The third visit to Sri Ramanasramam

Introduction

My first visit to Sri Ramanasramam was from 1-Feb-2025 to 5-Feb-2025 and the second visit from 18-Nov-2025 to 22-Nov-2025. Please refer Visit to Sri Ramanasramam and The second visit to Sri Ramanasramam for the details of those visits. My third visit was from 04-Jul-2026 to 07-Jul-2026. This write up is about that visit.

Booking the accommodation

Though booking can be made for five days by Indian nationals, I, by mistake booked it for only four days. Though I had decided to book it till 8^th July, in a hurry, while booking, I did it only till 7^th. I dropped a note to them asking for the change but it was approved only till 7^th. I decided to request, for an extension of one day, after reaching the Asramam.

The first day at Ramanasramam

Reaching Ramanasramam

I started from home at 7:15 AM and reached the Asramam at 11:20 AM. Since finding a parking space was difficult in the previous two visits, I had decided to park a little ahead of the Asramam but looking for a suitable parking space, I almost reached the gate of the Asramam itself and surprisingly found a few parking spaces vacant there. I parked the vehicle and soon somebody came and asked for the parking fee. It was Rs.80/- and he issued a receipt from Tiruvannamalai corporation.  There was no parking fee in my previous two visits. Maybe, that was a new development and the reason why parking spaces were vacant, as people might have parked the vehicles somewhere else!

Allotment of the room

This time too, initially, the lady at the office told, she would give a double room. When I requested again, telling last time too a double room was allotted, she called up somebody. She again told single rooms were not available. Suddenly that person called back and told one room was vacated and that the cleaning was going on. She allotted that room, numbered M58 of Morvi guest house to me and told me to go there after lunch and collect the key from the caretaker. She gave a slip to be used at the dining hall as the key was not yet issued. I asked about the extension of stay by a day and she told, that might be possible and that she would check and confirm. Since it was lunch time, I couldn’t confirm it.

After lunch I went there. The caretaker was not available. I called him up and he came after five minutes and gave the key. The room was neat and clean. The premises provided a good view of the hill too. When I opened the tap, there was no water. I went and checked with the security and he told there were some issues and the tank was getting filled. It was restored after some time. It happened the next day too around the same time, but I had collected enough water in the bucket and it helped. It didn’t happen after that.

The room at Morvi guest house

The view of the hill from Morvi guest house

Morvi guest house was built based on the donation of the ruler of Morvi, a former princely state in Gujarat. He and his family had become devotees of Bhagavan and decided to help in the building of the guest house. It was inaugurated during the lifetime of Bhagavan and was renovated later in 2012. I had read about this earlier but didn’t remember it. A google search later reminded me of these facts!

Morvi guest house

Visiting the Asramam

At 3:30 PM, I went to the Asramam and had tea at 4 PM. After that I visited the shrines. At 4:30 PM, I went for the English reading at the library.  After that, I listened to the Parayana for some time and went to the bookstall. I was particularly looking for the commentary on Ulladu Narpadu (reality in forty verses) by ‘Who’ or K. Lakshmana Sarma as it was written by him, based on the lessons imparted by Bhagavan himself.  I bought that (Rs. 180/- though the printed price was 160) and Advaita Bodha Deepika (Rs.60). After dinner, I spent time, visiting Annamalai Swami's Samadhi and at the shrines.

The second day at Ramanasramam

Visiting the Asramam

After breakfast, I went to Annamalai Swami’s samadhi once again and spent some time there. On the way, I went to a small structure which I had noticed earlier too but never visited. I had a feeling that it would be a Samadhi of some devotees. I went there and it indeed was the Samdhi of Jagadish Swami.

Sheshadri Swami’s Asramam

After visiting the shrines at the Asramam, I went to Sheshadri Swami’s Asramam. After spending time at the Samadhis of Sheshadri Swami and Sri Annai Uma Deviyar, I visited the hall where the idols of different saints are kept. As usual, it was not crowded and was very peaceful.

Climbing the hill

After visiting Sheshadri Swami’s Asramam, I climbed the hill and visited Skandasramam, finger prints of Bhagavan near Skandasramam, Virupaksha cave, Ayya Mouna Guru Siva Narayana Swami shrine, Guhai Namasivaya temple, Unnaimulayar temple, Mulaipal theertham, Mango Tree cave, Jadaiswami cave and Dakshinamurthy temple.

While climbing up, when I was standing at the view point of the Arunachaleswara temple near Skandasramam, I saw David Godman climbing down. He was accompanied by a lady. I was thinking of visiting Pavalakundru temple the next day and was looking at its direction based on a video, I had seen of David. I thought of confirming the place with him but didn’t intrude and ask it.

From Guhai Namasivaya temple, I could see a path going towards a structure and one Sadhu going that way. It looked like the Mango Tree cave but since I was not familiar with that route, I decided not to take that. In the end when I reached Mango Tree cave, I realised that it was indeed a short cut to the Mango Tree cave.

On the way to Mango Tree cave, when I reached Mulaipal theertham, I was shocked to see it almost dry. I had read in the books about Bhagavan that, it was a perennial source of water. There were some traces of water below and one person was drawing it with the help of a bucket tied to a rope. It made me realise how severe the summer in this part of Tamil Nadu is.

Mulaipal theertham in summer

Enquiring about the extension of stay

When I climbed down, it was well past 11:30 AM, the usual time for lunch. So, I went to the room, got freshened up and returned for the second batch in the old dining hall, where Bhagavan used to have lunch. After that I went to the accommodation office and checked whether the extension of the stay was possible. She told it was difficult as they were expecting several visitors and requested me to check out on 7^th itself. Maybe she had forgotten about the discussion, we had, on the previous day.

Yogi Ramsuratkumar’s Asramam, Sadhu Om Kutir and Osborne House

I was thinking of visiting Yogi Ramsuratkumar’s Asramam, and Sadhu Om Kutir, the next day. Since the extension of stay was denied, I went there immediately after that. After spending time there, I decided to explore the house of Arthor Osborne, the intellectual, philosopher and writer who is one of the biographers of Bhagavan. When I searched through Google AI search, it showed a location as Om Guest house or a place near that. It told, I had to take right from Om Guest house but there was no right turn. I could see a house with peacocks behind that but I couldn't see an entrance to that. Maybe that was the house but I couldn’t see it properly. That was in Ramana Nagar. In fact, I was searching for Ramana Nagar too as it appeared in several books about Bhagavan. At least I succeeded in that!

Visiting the library and bookstore

In the previous visits, I couldn’t explore the library much. This time, I decided to explore it. I went there and when I reached the Malayalam section, I could see the book titled Swarna Hastam. It was a book containing Malayalam manuscripts, written by Bhagavan. I always had a desire to see his Malayalam handwriting and luckily, it came in front of me. I went through that and found that his handwriting and language were really good. It was commendable that he could acquire a good command over Malayalam by interacting with his attender Palaniswami, who was a Malayalee, and reading the books brought by him!

