Temple of Arunachalam, Giri Pradakshina

Arunachala's Holy Mountain is as sacred as Shiva. Spiritual seekers have been attracted to Arunachala's magnetic pull since the Rig Veda and have been circling the 14-kilometer mountain since then.

The practice of circumnavigating the Arunachala mountain in a clockwise manner is known in Tamil as Girivalam and in Sanskrit as Pradakshina or Parikrama.

In English, this is referred to as circumambulation. Millions of pilgrims and devotees travel from all over the world to Arunachala to perform the Pradakshina, which revolves around the mountain. It is among the most revered ways to worship Lord Shiva and among the most important ways to perform sadhana and seva (service).

Saints, sages, devotees, and siddhas have been walking around Arunachala mountain, or practising pradakshina, since ancient times. Since Arunachala is the physical form of Sat, or reality, any form of touch with her is satsang and will aid in self-realization as well as free us from the Maya (illusions) of the world and its enslavement and attachments.

The path to enlightenment and Moksha (liberation) is to observe, think, live, and meditate on Arunachala.Doing pradakshina, or walking around Arunachala mountain in a clockwise manner while barefoot, is the one and only unique way to obtain this gift from Arunachala.

An enthusiastic follower of Ramana Maharshi, Devaraja Mudaliar, writes that he realized the significance of pradakshina "from the frequent references by Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi himself."

In fact, he used to suggest that individuals who perform Pradakshina around Arunachala hill would easily reap the benefits that are impossible to obtain through meditation and other types of mind control, even with much work and difficulty.

According to Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi, the power of Arunachala is such that practising it without faith will neither lessen its effect or fail to purify the mind. The hill will benefit everyone who walks around Arunachala Hill, in the same way that fire will burn anyone who touches it, whether or not they believe in it.

Walking around Arunachala automatically scorches the outgoing inclinations (vasanas) of the mind since it is the Fire of Knowledge (Jnana Agni) in the shape of a hill. The damp wood will eventually dry out and catch fire on its own when it is brought close to a fire. In a similar vein, the mind that is filled with worldly desires will eventually dry up and become ready to be consumed by the flames of jnana.That is the power of performing Pradaskhina around the peak of Arunachala. "This Hill is the storehouse of all spiritual power," declared Ramana Maharishi. There are numerous benefits to walking around Arunachala Hill, including doing Girivalam, Pradakshina, Girivalam, or circumambulation around.

Arunachala would always assist someone in letting go of worldly attachments and assisting in discovering their "self."

"Bhagavan often said that those who were unable to meditate would succeed in their endeavor by circumambulating Arunachala," wrote Suri Nagamma, another devotee of Bhagavan who served Ramana Maharshi (in My Life at Sri Ramanasramam, p. 144).

On page 108 of Enadu Ninaivugal, Kunju Swami, a different devotee who lived during Ramana Maharshi's time, recounts what Bhagavan once told him. What could be superior to pradakshina? That is adequate on its own.

"It is a well-proven truth that the minds of those devotees who see Arunachala will achieve great love to turn inward towards the Self," states stanza eight of Aksharamanamalai. "The wild, blazing hill of fire" is Arunachala.

Furthermore, Ramana uses the analogy of rubbing an iron piece against a magnet in verse nine. When a person walks around Arunachala, the divine magnet, his dispersed mind is oriented towards Self and thus becomes Self, just as the magnet aligns all the scattered atoms of iron to face in one uniform direction, turning the iron into a magnet.

A disciple of Ramana Maharshi named Sri Muruganar once questioned Bhagavan regarding the spiritual advantages of performing pradakshina around Arunachala peak.He was instructed by Ramana to circle Arunachala first and then approach him. After heeding his counsel and circumnavigating the Arunachala mountain, Sri Muruganar came back to Bhagavan and reported that he eventually lost his dehatma buddhi, or sense of identity with the body, and that he didn't regain it until he arrived in Adi Annamalai, a village along the route. When he explained to Ramana Maharshi that the encounter had been unexpected and unique, Ramana grinned and asked, "Do you now understand?"

This occurrence demonstrates the potency of pradakshina and demonstrates that, by turning the corner, mature spirits can even lose their feeling of physical identity. It also demonstrates the meaning conveyed by Ramana Maharshi when he used to declare that performing Pradakshina around Arunachala can lead to sanchara-samadhi, a state of blissful, unthinking awareness.

The primary advantage of pradakshina is that the inclinations, or vasanas, gradually lose their hold on the mind. However, in the same way that a child finds it difficult to see their own development, the mind also finds it difficult to recognize the weakening of its own vasanas.

What you cannot achieve by dhyana [meditation], according to Suri Nagamma's transcription of Sri Bhagavan's words in Letters from Sri Ramanasramam, volume 2, letter 98

If you practice pradakshina, you can immediately obtain. That's how this area and its aura are. Even if someone is unable of walking, once they have walked up the hill, they will want to do so again and again. The more you go, the more excited you get about it. It never goes down. A person who becomes accustomed to pradakshina happiness is unable to give it up.

Around the Pradakshina route that circles Arunachala are eight Shiva lingams.

These are the following: Varuna Lingam, Vayu Lingam, Kubera Lingam, Esanya Lingam, Yama Lingam, Agni Lingam, Niruthi Lingam, and Indra Lingam. This trail leads to the oldest Shiva temple, the Adi Annamalai Temple, which was constructed even before the famous Arunacheshwara temple at Tiruvannamalai.Every full moon day is an even more opportune day to perform "Pradakshina," which would be extremely beneficial.

The holy hill of Arunachala, according to Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi, is the earth's axis and the world's spiritual center.Ramana repeatedly performed Pradakshina to the Sacred Hill as a way of showing his devotion for Arunachala.Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi counseled his followers the value of pradakshina by setting an example for them to follow, all the while stressing the significance of self-enquiry (who am I?).

If we truly and respectfully stroll around Arunachala's sacred hill and offer prayers to Arunachala

Then Arunachala will undoubtedly bestow upon us the knowledge necessary to smash our ego and discover the true self—Shiva himself—within.

The mind is drawn to Giri Pradakshina for the same reason as it is drawn to the Guru, since it knows instinctively that he may grant everlasting bliss.