A reader and devotee messaged me last night after reading the latest post, "A BREATH OF FRESH AIR."
This was wonderful aiyya. Eye opener. I do check myself frequently how much I've evolved , improved etc.. To be honest, yes I've changed somewhat in some areas but in some others ....
and continued to explain the areas in which she has not.
As she was on WhatApp messaging me, I was shedding tears watching a movie. I realized that I have changed too. I was a fan of war movies. As a kid, I never missed the 1960's war drama "Combat" on TV. I have watched the movie "Saving Private Ryan" many times owning a DVD of the movie. Surprising as it was aired on TV last night, I cried when the lead character Captain John Miller played by Tom Hanks goes deaf after the tank gun fires near him and he dies shortly after. I realized that I could not watch man at war now. So did I cry watching the movie "Hidden Figures" which shows discrimination towards colored people. I could feel the pain of others now. So it brings some relief when I read the news that ceasefires took place and wars have ended around the globe.
It just does not make sense when man is pitted against each other and goes against another in the name of race, religion, color, for want of more land and possession, etc. If these agendas bring nations to battle, the common man too has his fair share of disputes over wills and properties, hereditary land, inheritances, and other wants.
Radhanath Swami in his book "The Journey Within - Exploring the Path of Bhakti", Mandala Publishing, 2016, writes of what he saw in his travels.
On my spiritual quest, I left home and traveled the world.
He mentions that if there were those hardliners in all religions who condemn all those who do not embrace and follow their religion, believing and "totally convinced" that "they were the chosen people and all others inferior in God's eyes" and "hammered their doctrines", most of them were "lovers of God", and had "melted" his "heart with their love for the lord." Just as Radhanath Swami wrote that he told a preacher that he was sick of fanaticism, we too agree with him that "it breeds hate and not love." Swami's love eventually brought a change in the preacher who was bent on running him down.
I had met many good souls from across the man-made divide. When I turned vegetarian I did not stay away from attending social gatherings and official functions even if I knew that I would not have a decent vegetarian meal. But I would take the fruits, salads, and drinks instead. Anyway, the company of friends and colleagues was important to me rather than the food served. I stole away while no one was looking to get a bite of vegetarian food later. If initially, they enquired as to why I was not eating the main meals and hearing my explanation, they would ask to look around for what was edible and that I could take, soon they came forward to ask what I eat and would prepare separate dishes for me at future events. They would pass the word around that I was a vegetarian and remind the secretariat to cater for me too. That is how my office colleagues and friends began to take notice of my menu and lovingly catered for me too. Even when we share food at the office pantry, they would bring from home the food prepared. They would bring more than they could possibly eat and have it shared with others and would bring me the same without any meat or seafood. Once as my boss and another Major traveled for work, they were talking about the delicacies served at several stalls lined up along a beach in Penang. I listened on as they planned to stop over after work. On arrival, they began to walk the whole stretch of the coastline popping into every stall to have a look at what was served. While turning back to buy the food, my boss suddenly remembered that I was a vegetarian and that I had nothing to eat. I told her that it was alright as I could take fruits and drinks. But these lovely souls ditched their plan to eat out that day and drove back to the hotel where we could all have a meal, including a vegetarian meal for me too. Similarly, when my wife was away caring for her parents, my neighbor of another faith too prepared and passed us vegetarian food daily. Throughout my life, I have only met good souls of all nationalities. They respected me and my ideals, faith, and believe. I have no complaints.
We are quick to judge others. We have a practice of labeling them. We tend to see the faults and mistakes rather than the goodness in others. We fail to understand that evil often overshadows the good and drives it back into the corners. For instance, when we paint a picture of atrocity and talk ill of King Ravana we forget that he was a great devotee of Lord Shiva having achieved such a great state through his tapas or austerities that the Lord himself came to grant him boons. Now, where are we? Where do we stand in comparison with him in devotion or Bhakti? When King Duryodhana is painted as evil he offered Karna a part of his kingdom to rule. Wasn't that nice of him? Where do we stand? Are we charitable enough to depart with our land and treasures to a stranger?
What then led to their downfall? Instead of being levelheaded, Ravana's ego was fed to the extent that he thought he had overshadowed Shiva and driven him into hiding. Duryodhana too became arrogant hence leading to his downfall. So too we are told of the Vindya mountain whose ego was subdued by Agathiyar as he came by the mountain.
