"Okay fine. All this while I thought I was in charge and in control of my life. I set out well laid plans but non worked. I am willing to listen. Now you tell me. What should I do?"
The moment you come to this state of mind, that is surrender.
Mahakavi Bharathi must have encountered a similar situation since he writes,
தன்செய லெண்ணித் தவிப்பது தீர்ந்திங்கு
நின்செயல் செய்து நிறைவு பெறும்வண்ணம்
நின்னை சரணடைந்தேன், கண்ணம்மா
நின்னை சரணடைந்தேன்
"Thinking its my doing, I suffered. I let go. Now I do your asking and am contented. I submit to you Kannama."
"Thinking its my doing, I suffered. I let go. Now I do your asking and am contented. I submit to you Kannama."
I decided what I wanted in life all this while. I chose the things I was comfortable with and left out others. I was satisfied with what I had in hand. But Erai placed before me many new responsibilities. I shunned from them in the beginning. But he kept opening up new frontiers and asking me to venture further. I turned down his offers for various reasons. Finally he asked that I allow his wishes to take place. I was forced to surrender to him. He asked that I step aside and watch. The moment I took the stand to watch, I saw him take over. Then we saw him move with lightning speed. We saw him move all of us and the very ground we stood on. For several minutes on it all seemed like a moment from a science fiction movie. It seemed like the scene of the unfolding streets and buildings from Marvel's Dr Strange was reenacted before our eyes.
It’s a journey through time, space, the astral plane, and something called the “mirror dimension,” in which reality folds according to the will of the movie’s heroes and villains.
... the rules of physics bend and break as city streets and ancient buildings transform into vast, interlocking, machine-like structures that act as playgrounds for the movie’s massive magic battles. At its best, watching Doctor Strange is like looking at the world through a kaleidoscope controlled by an absurdist architect with mystical powers.
(https://www.vox.com/culture/2016/11/7/13513134/doctor-strange-marvel-visual-effects)
Yes we met the architect with mystical powers that day. All those gathered at AVM were witness to it. He came down from his majestic abode and performed his lila or play for all to see. He had a little fun with us, as explained by him to us later.
Many stories come to my mind after that eventful day. When Tavayogi was performing the Yagam at AVM, Mataji who was singing the praise of the Siddhas thought she felt the ground under her move. But the rest of us were sitting around oblivious of the phenomena taking place. She continued singing although the ground kept on moving. The next day she shared with my wife and me about this mysterious event. The day after Agathiyar in a Nadi reading for a couple confirms the movement and explains the reason too. All the Siddhas had made their presence on that day, causing the ground to move.
Venkatesh Swami who was taking care of the needs of Krishnaveni Amma of Kalyana Theertam shared many stories with Jnana Jhotiamma. It seems Krishnaveni Amma would wash and dry her clothing outside her ashram when the ever playful Lord Muruga would go over to the clothesline and pull down all the linen that she had hung to dry. As the clothing would get soiled Amma would give chase with her walking stick and Muruga would laugh mischievously as he ran away from her.
Venkatesh Swami who was taking care of the needs of Krishnaveni Amma of Kalyana Theertam shared many stories with Jnana Jhotiamma. It seems Krishnaveni Amma would wash and dry her clothing outside her ashram when the ever playful Lord Muruga would go over to the clothesline and pull down all the linen that she had hung to dry. As the clothing would get soiled Amma would give chase with her walking stick and Muruga would laugh mischievously as he ran away from her.
Many similar stories have been depicted in the Bhakti films from India too, where the divine comes to play games with his/her devotees. What was shown in celluloid and was hearsay soon began to materialize right in front of our eyes. You can deceive a person but how can you decive the eyes of many at the same time?
Agathiyar sent me off to Malaysia after my very first maiden pilgrimage to India in 2003 with a reminder that he would perform many more miracles on our shores. He kept his word. Everyday is a miracle. There is a miracle to share each day.
When Sri Krishna and Arul sent off our guests Kugan and Kogie to board their plane to South Africa, little did the couple know that the four wheel drive was on the brink of stalling as its tank was nearing empty. As they were already late to check in, Krishna pushed Arul to hit the gas mentioning that the divine shall take care. To their amazement the fuel gauge that logically goes down as we travel more distance hit its peak! There was sufficient petrol to make the trip back!
When Muralitharan Samynathan and I drove to Brickfields on a Friday afternoon during the long lunch break, it was hot. The moment we turned into the road leading to the restaurant it began to pour. As there was no vacant parking lot Murali drove his four wheel drive on the pavement in front of the Sri Sakthi Karpaga Vinayagar temple. As we waited for the rain to stop we spoke about many things. Time went by and the rain did not look like it will stop or at least lessen its intensity. That is when I pointed out to him that Agathiyar was in the temple in the form of a bronze statue. He immediately gave me a sarcastic look and ask, "What! Do you think Agathiyar is going to bring you an umbrella?" Almost immediately a man who was all the while standing in front of the restaurant some distance away walks towards us with an open umbrella. We thought that he was on his way somewhere. To our surprise he came up to my side of the window, and knocked on the glass. As Murali lowered the powered window, he told us, "Come" inviting us to come under his umbrella. He brought us straight to the restaurant. We both looked at each other speechless as we took our sit and ordered our meal. We ate in silence and drove back in silence too!
Agathiyar sent me off to Malaysia after my very first maiden pilgrimage to India in 2003 with a reminder that he would perform many more miracles on our shores. He kept his word. Everyday is a miracle. There is a miracle to share each day.
When Sri Krishna and Arul sent off our guests Kugan and Kogie to board their plane to South Africa, little did the couple know that the four wheel drive was on the brink of stalling as its tank was nearing empty. As they were already late to check in, Krishna pushed Arul to hit the gas mentioning that the divine shall take care. To their amazement the fuel gauge that logically goes down as we travel more distance hit its peak! There was sufficient petrol to make the trip back!
When Muralitharan Samynathan and I drove to Brickfields on a Friday afternoon during the long lunch break, it was hot. The moment we turned into the road leading to the restaurant it began to pour. As there was no vacant parking lot Murali drove his four wheel drive on the pavement in front of the Sri Sakthi Karpaga Vinayagar temple. As we waited for the rain to stop we spoke about many things. Time went by and the rain did not look like it will stop or at least lessen its intensity. That is when I pointed out to him that Agathiyar was in the temple in the form of a bronze statue. He immediately gave me a sarcastic look and ask, "What! Do you think Agathiyar is going to bring you an umbrella?" Almost immediately a man who was all the while standing in front of the restaurant some distance away walks towards us with an open umbrella. We thought that he was on his way somewhere. To our surprise he came up to my side of the window, and knocked on the glass. As Murali lowered the powered window, he told us, "Come" inviting us to come under his umbrella. He brought us straight to the restaurant. We both looked at each other speechless as we took our sit and ordered our meal. We ate in silence and drove back in silence too!
Lord Muruga has provided readings for the AVM/Pothihai Tharma Chakkram family that is mesmerizing. He has accepted all the Puja and Dharma and has elevated all simultaneously to another level of understanding, the one of total submission to his wills. Giving us two oars to row called Puja and Dharma, he came as the boatman with his Noah's Ark and is taking us on a journey back to his abode. We are indeed blessed.
He lifted the veil to reveal this world as his stage and all Shakti's play. He made us understand that everything is an ongoing process; that all is in a state of change at any particular moment in time. This is the world of Sakthi, of movement. The moment all movement subsides we automatically settle into the world of Shiva, absolute silence.