Please note that advertisements are the source of income for sustaining the blogs, websites and online activities, hence do not be disturbed by it :) Thank you. This blog and its content is copyright of © NamoNityananda.blogspot.com 2008-2020. You are free to redistribute or reproduce the content by acknowledging thus original source.
Showing posts with label kanhangad ashram. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kanhangad ashram. Show all posts

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Kanhangad Ashram Details

SWAMI NITYANANDA ASHRAM PUBLIC TRUST (Regd.)
KANHANGAD - 671315
KASARGOD DIST, KERALA
Phone: 0467-2208986
            0467-3251960


How to reach:
Kanhangad is in the border of Kerala/Karnataka and falls in Kerala State. Nearest airport/railway station/bus stand is Mangalore. From Mangalore it is about 70 kms and takes about an hour to two by bus/train.

Almost all trains going to Kerala pass through Kanhangad station.


All trains going towards Kerala via Mangalore passes through Kanhangad station.

You can directly call up on the above given ashram numbers to check availability of rooms in the ashram in advance for your convenience. Food and accommodation is taken care by the ashram but one can contribute something to the ashram at the end of the stay in the form of balbhojan. Any amount affordable to you can be contributed at the office and a receipt taken for the same.


IMPORTANT TIPS THAT MAY HELP
  • Silence and moments with the self would be very beneficial.
  • Even just sitting in the divine places like the caves, in Swami Jnanananda's Room, in the Nityananda Samadhi temple will bring in fulfilling experiences.
  • The ashram expects one to attending all activities and adhere to meal timings in the ashram.
  • Guruvan is about 5 kms from the ashram and one should visit this place, where Bade Baba did his tapas, where you could take a bath in the Papanashini Ganga (the water that sprung after Bade Baba hit the rocks with his hands) and also you can meditate near the holy natural cave there.
  • The ashram conducts regular homams, abhishekham and pujas at reasonable contributions and you may want to do it.
  • You also may wish to contribute to the bhandara prasad if you like and also towards Bal Bhojan (something Bade baba and Babaji are very particular about).
  • A note worth mentioning here is that whoever comes to Bade Baba with satvik needs, especially for spiritual growth, one will surely be blessed by Baba owing to the bhaava in the heart and mind of the seeker.
  • Bade Baba had mentioned that anyone meditating in these caves shall have good spiritual progress.
  • About the plans on the visit, there is nothing to plan.. make an intention, take yourself off for the number of days you plan to visit and then set out.. HE WILL DO THE REST.
If any help you need to visit this place you can contact me


To read all Kanhangad experiences click here.


Sunday, June 26, 2011

Kanhangad - July 2011


Offering these words and all our experiences at the feet of Bade Baba for His constant love, guidance, protection and support.

Here i am today, back after a mesmerizing, refreshing, and blessed trip from Bade Baba's abode in Kanhangad. Bade Baba is everywhere, then why Kanhangad? Sure he is, but this is the place where he himself spent quite number of years before he left to Ganeshpuri leaving it at the hands of Swami Janananda who later developed this place to close to what it is today. On my first visit, i never ever knew things would change spiritually so much and this is what pulled me here for the fifth time, every time having the divine company of more and more seekers. (Read previous visits) As all other visits, this visit also was for a divine purpose and i am sure all those who came here also have their own bunch of gifts now or in the coming time :) For me, this place has been a very powerful and divine source to connect with Bade Baba. This place has those high energies which when one gets into, it becomes easier to connect to any divine being.

This time after a few indications the dates were fixed for me to leave and it was put up on the blog. I wasn't expecting more than 5-6 people but we had 16 seekers this time, but the only difference was that even though the trip was fixed only a week before and many could not make urgent arrangements, still many of them atleast made it for a day after which they returned; which shows the spirit and call of this enchanting place. Only 8 people stayed back for all the three days, few left after one day and few after two days.

As usual, this trip from start till the end had only miracles and wonderful happenings. Tickets were easily booked at the nth hour, if someone dropped their plans coming at the last minute due to unavoidable circumstances, there was somebody else who popped in at the last minute. This time we had, from Bangalore - Malliga aunty, Ravi, Geetu, Puneet and a last moment entry of Pintu who just joined the last moment without a ticket and things got arranged in the train itself. Satyaprabha aunty who was almost disappointed at her last moment cancellation due to job work, found herself in the train to atleast make it for the Sunday. More surprisingly, two girls from Bangalore Geeta and Dipti left from Bangalore the last moment in a bus and reached Kanhangad on their own; though it was their first trip here. Ravikumar from Bangalore also came on his own one day earlier. Also two days earlier a couple Krupa and her hubby had reached who preferred coming early because of their schedules. Two long distance seekers also were there with us for 3 days - Shruti from Delhi and Ashutosh from Kolkatta who flew to Bangalore and boarded the train with others. i reached Mangalore early morning 5:30 and as usual went to uncle Vishwanath's house where he and Taqueela (his German Shepherd dog) waited. i have a great time with Taqueela always. Uncle said he would not be able to join us as someone in his home was ill and admitted and i can only offer my love as gratitude for the love and care he offers for our journey here everytime. Though noone else was at his home, he insistingly made tea and bread toast for breakfast. He and me, both bad cooks, made each other burnt toasts with ghee and had it without complaints with giggles and laughter. Uncle then came to drop me at Mangalore station on the morning of 19th June where Arjun also joined us. At 8:30 a.m.the train arrived in which all other seekers from Bangalore were there. i cannot described the feelings when one meet people of similar frequencies. Soon there were hugs and laughter on the platform as Ravi bought everyone idlis after which the train moved. Uncle Vishwanath bid us goodbye as he returned home with a face that showed how much he missed coming with us.