Agathiyar has taught me to respect every deity or God worshipped by every nationality. When we respect the Gods we then tend to respect their followers too. They are all there for a purpose just like we are here each for a purpose. For instance, when many spiritually elite shun and distance themselves from the worship of lesser God's or siru deivam in the Hindu pantheon of Gods and Goddesses, opting to pray to the deities from the mainstream religions, and tended to look down on these practices partly because it stemmed from the faith and belief of ordinary folks and as such is seen as undertaken by devotees from the lower rung of the economic pie and was believed to be exclusive to them, Agathiyar shows us the larger picture and their role in it.
Agathiyar in calling me to his path in my first Nadi reading did not write off all the Gods and Goddesses whom I had prayed to from young following in the footsteps of my parents and their parents and ancestors before them. He was all-inclusive asking me to include the whole Shiva family.
காணவே ஈசனோடு பூசை கூட
கருத்தாக அகத்தியனின் வழிபாடு உனக்கு
He had me chant Lord Ganesa's mantra, pay homage to Lord Murugan, visit Shiva's Panja Stalam, and brought me to several temples of Goddess Ma in her many forms. All these he relayed through the Nadi readings. Prior to that reading, he had come mysteriously a year before, to deliver the Vasudeva mantra of Lord Vishnu to chant.
He introduced me to the discipleship of a Guru appointing Supramania Swami of Thiruvannamalai and Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal of Kallar Ashram as my gurus. This was a new facet in my life, for all these while I only knew worship of the deities. Then he introduced me to the lesser Gods or Siru Deivam too. Although I knew they were worshipped but I stood my distance as a youngster for fear of being called up and apprehended or even worst beaten up with the whip that they carried when they took "possession" of a medium, when they stood on swords it pumped the adrenaline in me to flee the place. Of course, I would be back to partake of the mutton curry that came from the goat that was sacrificed.
But Agathiyar showed us the other aspect of these deities that we never knew existed. He brought a seeker into his path who was already used as a medium by these deities in the past. But what surprised us was to learn that if the deities came in him earlier either invoked by those assembled to answer their questions, they came on their own accord to solely pay respect to Agathiyar who sat majestically at our home. It was such a wonderful sight to see them "in silent communication" or through gestures that they made, with minimal utterances or sounds. This would go on for some time, with them hardly turning to us nor talking to us. Once they are done they left as silently as they came. No one around us including the neighbors was aware or took notice of their arrival and departure. But I came to understand that they shall pull the curtain down and block the sight and sound to those not "licensed" to see and hear. This miracle can happen in the solitude of our prayer rooms or in the market place too.
I had seen a similar happening at a temple where their entourage of "saktis" came before the arrival of the paramaguru who addressed the devotees. But they came with much fair and "frightening noises and gestures." Another obvious fact of their arrival at our place was that there was no invoking of the deities, they came on their own accord to pay homage to Agathiyar. As time went on, only then did they turn their attention towards us and address all those gathered. Similarly, there was no need to "send" them of or dismiss them as is done elsewhere. They leave when they are finished addressing the last standing man, women, or child unless there were urgent matters to address where they would leave abruptly leaving those last in line out. All these were new to us. But Agathiyar wanted us to know this aspect of their world too for as he says all is his creation and that he is part of it too. He keeps us reminded that "I am Prapanjam and the Prapanjam is in me."
While man battles each other and in doing so destroys this beautiful world he lives in, and that is gifted by God, it is reassuring that the numbers bent on doing destruction are small while the majority are god-fearing and respect each other. If many are contributing towards the destruction of the world, many others are equally battling to correct the misdeeds of their fellow man. When many had done atrocities in the past as seen in the pages of history, many equally are helping to bring awareness towards these unkind acts and bring change to us. Just as there are opposites in life, as in Ying and Yang, when one party is bent on destroying the other moves in to save as the superheroes do.
Many took up the task of bringing the beauty of our earth into our living rooms, at times endangering their lives, before it disappears from sight due to man's squabbles. Even the helicopter has to be rid of all unnecessary stuff and only take on a limited number of passengers in order to rise and fly in places of high altitude. We salute all those who venture out to bring us the world before our eyes. First, it was from the planes and helicopters that we were shown the earth. Superzoom lenses captured the wild from afar and from a safe distance. Then mobile robots came close to dangerous animals and captured their habitat and their habits. Then the drone came in capturing the field of sight closer to home and over a larger terrain. With space exploration, we see the earth now from above. With the aid of science, technology, and machines, man is seen to do wonders. We see scientists place radio collars on an animal to keep track of its flocks or herds' movements and remotely monitor them. So too is the apparent progress in the fields of medicine, astronomy, and space studies. It amazes us to watch man's feats and advancement. When man has progressed this far sadly many are tied down to petty issues and things in life. Similarly, Bharathi who Agathiyar deems as a Siddha, was disgusted when man's life resolved around matters of the kitchen and what was on the dining table. It is understandable for a man whose thoughts were set on the divine and all of its beauty, providing meals for the family was least on his agenda. But for a common man going hungry for days, food appears as God to him. It is all about purpose and priority. As Agathiyar said of the soul that is born to merely live a mundane life and others who come for a purpose, Agathiyar has praised Bharathi, Ramalinga Adigal, and Periyar saying it is only they who could do what they came to do.
