Tiruvannamalai: A City Synonymous with Spirituality

On September 1 1896, Venkataraman Iyer left home at the tender age of 16.

His father died when he was young. He left a note for his mother and booked a one-way train ticket. He did not intend to go back home.

No, he did not hate home. He had a peaceful childhood. Then why did he leave home? The answer: He saw the futility in the “normal way of living”. He wanted to realize his true nature.

When his train reached the destination, Venkataraman Iyer got down, went to a temple, and identified a cave inside the temple. He sat in the temple cave for 60 days and meditated on the Supreme Self, blissfully unaware of the external world.

People eventually found him. They cleaned him up and gave him food. They recognized this was no ordinary person. He became known as one of the greatest spiritual masters the world has seen.

Venkataraman Iyer became Ramana Maharishi.

The name of this city that Ramana Maharishi chanced into: Tiruvannamalai

Tiruvannamalai: Spirituality in All Corners

Tiruvannamalai is one of the most spiritual cities in South India.

Visitors come from all parts of the world to experience spirituality. Many visitors from the West (US and Europe) visit Tiruvannamalai regularly. Some possess great conviction — so much so that they leave everything behind and move to Tiruvannamalai for good. 

Tiruvannamalai is the home of the Ramana Ashram, where Ramana Maharishi lived his life. 

Tiruvannamalai is the home of the Arunachaleshwarar temple. There are 5 Shiva temples called Pancha Bhutha Sthalams, each representing the basic material nature: earth, water, fire, wind and air. The Arunachaleshwarar temple is a manifestation of fire. 

Tiruvannamalai has a Special Place in My Heart

Tiruvannamalai is closer to a village than an urban city.

As I write this, I live in Chennai, India. A modern city with all conveniences. 

With the conveniences come hustle and noise. I’m grateful to Chennai for allowing me to call her home. This cosmopolitan city, however, does not charm me. The luxury of the West doesn’t hold great charm either. 

By contrast, Tiruvannamalai has a special place in my heart.

The Ramana Ashram

There is an ashram built in the place Ramana Maharishi lived.

Serenity. Spirituality. Silence. The ashram has these qualities and more. Most foreign visitors who come to Tiruvannamalai come specifically to the Ramana Ashram. Ramana Maharishi met several prominent personalities during his lifetime, including acclaimed writer Somerset Maugham.

I have meditated a few times at the Ramana Ashram. Each meditation session was filled with beautiful silence. A different sort of quiet. 

A quiet that words can’t describe.

Who Are You?

Ramana Maharishi summarized spirituality by asking one pithy question: Who are you?

When people would ask him questions: He would respond back with “Who is asking this question?”

Ramana Maharishi had a near-death experience before he went to Tiruvannamalai. He felt his soul going out of the body. However, he was present. He concluded that he was not the body — he existed even when he was about to be separated from his body. 

He asked himself “Who am I” and found the answer for himself.

He encouraged everyone to answer this one question for themselves. All his teachings and writings centered around this one question.

People go to Ramana Ashram to find out who they really are.

Girivalam — Walking Round the Arunachala Hill

Another attraction of Tiruvannamalai is the opportunity to go around the Arunachala hill.

This is a 15 kilometer stretch. People generally walk this stretch, which takes roughly 2 hours. There are 8 temples, which are along this path — devotees visit these temples.

On the full moon day, the Girivalam path is packed with people. 

I’ve done the Girivalam walk twice in 2015. I enjoyed both occasions immensely.

They say you need divine grace to visit any spiritual place or temple. I have visited Tiruvannamalai a few times after 2015. However, for various reasons, I could not do a Girivalam walk. 

For example, on one full moon day in 2019, I was determined to do a Girivalam walk. Just as I was starting out, there was a massive downpour. I deliberated if I should do the Girivalam walk in the rains. I finally chickened out and decided against it. 

The failed attempts serve one important purpose. They made me look at the two successful Girivalam walks fondly with gratitude. 

My Favorite City

People who have visited Tiruvannamalai just once have reported beautiful experiences and met great souls who reside even today.

I haven’t had such experiences in Tiruvannamalai. I have, however, experienced joy in this city. A joy which I struggle to put into words.

A joy that makes me declare that Tiruvannamalai is my favorite city. 

Image Credit:  Vivek V on Unsplash

Note: I wrote this post as a part of a 30-day writing challenge conducted by Nancy Blackman on Medium. The prompt for this post: “What is your favorite city in the whole world? Describe it to us.”

Note: Speaking of Tiruvannamalai, here is a beautiful post by Satheesh Dinakaran

Note: Here is another lovely article on Tiruvannamalai, by Pariselvakumar.