Arunachala:🔗

The Spiritual Incubator

Some of you may have heard of Thiruvannamalai, which is a small town in the north western part of the South Indian state of Tamilnadu. ‘Thiru Anna Malai’ as it should be termed in chaste Tamil, the name means ‘Revered Inaccessible Mountain’; a name that was given to it in the distant past not because it was a tall and mighty mountain physically, being more a medium sized hillock, but possibly because of the spiritual connotation that the place had for the believers and spiritual seekers. The entire township has evolved around the mountain and a ‘parikrama’ or circumambulation of the mountain is considered to be holy and spiritually value enhancing.

In Sanskrit this mountain is termed ‘Arunachala’, literally the ‘Unmoving Morning Star’, simplified as the ‘Red Mountain’, possibly in reference to its reddish hue. Sages from time immemorial are reputed to have lived in the caves and slopes of this hill, sanctifying it and being sanctified by it in turn. Adi Sankara had described Arunachala as Mount Meru, the inaccessible heart center of Siva. The legend of this temple, the Sthala Purana, reads thus.

In ancient Hindu mythology there is a story of a fight between Brahma, the Creator and Vishnu the Sustainer, as to who was greater. There was no one to solve the fight except Siva, the Rejuvenator, and the third member of the Divine Trinity. Siva appeared before them in his vishwa rupa, the divine form, in such a huge size, as a shaft of light, that its ends, his head and feet could not be seen. Siva said who ever can find either of my ends is the greater of the two of you. Brahma went up towards the head in the form of a flying swan. Vishnu went as a boar digging below the ground to find Siva's feet. They searched for ages, yugas. Vishnu realized that he could not find what he sought, decided to surrender his ego, and told Siva to forgive his arrogance in trying to seek his feet. Siva blessed him for his honesty. Brahma could not accept his failure. He saw a flower falling down as he flew up and asked the flower where it was coming from; it said it had fallen from Siva's ears. Brahma asked: how long have you been traveling? Flower said: I have been falling for four ages of Brahma. Brahma was shocked and realized he had no hopes of finding Siva's head, but he did not want to accept his failure. Brahma decided that he would tell Siva a lie about finding this flower on his ear; he then asked the flower to bear witness that he had brought it down from Siva's head. The flower hesitated, but Brahma persuaded it saying in any case Siva would not know. Flower having little choice, and afraid to refuse the Creator said yes. Both went down to Siva and Brahma told Siva that he saw Siva’s head and brought this flower as his witness. Siva was angry at this lie and punished him saying: You will be never be worshipped; and he punished the flower saying: no flower will ever be used in my puja. Brahma realized his error and sought forgiveness. Both Vishnu and Brahma requested Siva to keep his form of light to bless the Universe. At their request Siva in this divine light form became Arunachala, the glowing mountain and assumed the form of the ‘jyotirlinga’ at the temple in Thiruvannamalai.

The temple to Siva in Thiruvannamalai is perhaps the biggest temple in India, certainly amongst the biggest. It is one of the five sacred lingam sites of Siva in the South where Siva is worshipped in his elemental form of fire, as one of the pancha bhutas, the five elements of nature.

In Chidambaram Siva is worshipped as ether or space, in Kalahasti as air, in Kanchipuram as earth, and in Tiruvanaikkaval as water. It is also believed that Siva appeared to Parvati here in Arunachala as a column of fire on a Karthikai Purnima day (Karthikai is the Tamil month of November-December and Purnima is the full moon day), when she prayed to unite with him.

The temple of Arunachala has been sung about in Tamil in the 7ᵗʰ century by the Saint Sambandar, and is believed to have existed since long before. It is built in a combination of three distinct architectural styles. The inner sanctum and first courtyard are of the Chola style of 9ᵗʰ century. Later day Cholas of the 11ᵗʰ century added an additional prahara (courtyard) and gopurams (entrance towers) with grand carvings. The third prahara and the massive fourteen storey tower are from the Vijayanagaram style of 16ᵗʰ century, begun by Krishna Devaraya and completed by Sevappa Nayaka. The later day extensions (there are seven praharas in all) have been carried out in total harmony with the original Chola structure that makes this temple one of the finest examples of Dravidian architecture. This temple of Arunachala has nine gopurams on its four walls, the eastern and largest gopuram being 72 meters tall with thirteen storeys.

In recent times, Thiruvannamalai has been best known for Ramana Maharishi, arguably one of the greatest saints and enlightened Masters of modern day India. Ramana moved into Thiruvannamalai when he was sixteen and lived in the ambience of Arunachala the rest of his mortal life. Known as the Silent Sage, Ramana communicated his somewhat complex message of enlightenment through a process of self enquiry by the sheer force

Ramana's process of self enquiry leads one to the source of one's thoughts. Ramana says to keep asking, Who Am I? This query and enquiry peels through layers of the mind body and leads ultimately to the realization that what one truly is, is not the body, not the mind, not anything material, but the inner spirit and the inner divinity. This process if experientially carried out, and not as an intellectual exercise leads to self realization. More than the process, it was the grace of Ramana, the Master that enlightened the disciples who gathered around this living enlightened Master, an incarnation.

