Settling In

 Settling in nicely to life around Arunachala, the sacred mountain in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu.

My apartment is cozy and calm, unusual in my experience of India. The walls are ochre with turquoise doors. I look forward to being there and rest peacefully. 

Today was laundry day and with a steady breeze all should dry quickly. Walking around in shorts means I won't visit the holy sites that are on my daily rounds. A little respect goes a long way and benefits me to be careful in my dress and speech.

I'm filling my days with enjoyable passtimes such as music and learning language. I found a simpatico Tamil teacher online and have set up two lessons a week. Lots of opportunities to practice as my friends are happy to help me out. 

Amazon had a decent Ukulele that I received two days ago. Getting my fingers in shape again will take a bit. Nevertheless I've played with my 'son' Veechu at his Cafe called Nomad Café. Tuesday and Friday nights is a Bhajan Jam which brings many foreigners with guitars out to play together. It's the first time I've ever played and sung in front of others. Quite the experience and I'm kinda liking it.

Of course there are always places for treats when traveling. Nandhini's Cafe has very nice western sandwiches and salad along with yummy sweet treats. Today was chocolate almond cake with cappuccino for a mid-day pick-me-up.

As always, there are so many opportunities for discussions about philosophy and spirituality. Some are tiresome truth be told. But it still creates a very rich and satisfying atmosphere to live in.

Fascinating Ways of Writing to Communicate

 

I am totally fascinated now with the script used in Tamil Nadu, India and the one used in Thailand. The swirls, curves, twists and turns captivate my attention in a way that Roman Alphabet script never did. Not even going to try to figure it out as I am currently enjoying the beginning of learning Tamil. 

Just look at these scripts!

Tamil Alphabet

Thai Consonants

Okay, so lots of people say that learning these languages is difficult. Probably. It requires a lot of a native English speaker in that the mouth, lips, tongue and other dormant parts are actively required. Cool. 

Besides the scripts the musicality of the languages is challenging and also a new dimension that I first came across traveling the southwest of America listening to indigenous people speak. Even when speaking English the melodies came through. Now it seems that Tamil uses cadence and rhythm while Thai has 5 tonal modes that gives many people fits. 

I'm totally willing to give the native speakers in these languages the grins and giggles as they hear me attempt to communicate. It's ok. I know I'm not fluent and it just doesn't matter. It's a matter of curiosity and being on the edge of experience dealing with the continual awareness of embarrassment but not giving a damn. Pushing on and through until it clicks. Nice.

My landlady and her daughters are willing to spend time without laughing a whole lot ;) and I found a reputable online tutoring service and will meet with a teacher twice weekly. Karthik, the cafe owner where I go almost every day, has taken an interest as well. All really good people.

In a phrase, I'm enjoying myself immensely when interacting in this way. A great counterpoint to the considerable time I spend in Silence.

The Lover

 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

What happens when you cut and throw the circle around the zero away, tell your lover of your love, and she replies, "That's not enough."

Is there anything else to be said? Can you make an argument? Throw a tantrum?

I said nothing and ran. When the core of Love is judged as not enough there is a shock, an acknowledgement of a grave mis-calculation. There is no there there. But the Love is still there; the Heart still beats and fills with an outpouring of a great amount of caring.

It's just misplaced. The object is not what was perceived and there is no way to know if it ever really existed or when it changed. I trust my Heart. That is the reality of the Lovers' Love. They run and they run, not from anything or towards anything, they run for the Joy of Running.

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.