Swami Abhishiktananda

Swami Abhishiktananda was born Henri Le Saux 30th August, 1910, at St. Briac in Brittany in France. At an early age he felt a vocation to the priesthood and in 1929 he decided to become a monk and entered a Benedictine Monastery. In 1949 he visited Tiruvannamalai and Sri Ramana Maharshi, and his life took a decisive turn. His initial encounter with Ramana was enhanced by several retreats that he later took in caves on Arunachala. For an earlier post on Swami Abhishiktananda, click on Arunachala Secret.

"I regard this stay at Tiruvannamalai as being at one a real retreat and an initiation into Indian monastic life."

Swami Abhishiktananda spent periods both at the foot of Arunachala and in its various caves between 1949 and 1955, however, during those years his permanent residence was at the ashram of Shantivanam which he had co-founded in: "an attempt to integrate into Christianity the monastic tradition of India."

Later, Le Saux encountered other teachers in the tradition of non-dualism that included Gnanananda Giri of Tapovanam Ashram (not far from Shantivanam) and Poonja-ji. Le Saux considered Giri to be his guru and took the name of Abhishiktananda (Bliss of the anointed). In 1968 Swami Abhishiktananda left Shantivanam, to live the life of a hermit in the Himalayas near Uttarkashi. (Shantivanam was then taken over by Bede Griffiths (1906-1993), who focused on the complementarities of religions and through whose presence the ashram gained world-wide renown).

Swami Abhishiktananda left Shantivanam, to live the life of a hermit in the Himalayas near Uttarkashi. (Shantivanam was then taken over by Bede Griffiths (1906-1993), who focused on the complementarities of religions and through whose presence the ashram gained world-wide renown).

Of Arunachala; Swami Abhishiktananda was to say:

' . . . the South (Arunachala) is my "birth-place".'

And of his own spiritual experience at the sacred Hill, he was to write:

"Anyone who is the recipient of this overwhelming Light is at once petrified and shattered; he can say nothing, he cannot think anymore; he just remains there, outside space and time, alone in the very aloneness of the Alone; it is an unbelievable experience, this sudden revelation of Arunachala's infinite pillar of light and fire."

“Everything has become clear. There is only the Awakening. All that is notional – myths and concepts – is only its expression. There is neither heaven nor earth, there is only Purusha, which I am… ”

His Sayings:

"God is too close to us. That is why we constantly fail to find him. We turn God into an object — and God escapes our grasp. We turn him into an idea — but ideas pass him by."

"The present moment is all that matters; tomorrow is God's business."

Swami Abhishiktananda

In an earlier posting I mentioned the ban on non-Indians wishing to take darshan of the Lord at Jagannath Temple, Puri, Orissa. I would mention that there are Temples currently in South India that also maintain such a policy. And yes, in olden days, even here at Tiruvannamalai, there were restrictions against non-Indians visiting the Arunachaleswarar Temple. At the moment I don't have details of the history of the ban, but once I have that information I will post it.

Now the once 'trickle' of non-Indians visiting Arunachala and Tiruvannamalai, has become a veritable 'flood'. But it wasn't always like that. Due to lack of information and difficulty of travel, it has only been since the 20th Century that Westerners have visited and/or stayed at Arunachala in any great number. Such notables include; Paul Brunton, Somerset Maugham, Maurice Frydman, Arthur Osborne, S. Cohen and Swami Abhishiktananda.

Swami Abhishiktananda was born Henri Le Saux 30th August, 1910, at St. Briac in Brittany in France. At an early age he felt a vocation to the priesthood and in 1929 he decided to become a monk and entered a Benedictine Monastery. Eventually his attraction to India, which started as early as 1934, came to fruition in 1948 when he joined Fr. Monchanin in Tamil Nadu where they both started up a small ashram at Tannirpalli, Tiruchirappalli District. It was there that Swami Abhishiktananda started to learn Tamil and Sanskrit and immerse himself in the Indian life-style.