From here the journey began, the fun, the thrill, the connections. All said that they could feel the vibrations even as the train was closer to Kanhangad. The climate here was sunny and of the three days we stayed here, not a single day did it rain thus making it very easy for us to visit places and do sadhana in open places. We reached Kanhangad by 10:30 and took autos to the ashram. Ganapathyji was kind enough to arrange everything for us and had left the rooms open for us while he had gone to Guruvan with the couple who had come 2 days earlier. Soon, everyone freshened up and a quick plan was made how to work out things as people were staying for 1, 2, and 3 days. Geeta and Dipti said they had only one Sunday and could not adjust at any cost a single more day, but by the end of the day they made if for another day as they wanted to visit Guruvan the next day.

The places of visit and interests are already mentioned in previous posts, so i would not make a repeated mention of it here. (Read previous visits) What i wish to focus more on this time's visit is the awe of seeing so many seekers; moreover this was not an organized trip but was just a personal visit, but soon that turned into a happy group visit together. This time, 10 out of 16 seekers were first-time visitors here but what i noticed with all of them this time were that all were very dedicated in each and every activity that happened there.

The first day we went up the Samadhi temple for arati, then Janananda Swami's Samadhi temple for the arati and then a delicious meal at the Annapurneshwari Hall. The meal only contains of simple polished rice and sambaar with a spoonful of curry and a pickle, but that is all that one needs to have a fulfilling yet light meal. After that we all went into the caves and then we sat talking for sometime. Luckily there was the same team of satsang with musical instruments, whom we had encountered last time who sing only for 30 mins. When they said, we could sing something, we seized the opportunity by singing "Samba Sadashiva" and "Hari Hari bol". We ended the satsang with "Jai Jai Aarti Nityananda".  Quickly, we planned for the next day's move and it was going to be quite a busy day since we had too many things to do and places to cover. From the time we entered the ashram the vibes could be felt. Ravi, Geetu, Puneet and Satyaprabhaji left since they had only planned for a day.

Next day, we all woke up at 4 a.m. and reached the Nityananda Swami Samadhi temple situated above the caves by 5 a.m. Soon the priest came in and the Milk and tender coconut abhishekham of Baba Nityananda began, which was a blissful experience. This is the only time one gets to touch (bathe) the panchaloha statue of Bade Baba. After this was the milk abhishekham of Janananda Swami. Breakfast began after this which is as early as 8 in the morning. After breakfast we continued sitting in the same place talking of the stories and leelas of Bade Baba in and around Kanhangad and Mangalore. By then, it was time for the Gana homam and Mruthunjaya homam which was for an hour and this was blissfully divine being here doing the homam in the Kerala way. For homans, one has to make the necessary contributions and take vouchers the previous day. One person can do the homams for themselves or even extend it to their family members. This voucher is then presented to the priest who keeps it at the feet of Bade Baba and the next day performs homa with everyone around in the names of those in whose names the vouchers were. i have found this homa a very wonderful experience all the times i visited here.

After the homams and taking the prasad, we left towards Padiyar Swami's house guided by Ganapathyji. We paid homage to Swamiji's samadhi in the compound of his home, where Bade Baba had directed him to stay all his life doing seva. We walked into the house that seemed welcoming as ever with vibrations of peace and tranquility. After a walk through all the rooms, each settled down in the places they "felt" like sitting. After meditation, we gathered back in the hall and talked for a while and sung "Achyutham Keshavam..." and "Jai Jai Aarati Nityananda". It was 2:30 in the afternoon and we planned to now leave as we had to go to the ashram, have food and leave from Guruvan. On the way back we did not miss sitting at the conference table built by Bade Baba, where he sat and shared inputs of incidents that were yet to happen. We then reached the ashram, had lunch and left for Guruvan.
In Padiyar Swami's Bedroom
The experience to this time's visit to Guruvan was just splendid! This time it was even more wonderful because the new temple was built and the new idol was installed. (Read) This time the caves had something new than the last time. As we all went into the caves, i noticed that the caves had more water due to rains and also the sides of the caves looked wider, which i felt was probably due to the cleaning work done around here. This time we observed more space in there to go further and be able to stand for last time i remember we were all almost on knees. This time the girls had the lead with torches in their hands in the pitch-dark tunnel. 

Bats in the cave of Bade Baba
Shruti, Geeta and Dipti. i was awed to see these girls had almost reached where the bats where very close upside down and these were visible when the camera flash flashed onto their shining eyes staring at everyone. After we came out the second set of people went in and came out. Shruti then stated that she wanted to sit a while in the dark cave. Now, this had never struck to me ever during the previous visits here, so i joined her and we went to the end of the dark cave and sat in total pitch darkness offing our flashlights. Meditating sitting on the wet muddy rocks in total darkness in this divine cave was beyond words. After about 30 minutes we came out and meditated at the entrance of the cave while others were spread out in and around the temple meditating. Soon it was time for arati in new temple and we went down where Swami Vidyananda did the arati and offered everyone the teertha. i told him about the caves looking wider and more comfortable and asked about the cleaning process that could have been done. i was taken aback when he replied that noone touches the caves for any reason as they want it to be as it was since it was Bade Baba's place. The ones who had visited last time knew this could not be really true since all had noticed that the cave structure was looking different and was more accommodative. Swami Vidyananda just smiled and said "He" only knows what it is and insisted no work has been done in the caves. With a eye-widened look at each other, with curiosity and excitement but still not wanting to analyze anything we moved from the place.