Though I had decided not to buy more books, I had an urge to visit the bookstore again. When I went there, I couldn’t resist buying two more books. They were Ganesan's and Chadwicks reminiscences (Rs. 150/- and Rs.70/- respectively).

Meeting Ram

Though I had seen Ram, who had taken me around Palakothu during my first visit, on the very first day itself, he was immersed in himself and I couldn’t talk to him. In the night, when I was leaving the Asramam, I met him again. It seemed he had fallen down near the office. Earlier, I had seen him struggling with walking and coming out from the samadhi shrine in the opposite direction of the circumambulation. I asked him what had happened. He told nothing and then I asked whether he remembered me. He told yes and asked whether I was not from Bangalore. He also asked whether he had talked about any saint last time. I told he had mentioned about Ganga Maa. Then he again almost fell down and I caught him. At that time, he told he had gone for ‘girivalam’ and his legs were paining. He told me to come there whenever possible as it was a great place. I asked whether he was referring to Ganga Maa’s place and he told no and that he was referring to Tiruvannamalai.

I asked him whether he was an employee of Ramanasramam and he told no and that he had made Tiruvannamalai and Ramanasramam his residences (it was more of a figurative statement, as on my first visit, he said he was staying near the Asramam in a rented accommodation). He told in Tiruvannamalai we would get both temple and guru. In other places only one of them would be available. He told, he used to volunteer to keep the chairs in place and sweeping Annamalai Swami's samadhi.

He told he had seen some books with me and asked which books I had bought. I told they were Ganesan's and Chadwicks reminiscences. He told Ganesan's book was titled ‘Moments Remembered’. I told I had also bought Ulladu Nalpadu by Who and Advaita Bodha Deepika the previous day. He told Who's book is the best and Bhagavan also had mentioned that.

The third day at Ramanasramam

Visit to Pavalakundru

In the last visits, I couldn’t visit Pavalakundru, Pachaiamman temple and Ayyankulam. These places were deeply connected with Bhagavan. It was at Pavalakundru that Bhagavan’s mother and brother visited him after he had left Madurai. His first Upadesam was supposed to be given to his mother and it happened here.

Pavalakundru temple

Bhagavan's upadesam to his mother

I walked to Pavalakundru which is very close to the main temple. I had seen from the online reviews that the temple was open only from 9 to 9:30 PM. I reached there around 9 AM. There were close to 250 to 300 steps to climb. When I reached there, the priest was getting ready. A person who looked like his assistant was also there. Nobody else was seen. It was renovated by Ramanasramam in 2016 and well maintained. I spent some time going around the shrine. The view from the top was really good.

The arch of Pavalakundru temple

The steps to Pavalakundru temple

The view from the top of Pavalakundru

After sometime, the puja was performed. The deity is Ardhanarishwar. I sat there for some more time and left as the priest and his assistant were also preparing to leave. On the way back, I sat on a rock and the main temple was visible from there. I had read that Bhagavan was lying on a rock when his mother visited him. Maybe that was the rock! I am not sure why this place is not popular even among the devotees of Bhagavan.

The view of the main temple from Pavalakundru

Pachaiamman temple

Pachaiamman temple was around 1.7 KMs from Pavalakundru and I decided to walk that distance. Google maps showed a narrow road and towards the end of that road, some dogs came barking. Luckily nothing happened. When I checked again, I could see that there was another route through the main road. I should have taken that and decided to use that while returning.

It was not empty like Pavalakundru and there were around 10 to 15 visitors. Pachaiamman is Parvathi and it seems Siva and Vishnu are also there. This is the place where Uma Sahasram was written by Kavyakanta Ganapathi Muni in the presence of Bhagavan. Bhagavan stayed here too for some time when he was living on the hill.

Pachaiamman temple

Ayyankulam

From Pachaiamman temple I walked directly to Ayyankulam pond. It was around 2.8 KMs. I took the main road instead of the narrow road and both the routes showed the same time. The entrance was through a gated road. I entered the road and when I reached the pond, I realised that the entry to the pond was locked. I could see a temple on the side of the entry to the pond and that was also locked and the priest was leaving on his scooter. The water was crystal clear and I thought it might be a major water source for the town. Though I had wanted to see the place where Bhagavan renounced his sacred thread, money and clothes, I couldn’t enter the compound.

Ayyankulam

By that time, I had become tired of walking, as the sun was at its peak. While walking back, I hired an auto and paid Rs. 150/- for the trip to Ramanasramam, which was not that high considering the rates usually charged by them. Again, when I reached, the regular lunch time was over and I had my lunch in the second batch at the old dining hall.

Adi Annamalai temple

Last time, I had planned to visit Adi Annamalai temple, which I couldn’t do. The distance was around 6 KMs. Last time, my roommate had mentioned about using Rapido bikes for some of his trips and I also decided to try that. After dinner, around 7:15 PM, I tried that and It showed Rs.30/- for the trip. It suggested adding tips and I increased it to 50. The driver called me and began to bargain. He told the rate was coming wrongly in the app and whether I wanted up and down ride or only the drop. I told him that I could come back if he could wait. He agreed and asked for Rs.450/-. I didn’t I agree and told him to cancel the ride.  It came down to 350 and then to 250. I told him not to come as I was sceptical about the driver. Then another driver was allocated and he came and picked me up. He told me to sit and wanted to start immediately as the auto drivers would object to bike taxis. We started and he asked for the location and pin. He told he wouldn't get return trip from there and that Rs.50/- won’t be sufficient. I told I would give 100 and he agreed. He asked whether I was coming back. I told if he could wait for 15 mins, I would and he agreed. On the way, he told the Kumbabhishekam of that temple had taken place just 3 days back and that he was there at that time. When we reached, he showed me the pandal (marquee) erected for that. The temple was huge, though it was not as huge as Arunachaleswar temple. It was not that crowded. There were only around 50 people. I am not sure why it is not that much known. It was supposed to be the 'moolasthanam', the original place or source, of Arunachaleswar temple and predates that.

Adi Annamalai temple

The fourth day at Ramanasramam

Since it was the day of checkout, I went to the accommodation office around 9 AM and checked whether 9 AM the next day would be a suitable time for check out. She conveyed, it was not, and I agreed and asked to whom I should handover the key as the room near the gate of the guest house was always kept locked. She told me to handover the key either to the caretaker or to the security.

I went to the old hall and spent time there and later in the library. I had messaged the caretaker about the checkout and he told he would be available. After lunch, I checked out and handed over the key to the caretaker and left around 12:30 PM and reached home around 4:30 PM.

Conclusion

I read in one of the articles in Mountain Path, the journal of the Asramam, that the devotees felt a pull towards the current of pure being, whenever they got associated with Bhagavan. This, I have felt in my previous visits and in this visit too. The feeling takes you to the root of your being and helps you in moving in the path of self-discovery.

The second visit to Sri Ramanasramam

Introduction

My first visit to Sri Ramanasramam was from 1-Feb-2025 to 5-Feb-2025. Please refer Visit to Sri Ramanasramam for the details of that visit. My second visit was from 18-Nov-2025 to 22-Nov-2025. This write up is about the second visit.