Swami at an Arunachala cave

However it was in 1949 when he visited Tiruvannamalai and Sri Ramana Maharshi, that his life was to take a decisive turn. He later refers to that time:

"I regard this stay at Tiruvannamalai as being at one a real retreat and an initiation into Indian monastic life."

The periods which he spent at the foot of Arunachala and in its various caves were all between 1949 and 1955. However, during those years his permanent residence was at the ashram of Shantivanam which he had co-founded in: "an attempt to integrate into Christianity the monastic tradition of India."

But of Arunachala, he was to say: ' . . . the South (Arunachala) is my "birth-place".' And of his own spiritual experience at the sacred Hill, he was to later write:

"Anyone who is the recipient of this overwhelming Light is at once petrified and shattered; he can say nothing, he cannot think anymore; he just remains there, outside space and time, alone in the very aloneness of the Alone; it is an unbelievable experience, this sudden revelation of Arunachala’s infinite pillar of light and fire."

Swami's later years at his Ashram

At the end of his last visit to Tiruvannamalai in March, 1956, Abhishiktananda gave his assessment of the significance of Arunachala for himself:

"I think the best description of my real condition since Arunachala would be to compare it with the dawn;"arunodaya", when even before the sun has risen, the sky is already aglow. Light, peace and bliss. The birds are already singing, my heart too is singing. Joyful expectation of the appearance of the glorious orb."

Language of Silence

Swami Abhishiktananda

“India only reveals herself to those who are prepared to be still and over a long period to listen humbly at close quarters to the beating of her heart; only to those who have already entered sufficiently far into themselves, into their own depths, to be able to hear in the inner chamber of the heart that secret which India is ceaselessly whispering to them by means of a silence that transcends words. For silence is above all the language through which India reveals herself .. . and imparts her essential message, the message of interiority of that which is Within.” 

[Swami Abhishiktananda] 

Swami Abhishiktananda had a long history with Arunachala and spent a number of years living in various caves on the Hill's slopes. To read earlier posting on Arunachala Grace about this great soul, go to this link here. 

Deepam

"The atmosphere became more and more tense. The sun had now disappeared behind the mountain, and the great moment was drawing near for which everyone was waiting; the appearance of the Flame. Expectation filled every heart and showed on every face. It increased in harmony with the rhythm of the cosmos itself; as slowly beyond the horizon the moon rose into the sky, and from the peak of the Mountain, on which all eyes had been fixed for the last full hour, the flame mounted up, manifesting both outwardly and in the heart of the faithful, the mystery of Light which from the beginning has at the same time hidden and revealed itself in Arunachala."

[Words of Swami Abhishiktananda]

Swami Abhishiktananda first visited Arunachala in the late 40's, but lived here off and on for many years. He died in 1973, but is now regarded to be one of the pioneers in the spiritual and theological dialogue between Christianity and Eastern religions, and a bridge-builder between Hinduism and Christianity. More about Swami in later posts.

Sundarammal's Journey to Sri Ramana Maharshi

 

Sacred mountains are central to certain religions and are the subjects of many legends. For many, the most symbolic aspect of a mountain is the peak because it is believed that it is closer to heaven or other religious worlds. Some believe that the higher one goes up a mountain, the greater the speed of vibration and rarefied purity. This is the reason that saints and sadhus often choose caves and hermitages near a mountain’s summit.

 

However in the case of Arunachala Sri Ramana Maharshi declared that there no difference in the power of Arunachala between the first, second or third part of the Hill. Notwithstanding, throughout the recorded history of Arunachala; Gods, saints, sages and the pious have made ashrams, retreats and homes on the slopes of the Hill. In the Skanda Purana, the Goddess Parvathi joins with Sage Gautama in an ashram believed to be the current location of Pavala Kundru on the Coral Hill spur of Arunachala.

