29. GIRIPRADAKSHINA

"Whatever a great man does is followed by others"

— Bhagavad Gita.

      IN 1908, Seshadri Swami paid a visit to the Maharshi
who was then staying at the Mango tree cave. He spent
some time closely observing the Maharshi with a view to
reading his mind. As he could not do so he threw up his
hands in exasperation and said that he could not
understand what the Maharshi was thinking about. The
Maharshi didn't respond. Seshadri continued, "It is enough
if one worships Arunachaleswara. He will grant liberation."

      Maharshi: Who is it that worships and who is
worshipped?

Seshadri broke into a loud laughter and said: "That
is not clear; that is the whole problem". Thereupon
Bhagavan gave a long discourse on the experience of
advaita ^[?] which Seshadri listened to very attentively. At the
end he said, "I am not able to say anything, all of this is
unintelligible to me. It is all a blank. As for myself, I am
content to be a worshipper always." Later he prostrated
to the peak of the hill fifteen times and left the place.
Seshadri seemed to prefer worshipping the peak of the hill
as being symbolic of Arunachaleswara, the Almighty.

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      Most people had a similar opinion. For them, the hill
was the form of Arunachaleswara, the column of light.
The recollection of the very name "Arunachala" or a
darshan of the hill would erase all attachments.

      A column of light is raised at the Arunachaleswara
temple on every Krittikai day to reiterate that the hill
represents the Jyotirlinga. This column is raised at the
very moment that a light is lit on the peak of the hill. The
latter is fed by camphor, ghee and other materials, and
rises up to the skies and remains like that for some days.
It is also visible at several distant places. The spreading
rays of the light justify the name, Arunachala. That column
of light is also symbolic of the light within the cave of the
Heart. The sthala-purana describes Arunachala as the
centre of the world and also as the Kasi of the South.

      A pradakshina (circumambulation) of the hill is
deemed to be the equivalent of visiting all the pilgrim
centres of the land. It also symbolizes a pradakshina of
Parameswara himself. According to legend, Vinayaka
beat Kumaraswamy by the simple device of
circumambulation of Easwara, such is the power of
giripradakshina. Its importance for the devotees cannot
be overemphasized. The Maharshi also performed it not
for his own benefit but in order to set an example to his
devotees and disciples.

      There is a well-laid road round the hill along which
shrines, tanks, mantaps and samadhis abound. The road is
also lined by huge trees providing shade to the passersby.
There are also resting places along the road.

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      Everyone carries out the pradakshina in his or her
own way. Some simply walk, some others roll along the
road, yet others halt after every step and undertake an
atma-pradakshina at each halt or prostrate to the hill.
Generally the pradakshina is completed in three hours.

      Ever since he reached Arunachala and till about 1926
the Maharshi used to do the pradakshina regularly at least
once a week or even more frequently. Usually, if he set out
in the morning he would return to the ashram by nightfall.
Similarly, if he started in the evening he would return by
day-break. Occasionally, the pradakshina might take two
or three days. The Maharshi would walk very slowly as
laid down in the scriptures and would be in a state of
samadhi most of the time—the body would move
mechanically. The Maharshi would also rest a little after
every mile. At mantaps devotees would stop him and offer
food or other refreshments. The devotees would compete
with one another in extending their hospitality to
Bhagavan, who would oblige all of them.

      The behaviour of those who followed Bhagavan varied
from person to person. Some were silent, some played
musical instruments or sang ecstatically, like bhajan groups.
Usually knowledgable in music, the devotees had the added
impetus provided by bhakti ^[?] and sang excellently bringing
pleasure to the listeners.

      Gajanana who would accompany Bhagavan would
dance all along the way, singing verses from the sacred
Bhagavata. He would give the impression that Lord
Nataraja was accompanying Bhagavan. Some devotees
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chanted Bhagavan's 108 names or sang hymns composed
by the Maharshi or others. The devotees would feel that
the Lord himself was in their midst and so they expressed
themselves, without any inhibition.

      During the pradakshina period the devotees were
submerged in an ocean of devotion and were swept away
by the cool breeze of Jnana. The Maharshi's silence was
very deep and one wondered if he could speak at all. But
when he spoke, his words were clean crystals of wisdom.

      Bhagavan composed several hymns during his several
pradakshinas and at those times he was in the akasa of the
interior where lay no mind, no word, no seer, no seen, no
worshipper, no worshipped; there was only one-the Atma.