Mystique of Arunachala🔗

From childhood THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM's grandfather used to tell him mythological stories and THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM 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.

THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM 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 THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM's playfield as Brindavan was to Krishna and Dakshineshwar was to Ramakrishna. When he woke up in the mornings THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM 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. THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM used to kick them, rave and rant, and go back to bed and start all over again.

To THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM 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.