As I stood on the topmost step of the ladder this morning figuring how I am going to reach out and cut the branches of the Melia dubia tree or மலை வேம்பு that had reached out and now rested on the canopy at the porch of my home, there comes by a Rohingya kid who collects scrap metals to sell. He stopped to asks me if I needed some help. He helped me cut a couple of branches and left. I gave him a small token of appreciation. This is how Agathiyar comes to my aid in moments of need.
Having a career in the construction industry I could have renovated my home to my liking. But it never moved me to do so. My house is one of the few that hasn't had a makeup till this day. It is as originally built. But as the wroth iron casement windows were rotting and I had a broken glass pane it was in dire need of replacement. Seeing a worker mix concrete in front of a neighbor's house I stopped to ask if he could replace my windows. He did not seem to know the price and asked for more time. A neighbor who was watching knocked on my door later volunteering to do it. It seemed the worker I spoke to was a specialist in making fish ponds hence his inability to quote a price and reluctance to take up the job. My neighbor came and did a fine job. He suggested I do up my kitchen counter too and threw in a painting job for the kitchen for free. Before he packed and left he surprised me telling me he took up the job because of my deity. I was amazed at how Agathiyar came to my aid in times of need.
True to what he said I had recommended him to a couple of people but he never went over. As he does not do carpentry, he did the kitchen counter minus its doors. Another neighbor then tells me he has called over someone to replace his kitchen counter and asked if I was interested to have the doors to my kitchen counter fitted. The man sent his workers over to fit them. It is now complete and pleasant to look at. This is how Agathiyar comes to my aid in times of need. Agathiyar surprised us further when he came later and told my wife that the kitchen counter was a gift from him for her service in preparing food or annam for him and the devotees who dropped by at AVM.
As I was struggling with the wrench provided by the car manufacturer trying to replace my car tire with a spare my neighbor came with a long iron bar and extended the wrench and loosened the lug nuts. The tire came off easily. This is how Agathiyar comes to our aid in times of need.
But first, we need to connect with him. A mantra serves this purpose. By carrying out rituals, by being an active participant, and not remaining mere spectators watching the ceremony, the bridge to the other kingdom is drawn down. Lighting a lamp serves as a portal for the deities to travel through. With the portal open and the bridge drawn the visitations begin. These are all for starters. Once we get connected and the route is opened, we can drop the rituals for the travels shall continue to take place as we have established contact. We then begin to see the divine in all things. For instance, we are asked to observe the flame of the lamp. The flame is seen as having many layers to it and of various colors. The temperature of the fire produces these colors. The colors vary according to the medium burnt. For instance, the "Flames of candles are different from flames of burners."
The Blue zone at 800°C is indicative of the stage where "there is incomplete burning of carbon dioxide thus resulting in the formation of carbon monoxide. This flame is usually used for heating as the temperature is more in this zone."
The Dark Zone at 1000°C is indicative of "the part of flame occurring around the wick of the candle. It mostly contains all the unburnt wax. So when the candle is lit up the unburnt vapors move away upward from the wick. These vapors are combined to form the Dark zone of the flame. The flame in this zone appears dark yellowish reddish color."
The Luminous Zone at 1200°C is indicative of "a region where the incomplete combustion takes place. And a large amount of heat is generated. All the unvapourised gases and the molten wax will be burnt in this zone. The flame is yellowish in color."
The Non-Luminous Zone at 1400°C is indicative of a region where "we can observe that there will be a kind of ‘aura’ formed around the candle." (Source: "http://gyanpro.com/blog/different-parts-of-candle-flame-you-probably-did-not-know/)
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| https://pslc.ws/fire/howwhy/flameco.htm |
"What can cause so much heat to be given off? - our fuel! Before combustion, the fuel volatilizes, meaning that it becomes a gas, and often decomposes to form smaller molecules, atoms, ions, and/or free radicals. Once the fuel is a gas, the real combustion occurs." (Source: https://pslc.ws/fire/howwhy/flameco.htm)
Although fire burns everything in its way, it falls short of burning water. Water evaporates and does not burn. We are often asked to understand the tattvas that made up our body and the rest of creation by Agathiyar and Ramalinga Adigal. Much like how Ramalinga Adigal transformed his body constituents through heat or Tava Kanal resulting from his austerities; transformed the Sudha Deham to that of Pranava Deham filled with prana and later became the light body or Oli Deham, and finally disintegrated into molecules and atoms, residing in all of creation, Agathiyar is working hard to transform us, pushing us to perform and achieve this feat too.
An amazing footage has been shot of the sun at Costa Rica in National Geographic's "NatGeo People - Escape to Costa Rica". I never saw the sun appear as a flame although we know that it is a ball of fire. It's almost impossible to look at the sun without proper protection for the eyes. The only time I tried to see a solar eclipse and its reflection in a basin of water almost blinded me. This footage of the sun is seen in the flame of the lamp at AVM and has often been depicted in the paintings representing the jothi that we worship.