The ashta siddhi lingas are now in having a constructed form around it as a shelter. i remember last time we did some meditation around these ashta lingas that were made by Bade Baba himself symbolizing the astha siddhis after his 6-year long tapas in the cave here. i used to always wonder why would Bade Baba want to show build something like this as where was the need for an Avadhoota like him to demonstrate his siddhis. None could answer my thought for a long time until i met Vijayanand Swami once (read experiences at his ashram) and while sitting with him in his ashram he just casually came up with the answer. He said, "Do you know what is the meaning of those eight ashta lingas symbolizing the 8 siddhis in Guruvan? The cave there is you. Going into the cave is going within. When you go in and do tapas you get the 8 siddhis and these siddhis are not to be held within but discarded out, meaning not to get entangled in it. That is what Bade Baba symbolized by constructing the 8 ashta siddhi lingas outside the cave." :)

We requested Swami Vidyananda that we wanted to see the old statue also of Bade Baba that was in the old temple and he was kind enough to show it in the room that was kept locked. Then since two of them had to leave this evening after a day's extension of their unplanned trip, we took leave of Swami Vidyananda and left the beautiful place. Ganapathyji had joined us here too and it was nice to have him with us as he made arrangements for our travel by calling up autos, etc. We reached the ashram and then resumed attending the aratis at both samadhi temples. This night few of us spent talking at Nityananda Baba's Samadhi temple while few were in their rooms. Here we decided that next day early morning 5:30 a.m. we would meditate in the caves as and when one wanted and then in the morning after breakfast we would visit Anand Ashram of Ramdas Swami, another divine place one must visit once if you are here in Kanhangad.

So, did it happen and after time in the caves the next morning, after breakfast, we left for Anand Ashram around 6 kms from here. Every time we come here, we have come in late evenings and this was the first time we came in broad daylight. This ashram was started by Swami Ramdas (also known as Pappa) who was an enlightened being and i have found him all the places i have been travelling which shows his strong connection - in Padiyar Swamiji's house, in Vijayanand Swami's ashram in Bevinkoppa and even when we were in Tiruvanamali Hills i was surprised to see that Pappaji even did tapas in one of the caves of Ramana Maharishi. I asked how to Swamiji how Pappaji had been in Tiruvanamalai Hills and he said that Pappaji went for tapas in caves after having a vision of Ramana Maharishi and it was here that Pappaji had his enlightenment. This was mentioned by Pappaji once that during the opening of this ashram which was almost at the same time Bade Baba was building the caves,  Bade Baba was invited for this opening and Baba at a time walked in and sat down with everyone around him. He sat silent. He was offered a tender coconut and he quietly drank it. After sitting there for about 10 minutes in absolute silence, Baba got up and left.

We had come before thrice here but never got an opportunity to meet the current Swamiji - Swami Muktananda, who looks after the ashram after the Samadhi of Ramdass Swami, Mataji, and Swami Satchidananda but never could meet him because he was either not there or busy. But this time, as we entered on speaking to a sevak at the gate in Malayalam for guidance in the ashram, he asked us to go to information center first. As we walked towards it, he came along with us and said that if we wished we could meet Swamiji after going to the information center and i immediately told him that we would meet Swamiji first and he immediately took us to the room where he was sitting.

We took blessings from him and sat as he enquired from which place we were from. On telling him that we were from different places in India, he laughed and asked us to sit. His messages then were very, very simple, universal and clear. As he spoke with great care and love he cited practical examples of overcoming certain situations in the spiritual life. His basic and most simple message was of loving anything and everything around and carrying the constant awareness of how alive everything is by offering gratitude to every little thing that we encounter in our life. He mentioned about carrying the gratitude because with that emotion one would acknowledge constantly the presence of divinity in that person or thing. He gave few examples of how to even own gratitude to the envelope that brought a letter safely in it to you, owning gratitude to the spoon and plate that serve us constantly, etc. He continued giving more practical examples of daily life - that if you go to any toilet and when you see no latch, you realize how importance that latch is, further if there is latch and no bucket or mug how important that bucket would be or if everything is there and there is no pipe for water. As he spoke this straight example one could deeply know the importance and relevance of every single thing there. i was getting aware of the floor, the light, the air, the clothes, and every little thing around me and the importance of it as he spoke. How true it is that all these things that are easily taken for granted. Swamiji said that by developing this awareness and feeling all the time one would gradually start seeing the divinity in everything. This ashram is where the Rama Nama chanting goes on incessantly, by which the mantra slowly seeps in, Swamiji said. He also said that when you chant any mantra constantly it seeps into your consciousness and brings the changes. He said there are three types of chants or rather stages of chanting - verbal (chant that can be heard), internal (chant that goes on in the mind with or without lip movement), silent (internal chanting). Swamiji only talked about universality and the wellbeing of every living thing, samastha loka sukhino bhavantu. The love that he spoke was, was quite evident in his speech and actions. After about an hour in here, Swamiji blessed us with biscuits and some reading material and invited us to come and stay for a day or two the next time we came here. He then guided us briefly on the places to visit in the ashram. Whole-heartedly thanking him, we left the room.
Short video clip of Anand Ashram, Kanhangad

