The Dancing Baba and Ananda

This is an entry I started to work on a few months ago . I never got around to putting it up because I was eager to trace a photo of the dancing baba I came to see around Arunachala. On the 16th of December I received news of his passing and that he was struck down by a motor bike as he was giving Giri Pradakshina . A note from a friend announced that the other sadhus there where singing beautiful renditions of Aksharamanamalai, he was seated in lotus position with open eyes with an expression of ease . He never ate food always drinking milk that was offered into his coconut cup and he always walked the distances never taking any form of transport . He could always be seen here on the festival days and I felt very happy to see him whenever he came dancing down the dusty Chengam road , yet somehow inconspicuously .


The dancing no talking swami as he is called stayed in my mind the day I left for Pondicherry (I call him the coconut baba or dancing baba ). His dancing gait of pleasing happiness and his smile a joy . The first time I saw him he was practically dancing right next to me outside Joyti's chai shop, I sort of waved my arms imitating him abit and got a little jolly as he came closer while the locals came to touch his feet and scoffed at my irreverence - I smiled . Little did I realise that I would come to have a smattering of love for him and his dance , around Arunachala . I once grabbed a camera and managed to take several photos of him , and as I spoke to him he gestured suddenly towards the mountain with a bright expression .Those photos are in some lucky girls files somewhere at the time I did'nt think to get a copy of them .


I managed to find some entry about him by Ganeshan who is Ramana Maharshi's great grand nephew . It is said that Sri Nisargadatta on hearing of Ganeshan's visit promptly gathered all the cushions laying in his loft and piled them up high , made Ganeshan sit on top of all these cushions and said something to the effect about his reverance to the Maharshi and that this was his chance to pay obeisances to Ramana, so he gave full prostration . Sometimes Ganeshan can be seen at his home just off the Pradakshina road .I have sat there a few times; he offered me a copy of his book as I left one of his Satsangs .

This entry on Coconut baba goes as follows;

"There is a person whom I call the walking no talking swami who goes round Arunachala whenever he happens to be there .It is a pure joy just to look at him. Alone he dances around the mountain day and night !

Once , I confronted him saying"Swami, You are ever immersed in ananda . Why don't you give us the perennial ananda in which you are always soaked and saturated?" He burst out laughing.Then he gesticulated in a powerful way, pointing his hand towards Arunachala, as if to convey, "What else is there, except ananda? That which IS, is only ananda . Everyone is submerged only in it, as if under a deluge of water. Also who is to give ananda and to whom?" He laughed again .

Waves of ecstasy reigned and looking at him , instantly filled me with bliss! This experience of bliss was the direct blessing of the walking no talking swami. And it happened without a word, sans explanations or discussions."