We want all kinds of assurances before coming to worship. Some need some kind of miracle to happen first before they can even bring themselves to believe in the existence of the divine. All the miracles shown by the Siddhas are initially to coax us to get on board the ship. It is akin to the carrot that is hung before the horse-cart. Once on board and realizing that there is no way to leave or abscond, at least until the next port of call, we are forced to toe the line. We follow the commands and carry out the given tasks initially with resistance but soon it turns to dedication. Then we begin to realize that being devoted to God and his service is not that bad after all. We work hard to keep the ship afloat now since we begin to have a sense of belonging. From Sariyai or the role of a servant, we have moved a step closer to that of a shipmate. From Kriyai we move on to Yogam where we are given a few moments to man the ship. Very soon we find that we are one with the ship, in heart, soul, and mind, synonymous with its name.
We spend years looking for the right guru and the right mantra. Then we want to know the right way to recite, say, or pronounce a mantra before even starting on it. When I invited my granddaughter to chant with me the name of the Siddhas, she followed. When she missed the pronunciation I let it be. I did not correct her. She will correct herself with practice. Perfection comes with practice.
We spend too much time investigating the method, the way, and the path before we even consider walking it or taking up a practice. Just jump into it and find out for yourself instead of asking around or others.
Agathiyar called me to prayer on 14.12.2002 asking me to worship Lord Vinayagar, Lord Shiva, the Siddhas, and him in my first Nadi reading. He did not send me to others. Setting me on doing puja first, he sent my guru over. Setting me on doing puja, he only listed out the results that we could gain in doing puja in the 38th reading on 12.7.2010.
உண்மையும் உத்தமமும் நிறைந்த பூசைநிறைந்த இன்பம் தந்திடுமே மகத்துவப் பூசை
நிதானமானதொரு அற்புத பூசை
அறமுடனே அகிலம் காக்கும் பூசை
அருளான மாந்தரோடு செய்வாய் நன்றாய்
நன்றன புண்ணியங்கள் காக்கும் பூசை
நற்கதியும் பலர் அடைய செய்யும் பூசை
எண்ணாத சக்தி எல்லாம் தந்திடும் பூசை
எகாந்த நிலை அடைய வைக்கும் பூசை
வையகத்தின் மாந்தரின் அகத்தின் ஜோதி
வலமாக்கும் முழுமதி பூசை அப்பா
ஐயத்தை நீக்கிடும் பூசைதானே
ஆண்டவனை அடைய செய்யும் வழியும் இதுவே
வழி வகுக்கும் சேய்க்கும் மாந்தற்கும் தான்
வளத்திற்கும் அருளுக்கும் பொருளுக்கும்
அழியாத மார்கத்தில் இருந்த வண்ணம்
அகிலத்தில் நிலை பெற்று வாழ் வழிக்கும் பூசை
பூசையால் புண்ணியங்கள் கிட்டும் பூசை
பூர்வமும் போக்கிடும் பூசை அப்பா
இசையுடனே குடும்பவளம் தந்திடும் பூசை
எவை எல்லாம் வேண்டினும் தந்திடும் பூசை
தந்திடுமே தர்மம் தவ சிந்தை
தரித்திரியம் போக்கும் பூசை யாகும்
அந்தமும் ஆதியும் இல்லா
அகிலமதில் உயர்வு தரும் பூசை அப்பா
அப்பனே ஆண்டவனே உருகும் பூசை
அறிவிழந்தோன் அறிவாளி ஆக்கும் பூசை
ஒப்பில்லா மகத்துவம் கொண்ட பூசை
உயர்வோடு நீ எடுத்துச் செய்வாய் அப்பா
ஒப்பில்லா மாற்றங்கள் மகத்துவமும்
உயர் நிலை பூசையாலே இருக்குதப்பா
Puja done truthfully (to Sidhas) shall gain many benefits,
Puja shall bring much joy,
Puja done moderately but splendidly and honestly shall help protect the world,
Puja done with fellow devotees will bring many benefits,
Many shall rise in stature and power,
Puja will lead to a state of bliss,
Puja done on full moon days shall strengthen the Jothi within,
Puja will help remove doubts,
Through puja, one shall attain godhead,
Strength, grace, and wealth shall be gained,
Stay on this path of devotion and family bond shall be strengthened,
All that is asked for shall be gained,
Puja shall lead to meditation and charitable thoughts,
All ills shall be removed,
God shall listen to puja,
Idiots shall become geniuses,
The benefits attained from puja are indescribable for many changes shall take place.