Beautiful info about Swami Ramdas and Anand Ashram, Kanhangad

We then went to where all cow shelter and there were about 40-50 Jersey cows. All were so cute and all had individual name boards behind them. We then took out our biscuit packets and after eating from as prasad from Swamiji, offered the rest to all those cows who were just relishing it. Then we moved to the satsang hall, which is a very divine hall and you can sense it the moment you enter. Here we also got to get into the room in which Pappaji stayed and this room has very strong vibrations that is quite obvious. This room contained his bed, chairs and other daily use materials. After being for with the chanting and meditating, we then moved towards the three samadhis of Pappaji, Mataji and their disciple Swami Satchidananda, where chantings are constantly going on. We had time to sit for a good time in all three samadhi places. From there, we went to the library and then moved towards the mess, where coupons were given and we were soon sitting in the mess. We had a very satvik meal here, washed our plates and soon left back to the ashram. i am very grateful to Ganapathyji who never comes here but this time on our insistence joined us and took us around to all these places we had never visited before.

On reaching the ashram, everyone got busy packing their stuff since evening was everyone's train back to Bangalore and me and Arjun were also supposed to get in the same train till Mangalore from where i had my bus at night back home. These last few moments we spent time in Swami Janananda's room which is one of the best spots here to meditate and then meditated for sometime in the caves. Finally, at 4:30 p.m. my purpose of this time's visit seemed crystal clear and evident and we took leave of the ashram people and Ganapathyji. We then reached the station and boarded our trains back to our destinations. While in the train, the ever concerned and loving Vishwanath Uncle called up and said he would come to pick us up. He did and we were soon at his home, as usual, being stuffed by chapatis, curry, fruits, sweets and what not. No one can escape Uncle's forced love of food treat, not even Arjun who had perspiration gulping down the badam milk that uncle made him drink after he had stuffed about 4 chappatis. I could hear him squeakingly telling me that he has never had more than two for dinner. i promised uncle that next time i come i will take an oath from him before entering and his laughed confidently conveyed that there would be no escape, come what may.

Gratitude to all those who came with the zeal and did sadhana and sankirtan together and moved together to so many places with so much of devotion and faith. i am sure it has brought each all the blessing it had to, which would be quite evident in the days to come

Here is a video of brief clippings of the 3-day visit.


Monday, April 25, 2011

Statue at New Guruvan Temple

I just returned from my Shirdi visit tonight and was happy to recall that the next morning the statue of Baba Nityananda was coming to the place where i live!
A page of the invitation to devotees
The new temple was being constructed all this while and we could see it's progress in all our previous four visits to Guruvan, Kanhangad. Was happy to receive the invitation from Swami Vijayananda of Anandashram, Bevinkoppa, Bailhongal and from  Kanhangad ashram for "Avdhoot Bhagawan Nityananda Aaradhana Swarna Mahotsav - 2011" where the statue of Bade Baba would be installed in the new temple at Guruvan on May 5, 2011. As i wondered if i could make it or not for the statue installation, Swamiji while giving me the invite, pleasantly told me that the statue would pass from here on April 25th and there would be a small welcoming function to honor Bhagwan's statue. i checked my travel plans and was happy to know that i would be arriving back just the night before the statue would come and was happy about it.

Jyostna Pai with her husband waiting for the statue
i was very happy to know this as i could have a glimpse of Bade Baba before He reaches Guruvan itself! Just after Swamiji left i received a call from Mrs. Jyostna Pai, who runs a hotel business here and we had got strangely connected about three years ago. Jyostnaji is the granddaughter of Mr.& Mrs Devraj Pai, who were the direct disciples of Bade Baba and they both used to be in seva of Bade Baba. Bhagwan used to call Shri Devraj Pai as "headmaster" and this blessed couple would reach regular meals to Bade Baba in the days Baba meditated in the caves of Kanhangad. 
Shri/Smt Devraj Pai (center)
Jyostnaji used to tell me the stories of her grandmother and grandfather with Bade Baba. We used to use her hotel conference hall meditation/satsangs. She was the one who initiated satsangs for Bade Baba in this place which now is regular on every Thursdays at another devotee's place. It was evident that why Bhagwan's statue was coming to her place :)  i happily told her that i would surely be there and looked forward to go there after my Shirdi visit.

Today morning, at around 9 a.m. i reached the place and met Swami Vijayanand along with Tom, a devotee, who had come from England and was staying in Kanhangad for a while and then now with Swami Vijayanand. 

As the statue approached, crackers lit up and there was a band playing a devotional song :) all in their own flavor and devotion. i looked at the beautiful black panchaloha statue that was seated firmly on the silver-decorated chariot with 7 horses that covered the vehicle and looked like a moving silver chariot. As the statue reached the venue, He was garlanded and arti's performed. Everyone was in their happiness and devotion, while Bade Baba remained seated in an expression that displayed his open eyes and body to be in a state of samadhi.

We all then moved up to the hall where there were devotional songs sung by devotees and with few words spoken by the concerned people, prasadam was served. Swamiji then gave us prasad from Ganeshpuri. After a few about 2 hours, the vehicle proceeded further and he went along with the statue while the devotees from Anand ashram returned to Bailhongal.

Swamiji told me they are expecting huge crowds from all over and i know it will be as all the places are already booked. As i was riding my bike back home, i knew that whether i make it or not for the inauguration was no concern for me now, for i had a glimpse and the taste of His power and love through the statue even before Baba sat there in Guruvan Temple :)

Namo Nityananda!

