Kundalini Splendor

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Wednesday, April 02, 2014

Mount Arunachala (located in India) 





Arunachala is considered to be one of the world's most sacred mountains.  Many pilgrims come annually to enjoy the vibrations of the setting and often to do a sacred circumnavigation of the base of the mountain.

The following article was posted on ND Highlights today:

The Hill

by Katya Osborne

What is it about Arunachala that attracts some people to the point
of obsession? There are some who, once ensnared, find it almost
impossible to leave; there are others who pass by and barely notice it.
You drive along the main road in either direction and the countryside
is more or less littered with hills of a similar size and configuration.
Why should this pile of earth and rocks be in any way different? Yet
different it most assuredly is. None of the other prominences has the
power, presence, or sheer personality and exuberance of Arunachala.
Even Bhagavan, if he could be said to be attached to anything, was
attached to this place. On the face of it, it is an inexplicable mystery;
yet it is nonetheless a fact and therefore worth trying to explain.

In the myths of antiquity, Arunachala was acknowledged to be the
incarnation of Lord Siva on earth as the Lord of Fire. Physically it is a
hill, or small mountain, some 2,668 feet above sea level, of apparently
unremarkable rocks physically indistinguishable from any others in
this landscape of scattered hills dotted about on the hot plains.
Bhagavan treated Arunachala as a living manifestation of God, and as
such it is hard to describe. A person cannot be truly conjured up by a
catalogue of physical details, and yet any other sort of description is
even harder to arrive at. To those who are in tune with it, Arunachala
is a microcosm of the world. Its signature on the landscape is so
powerful that is seems to distort one’s inner compass; no hill this, but
an overwhelming presence that makes everything else around seem
shadowy and unreal. It also acts like a prism to intensify all the senses
and emotions. Colours seem brighter; the taste of food is sharper; the
very act of breathing is not just the drawing in of whatever comprises
the local atmosphere, rather it is an effervescent inhalation of
invigorating power. Every sensation seems to be keener; love is stronger,
but then so too is hate. Having heightened senses works both ways,
which is why people come to Arunachala. They hope for release and
enlightenment, but the corollary is that all one’s negative aspects are
also highlighted. They can be dealt with or given in to, according to
the personal application of the individual. People who resonate with
the Hill have a unique opportunity to deal with all the troublesome
facets of their characters, to recognise them and try to eliminate them;
they also have the possibility of elevating their least desirable qualities
and this can happen so slyly that it almost goes unnoticed. Small
skirmishes can become major wars and a mild interest in one’s
neighbours can become malicious gossip. In the same spirit, a lack of
interest in personal possessions can become genuine renunciation and
ordinary thoughtfulness can transmogrify into true spirituality.

It is a mistake to suppose that everything within the ambit of the
Hill is benign. People have been robbed, raped, and have even died on
the Hill. Others have lived there as renunciates, untroubled in a cave
for years. Still others have carried on a life-long love affair with it.
Whatever happens in the world at large also happens on or around the
Hill…but more so.

~ ~ ~

Read the full article at https://s3.amazonaws.com/ramanafiles/mountainpath/2005%20II%20April.pdf

The following passages particularly interested me:

 It also acts like a prism to intensify all the senses
and emotions. Colours seem brighter; the taste of food is sharper; the
very act of breathing is not just the drawing in of whatever comprises
the local atmosphere, rather it is an effervescent inhalation of
invigorating power. Every sensation seems to be keener; love is stronger,
but then so too is hate. Having heightened senses works both ways...

Indeed. this description could be applied to Kundalini awakening, for then often the senses are brighter and the emotions stronger.  And--something similar often happens with meditation itself.  I think the cause is simply the heightened state of consciousness that one may know during such experiences as meditation or entering the "field" of certain sacred places on earth.

Here is what another reviewer wrote about Arunachala:


This is one of the oldest and most holy mountains in all of India. The stories about it date back to the oldest Hindu Scriptures, the Rig Veda. Sadhus have come here for three thousand years, to be with Arunachala. One major spiritual teacher, Ramana Maharshi lived and taught here from 1896 to 1950, and his ashram remains open to visitors to this day. Many people come for a holy walk around Arunachala. It is 14 km. On full moon nights one million people or more may come here from all over South India to walk pradakshina around Arunachala. The big temple, Arunachaleswara Temple, is one of the biggest Hindu temples in all of India. Its roots are 2000 years old. Some people come to visit and never leave. Some people think it is just another dusty South Indian city. Find out for yourself.







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