Booking the accommodation

After one visit, the booking can be made only after 4 months. I tried to book it for July but it was withdrawn by the system, mentioning some details like Aadhar card were missing, though they were uploaded. In addition to that, I realised that there were some personal matters to attend to in July/August. So, I didn’t reapply. Later I booked my accommodation for November. This time too it was withdrawn multiple times for the same reason, mentioned earlier. I realised that though the details were uploaded in the application, they were not available in the section of ‘Guest details’ of the website, from where they were being taken. I uploaded the details in that section, selected the details from there and reapplied and it was approved.

The first day at Ramanasramam

Reaching Ramanasramam

I reached Ramanasramam at 10.45 AM. As in the first visit, this time too, finding a parking space was very difficult.  I tried to park the vehicle opposite the Asramam dispensary but a lady running a makeshift shop near that, asked me to park it on the opposite side. I searched for a parking space there but couldn’t find any. In the end I had to park in front of one of the gates of Ramanasramam itself which was not used much.

Allotment of the room

After parking the vehicle, I visited the Asramam. Outside the gate of the Asramam, I saw Murray Feldman, who comes in some videos about Ramana Maharshi. Last time, I was allotted a single room in the Asramam premises itself. I was expecting the same but the lady in the office told she would allot a double room. I requested for a single room but I was told that several guests were coming and rooms were not available. Since I had booked only for myself and since the booking was managed online, I was wondering why the booking was accepted or overbooking was allowed. Anyway, in the end a double room was allotted in the guest house behind the Ramanasramam post office, which was outside the Asramama premises and on the way to Yogi Ramsuratkumar’s Asramam. They told, they would try not to allot the room to anybody else but if required, I would have to share the room. I was a bit tensed as I was not comfortable in sharing the room with a stranger.

Anyway, I went to the room with the hope that they would not allot the room to anybody else. When I reached, nobody was there near the gate. I opened the gate and entered. It was a narrow stretch and I tried to take reverse but I couldn't. By that time, the caretaker came and told me to park ahead. I did that and went to the room numbered R 11. It was a decent room with two cots. I separated the two cots and kept them a few feet apart.

The room at Ramanasramam

Lunch and roaming around the Asramam

I came back to the Asramam and had lunch. I spilled the water from the glass while washing the leaf. I think I was tensed about the prospects of sharing the room. Luckily, it didn’t spill over to those sitting near me.

After lunch, I went to see the old dispensary and then to Yogi Ramaiah’s rock cave and Annamalai Swami's Samadhi. After that I visited the samadhis of Sadhu Arunachala (Major Chadwick), Sulman Samuel Cohen, Hari Chand Khanna and Lucy Cornelssen (Lucy Ma). After that I walked past room number A9, my old room and then went to the meditation hall and mediated. Though it was not much crowded the mind was wandering due to the anxiety of the possibility of sharing the room. There, I saw Ram, whom I had met last time and who showed me Palakothu, but didn't talk as he was going out of the room.

Sharing the room

In the evening, after tea, when I came back for taking bath, I saw the luggage of one more person. The other person had arrived. Though I was a bit concerned, I took bath and went back. During the evening Parayana, I saw Ram again and greeted him. He couldn’t recognise me. I told about the last visit and he smiled. I met him on subsequent days too but didn’t trouble him much. I visited the book store and then spent time at new hall, Mathrubhutheswara temple, old hall and returned.

The door was not locked and I met my roommate. He was Laxmi Narayana from Hyderabad. He was working at Bofa Singapore. He was a nice person and my worries were lessened. He was staying in the Asramam for the first time, though he was visiting Thiruvannamalai for the third time. He enquired about my plan for the next day and when I told I was planning to visit Skandasramam and Virupaksh cave, he expressed his desire to join me.

The second day at Ramanasramam

Skandasramam and Virupaksh cave

The next day, we went at 6.30 AM and after breakfast, climbed the hill. Since there were chances of the sandals getting stolen near the caves, I was using the Hawai sandal. I was thinking whether this one too would get stolen but while climbing the strap of the sandal broke. Thus, that worry vanished as I had to throw it away in a dust bin on the path! We went to Skandasramam and Virupaksh cave.

Guhai Namahsivaya cave

Last time, I had missed Guhai Namahsivaya cave and Mango tree cave and wanted to visit them. The person at Virupaksh cave told us to follow the arrow mark to go to Guhai Namahsivaya cave. On the way, we visited Ayya Mouna Guru Siva Narayana Swamy shrine, which I had mistaken for Guhai Namahsivaya cave, last time. After climbing a few steps downwards from Ayya Mouna Guru Siva Narayana Swamy shrine, we reached Guhai Namahsivaya cave. We entered the shrine and the inner shrine was very dark. The caretakers asked us to go inside and we entered the inner shrine.  It was a great experience, entering a dark cave shrine like that.

Outside the inner shrine, we made some offerings and the Vibhuti (ash) and Kumkum (vermilion) as Prasadam were given to us. Though photography was not allowed inside, it was allowed from outside. I enquired about the place where Keerai patty stayed but they were not much sure about that but on the side of the shrine, I could see that place and the carving of Ganesh on the pillar, which was worshipped by her.

Guhai Namahsivaya temple

The place where Keerai Patti lived. The carving of Ganesha, worshpped by her can be seen near the steps. 

Mango tree cave

After that we visited Unnamalai Amman temple and Mulaipal Theertham and enquired about the mango tree cave. They told it was just below the steps from Mulaipal Theertham. I had come so near that last time but missed it! It was almost 11 AM and we were worried whether we would miss the lunch at the Asramam but we decided to move ahead.

On the way, there was a shrine and a shed and the caretaker called us inside. There was a Sivalingam and I remember him saying it was called Poondiashramam. He showed the mango tree cave on the other side. We entered the shrine and the deities were kept inside the cave. We had to crawl to enter!

Annadanam was going on there and the lady arranging the things there, insisted that we leave only after lunch. Though we told we were planning to have lunch at the Asramam, they didn’t agree and forced us to have the lunch, telling it was a special Annadanam. We agreed and had lunch there. It was a great experience and it also alleviated our concerns about the lunch!

Poondiashramam

Mango tree cave

Maha Lingeswarar Swami Alayam near mango tree cave

Jadai Swami cave

Close to that, we saw the Jadai Swami’s Asramam and visited that place. There were two good view points of Arunachaleswara temple in the premises of the Asramam. After spending time there, we visited the Jadai Swami cave. Here too, we had to crawl to go inside. There was one more narrow room inside, which could accommodate hardly one person.

View of Arunachaleswara temple from Jadai Swami cave

View of Arunachaleswara temple from Jadai Swami cave

Jadai Swami cave

Arunachaleswara temple

From there, we climbed down the hill through the route leading to Arunachaleswara temple. On the way we visited ‘Sri Yoga Anugraha Dakshinamurthy temple’. We entered the Arunachaleswara temple through the Rajagopuram. The special queue through Rajagopuram was very lengthy. We went to Pathalalinga shrine and then entered the main shrine and had Darshan though it took almost 3 hours to come out. The queue from the other Gopuram, merging with this queue was very short. We should have taken that queue.

