Footsteps of Ramana 

Arunachala! 
Thou dost root out the ego of those who meditate on thee in the heart.      
~Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi 
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On the fourth day I walked from the guesthouse to the Sri Ramanasramam, Ramana’s ashram, through the back gate and onto a trail that led up the Mountain. I was surprised to note the number of Western spiritual tourists also walking the trail. I made a short visit to Ramana’s upper cave, Skandashram, where Ramana lived with his mother between 1916 and 1922. He then moved into the Sri Ramanasramam, which was built after his mother’s death. I veered downhill to Ramana’s lower cave, Virupaksha, where he lived from 1899 through 1916. Both caves are modernized with white, plaster walls. The lower cave, my favorite, houses several photos of Ramana lining the walls of the outside chamber. I spent the next two hours meditating in the dark and generally quiet, inner chamber. 

When I was leaving Ramana’s lower cave, I vividly experienced the present moment. I noticed how the activities of my body-mind continued without my effort. Each footstep was for Ramana. My body seemed to be walking his beloved Mountain for him. The simple act of each step, followed by another, or how long I stood on the rocks, or what scenes would draw my attention, demonstrated how the actions of my body-mind simply happen. Who was it that was actually walking? The six hours on the Mountain had a timeless quality, as though a natural rhythm or state of just being had taken over. As I returned to the guesthouse everything I observed was so vivid, all was being experienced as the present moment. It was all Awareness. 
 


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