Life shall not be one of smooth sailing. The captain of the ship who sails the seas knows of the impending changes in the weather and the rough seas ahead. One sailing the river is prepared to face its treacherous rapids. One trekking the jungles is forever on the lookout for ferocious wild animals and poisonous reptiles. So too as Avvai said we have to be prepared for bad days too. Worship to God does not give us automatic immunity to diseases and illness, accidents and mishaps, or sufferings and misfortunes. Just because we are in the worship of the Siddhas it does not mean that we are spared the cane or free from dangers that lurk around. When my daughter broke her legs she had to be in a fiber cast for nine long months. When my other daughter had a procedure done for her eyes she had to maintain a certain sleeping position for several months. I had to endure 2 1/2 years of pain in my lower back before it was cured by the divine through many others first and through various means in stages, before the grandmaster, Lord Murugan came to lay his hand on the spot and heal it for good.
A devotee who lost two family members due to the covid virus sought Agathiyar for answers in the Nadi. Upon perusal of a past reading, they were reminded that it had already been mentioned by Agathiyar of the sufferings they are going through precisely in the Nadi then. Though Agathiyar spoke about the danger he never gave a solution or remedy back then. I guess it had to take place. But the most compassionate Agathiyar came in a timely manner in a recent Nadi reading for them telling them to offer prayers to Lord Shiva on a pradosham day. It so happened that pradosham was the next day. Further to that, he told them to undertake certain puja for Ma Kali in their home. He simplified the puja so that they could do it. Today she messaged me that they had done the said puja and saw some improvement in their mother's health. That is the compassion of Agathiyar. He does not remove the obstacles but provides the solutions to overcome them; showing the means; sending us to the right people for treatment and at the right time; and hastens the recovery and the healing process, etc. Similarly, in these times of the pandemic, Lord Shiva told us that the pandemic is here to stay for yet some time. But he gave us two mantras to recite, the Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra to remove fear and the Dhanvantri Mantra to shield us.
Just as each man has to go through his suffering, death too is unavoidable. These are laws of the divine and nature's law respectively. As long as man is held captive within this body he shall perish one day. The Siddhas delve long on this subject and found a way to remain forever, either in the same body as in Samadhis, or merging with the elements. In both cases, they could revive themselves and appear from these Samadhis or reassemble the elements together and take on a form to walk the earth again respectively. They gave such importance to the physical body not in feeding it with trash but with sattvic food that purified the core elements. The human body that is considered "Asudha Deham" or "Irul Deham" takes on the delusive body or "Marul Deham" upon its interaction in this world of Maya. With some preparation and practices and through several techniques and special care, the Kalivu or "dirt", "toxins" or impure Maya are removed. The body goes through a purification process. The veils fall away one at a time as we progress, releasing the body from the shackles of its own limitations and begin to grow a spiritual growth. A Sudha deham is achieved, void of all physical impurities.
With the gross impurities eradicated first with proper diet and by consuming life-giving herbs or Kaya Kalpam, and countered with the practice of pranayama, the inhaled and energized prana feeds the body reducing the need to sustain on water and food. With yoga, the psychic heat or Tava Kanal emerges within. The heat of the tapas done clears the blockages in the nerve channels. The pranayama fans the fire from the furnace within further to burn and consume all subtle impurities further. The elements within and at its core are purified. The body then sheds whatever remaining subtle impurities it possesses with the advent of the Third Eye. Swami Saravanananda in this book, an English translation of Ramalinga Adigal’s "Aruperunjhoti Agaval" published by Ramalinga Mission, Madras describes this.
Slowly his body through the intensity of concentration of the mind begins to generate the flame of lapses, popularly known as psychic heat. Slowly the quantity of psychic heat is increased due to intense meditation and concentration on the universal effulgence. The extreme heat generated in the body produces smoke at first; this smoke gathers up in volume and escapes through the junction of the parietal bones of the skull (Brahma Randhra). The psychic smoke clears off and enhanced illumination results. This light (Tegas) is also called as the aura or nimbus.
When the impure body called Asudha Deham and its elements is purified, it becomes a Sudha Deham. With compassion and love that arise within or blossoms from within, his body transforms into that of Anbu Deham or body of Love. In this stage, one experiences the Uyir or Spirit or begets Uyir Anubavam. The divine then comes within as we have cleared the house of all things negative and energized it with prana and lit and brightened the home up with Love. The divine takes its abode permanently in us. We speak his language and he speaks ours. The thoughts and wavelength are the same. The vibration and its related energies become one though on a smaller scale. The Jothi or light shines emitting its aura for miles on.
With the descent of sufficient Divine Light the psychic head begins to emerge. According to Vallalar, this psychic head (a crown or diadem of light) is made up of a special and highly refined type of brain called Omkar brain.