Sri Yoga Anugraha Dakshinamurthy temple

The view of Rajagopuram from inside the temple

Bookstall

In the evening, after tea, we went to the Asramam bookstall. I was thinking of buying one or two books but ended up buying seven! They were Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi (Rs. 350/-), Reminiscences of Kunju swami (Rs. 190/-), Ribhu Gita (Rs. 270/-), Spiritual stories from Ramana Maharshi (Rs. 130/-), Maha Tapasvi life story of Kavyakanta Ganapati Muni (Rs. 160/-) Ozhuvil Odukkam (Rs. 60/-) and Tripura Rahasya (Rs. 180/-)

The third day at Ramanasramam

Bhagavan’s finger prints

We decided to climb the hill again and went to Virupaksha cave and mediated. After that we visited Skandashramam and then went to the side of the Aramamam, looking for Bhagavan’s finger prints. A person in saffron robes, pointed to the place where we were standing and we realised that we were standing on top of the finger prints! It seems Bhagavan used to apply lime paste on betel leaves and rub his fingers on the rocks. These were the marks formed in that process!

Bhagavan's finger prints

Lunch in the second batch

We came back around 11.40 AM but was late for lunch. One of the employees of the Asramam asked us to go to the path leading to the library and wait there for the second batch. We waited there and had lunch in the old dining hall where Bhagavan used to have lunch. May be, that was a blessing in disguise!

Seeing Nochur

In the evening I went for English reading at the library. In the night, when I was at Bhagavan’s Samadhi shrine, I saw a person in saffron clothes circumambulating the Samadhi. Suddenly I realised that he was Nochur Venkataraman (Swami Ramanacharana Theertha). He took a chair and sat near the entrance facing the Samadhi and was chanting something by counting, using the fingers.

The fourth day at Ramanasramam

Visiting the Ganapthi temple, opposite the Asramam

In the morning, I went for the morning Parayana of Aksharamanamalai. My roommate told, he saw a video in Telugu which spoke about the Ganapathi temple just in front of Ramanasramam. According to that video, Kavyakanta Ganapathi Muni and his brother came down the hill one day for dinner but couldn’t get it anywhere. In the end he visited a place where the owner of the house invited him telling his wife was looking for some Brahmins to be fed before taking food. They were fed by them and they slept there and later they realised that it was a Ganapthi temple. It seems it was Siva and Parvati who fed them. That temple is the one, which is situated opposite the Asramam. We visited the temple in the morning. There was a raised platform where Ganapathi Muni and his brother slept on that day.

Sheshadri Swami’s Asramam, Sadhu Om’s Samadhi and Yogi Ramsuratkumar’s Asramam

After that we went to Sheshadri Swami’s Asramam, Sadhu Om’s Samadhi and Yogi Ramsuratkumar’s Asramam. We had Prasadam (payasam) at Sheshadri Swami’s Asramam and breakfast prasadam (upma) at the dining hall of Yogi Ramsuratkumar’s Asramam and rice prasadam at Yogi Ramsuratkumar’s shrine. After that we went to the book stall and I bought ‘Life and teaching of Yogi Ramsuratkumar’ which cost Rs.90/-. While coming back we saw David godman on his scooter. We were full but still had lunch at the Ashramam.

Palakothu tank

After that, I visited the Palakothu tank and saw a house which I thought was used by B. V. Narasimha Swami and Paul Brunton. The swami at the Agasthya temple on the way to the Palakothu tank talked to me and asked whether I had come earlier and that my face was very familiar. He told he lived there with four dogs and had a Gosala and told it would be good if I could make some donations to the Gosala. I told I would come back.

The house which I think was used by B. V. Narasimha Swami and Paul Brunton

The fifth day at Ramanasramam

In the morning, I again went for the morning Parayana of Aksharamanamalai. After breakfast, we spent the time at the Asramam till 10 AM. After that we went to the office and enquired about checking out. The lady in the office told we could give key to the caretaker or to the main gate security. We visited the Ganapthi temple once again while going back to the room, packed the luggage and came back to the Asramam for lunch. 

When we were waiting for the lunch, we saw Dr. Sarada Natarajan and G. Kameswar who appear in some videos about Ramana especially those from the Ramana Maharshi Centre for Learning, Bangalore, at the Asramam. Another person whom I saw almost on all the days was Mouli Raman who was seen in some of the videos about Ramana Maharshi. We went back, checked out by giving the key to the caretaker and left the Asramam.

Conclusion

On the first day, since I was very nervous about the prospects of sharing the room, I didn’t feel any change in myself. From the second day, I began to feel the current of the Self. Looks like, I went there with a lot of expectations about the stay. When that nervousness was alleviated, I could feel the power of the Self. Still, if the room was withing the premises, it would have been better. At the same time, it should be noted that Self is all pervading and is within and outside the premises!

Visit to Sri Ramanasramam

Introduction

This is a write up about my visit to the Ramanasramam from 1^st February to 5^th February, 2025. This is a slightly lengthy one but might be of interest to those who follow Ramana Maharshi and might help those who want to visit Ramanasramam. Sub headings are given in the article, which might help those, who cannot go through the entire article, to go to those portions which would interest them. Since photography is not allowed inside the Asramam, photos of Asramam premises are not available. Eventually, if it inspired you to visit Ramanasramam or follow Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi, I would be very happy.

Booking the accommodation

I was interested in the teachings of Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi and had a desire to visit the Ramanasramam, but it didn’t happen due to one reason or the other. Rather I would say that I didn’t get enough time to plan the visit. When I left Infosys on 5^th December 2024 without another job, I had enough time for myself and was thinking of utilizing the time in the best possible way. I had a discussion with Dr. Sachin of TISA and he also suggested me to view this as an opportunity to spend time on something useful. He suggested that spending time in an Asram would be a good idea. That was the inspiration to take the final step to visit the Ramanasramam

The accommodation and food are free at the Asramam and maximum 5 days are allowed for Indians and 2 weeks for foreigners. Voluntary contributions are accepted. I went to their website ( https://www.gururamana.org/ is the website of the Asramam from where you can navigate to https://stay.gururamana.org/home for booking the accommodation) and booked the accommodation for 1^st to 6^th January and they responded with the revised dates of 1^st to 5^th February. I readily accepted it as I had no other engagements!

The first day at Ramanasramam

Reaching Ramanasramam

I started from Bangalore on 1^st February at 8 AM and reached the Asramam at 12.10 PM. I went via Sarjapur, Kagganoor – Nallur road, Hosur, Krishnagiri and Chengam (you can go via Electronic City, Attibale, Hosur too. The Google map showed the Asramam school for special children and the dispensary of the Asramam as the destination but I couldn’t see the arch of the Asramam. I enquired with a street vendor and he told me to go a little ahead and that the arch would be near the autorickshaw stand. He told there was no parking space inside and told me to park it somewhere there. I thought of moving ahead, locate the place and then park somewhere there. I could see the arch after a distance but couldn’t find a parking space. So, I drove backwards and parked it near the special school.  

