Saints & sages

The saints of Arunachala

Two thousand years of devotion have gathered around this hill ~ from the ancient Tamil poet-saints who first sang it, through the sages and siddhas of the temple town, to Ramana Maharshi and the devotees who came to him. Here is the whole living lineage, in one place.

Arunachala hill, sung and loved by saints for two thousand years

No other place in India, perhaps, has drawn quite this unbroken procession of the holy. For more than a thousand years before Ramana Maharshi ever saw it, Arunachala was already sacred ground, already sung ~ and the story of its saints, told in order, is the story of Tamil devotion itself. We are gathering that story here, saint by saint, into what we hope will become the fullest account in English of who loved this hill, and how.

The ancient Tamil saints

The oldest layer ~ the poet-saints of the Tamil bhakti age, who fixed Arunachala's glory in sacred song more than a thousand years ago.

The Nalvar ~ the four great saintsSambandar, Appar, Sundarar and Manikkavachakar ~ who sang Arunachala, each loving Shiva in his own way. Arunagirinathar and the TiruppugazhTiruvannamalai's own saint ~ saved at the temple gopuram, singer of the sixteen thousand songs.

Ramana Maharshi

The sage of the modern age, who made Arunachala known to the world ~ his life, his teaching, and the way to meet him still.

Who was Ramana Maharshi? His lifeThe whole life in one moving sweep ~ the cornerstone of the Ramana story. Ramana Maharshi: a seeker's introductionWho he was, the awakening at sixteen, and the single question at the heart of his teaching. How to practise self-inquiryHis method of ‘Who am I?’ ~ not as philosophy, but as something you actually do. Visiting Sri RamanasramamThe ashram that grew around him ~ what to see, and how simply to be there.

The sages & ashrams of the town

The holy ones of more recent centuries who made Tiruvannamalai their home.

Yogi Ramsuratkumar ~ the beggar saintWho called Ramana one of his three fathers, lived hidden on the streets, and is loved across the town. Guhai Namasivaya ~ the cave saintThe 16th-c. saint Ramana spoke of ~ from Karnataka to a cave on the hill, liberated by the mountain. Isanya Desikar ~ the saint by the Esanya lingamCame late to the hill, loved it utterly ~ and cured a British Collector of tuberculosis. Seshadri Swamigal ~ the golden-handed saintThe wandering jivanmukta who discovered the young Ramana ~ one of the three lingas of Arunachala. The ashrams of TiruvannamalaiSeshadri Swamigal, Yogi Ramsuratkumar and more ~ the living devotional heart of the town. The story of Mastan & DesurThe Muslim weaver among Ramana's four samadhis, and Akhilandamma who fed the ashram on foot.

The wider company of the hill

The 18 Siddhars of Tamil NaduThe immortal yogi-sages, alchemists and physicians ~ the deep mystic root of Tamil spirituality. Agastyar ~ the foremost SiddharVedic sage, father of Tamil, founder of Siddha medicine, deathless master at the tradition's source. Bhogar ~ the alchemist SiddharWho made the Palani deity from the mysterious Navapashanam, and lies in samadhi there. The 63 NayanmarsThe Shiva saints from every walk of life whose fierce bhakti shaped the Tamil soul. Kannappa Nayanar ~ the hunter who offered his eyesThe supreme parable that God receives love, not correctness. Karaikkal Ammaiyar ~ the woman saintWho prayed away her beauty to become a ghoul and sing at the feet of the cosmic dance. The Tirumantiram of ThirumularThe 3,000-verse key text of Tamil Shaivism, by the saint who was both Nayanmar and Siddhar. Jeeva samadhi ~ the living shrinesThe resting places of realised siddhas who withdrew into deathless absorption ~ several on the Girivalam route. Aurobindo, the siddhas & spiritual TiruvannamalaiWhy so much holiness has gathered at this one hill for two thousand years ~ and gathers still.

Living satsangs of Tiruvannamalai

The town’s tradition of the Self continues in living satsangs and gatherings. (Factual visitor introductions; see each official site for current schedules.)

Swami Nochur (Ramanacharanatirtha)The revered living Advaita master ~ satsangs on the Gita, Upanishads and Ramana’s teachings. Ganga Maa & Hridaya KshetramAdvaita satsang in the lineage of Ramana and Arunachala.

A growing collection

This section is being built out over time ~ more of Ramana's devotees, the siddhas of the hill, and the sacred texts that sing Arunachala are still to come. Our aim is a single, honest, beautiful account of two thousand years of devotion to one mountain, told with the tradition itself as the authority.