 

There is little information available on lady saints who have come and performed intense sadhana at Arunachala. In the 40s and 50s several eminent ladies occupied hermitages and caves on the South East slope of Arunachala. Amongst these women was the revered and highly respected Lakshmi Devi who dressed in saffron and lived on the mountain. Lakshmi Devi kept a vow of silence for 12 years and responded by making signs in answer to questions from a constant stream of visiting devotees and pilgrims. At the end of a 12 year vow of silence she returned to her native place near Mysore. However her love of the peace she experienced at Arunachala drew her back and she returned to the caves and hermitages of the mountain.

 

Another sadhaka who lived on the Hill during the same time period was Srimati Radhabai Ammeyar, who was known as Ammal of Vadalur. Ammal was a faithful disciple of Ramalinga Swamigal and originally she and Lakshmi Devi shared a cave but Ammal eventually moved to a small rocky cleft higher up the hill. The little cave was so low and narrow one had to remain seated, and even then one's head practically touched the roof.

 

Ammal of Vadalur, always wore white, and lived in the rocky cleft for three years in perfect silence, her only possessions being an oil lamp and a book of the hymns of her Master Ramalinga. She took a daily meal during the afternoon which consisted of a few handfuls of rice-flour, roasted and mixed with curd. After three years she moved into a small nearby hut with a women disciple. Ammal of Vadalur was also much revered and visited during her time at Arunachala.

 

The below is a narrative by Swami Abhishiktananda about an exceptional woman sadhu named Sundarammal and of her journey to Sri Ramana Maharshi, and who also spent time living in a cave on the Hill.

 

Sundarammal Journey to Sri Ramana Maharshi

"During April, 1953, Sundarammal arrived [at Arunachala] to spend forty-eight days in retreat in a hut close to that of Lakshmi Devi, for whom she had a great admiration. We were thus living very close to each other, but apart from the customary greetings, neither she nor I made any attempt to get into conversation.

 

One day, towards the end of her retreat, she invited me and some other sadhus to share a meal at her cell. It was the Telugu New Year's Day. It was then, before the meal began, that she told me her story.

 

She belonged to a wealthy Telugu family of Madras. She married young but very soon lost her husband. As a widow, she continued to live at home, surrounded by the love of her parents and brothers. She rarely went out, and when she did, it was always with her father. One day he took her to the neighbouring temple to hear a talk given by a sadhu. This sadhu was a devotee of the Maharshi. He told his audience about the sage's 'conversion', his disappearance from the world [leaving Madurai], his resort to the mountain of Arunachala, and the rest. Sundarammal was deeply moved. She begged her father to allow her to accompany some pilgrims to Arunachala. He refused, but promised that he would soon take her there himself.

 

But the promise was not fulfilled. Sundarammal passed the time thinking of Ramana and praying to him. She soon lost her appetite and was unable to sleep. But her father always had some specially urgent work which prevented him from taking her to Tiruvannamalai. One afternoon, about four o'clock, she seemed to see Ramana coming down the mountain and approaching her. "Sundarammal, have no fear!" he said to her. "It is I. Enough of this weeping and not eating or sleeping. Come, I am expecting you." Her heart was filled with joy. Once more she appealed to her father, and once more he put off the pilgrimage to another day.

 

Some weeks later, she was alone one night in her room, weeping and calling on the Maharshi. Then, quite worn out, she fell asleep. Suddenly she felt a blow on her side and awoke with a start. It was about three o' clock in the morning. There was the Maharshi standing by the head of her cot. "Come," was all he said. She followed him downstairs, crossed the hall and came out on the verandah. Hardly had she reached it when to her alarm she found herself alone. The Maharshi had disappeared. She sat down uneasily.

 

Soon a rickshaw appeared and the rickshaw puller said: "Is this Number 12, and are you Sundarammal? An old sadhu told me to come here and take you to the bus. Get in." Sundarammal thought quite simply, "It is Bhagavan, the Maharshi," and got into the rickshaw. At the bus stand she and the rickshaw puller were both surprised not to find the old sadhu. However, she asked for the Tiruvannamalai bus and got in.

