Prabhu treks up the Velliyangiri 7th hill

Prabhu narrates his experience of trekking up the Velliyangiri 7th hill!

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I don't know how it happened and I'm going to put in words. It was his sheer grace and bliss, that made me have the glimpse of shiva.

I wished I could participate in yatra (organised by Then Kailaiya Bakthi Peravai) on 27th and 28th feb, during lingha bhairavi consecration and left the thought behind. The wish became an opportunity last friday (26th) through a telephone call from balaji asking if I could join yatra. Wow!!! It was definitely to music to ears.

I had promised my wife that we would go to shopping centre and get her something on our 3rd anniversary (though she was not willing to get it). My mom was fuming and fretting, seeing me packing the bag and looking at me as an irresponsible creature. When it's shiva's call, how can I ignore?

I began the journey not knowing if I would be allowed for yatra since I didn't register for it :)

To my surprise, swami allowed me in.

We started the yatra with an intro by swami and video by Sadhguru. Swami started his talk with a verse on shiva and inspiring stories about the sacred place and how reverential we should be in this yatra. Jaggi insisted not to miss this opportunity being born in tamil nadu and dhyanalinga is the essence of what is available in south kailash.

We flagged off the yatra @ half past two in the afternoon at poondi shivan temple, velliangiri foothills. Swami oriented us again that this shouldn't be perceived as trekking but yatra.

Though I was struggling initially and wondering if I could make it up, swami's talks at certain points, explaining the significance of those places and helping us re-gaining the focus, simply kept me going.

At one moment, energies completely drained, I decided to keep away my body and mind for some time and just be with the yatra, I felt I was being pulled up. Nothing could hold me anymore.

After 3rd hill, heads started to disappear one by one. Fear of getting lost, fear of getting attacked by animals, fear of walking alone in the forest, fear of getting slipped in the valleys, I stopped creating them one by one. Journey was effortless afterwards.

I was crawling like an ant in the vast mountain, realising how small I'm, foolishly pretending to be big. Everything looked amusing that night, the rocks, the path, the moon, the trees, the grass, the breeze, the petty shop-in-the forth hill-with single chimney light, the people out there making their living in mountain. What a lovely world it is?!

Reached 6th hill and took 3 dips in frozen aandi sunai* (vellaikkara durais, translation please). Needless to say that I enjoyed the delicious dinner prepared by the volunteers.

We were ready to retire for the day in the beautiful tent, they had set up. The thin shawl that I had was helpless in the awful weather, piercing tiny holes in my body. Fortunately one anna had a thick blanket and was generous enough to allow me and another meditator (devotee) by his two sides. All of us stayed very close in bed to get warmth.

I woke up the next day with unknown experience and little excitement. We went through some process before climbing up. Just paused a moment to look at all devotees, from all walks of life, from 1st standard student to 50 year old woman (women below 12 years and above 40 years of age, are allowed), a hefty man, looking hard, whispering to swami with respect, definitely all 70 people had different flavours but only one goal: 7th hill.

Like turning pages of an interesting novel, we were heading towards the mystical kingdom. We reached place and sat under the rock, where shiva had been for a while. The place was reasonating with high decibal chanting, heart breaking devotion and unconditional love. When swami came and spoke about the place, tears started rolling down in his cheeks. One being, who didn't want to miss anyone of us, like a mother taking care of her children, cultivating devotion in ourselves, telling what we need to know and how should we be. A real possibility of how one can be as parent to all beings in the world, accepting things and people as they are and doing what is needed for the situatuon. Even my dumb mind had experienced something indescribable, happening there because of him.

Swami and volunteers are still ringing in my head than the Lord Shiva. What a tremendous world this would be, if all the people dare to hold others' well being more than their lives.

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* - Literally translates to "barren creek" - obviously has a spiritual connotation to it.