Arunachala calls us all

 

I had a conversation the other day with a young woman at a cafe I go to regularly. It didn't flow very well since she spent most of the time insistently relaying the progression of her spiritual life. Well, rather the chronology of her psychedelic drug use and resulting insights. Not a bad way to spend an hour however it then morphed into an infomercial selling her services. 

There are many Travelers I have met that are doing the same thing. Leaving their homes and comfort zones, having life changing experiences and then selling these experiences to others. Somehow it always leaves a slightly bitter taste. In many cases it is a version of Multi Level Marketing where the original teacher then becomes the teacher of teachers and so on creating a pyramid of never ending students flowing upwards.

I saw her again at the Friday night Bhagan session at the Nomad Cafe in Tiruvannamalai. We talked for a bit and I mentioned where I was renting a small apartment. Her comments made it clear that this was not the cool part of town and when I asked why she paused and pointed out that they were killing the deer to develop that land and those building there were too good. By this she meant they were well off Indian citizens.

I guess this is classism, or prejudice against a particular social class. It runs rampant here with travelers, hippies and western spiritual seekers. Such a perspective is ironic given the background of Tiruvannamalai as a pilgrimage site that grew up around the sacred mountain Arunachala. It is often said that people are drawn here by the power of Arunachala. If this is so it means that all are drawn here regardless of social class, place of residence or other qualities.

Yogi Ramsuratkumars' words come back to me, "If you want God alone, why do you accept the existence of anything else." Such a perspective comes after long and consistent practice of looking into the source of who we really are. To discriminate based upon outward qualities and not inner realities is an obstacle created by and cultivated within the mind that is focused outward. It causes endless passions, desires and disappointments.

Back in Tiru

 

The sacred mountain Arunachala in Tiruvannamalai , Tamil Nadu, India

This picture was taken in the early 2022 while riding my scooter in the countryside around the mountain. It doesn't take long to get away from the press of people, dogs, trucks, cars and two wheelers to a calmer environment. Believe me when I say India isn't for everyone. No shame in not being able to handle it!

So what am I doing back here in 2025? It's not your typical tourist attraction although thousands of people come here each month on Full Moon day to walk the 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) around the mountain participating in the Girivalam tradition. Like them, I am here for the spiritual experience.

There is a very real and important, some would say crucial, reason for focusing in this way. Life without it is a slog, with ups and downs, wanderings and self imposed goals (or those set by others). It is a way to answer the question "Is that all there is? By no means is this easy in the sense that you can apply some method like a lotion and in 3 easy steps find the source. But for many who have come here the power is felt as living truth and is transformative. 

And so, I have returned to Tiru once more to swim in the energy and grace of it all. As I soak it all in there is a sense of recharging, of being among like minded beings. A sense of being Home.

Consider being considerate

For many years I used the word 'mindful' in a special way, for the most part. Once in a while I used the word in a sentence that wasn't meant to evoke some meditative or spiritual meaning or feeling tone. The dictionary defines mindful this way: conscious or aware of something.

Today I used the word 'considerate' in a way that made me look it up. The definition I read was: careful not to cause inconvenience or hurt to others. It's Latin root is considerare, to examine, which fits nicely with meditation practice as well.

The way I used the word brought to mind a shift in my thinking, living and relation to others.

As part of my meditation practice I have evolved a ritual without a lot of conscious thought, an invocation really. At the end of my meditation I lift my hands and offer up any merit gained in my practice for the betterment of all; as I lower my hands to namaste I ask that I be given the strength to do good works; and lowering my hands to my thighs, I wish that my actions, good & bad, increase the awareness of myself and others to do good works.

I'm seeing this orientation to others more in keeping with being considerate rather than being mindful. Examining our actions so as not to cause inconvenience or harm to others is a simple, portable way of living with ease with one another. Mindfulness has the air of non-involvement, also a noble practice of seeing attraction and avoidance, but one that doesn't fit right now with the orientation I'm talking about.

In Yoga much is made of Ahimsa, non-violence. It seems that our ango-saxon word, considerate, carries much of the same intention.

Be considerate. Be well. Be at ease.

The Circle Around the Zero

I was invited to lunch yesterday at a local meditation center to talk about the recent 10 day silent retreat two of my regular yoga students had. What a delight! The food is always great there and the setting is one of the most conducive to inward looking in the Berkshires.

Of course, there is always the problem of talking about silence, but soon we were immersed in exploring together various aspects of the retreat. One person referred to "coming to zero" as a way of indicating a different way of being she experienced. I mentioned the following poem and sent it off to her when I returned home.

The Circle Around the Zero

A lover doesn't figure the odds.

He figures he came clean from God

as a gift without a reason,

so he gives without cause

or calculation or limit.

A conventionally religious person

behaves a certain way

to achieve salvation.

A lover gambles everything, the self,

the circle around the zero! He or she

cuts and throws it all away.

This is beyond

any religion.

Lovers do not require from God any proof,

or any text, nor do they knock on a door

to make sure this is the right street.

They run,

and they run.

~ Rumi

For me it captures the unrestrained quality of being that draws me back over and over. Also, it has a 'gonzo' all or nothing texture that I find necessary to see clearly. When we hold onto our set ideas, no matter how noble or valid or venerable, the timelessness of Truth is obscured.