To download the chant ~ "Om Namo Bhagwathe Nitayanandaya"  Click here 
To download the background song click here










Program Details:

24 April 2011 - The statue was inaugurated by Sri. K. Shankarnarayan, Governor of Maharastra in the temple complex of Ganeshpuri

25 April 2011 - Welcoming & Mahapooja in the presence of Swami Vijanananda at Belgaum (this current article) Proceeded to Hubli, Mastikatte, Ankola, Bhatkal.

26 April 2011 - Arrival at Kodavoor, Thotadamane Temple complex of Shirdi Saibaba, Udupi. At Nityananda Mandir Mutt, Udupi - Pallapooja, mangalarathi, balabhojan and annasantharpane, spiritual discourse, Bhajan, Gurupooja & Prasad.

27 April 2011 - Uchila, Padubidri,Mulki, Surathkal, Mangalore, Manjeshwar, Kondevoor, Uppala, Kumble, Kasargod, Kanhangad. Mahapooja & Prasad.

28 April 2011 - Procession to Guruvan by 10:30 a.m.

3 May, 2011 - Religious rituals at Guruvan, Kanhangad


4 May, 2011 - Gapapathi Homa and other rituals.


5 May, 2011 - Inauguration, honoring of sevaks who have served Bhagwan Nityananda, Moorthi pratistapana, Brahmakalasha, Mahapooja and Maha Anna Santharpana, Keertan by ISCON, Udupi, honoring of devotees who made the new temple possible. Religious sabha.



Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Kanhangad/Coimbatore/Tiruvanamalai


Some things just sparked about the Tiruvanamali Hills and Dhyanalinga and thus fell some plans quickly into place. This time we longed to be in the vicinity of divine places in the most minimum days and yet to spend some quality time with worthwhile sadhana. Such a plan was difficult but it somehow fell into place all within a travel plan of 5 days.  This time 9 sadhaks made it for this trip - Vishwanath uncle and Arjun from Mangalore, Ravi, Geetu, Akaash, Puneeth, and Sujatha aunty from Bangalore and Vatsal from Surat. Everyone had set in for two places - Coimbatore and Tiruvanamalai. This trip was special for me as i wished to add Kanhangad to my trip as i wanted to spend my birthday in the lap of my Baba and then proceed further. Uncle, Arjun, Puneet & Vatsal also were happy to join me to Kanhangad for a day before we headed further south. i had never been excited about birthdays and had never celebrated it for close to 10 years now, but this time was super-excited about the birthday, because i was going to 'celebrate' the birthday with the one who had given me a second birth - Baba!

i reached Mangalore on Feb 23rd and soon Vatsal arrived from Surat and we met at Uncle's home. Arjun too came up there and after breakfast we left to the station. The train that we were supposed to take to Kanhangad at 9 a.m. was also bringing in Puneet from Bangalore and thus we all met in the train. After one hour of happy moments we reached Kanhangad. Others had planned to directly meet us the next day in Coimbatore. 
In Kanhangad, by the grace of Bade Baba, we were able to go to every place and meditate in one single day; had to go to all places as this was the first time here for Puneeth and Vatsal and they had craved to be here. For the first time we tried getting into a cave right opposite to the ashram. There is no mention anywhere about this cave and we tried going in a little further but the dampness and lack of air did not allow us go ahead. While in Guruvan, Puneet and Aakash explored a new cave. This time  we could spend some good time meditating in Guruvan. Back in the ashram we meditated in the caves and in the Nityananda Baba's Samadhi Mandir. 

In the late evening, we checked out of the ashram at 7:30 p.m. along with our luggage and Ganapathyji took us home to Padiyar Swami's house.  We sat there meditating and listening to him about his experiences and Padiyar Swami's experiences.  At 9:30 p.m. from here we took an auto to the railway station as our train to Coimbatore was at 10:40 p.m. This was the best birthday i ever had - far from the formalities of cutting cakes or decorations, having to helplessly smile and acknowledge birthday wishes, party, noise, receiving gifts, and all such things that always to me was senseless and meaningless. Here, for the first time i was away from it all and with no one to disturb, was in peace with a company of people that did not give the usual birthday boy privileges of extra pamper and stuff like that :) click here to read about our previous three visits to Kanhangad.