The arch of Ramanasramam in the night of the first day

Allotment of the room

After taking the copy of the Aadhar which they had asked for, I went inside. I gave the footwear to the free footwear stand and visited the accommodation office. Nobody was there, as all had gone for lunch. I could see Mr. Anand Ramanan, the president of the Asramam at his office. One attendant asked me to wait for some time, till the lady managing the computerised accommodation requests came. The lunch is provided in the Asramam at 11.30 AM. After 10 mins an elderly gentleman in white Dhoti and shirt came and enquired about my presence. I later heard him say his name as Srinivasa Murthy. The Hindu’s book on Ramana Maharshi mentions about one Dr. Srinivasa Murthy and I think I met the same person. (K.S. Kannan, another person mentioned in the book, was also seen on subsequent days; twice serving breakfast to the inmates and on some other occasions inside the Asramam). He completed the formalities and allotted the room. Though the Aadhar card or its copy was asked for, it was not collected and stored with them.

Usage of the footwear

I asked whether the footwear could be used while using the toilets inside the Asramam and he told me not to worry as the room was inside the Asramam itself and the toilet inside the room could be used. He also told that the footwear could be used if the general toilets had to be used. I also had a query about the usage of the footwear while trekking to Skandasramam and Virupaksha cave but he was a bit busy and I thought of asking it later. He told me and a few others, who had also come to occupy the room, to wait for the other person to come and update the online record. Since she was taking time, he told us to come at 3.30 PM and meet her.

Shooting of the serial on Ramana Maharshi

At the same time a few people came to the president’s office with camera and I could see an actress of the serial on Ramana Maharshi which was going on in Sankara TV. A few portions were getting shot there. They were there the next day too.

The accommodation inside the Asramam

As mentioned earlier, the room was allotted inside the premises itself. The room number was A-9 and it was a single room. (It is not necessary that you would get a single room or a room inside the premises. During my second visit, I had to share a double room with somebody else, outside the premises. Please visit 'The second visit to Sri Ramanasramam' to read about that.) It was inside the compound where the dispensary and the special school were functioning, the destination shown by Google map earlier! I went to the security and he asked for the key of the room. When I showed it, he allowed me inside and I parked my car in front of the special school.

Entrance to the dispensary and the special school

He told me to find out the room and take the luggage after that, to prevent roaming around with the luggage. It turned out to be a good suggestion as I had some difficulty in finding out the room. While roaming around, searching for the room, I saw a big rock which had a structure built at the bottom with a window and a door. I was wondering what it was. Later when I viewed the video of David Godman to check the details of Palakothu, I realised that it was a cave which was used by Yogi Ramaiah and later by Krishna Swamy, who was an attender of Bhagavan. I came back and told him that I couldn’t find the room. Another security came and he told me to go in a particular direction and at last I located it.

The cave which was used by Yogi Ramaiah and later by Krishna Swamy (taken during my second visit)

It was close to Chadwick memorial, Yogi Ramaiah cottage and A Devaraja Mudaliar cottage and the Samadhis of Chadwik, S. S. Cohen etc. It was an old room with clay tiles but was neatly maintained. It had meshed windows and door, a cot, fan, stool, table, chair and a shelf. The bathroom had a geyser, European closet and a washbasin. It was surrounded by trees, and monkeys and peacocks were seen around that. It had the advantage of being inside the Asramam itself and it was possible to go to the Asramam whenever I wanted. I understand that there were rooms outside the Asramam too and some of them are quite new with ceramic tiles and all but I felt, that wouldn’t give the feel of living in the Asramam.

Chadwick memorial and Yogi Ramaiah cottage

A Devaraja Mudaliar cottage and a peacock near that

The room at Ramanasramam

Monkeys near the room

Having lunch outside and finishing the check in formalities

Since the lunch time was over, I had lunch at Hotel Ananda Ramana, just opposite the Asramam. Around 3 PM, I went to meet the person to complete the formalities online. On the way to the Asramam, I could see the Samadhis of Lakshmi the cow, Jackie the dog, Valli the deer and the blessed crow. Again, though the Aadhar card or its copy was asked for, it was not collected and stored with them.

Samadhis of Lakshmi the cow, Jackie the dog, Valli the deer and the blessed crow at a distance

Usage of footwear while trekking uphill

After completing the formalities, I enquired with her whether footwear could be used for trekking uphill and she told it could be used. They will have to be kept outside the Skandasramam and Virupaksha cave. She also told that the footwear could be worn on the pathway on the two sides of the Asramam to reach the way uphill.

Food

Free breakfast at 7 AM, lunch at 11.30 AM, tea/milk  at 4 PM and dinner at 7 PM are provided for the inmates and special invitees. The security might ask for the room key to check whether that person is an inmate or not. At 4 PM, I went for the tea. Tea or milk without sugar was also available.

Afternoon routine

While waiting for the tea, I met one of the persons who was also allotted a room along with me. He was from Chennai and was coming for the third time. He told me not to miss going uphill and doing Girivalam (circumambulating the Arunachala hill). After tea I decided to explore the Asramam and roamed around; visited the book stall, the library, the cow shed etc. In the book stall, I located a few books which I had in my mind and decided to buy them on one of the subsequent days.

After that, I visited the Mathrubuteswara temple (Bhagavan’s mother’s Samadhi) and the new hall which is more like a foyer to the temple, Bhagavan’s Samadhi shrine, Samadhi room, Samadhis of Chinnaswami or Swami Niranjanananda (Bhagavan’s brother) and his son T. N. Vekataraman or Swami Ramanananda and the old hall aka meditation room and attended the evening chanting at Bhagavan’s samadhi shrine. I spent some time meditating in the halls before the evening chanting. After that, I went to the room, had a bath and came back for dinner at 7 PM. After dinner, I meditated again in the Bhagavan’s shrine, the new hall and the old hall and went back to sleep after visiting the Samadhis of Muruganar, Swami Rajeswarananda, Viswanatha Swami, Ramaswami Pillai and Kunju Swami, which were located inside the Asramam and opposite the place where the accommodation was provided. This was more or less my afternoon routine during the stay.

The daily routine of activities at the Asramam

Working hours of Asramam facilities 

The second day at Ramanasramam

Skandasramam and the freezing of time

The next day went for the chanting at 6 AM and then for breakfast. Decided to trek to Skandasramam and Virupaksha cave. I started the trek around 8.25 AM and was using the footwear. While trekking upwards, somebody asked the time and it was around 8.45 AM. On the way, there is a point from where you get a very good view of the Arunachaleswara temple. I reached Skandasramam by 8.55 AM. The footwear was left near the place where the security was sitting. After visiting the Samadhi room of Bhagavan’s mother, I decided to leave around 9.20 AM, after meditating in the main building for some time. The time was 9.05 AM and after some time when I checked, it was still 9.05 AM and I realised that the watch had stopped. It was recently serviced and was working well. I decided to check the time on the phone, but was surprised to see that restarting. Though it would have happened just like that, it was like telling me that in reality there was no time! Surprisingly, the watch started to work later when I reached home after the trip!