 

Somewhere on the way her bus passed another one from which someone alighted and then entered the Tiruvannamalai bus. "Are you Sundarammal?" he asked. "Yes, I am," she replied. "Good. Bhagavan has sent me to look for you." In the evening she reached Tiruvannamalai and retired for the night in one of the large halls kept for pilgrims. She prepared a cake to offer to Bhagavan and fell asleep full of joy. The next morning she went to the Ashram and fell at the feet of Bhagavan. "Here you are at last," he said to her.

 

Some days later her brothers arrived, unable to understand how this child, who by herself had never set foot outside her home, could have managed to reach Tiruvannamalai. But Sundarammal was so deeply absorbed that she never even saw her brothers, either in the hall or at midday in the dining hall. Only in the evening were they able to approach her. They told her how upset everyone was at home and begged her to return. If she wanted, they would build her a hermitage in the garden. But nothing moved her and the brothers even spoke of taking her home by force. "If you do, I will throw myself into a well," she said. Her brothers had to yield, but they soon returned with their father. They found her in a cottage near the Ashram and arranged for her continued stay there as well as they could.

 

During the fifteen years that remained of the Maharshi's life, she never left Tiruvannamalai even for a day.

 

Sundarammal

This was the story that Sundarammal told me that morning — Sundarammal who could never speak of God without her voice breaking with emotion and her eyes filling with tears."

 

[Narrative Swami Abhishiktananda]

Pradakshina Practice

The practice of pradakshina is very highly regarded in India. It consists of making the circuit on foot of a sacred place, a temple, a statue or of some person who is the object of reverence. The circuit is always clockwise, starting from the east towards the south, so that what is thus venerated is always on one’s right hand. In the great Temples people may perform a series of pradakshina in each of the three, five, and sometimes seven courts which surround the central sanctuary, one within the other. People sometimes take a vow to carry this out for forty-eight consecutive days, with a view to obtaining certain blessings or else in thankfulness to God for his mercies.

On great festivals the temple-murtis (images), mounted on their colossal cars, themselves make the pradakshina of their own sanctuary, accompanied by the crowd of their worshippers.

[Swami Abhishiktananda]

Arunachala Secret

The Self reveals itself in a multitude of forms in order to attract and take captive the souls of men. Some forms are made of flesh, in human likeness; others are elemental, such is the mystery of holy places, kshetras, of this Mountain Arunachala, for example . . . The secret of what passes between the human guru and his disciple is beyond anyone's grasp, even though the words they exchange may be spoken aloud and listened to. Who has ever fathomed the mystery of the Word from which Being has sprung? But still more inexplicable is the secret message which is communicated by the Mountain of stone to those who, in solitude and nakedness, meditate silently in its rocky clefts. Who will ever know the secret of the mutual communion between the mother and the child that nestles in her womb?

Many indeed in the course of centuries have found in Arunachala the place of a new birth, the gateway to a world hitherto unknown, to which suddenly, marvellously, they find that they belong!

Let him who does not venture to believe this, even so enter the cave and close the door to all comers; let him strip himself of every covering, whether of body or mind; let him keep silence and recollect himself; let his thirst be slaked with these waters, let him be scorced with this fire, then very soon he will find that he too understands the secret of Arunchala! So much the worst for him, if, as happened to Ramana Maharshi, he is never able to return to this world; for, as the Rishis of the Upanishads repeat with nostalgic insistence; "from there you can never come back, never . . . "

[Swami Abhishiktananda]

The Secret of Arunachala

". . . I began to understand what had long before been said to me about the attractive power of Arunachala and his Mountain. If Ramana was indeed great, how much more so must be this Arunachala which drew Ramana to himself, how much more so the mystery of Arunachala? In the end then Ramana would only be one of those, no doubt the greatest of those belonging to our time, who in the course of ages have quenched their thirst at this fountain which never ceases to flow, and in the shelter of the Mountain have discovered in the depth of their own heart the living mystery of Arunachala."

By Swami Abhishiktananda