the Glory of Arunachala

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THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ARUNACHALA

 

IN the Suta Samhita, it is said: Siva's very form is Linga,

 

hence the term, Sivalinga. Later it will be found that the

 

Supreme Being revealed Himself as this Linga of Fire.

 

 

GREATNESS OF SIVALINGA AS TOLD

 

IN THE SUTA SAMHITA

 

 

Linga is truly Siva. All is revealed by Siva who is the very

 

essence of Consciousness and Knowledge. Nothing can reveal

 

Him. Thus the Linga is the sole, Self-shining Reality. In

 

brief, Siva is Consciousness Unmanifest, whereas Sivalinga

 

is Consciousness Manifest.

 

 

Again it is said that, that unto which all merge is Linga.

 

Everything is resolved into Brahman, but the Supreme Brahman

 

being the sole Eternal Reality cannot merge into another.

 

All but Siva merge into Siva. Therefore the Linga is

 

Immortal SivaHimself. The whole universe is termed Linga,

 

as the former is resolved and absorbed into and manifested

 

from the latter. But the Linga is free-from any emblem or

 

characteristic mark.

 

 

This Linga is unqualified, beyond darkness.It is the source

 

of the sacred syllable Pranava (OM). It is neither an entity

 

nor nonentity; neither the pervader nor the pervaded, neither

 

the knowledge, nor the knower or the known;. neither

 

the manifest, the existing or the unmanifest; neither real nor

 

unreal, or a mixture of the two. It is only the Self-Realised. It

 

illuminates all by its light; neither decaying nor undecaying;

 

neither moving nor inert; neither the proof nor the proven;

 

neither the vital air nor the mind; neither the seer nor the

 

seen; neither the image nor its reflection; neither visible nor

 

invisible; it is.beyond speech and thought; it is not the eye,

 

the ear, the nose, the earth, the ether, the vital airs or any

 

object of the senses - to realise the Self enquiring in this

 

manner is true worship.

 

 

This Linga, though not the ether nor different from it, yet

 

reveals it; though not light, reveals it; though not air, yet

 

makes it move; though not water, yet gives it its nature.

 

 

This Linga can be seen on a shining seat in the house of

 

nine gates - never installed there by anyone but having faces,

 

hands, feet, heads and seats in all directions. It lies beyond

 

darkness; nothing can be seen there. It is revealed as the

Unqualified

 

Being by Vedanta. From it emerges the magnificent

 

earth and is resolved into it. The three qualities namely,

 

brightness, activity and darkness (sattva, rajas and tamas) of

 

which the universe is made, manifests from it.

 

 

Its size cannot be estimated, for it has no magnitude. It

 

remains unbroken and unitary. All the spheres of the vast

 

universe are located in it. It has no temple but contains all in

 

itself. It is the inmost core of all beings. It is neither Isvara

 

nor the jiva but the Inmost Conscious Self, Bliss, Non-dual

 

Reality unrelated to Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra, Indra etc. It

 

can be realised only by the Self. It is the Self, known to oneself

 

and abides within. This is the Supreme Bliss; there is

 

nothing apart from it. It is always worshipped by all. It is

 

free from the three states of waking, dream and deep sleep.

 

It is drik- pure, beyond knowledge. Neither the ignorant

 

nor the all-knowing individuals or gods in the power of the

 

ego or maya, can see thiS Linga.

 

 

As this cannot be understood by all, out of His spontaneous

 

infinite mercy, Sivais here manifest as Arunachala which

 

all can see and worship.

 

 

chapter 1 from

 

the Glory of Arunachala

 

translated from Tamil by M.C. Subramanian

 

SRI RAMANASRAMAM

 

Tiruvannamalai 606 603

 

1999