THE CULT OF THE HILL

---

Kenneth Grant

OF THE OUTER symbol of Sri Arunachala on earth, Lord
Siva says, "Meditate on the fact that in the heart of the Hill
surges the spiritual glory, within which the whole world is contained."

It is in fact this holy Hill -- the Mount Kailas of the south
and the very embodiment of Siva -- that is the manifest and
visible guru of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi.

It behoves us therefore to remember, that now the beloved
master is not with us any more in the fleshy garments of frail
humanity, this holy guru is nonetheless visible and accessible to
all those whose eyes are opened to the spiritual glories which
Siva describes as surging within its mysterious heart.

Here is the tangible focus of that tremendous spiritual
energy, which burned with unabated strength in the form of
Ramana; thus is this symbol supremely sanctified for us today
by the certainty of liberation, which Bhagavan himself taught
was the reward of the unflinching surrender of the ego in the
flames of its all consuming embrace.

Those who feel disturbed within themselves at the great
loss of the body of Bhagavan, should instantly direct their minds
to the contemplation of the `Hill of the Holy Beacon', which
-- Bhagavan has told us -- only waits to respond eagerly and
tenderly to even our weakest yearnings towards It.

Page 13
In his article called `Physical Supports of Grace', Arthur
Osborne says that the Hill called Arunachala is verily the greatest
of physical supports, for did it not bear upon its sacred surface
the earthly tabernacle which was the physical form of Bhagavan?

Yet for those who are unable to live within sight of the
earthly Arunachala, there need be no regrets, for the Hill itself
is but a thought-construction same as any other. If we would
grasp the inner significance veiled by the `dull', outer form of
its simple contours, we must search within the heart, and establish
contact with that regionless bliss, void of all conceptions which
the mind is capable of formulating. For Arunachala is the symbol
of the void nature of the Self manifesting in so simple a shape
as the `Hill of the Holy Beacon'.

This is the form of Ramana, which lasts longer than the
human garment that he wore for our sake. But as long as the
world appearance lasts for each aspirant, so will endure the Hill,
to symbolise to us the perfect void, the all full Self that lies as
the heart in the spaceless and timeless eternity.

Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa said,
"Is Kali, my divine mother, of a black complexion? She
appears black because she is viewed from a distance, but when
intimately known she is no longer so. The sky appears blue at a
distance but look at it close by and you will find that it has no
colour. The water of the ocean looks blue at a distance, but
when you go near and take it in your hand, you find that it is
colourless."

And so it is with the `Hill of the Holy Beacon'; go near to it
in spirit and it is without shape, without colour, without attributes
of any kind. It is only distance which lends it the illusory qualities
it seems to possess. Really, we impress the void -- It essentially is
with the attributes we seem ourselves to possess and then we
Page 14
imagine seeing what is not truly there. Thus it is our attributes
we have to slough if we would come close to the sacred symbol
and know its real significance, and our everyday life can help us
insofar as we regard all things that occur to us in a new light.

For instance, instead of viewing circumstances and conditions
as isolated phenomena occurring to us for no reason at all, we
should strive to regard each event as a stone upon the slopes of
Arunachala; each trivial repetition of which event constitutes at
last that sacred `mount of the spirit' which is our true nature.

Thus we can worship Sri Bhagavan in and through our ordinary
mundane life. It is merely a matter of re-orientation and
determination to accept as deeply significant in a spiritual way
all the seemingly trite and disconnected incidents which
constantly occur to us. Yet is this but a preliminary to the final
process of knowing Truth as it really is? For when Arunachala
has been thus truly built into the fabric of our hearts, we shall
need to view each separate part no longer as a separate stone of
the divine edifice, but as the structure entire in its sublimely
simple shape of the `holy Hill'. And then, entering into the
heart thereof with understanding, we shall know the whole as
the embodiment of that spirit of grace and compassion which
eternally enlightens our hearts.

In this way it is possible for the less advanced of us to
perform a spiritual discipline while living in the world even
though far removed from the outer symbol of divine grace
in Tiruvannamalai.

It is only when we realise that it is we who clothe the
formless Arunachala with form, because we view it with the
eyes of the body, that we shall begin to search within our hearts
for the formless Reality which that form veils. Until then, we
shall not penetrate and comprehend this miracle, nor shall we
Page 15
understand why Bhagavan Sri Ramana made no difference
between his human form and his Hill form. It is the guru in
hill form who is an everlasting beacon of hope for those who
inhabit the earth (or body). As soon as the body is dissolved
into a shining mist, so also does the guru's Hill form dissolve,
and we are no longer deluded by other concepts such as our
own form or the Hill form -- for these twain are no more.

The underlying Reality shines forth as the pure and perfect
void, conceptless and ever blissful.

As an aid to the realisation of this, it may help the devotee
-- if he be remote from the physical sight of the Hill -- to
create a mental picture thereof and endeavour through such a
mandala to pervade the Hill and become one with it. Certain
physical supports, such as a mound of actual stones taken from
the Hill itself, may further the project and intensify the
concentration, and also link the devotee in some subtle manner
with the focus of spiritual peace abiding in Tiruvannamalai.

Yet all this is of no avail if it be not always borne in mind
that these accessories are but props for exalting the
consciousness to the pitch necessary for contacting the subtle
emanations of grace, which spring from the spaceless
Arunachala Siva, whose eternal abode is the Heart. For, all
takes place in, and is supported by, the void, of which the Hill
itself is the perfect and singular symbol.

Page 19