Friday 17 August 2018

ON FAITH IN THE GURU, EGO & ARROGANCE

A story is told of the young lad who was trained in a monastery and excelled in his religious studies. When the time was right for him to go out to the world beyond the safety and confines of the walls surrounding the monastery to learn and gain practical experience, his master summoned him and gave him a task too. He was asked to preach to the village folks who lived across the river banks, what he had learnt at the monastery. The student was floating on cloud nine for being the chosen one to embark on a prestigious mission, thinking that would bring him pride and recognition in the local community.

He bid farewell to his master and traveled the long distance till he came to the bank of the river. As he stood at the bank and gazed at the village on the opposite bank, he turned around to look for any boatman who could take him across the wide and deep river. There was no boat to be seen but his gaze fell on an old man who was seated on the ground in the shade of a tree some distance away. The lad walked towards him and could not fail but notice that he seemed to be mumbling something to himself. On nearing him, the lad was surprised to hear the same mantra that he had been chanting at the monastery, was being chanted by the old man, but with a slight variation. The lad immediately apprehended the man telling him that he was chanting it all wrong and began to recite it the way he was taught at the monastery. The old man whose chanting was abruptly interrupted, gladly listened to the lad and repeated the mantra as taught by him and thanked him for enlightening him.

The young lad was proud that he had begun his mission right there on the shore of the riverbank by passing on the mantra to his very first student - the old man. Soon a boatman came along and he boarded the boat asking the boatman to take him across to the village. As they approached the middle of the wide and deep river, the lad noticed the boatman, who was seated across him and rowing the boat, gasp, his face suddenly changed pale and his jaw dropped. What had he seen that had shocked him, the lad thought as he he turned around. To his surprise he saw the old man wading across the river towards their boat, walking quite naturally on the water's surface. The lad too was stunned seeing the feat. The old man came alongside the boat and told the lad that he had forgot a syllable from the mantra and asked the lad to repeat it. The lad held on to the old man, hugged him tight and cried, asking to be pardoned for his arrogance. The lad followed the old man back to the river bank never stepping foot in the village. He took the old man as his master and served him in his old age. He dropped his ego and pride that day.

I was given Agathiyar's moola mantra in a Nadi reading in 2009, and told to chant it and also pass it on to others. I began chanting it immediately. I chanted what was given to me without questioning it and moved on. Soon someone approached me asking why I had posted the mantra on my blog and YouTube minus several words. He told me he too had received the same mantra but an extended version. I replied that that was what I was told and I followed. I had already started recitation of the mantra while others where debating about a syllable that was dropped, and waiting for confirmation about the right set of words in the mantra. Till this day Agathiyar had not mentioned that we have been chanting his mantra wrongly.


A lady from New Delhi who frequently traveled to Malaysia to read the Nadi was worked up when she could not feed the monkeys as there was not even a single monkey in sight when she dropped in at Batu Caves. Saddened that she could not fully complete her remedies or parikaram she returned for another reading. Agathiyar told her that he had accepted her remedies! Her thought in fulfilling Agathiyar's directive and her effort was sufficient. Agathiyar was not interested in the results.

When Agathiyar asks that we chant his mantra 100,000 times upon his arrival in the form of the bronze statue at AVM, I gathered family and friends and try as we did, sadly we only managed to chant 45,000, giving up due to exhaustion. Agathiyar called me up for another reading and told me that he had accepted our prayers. Our thought in fulfilling Agathiyar's directive and effort placed was sufficient. Agathiyar was not interested in the numbers.

When Agathiyar, among several remedies given to me after my Kaanda Nadi reading, asked me to contribute towards three Brahmin priests and carry out Brahmaharti and charity in India, I had no idea as to how to go about it, apart from those brief directives. I arrived at Uttamar temple. I soon realized that I only needed to make myself present at the temple and all else fell into place. Agathiyar send a priest from Uttamar temple as a guide who volunteered to bring me around to carry out all the given remedies at the temple, opening closed doors to Erai's shrines and bringing other priest who had retired for their lunch break to do arati, not only in this temple but in the famed Tiruvanaikaval temple some distance away too.

Today I understand pretty well that Agathiyar is only interested in us getting started (not giving excuses to begin a task) and not the results or numbers. Rather then investigate if something said by him was true, a true seeker would take up whatever task giving to him and see it through. Rather then wait for confirmation or further guidance, it is best we start the task immediately. Rather then call up others and deliberate out his directives, it is wise to get to the ground and carry it out immediately. He will come to our aid and soon guide us further. He will send the right person to see our tasks through. Have faith in him. Have faith in the Guru.