Arunachala is a spiritual incubator. When a Master enters this world in a human body, his acclimatization process upon Planet Earth is like 24 carat gold having to be alloyed down to 22 carat to enable being

As we shall see later, incarnations come down with some sattva guna embedded in their Being; they are born with the highest attribute of spiritual calmness in them, to be able to survive in their human body. Over time they shed this satva attribute as well, once their bodies get acclimatized to living on Planet Earth. A spiritual incubator helps in providing these enlightened beings with the right ambience to shield them, so to speak, from any disruption to their highly evolved state. This incubator ensures that the spirit is sustained at close to the purest, attribute less levels as is possible in human reality.

This does not mean that every one born in Tiruvannamalai in the neighborhood of Arunachala is an incarnation or is bound to be enlightened; far from it. Ramakrishna says: dozens of flies crowd around a cow and drink its blood; it is only the calf that comes in perhaps twice a day that goes straight to its mother's udder to drink milk. It is likely that most of those who are born and live around the Arunachala are the flies; the calves who come to imbibe the milk of spirituality are precious few.

Arunachala has been the spiritual incubator that has provided the nurturing for many Masters over thousands of years. It has the lineage of a great enlightened Master Arunagiri Yogiswara, embodiment of Siva himself. The great temple of Thiruvannamalai is built on the Jiva Samadhi (burial place of the living spirit of a Master) of Arunagiri Yogiswara. Prayers are offered to Yogiswara first in this temple, even before the ruling deity of Arunachaleswara. Ramana refers to Yogiswara, the great master as a young sage sitting under a banyan tree teaching many older persons seated around him.

In Hindu tradition enlightened Masters are buried, whereas all others have their bodies burnt. There is a very scientific background to this practice. Bodies are the receptacle of our memories, our desires, and our samskaras. These memories begin before our birth and last after our death.

Studies by Bruce Lipton at the cellular lever have now shown that the embryo in the mother's womb retains memories of what transpires in the outer world. Interaction between parents and the emotional state of the parents, especially the mother are carried viscerally into the infant through its cellular structure.

Similarly memories live on after we die, and these memories are embedded in the body. If the body is buried as in many cultural and religious traditions, these memories stay on at the place of burial and remain intangibly present. This is what gives rise to the presence of ghosts and spirits. The feeling of some people who are sensitive to these super natural sensations is very real; it is not hallucination. Whether we believe it or not, understand it or not, accept it or not, memories survive our death and linger on.

In the case of enlightened Masters their memories are very powerful. Masters who are enlightened leave no desires and no samskaras behind. What they leave behind in their bodies are enormous amounts of energy. Hindus believe that this energy of enlightened Masters can be preserved by burying their bodies under right conditions in a living tomb, or Jiva Samadhi.

Jiva Samadhis of great Masters are enormously powerful spiritually; they are the equivalent of nuclear reactors.

Nithyananda says that in his personal experience he has seen five such Jiva Samadhis recent living Masters in India: of Raghavendra in Mantralaya, of Saibaba at Shirdi, of Ramana at Tiruvannmalai, of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa at Dakshineshwar, and of Sadasiva Brahma at Nerur.

Arunachala Purana, the legend of Arunachala, says that Siva made a promise that He will be always be available on this Planet in Arunachala in three forms: as the Hill Arunachala, as the Jyotirlinga Arunachaleswara and as incarnated Living Masters; this truth has been reaffirmed by Ramana Maharishi.

The Hill Arunachala lives on; so does the Jyotirlinga in the temple of Arunachaleswara. The living Masters of Arunachala come in as incarnations to fulfill their Cosmic missions and depart when their mission is accomplished. This great temple town ensures the continued presence of Spirituality on Planet Earth through the promise made by Siva, by being its spiritual incubator.

Thiruvannamalai is a town that celebrates each day of the year as a temple festival day. In this town every household takes pride in looking after ascetics and mendicants as well as sages and saints. Beggars are not looked down upon in Tiruvannamalai. They are seen to provide an opportunity for people to be charitable. It is not easy to distinguish between a great Master who has given up all, including his followers, and a beggar, if both wear the same minimal clothing!

The great temple here provides its people with an introduction to religion with its elaborately carved mythological stories and the legends that have grown around the town and the temple. The Hill Arunachala radiates energy all around the year and provides spiritual fulfillment. Living Masters who are always present here bridge the Temple and the Hill, fulfilling Siva's promise.