Our train was on time and me, Uncle and Arjun were in one compartment and Puneeth and Vatsal in another far away compartment. Early morning after waking up they both came to our seats and the rest of the journey till Coimbatore we spent together in joy and excitement. Ravi, Aunty, Geetu and Akaash had also left the prior night from Bangalore and they reached Coimbatore an hour prior  to us reaching the station. We all checked in the hotel that was booked prior. After the morning rituals, all set out and had a great breakfast and went to the bus stand. We took a bus to Gandhipuram (10 mins) and from there took a bus to Isha Foundation, Velliangiri Hills. 
It is a 1-1/2 hours bus ride from here. As the bus moved deeper into the outskirts of Coimbatore, everything turned more greener and the roads narrowed. The last bit of the journey only saw fields and mountains around moving on a narrow road. We reached there by 11:30 a.m. and soon were in the foundation. This seemed to be a separate world in itself with people who seemed settled and calmer and joyful than the chaotic beings of the cities. The volunteers there guided and gave information about every temple and place there. The first sacred space we visited was the Linga Bhairavi temple, which has it's own beautifully customized way of worship and offerings. The energy here can be described as strong.
click on image for larger images
After spending some time here we went to the Teerthakunda to have the holy dip before entering the Dhyanalinga. This kunda has a Paras Linga immersed under water with only a little of it's top out of water. One is supposed to take dip here with just one piece of orange cotton cloth on the body that is provided there, to ensure every part of the body is drenched. Taking a dip here is for increasing the receptivity in the Dhyanalinga. As men and women had separate batches of 15 mins each, we quickly had our dip in here. We moved around the Linga and everyone touched and embraced it while some immersed themselves completely while holding on to the Linga. If one does not want to take a bath here, one can sprinkle the water. From here we put on our clothes and went into the Dhyanalinga. Dhyanalinga is consecrated with all it's active 7 chakras that link to 7 dimensions. A very powerful place indeed!
click on image for larger images
Then, moving around we spent our time in this beautiful place at the foothills of Velliangiri Hills, very sacred Hills and the seventh hill on this also is the samadhi place of Sadhguru's guru. Legend has it that Adi Yogi (Shiva) meditated on this hill in fury after he was tricked not to be able to marry the young woman Kanyakumari, who also in fury froze at the Southern most tip of India known as Kanyakumari. We could not trek up this hill as they said it would take just 5 hours only to to trek up, which meant it needed an entire day for this. We had limited time and lots to do. In the evening, there was a program in the Spanda Hall and we enjoyed this bit of classical music and Sadhguru was also present with just few hundred people. After this was the evening arti ceremony in front of the entrance near Nandi, where a procession comes in with Maa Bhairavi and arti is performed. There are no electric lights used and the ceremony is done with only fire, drums, horns, and a dance by ashramites that is orchestrated to create a very divine atmosphere. It was a splendid sight to see as though beings from heaven had descended. Sadguru was seated just a few feet in front of us and i had some very mystical experiences during and after this arti ceremony. After this event we all took a taxi cab back to Coimbatore.
dinner in Coimbatore
As all slept to glory in the hotel rooms, i sat working on the laptop with my pending work at the dead of the night while taking moments to glance out of the open window the heavy rain that washed Coimbatore. It was 2:45 a.m. when i could finally get to bed. Next morning, after breakfast we left again for Dhyanalinga and this day we spent immersed in and around the places in the ashram. This day we had the holy dip twice in the theertha kunda and also quality time in the Dhyanalinga and Bhairavi Temple. In the evening we enjoyed a classical dance and then the celestial fire arti and finally after dinner here itself, we winded up our visit by 9 p.m. Taking the taxi cabs back to the hotel we spent our time in the lobby because we had a train at night 2 a.m. to Jolarpeth from where we had to go to Tiruvanamalai. After midnight we left for the station, which was just a walkable distance. We spent a good amount of time together at the station as heavy rains again lashed out. At 2 a.m. our train arrived and we all were in and out! (out into sleep)

Next morning the train reached Jolarpeth at 7 a.m. We got down and took auto to Tirupatur from where we took a bus to Tiruvanamalai. It was a 3 hour journey in the bus.  We finally reached Ramana Ashram at Tiruvanamalai by 11 a.m. and found all rooms full in the ashram and in the lodges around. We searched for places far from the Ramana Ashram and we got a small ashram right in front of Ramana Ashram. The owner was kind enough to give us two separate rooms for males and females and our room was on the terrace. When we went up to the terrace i was awed to see the Tiruvanamalai Hills. i sat on the terrace facing the hills and no sooner had i invoked the holy siddhas, there was a gush of energy. i realized that there would be no effort of any kind needed here to connect. The sadhana was deep and intense here and this was yet without going to the holy hills.

Ramana Maharishi Samadhi Shrine

Ramana Maharishi Samadhi Shrine
Out of the five sacred places of the panchabhootas, Tiruvanamalai is identified with the fire element. 
monkey, dog and peahen
After a very very delicious meal in the ashram, we came back and spent some time in the room since the sun was very intense. i could not resist but to shoot a small video of the divine hills and share it with my friends on Facebook. After our tea at 3:30 p.m., we left for Ramana Ashram. As we moved in through the ashram, a sense of serenity took over. We moved through the entire huge ashram filled with people from all over the world. Peacocks, peahens, monkeys and dogs roamed all over freely with people there.
animal samadhis

This place looked like a huge joint family holding strongly people of all caste, creed and faith by Ramanaji like the love and protection of the head of the family holds all members of different tastes, temperaments and attitudes together.

The ashram even contained the samadhi mandir containing the earthly remains of the ashram's four holy animals: Jackie the dog, Valli the deer, Lakshmi the cow, and a crow. These were not mere animals who lived with Ramanaji and they were much evolved than animals and birds and they lived such an evolved life with him. squirrels used to run in and out of the Hall window, over his couch and even his body. 
click to enlarge
He would feed them with nuts and stroke them, some of them even had names. Snakes and scorpions were never allowed to be killed. Sick animals were brought to Bhagavan and kept by him on his couch or on the floor beside him until they were well. Many animals had died in his arms. Once a monkey tried to bring her new born baby through a window near Ramana’s couch. The attendants were preventing her. Ramana chided them as follows, “Don’t all of you bring your newborn babies to me? She also wants to do so. Why should you prevent her?” A very special crow used to accompany Ramanaji on his daily walks. The crow would not eat from anybody's hand but the saint's. Ramanaji used to say that he was actually a rishi (great sage) in a crow's body.

The ashram ends on the other side where the climb to Tiruvanamalai Hills begin. We began climbing the hill and as we went ahead we saw there were two deviations.

