Silence

Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, South India. This town is so hot, even in November. But, then you forget how hot it is once you get in the ashram. This is the place where Ramana Maharishi lived for 54 years, mostly in silence. He taught in silence too, for most part.

I hear chanting, smell of the fragrant powder on coal. Smells divine. This is a small temple and this leads to the place where Maharishi(Great Sage or Seer) is buried. There is a sculpture of Maharishi, his posture is not the ideal padmasana pose, his back is slightly bent.This place is quiet and I see a few people meditating. It is so peaceful here, I decide to sit here for a few minutes.

Then I go further into the ashram and enter the meditation hall. This room is not that big and it has a huge photo of Maharishi. There are a lot of meditation cushions placed next to the wall. I usually find meditating a little weird and alien. I have tried to make it a habit to meditate at the end of the asana practice just after pranayama. Home practice is never complete without some quiet time for meditation. I know this as I have been taught to do this. I still find it strange to meditate. Sitting quiet and meditating comes easy and natural in this place. Slowing down, taking long breaths is something that is in the air here. I come out of the meditation room and I find two beautiful peacocks on the compound wall next to a tree. What a reward for slowing down.

Then I head up Mt Arunachala where there are a few caves, one of them is called Skandashram. The ashram is at the base of Mt Arunachala.There is a warning that there is an armed robber on the hill. Sad, no place is sacred enough in India. A beautiful trek of 2 kms takes me to Skandashram. The views of the Tiruvannamalai temple are gorgeous. I cannot remember seeing such a huge temple campus before.

Skandashram has two tiny rooms in front of a cave. One of the rooms has a picture of Maharishi’s mother and this is where she attained enlightenment. There is an oil lamp burning and string of jasmines around her picture. I really liked it as this is the first time ever I am seeing a woman associated with spirituality. This room has meditation cushions just like every other room that I visited so far. This room and the cave is so peaceful. Meditation comes easy again. May be it is the oil lamp, the jasmines and the cave atmosphere. The next tiny room was used by Maharishi. There are a lot of monkeys outside the cave. I did not check out the other caves on the hill.

I read later on why Yogis and holy men prefer caves to get their trance on. It keeps them sheltered from the various moods of the weather. There is less light and noise to disturb their meditations. And, breathing the confined atmosphere of a cave causes the appetite to diminish markedly, thus reducing to a minimum of bodily cares.

The ashram closes in the afternoon, understandably so. It makes sense to take an afternoon break in a town that is so hot. When the ashram opens late in the afternoon, I go to the book shop and pick up a few interesting books to figure out how Maharishi taught in silence. After a day of slowing down and being silent, I am so impressed that I make a wish to come back to the ashram as soon as I can.

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