Tiruvanamallai, the realization-place of sage Ramana
Maharishi has changed a lot over the years since I came first in 1999. Western travelers of a spiritual bent
are all around here, and the usual businesses that pop up around them also
abound. The “India Boutique” and
the row of shops adjacent are selling poofy pants, flowy skirts, and
translucent cotton tops. The
“organic café” is selling fresh juices and green salads, which can be quite
hard to come by (where are they growing lettuce in south india?).
Much of the hub-bub is to be found just opposite the
entrance to the ashram. Hippie
types bliss out on the steps and sit along the walls of the main hall where
Maharishi’s Samadhi is decorated.
Huge backpacks come in on the backs of travelers who had the foresight
to book a room by writing to the ashram 6 months in advance.
One finds oneself here among the lost, and it only follows
that I look back at myself as another one of these travelers. Who knows how long any of us have been
here, what benefits we have been able to integrate from this place and all the
merit that lies here? Looking at
the westerners all around, here as spiritual tourists, I find myself among so
many seeking blessings from a country rich with spiritual heritage and living
practice. We Americans come from a
land of consistent consumerism, here is a land of consistent aspiration. Not to say all americans are consumers
and all Indians are spiritual, but one can’t help but notice the difference
between Disney World and the ashram as tourist attractions. We all come together here to wake up to
something greater, to soak in the environment began by a man who was able to
release the illusion that he was separate from God, separated from the comfort
and joy of truthful living. That’s
inspiring, and the energy of it carries all of us who wander here, confused,
broken, or on a path. Just the
idea that this man got there inside a human form is enough to keep us all
coming. No matter what happens
here, we all came because we are interested in knowing something more about the
truth of things. That is worth a
lot. We could be at Club Med
desecrating beaches and abusing the staff.
