TD Jakes in his book "Destiny", published by FaithWords, 2015, writes "Do not just exist; learn to live. Real-life means discovering what God has placed inside you." He says God has invested in us and only wants to know what we will do with what he has given us. Jake says "Every person has a destiny to fulfill. It is essential to craft an environment that facilitates the fulfillment of destiny. No matter how gifted you are, you need a place of expression." God creates the avenue for us to showcase our talents, love, compassion etc. God brings together the space-time for us to come forth to showcase our talents, our generosity, our nobleness, our kindness, our gentleness, and all other traits of personal virtues. One way of building compassion within is by doing charity. There needs to be a giver and a receiver for this noble act to happen. Hence we now understand why Yogi Ramsuratkumar to a question, as to why India has so many beggars, answered that India needed beggars.
Jake says, "To move beyond mediocrity or the frustration of a life that's too small, align with God's purpose for your life. You were born for a distinct purpose even if you have not yet figured out what that purpose is."
Having lived for our self and our individual purpose it is time now to live for a bigger purpose. When Tavayogi's young daughter refused to accept the fact that her father was going to leave them to become a mendicant, Agathiyar consoled her that her daddy had a bigger purpose in life now. If he was to remain with them he would only be a father to her and her siblings. Now he had to take on a bigger role of being a father to all.
Then again in taking up God's work, we need to remind ourselves that we are merely his tools, that he is working through us and we are only a small part contributing to his ever-expanding universe. A devotee from Chennai shared with me some pertinent views about us doing charity. Do not be arrogant that you have been chosen to do such an honorable and noble deed, relieving others' hunger and misfortune. It was God who sent a hungry man to you. It was he who provides for the grain. Remember that it is his arms and hands that dishes out the groceries and food to them. It is also a test of our heart and the amount of compassion. Nothing is ours to claim or lay a stake. How true it is.
Doing God's work needs attention, love and compassion. Doing God's work calls for having patience. Doing God's work needs discipline.
Many years back I took my family to watch the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra perform at the Dewan Filharmonik Petronas in Kuala Lumpur. A colleague of mine who was a frequent attendee at their concerts used to share his reviews of their performances. As my daughter was learning grade 2 piano lessons then I thought it would be a great exposure for her and a new experience for us too, to have a feel of a live and vibrant orchestral music concert. We truly enjoyed the performance. We were impressed by the attentiveness and discipline shown by the audience who sat through the performance only moving to bring their palms together to applaud the musicians at the end of the pieces played when the conductor makes his re-appearance again.
Of course, the organizers had to lay several conditions so as not to disrupt the performance:
"Concerts at DFP begin promptly at the advertised starting time. No latecomers will be admitted until the interval or a suitable break in the programme. Members of the audience who leave the hall before or during the performance will not be re-admitted until the next suitable break. All concertgoers are requested to switch off their mobile phones, watch alarms and other electronic devices before entering the concert hall. All usage of electronic and mobile devices are prohibited; this is to ensure an ideal concert experience for both the performers and other concertgoers. All forms of visual and audio recording are strictly prohibited in the concert hall during the performances and concerts. The safety and security of our patrons are of utmost importance to us. Whether you decide to deposit your bags or bring them into the hall, your bags may be subject to security checks. All bulky items, plastic carriers, backpacks, large briefcases, luggages and umbrellas must be placed at the lockers at Level 1. Free locker facilities are available at Level 1 of the concert hall. It is opened 30 minutes before performance until 30 minutes after its conclusion. Foods and beverages are not allowed in the concert hall. Smoking and vaping are strictly prohibited in the concert hall." And of course, they had a dress code for the audience: "Smart casual, strictly no torn jeans, shorts, collarless T-shirts and sweatshirts, singlets, sports attire, slippers, and flip flops at any time." (http://mpo.com.my/)
As this discipline is generally lacking in our society, it was an entirely new culture sitting amidst people who just came just for the music and conducted themselves well throughout the performance. On the contrary, during the debut of an on-stage performance or an Arangetram of a violinist, who was the daughter of a colleague, I had to be harsh with a fellow audience asking him to discipline his hyperactive son who kept falling on others including me who were seated on the floor. He left shortly after I told him that if he does not discipline his child then I shall have to.
I was delightfully surprised when this violinist was engaged by Raagawave Production to play the violin for our joint album "Agathiyar Geetham" many years later in 2018.
Zaid K. Dahhaj writes at shttps://zaiderrr.medium.com/, "Success is actually a short race — a sprint fueled by discipline just long enough for habit to kick in and take over" and that "We only need enough discipline to build a habit." That habit shall soon flower into a character. Zaid says it beautifully, "Regularly working at something until it regularly works for you. When you discipline yourself, you’re essentially training yourself to act in a specific way. Stay with this long enough and it becomes routine — in other words, a habit." If a man has self-discipline no laws are required to keep him in check. It's only when he is not disciplined that someone or the law has to come into play.
I can align with Zaid's opinion that "So when you see people who look like “disciplined” people, what you’re really seeing is people who’ve trained a handful of habits into their lives. This makes them seem “disciplined” when actually they’re not. No one is." Working and living with the Navy personnel in their base, although we were civilians, we were trained to upkeep cleanliness and personal hygiene too. Imagine how the ship, submarine, or submersible that sails or is submerged, that shall be your home for months on end, would be if you did not create a habit of keeping it clean. This habit of keeping their ship clean was brought to the land too as we saw in the superb upkeep of their living quarters. We too had to toe the line or else leave. These days Agathiyar harps on the need for cleanliness often. The current pandemic too has forced us to adopt such severe measures to flatten the curve.
Every day is a learning. In watching the documentaries; reading the same books again - now; and watching selected movies, many messages come across that I can recall and remember the Siddhas having told us earlier.
Tan Dun a music composer says in a DW documentary, that "Sometimes if you want to reach Beethoven you have to pass this book, that book, this tradition, that tradition, then figure out what to do with all that tradition. Beethoven is here (pointing to the book), then here (pointing to his head). It's too complicated. And one day I was thinking - forget it, about this book, tradition - just go to Beethoven - heart to heart, eye to eye, ear to ear." This is exactly what Agathiyar told us to. To understand the Tirumanthiram read a copy of the original texts he says. Do not read interpretations. The author of the Tirumanthiram, Tirumular shall come to clarify the text to us he says. Similarly, while I struggled to try to understand the tattvas and mentioned my dilemma to him, Ramalinga Adigal told me to go through them. In the event I still do not comprehend the subject he shall come to clarify it. As Swami Vivekananda asked daringly of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa if he has seen God and if he could show him too, it's time we went to the source rather than deal with people who beat around the bush. Tavayogi on the onset gave me a blow when he said that there was nothing in his kaavi or ochre clothing that he wore, and that there was nothing in him. "You are living in Maya" he added. He was not a magician. Neither could he make us one. Agathiyar too said Gnana is something we have to work for and not gifted. We have to work towards it. They broke over expectations of forever receiving things the easy way without working for it. We have always been spoon-fed. We expect or rather insists and demand that God makes us happy by granting everything we ask for. We are living in a state of illusion that God grants boons.
Let us make the switch now, to focus on God's work rather than run behind our never-ending desires. Let us create a success story taking to heart all the teachings, guidance, and practices of the Siddhas. Let us bring the change today.