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“Arunachala Mahatmya”

A passage from Arunachala Mahatmya (the Glory of Arunachala) was read out on 5th March 1938 at the Old Hall. It is related to Pangunni, a lame Sage who had his legs made whole by the Grace of Sri Arunachala.

Sri Bhagavan then related the story of a man called Kuppu Iyer whom he had seen when staying in Gurumurtham: “Kuppu Iyer’s legs were severely deformed and he could not walk. He was once on the Girivalam path, sitting and dragging himself along on his way to Vettavalam,. An old man suddenly appeared before him and told him, ‘Get up and walk. Why do you move around like this?’ Without any volition on his part, Kuppu Iyer’s body stood up and he found himself walking normally! After walking a short distance, he turned around to look properly at the ‘stranger’ who had miraculously made him walk. But he could not find anyone. He narrated the incident to all those who were surprised to see him walk normally for the first time in their lives. Any old man in the town can bear witness to Kuppu Iyer regaining the use of his legs.”

“Thiruvoodal”

Thiruvoodal Festival is celebrated in the Tamil month of Thai, approximately around January 16th during ‘Pongal’ which has to do with the apparent movement of the Sun from the southern to the northern hemisphere. Legend has it that the Lord — in accordance with a promise given to Mother Parvati — appears on this Holy Day of Uttarayana to dance on one foot when the Sun rises.

The word ‘thiru’ signifies deity, sacred, holy and prosperity, and the word ‘voodal’ actually means 'tiff' or 'petty quarrel'. It represents the friction that invariably happens between the male and female in an intimate relationship.

The ‘Thiruvoodal Festival’ is enacted by the utsava murthis of Lord Siva and Mother Parvati to convey to Their devotees that Their tiffs should last only for a brief while and not be prolonged as the reason they have been brought together is to live together in Bliss. It takes place inside the compound of Sri Arunachaleswarar Temple, on the streets delineating the perimeter of the temple, and on the Girivalam path itself. ‘Thiruvoodal’ Festival is regarded in such high esteem that one of the perimeter roads has earned the special name Thiruvoodal Street.

Sage Bringi

Once, in order to give darshan to the Sage, Bringi, Lord Siva set off on a Giripradakshina of Arunachala. This enraged Mother Parvati who was angry with the Sage for his refusal to worship Her. Mother Parvati's anger created a Maya Swarupa from which emerged thieves who stripped Lord Siva of His ornaments and clothes, even as He was performing Giripradakshina. During the ‘Thiruvoodal’ Festival, this stripping of Lord Siva is enacted yearly upon the Idol that is being carried around the Hill at the same spot on the Giripradakshina path.

Lord Siva then sent His emissary Sage Sundarar to assuage Mother Parvati with His message: “In order to satisfy the desire of My devotees, I have taken a vow to appear in this Form so that they may worship Me to their Heart’s content. It is in accordance with this vow, that I have given darshan to Bringi.” He further tells his emissary Sage Sundarar to convey to Mother Parvati; “You know Mother Shakti can never be separated from Lord Siva in just the way the mud pot can never be separated from the mud. You can't say, "Give the pot without the mud. Likewise, Lord Siva and Mother Shakti are never separate and can never be separated. It is only in keeping with the understanding of devotees that I am appearing in this Form. Recognising this, my dear Parvati, call off this tiff.”

Sage Bringi considered Lord Siva as the ultimate Source of all Existence. He was such an ardent votary of Lord Siva, that he worshipped Him to the exclusion of every other deity, including Mother Parvati! To the extent that during his daily worship, he would circumambulate only the Lord and ignore Mother Shakti, with a flashing spark of arrogance.

Wanting to enlighten the Sage, the Divine Couple then assumed the unique form of “Ardhanarishvara” — Shiva and Shakti in one unified and inseparable Form. Even then, the egotistic Sage took the form of a bee — ‘bringa’ is Sanskrit for bee — and tried to pierce through the form of ‘Ardhanarishvara’ so that he could go around just Lord Siva’s half of it.

In every human body the static force of Lord Siva constitutes the bone and the skin, and the dynamic force of Mother Shakti triggers the blood and flesh. Goddess Shakti, being the Power as the name indicates, pulled out her energy from Bringi's body. Now he was a mere skeleton, unable to even stand. The Lord pacified Mother Parvati and gave the Sage one more leg to stand on. The Sage soon realized his folly and understood that Life becomes complete only by the “fusion of both Grace and Force” which are not contradictory but complementary to each other.

Lord Arunachaleswara and Mother Apeethakuchambal

I used to spend hours with T.K.Sundaresa Iyer. Most of the time, he would be silent. He would sometimes take me around the Hill or up the Hill to Skandashram. On the rare occasions that he spoke, he would say things of tremendous interest. He once told me, “Ganesan, when I was with Sri Bhagavan, He once told me, ‘Siddhapurushas’ living in Tiruvannamalai, elsewhere in India and around the World, all come to Arunachala to go around the Hill. Sometimes, they come in the Form of Light.” Sri Bhagavan told TKS and some others that He had seen this Light and if one had true devotion, one could see this Light. TKS continued, “Many of us Old Devotees have seen that Light moving around Arunachala. Long for it, Ganesa, but do not expect and do not put a time frame just long for It with humility and a prayerful attitude. Rest assured, It will reveal Itself.”

I would like to share with you that I have seen this Light not once, but three times.

The first time, I was alone. The second time, I was with a group of Japanese devotees. On sharing with them about this light, they sincerely asked, “Can we also see it?” I looked, and there it was! All of them saw it and all of us prostrated before it. The third time was in 2003. It was around 6.30 p.m. when I was going round Arunachala with a group of sixty devotees from Madurai, Nochur Ramana and a few others. As we were approaching the “Panchamukha Darshan” spot, we decided to sit on a rock. As we sat, the Madurai devotees, realizing that it was getting late for dinner at the Ashram, took leave and proceeded on their way.

Sitting on that rock, I suddenly remembered that T.R. Ramachandran, a close friend of mine and Editor of “Tattva Loka”, used to chant the “Shivopasana Mantra” (…sadyo jaatam prapadyaami sadyo jaataaya vai namo namah...) whenever we sat on this rock. I asked Nochur Ramana whether he could chant that. After listening to his sublime chanting, we prostrated and got up!

And as we looked up, there it was, that Divine Light for all of us to see. We all felt blessed!

With the first White Peacock

Sri Bhagavan seated at Skandashram behind the ‘spring’ in the middle of the Rock that He touched and water gushed out