The view of Arunachaleswara temple on the way to Skandasramam

Skandasramam

Virupaksha cave

After that, I visited the Virupaksha cave. We have to climb down a bit from the Skandasramam to reach the Virupaksha cave. There was no security guard but a person in ochre rob was manning the cave. The footwear was left near the entrance. There are two chambers and you will have to bend the head down while entering the inner chamber, lest it hits he ceiling. The book, ‘Who am I’, which summarises the teachings of Bhagavan, in different languages, were kept there for reading. I spent some time meditating in both the chambers.

Virupaksha cave

Ayya Mouna Guru Siva Narayana Swamy shrine

After that, I visited the shrine of Ayya Mouna Guru Siva Narayana Swamy, for which we need to climb down a bit from the Virupaksha cave. He lived on the hill for around 17 years, till 2005, subsiting on a cup of tea and a cup of milk. The person, manning the place, was asking the visitors to make donations using the QR code kept inside. I went inside, sat for some time, made a small donation and came out. Some books were kept in an adjacent room but I am not sure whether they were for sale.

Initially, I had mistaken this place as Guhai Namasivaya temple and even wrote it like that in this blog post, as I had seen some boards about Guhai Namasivaya near this place. I guess I should have climbed further down to reach the Guhai Namasivaya temple and cave, which I should do in the next visit. (In my second visit, I did visit Guhai Namasivaya temple, mango tree cave etc. Please visit 'The second visit to Sri Ramanasramam' to read about that.)

Entrance to Guhai Namasivaya temple

Meeting a fellow visitor

At Guhai Namasivaya temple, one person, who was climbing along with me, began to talk to me. He was a Telugu and was staying at Shiva Sannidhi Asramam near Ramanasramam. He told the pathway downwards from Guhai Namasivaya cave would lead to the Rajagopuram of Arunachaleswara temple and whether I was interested in taking that. I was not planning the visit at that time and we decided to walk back.

Unnamalai Amman temple and Mulaipal Theertham

While climbing back to Virupaksha cave, there was a pavement to the right. My fellow traveller told, we could explore that, as a few people were seen using that path. It led us to Unnamalai Amman temple and the nearby Mulaipal Theertham. There, we could again see a pathway downwards and saw a few people coming that way. That way, also led to the Rajagopuram and he suggested taking that. I was not keen on that as the lunch time was 11.30 AM at the Asramam and I wanted to reach before that.

Unnamalai Amman temple

Mulaipal Theertham

Climbing down

We started climbing down around 10.30 AM and reached back around 11 AM. While climbing down, I decided to remove the footwear, when it was around 400 mtrs away from the Asramam. The pathway was paved with stones and it was not that difficult. I realised that the climb up also could have been done without footwear, but anyway since I was not used to walking barefoot, I think it was a good decision to use the footwear.

In the meantime, I noticed that most of the visitors were either Telugus or foreigners. I asked the Telugu person accompanying me and he told Telugus are like that. They wouldn’t leave any temple or religious places and told, that would be the case in Sabarimala too, as he thought I would be familiar with that place.

Annamalai Swami’s Samadhi

After coming back, I had lunch at 11.30 AM and then visited Annamalai Swami’s Samadhi which was near the room. Only two or three people were around and they were meditating. I also sat there for some time for meditation. After that, I took the Prasadam which was kept there and went around the shrine and went to the room.

Book store

After taking rest, I went to the book store and bought the following books; 1) Sri Ramana Gita translated by Prof. K. Swaminathan (another version by S. Sankaranarayanan was also available but that was a bit bulky. I am a slow reader and decided to buy the smaller one), 2) Self-realisation, the first English biography of Bhagavan by B. V. Narasimhaswamy, 3) Yoga Vasishta Sara, 4) Self enquiry, 5) Kaivalya Navaneetham, 6) Essence of Ribhu Gita, (the full version of Ribhu Gita was also available but I decided to read the essence first) and 7) All is one. It cost me Rs. 425/-. I had a few more books in my mind but decided to buy them after reading these.

Meeting the person from Chennai again

While having tea, I met the person from Chennai again and he asked me what I had done for the day and what my plans were. I told him about my visit uphill and that I was planning a visit to Sheshadri Swami’s Asramam and Yogi Ramsuratkumar's Asramam, the next day. He told he went for Girivalam and that it took 3.5 hours for him to finish. He covered Sheshadri Swami’s Asramam as part of that and he told the cafeteria inside Sheshadri Swami’s Asramam was very good. He had also visited an orphanage which do not advertise, spent time with them and had lunch there. He told he couldn’t see the samadhi of Muruganar and I pointed towards that as it was located close to the place where we were standing. I told the samadhi of Annamali Swami was also nearby, which he was not aware of. He told the samadhi of Sadhu Om was on the way to Yogi Ramsuratkumar's Asramam.

The old dispensary

In the evening while coming back to the room, after listening to the chanting, I decided to enter a building which I earlier thought was a cottage which was allotted to somebody. I had seen some photographs and lights inside, throughout the day. It was a gallery displaying the pictures and some articles used by Bhagavan. I didn't realise it earlier and would have missed it. It was near the Samadhi of Lakshmi the cow and all. Later, I got to know from the serial on Ramana Maharshi in Sankara TV that Bhagavan underwent surgery in that room. From another video of David Godman, I realised that it was the old dispensary.

The third day at Ramanasramam

Sheshadri Swami's Asramam

After breakfast, I visited Sheshadri Swami's Asramam which was adjacent to Ramanasramam. There, I visited the different shrines and the hall where the idols of various Swami's were kept. I meditated in the hall for some time and left. Rooms are available there too but they charge some amount for that. I also saw the cafeteria, which the person from Chennai, had mentioned about.

Sheshadri Swami's Asramam

Yogi Ramsuratkumar's Asramam

After that, I visited Yogi Ramsuratkumar's Asramam. There, I visited the hall which housed the Samadhi and an exhibition depicting his life. The Sidhi Sthal or Samadhi room, where his belongings and photos are kept was behind that and I visited that place too. After that, I went around the Asramam which was marked as Girivalam. May be, this is a miniature version of Girivalam, which was proposed by the Yogi. They were providing free breakfast as Prasadam and I had a very small tiffin from there too. There too, I could see rooms for accommodation but do not know the details. While going to Yogi Ramsuratkumar's Asramam, I was looking for Sadhu Om’s Samadhi but I couldn’t see that.

Yogi Ramsuratkumar's Asramam

The view of Arunachala hill while coming back from Yogi Ramsuratkumar's Asramam

Girivalam in an autorikshaw

After that I came back, meditated in the old hall and had lunch. After that, I took an autorickshaw and visited the Ashtalingams and did an auto Girivalam. He charged Rs. 700/- which was quite high. Since I had no company and was not familiar with the place, I decided to go around in the autorickshaw. The Vayu lingam, which is part of Ashtalingams, was closed by the time I reached there but I saw the deity from outside. The Surya lingam which is not part of Ashtalingams was also closed. There is Chandra lingam too which is not part of Ashtalingams. Indra lingam couldn't be visited as he told it was near the Arunachaleswara temple and it was difficult to go in an autorickshaw.