The theory of inner Science, the application of inner Science and the Scientist of the inner space all happen here together at the same time and place. The Hill represents the Sastras, the sacred scriptures that cater to the intellect buddhi and intellectuals, the theory; the Temple represents the Stotram, devotional verses that sing the praise of the Lord, catering to the faithful and the devotional bhakti followers who follow their emotions, the application; and the living Masters are the Sutras, mystic techniques presented in epigrammatic form, that directly work at the level of the Being; they are the scientists. Siva appears all the time in Tiruvannamalai in all these three forms blessing the World in line with His promise.

beautiful garden with many fruit trees. He jumped in without further ado to enjoy what the garden had in store. He never even thought about telling his friends about what he saw, so focused he was upon his own pleasures; most of us are in this mode of living. The next person too followed and peeped over the wall. He too saw the bountiful garden. He called out to his friend below, told him what he saw and jumped over to enjoy himself. He had no patience to wait for his friend; but at least he had the mind set to share his experience; there are many preachers who are in this mode of living; they can talk and inform, but have no experience to share. The third person looked over the wall and saw the fruit trees; instead of jumping over the wall, he turned around, walked back to the village where he came from and told the entire community about this wondrous garden and how to reach it.

Says Ramakrishna: This man is a true incarnation.

Incarnations are beings, who have seen the wonder of spiritual truth, experienced the bliss of the Universal energy and have the freedom to stay on in that Bliss for ever and ever. Yet they have come back to Planet Earth to tell others about the glory of what they themselves had experienced. They are on a mission that Existence has sent them upon, which they execute with the compassion that only an enlightened master can possess; the compassion to see themselves, and their divinity in every other being.

In every generation there are a few such incarnations, who descend on this earth to show others the bliss that they themselves experience continually; their mission is to help all others reach the same bliss that they experience.

It is this infinite compassion that sets an incarnation apart from other beings, however evolved they may be spiritually. An incarnation has internalized the concept of ‘vasudeva kutumbaha’, that the whole word is one family; I am you, You are I.

Sages talk about a mythical bird that never touches the earth from birth to death. These birds soar high above the ground, far higher than any normal bird would. When this bird lays an egg the egg hatches even as it falls to the ground. The fledgling infant bird starts flying as it comes of the shell, still in mid air, and soars into the sky. When these birds die they merge into space. Never once in its life does the bird touch ground.

These birds are called Paramahamsa or supreme Swans. Ramakrishna, one of the greatest saints of modern India talks of these birds in adoration. Ramakrishna himself is aptly called Paramahamsa, a spirit that always soared without ever touching ground.

An enlightened being is called a Paramahamsa, when his spiritual awakening leading to enlightenment occurs before adolescence. Such a being never touches ground, his spirit soaring high well before it is enmeshed in the web of worldly reality. Paramahamsas are rare beings whose innocent wisdom pierces even the most hardened heart and mind. In such beings the divine Kundalini energy that is stored in the muladhara chakra never moves down as it does with normal beings at adolescence. In all humans this energy moves down leading to the desire and energy for procreation, the sexual awakening. In the case of Paramahamsas the kundalini energy is awakened before puberty and it moves up at the time of spiritual awakening, without causing any desire of sexual pleasure. The energy within the Paramahamsas stays pure, uncorrupted, and exceptional.

Paramahamsas are spirits who have realized the supreme and eternal Truth of the Universe. Their purpose in life is to communicate this Truth that has been gifted to them, to the rest of humanity in the hope that at least some would glimpse the Truth for themselves. Each Paramahamsa communicates this message in his own inimitable style. Ramakrishna, for ever in divine ecstasy, inspired others through devotion or Bhakti. Ramana, another great Paramahamsa, communicated his message mainly in silence, through a process of discrimination or Viveka. There are others who by their touch and at times by a mere glance imparted their wisdom to disciples who were ready to receive the Truth.

Even these great Paramahamsas had trouble convincing the rest of humanity to follow the path that they had traversed, and which they were keen to show. In his lifetime Ramakrishna initiated about a dozen disciples into enlightenment, and it is after his death through the efforts of Sarada Devi and Vivekananda that his message spread worldwide. During his lifetime Ramana probably initiated a few more, not many more. However, over time, their message spread, more people were awakened to the possibility that they too had divinity in them. The mission of these Masters was not wasted. It is a continuum of enlightened Masters who serve this Planet, each taking off from where the earlier Master had left. All Paramahamsas are one and the same energy, all performing the same mission with a uniqueness that Existence has defined for them.

Since Nithyananda was already enlightened what was the need for him to go through such intense tapas (penance) by wandering on foot, begging for food, suffering for so long. Why?

There was no suffering involved in his case. Looking at him as an onlooker we feel he must have gone through great sufferings and we may see his process of enlightenment as difficult. We must understand that an incarnation appears on this earth fully enlightened. He has no attributes. He is a triguna rahita, beyond the three gunas (mental attributes) of satva (calmness), rajas (aggression) and tamas (laziness). However, in order to function on earth, in the human body, he is infused with a little bit of satvic attribute. Over a period of time, through his won sadhanas, he burns this satvic guna also off.