Watching BBC Earth's "A Perfect Planet - Making of Season 1" we realized how the team puts its life at risk to bring in this amazing footage into our living rooms. The documentary takes us to several parts of the world and brings us footage of the troubles the film crew went through to capture some of the most remarkable, magical, and astounding moments in nature. We learn that in the north pole, in winter the sun does not rise for 4 months on hand while in other places the sun comes up and stays only for 5 hours. Aren't we blessed to see the sun daily? When there are days when the sun rises late we too tend to get out of bed late. We feel lethargic and not energetic on these days. The sun is the driving factor in life. As Sir David Attenborough narrates in this wonderful documentary that took four years to film "across 31 countries, with crew navigating difficulties in extreme temperatures and remote locations", he says that "there is no time to lick wounds when something goes wrong or someone is injured. The mission has to go on." Neither do the animals sit and wait for them. "It's like a search for a needle in the haystack in such vast terrains of the cold north pole and the hot Gobi desert." The need to combat the freezing weather that often freezes their drones, cameras, and trucks too in such adverse weather is shown to us on these expeditions. They battle the thin air in high altitudes where drones refuse to lift off. "They battle the waves and the winter winds that punish them but their adrenalin carries them through their mission." They need to make road repairs to allow their trucks to go by. The team gets frost in the eyes that sting the eyes all just to bring us these wonderful visuals. They test their ingenuity by placing cutouts of birds to lure them. Their camouflaged hideouts allow them to be up close to flocks of flamingoes. "With experience comes a newfound respect," says a cameraman. I too after learning to chart my horoscope had a newfound respect for astrologers. After Agathiyar brought newfound experiences in brushing with the so-called lesser deities I have begun to respect them rather than fear them.
David reiterates that "If it weren't for these teams it (the existence of endangered animals) would have disappeared forever. But because of their work, we might save the icon of the Gobi." Similarly, we realize that it is of utmost importance to document. I am glad that I have begun to document my insignificant experiences in these pages for I know too well that my memory shall fail me someday and it shall all be lost. But just as Tom Hanks says to Matt Damon that he would prefer that certain memories stay with him when Matt asks him if he would want to share his time with his wife in the rose garden, there are some secrets between Agathiyar and me that I prefer to keep to myself too. And of course, there are other revelations that he did not sanction me to reveal as yet. Bravo to these brave souls who enlighten us on the last remaining and almost extinct species on earth and many unseen creations of the divine. Although we cannot possibly follow in the footsteps of these brave souls, let us begin to do our small part and work with the Prapajam in its moments of need just as it had sustained us all these years.
Man who sees division in all things fails to understand that when he is in serious need of blood transfusion, would he reject blood from the collective blood bank and wait until a fellow follower arrives to give him the much-needed blood? Man fails to realize that it is the breath that unites all of us, unites all races, gender, and across all ages, the living, the inhabitants of the subtle unseen world, and Prapanjam at large. It is the breath that traverses through all beings and arrives at our nostrils too where we inhale and digest it. We in turn return it to our surroundings to be inhaled by others irrespective of faith, religion, and creed or be it another animal. Now the dreaded virus has hitched on the breath forcing us to cover our nostrils and mouths to prevent being infected and infecting another respectively.
This is the voice of the lone man, representing the views of the most common folks who do not have access to the world's governments and dignitaries, politicians, and policymakers. It shall be futile too for it's not that they do not know but pride stands in their way. But we sure do have access to God. Today he has asked us to join hands in placing a universal prayer to Prapanjam, paying homage and respect to it and thus connecting with it. One connected he asked that we tap into its resources and energy. The ensuing energy shall vibrate vigorously in us and will leave us to heal the parts of the Prapanjam that is wounded. We are asked to tap into the Prapanjam and transmit its energy, now multiplied many folds in us, and return this renewed energy back to it to heal it. Those not physically and mentally prepared and ready to receive this energy from the Prapanjam can opt to light the Homa that connects us with the Prapanjam and energizes us too. This renewed energy is given back to our surroundings just as the smoke from the sacrificial fire pit travels a vast distance horizontally and vertically covering much of land and air to bring about healing. It's time we came together to save our planet. Let us join forces with the Prapanjam to fight off all evil and diseases. Let us treasure God's gift to us.