Ramalinga Adigal's songs made their way into temples, schools, and homes. Dr. MP Sivagnanam writes, "After the publication of the volume of the songs of Divine Grace (Arutpa) they were recited in every nook and corner. The songs were widely and warmly received." By composing several songs in the traditional folk meter, Adigal took his songs to the rural folks in the villages, thus bringing his highly esoteric songs to the masses. Following in the footsteps of Manickavasagar and his composition Thiru Unthiyar, Ramalinga Adigal composed his Thiru Unthiyar. Ramalinga Adigal lists out the results of his puja through this song, calling us all to prayer too.
திரு உந்தியார்1. இரவு விடிந்தது இணையடி வாய்த்த
பரவி மகிழ்ந்தேன்என்று உந்தீபற
பாலமுது உண்டேன்என்று உந்தீபற.
2. பொழுது விடிந்தது பொற்பதம் வாய்த்த
தொழுது மகிழ்ந்தேன்என்று உந்தீபற
தூயவன் ஆனேன்என்று உந்தீபற.
3. தூக்கம் தொலைந்தது சூரியன் தோன்றினன்
ஏக்கம் தவிர்ந்தேன்என்று உந்தீபற
இன்னமுது உண்டேன்என்று உந்தீபற.
4. துன்பம் தவிர்ந்தது தூக்கம் தொலைந்தது
இன்பம் கிடைத்ததென்று உந்தீபற
எண்ணம் பலித்ததென்று உந்தீபற.
5. ஞானம் உதித்தது நாதம் ஒலித்தது
தீனந் தவிர்ந்ததென்று உந்தீபற
சிற்சபை கண்டேன்என்று உந்தீபற.
6. திரையற்று விட்டது செஞ்சுடர் தோன்றிற்று
பரைஒளி ஓங்கிற்றென்று உந்தீபற
பலித்தது பூசையென்று உந்தீபற.
7. உள்ளிருள் நீங்கிற்றுஎன் உள்ளொளி ஓங்கிற்றுத்
தெள்ளமுது உண்டேன்என்று உந்தீபற
தித்திக்க உண்டேன்என்று உந்தீபற.
8. எந்தையைக் கண்டேன் இடரெலாம் நீங்கினேன்
சிந்தை மகிழ்ந்தேன்என்று உந்தீபற
சித்திகள் பெற்றேன்என்று உந்தீபற.
9. தந்தையைக் கண்டேன்நான் சாகா வரம்பெற்றேன்
சிந்தை களித்தேன்என்று உந்தீபற
சித்தெலாம் வல்லேன்என்று உந்தீபற.
10. முத்தியைப் பெற்றேன்அம் முத்தியினால் ஞான
சித்தியை உற்றேன்என்று உந்தீபற
சித்தனும் ஆனேன்என்று உந்தீபற.
Puja or worship to the deities is the stepping stone to further spiritual advancement. Worship breaks our ego. Ego is big. If for some it comes easy, many cannot bring themselves to fall at the feet of the divine or the guru or all other representations of him. In the beginning, we are trained to see or at least believe that God is in the stone, wood, metal, etc. When one begins to believe that the divine can materialize in all forms and worships him at the beginning of his quest, then at the final leg of his journey it would be easy to see the divine manifests in all of his creation. After attaining enlightenment he sees God in all spontaneously. Similarly in the beginning we are asked to tame the breath by various techniques. We are asked to practice alternate breathing. We are asked to observe the breath. Eventually, our attention is pulled to the breath spontaneously without the need for any of the earlier practices. The mantra japam or recitation of a mantra that is said aloud soon settles within, running throughout the day and night without our knowledge. What starts with practice should become spontaneous later. Then know that it is time to drop the particular practice and move on. Similarly whatever puja done externally continues within without we being aware of it.
Rajiv Agarwal recounts his venture and journey to become enlightened at https://innerspiritualawakening.com/rajiv-agarwal/my-journey/. Moving deeper into his goal of attaining enlightenment, he began to have spiritual experiences.
It was during this time I started having fantastic spiritual experiences. Sometimes I felt so ecstatic that every cell in my body would explode with bliss. I felt that I was floating in an infinite ocean of ecstasy. I was absorbed in these expanded rapturous states of being for hours. A sense of immense sacredness and divinity infused my entire consciousness.