This satvic attribute is the incarnation's prarapta karma (desire needed for action that comes along with the spirit as it enters the body). It is like this. You can not make anything out of 24 carat gold. It is too pure and too fragile to be of any practical purpose. So, you need to alloy it with copper or some other impurity. That's the way it is with an incarnation, a Paramahamsa. He is born with some satvic attributes, as an alloying attribute, so that he can live and survive on this planet Earth.

Lives of all great incarnations follow a similar path. In almost all cases these beings are born in a middle class environment; not too luxurious to divert their minds and not too harsh to limit their potential. By and large these beings choose a conducive parental environment. Their parents in most cases are of a religious bent of mind, though perhaps not fully open to the child taking to an ascetic life. All incarnate beings grow up with an explicit interest in spiritual matters. They are devotional, they are very curious about spiritual truths even at an early age and go to great lengths to seek the mission they are sent down for. However, the consciousness of their enlightened being seems to be hidden from them till the point of their re-enlightenment, so to speak, until the reminder of the satvic guna too is fully burnt off.

In a Paramahamsa actions arise out of thoughts and desires as bija karmas (seeds of desires) from the causal layer. We all have seven layers of energy around our mind body. The first is the gross physical body layer; the second is the pranic body, or breath layer; the third is the mental or emotional layer; the fourth is the etheric or subtle layer that houses the energy centers, chakras; the fifth is the causal body layer, which once crossed by the spirit does not allow it to return to the body. The final two layers are the cosmic and nirvanic layers. Nirvanic layer is the state that enlightened beings reach. In ordinary humans desires arise in the lower layers, from physical to etheric; some of these desires are carried over from previous births as prarapta karma desires; most are developed during their present birth. By and large desires that one is born with carry their own energy for fulfillment. That is why Mahavira says: every human being is born into this Planet Earth with all that is needed to meet its needs.

In an incarnation or Paramahamsa there are no prarapta karmas since at enlightenment all their karmas, samskaras and vasanas have been burnt away. Vasanas are the mental attitude that creates desires, samskaras are the developed desires that prompt fulfillment and karmas are the actual deeds of action. Paramahamsas have none of these. However, as we saw earlier their beings are infused with some minimal prarapta karma to allow them to be reborn in human form.

In a Paramahamsa these desires arise from the causal layer, which is the transition point of no return for the spirit. These desires carry their own energy for fulfillment. Therefore as soon as these desires and thoughts arise they get fulfilled. As they are fulfilled, these thoughts drop completely; desires die out; there is no hangover. For instance, let us say a thought arises in a Paramahamsa to eat.

That thought in him brings with it the food. There is energy in his thought; that energy behind that thought brings in its own fulfillment of that thought or desire. He then eats. Then the thought disappears. The thought arises to walk. He walks. That is how it was with Nithyananda's parivrajaka, the wanderings and his tapas, the penance. Thoughts and actions happened on their own, with the thoughts bringing their own energy for fulfillment and they were extinguished completely upon fulfillment.

Paramahamsas do not have borrowed and acquired desires. Their needs and desires are limited to the very basic needs that their beings have been sent with. That's why they stay pure. They have no attachment to material pleasures as they come with the realization that all material and sensory pleasures are illusionary and impermanent. They neither seek nor are they tempted by these diversions. They merely witness what transpires around them and carry on. nithyananda was just a witness of his thoughts and actions. He just watched as the thoughts came up to his mind body and got fulfilled. Imagine that you are used to eating at noon. Hunger appears at noon. Then you eat and let go the hunger. Your samskara will be fulfilled; it will be burnt out. With us most often thoughts are induced by others; desires are not our own but borrowed from others. Therefore, these thoughts and desires do not carry the energy needed for fulfillment. We partially fulfill these desires and they linger as a hangover. All our sufferings are due to this fact alone; of our inability to fulfill our desires; because our desires are not our own. This is what Buddha meant when he talked about the fact that desires lead to suffering; he was referring to those desires borne out of human greed and jealousy; desires that have nothing to do with one's needs but are covetous.

The entire parivrajaka, the wandering all across India was an inner journey for nithyananda. It was much less of an outer journey. A map of all the places where nithyananda traveled during his wandering is in this book. He had traveled about 30,000 kilometers over 8 to 10 years. If one had taken a train or bus this distance could have been covered in a few months at the most. He kept going up and down; north and south; east and west; he backtracked and went back. He had no plan. As the thought arose to walk to some place or go to some place, he went there by whatever means was available. If the thought was to take a train, he took a train. He never bought a ticket. He had no money. When he had left home he had vowed not to touch money.

