HOW I CAME TO AGATHIYAR

Agathiyar. I remember seeing him in movies as a kid back then. Yes his role was most often if not always portrayed by the late Sirgazhi Govindarajan solely because Govindarajan fits the physical form of Agathiyar depicted in paintings and sculptures. Short and round with a kamandalam or water vessel and vaasi kol or a staff, this was how we knew Agathiyar, although his is envisioned and painted tall and slim nowadays, a much leaner vision. As I recall, I remember we had a painting of Lord Murugan of Thirucehendur, with Deivayanai and Valli on both sides and a much smaller figures of two saints, one on the right and the other on the left bottom of the picture at our altar. One of them was Agathiyar and the other Auvai. I still don't understand why I would turn around and raise my hands in prayer looking towards my house as I left for school each day. My mother and siblings use to mentioned this peculiar habit of mine even now.

When I landed a job in 1980, I had so much free time on hand that I took up worshipping seriously, waking up in the early hours known as Muhurtha neram to conduct prayers. I repeated the prayers every evening. I had a Chinese carpenter make me a small stage where I placed all the lovely pictures of Gods and Goddesses. I used to pick the flowers a day earlier and leave them in a tray of water overnight. They would still look fresh during prayers the next morning. I had the whole house to myself and would sing my heart out at the top of my voice. I frequented temples in the vicinity too. When I was transferred to Kuala Lumpur from Lumut in 1988, all this came to a stop. I was now occupying a small cubicle with my Muslim friend. After marriage, I moved into a home that I rented. I left all forms of prayers. In 1994 I moved into my own home with my family, but yet I was not praying. In 1996 when I came to know Dr Krishnan, astrologer and Siddha practitioner, he asked that I pray. But I did not. 

I used to frequent Dr Krishnan, when I asked him if his predictions would not materialize. “Yes if you were cursed”, he answered. I asked him to look into my charts and tell me if I was cursed. He replied it would not show on an astrological chart and the only way was to seek a Nadi reader. He explained that Nadi where were predictions written by Siddhas some thousands of years ago on dried palm leaves. That was the very first time I heard the word Nadi and was told about its authors, the Siddhas. I left it at that, not pursuing the matter.

In 2002 my colleague tells me about his experience reading the Nadi in 2000. I became excited and asked him if he could get me an appointment to see mine. The appointment was fixed and I went for a reading. Nadi Nool Aasan or Nadi Guru Sentilkumar of Avinashi was in Malaysia reading the Nadi then. He sent me away after spending a long time and failing to trace or locate my Nadi, asking me to come a couple of weeks later. When I turned up again my Nadi was located in the very first bundle. I agreed the particulars read out briefly in the Nadi were mine. He asked me to come again later for a detailed reading. I went back to him later. It was a beautiful reading. In the reading Agathiyar reveals my past birth and also where I was heading. Agathiyar asked that I pray to Lord Ganapathy, Lord Shiva and Agathiyar himself.

I returned to pay my respects to the Siddhas and the Nadi. A small puja or prayer was conducted by Sentilkumar. He accepted the Nadikku Danam or offering of cash, clothings, fruits and sweets that I passed over to him as stipulated in the Nadi by Agathiyar. I was officially introduced to Agathiyar and the Siddhas that momentous day. Sentilkumar passed me a small booklet carrying the names of the Siddhas that Sentilkumar had memorized and read out during the Puja some moments ago. Shivabalan who housed Sentilkumar during his stay in Malaysia, passed me a painting of Agathiyar to be worshipped, at the same time. Thus, equipped with a painting of Agathiyar and the list of names of Siddhas or Siddhar Potri Thoguppu, started my journey with Agathiyar and the Siddhas. 

I got to perform the atonements or parikarams, what was told in the Nadi, immediately, and started prayers to the Siddhas as done by Sentilkumar. Yet I did not know anything further about these Siddhas and their capabilities. I started searching the book shops for books on Siddhas. The net and Mr Google were not available then. I looked up and checked out the various Peedhams or establishments associated with Agathiyar and the Siddhas in Malaysia. Meanwhile I had finished my atonements or parikaram in Malaysia and was preparing to leave for india to complete the rests.