Aunachala, the Hill of the Holy Beacon.

In a second extract from my forthcoming book, The Nirvaneans, Ramana is seen as a youngster discovering that Arunachala Hill, the site of his future ashram, is a real place.

Arunachala, the Hill of the Holy Beacon, in the North Arcot district of Tamil Nadu, has always had a powerful reputation among devout Hindus. Regarded as one of the five (some say eight) forms of Siva, and older than the Himalayas, it is said that just by thinking of Arunachala one can attain enlightenment.

The numinous presence of the place is further enhanced by a remarkable multi-towered temple spreading over more than twenty-five acres at the foot of the hill. This monumental structure, dedicated to Arunachaleswara, is one of the oldest in Southern India.

Although the young Ramana spent his first years at Tiruvannamalai in various parts of the temple precincts, its intricate complexity and formal grandeur seem almost set against the spirit of the later Maharshi, who was renowned for his tolerant, unstructured, even Taoist, picture of the world.

The serenity of Ramana’s subsequent life and ministry belies the dramatic suddenness and shock of his early enlightenment. His was a road to Damascus experience, devastatingly complete in turning round his consciousness from a dull life in a quiet Indian backwater, to a continuous inner absorption in the Self thereafter.

Ramana’s Youth

The young Venkataraman, as he was officially named, was an introverted, undemonstrative boy, not terribly interested in anything worldly, though surprisingly talented at games and physical activities.

The son of an unlicensed solicitor of Tiruchuzhi near Madurai, he appeared indolent at his lessons, though by all accounts possessed a phenomenal memory. In most things the boy preferred to keep his own counsel. The spiritual turn his life was soon to take was not immediately apparent to either his family or his friends.

Two occasions stand out, however, in pointing the way forward to the great Sage Maharshi. A relative, returning from his travels, happened to mention Arunachala in the course of polite conversation. The youth became inexplicably agitated and asked excited questions about the place. He had not until then associated the mystical name with a real location. At that moment something awoke in him which was inextricably linked to the hill at Arunachala.

The second incident occurred when, at an uncle’s house, he chanced upon a book describing the lives of Tamil saints. Ramana felt a strong reaction while reading through it and, although he put the volume aside without much comment, the yeast had been added to the must.