Once in a train near Kolkata, a ticket examiner asked nithyananda for his ticket. In his broken Bengali mixed with broken Hindi he told him: What ticket? I am Brahman, you are Brahman, this train is Brahman, and the ticket is also Brahman. Why then a ticket?

Nithyananda laughs uproariously when recalling the incident to us; everyone is in splits at his imitation and language. Ki ticket? aham brahman! Aap brahman! Gadi brahman! Parchi brahman! Ki ticket!!

The ticket examiner was totally confused. He was a good man. He never asked nithyananda for the ticket again. In fact he bought some food for him at the next station and gave him to eat.

You may ask: What do you mean by unfulfillment?

When all the samskaras are worked out there is no furniture inside; no baggage; there is no hangover. Imagine that your being is a bean bag. All the beans inside are the bija karmas, seeds of desires, vasanas. When they drop, the bag starts collapsing. In your case, if you feel hungry, you eat without even being aware of what you eat. Most often you eat not because there is a need to eat or that the body is hungry, but because it is to time to eat or because your friends or family want you to eat. The eating happens unconsciously, with no awareness, often without a need, It is no wonder we feel tired after eating, whereas the energy of the food should make us vigorous.

In nithyananda the eating happened consciously, when the body needed sustenance. The thought arose as part of a body need and not because of other external stimuli. Our body is such a beautiful organism that it is able to perform many complex actions without even us being aware of these activities. Why does a body that can digest the food we eat without us being aware, need us to prompt it through external stimuli? We bring about this situation by ignoring or body, by remaining unconscious of its needs and forcing into it our desires borrowed from others. As a consequence we suffer.

However small they may be, even in an incarnation there are still samskaras till enlightenment; the alloy element is still in the gold. All the samskaras burn off at enlightenment leaving just pure gold behind. You can see the difference in Nithyananda's photographs before and after enlightenment. Grace happened at enlightenment and it is visible.

Some one asked Nithyananda as to what would have happened had he resisted the thoughts as they arose in him. He said the situation did not arise as he seemed to have no choice. However, as a hypothetical query, the answer is not clear. Perhaps he may have had to do something else. The spirit of witnessing consciousness within him led him to following the thoughts as they arose, and witness them as they were fulfilled. It was choicelessness. It was Existence which propelled his actions.

Nithyananda says remembering his conscious birth: It was neither dark nor light, an indeterminate color that covered the Planet Earth. Suddenly a bright and brilliant light appeared from a region that was the Arunachala Hill. I entered into that light. I was immediately transported into a body. I was in my mother's womb. It was a conscious birth. I entered into the body at 1145 pm. I took a muhurta, about 45 minutes, settling into the body.

nithyananda's mother discovered that she was with child when she was on a pilgrimage to the holy temple town of Tirupati. She was sick and when the doctor examined her she was found carrying her child. nithyananda's connection with Lord Venkateshwara at Tirupati, another form of Vishnu, thus started well before his birth. Hs mother had actually wanted a daughter as her first born was a boy, and was somewhat disappointed when the second child too was a male child.

nithyananda was born on 1ˢᵗ January 1978 at 30 minutes past midnight. He was named after his mother's father as Rajasekaran based on local custom. The name referred to Siva, and means King of Gods.

nithyananda was born in the Tamil month of Margazhi (December-January). In the Bhagavad Gita Krishna refers to himself as Margazhi amongst the months. It is the month of the brahma muhurtam period of the Devas, their early morning. It is the month in which many great sages and enlightened Masters have been born: Ramana Maharishi, J Krishnamurti, Sarada Devi, Osho, Seshadri Swami, Vivekananda and many others. It is the month when the first of the six annual abhishekams of Lord Nataraja in Chidambaram is performed. It is the holiest of the months.

nithyananda was born on the ashtami day, the eighth day of the waxing moon. Ashtami is considered to be wordly and therefore not considered very favorable period by ascetics. Legend has it that ashtami prayed to Krishna to redeem itself and Krishna decided to be born of the ashtami day to prove to the world that spirituality can be pursued by a person of the world, establishing the concept of Quantum Spirituality where materialism and spirituality meet seamlessly. It is very much in that tradition that in later days Nithyananda preaches the same concept of combining material success and spiritual evolution.

nithyananda was born under the Chitra star, which means ‘shining’, on the eighteenth day of the Margazhi month. The number eighteen has always been auspicious in the Hindu calculations. Bhagavad Gita has 18 chapters; as do the Chandi and Brahma Sutra (scriptural works); the gnanendriyas, karmendriyas and tattvas (philosophical works) add up to 18. The battle of Kurukshetra in Mahabharata lasted 18 days.

Baby nithyananda was born at 1230 am, exactly 45 minutes after he entered the body in his mother’s womb. Exactly 22 years after nithyananda entered his body on this Planet he would reach enlightenment, severing the thin line that held him to the Planet. During these 22 years he was visiting people on this Planet in a relaxed, conscious way. He was gradually shedding the little satvic guna that he came to be born with through the tapas and parivrajaka that Existence had ordained for him.