When Supramania Swami reminded me to carry on tavam or austerities for his upliftment I was puzzled and baffled and surprised too to hear him say this. I wondered how a worthless junk like me and my prayers could help him, a gnani who had put in 40 years of his life in austerities, move up the spiritual ladder.

I was sadden when I read that a seeker was told by his master, to look within for his personal mantra rather then chant that of others and the saints before him. The reason given was that the practice would only benefit the saint who came out with the mantra or song. Let it be I say. Let the saint get all the merits, if by singing his songs we can bring about such an upliftment in the saint, I would be proud to contribute towards the spiritual progress of all the saints by my mere chanting their mantras or singing the songs of theirs.

When traveling the spiritual path one has to be cautious has it tends to inflate ones ego that he is the chosen one, that others lack something in them, that he has made to the finish line, and that the others are all loaded with much karma that they cannot come anywhere near the reaches of spirituality. These and other opinions sadly develop as one makes progress on the path. The severity of this feeling is accelerated once the student comes to rub shoulders with the Guru or Erai for the matter. Then he begins to lose his guard, faults and falls in disgrace. The Siddhas although compassionate to the core warn us not to make the mistake of judging others especially on their spiritual stature. Everyone has the divine spark in them. It just needs to be nurtured, fanned and channeled in the right direction. This is where the guru comes into the play. Only one who has traveled the path can show the potholes so that we stay clear of and away from them and reach the state desired in a jiffy rather then having to learn the hard way, going in circles, making mistakes and ending up associating with frauds and dissociating from them when the truth dawns. This is much wasted time. One who has a genuine guru makes much progress in a short time. 

The Guru and his lineage before him shall take him into their fold, teach and monitor the student. Even after the Guru's demise, the Guru would continue teaching and guiding the student in the suksma or subtle form. This is how the entire kingdom of the Siddhas come to guide the seeker on this path.

Bala Aiya shared a story that he came across with me just moments ago. The story goes as follows,
Once upon a time, a cow went out to graze in the jungle. Suddenly, she noticed a tiger racing towards her. She turned and fled, fearing that at any moment the tiger would sink his claws into her. The cow desperately looked for some place to escape and at last saw a shallow pond. Barely evading the tiger’s reach, she jumped into the pond, and in the heat of the chase, the tiger blindly leaped after her. 
To the surprise of them both, the pond was extremely shallow yet filled with deep recesses of mud. After toppling over each other, the cow and the tiger found themselves a short distance apart, stuck in the mud up to their necks. Both had their heads above water but were unable to free themselves no matter how much they writhed. 
The tiger repeatedly snarled at the cow and roared, “I am going to enjoy the sound of crunching your bones between my teeth!”
He thrashed about in a fury but soon became fretful as he found no prospect of escape. 
The cow thoughtfully laughed as the tiger struggled to free himself and asked him, "Do you have a master?”
The tiger disdainfully replied, “I am the king of the jungle. Why do you ask me if I have a master? I myself am the master!”
The cow said, "You may be the king of the jungle, but here all your power has failed to save your life.”
“And what about you?”, retorted the tiger. “You are going to die here in this mud too!”
The cow smiled mildly and said, “No, I am not.”
“If even I, the king of the jungle cannot free myself from this mud”, snapped the tiger, “Then how can you, an ordinary cow?”
The cow gently replied, “I cannot free myself from this mud, but my master can. When the sun sets and he finds me absent at home, he will come looking for me. Once he finds me, he will raise me up and escort me home sweet home.”
The tiger fell silent and coldly glared at the cow. 
Soon enough, the sun set, and the cow’s master arrived. He immediately recognized the plight she was in and lifted her to safety. 
As they walked home, the cow and the master both felt renewed gratitude for one another and pitied the tiger they both would have been happy to save if only the tiger had allowed them.
The Purport of the story:  
The Cow represents a Surrendered Heart, the Tiger represents an Egoistic Mind, and the Master represents the Guru. The Mud represents the World, and the Chase represents the Struggle for Existence therein.
No matter how many troubles appear to be created by the egoistic minds of the world, who are themselves as stuck as the surrendered heart, ..the surrendered heart has faith that the Guru is always going to come at the right time to save her and take her back “home” - the inner happiness in us is pure and true home. 
So when totally stuck and helpless, when one has already done all one can and has no more means left, when every other effort fails, the surrendered heart still does not give up hope. She will just wait patiently until sundown.