Hence we understand the reason the saints spot long and matted hairs. Hence we understand the reason why no one is allowed to touch their heads and feet or come too close for comfort.
As soon as it emerges, it draws more cosmic light; the more the light the greater the growth of the psychic head. With the advent of psychic head, more and more changes take place in the already purified body. The cells and thence the whole body begins to transcend the limits imposed on them by impure Maya (the grosser principle of nature) and try to break one more of its veils. The cells undergo alternate condensation and expansion for an unspecified period and the body slowly emerges out of its bondage and begins to grow. This expanding and ever prospering body, is called the subtle body or the body of Omkar or Pranava body.
With the Pranava Deham comes the grace of God showering upon him Arul Anubavam or the experience of his Grace. "The Pranava Deham" continues Swami Saravanananda, "grows to the size of the universe becoming now the casual body or a body of gnosis or Gnana Deham, which is the natural abode of the soul. With the functioning of the third eye, the transformation of the Pranava body is completed and the next and final stage of transformation into the Gnostic body (Gnana Deham) starts."
With the gaining of the Gnana Deham he experiences Bliss or Inba Anubavam.
Just as Sister Maria sings to Captain Georg von Trapp's children that "When you read you begin with A-B-C, When you sing you begin with Do-Re-Mi", for one to attain this state, he has to start at the very beginning. Devotion.
Devotion comes with worship. Worship has to be picked up either from the parents or from a guru. Devotion is the starting point of this long and tedious journey. Swami Saravanananda explains that it is no mere feat or one that can be accomplished overnight, "According to Vallalar, it takes a long time to perfect the Pranava body; the minimum period required is twelve years and the maximum is 108 years." Again we are cautioned about the pain and agony of the process by Swami Saravanananda, "During this period, the body and mind undergo untold stress."
Taking the achievement of the most recent Siddha Ramalinga Adigal who came with a specific purpose and achieved what he set out to do in his life, the young Ramalingam amazes us when as a nine-year-old he stood before Lord Murugan at the Sri Kandaswami Temple in Kandhakottam, Chennai stating his stand in wanting to achieve the highest degree of accomplishment in all his ventures and questions the Lord when it shall be attained? He had such a determination where before his, ours pales out. We are an undecided lot. We want everything and are easily swerved or persuaded away from the goal for other attractions that come our way.
திருஓங்கு புண்ணியச் செயல்ஓங்கி அன்பருள்திறலோங்கு செல்வம்ஓங்கச்
செறிவோங்க அறிவோங்கி நிறைவான இன்பம்
திகழ்ந்தோங்க அருள்கொடுத்து
மருஓங்கு செங்கமல மலர்ஓங்கு வணம்ஓங்க
வளர்கருணை மயம்ஓங்கிஓர்
வரம்ஓங்கு தெள்அமுத வயம்ஓங்கி ஆனந்த
வடிவாகி ஓங்கிஞான
உருஓங்கும் உணர்வின்நிறை ஒளிஓங்கி ஓங்கும்மயில்
ஊர்ந்தோங்கி எவ்வுயிர்க்கும்
உறவோங்கும் நின்பதம்என் உளம்ஓங்கி வளம்ஓங்க
உய்கின்ற நாள்எந்தநாள்
தருஓங்கு சென்னையில் கந்தகோட் டத்துள்வளர்
தலம்ஓங்கு கந்தவேளே
தண்முகத் துய்யமணி உண்முகச் சைவமணி
சண்முகத் தெய்வமணியே.
இன்று வருமோ நாளைக்கே வருமோ
அல்லது மற்றென்று வருமோ
அறியேன் எங்கோவே
துன்று மல வெம்மாயை அற்று
வெளிக்குள் வெளி கடந்து
சும்மா இருக்கும் சுகம்
Describing in exquisite way the phases of the transformation of his body, Ramalinga says that dermis and epidermis have become extremely soft; all the nerves, muscles and tendons have slackened little by little; the bones, membranes and cartilages have become very flexible; the blood has coagulated; the semen has concentrated being solidified; the brain and all its parts have been opened like a bud. All over the body an Elixir flows; the face glistens; the respiration is smooth and refreshing; from the tear glands abundant tears sprout; the mouth is half-opened tremulous and the ears are filled of sweet melodies. The entire body is refreshed and all its visible parts flourish in ecstasy. The heart swells palpitating Love. The ego vanishes, as the emotional and mental defects. A tender, loving and compassionate quietude dominates the entire organism. The ardent desire to receive the divine Grace overflows. The Supreme Love fills the body, which is the temple of the divine Life.
