KARTHIGAI DEEPAM

Today is an auspicious day. It is Karthigai Deepam. The website Thiruvannamalai.in has uploaded photographs of the festivities daily over the past ten days at
http://www.thiruvannamalai.in/tiruvannamalai-temple/tiruvannamalai_karthigai_deepam_2014_photos_day_9.html

The highlight of the celebrations is the lighting of the Karthigai Deepam atop Arunachala hill towards the evening.

Video courtesy of froggygoestobollywoo

Saravanan Palanisamy posted his drawing depicting Arunachala hill and the Siddhas congregating atop this hill on Google+. 

When seeing this beautiful scene I recall what my first guru Supramania Swami told me. I was with Swami in his kudil in 2005. His kudil was a simple structure with a living room where he sleeps and and adjacent room where he had placed his altar and another space that was his kitchen. He had a small window in the living room from where one could have a full view of Arunachala hill. He placed his Charpoy or bed strategically, a bed made of wood and rope that was woven, so that he always had an unobstructed view of Lord Arunachala, whose form he saw as Arunachala hill. 

But what surprised me was he had placed a gunny sack over the window shutting out Arunachala hill! I asked him why he did that. He answered, "I cannot see him anymore. He is fire!" Swami added that he could see the Siddhas moving around on the hill too!

Saravanan has practically brought to live what Supramania Swami saw on Arunachala hill. When I message Saravanan that I had used his art on Siddha Heartbeat, he replied as in the comments.