We meet an old Siddha

The old Siddha. His hair and beard form long matted ropes (that can just be seen at left) and have not been cut for 70 years or so. His hand is covered with ash that he had given us to take home.


A couple of days ago we decided to walk around the Arunachala Hill - a practice that has been recommended by many saints here over the years. During the full moon there are about 100,000 people doing just that, which is why we postponed coming here until after the full moon. We set off about 4:45am and had walked along the main road before most of the noisy vehicles. There are numerous shrines and temples dotted along the route, and the priests were up and about in the darkness doing their various pujas. The total distance is 12 kms - about the same distance as from Haumoana beach to Lotus in Hastings. We had covered a good amount before the heat of the sun rose, and then were lucky due to some cloud cover. I love this place. We also stopped in the town and had breakfast, and if you are reading this Noel, a very fine coriander chutney came with it and I thought of you! A couple of years ago I had met an extraordinary old man due to a confluence of many "coincidences" and I desired to see him again. The only contact I knew was the auto rickshaw driver who took me last time and I had no idea where to find him; then he came up to me and said hello! Result was that we were travelling down a little used road, for nearly an hour, then turned off down a track through the fields, past a small hamlet. At that hamlet someone had a Himalayan black bear on a lead - I felt sorry for the bear in the heat. We went across the fields to the house - more like a shed - where the old man lived. He is in his mid-nineties but has eyes like bright diamonds. His hair has not been cut for 70 years and his hair is in one rope tied up with cotton thread, and his beard is in another rope - maybe 10 or 15 feet long, a bit hard to tell. He sat in lotus (padmasana) posture for 21 years without getting up from his seat, and for 15 years took no food or water. When I last saw him all his fingernails were more than 6 inches long except his index finger nail of his right hand which was cut short to pick up vibhuti ash to place on visitors foreheads as a blessing. He spoke only Tamil, but luckily there was someone to interpret. He is a "siddha" in the old tradition - that is, through his austerities, he has developed siddhis - The Powers. He focuses his attention on someone and their problem is gone. He asked us to stand in a certain spot in front of him and he focused his energy intently upon us. I asked to take his photo and he obliged happily. That evening (and again today), when I sat in the hall during the singing at Ramanashram, I reached a depth of consciousness I haven't touched for a long long time. I have no doubt it was that old man. Energy is such a subtle mystery. Our health on all levels is excellent. We have decided to extend our stay here by another 5 days. Maybe tomorrow we might walk around the hill again.