Sri Arunachala is the Lord and Master of the Universe.

The Arunachala hill is located in the town of Thiru Annamalai, roughly 100 miles southwest of the city of Chennai (previously known as Madras) in the state of Tamil Nadu in the south of India.

Sri Agasthiar emphatically states that the Arunachala hill is the concrete form of Sri Arunachala, the Universal Lord. It's that form of God that even our ordinary human eyes can perceive.

Arunachala, the hill and Arunachala, the Lord are non different. How? Because the Arunachala Hill itself is a Siva Lingam. This is foundational spiritual reality communicated to us by Sathguru Venkataraman that has been personally experienced and vouchsafed by all Siddhas.

Arunachala, The Biggest Shiva Lingam in the World

The Arunachala Hill is a Brahmanda Lingam. It is the biggest Siva lingam in the world.

It is the viswaroopa (Universal) form of the Lord. Arunachala is the only holy place where one have the Lord's viswaroopa darshan 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Arunachala, The Spiritual Focal Point

Arunachala is the spiritual focal point of the universe.

Arunachala is the endless spiritual fount that nourishes all beings.

Arunachala is the spiritual cornucopia that embraces all spiritual seekers.

Arunachala is the spiritual magnet that attracts spiritual seekers from all corners of the universe.

Arunachala is the spiritual panacea for everyone, irrespective of race, religion or nationality.

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Arunachala, the Quintessential Jyotir Lingam

Sri Arunachala is the quintessential jothi lingam. Wherever you see a jothi (light/fire/flame), know it to be a part of Arunachala.

The Jews light the minorah. Christians light candles. The Zoroastrians light their sacred fire. The Hindus light their lamp jothi. The Tibetan Buddhists light their butter lamps. All these worship procedures honor God. Thus every religion practices jothi worship, the pinnacle of which is Arunachala Jyoti worship.

Arunachala, the Fount of Divine Grace and the Multiplier of Spiritual Benefits

The road to divine grace leads to Arunachala.

To get divine grace, seek Arunachala.

The Arunachala hill is so charged with spiritual energy that spiritual benefits get magnified manifold here. Spiritual activities conducted in Arunachala are thousand times more efficacious when compared to other places.

Arunachala is constantly buzzing with millions and millions of Siddhas in their subtle form. These Siddhas bestow countless spiritual blessings on the devotees engaged in spiritual pursuits in Arunachala. Hence the importance of visiting Arunachala and engaging oneself in spiritual activities there. Whether it be charitable works, service to the poor and the needy, meditation on the divine name or singing the divine name, do it in Arunachala and you'll reap untold spiritual benefits which will contribute to your rapid advancement on the spiritual path.

Arunachala, the All Encompassing

Everything in the universe is represented in Arunachala. Thus circling the Arunachala hill is like circling the universe. This is why the Siddhas say that circling the Arunachala hill is the most effective spiritual practice for all beings.

Arunachala Girivalam - Circling the Arunachala Hill

Circling the Arunachala hill is referred to as Arunachala giri valam.

The words valam, pradakshina and parikrama all refer to circumambulation of a sacred object or a holy space. Thus Giri Valam, Giri Pradakshina and Giri Parikrama all refer to circumambulating a Giri (hill).

Circling the Arunachala Hill is the best spiritual exercise for all of us. Regular practice of this spiritual exercise is Girivala Yoga, the simplest yet most effective yogic practice known to man.

Even though circling the Arunachala hill takes just three and a half hours, there's no spiritual activity in the universe which is its equal. Every human being, irrespective of race, religion or nationality MUST do it at least once in his or her lifetime. It doesn't matter if you live ten thousand miles away. You must make the trip to Arunachala just to circle the hill. The spiritual benefits of doing so can NOT be described in words, say the Siddhas.

Sri Agasthiar says that if you circle the Arunachala hill but once, you'll destroy the karma of ten million births. No other spiritual exercise has this kind of power.

Rules for Circling the Arunachala Hill

If circling the Arunachala hill once can bestow so much spiritual good, imagine circling the hill thousands of times! Those who circle the hill thousands of times are the ones who become Siddhas.

It is absolutely crucial that you circle the Arunachala hill barefoot. The reason is that the very land surrounding the hill is a physical manifestation of Siddha beings and it is a sacrilege to place your shoes on them. So one must circle the hill barefoot. There are no exceptions to this rule. Click here for more Girivalam Rules.

