Arunachala - the incarnation of Shiva.

Sunday 07 January, 2018

Annamalai (Arunachala in Sanskrit).
Arunachala refers to the holy mountain in Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu.
The hill is also known under the names Arunagiri, Annamalai Hill, Arunachalam, Arunai, Sonagiri and Sonachalam.
This is one of the five main shivaistskih holy places in South India. Annamalaiyar Temple (which will be discussed in the next article), the temple of Lord Shiva is located at the base of the hill.
It is also an important place for devotees of Sri Ramana Maharshi, with Sri Ramana Ashram, located at its foothills.
According to legend, associated with the temple, there was a dispute between Brahma the creator, Vishnu the guardian who of them was better.
To settle the dispute, Lord Shiva said that will manifest itself in the form of a column of light, and then the form of Arunachala.
Over the centuries, many saints and sages approached Arunachala.
Saivite saints Manickavachagar, Appar, Sambandar and Sundarar four examples.
In the fifteenth century, Guhai Namasivaya Guru Namasivaya and Virupaksha Deva came from Karnataka and settled on Arunachala. Saint-Namasivaya lived in one of the caves of Arunachala, which is still known by his name. Virupaksha Deva OM -shaped lived in a cave on the hill above, and the cave still bears his name and is located on the southeast slope of Arunachala. In this cave, Sri Ramana Maharshi lived in the period from 1899 until 1916.
Arunachala Mahatmyam says:
"Seeing Chidambaram, being born in Tiruvarur, dying in Kashi, or just thinking about Arunachala looking for, of course, to reach liberation."
Another verse in Arunachala Mahatmyam, in Sanskrit Tamil Sri Ramana Maharshi says:
"Arunachala is really a holy place. Of all the holy places is the most sacred!
Know that this is the heart of the world. It really is Shiva himself! It is the abode of his heart, the secret Kshetra. In that place, the Lord is in the form of the mountain Arunachala named. "
Asked about the special sanctity of Arunachala, Ramana Maharshi said that other holy places, such as Kailash, Kasi and Chidambaram are sacred because they are the abode of Lord Shiva, while Arunachala is Lord Siva himself.
However, as the above verse Arunachala Mahatmyam says, it is the secret of Arunachala Kshetra. It is a place that bestows jnana (knowledge of self), but most people have so many other desires, and do not really want jnana.
Arunachala has always been relatively little known. But for those who understands jnana, Arunachala always makes itself felt through these or other means.
"All the stones in the place [Arunachala] are Lingas.
It really is the abode of Lord Shiva. The words spoken in the Scriptures, "and meditate there will be absorbed in samadhi, is crazy delusions. Could there be another place that would be his equal? "Arunachala Purana.
Giri Pradakshina / Geary Valam
Bypass Arunachala known as Giri Pradakshina Sanskrit and Tamil Valam Giri. Performing Pradakshina Arunachala considered beneficial in all respects. As a rule, Pradakshina done barefoot, from the hill on the right.
Sri Ramana Maharshi once explained the meaning of the word pradakshina and how it should be done by a devotee: "The Letter"

Pra "means the removal of all sins;
"Yes" means the desires;
"Kishi" means freedom from future births;
"to" in favor of granting deliverance through jnana

If you go by Pradakshina step gives happiness in this world, in two steps, it gives happiness in heaven, three steps, it gives bliss Satyaloka that can be achieved.
It is necessary to make a detour or mouna (silence) and dhyana (meditation) or japa (repetition of Lord's name) or sankeertana (bhajan), and therefore to think about God all the time.
We have to go slowly, as a woman, which is the ninth month of pregnancy. "
During the year, pilgrims practice called weights valam (bypassing the temple Annamalaiyar Annamalai hill and 14 kilometers in circumference), which is considered a simple and effective form of yoga.
Bypassing the church begins with bare feet and is considered a sacred act.
There are 8 small shrine Lingas located 14 km circumference of the hill, each of which is associated with 12 lunar signs. They are collectively referred to as the Ashta lingam (meaning Lingas 8) and is considered one of the rituals of worship for girivalam (circumbulation mountains).
Phallus Moon
Indra Lingam Vrishaba, Tula (Taurus, Libra)
Agni Linga Simha (Leo)
Pit Lingam Vrichiga (Scorpio)
Niruthi Lingam Mesa (Aries)
Varuna Lingam Magara, Kumba (Capricorn), Aquarius)
Vayu Lingam Kadaga (Cancer)
Kubera Lingam Danush Mina (Sagittarius, Pisces)
Eesaniya Lingam Mithun, Canny (Gemini, Virgo)
Karthigai Deepam
Mahadeepam
Every year, on the tenth day of celebration Karthikai, devotees take the coals in the pot of the sacred fire that burns in the temple Arunachaleswara and carry them on the top of Arunachala, along with cloth wicks.
A huge boiler is a high Arunachala five peaks and filled with hundreds of liters of melted butter mixed with camphor.
Exactly at 6:00, as the sun sets and the full moon rises, the lights on top of a hill, on a flagpole in the temple, and in Sri Ramanasramam, accompanied by chants Arunachala Siva huge mass. The fire on the top of Arunachala can be seen for many kilometers around.

Sri Ramana Maharshi described the importance of this event as follows:
"Getting rid of the idea of` I am the body "and the merging of the mind with the heart to realize itself as being and non-dual light, that's the real meaning of darshan as a beacon of light on the Annamalai, the center of the universe. "
Arunachala is the spiritual center for millions of spiritual seekers who come here from around the world each year.
This fact highlights the highly revered Shaivite saints, and other sages throughout the ages, and emphasized in the Scriptures.
World Heritage program recognizes that it is in the interest of the international community, to preserve such spiritual centers for children. Arunachala will be protected and preserved for future generations.

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