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Elizabeth108
16 October 2010, 01:18 AM
Greetings to All,

Who has been to Sri Ramana Maharshi Ashram at the Holy mountain of Arunachala in Tiruvannamali, Tamil Nadu, India?

Could you share your experiences there? When were You there, why were you there... what it felt like being there and such.

What would You suggest people who wish to visit that holy place?

Thank you very much for your kind answers.

Eastern Mind
16 October 2010, 05:35 AM
Vannakkam Elizabeth: I was there but other than feeling the presence of the great saint Ramana Maharshi pervading the place, I was unable to do much action because of unforeseen circumstances. Its still on my 'to do' list though. About 5 days back my wife and I spoke with friends who lived in India for 4 years while their daughter was taking dance in Chennai, and they pilgrimaged over to Tiruvanamalai for what I think is Sivalaya Deepam festival, the night when the huge fire is set right at the peak, and pilgrims circumambulate. The best description my friends could give regarding the vibration was "it was undescribable." So best wishes on getting there. There should be lots of info available on the net. I know that TN tourism has a 3-D photo tour of the temple.

Aum Namasivaya

Elizabeth108
16 October 2010, 05:45 AM
Vannakkam Elizabeth: I was there but other than feeling the presence of the great saint Ramana Maharshi pervading the place, I was unable to do much action because of unforeseen circumstances. Its still on my 'to do' list though. About 5 days back my wife and I spoke with friends who lived in India for 4 years while their daughter was taking dance in Chennai, and they pilgrimaged over to Tiruvanamalai for what I think is Sivalaya Deepam festival, the night when the huge fire is set right at the peak, and pilgrims circumambulate. The best description my friends could give regarding the vibration was "it was undescribable." So best wishes on getting there. There should be lots of info available on the net. I know that TN tourism has a 3-D photo tour of the temple.

Aum Namasivaya

Hi,
Thank You very much for sharing it. :)
Aum Namasivaya

Elizabeth108
16 October 2010, 05:51 AM
We are planning our trip to Arunachala late January/early February this very next year (2011). (We plan to go to Chennai to stay some days there and then go on to Arunachala).

But we are not sure what kinds of vaccines we need to have before getting there.
Against what risks of infections do we have to take prevention steps during that period of time (late January/early February)?

Eg. How high is the risk of malaria there during that period of time?

Correct advice and information would be welcome very very much.

Thank You.

Eastern Mind
16 October 2010, 06:55 AM
Vannakam Elizabeth: There is a great and busy travel forum called IndiaMike that is a valuable resource for such questions as malaria and the like. I suggest you go there and browse. It has much information on trains, hotels, schedules, temples, and many knowledgable people for all of India. I use it for the travel aspect of pilgrimage.

Aum Namasivaya

naga
16 October 2010, 09:38 PM
Hallo Elizabeth I was at the ashram 3 weeks ago, I think you can only stay max 3 days. But need to book up well in advance. It has a good bookshop, and meditation hall. I'm not a devotee, so the main reason for me was to enter the temple and go around the hill. There are many ashrams nearby. One tip though is to wear either a punjabi or sari if you enter the temple. I managed to enter the inner sanctum and feel the heat from the Lingam. Its the most ancient of places and you feel it.

Elizabeth108
17 October 2010, 03:33 AM
Vannakam Elizabeth: There is a great and busy travel forum called IndiaMike that is a valuable resource for such questions as malaria and the like. I suggest you go there and browse. It has much information on trains, hotels, schedules, temples, and many knowledgable people for all of India. I use it for the travel aspect of pilgrimage.

Aum Namasivaya

Vannakam Eastern Mind,
Thank you for sharing that site.
In fact I thought travel aspects of the pilgrimage belonged to another board...but I hadn't known about that one before.


However, I am interested in the spiritual aspects of pilgrimage to the Holy mountain of Arunachala.
So people's experiences, opinions and the like are welcome.

Om Namasivaya

Eastern Mind
17 October 2010, 08:50 AM
Vannakkam: We (my daughter and I) were in a bit of a troubled state there. I stared at the large picture of Ramana Maharshi looking down at me from behind the front desk of the hotel. I just felt him saying, "This is My town, don't worry, I'll do your guru a favor and take care of you here." And he did. So His presence is quite all about, and can be sensed.

There is a story of a meeting between my Guru's Guru and him some 90 years ago. Apparently they didn't speak, but just sat together in the silence of samadhi. Someone asked after (I forget which one they asked) why no words were spoken, and the response was, "Nothing to say."

Aum Namasivaya