I was surprised by the atmosphere, which was more mysterious than I had imagined.
My first impression is "the ultimate silence (with zero effort)." If I were to describe it in a fantastical way, it could be said that "a gateway (portal) to heaven is open here." It wouldn't be strange if deities like Shiva and Parvati appeared here.
In yoga and meditation, samadhi ranges from samadhi achieved through effort to the more advanced samadhi achieved without effort. I vaguely sensed that the atmosphere here was of the more advanced, "effortless" type. It was a valuable experience to be able to experience this atmosphere. Among the places I know on Earth, this place is very unique, and I don't think there are many places that offer the same feeling, so I'm glad I made the effort to come here from so far away.
This is an ashram built for the sage Ramana Maharshi, but he was not interested in ashrams, and it was built by people around him. The ashram was founded in 1922, and Maharshi passed away (mahanirvana) in 1950, so even though it has been almost 70 years since his death, you can still feel the energy.
This place doesn't have a clear, intense energy like "fire." In many sacred places around the world, you often feel energy associated with fire, but this is not the case here. There is a more fundamental, much deeper "void" here than the "black void" that I know, a depth that seems to reach an unimaginable abyss, and it may even feel a little frightening. Those who are sensitive may find it frightening. At first, I thought it was quiet, but when I looked closely, I felt that there was a deep void. I also vaguely remember reading something similar about the ultimate samadhi in a book. Perhaps that was about the atmosphere of this deep void. It's like a wall that you have to overcome to reach the final state.
However, the basic atmosphere is quiet, so I think it is easy to meditate. However, there are no cushions, so the floor is stone, so even if your mind is relaxed, your feet may reach their limit first.
It is disrespectful to compare oneself to a sage, but I felt that Ramana Maharshi had reached a much higher state than I have. Well, I also remember reading about facing the deep void in other books, so I still have a long way to go.
By the way, the accommodation at the ashram was fully booked, so I stayed nearby. Photography is not allowed inside the ashram, so I only took a picture of the gate.
When you are here, the "waves of thought" are naturally drawn into something. The waves of thought are the basis of the ego, and the ego is generally what is called "I," but in yoga philosophy, the ego is said to be an illusion of the function of thought, and is different from the "I" in the sense of the soul. Because the waves of thought that are the basis of the ego are drawn in, the ego and the concept of "(the general) I" naturally disappear. That is where the fear arises. The fear of the disappearance of oneself. In theory, the disappearance of "oneself" is a point that must be passed through in the process of growth, but it may be a very frightening thing. I feel that you can glimpse that feeling just by being here.
According to "Being Here Now: Ramana Maharshi's Teachings," "The fear and trembling that occur when entering samadhi are due to the fact that a small amount of ego consciousness still remains. But when the ego completely dies and leaves no trace, a person remains in a space of pure consciousness where only bliss expands. And the trembling disappears." This was also explained in "Yoga: The Secret of the Ages" by Dale E. Harding. It seems that when the ego is about to disappear, you feel fear, but when the ego disappears through samadhi, the fear disappears and you reach bliss. That is the direction, even though I am not at the level of samadhi.
■Caves and other places in the foothills of the Annamalai mountain.
■The summit of Arunačala is currently closed (as of 2019).
I started climbing from the Mango Tree Cave, which is behind the giant temple in the center of town, but it seems that climbing to the summit is currently prohibited. The path is closed. You can go to the caves in the middle of the mountain.
It seems that the reason for the closure is that two people slipped and fell, breaking their bones, when they climbed six months ago, but it seems that you will be able to climb again next year. It is not impossible to climb, but it feels strange to climb in a place that is prohibited.
So, I climbed to the middle of the mountain of Shiva's mountain, but the summit will have to wait.
This mountain is thought to be only climbable barefoot, but except for the caves, shoes are okay, and local people say that shoes are fine even for the summit. It seems that due to the influence of accidents, safety has become the top priority. I didn't know that before.
Even if you want to climb barefoot, it seems like you can leave your shoes at the hut where the sage Ramanamaharshi lived for 7 years, located in the middle of the mountain, and go back and forth.
→ The second time I climbed, some local residents were asking people to leave their shoes and were asking for a 10 rupee storage fee, but I ignored them.
A significant portion of the foreigners coming up from the Ramana Ashram are barefoot. Perhaps that's the atmosphere.
Along the way, there were monkeys, but they had little fear of humans and were eating banana peels that were given to them. I also tried giving them a banana peel by hand, but they ate it normally at my feet. This is something that happens at several sacred mountains in India, and there are monkeys with even less vigilance in the mountains of Junagadh in western India. When I visited the Jain temple there, the monkeys were more polite than here, sitting properly and waiting patiently for food. It was surprising to see how dignified and upright they were, even though they were monkeys. Compared to that, even the monkeys here with their lack of vigilance probably indicates that this is a sacred mountain.
On the other hand, at some sacred mountains of Lord Shiva, there are monkeys that are aggressive and come to steal people's belongings, bananas, and food. It's quite different, even though they are both mountains of Lord Shiva.
■A Place Where Thoughts Disappear
There are many places around the world where you can relax by calming the waves of thought and becoming quiet, and this is one of them. Yoga also has a similar effect.
However, the feeling of dissolving the self, accompanied by fear (automatically, unintentionally), is not something you often experience elsewhere. This is what makes this place unique. Just being here, you can feel a change within yourself.
I once read a phrase that said, "Being with a saint is a very frightening thing," and I understood that to mean the sharpness of their insights. However, I feel that the feeling of the self dissolving is even more frightening. Compared to that, the sharpness of insights is ultimately just intelligence, so it may not be essential. This is because, when I skimmed through a book, Ramana Maharshi repeatedly explained the basics rather than making pointed remarks, so perhaps that is the nature of the teachings of a saint. Making pointed remarks is the job of fortune tellers, spiritualists, and psychics, not the job of a saint.
If there is a god, it is a being that has not only light (the sun) but also darkness (or the moon). That makes more sense. The realm of God has a deep abyss, a deep sleep, as its nature. In other words, it might be said that "God has both light and shadow," but both the light and the shadow are very deep. The light is a light that covers everything, and the darkness is a darkness that erases all "I" and consciousness, making it selfless. It may be a frightening power for some people.
People often talk about "selflessness" casually, but true selflessness may be the fear of falling into the abyss of nothingness, where the self disappears. Perhaps if the self completely disappears, enlightenment will be achieved, but that probably doesn't happen often, so it's probably not worth thinking about enlightenment. Enlightenment will come on its own. In yoga, the light is often associated with the sun or the pingala, and the shadow is associated with the moon or the ida, but in essence, they all seem to be saying similar things.
If the female/moon/ida/energy of the goddess is essentially the feeling of the self dissolving into the abyss of nothingness, then the essence of the energy of this Ramana Ashram may also be the energy of the goddess. However, I am only staying here for a short time, and so far, I am mostly seeing the aspect of the goddess, although there may be many aspects of the sun and the pingala. Saints may have both aspects, but even saints have their own individuality, so it would not be surprising to find a male saint with a feminine atmosphere.