I was happy to receive messages from devotees of Agathiyar who took up the call by Lord Shiva to conduct the Homam in their homes. Suren, the couple Sri Krishna, and Sri Dewi, and another couple Balachander and Shanti took up the cue from Mahindran who had the thought of doing it in his home initially and that was endorsed by Shiva upon descending during the ritual.
Suren: "Hi sir just did yagam, Sidhar potri followed by 18 times each mrityunjaya mantra and dhanvantiri mantra."
Balachander: "Getting ready for yagam in our house from today evenings. We intend to recite both the mantras Maha mrityunjaya mantra and dhanvanthri mantra. 21 times each for atleast 48 days",
while Sri Krishna informed me they shall light the Homam and chant the mantras once a week till we see some positive results in the pandemic mellowing and dying off.
From Lord Shiva's message, we understand pretty well that the pandemic is our doing, result of not adhering to cleanliness and not following instructions. Agathiyar too had told us to abide by the rules that are laid down by the authorities. In the wake of the pandemic and going by the many postings on social media, I tend to understand why Tavayogi classified man into three categories. When Tavayogi spoke about the receptiveness of people to certain teachings, he classified them as having the nature of peat, charcoal, and petrol. Peat fires may burn for great lengths of time, or smolder underground and reignite later. Charcoal if fanned will catch on and burn well. Petrol catches fire easily. We have seen people indifferent to the virus that is lurking everywhere, even after repeated warnings regarding its seriousness and reminders are given out continuously and even after seeing many die from it. These people belong to the peat. We can never knock sense into them. Some are arrogant and turn violent too. Only God can save these souls. Then there are others whom we have to keep reminding over and over again to adopt the SOP's laid. Only then do they abide. These belong to charcoal. But then like a breath of fresh air there are those who take preventive measures without having to instruct, remind or threaten them with fines or jail terms. These belong to the category of petrol. They adhere to and abide by the rules. I love these people.
If Tavayogi divides man into these three categories, on the other hand, Annie Besant in her talks on "The Laws of the Higher Life", the Theosophical Publishing House, 1903, draws two distinct division to people and their brains. The coarser vibrations of the lower world and those adapted to it are one. The other are those who are in the front of evolution and of a subtler nature.
Annie explains further. The more highly evolved brain that is sensitive and readily responsive to subtle vibrations is that of the spiritual genius - spiritual, artistic, literary. Then the normal brain under undue stress and emotion becoming sensitive and tense, is the brain of the religious mystic and seer. While the former is careless of ordinary affairs, the latter with its "intense desire to reach a higher life overstrains the nerves hence rendering it sensitive to answer vibrations from the subtler planes of being. Then visions and abnormal happenings will occur. The superphysical consciousness finds at least for the brief moment a vehicle sufficiently sensitive to receive and answer to its impulses. The neuropathic brain affords the conditions necessary for the vision that belongs to the superphysical world, to impress itself on the physical consciousness."
Here she says that "We are dealing with vehicles in the ordinary stage of evolution, unfit for subtle vibrations." The medium could place himself in danger. The unfit brain, in straining itself to answer to the higher could go cuckoo. But Annie asks us to look towards the East for answers to "how this danger has been understood and guarded against and avoided."
"The self gathers around it upadhi upon upadhi, vehicle after vehicle, gradually shaping its own instruments."
He shapes a physical body that works into bringing his activities alive, he shapes an astral body expressing his emotions to others, and he shapes a mental body, to communicate his thoughts with others.
"Here we see a consciousness that shapes bodies according to its needs, gradually refining them and bringing them under the control of the higher."
Annie describes the change that is needed to be brought forth,
"The brain has to be changed, refined, improved, its connecting links fashioned and manufactured for the purposes of the expression of the higher consciousness."
As heads of families where duty prevails, we are obligated and responsible to many people, called the law of outer obligation. There is yet another facet of law, the inner law that demands sacrifice from us, where everything is done gladly and willingly and in perfect self-surrender, she says.
"Here he works because the divine outwelling finds its channel in his life, and he needs no outer compulsion because of the perfection of the inner law."
He grows. The sacrifice that is a faint reflection of the divine grows in him as he has connected with the larger consciousness. The divine consciousness begins to work through him its laws expanding to envelope all those with whom he comes into contact. A movement is generated to do His divine bidding. Whoever throws his heart at the Lotus Feet of the Divine is roped into for his mission. He becomes a channel of the divine outpouring transmitting not his love but the great outpouring of love of the divine. He becomes His apostle. Then nature is conquered through his obedience.
Shiva, Agathiyar, and Ramalinga Adigal reveal the same.