Pali Theertham, Palakothu and meeting Ram

When I came back, I decided to take the pathway on the side of the Ashram to reach the room and saw a pond on the way. I was wondering whether it was Pali Theertham which I had read about in the books about Bhagavan. I checked the Google map and almost confirmed it. Then I was checking where Palakothu was and it showed that the area around Annamalai Swami's Samadhi for that. At that time, I saw one of the attendants, who was regularly seen in the Samadhi Shrine and old hall coming that way and I asked him. (His name was Ram, which I got to know towards the end of that meeting). He asked whether I was a Telugu since I spoke in English and I told I was a Malayalee. He continued in English. He confirmed that the pond was indeed Pali Theertham and that the area around and behind Annamalai Swami's Samadhi was Palakothu. The place where the rooms were built can also be considered as part of Palakothu. Bhagavan used to come for his walks in these places and I was living in a room which was on a place frequented by him.

Ram showing Annamalai Swami’s house

He told the house of Annamalai Swami was also located near his Samadhi and that Paul Brunton's house could also be seen from there. He himself invited me to go along with him and I followed him. He showed the house which I didn't realise earlier as Annamalai Swami’s house. He mentioned about David Godman and asked me whether I knew him. When I said yes, he asked me how and I told I had read about Ramana and seen David’s videos. I enquired about V. Ganesan, who was the grandnephew of Bhagavan and he told, Ganesan was spending most of the time at home and was not coming to the Asramam regularly. He opened up and we discussed for some time about Ramana. David Godman had written ‘Living by the words of Bhagwan’, a book on Annamalai Swami, after listening to Annamalai Swami in that house.

Annamalai Swami’s Samadhi and house

Ram telling the meaning of Palakothu

He asked whether I knew the meaning of Palakothu. I thought it was related to milk as pal meant milk. He told Pala in Tamil means Jackfruit and that the area was full of Jackfruit trees. Later I searched google and found that Kothu meant cluster. So Palakothu means a cluster of jackfruit trees. 

Ram showing Agasthiar Theerham and Paul Bruton’s house

Then he took me to the top of Annamalai Swami's house and showed the area behind that. It was Palakothu. I saw Agasthiar Theerham or Palakothu Theertham, the Ganesha temple and Paul Brunton's house. Later I learned from David Godman’s video that this house was initially bult by B. V. Narasimhaswamy and was occupied by Brunton, when he left Tiruvannamalai to visit Shirdi.

Agasthiar Theerham and Paul Bruton’s house (behind the wall)

Ram mentioning about Ganga Maa and David Godman writing a book about her

I asked his name. He was Ram. He told David would come for parayana (chanting or reading) on Saturdays and Mondays and told he would show him to me if I was there in the evening, as it was a Monday. He told Davind was associated with a lady saint from Kerala, named Ganga Maa and was writing a book about her. She lived in a place near Ramanasramam and the Satsangs happened daily. He told I could visit her if I was interested. 

Ram mentioning about Papa Ramdas

He spoke about Papa Ramdas and his Anandasramam in Kanhangad in Kerala and asked whether it was close to my place. I told him that it was about 300 KMs from my home town but that I was living in Bangalore. Then he told visiting Ramanasramam from Bangalore was very easy and that I could visit very often. He told several people from Ramanasramam visited Anandasramam regularly.

Ram speaking about Girivalam

He asked me whether I was planning Girivalam and the temple visit. I told him about the auto Girivalam and he told Rs.700/- was very high. He told the autorikshaw drivers were fleecing the customers. Since the foreigners and those from outside Tamil Nadu were paying whatever they asked for, they were exploiting the devotees. He told if Girivalam could not be done, Bhagavan had suggested going around the Arunachaleswara temple which was equivalent to Girivalam and suggested me to do that.

Ram’s advice on visiting Arunachaleswara temple and taking leave of him

I enquired about Pavalakundru and Gurumurtham temples where Bhagavan had stayed. He told Pavalakundru was close to Arunachaleswara temple but was slightly uphill and told me to explore it in the next visit. Gurumurtham was a bit far and he told he himself hadn’t visited it. He told me to avoid early morning and evening while visiting the Arunachaleswara temple as it would be crowed. He told entry to the inner chamber will be closed by 8 PM and the temple would be closed by 9 PM. Weekends and Mondays are crowded; weekends due to the weekend crowd and Mondays due to the fact that they are special days for Lord Siva. Since I was planning to go there on Tuesday, he told Tuesday was the best day for a peaceful visit. He suggested going by bus instead of autorikshaw and that I should pay only Rs.50/- if I was going by the autorikshaw. He told the bus would cost only Rs.10/-.  I bade him bye at that time and then went back to the room. Most of the time, he was seen in the Samadhi shrine, writing something after referring a book. I am not sure whether he was doing it as a Sadhana or writing a book.

Archives

After tea, I went to the office to enquire where the archives were kept. I had read about it in the book published by The Hindu. The attendant told, it was not public. Though I was a bit disappointed, I accepted it and moved ahead.

Buying a few more books

Then, I visited the bookstore again and bought three more books, though I had decided to buy more books only after completing those which were bought the previous day! I thought the following books were important and I should not postpone buying them. They were 1) Periya Puranam, the only spiritual book Bhagavan had read before his death experience and the subsequent self-realisation, 2) Day by day with Bhagavan by A. Devaraja Mudaliar and 3) Ashtavakra Gita, a Kannada to English translation which was earlier published by Mysore palace. It cost me Rs. 520/-. I wanted to buy Talks with Ramana Maharshi too but its paperback edition was not available.

Planning the trip to Arunachaleswara temple

During Parayana, I was checking for David but didn’t see him. Ram also told me that he didn’t come. In the night, I met Ram again and asked whether walking to the Arunachaleswara temple was a good idea. He told if I could walk, that was the best option. So, I decided to walk to the temple next morning.

The fourth day at Ramanasramam

Visit to the Arunachaleswara temple

After breakfast I went to the Arunachaleswara temple by walk. On the way, I took the photo of Sheshadri Swami’s Asramam which I had not done the previous day. I started around 8.15 AM and reached the temple around 8.45 AM. I entered the temple through the gate before the Rajagopuram. The cloak room was closed and I had to drop the footwear with a lady flower vendor. It was not much crowded as told by Ram. Still, I decided to go for the special Darsan by paying Rs.50/-. I struggled a bit to find the place to buy the ticket. Somebody told me to go to the right and enter the compound from the other side, which was the Rajagopuram side. I went there and joined the queue for special Darsan.

The view of Arunachala hill while going to the Arunachaleswara temple

Patala Linga shrine

The first visit was to the Patala Linga shrine, which comes before the ticket counter and which I was very eager to see. It was the place where Bhagavan had spent time, oblivious of the surroundings and where Sheshadri Swami found him and brought him out. It was renovated by Ramanasramam and I went inside. The shrine was open and the priest was available. He gave me the Vibhuti and immediately after that closed the shrine. I was lucky enough to reach there on time! I went around the shrine and came out.

