For two consecutive days, we held prayers. On Wednesday 14th 2014, we held full moon prayers and the next day, on Thursday 15th 2014, we held the usual Guru Naal or weekly Guru Puja. Besides that we used to offer prayers during new moon days and other auspicious days too. My wife starts a day earlier, prior to the prayers, cleaning up the home, the puja or prayer room and the altar and assembles all items for the puja. On the day of puja she gathers all the fresh stuffs used for the homam or fire ritual and libation or abhisegam. During puja she feeds the flame and does the libation while I sing the hymns. Then she cleans up for the day. Our children join us when they are around. Occasionally other devotees, including Bala Chandran and Surendaran Selvaratnam, drop by to participate in the puja too. We never missed a day of prayer accept on the day my daughter was discharged from the General Hospital which was in the evening. When we are out of station, we carry on the prayers wherever we are, minus the homam and libation. When I was in India on two occasions, my family continued the rituals. This is how it has been since 2002 till the present day.
I am extremely gifted and blessed to have a wife who tirelessly takes upon herself this benevolent and major task besides looking after the affairs of the home, children and me. Agathiyar who had been watching and following us, surprised us, including the Nadi Guru Ramesh when finally he came out to complement my wife for her good deeds. What surprised us was she had a Nadi reading and the very first one, minus having to give an impression of her thumb print! Generally if one was to see the Nadi for the very first time he would have to provide a print of his or her thumbprint. Only then can the Nadi reader proceed to locate the individuals Nadi. This applies to the Kaanda Nadi. In my wife's case there was, mysteriously, an exception.
The said miracle happened when I was called over, as usual, for another reading, among the numerous readings I have had, by Nadi Guru Ramesh. He went into the adjacent room to pick up the Nadi, but came back with a big surprised look on his face. He told me that the days reading was for my wife and not me. We were both astonished. The most compassionate Agathiyar begins to talk about my wife. He narrates how she has diligently and faithfully been carrying out all the preparations for the prayers, and had conducted the prayers with full devotion. Agathiyar was full of praise and appraisal for her. I was delighted to hear Agathiyar personally acknowledge all the good work and effort she had put in.
I eagerly took back the rewarding good news to my wife and played back the cassette to her. She was speechless and close to tears. I told her she deserves all the credit. Agathiyar knows who was doing all the job, right. Agathiyar too knew the amount of devotion and faith she had on him. That is the reason he complemented her. It is simply amazing.
In the book on Kavyakantha Vasistha Ganapati Muni entitled 'NAYANA, A BIOGRAPHY OF KAVYAKANTHA VASISHTHA GANAPATI MUNI' by Dr G Krishna from the original Telugu texts by Gunturu Lakshmikantam, the author says Ganapati Muni had described his wife as a Tapa Sakhi meaning comrade in Tapas just as Arundhati was the Tapa Sakhi of Vasista and so were the wives of many of the Rishis.
'They never considered their wives as hindrances to Tapas.'
Ganapati Muni advised that women should not be barred from any spiritual or religious chores when it was prevalent at that time that women were not considered fit to worship Agni, study the Vedas and recite Vedic mantras and were denied the benefits of Upayana.
Ganapati Muni himself used to initiate women into Mantra Japa. Many were the women who were initiated into Gayatri Vidya which was considered to be exclusive to men. Visalakshi, wife of Ganapati Muni took to the worship of Agni whenever Ganapati Muni was out of town.
'Visalakshi paid equal attention to house-keeping and Mantra Upasana.'
'Ganapati did not share the belief that a woman was the source of sin and Maya. The study of scriptures had convinced him that the ancient Rishis had practiced austerity and attained self realization without giving up family life and responsibilities.'
'Women were not treated as objects of pleasure by our ancient Rishis. They were as qualified as men to discharge spiritual responsibilities. The ancient Rishis by their exemplary behavior became spiritual preceptors to their wives and helped to establish a well ordered society.'