temple. Later in 2006 I met my guru, Paramahamsa Nithyananda, in California, USA.

It was my guru’s 29th birthday on January 1st 2007 when my longtime dream of going to India materialized and I finally set foot on Mother India’s soil.

First Impressions

India was exciting from the first moment on. While riding for an hour in a taxi from the old Bangalore airport to my guru’s ashram about half way between Bangalore and Mysore, I soaked in the street scenes of India. From the dirt and dust to men peeing in the street to women construction workers carrying heavy loads of sand and bricks on their heads, relaxed cows crossing worry-free the streets and leaving poop behind that was eagerly scooped up with bear hands by some women to recycle it. I saw those tiny mom and pop shops along with Western looking hotels and shopping malls. Everything I had ever heard of, seen on TV or read about in books and magazines, was presented right there and then to me. I felt right at home.

This first month long stay south of Bangalore was followed by a short trip to Tiruvannamalai, the birth place of my guru, and a day trip going to Mysore and into Bangalore city.

The same year 2007 I went back for a 3-months ashram stay followed by a 6-months ashram stay in 2010. During these trips I visited Tiruvannamalai and Bangalore again. Only on my last trip to India in 2013 to spend four months at my guru’s ashram I began spending more time in Tiruvannamalai with trips to Pondicherry, Vellore, Poondi, Tirupati, the Kumbha Mela in Ujjain, and others. Overall I have seen a few number of places yet intense living at the feet of the holy mountain Arunachala gave me a deeper understanding of the South Indian culture.

As part of the Arunachala Travel Guide I share some stories and experiences of my life in South India which I have collected over a period of five years from 2013 to 2017. As you will see, some stories are funny, others outrageous, and yet others touch the heart and are simply amazing. Life in India and for that matter at any place in the world can only be seen from a larger perspective; the perspective of seeing events, happenings, and interactions with people as reflections and extensions of ourselves, of opportunities to expand, transform and embrace your Self.

Arunachalam Greeting

A common greeting in India is ‘Namaste’ which means ‘I bow to the Divine or Self in you’ with both hands held in prayer position in front of the chest. Another common greeting I encountered is to touch the heart chakra with the right hand and giving a small nod with the head. This greeting is common in Tiruvannamalai and at times accompanied by saying ‘Arunachalam’ or ‘Namah Shivaya’. It reminds us of the greatness of Lord Shiva in the form of the sacred Arunachala Mountain.

Once Brahma, the Creator, and Vishnu, the Sustainer, had a dispute who the greatest is among them. As they could not decide, Lord Shiva was asked who manifested himself as a column of fire. Shiva then requested Brahma and Vishnu to look for his head and his feet but neither could find them. Thereupon Shiva was seen as the greatest among them all. This column of fire then cooled down and manifested as the Arunachala Mountain and is venerated as a manifestation of Lord Shiva himself.

Geologists say that Arunachala used to be an active volcano, hence the column of fire. They also said that the mountain is thousands of years old; it is actually older than the Himalayas.

‘’Aruna’ means ‘red’, bright like fire. This fire is not ordinary fire, which is only hot. This is Jnanagni (Fire of Wisdom, knowledge). It is neither hot nor cool. ‘Achala’ means ‘Immovable Hill’. Therefore, Arunachala means the ‘Hill of Wisdom’.’ – Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, Talk 216

Come on a journey with me to feel the magic of Arunachala.