According to his parents the baby child never cried at birth; its spirit was so relaxed and comfortable; the Doctor had to tap the baby to make sure that it was alive. There was no pain in the birth to the Being. Based on mother's weight and size the Doctor expected twins, and the baby justified the size at 10 pounds.

The child was born in Kanya rasi and Kanya lagnam (moon and sun signs of Virgo), normally indicative of a female child. When the family priest drew up the baby's horoscope he found that the stars and planets had aligned themselves in an exceptional manner that he had never seen before as an astrologer. After extensive studies and consultation to ensure that he was not making a mistake, the priest declared to the startled parents that the baby would grow up to be a rajasanyasi or a 'king amongst holy men'. The priest considered himself blessed to have been able to cast the child's horoscope, and stopped practicing astrology after casting this baby's horoscope.

nithyananda's parents were not very happy with this prediction. However much a family may respect a saint and revere holy men no parents want their own child to become a monk, so too it was with nithyananda's parents. They had no desire to see their son turn into a monk, renouncing the material world. Like all other normal parents they too wanted the propagation of their family through progeny of their children and they were quite upset to learn that this may not happen. They wanted to know from the priest if such an eventuality of the boy becoming a sanyasi could be prevented through ritualistic religious interventions. The priest confessed that he knew of no method to prevent his prediction becoming true. He, however, suggested that they keep this knowledge from the child in the hope of postponing the inevitable.

Many years earlier, nithyananda's father's grandfather Kumaraswami had met an enlightened master and had a spiritual experience. When this man decided to give up his material way of living, he threw out all his belongings including jewelry from his house on to the street so that any passer by could pick them up and walk away. He went way from home and lived near a cremation ground, Bhoomantra Kolam in Tiruvannamalai. Later he traveled to Varanasi on a pilgrimage and passed away.

In Kumaraswami's household an ascetic once came seeking alms; as the lady of the house was about to come out with food to serve the ascetic, someone from inside shouted out sarcastically that able bodied people should work and earn, and not beg. The ascetic walked away without accepting the food that was offered to him, cursing as he left that in that household at least one person in each generation would end up begging. nithyananda's birth removed that curse laid on that family several generations earlier. It is said that an enlightened master's birth removes the samskaras of his ancestors and progeny for seven generations each way.

Right from early childhood nithyananda was drawn to spirituality and as we saw earlier he spent as much time as he could with idols; he interacted with them as if these idols were living beings, which to him they certainly were; and as we saw earlier they responded to him in turn. He had a deep and abiding passion to play with idols of gods and goddesses, decorating them, worshipping them, talking to them, and relating to them as if they were made of flesh and blood. These were his only joy; he never participated in sports and games normal to boys of his age.

Parasakti works in mysterious ways to help enlightened beings fulfill their mission

During the Ganesa Chaturthi (birthday of Lord Ganapati) period potters would come to Tiruvannamalai town with large amounts of clay to make their idols of Ganapati. Each house would usually have an idol installed in their puja room (altar) and people of that household would offer ritual prayers to the Ganapati idol. On the festival day special food would be prepared ostensibly to be offered to God. Ganapati’s favorite food is the modakam or as it is called in Tamil kozhakottai, a rice dumpling filled with jaggery. In addition there were special, fruits and flowers that Ganapati liked. After all the fat bellied Ganapati sitting on his mouse vehicle is the darling of all Hindus.

Depending upon local tradition on the third or fifth day after the festival day, Ganapati’s idol would be taken to be immersed in a water spot, an environmentally friendly practice as long as the idol was made out of mud which is water soluble. In large cities like Mumbai this immersion takes the form of massive processions to the sea, which blocks traffic for hours. In smaller towns such as Tiruvannamalai the idols would be carried by individuals on their heads or if they are better to do in vehicular transportation and then immersed in the temple tank or if there was one, a near by river or lake. Ganesa Chaturthi or Pillayar Chaturthi as it is invariably termed in Tamilnadu is a major festive occasion.

Potters brought in large quantities of clay for making the idols on the spot. They would leave behind unused material that they could not convert and sell, once the festival period was over and there was no further demand for the earthen idols of Ganapati. nithyananda would rush around in his tricycle collecting all this material so that he could fashion his own idols out of this unused clay. Even at this early age his commercial sense was well developed.

Nithyananda says: Parasakti prepared my body and mind so beautifully for the mission she had in mind for me. You can see her play, her lila. Day after day, I would spend entire days only in decorating and talking to the idols. I had energy and power far beyond my years. My mother said that once I turned around a heavy teak wood bed with a person lying on it without much effort.

nithyananda was completely independent and fearless. His mother and rest of the family used to listen to what he had to say rather than the other way around. His sharp logic and compassionate love attracted people to him and made them want to do what he told them to.

