I was just back from a girivalam and was waiting for a darshan, that I met my prof on the way. He made me walk with him when I was already so tired, but I was glad when he told me about mailing Ramana Ashram and staying there. He told me about Virupaksha cave and Skandaashram and I could not wait to mail Ramana Ashram. The next day I got a reply stating that I could stay for 2-3 days in the ashram around Mar 24th.
After a friend’s wedding in Gobichettipalayam, I booked tickets to Thiruvannamalai from Gobi and reached there at 3:30 am. I rested outside the temple in the corridor till 5 am till the doctor came and I got my keys and slept off for quite some time.
Ramana Ashram
There were beautiful peacocks screeching at times. My room was neat and tidy with Gandhian furnishings - a wooden table, chair, a cot with mattress. There were lots of foreigners around, some of whom spoke tamil like a native. It was peaceful there.
The ashram offered healthy food. There were 2 meditation halls. I tried meditating, but I could not. Boys were reciting Vedas in the morning and evening. It was fun to watch them. It was abuzz with a timetabled activity going on all the time. I decided I will go to Skandashram and Virupaksha cave that evening when it was less scorching.
Skandashram
It was written in the room that girls should not venture alone either for inner path or Skandashram. But I was determined to go alone and make friends with someone on the way. I started after 4 pm after having milk and once I reached the gate, I found a couple kind of intimate. So I decided not to approach them and I started walking alone up to Skandashram. It was rocky and it was very hot even after 4 pm that I was perspiring. Just when I needed a hand, a soul appeared who agreed to be my escort. We walked silently and I just followed him. After asking for few directions and 1.5 hours later, we arrived at Skandashram which was nothing I like imagined. It was like a normal house, from where I could see the thiruvannamalai temple. We went inside prayed, sat for a while, clicked snaps of each other and tried to Virupaksha cave which the gurukal said would be closed by 5 pm. We decided to try our luck nevertheless.
Virupaksha Cave
As the gurukal said, the cave was closed by the time we reached there. So I returned disappointed. We took the steps down from virupaksha cave. I figured out that this gentle soul was working in Malaysia and he escorted me till Ashram where we exchanged email ids so that he would send me my snaps. The next day, I left early without having the 4 pm snacks and climbed up the steps walking through the city road instead of ascending upto Skandashram and again descending to Virupaksha cave.
I reached there and it was cool up there amidst the trees and flowers blossoming here and there. I went inside and found a lone foreigner sitting there like a white ghost. I sat on the other side inside the cave and closed my eyes. I could hear the horns of buses from that height. It was peaceful. I was the last come out and the gurukal was closing the gates. I found 3 beggar ladies, but I had only 10 rs with me which I wanted to put in Thiruvannamalai hundi. I remember a thirukural which says to beg is bad, but to refuse a beggar is worser. My climbing the day before had hurt my legs badly that my plated right knee was buckling and I needed support and sat at the entrance thinking how to take another step. The beggar lady somehow intuitively understood this and gave me her hand and from then on, gurukal came and he gave his hand till the place where it was relatively plain where I could walk without support.
I thanked him and we parted ways. I reached the temple, had a peaceful darshan and went out and reached ashram and had a blissful sleep.
Inner Path
I wanted to take the inner path and do my girivalam as well. It was not pournami, so I could have had any companions. Luckily my anna and his father came from Bangalore and took the inner path. Twice we strayed from the actual path and Ramana rishi guided us by sending some saffron robed guy who quickly walked in front of us and disappeared showing us the right path.
We saw a turquoise green rectangular lake on the way where a foreigner was taking bath. For me to step in the water seemed so full of hidden creatures. We reached a place where I saw a adi pump. There again we strayed, we retraced and came back had some water from the pump, and a banana each and walked further.
We reached another well, walked around talking about things in general. The twilight was so refreshing and gradually it was getting dark. I was telling my anna, the story the lame gurukal had told me in the temple the day before about ThiruNeelakanda Shastrigal burning his eyes with camphor and regaining his eyesight by reciting a shlokha.
I was jokingly telling anna, that this hill was full of Siddhars who would be sitting and meditating in caves. We decided after it was completely dark to take the road and we just reached the road, when we found a saffron robed guy meditating in front of us in a small enclosure with his back to the road, that gave me fright because of the unexpected suddenness.
Finally, we walked reached the ashram, took bath, packed bags and reached Bangalore comfortably by the night bus. The day after was convocation.
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