The Ageless Arunachala Wisdom of the Agasthiar Lineage of Siddhas

From time immemorial Sri Agasthiar has been writing the endless saga of Arunachala. And he is still working on it. If the superhuman Agasthiar, the Lord of the Siddhas, has been cataloging the glories of Arunachala for countless aeons, where is the human tongue which can describe the spiritual grandeur of Arunachala? Such a one does not exist. Sri Arunachala is beyond beyond the gamut of human comprehension and calculation. How then can one know Sri Arunachala? Surrender to his Divine Will and He will make Himself comprehensible to you. That's the only way.

Arunachala Girivalam - How fast? Or how slow?

In his lectures, Sathguru Venkataraman used to say: "nirai maadha garbini pol" which means that during GiriValam, one should walk like a woman in her 9th/10th month of pregnancy! Walk that slowly and with every step, look at the peak of the Arunachala Hill.

While it is true that one can circle the Arunachala hill in three and a half hours, the Siddhas take a lot longer.

Sathguru Venkataraman's Siddha teacher took him on pilgrimages to Arunachala many times. This was part of the Siddha's training procedure. During these spiritual excursions, he and his teacher would take one month to circle the Arunachala hill once.

Why so long, one might ask. The correct procedure for circling the Arunachala hill is to take one step, look at the peak of the hill, take the next step and repeat the procedure. Each time you look at the peak, you get a different vision (darshan) of Arunachala and each vision bestows a unique spiritual benefit on you. Sathguru Venkataraman's Siddha teacher would describe each vision (darshan) of Arunachala and the meaning behind it to his sincere student. Such is the education of a Siddha.

Girivalam - An Infinity of Arunachala Darshans

There are an infinity of Arunachala visions (darshans). It's of course no surprise that the infinite Lord sports an infinity of forms. But the spiritual aspirant should realize the vast infinity that's Sri Arunachala and try to see as many of the visions (darshans) that Arunachala grants us. The more visions we see, the more rapid our spiritual progress. But this must not be done with a calculating attitude; rather it should be done with an attitude of loving surrender to the Divine Will. We have made a few of these Arunachala darshans available in the Photo Gallery section of this Website.

There are a lot more details concerning the circling of the Arunachala hill. We will describe these in future issues of AUMzine, our e-magazine.

Simple Arunachala Mantras

Keep saying "Arunachala Siva, Arunachala Siva, Arunachala Siva" as akhanda nama japa. This is a powerful Arunachala Divine Name Mantra.

Keep saying "Unnamulai Amman Thiru Annamalaiyaarukku Arohara" as akhanda nama japa. This is another powerful Divine Name Mantra of the Universal Mother and Lord Arunachala.

The Proper Channel for Receiving Arunachala Wisdom - From Nandeeswara to Agasthiar to the Agasthiar Guru Lineage and then to us

What we have provided here is a very basic introduction to Arunachala. Click on the links provided above for more information, but keep in mind that Lord Nandiswara has been recounting the greatness of Arunachala to Maha Guru Agasthiar for aeons and He will continue to do so till eternity. For there is no end to Arunachala, His greatness, His compassion and His boundless grace!

This limitless Arunachala wisdom transmitted by Lord Nandiswara to Maha Guru Agasthiar has been communicated to the world at large by Sathguru Venkataraman of the Agasthiar Siddha Sathguru Lineage who received it from his Siddha Sathguru, Sri La Sri Idiyaapa Eesa Siddha.

Sathguru Venkataraman, the founder of the Agasthiar Ashram and the 1001^st Siddha Sathguru of the Agasthiar Guru Parampara, has been communicating to the public the greatness of Arunachala and the importance of Arunachala Giri Valam for decades, right from the time he was a boy. He started out by talking to small groups of people; from there to hundreds of public lectures in most of the important temples in the Chennai area; and from there to books and then to his unique, 100% original, 100% spiritual monthly magazine; and now through his websites agasthiar.org, agnisiksha.com and agnisiksha.org as well. Of course, the numerous one on one converstaions through the decades are an ongoing delight!

In response to the command from his Siddha teacher, Sathguru Venkataraman's annadhaanam (feeding the poor and the homeless) activities at Arunachala started even before he was in his teens! And because of Arunachala's grace, these charitable activities begun by a young lad have continued for decades without a break. For such is Arunachala's compassion to those who are sincere in following the command of the Siddhas. May the whole world experience this bliss of Arunachala that the Sathguru conveyed to us.

The Vision of Siva and Sakthi in Perfect Alignment
Arunachala's Siva Sakthi Aikiya Svaroopa Darshan
i.e., Arunachala's Shiva Shakti Union Darshan
This vision of Arunachala can be seen from the Agasthiar Ashram.
These photos were taken by us from the roof of the Agasthiar Ashram in the 1990s.