When nithyananda was about 5, a relative brought home a sanyasi (monk). It was common practice in his household to offer shelter and food to wandering ascetics.

nithyananda's grandfather used to feed every day at lunch at least ten such mendicants. They were seated in a row, fed, saluted with the traditional arti (obeisance with a lamp) and given money before they departed. This sanyasi saw young nithyananda playing with idols and remarked that the boy was a light that has started shining in that household. nithyananda felt comfortable with this man and related to him his own experiences with Ganapati and how Ganapati ate the food that he served him after he threatened to go on fast. This sanyasi seemed to understand me and relate to what nithyananda was saying to him.

nithyananda went with this sanyasi to the temple. As nithyananda sat and in front of the sanyasi and was talking to him, the sanyasi elevated himself above the ground. nithyananda was surprised and also curious. He moved his hand under the sanyasi to make sure that he was actually levitating, and that it was not an illusion. The levitating yogi, as we may like to call him, asked nithyananda whether he wished to visit Kailash, abode of Siva and Parvati. nithyananda at once said yes, he would. The sanyasi told him that he would initiate nithyananda into a mantra which if he repeated would take him to see Siva and Parvati in Kailash. The sanyasi asked nithyananda to return the next day and meet him at the temple.

When nithyananda met the sanyasi the next day at the temple, the first thing he wanted to know was where the bus that would take them to Kailash was. The sanyasi laughed and pointed to one of the tourist buses parked in front of the temple and told the young boy that one of these buses would take them to Kailash. The sanyasi asked nithyananda to bathe in the temple tank and come to him. nithyananda came after bathing in the tank and sat in front of the levitating yogi on a step below where the yogi sat. The yogi uttered the word 'hreem'. Something seemed to strike nithyananda at his 'hara', the point between the Swadishthana and Muladhara energy centers, between his groin and the bottom of his spine. nithyananda saw Devi, the Goddess Parvati standing in front of him. He laughed in ecstasy, and shouted: amma is here, amma is here!

nithyananda had no idea that 'hreem' was the bija (seed or core) mantra of Devi or that she would appear before him. He was hoping to catch a bus to Kailash! The vision of Devi was clear and vivid. After a few moments Devi merged into the young boy. ‘I saw her’ he said to the Yogi, in wonder! The yogi laughed: I am blessed, my child, he said, it takes years to see Devi. You are indeed a Siddha Purusha (a realized being). That’s why you could have her darshan just after initiation.

Filled with joy and feeling ecstatic, nithyananda picked up a piece of sandstone and with a makeshift sculpting tool carved the figure of Devi that he had seen. He took the half finished idol to his sculptor friend from whom he used to buy all his idols and asked him to help finish it. The sandstone Devi idol is still at Dhyanapeetam.

The levitating yogi had a twin personality. He was in part a highly accomplished Tibetan Lama. He could cover himself in an iron plate armor tightly fastened around him, and could break the armor free by inhaling deeply and inflating his chest. He was a master of pranayama (yogic breath control) and that is how he could levitate.

Many scientific experiments have been conducted, notably by Harvard University's Medical College through Dr. Howard Johnson and others, on extraordinary yogic powers that Tibetan Lamas have acquired though controlled breathing and meditation. These include increasing body temperature, levitation and many extraordinary physical feats of strength not possible by humans.

The levitating yogi would pick up nithyananda every day in the morning and feed him breakfast at a local Udipi (a community of successful catering entrepreneurs) restaurant. He would teach the young boy yoga asanas. nithyananda related with him easily and asked him many questions that the yogi would answer patiently. When elderly people he knew came to talk to the yogi when he was with the young boy, he would tell them: don't think I am teaching this boy, I'm learning from him.

One day the owner of the restaurant where they used to eat, Ramachandra Upadhyaya, came up to the yogi and complained that he did not have enough sanyasis to feed that day. This man had the practice of feeding every Amavasai (new moon day) fifty sanyasis, and he did not have that many on that Amavasai day. The yogi said to him: you are feeding this young boy, that's enough; it is equivalent to feeding a 1000 sanyasis.

It is a different matter that neither nithyananda nor Upadhyaya believed the yogi. Recently Upadhyaya performed pada puja (ritual obeisance to the Master’s feet) for Nithyananda and remembered that incident.

The levitating yogi could materialize objects. He could control snakes. Though an accomplished yogi he was not enlightened. nithyananda asked him why he was teaching him all the yoga asanas as the yogi himself could not have Devi’s darshan through these practices. The yogi said that nithyananda needed to keep his body fit, as he would need to do difficult things in future.

nithyananda befriended a number of other sages in early childhood. One of them, Sakkupai Swami, wore only jute cloth from gunny bags (called sakkupai in Tamil) and slept in the temple. Children were scared of him and avoided him. nithyananda went to Sakkupai Swami and asked how he could see Arunachala in human form. Sakkupai Swami laughed and said, don't cheat me, go away, go away. nithyananda ran away frightened. When he turned around to see what the Swami was doing, nithyananda was surprised to see him prostrating himself on the ground towards his direction.

ran away. Sakkupai Swami told nithyananda to follow the dog. The dog ran to Ram Surat Kumar, also called Visiri Swamigal, and placed the packet in front of him. Visiri Swamigal started smoking the beedis.

