Return to Puttaparti

Puttaparti street. I remember when there were fields on both sides of the road.




The entry to Ramanashram at Arunachala, and the ancient mango tree.

The week at Arunachala went quickly and I think it was the first time there I didn't either walk around the hill or go onto it. I was happy to sit quietly at Ramanashram. The first Englishman who ever met Ramana (in 1911) described him as being "like a corpse through which God is radiating terrifically. My own feelings were indescribable." In some ways that same energy is still "radiating terrifically" at that place nearly 60 years after his passing. It makes the "inside" deeply quiet and peaceful. So I was quite happy to "chill". I didn't go see anyone knew although I bumped into the friendly shaven-headed Englishman Kali Baba who first went there in the 60s and who only wears a piece of black cloth around his waist. We had dinner at "dirty corner" and talked about the NZ cricket team in the UK. There was also a quick visit to town for some kitchen ware to squeeze into the bag somehow, but mostly it was a matter of staying still. I was invited into the new archive building as I had donated a photo of the old Kunju Swami which I had taken nearly 20 years ago. He was the last of the old renunciate swamis around Ramana, and I used to meditate with him every night. The building was a copy of a traditional Tamil structure, built around a small central sunken courtyard. I'd like to do something like that at Oreti Beach one day. My return to Bangalore was primarily to pick up my new waistcoat (lovely job), and to visit the dentist. If anyone needs a dentist in India I thoroughly recommend Dr Ray - he did a couple of crowns for me 2 years ago at one sixth of the cost of having them done in Australia - it actually paid for the whole trip. Anyway I had a mild infection in a tooth so that has been dealt with; and now I have returned to Puttaparti for a final blessing from Sai Baba before travelling on to Thailand to meet Cathy. The external "theatre" around Sai Baba couldn't be more different to the small ashram at Arunachala - there are thousands of people and all the bustle that goes with this small city. Yet, as I found this evening, at the core of it, in his presence there is that same "radiating terrifically". In spite of the crowds and the security, there is something deep and profound here. I will drink deep of that before catching a taxi to the new Bengaluru airport on Thursday.