Devotion first arises from within us and takes on an external journey and finally brings us back internally and to go within again closing the circuit as Tavayogi wrote while autographing my copy of his book "Andamum Pindamum",
Sadly our devotion currently begins and ends with the temple. Standing before the deity we raise our hands in prayer and carry out some simple rituals or practices following others like sheep. The devotion expected of us if we are to pursue the path of the saints goes beyond merely bringing our palms together in prayer. This is the reason Tavayogi on the offset had told us to come out of Bakthi and move into Gnanam. Marshall Govindan in his book "Babaji and the Eighteen Siddha Kriya Yoga Tradition", 1991, Kriya Yoga Publications (Reg), 196 Mountain Road, P.O.Box 90, Eastman, Quebec, Canada, reproduced with permission via e-mail), explains the nature and extent of this devotion as exemplified by Ramalinga Adigal.
He (Ramalinga Adigal) sings that one has to think incessantly, until he feels and melts with love for God. In such a melting mood one bursts into tears and sings praise of god and soothing warmth is produced in the aspirant. When this universal love and sacred warmth develops, the body as well as the soul became prepared for the descent of the grace, in the form of light.
In a piece from the internet that did not carry its source, we come across the following interesting piece on the transformation that is much spoken about by the Siddhas.
The inward journey begins the very moment he becomes aware of the divine presence working through him. He then surrenders to the will of God, hence surrendering the sheath of his intellect or Vinjnanamaya Kosham. When the transformation from the influence of the mind-stuff begins moving towards the full surrender to the divine, the individual has begun to be liberated, becoming literally a beacon of bliss-light. As the divine attributes of the atman or self that manifest in the very subtle sheath of bliss (Anandamaya Kosham) that surrounds the soul (atman) come to be known, transforming the very subtle part of the being, he verily becomes a guide, a guru and a saint. He moves from an ordinary man to become a saint.
All his experiences and knowledge are then tailored to teach him the higher and deeper aspects of the self or Atman. The teachings that were focussed on gaining experience in life and knowledge for living in the physical world, shifts to that of knowing the soul and one's true purpose and mission.
He becomes well informed and knowledgeable not through the normal means of attaining them but is informed by the divine attributes within him. The divine attributes of the atman or self manifest in the very subtle sheath of bliss or Anandamaya Kosham that surrounds the soul or atman.
When the transformation of that very subtle part of the being has been given fully to the divine, the individual becomes literally a beacon of bliss-light. Simply being in the presence of such a being is uplifting. Such an elevated individual is often acknowledged as a saint.
Before he attains this state he has to put in sufficient spiritual practices, bringing an awareness of the divine working through them. Once aware of the divine presence, "he has already begun the transformational process and surrendered the sheath of the intellect (Vinjnanamaya Kosham) where the analytical or intellectual component of the being is fully informed by the divine light attributes, accumulating experiences and knowledge enlightened by the higher deeper aspects of self. Such Sage has digested and integrated the informed divine light into the analytical aspects of the being.
The guide, guru, saint, and sage understanding that all his actions henceforth are that willed by the divine, brings these actions to life without having the guilt of accumulating fresh karma and the need to take on another birth as a result. He is a "buddha" breaking all conventional rules. He becomes a Jivanmukta or one who is freed while living.
From http://www.ramalinga.com we come across a translation of Ramalinga Adigal's song pertaining to this transformation.
"I have realized here the triple indestructible body of Sudha Deha (the pure physical body), a perpetual and blissful Pranava body (Pranava Deha) and an all-pervading and ever-growing or ever-prospering Knowledge-body of the divine Conscious Force (Gnana Deha) in order to make the play of self-giving of myself everywhere."
"The Lord revealed me the chain of Cause and Effect that are spoken of in the respective scriptures of the Vedas and Agamas. I have seen and realized Him here in the world and enjoy the Bliss. I have happily partaken of Amrita (of Bliss) in the Realm where there is neither day nor night (the Truth World of eternal Light)."
"I have discarded all the devious ways and taken to the good Path of Purity, Truth and Harmony, and joined the rank and file of Its Sangha or fellowship. The heavenly beings happily praise it as the Good Path, because it has a firm foundation."
"Oh my shy people of the world! Be careful to see that your heart remains vigilant and watchful without allowing it to indulge in wastefulness (wasting the opportunity). As the Lord has given me today Amrita of Bliss as food, know it to be the day which He has chosen for His manifestation here in the play of Knowledge and Perfection."
Just reading him stating his achievements brings joy and bliss in us. Imagine if we could reach his state of achievement. Our feet would not touch the ground then. As Ramalinga Adigal pleads to us not to waste this given opportunity in attaining this state that he has shown is achievable, in the lyrics of the following song too the seeker is afraid that if the Lord shy away and doesn't show himself it is a wasted birth.