Click on the image to enlarge
The one to the right said that it lead to Skanda Ashram and to the caves of Ramanaji. The left did not show anything and seemed to take us just to the top of the hill. Following the instincts, we moved left. i was certain we could cover up all the important places as we had another day the next day also. As we moved more higher we came across a small tent which housed photos of many gurus with lamp lit in front of them. We stopped there for a while, bowed, and moved ahead. As we were reaching the top, the path of trees and plants became lesser and now we encountered rocks. 
Ravi, Vatsal, and Uncle and me reached one point on a huge rock and decided to settle there and a litlle below us settled aunty and Geetu, but Puneeth and Akash decided to go much higher to the top and soon they were out of sight. We did our sadhana there on those rocks as the sun was right in front of us and the entire city of Tiruvanamalai could be seen from there. The rocks were still warm from the day-long scorching of the sun. Now the breeze was cool and everything just just wonderful. All this while we were carefully observing that this rocky hill had something mysterious. 
This hill does look so deceptive to any person who only sees this as just another hill. We observed that the rocks had many places which were covered with bunch of thorns and it was certain that the thorns did not just grow there. It was something more of a deliberate attempt to keep people away. They seemed to me as entrances into the caves below. i was dead sure that below the rocks we stood upon, there were many, many caves and outlets in which so many would be doing their sadhana. After all these hills were openly known as the abode of siddhas from ages where many siddhas have taken mahasamadhi. There were so many jeeva samadhis on these hills and Tiruvanamalai has seen atleast one Siddha every generation. i was aware that this is not just another hill.

By the time we finished meditating here the sun was going down and we had to reach down before it was dark. 

As we climbed down the hill, Vatsal and me lost track and took some other way and realized only when things around did not look familiar. A few shouts to Ravi confirmed we were somewhere else but then we did not want to take this as our own doing :) We saw some crevices and spaces that looked more like stone asanas, even in dried waterbeds. Something made me aware that we could be passing through people not necessarily visible or heard in our perception. We took back the same route until we reached back to others. The only thing was that we were all barefooted and the gravels, rocks were hurting. Above all the rocks were hot. We then reached back to Ramana Ashram.
From here we took autos to Arunachaleshwara Temple, about 2 kms from here. Arunachaleswara Temple is dedicated to Lord Siva and it is one of the largest temples in India. For more read on it click here. The temple area is so huge that it took us hours to visit every place in it. It was 9:30 p.m. when we left from here back to our rooms. After having dinner, back in the rooms, we spent some time relaxing. It was midnight by the time me, Akaash and Vatsal decided to sleep out in the open on the terrace watching that holy hills. It was a wonderful experience just sleeping there in the openness of the hills.  
i woke up in the morning at around 6:30 a.m. by the graceful cries of peacocks and soon discovered that they were all over the terrace. We spent some good time around these beautiful birds and they were around us without any sign of fear or threat. i was able to shoot a 10-minute video being awed at how friendly these birds were. The video exclusive on this quality of birds and animals is put up at the end of this article.

After bath and breakfast, i and Puneeth rushed to the hills as we had planned to visit the Ramana and Virupaksha Caves near Skanda Ashram on the top of the divine hill. We started our climb as we spoke and clicked the pictures of this magnificent place. 

We both decided to stop any conversation and be silent. i put the camera back and just walked with total awareness of the place and everything around. We had not taken 15-20 steps and we were greeted by a swami who was sitting on the rocks. He spoke fluent English and was very pleasant wearing a thin white robe around him and had a cloth bag. He conversed with us and later told us that he was wandering in these hills and around for the last 15 years. He then told us the importance of the caves that we were heading to. He asked us to meditate in Virupaksha caves. Sri Virupaksha is a siddha who meditated in those caves and took jeeva samadhi. He told us that Sri Virupaksha turned his body into vibhuthi (ashes), which is still there and he is said to be still meditating there in his subtle form.
He also told us that this hill was the destroyer of ego and shared some other knowledge. Soon the others also reached us by now and we all sat and listened to this Swami for a while. He put his hand into his bag and gave everyone with a photo of Ramanaji saying it was a gift from him. It was indeed a blessing to meet this Swami.

After taking his blessings we proceeded, continuing to remain connected with awareness and kept going until we reached the top. It was a great view from here as straight down was the Arunachaleshwara Temple.

A lady sold small bananas for Rs.2/- each. She was so innocent that she was not even knowing how many she was giving and the change she was giving back. Soon i realized that not only we would eat these bananas but there were dozens of monkeys who moved there around the holy caves. So we brought more bananas just to give them. If we preferred to eat it ourselves without giving them, they were not polite by snatching it from our hands. If we had to eat, there was no other way than to put it into our pockets to eat later. i remember another exact situation the previous day in Arunachaleshwara Temple. There was a lady who moved with a cow. She carried cooked rice packed in banana leaf and sold them to people for Rs.10 each. People bought this and fed it to the cow. Now, here too, though she had so many packets with her, the cow never touched a single packet but only went to people who bought the packets. The cow was so clever and alert that it kept looking at every single person for even the slightest move. Even if one put their hand into their pockets or purse without the intention of buying, she thought they were picking out money to buy here those packets and  would immediately approach them.
click on image to enlarge

Another touchy scene to see was a very poor woman who sold small stone statues sharing her food on her tiffin lid with a baby monkey.

