点评:No, it is not easy to rate the Mahamaharshi Ashramam. We visited it for the first time in 1985 and have been coming back again and again since then. It is a fantastic place, full of symbols and experiences. The place radiates power, the Arunachala alone is worth a trip.
When we arrived, 1985, we got off the bus in front of the main entrance, an Ashramite was there immediately and took us to a room in the Ashram without to ask if we have make a reservation. No advance booking, no palaver, we were there, that was enough. You could take photos everywhere, all the time. Back then, there was no big dining room like today, it was all family-like, in the morning you could read the daily newspaper in front of the reception office. You had More personal contact with people in charge.
Since years it is quite different. The coffee/Tea stalls around the tree in front of the Ashram entrance have disappeared, with the old tree. Now there is a big shop. the sand road around Arunachala has been paved, photography is forbidden, not that it bothers me much, I have already taken so many photos. And the traffic has increased. Tiruvanamalai town has grown bigger and surrounds the Ashram grounds. But very nice, the trees in the holy mountain have grown bigger and higher and the forest is denser.
But today you have to register with emails and online forms, send photos, then you don't get a reply because you register too early. Is it very anonymous, now.
That's how it is, time moves on and everything changes, there's no point in trusting, but I don't want to come back. I keep the memories warm and alive inside me. Memories of Swami Satya Ananda and his mini ashram, long gone, memories of the early pradakshina around Arunachala on the sandy track, memories of the villagers of Annamalai who all wanted photos, memories of drinking cups of tea with friendly sannyas in front of the ashram gate. It was beautiful, now I have to accept that it's over.
翻译:不,评价玛哈玛哈什修行所并不容易。我们第一次去是在 1985 年,从那时起我们就一次又一次地来。这是一个奇妙的地方,充满了象征和体验。这个地方散发着力量,单是阿鲁纳恰拉就值得一游。
当我们 1985 年到达时,我们在正门前下了车,一位修行所成员立即就到了,带我们去了修行所的一个房间,没有问我们是否预订了。没有提前预订,没有闲聊,我们在那里,这就足够了。你可以随时随地拍照。那时,没有像今天这样的大餐厅,一切都像家庭一样,早上你可以在接待处前面阅读日报。你可以与负责人有更多的个人接触。
多年来,情况大不相同。修行所入口前树周围的咖啡/茶摊和那棵老树一起消失了。现在那里有一家大商店。阿鲁纳恰拉周围的沙路已经铺好,禁止拍照,但这并没有让我感到困扰,我已经拍了很多照片。而且交通也增加了。蒂鲁瓦纳马莱镇已经扩大,环绕着修道院场地。但非常漂亮,圣山上的树木长得越来越大,森林也越来越茂密。
但今天你必须用电子邮件和在线表格注册,发送照片,然后你不会收到回复,因为你注册得太早了。现在很匿名。
就是这样,时间在流逝,一切都在变化,信任是没有意义的,但我不想回来。我把温暖而鲜活的记忆留在心里。关于斯瓦米·萨蒂亚·阿南达和他的小型修道院的回忆,早已消失的回忆,关于阿鲁纳恰拉周围沙路上早期 pradakshina 的回忆,关于安纳马莱村民都想要照片的回忆,关于在修道院大门前与友好的桑雅一起喝茶的回忆。这一切都很美好,但现在我必须接受它已经结束了。