Ramani Amma from Chennai shared a story. Once there was a minister who always took things cool telling even his king that everything happening was for the good. Once when the king cut his finger accidentally the minister told him it was for the good. Angered by his words the king jailed his minister. Soon the king went hunting and was caught by jungle tribes. They prepared him to be sacrificed. But then they realized that he did not have a thumb. As the sacrifice would be tainted since he was not "complete" in that sense, they let him go. The king realized the truth in his minister's words and rushed to see him. He apologized to his minister and asked him how could things be good for his minister since he had imprisoned him upon hearing his remark. The minister answered that if the king did not imprison him he would have had to accompany him on the hunt and would have been sacrificed instead.
We are always constantly reminded that all that happens is for the good. That we are here to learn and experience. Agreed that we as individual souls need to repent for our past misdeeds. But being humans with emotions, when something tragic happens and lives or limbs are lost how can we be not affected emotionally? Similar questions cropped up in me in the eighties. Lord Shiva pulled the brake on it then. He then brought me to the Siddhas. The Siddhas informed us about karma and how it metes out its justice. If it is said that our karma is run before us upon death, as in a continuous strip of celluloid film or a moving screen, those who come to the Siddhas are told about themselves and about their past karma in the reading of the mystical leaf called Nadi. We then understand that we are either punished or rewarded for our past acts. As individuals, we learn what we had done in the past births that have brought us into the present birth and shall bring on more births. So is karma written in stone and can't it be changed? Those who come to the Siddhas and their Nadi are shown a way to change a major portion of what is written if not all that is written provided he heeds the words of the Siddhas and provide he does not stop at merely doing remedies to soften the impact of karma but to answer to the call of the Siddhas in taking up their worship and taking them as gurus lifelong. The Siddhas tells us that we need to strive to correct or repent over the wrongs that we have done. Initially, they shall list out what needs to be done in the form of remedies, prayers, pilgrimage, or acts of charity. Many follow while equally many drop out. The problem is we tend to drop the Siddhas the moment things turn out well and turn up at their door the next instance when another unfortunate event takes place. We only regard these seers and sages of ancient times as astrologers who predict the past, present, and future. We continue to seek the Siddhas out for remedies throughout our lives never wanting to know what more they have to offer. We fail to realize or are altogether ignorant of the fact that they can help break the chain of birth and rebirth and hence rid all karma that necessitates rebirth for good. They can show us the route to enlightenment and deathlessness. Then again, rather than depend forever on the Siddhas to dish out remedies at every moment of crisis, shouldn't we resolve not to do harm to others and put an end to our self-made misery? This itself will go a long way in reducing our karma. Shouldn't we change our lifestyles and follow the ideal way as shown by the Siddhas? This would help hasten the process of clamping down karma. Bringing us to their path, bringing us to their abodes and caves, bringing us to worship them, bringing us into their rituals, bringing us to perform charity, bringing us the gift of Yoga, bringing us to Gnana or spiritual wisdom, Agathiyar told us not to rests on our laurels but to seek the ultimate quest that is to join their fold and become a Siddha too. Sadly even in taking up Siddha worship, we tend to worship the Siddhas forever never imagining that we too can become like them or one of them. They shall lead us from their worship to that of the Gods and further to worship the Prapanjam that is in one and all and where everything resides in it too. Ultimately we become one with Prapanjam.
But the change has to take place within us first. Tavayogi in his speeches has reiterated the need to bring change within first and later in society. A Siddha trains us like an astronaut, preparing us to leave for space someday, if not in this birth - in the future. As a mentor is assigned to each soul in Disney's "Soul", Betty J Eadie in revealing the secrets and mysteries of life in her book "Embraced by the Light", too says each soul has a guardian angel. Agathiyar came for me when I was ready, and when I was emptied of all the previous readings and knowledge accumulated over time. The Siddhas format the hard disk and rewrite their version of our lives, provided we surrender and hand over the hard disk to them and agree to be erased of our previous identity and its contents and take on a new identity and contents.
The Siddhas fill us in with their wisdom. Before coming to the Siddhas fate dictates and runs our lives. Once we come to them and gain their respect they set out to change our fate bringing on a renewed and rewritten destiny. The stage changes; the set changes; the settings change. The carpet is pulled away right from underneath our feet and new backdrops and scenes are assembled with new happenings taking place. New writings are written over the previous. Our live changes 360 degrees. Though the miracles and stories told in this blog might sound ridiculous and even be called hallucinations by some, one would only understand once he begins to take up the calling, walks on the path, and walks with the Siddhas. In order to become like them, we need to settle with them or in our case have them move into our homes first. They then show us how to live the life of a Siddha. They then bring the divine within our homes and within us, opening up our hearts to all that is taking place around us, bringing on compassion and love for all. The divine that resides in us brings further changes, changing our physical body into his abode and temple and the cave within the heart his inner sanctum. The merging then takes place within, and not in a distant realm or world.
Most of the time we don't know why we come searching the Siddhas. We are amused by their ways. We are captivated by the Siddhis that they perform. We are interested to know our future. It stops at that. We never venture to become like them. We participate without fail as mere spectators in centers aligned to the worship of Siddhas, never opening our homes to them and their rituals. The Siddha in calling us to their path never wanted us to forever worship them. Instead, they want us to become one of them. When divinity comes within man he becomes saint. Many of the Siddhas of the past attained this state through tapas and devotion. All the rituals and puja are to bring the divine within. Our effort stops at that. Once the divine steps foot into our homes and within he takes hold of the steering and drives us to the destination. He is in charge and in command.
When many having being on the path for years, lay their claim over the God's and Goddesses and the Siddhas, should not it be the other way round? Shouldn't the God's and Goddesses and the Siddhas lay their claim over us or redeem us as in ஆட்கொள்ளுதல், making us their captives to their love and compassion? Instead, sadly man holds the divine captive for his individual and selfish purposes. When many promised the sun can only be seen from the land where they stood on, Tavayogi showed us that the sun can be viewed from anywhere breaking our hold on establishments, forms, names, and gender forever.
Agathiyar sent many to Agathiyar Vanam Malaysia (AVM) to learn worship to the Siddhas. Many stayed back to learn. Some came on their own seeking something anew. Many came out of curiosity and seeing the usual or maybe the unusual left. Agathiyar empowered those who chose to stay with the knowledge of performing rituals like homam that brings our offerings and helps connect us with the realms of the Gods where they reside and performing the libation or abhisegam that brings down their blessings in torrents just as we pour our offerings on them. All this was in preparation for the rainy day. The rainy day has come in the form of a pandemic. It has been pouring for close to a year and a half. We were prepared well ahead to take up the task of performing rituals and prayer in our own homes before the advent of the pandemic so that during the times of lockdown where even temples are off-limits and inaccessible we could still continue our worship in the privacy of our homes. To the handful who stayed back even after he dissolved the loose group of fifty-something followers, days before the coming of the virus, he told them recently that their homes have taken on and became Agathiyar Vanam too. He decentralized AVM so that the puja shall continue amidst the pandemic. Agathiyar who moved their hearts has moved into their homes too. When the head of an establishment whom I met in my early years of search on the worship of Siddhas, boastfully told me that he had been to India some 37 times and many still travel seeking the Siddhas in the caves and jungles, the most compassionate came to move into our homes. When many sought their Nadi even after taking hold of their feet, they had us drop the need for the Nadi and speak to us directly these days. To those who might wonder how, watching the movie "Transcendence" will give an inkling.