Girivalam: Sacred Circumambulation
Circumambulating the sacred hill is a deeply revered spiritual journey. Devotees undertake this barefoot pilgrimage with deliberate, mindful steps - said to be as gentle and measured as those of a royal maiden in her ninth month of pregnancy. Along the path, a multitude of divine temples, holy shrines, serene ashrams and sacred spurs of the hill adorn the landscape, each radiating its own spiritual energy. Most revered among them are the eight sacred Siva lingams, known as the ashta lingams, positioned in alignment with the cardinal directions. Unlike temples built with human hands, Arunachala is svayambhu - self-born, self-luminous. It is not a representation of divinity; it is the divine. More than a physical act, Girivalam is an inward pilgrimage. With each step, the aspirant offers the ego unto the Hill. With each breath, the silent syllable “Arunachala” dissolves thought into stillness.
In subtle lore, it is said that those who circumambulate Arunachala not only receive merit for this life, but for countless incarnations. Both in outer pilgrimage (parikrama) and inner pilgrimage (vichara), the aspirant circumambulates the axis mundi - ascending toward the summit of Self. The act purifies vasanas, dissolves the knots of karma, and bestows glimpses of the inner Self. To circumambulate Arunachala is to reenact the inward journey. The path begins with duality - one walks around. But with each step, the circle tightens. The walker becomes the walked. In perfect maturity, the hill disappears - only the Heart remains. This is not poetry, but the lived experience of those who have walked barefoot in surrender.
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Source: Mountainpath
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