Patala Linga shrine

Visiting the main shrine of Arunachaleswara temple

After that I went to some small shrines and then took the ticket for special Darsan. Unfortunately, that queue was longer than the normal queue. I had the Darsan of the deity and other major deities and came out. After that I went once again to visit the Patala Lingam, sat there and took a photo. While going again they had closed the pathway with a gate and opened a small portion of that. I didn’t notice the lower rung of that gate and hit against that and injured my leg. Luckily it was not a big injury and I took it as a punishment for whatever mistakes I had committed. After visiting the Patala Linga shrine, I came out of the temple through the Rajagopuram. I couldn’t see the thousand pillared hall though I wanted to see it and decided to do it in the next visit. It was the name of this temple which initiated Ramana to the spiritual path. It is a huge temple with great spiritual vibrations and a must visit.

Visit to Indra lingam and return

The Indra lingam, which I had missed in the auto Girivalam, was close to the temple and I went there. I came back to collect the footwear and paid Rs.50/- for that. At that time the cloak room was open, both at that gate and at Rajagopuram. I am not sure whether the cloak room at Rajagopuram was open when I visited the temple, as I had not entered through that but I think they open around 9 AM or 9.30 AM. After that, I went around the temple, as suggested by Ram, as it was equivalent to Girivalam. I walked back, after that, around 10.30 AM, and went to Yogi Ramsuratkumar’s Asramam once again as I wanted to take the photo of the Asramam.

Old post office, Veda Pathsala and the moulded model of Arunachala hill

In the evening, I decided to explore the Asramam once again as I couldn’t see the old post office, the Veda Pathsala and the moulded model of Arunachala hill in one of the store rooms which Annamalai Swami had made based on the suggestion of Bhagavan. I had read in the book of ‘The Hindu’ that the Veda Pathsala was close to the cow shed. When I visited the cow shed on the first day, I had seen a few buildings on the left-hand side of that, while going from the Samadhi shrine. One of the buildings had the board ‘No admission’ and I had decided not to turn that way. I just decided to go in front of those and realised that, that itself was the old post office. I sat at the place where Bhagavan had sat in one of the famous pictures. Then I turned towards the dining hall and saw the Veda Pathsala, adjacent to that building. When I reached the dining hall, I decided to turn towards the library and looked inside the store room on the right and there, to my surprise, saw the moulded model of the hill!  

Seeing David Godman

In the night, when I was coming out of the new hall when it was getting closed, I saw David Godman entering the hall. He met a lady and both of them went out. Since, I wanted to see him, I just followed them. They went out of the Asramam and went away in a scooter. In the night, when I met Ram, I told him that I had seen David. He told, the previous day when he went home, he saw David there and he had not come for Parayana as he and his wife had gone for Girivalam. He told there was an evening Satsang at Ganga Maa’s place on Tuesdays and he and his wife would have come after that. I told I saw him going out with a lady and he told it would be his wife. She is a professor of philosophy in Australia and had come to India for vacation. He told, my wish to see him was anyway fulfilled!

Dermatologist from Baroda

On one of these days, I was sitting near a dignified elderly person for breakfast or lunch or dinner, I don’t remember for what. On more than one occasion, his hand brushed against me. Initially, I thought, I was sitting very close to him and moved a bit away but it happened again. He apologised on all those occasions and in the end told he was very clumsy. I just smiled and told it was alright. I sat near him again on the subsequent day and he told he would try his best not to be clumsy! He didn’t brush against me and in the end told with a smile that he succeeded in his mission. I affirmed it and told that it was perfect!

On the fourth day, when I went for dinner, I saw a seat near him again and he smilingly invited me. We got into a discussion and he asked whether I was from Bangalore. It was a wild guess and it was correct! He told he was basically from Baroda but had a house in Tiruvannamalai too. He asked whether I was coming for the first time and I told yes. I asked about his visit and he told he was visiting the Asramam from 1970. I told, I was not even born at that time. He told it made him felt very old. I told he would have been quite young at that time and he smilingly replied telling he was still young. I agreed with him and told he was young but would have been quite young at 1970! I told, I was planning to come there for a long time but it didn’t happen and that I could find time as I left the job two months back. Then he told, you were retired! That was what I was also thinking of myself and told it could be considered as a semi-retirement! He asked in which field I was working and I told IT. I asked him whether he was working somewhere or was into some business. He told he was a Dermatologist and was working in Bahrain. He also conveyed that, that visit was a special one as his son was visiting the Asramam, along with his wife, for the first time after getting married. I wished them the best in my mind. He was speaking impeccable English and I was also thinking that he was highly educated. I didn’t ask his name. Otherwise, I would have revealed his name, which luckily didn’t happen!

The fifth day at Ramanasramam

Sadhu Om’s Samadhi

Since the checkout was at 12 noon, I decided to use the little time available till that to explore the Samadhi of Sadhu Om. I checked the Google map and found that, it was immediately after the right turn towards Yogi Ramsuratkumar's Asramam. Instead of turning right, we have to move straight. I also checked the place of Ganga Maa and saw that, it was on the road towards the left from where the right turn to Yogi Ramsuratkumar's Asramam had to be taken. Instead of turning right, we need to turn left.

The gate of Sadhu Om’s Samadhi was bolted but not locked. It also had the Samdhi of Thinnai Swami. I visited both the Samadhi shrines. The office was closed. They had mentioned ‘Strictly no donations accepted’!

Sadhu Om’s Samadhi

Ganga Maa’s place

Then I visited Ganga Maa’s place. It was a house where several foreigners had congregated. A book edited by David Goeman was kept for sale, but nobody was manning the counter. The Satsang was at 9.30 AM and it was only 8.45 AM. I decided to leave and learn about her first, before attending the Satsang. There is a website about her but not much details are available about her background. Let me wait.

Check out

I packed everything and kept them in the car. While going to the car, I walked past Mr. K. V. Subrahmonyan, about whom there was an article in the book by ‘The Hindu’. I had seen him on another day too. I decided to have the lunch and check out after that. When I went to the accommodation office, it was closed. I waited for some time and the lady looking into the online room booking came and I went inside and gave the key. She updated the records and the formalities were completed in five minutes. I asked how I can make some contributions and she told me to scan the QR code available there and do it. She told if I had come earlier and done it at the accounts office, they would have given the receipt at that time itself. I told that was fine and transferred the amount. The online receipt came after some time.

I thanked her for the stay and left around 12.30 PM and visited the Vayu Lingam once again as it was closed during the auto Girivalam. It was closed again as I had visited it almost at the same time earlier! I reached home at 4.40 PM using the same route which I had taken in the forward journey.

Conclusion

Before starting, I was a bit apprehensive as to whether I would like the stay but, in the end, it turned out to be a great experience. On the first day I thought I would feel some current of the Self, which I used to feel on and off earlier, immediately after sitting in one of the halls but it didn’t happen. I think I was a bit anxious initially. On the second night, suddenly, I began to feel the current. Though it has waned a bit, it still continues. Hope it stays. For those, who are interested in spirituality, this place is a must visit.

(Finalised on 15-Feb-2025)