We then went inside the Skanda Ashram cave where Ramanaji had meditated for 7 years. There was only one lamp lit there in a very small room. The verandah was broad and various books written on Ramanaji were kept there, which we sat and went through for a while. This place is covered in the video below. Then we went to the Virupaksha caves where Siddha Virupaksha still is meditating in his subtle form. The ashes were neatly covered with cloth and these caves were with only lamps and not any artificial lights. Both the caves were divine! We then started moving down the hills as it was time for us to leave this place. It was around 1 p.m. we started moving down. We had taken just a few steps down and we encountered another divine sadhu who just stopped in front of us and talked in tamil. 
Most of what he said could not be interpreted but he was talking about the greatness of the hills and of Ramanaji. He carried a very serene look of peace and ultimate contentment on his face and his words just sounded like nectar as he spoke through his white beard in only gleeful smiles. He even said that Ramanaji had arranged a place for him up the hill with two times meals. When i asked him when was this, he told me 15 years back! i could not figure this out because Ramanaji had taken samadhi in 1950. After speaking these few words without any prompt he just moved ahead. Don't know who he was or what, but i still while typing this can sense his love and divinity even if the meeting did not last for more than 2 minutes.
Shiva & Shakti
We then on our climb down encountered two very young boys. They were curiously looking at us as they came from the opposite directions and i spoke to them in whatever distorted Tamil i knew and they asked if we had visited a temple. They insisted that we visit the temple and nothing further could be understood from them. When i asked their names one said he was "Shakti" and the other said he was "Shiva". Wow! This just connected us to them and i requested them to take us to that temple. They took us and this was little off track the normal path. It was obvious that many people did not come this way. As he took us to the temple, we saw some mysterious rocks and wide spaces that seemed to be used by someone who did sadhana. Not wanting to judge or analyze what it meant or what they were, i just moved into those spaces touching and trying to feel connected. 
This hill sure has lots of mysteries to the common man, especially to seekers. Then we moved ahead and "Shakti" shouted excitedly that the temple was open and he said we were lucky to visit. Shiva signaled pointing to my camera not to use it inside; i put it away quickly. When we entered we saw that this was a very old Shiva temple and as we entered it grew more narrow until we reached a small low place that had a Shivalinga with a lamp lit and a priest in there. He signaled to one of us using a torch to put it off. This place has some energy that i cannot explain; some mystical experiences. We then came out and Ravi took information from the priest sitting out that this was a place where another siddha had taken jeeva samadhi. This temple pic could not be taken as photography was not allowed inside but a short clip from the outside is added in the video clip. i hugged both Shiva and Shakti for their guidance and soon another little boy joined them. This boy was from this temple who said his name was Ramakrishna. We laughed saying that all Gods were present with us and they laughed too. When i gave them something into their hands they were very excited and their overjoy showed their innocence to the peaks as they showed to each other what they had got. We bid them goodbye and they followed us for a little distance shouting 'byes' a number of times to which we responded all times. A few steps more and we saw another little ashram. i wondered to myself how many ashrams can one hill hold? Anywhere and everywhere you looked around were caves or rocks used for sadhana and also so many temples and ashrams! This path that we came did not seem to be the normal path of the hills where people moved about and we were all alone in this path. We decided to go the ashram. The little gate was closed and the board next to it showed that it was not visiting hours. A little disappointed as i was about to turn the same little boy Ramakrishna came out from inside and he was carrying a pot full of water.
An old man came to open the gate for him. Ramakrishna was happy to see us again and he said something in Tamil to the old man, who pondered something for a while and then said "Come in" and opened the gates for us. i was overjoyed. He told that this was the place of another swami who lived here and Ramanaji used to come here. Swami Ramadas (from Kanhangad) also came here and he and Ramanaji often sat in that little room! i was very surprised to know that Swami Ramadas (Papaji) from Anand Ashram Kerala used to come here! i have written about our visit to his ashram in Kanhangad (click here to read

The old man advised us to meditate here for few minutes. We did so. The image on the right shows the small place, in which is kept the photos of Ramanaji and Ramdas Swami. Later i did a little research and found out that this was Alamarathu Guhai (cave). Ramanaji used to live here when he was very young.  We then thanked the man and left from there contented to the brim. When we reached the foothill we found that we had reached another side of the hill and not from where we started from Ramana Ashram. We took an auto back to our rooms and had food there. By 3:00 p.m. we left from there to the bus stand and took a bus to Bangalore. Uncle and Arjun had already left earlier to Jolarpeth.since they had their train to Mangalore. It was late by the time the bus reached and i had to forgo my train back home from Bangalore and take a bus instead. I reached back home at 8 a.m. the next day.
see anything common here?
Finally, a pic that was shot right in front of Ramanaji's shrine. i was trying to shoot this dog at close range and the cam caught up something very unusual. Golden globules are very rare on cam and very fortunately a  huge golden one was caught... Though none believe it, some call it dust, some call it light reflection, etc, but with my experiences with handling cameras, i have never come across this one.

i cannot elaborate the importance of visiting Tiruvanamalai Hills and being connected to all divine beings in physical, nonphysical forms and so many other forms that one can never ever think of. Deeper experiences and mystical experiences have not been shared here for it is for one to experience it their own way and experience the different expressions of the Divine. Their presence can certainly be deceiving to the human eye and limited senses, coming in contact in ways least expected. All i can tell you is - if you have the opportunity to visit here, do visit.

A bow of deep gratitude from all of us to  Bade Baba and all holy siddhas for being with us throughout the journey and guiding us to places and people necessary for our highest good. Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude!

Video coverage of the tour


To download video click here

Birds and Animals in tune with human habitat


To download high quality video click here



To read Kanhangad experiences click here.

Kanhangad Ashram Details

SWAMI NITYANANDA ASHRAM PUBLIC TRUST (Regd.) KANHANGAD - 671315 KASARGOD DIST, KERALA Phone: 0467-2208986              0467-325196...