ARUNACHALA'S TRUE
SHAPE
Aquarius
From every angle Arunachala presents a different aspect.But the Sivalinga, representing the Hill, symbolises its true
shape, that of the formless including all forms.
ARUNACHALA IS RAMANA. Every true devotee of Sri
Bhagavan comes to feel this to be true. Arunachala is an
insentient Hill while Sri Ramana was a sentient human being.
How could they be the same, we ask, except perhaps in a
metaphysical sense? But do we know what Arunachala is like
even in the physical sense?
I approach Arunachala generally by bus from the east as I
come to Tiruvannamalai from Madras. Arunachala becomes
visible from about ten miles away. At first it is only a vague
cloudlike shape but as I come nearer it becomes clearer. It
assumes the form of an irregular cone somewhat longish at the
base with a curved spur on its northern side.
This shape lasts only until I come to the temple of
Arunachaleswara. It changes gradually when I proceed to the Ashram
and finally when I reach the Ashram it assumes the beautiful shape
which is familiar to all devotees of Sri Bhagavan. It reminds me of
Mount Kailas as it looks in the familiar photographs of that sacred
mountain. Others have also noticed this resemblance.
Page 11
I have seen Arunachala not only from these two angles
but also from numerous other angles too. While going round
the Hill on the holy circuit it looks different from each spot.
Names like the `five-faced Arunachala' and the `four-faced
Arunachala' have been given to those aspects in which it appears
to possess five peaks or four peaks. When one comes to the
northern side the appearance changes completely. It becomes
more rugged and massive. Arunachala has many faces and many
shapes. From every angle it presents a different aspect, reminding
us of the ever changing flux of creation, the motionless dance
of Arunachala-Siva whose unity penetrates all diversity!
Every true devotee of Siva believes that Arunachala, the
Hill, is Siva himself or a huge Siva linga in the form of the Hill.
The puranas elaborate this. That is why one walks round it
barefoot reverently all the eight miles of the way. Siva linga is
simply an emblem of Siva, in its manifest form as the Hill and
the linga of fire without beginning or end, as mentioned in the
well known story of its first appearance, symbolises its
unmanifest transcendence. Thus Siva is rupa (with form) and
arupa (without form). He has many forms and at the same time
can reveal himself as formless.
"When I approach regarding Thee as having form, Thou
standest as a Hill on earth. If (with the mind) the seeker looks
for Thy (essential) form as formless, he is like one who travels
the earth to see the (ever-present) ether. To dwell without thought
upon Thy (boundless) nature is to lose one's (separate) identity
like a doll of sugar when it comes in contact with the ocean (of
nectar) and when I come to realize who I am, what else is this
identity of mine (but Thee), O Thou Who standest as the
towering Aruna Hill?"1
Page 12