Siddha Heartbeat: SIDDHAS & WORSHIP PART 2/2

Only Shivavakiyar can explain what he meant, and to whom these stanzas were directed.

கட்டை யால் செய் தேவரும் கல்லினால் செய் தேவரும்
மட்டையால் செய் தேவரும் மஞ்சளால் செய் தேவரும்
சட்டையால் செய் தேவரும் சாணியால் செய் தேவரும்
வெட்டவெளிய தன்றி மற்று வேறு தெய்வம் இல்லையே 508

காணவேண்டும் என்று நீர் கடல் மலைகள் ஏறுவீர்
ஆணவம் அதல்லவோ அறிவில்லாத மாந்தரே ?
வேணும் என்று அவ்வீசர் பாதம் மெய்யுளே தரிப்பிரேல்
தாணு வாக நின்ற சீவன் தான் சிவம் அதாகுமே 476

If there was only one path, Shivavakiyar would not have spoken about sariyai, kriyai, yogam and gnanam.

தெளிந்த நற் சரியை தன்னில் சென்று சாலோகம் பெறும்
தெளிந்த நற் கிரியை பூசை சேரலாம் சாமீபமே
தெளிந்த நல்ல யோகம் தன்னில சேரலாகும் சாரூபம்
தெளிந்த ஞானம் நான்கிலும் சேரலாம் சாயுச்யமே 436

Both Ramana and Shivananda had tackled this situation in a very amicable way.

Talking of the innumerable ways of different seekers after God, Ramana Maharishi said,

“Each should be allowed to go his own way, the way for which alone he may be built. It will not do to convert him to another path by violence. The Guru will go with the disciple in his own path and then gradually turn him into the supreme path at the ripe moment.”

Similarly, Swami Shivananda advises aspirants on the spiritual path,

“Let each man take the path according to his capacity, temperament, and understanding. His Satguru will meet him along the path. Listen to all, but follow one. Respect all, but adore one. Gather knowledge from all, but adopt the teachings of one master. Then you will have rapid spiritual progress. Once you choose your Guru, implicitly follow him. God will guide you through the Guru.”

Ramana Maharishi explains further the concept of moving from Bakti to Jnanam,

“Everything comes from within. First, the man feels that he is bound, in the bondage of Samsara, that he is weak and miserable and that unless he leans upon and gets help from God who is all-powerful and can save him, he cannot get out of bondage and misery. Thus he makes Bakti to Ishwara.”

“God, Guru and the self are the same. After your Bakti to God has matured you, God comes in the shape of Guru and from outside pushes your mind inside, while being inside as self he draws you there from within. A disciple after enlightenment told his Guru, “I now realize you lived in my innermost heart as the one reality in all my countless births and have now come before me in human shape and lifted this veil of ignorance. What can I do for you in return for such great kindness?” In addition, the Guru said, “You need not do anything. It is enough if you remain as you are in your real state”’.

“When this Bakti develops and the intensity of his devotion is so great that he forgets his entire self and becomes Iswaramaya and complete surrender has been achieved, God takes human shape and comes as Guru and teaches the devotee that there is but one self and that that is within him. Then the devotee attains Jnanam by realizing the self within him and then he understands that the Ishwara or Lord whom he worshipped and had Bakti for, the Guru who came in human shape and the self are all the same.”

“We are not creating anything new or achieving something which we did not have before. The illustration given in books is this. We dig a well and create a huge pit. We have not created the Akasha in the pit or well. We have just removed the earth, which was filling the Akasha there. The Akasha was there then and is there now. Similarly we have simply to throw out all the age-long Samskaras which are inside us, and when all of them have been given up, the self will shine, alone.”