Blessings and Curses - Tiruvannamalai
Blessings of our sages: It has been said there are three major pilgrimage methods in which a true devotee can achieve liberation from the cycle of life, death and rebirth. One is to meditate within the Virupaksha Cave on Mount Arunachala where the venerated sage Sri Ramana Maharshi lived from 1899 to 1916 in silence and solitude (he later moved to the Skandasraman cave, a few minutes more up the hill, where he lived from 1916 to 1922, but it is not considered as holy). The second is by making the climb to the top of Arunachala's holy peak (where it is reported a yogi lives who has not eaten since 1990. ( Haadi Vidya Siddhi ). And the third is the custom of Giri Valam, circumambulating the base of Mount Arunachala. The custom of Giri Valam, Giri Pradakshina, or Pradakshina Giki-Dakshina, has been in use since times immemorial. For the Enlightened Indian holy man Bhagavan Shri Ramana Maharshi, the Sage of Arunachala, this was a regular and enjoyable thing. He used to say that ...