During these states, my body sometimes used to go in spontaneous states of yoga. Sometimes my body would become so flexible that I could bend spontaneously into difficult yoga postures. Many of these postures were completely unknown to me but the body automatically aligned itself to certain ancient forms.
Another curious thing happened with my breathing; I experienced spontaneous Pranayama and kumbhka (Ancient yogic breathing patterns and techniques). It is a cessation of breath, which leads to higher states of consciousness. I experienced both the outer and the inner cessation of breath. After I took a deep breath in, my breath used to stop for around a minute to minute and a half. During this time the mind felt utterly still and pure. After the inner cession, I would exhale, wherein my breath used to again stop for approximately a minute.
One day in a small town in the Himalayas, he begins to witness his consciousness when his consciousness shifts to envelop all there was.
As I looked within, I could feel my consciousness slowly expanding beyond my body. To my utter amazement, my consciousness expanded and slowly embraced the lake and the mountain ranges. As I looked at the clouds, I could see them become one with me. I was suddenly everywhere. The entire space was myself and everything under the sky was me. Every point of space contained me, reflected my consciousness, which was mine, but was also universal. The entire creation melted into a luminous wave of consciousness. I was free from the bondage of individuality, from being a mere speck. I was the totality, but it was not me as a person. There was identity, but it was universal, all embracing. It was at this moment that the teachings of Nisargadatta, J Krishnamurthi, Advaita, Zen and Buddhism all unfolded and I realized what they were trying to point at. For years I had read them, contemplated their teachings, but now, at this moment, I was living them.
He says, "The spiritual awakening experience caused a permanent shift in my understanding. More than ever before, I wanted enlightenment. Enlightenment. This one word brought untold grief and suffering to me for the next few years." Wanting to make it his permanent state of being, he sought many masters but to no avail. They could not help him.
I wasted years pleasing Gurus, hoping they would somehow help me in integrating and making this state permanent, that their grace would bestow enlightenment, the ultimate cessation of being. I knew if I witnessed my consciousness a little longer, meditated a little more, I would finally go beyond the veil of illusion and find my own true self. The more I chased enlightenment, the more miserable I became.
He thrived on thinking,
"Till you reached perfection, everything else was an illusion. Either you were Enlightened and perfect, or you were still in duality, in illusion. It was a black and white situation, either you attained it, or you were imperfect."
His world slowly fell apart.
Then it struck me. I was looking for a perfect enlightened state in the future, a state which someone else had experienced. I had been caught in endless becoming, the desire to find a perfect state of being which I had read in books. And I had totally forgotten about what I had – the infinite bliss and peace which I had always experienced, the state of beyond mind and consciousness, the state of pure awareness.
At that moment, an intense joy overwhelmed me, shaking the very core of my being. The vast treasure of awakening had always been with me but my spiritual greed of becoming more, of wanting it to be permanent had made me blind to it. It was like having billions of dollars, and still being miserable because you are not as rich as Bill Gates. That day, I stopped becoming. I stopped seeking. I stopped being a miserable seeker. I had finally arrived.
Having drawn the curtain that was veiling him aside, he was truly awakened to the reality that day. He shares his moments after the awakening.
It took some years for this final shift to be totally integrated. Life has become immensely beautiful living in present conscious awareness. Stillness has become the background for all activities. Spontaneous states of bliss and ecstasy arise, carrying me to the infinite shore of immense joy. There is a sacred wonderment when beholding nature and life in all its diversity. There is a shining darkness, an unfathomable silence, space which is empty, yet full. I call it what is, the sense of presence. And I would like everyone to experience these amazing higher states of consciousness at least once in their life time. Even the sun pales in front of the immensity of consciousness.
We are again reminded of Ramalinga Adigal's verses from his Arutpa. He did mention some 12 years of suffering, a result of spontaneous transformation within, where he says only the divine would know the nature and extent of the misery that unfolded during his tenure of seeking enlightenment. He finally lets go of all his efforts after placing the initial effort, letting the divine work it's way through him in its own good time without pressing it to do its work. "We will not worry no more, neither will we attempt to slog or work towards it no further. We shall withdraw within and wait for the guru's grace to work its beauty in us" he sings.
இனித்துயர் படமாட்டேன் விட்டே னேஎன்குரு மேல்ஆணை இட்டே னே.
இனிப்பாடு படமாட்டேன் விட்டே னே
என்னப்பன் மேல்ஆணை இட்டே னே.