Visiri Swamigal was a well known and well liked figure in Tiruvannamalai, known for his great wisdom, simplicity and spirituality. Visiri Swamigal turned to nithyananda and asked him whether Sakkupai Swamigal had sent him there. Visiri Swamigal sat amidst a pile of garbage that he had collected on the steps of the building adjacent to Thermutti, where the temple chariot was parked. nithyananda explained to him how he got there and how he had gotten to know Sakkupai Swamigal. Visiri Swamigal took a liking to the young boy and they became friendly.

After a few days Visiri Swamigal offered a beedi to nithyananda. Having been taught that smoking was a bad habit the young boy refused. Who knows, his enlightenment may have been faster had he accepted this mystic's offer of a beedi!

From childhood nithyananda's grandfather used to tell him mythological stories and nithyananda used to repeat them with great flourish to other family members. They were all amused at this young boy's great interest in spiritual matters and started calling him samiar, or Swami which in Tamil referred to an ascetic or monk. Even his parents started calling him Swami.

nithyananda was in love with Arunachala. He joined every temple procession and followed it all the way till it ended. He spent his days in the temple and ate with the sanyasis who were given free food at the temple. The temple of Arunachaleswara in Tiruvannamalai was nithyananda's playfield as Brindavan was to Krishna and Dakshineshwar was to Ramakrishna. When he woke up in the mornings nithyananda would walk with closed eyes to the front of the house so that the Arunachala hill was the first thing he saw in the morning. His brothers and sister used to call him kuruttu samiar or blind monk. They used to irritate him by standing in front of him as he opened his eyes, or by turning him around so that he faced the opposite direction, or by startling him by shouting at him. nithyananda used to kick them, rave and rant, and go back to bed and start all over again.

To nithyananda Arunachala, the hill, was a living entity, not a mere formation of rocks. He would sit contemplating the hill, like in Zen meditation Zazen; sitting, happening, without knowing.

Gopuram Street. He was a master of tantra, yantra and mantra, all three techniques of realization. He had great powers of telepathy. The local police would come to him seeking help in identifying perpetrators of crime. Thatha would take a mirror and draw a square on it; the picture of the criminal would appear within that square. People who lost things and people who lost children and relatives would come to him and he would show them where they were on his mirror. nithyananda watched him do this without tiring day after day. He would miss school and seek the help of Thatha to escape punishment from teachers. Thatha would make sure nithyananda's attendance in school was marked.

Thatha never kept money overnight, as he had vowed not to save money. Whatever people gave him he spent or gave away the same day. nithyananda used to bring him food from home as his mother was quite generous in feeding spiritual people.

Occasionally nithyananda had problems with his father's mother who was very stingy. This lady would grudge giving water from the well inside the house to others. Other than her all others in nithyananda's family were very generous to the poor and needy.

Thatha used to materialize objects. He also would provide people solutions to their problems. Once a low caste man came to Thatha with a problem and Thatha advised him to go around a Siva temple three times. The man said that in his village he would not be allowed into the temple being a low caste person. Thatha then pointed to nithyananda and told the man to go around him three times. When he did Thatha told him his problems were solved. Neither that man nor nithyananda understood the meaning of what Thatha said; but then the man's problem did get resolved.

they should be used. Once nithyananda asked Thatha to provide him with a mantra and Thatha said that there was no need for that since nithyananda had his own mantra a thousand times more powerful.

nithyananda as was his wont continued to develop more spiritual connections. He met a sanyasin who used to sit in the Arunachala temple near the Tirumanjana Gopuram. This sanyasin, Narayana Swamigal was quite popular in Thiruvannamalai. He was called Mouna Swamigal or Silent Sage as he never used to speak. He never used to eat as well. Whenever some went to him to seek blessings Mouna Swamigal would raise both his hands and stand in that posture for ten minutes. He had a small slate board on which was written in Tamil 'summa iru sollarai' or just be silent. He sat truly silently, without inner chatter. Whenever nithyananda sat with Mouna Swamigal he too felt the peace of inner silence. Mouna Swamigal is still alive. He has moved up the Arunachala hill to a lonely spot where he has been living without food or water for 15 years.

Right from childhood nithyananda's energy attracted people of similar energy and attitude who willingly helped the child move forward on his chosen spiritual path. nithyananda's encounters with sages and ascetics right from early childhood kindled in the child a deep desire to emulate them.