Bearing and tending me in the world
in the shape of my father and mother,
Thou didst abide in my mind,
and before I fell into the deep sea
called Jaganmaya (universal illusion) and was drowned,
Thou didst draw me to Thee, Arunachala, Consciousness Itself,
... such is the wonder of Thy Grace!

Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi
From: The Necklet of Nine Gems

 

The Legend of Arunachala
In the legend of Arunachala, Vishnu represents the ego or individuality and Brahma the mentality, while Siva is Atma, the Spirit. The main purport of the legend is that Siva once appeared as an infinite column of light. Because the column of Light was so dazzling and impossible to look upon, both Brahma and Vishnu prayed to Siva to take a more benevolent and accessible form so that all beings could worship Him and realize the goal of life. Siva accordingly took the form of the Arunachala Hill, declaring: "As the moon derives its light from the sun, so other holy places will derive their sanctity from Arunachala. This is the only place where I have taken this form for the benefit of those who wish to worship me and obtain illumination. Arunachala is OM itself. I will appear on the summit of this hill every year at Kartikai in the form of a peace giving beacon." Kartikai is that day of the year when the constellation of Kartikai (the Pleiades) is in conjunction with the full moon - usually in November. On that night each year a huge bonfire is built on top of the hill and appears from a distance as a great fiery beacon. It is observed throughout the area and especially by the thousands of devotees who circumambulate the hill, like a living garland, slowly moving along the eight miles aound the base of the holy hill.

 

Ocean of Nectar, Full of Grace,
Engulfing the universe in Thy Splendor!
O Arunachala, the Supreme Itself!
be Thou the Sun
and open the lotus of my heart in Bliss.

Hymn to Arunachala,
From: five Stanzas to Arunachala
Bhagavan Sri Ramana Marharshi

 

How AHAM Came Into Being

Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi	A. Ramana AHAM's Founder
Elizabeth Mac Donald

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