Shiva says that his energy and that of Agathiyar are in us too. "என் சக்தி உங்களிடம் உள்ளது. நிமிர்ந்து நடங்கள். பெருமையுடன் வாழுங்கள். அகத்தியன் உங்களில் வாழ்கின்றான்."
Ramalinga Adigal confirms Annie's words that "nature is conquered through his obedience."
"பிரபஞ்சத்தை உள்ளுக்குள் செலுத்துங்கள். பிரபஞ்சம் உங்களுக்குக் கட்டுப் படும். துணை வரும்."
Man who wished to make rapid progress escaped into the jungle, where he is brought into the alpha state almost immediately. Here he is saved from the constant bombardment of "coarser magnetism of the outer world", where "rougher vibrations" do not assail him.
Yogi Ramsuratkumar too expressed this saying that it is a blessing indeed if one could go into a meditative state in these times where there are a myriad of waves emitted from appliances and gadgets that disturb meditation. So when I lament to Agathiyar of my failure, he seemed pleased that I have been trying. "நீ முயற்சிக்கின்ராய்", he said appreciating my effort.
Annie continues.
"Here, in the jungle, they meditated making the brain tense and refined by the concentration of the mind, and restraint of lower faculties, fixed in rapt attention on the higher, with the consciousness working from above playing on the physical brain and tuning it to respond safely to the higher vibrations."
Tavayogi too said that our efforts are only till the first two initial stages, Muladhara and Svadisthana. Thenceforth the divine shall come within us and its energy shall traverse through us to bring us to higher states of consciousness. Annie continues further.
"Then it strove to draw the lower upwards until it answered no longer to the stimuli of the outer world. This is a state of yoga - complete withdrawal of the consciousness from the Indriyas."
"Now making the mind steady, holding quiet the powers of the mind, the mind ceases to vibrate, and it becomes still - able to answer the vibrations coming from above."
Agathiyar who sees only the soul in man, states that there are two types of souls. Those that come to live a life of Bhogam or pleasure as with eating, living, enjoying, and dying and those that come with a purpose. Lord Shiva has given us a task. He asks us to bring the vibrations in the Prapanjam within. When a devotee who had worshipped Agathiyar for years wanted him to show his true self, Agathiyar asked her back what she had felt in all the years of prayers, puja, worship, and in doing charity. She replied that she felt a vibration. "I am that", he replied. Agathiyar told us that he was the inherent vibration that is felt in all our noble endeavors. Shiva too gets us to connect with this vibration. "When engaged with the Prapanjam the vibration that takes place in you shall become atoms that cleanse the Prapanjam. Use it as a force field or shield and engaged in cleansing the Prapanjam. When it's cleansed the world will be completely rid of the virus."
மனிதர்கள் பிரபஞ்சத்தோடு இணைந்து பிரபஞ்சத்தைக் கவசமாய் பயன்படுத்தி பிரபஞ்சத்தைச் சுத்தம் செய்ய வேண்டும். பிரபஞ்சம் சுத்தம் அடையும் தருணம் இந்த நோய் முற்றிலும் குணமடையும். பிரபஞ்சத்தோடு இணையும்பொழுது உங்களில் ஏற்படும் அதிர்வுகள் அணுவாய் மாறிப் பிரபஞ்சத்தைத் தூய்மை செய்யும். அதுநாள் வரை இந்த நோய் நீண்டகாலம் இருக்கச் செய்யும்.
Shiva gets us to go back to rituals and prayers after a gap of a year and a half of abstaining from it as directed by Agathiyar. During that time we were asked to go within abstaining from all forms of worship and charitable activities. But as they told us when the need arises we could engage in rituals, we have been summoned to bring back the ritual of lighting the Homam in these times of Covid-19.
சிவன் நானும் உங்களோடு இணைந்து பிரார்த்தனைகளை முன்வேய்ப்பேன் பிரபஞ்சம் தூய்மை பெற. முடிந்தமட்டிலும் ஒவ்வொருவரும் இந்த ஹோமத்தைச் செய்து வாருங்கள். யாரெல்லாம் கலந்துகொள்ள முடியுமோ கலந்து கொள்ளதும். பூஜையில் இணைவோருக்கு இந்த நோய் பாதிக்காது. உங்களின் பூஜையை நான் ஏற்றுக்கொண்டேன். ஷண்முகனிடம் இவற்றைப் பகிர்ந்துகொள்ளுங்கள். எழுத்து வடிவில் உலக மக்களுக்குக் கொண்டு சேர்க்கட்டும்.
While the scientist and medical teams combat the virus as frontliners, and the uniform forces maintain law and order let us do our part in combating the pandemic by adopting good hygiene, abiding with the law, praying to the divine to have mercy, and taking the cue from Shiva and engaging with the Prapanjam, fortifying ourselves and sending back the unified force to rid the Prapanjam off the virus.