Pondy to Tiruvannumalai

Hello everybody! The first photo is an artistic shot by Anthony of the best use of the often discarded and sometimes illegally reused plastic bottle - recycled art - very Portland eh? We hired an ambassador (a very diplomatic automobile that goes about 30 mph top speed) to take us from Pondicherry to Tiruvannumalai where there is an elaborate temple and the Sri Ramana Maharshi Ashram. Inside the temple many prayers were made to Ganesha, remover of obstacles, as we had not made any further reservations and were finding it more and more difficult to find rooms available once we spontaneously arrived in town. Kelley tried to get a direct blessing from the "live" version of Ganesha but something went awry and she ended up stepping in the "holy shit" instead. We quickly headed back to the room for a nice foot scrubbing to prevent any infection. The next day we decided to go inside the Sri Ramana Maharshi Ashram which was completely peaceful and tranquil amongst the chaos of Tiruvannumalai. Sri Ramana Maharshi preached (mostly through his presence not through his words or actions) the power of silence as the way to realize pure Self. He said it was very simple - you just keep asking yourself "who is asking" whenever there is judgement, suffering, etc. He called this self enquiry and the point is to decrease the power of the ego by constantly questioning where one's thoughts are coming from. The only "reality" is the non ego, pure Self of which we all are...as one entity....without form. Okay we are only beginning to try to grasp his teachings but his presence can be felt at the ashram 50 years after his death. The other photos are taken along the way and highlight the beauty, ancient history and color of Southern India.