Something might happen that brings the one who doesn't believe in God to have faith, start praying or enter a temple. He then becomes a believer, a devotee, a follower, or a seeker. On the other hand, something might happen to another to have him lose his faith and hold on to God and drop everything. He leaves the path. He becomes an atheist. This is where we allow external influences to determine our stand on matters.
Seekers too are of several kinds. Those who seek out of curiosity as in going on adventures and those who have a sudden urge that moves them to want to know the answers. Then there are those who have a lifelong yearning just waiting to be unleashed.
If some seekers were moved out of curiosity, then there are those who are moved by the divine in a moment or spur of revelation. They tend to stay longer and travel far with the divine as opposed to those who come out of curiosity and leave pretty soon. The moment of revelation in the latter is when the Atma awakens from its hibernation behind the veil. That is the moment of awakening or enlightenment of the Self by the Atma. That is Atma Darisanam. That is Self Realization. That is the dawn of Gnanam. As Agathiyar says it is not given by him but we have to make that journey and make that effort, we arrive at the destination in due time and find that all becomes known.
It begins when we surrender to the divine. If we think that we have taken birth to fulfill our desires, then when the true purpose of our birth is known, that we are here to see through the divine purpose, that is enlightenment. That is the moment the "I" drops. He sheds everything else for the will of the divine. He works to see through the wishes of the divine through him. He becomes a vehicle of the divine. Eventually, he himself becomes divine by nature. When Tavayogi ended his 8-year stay and came down from Sathuragiri to go into samadhi at a place shown to him as Agathiyar Vanam, he soon found it to be at Kallar. But Agathiyar intervened and had him do his will. He had him follow in the footsteps of his guru Chitramuthu Adigal and Paramaguru Jeganatha Swami in coming to preach in Malaysia. I guess it was our unknown hidden desires that intervened in his life and made the change in plans. We were blessed to meet, enroll and follow his teachings. The Atma connected me and my family, and others at AVM, with Tavayogi and his gurus and Agathiyar and paved the way for so many wonders to take place. We are grateful.
I have seen many come only to leave later. Some went on to condemn the earlier establishments that provided food and shelter for them. How could they forget to be grateful for the hospitality shown and their stay? Watching these happen once too often in other establishments made me stay away from establishing peedhams or centers. A seeker is never satisfied. The reason being he has established a picture in him. Whatever pursuit he undertakes has to fit into that picture, otherwise, he leaves for greener pastures. If the master and his establishment do not fit into the picture he has projected as J. Krishnamurthy says he leaves. Hence we see that they do not stay around for long. No one can deliver nor fulfill or satisfy his wants and likings. For one like him, he should put a stop to the seeking and begin to build all that he has envisioned from scratch rather than leeching to others.
For those whose yearning is true and sincere, they need not seek any further. Either the seeking stops on its own or the master shall come and put an end or a stop to their seeking. Most of the time we go seeking we take up practices and baggage that cause hurt and harm. But when we begin something that is their wish or desire with their blessings we shall see it through. Rather than cook up an idea and expect them to bless and see through the venture, take up their cause and make it our purpose in life. See it through and leave this world satisfied that you had done his work. As we each create our dreams and as far as our dreams seem real this world too would seem so. As our dreams in our sleep are shattered or come to an end abruptly so are our dreams in this world. It is then the moment to make our dream that is his dream too come true. But as long as karma is not settled in this birth its force drives us into action and into acquiring more karma. Hence we know now why the Siddhas showed so much importance to the eradication of one's karma and the many ways they stipulated to reduce its effects on our lives. With karma out of the way, the driving force behind our actions is gone. We remain still and surrender to the divine. Doing his will does not gather karma. We become missionaries of God. We become servants of God. The Nayanmars saw themselves as servants of Lord Shiva. They saw Shiva in all. They worshipped all. Later, man began to install idols of them and worship them too. We do not attempt to attain what they did. Our effort falls short of singing their songs at temples and in competitions.
I took up the worship of the Siddhas after reading the Nadi. Agathiyar had told me to do so. Many have asked me why worship them? They were men who walked the face of the earth back in time too like us. Yes, it is true. But they have achieved what we never tried and attempted. We stopped short of asking questions. They ventured to know and gained that Atma Gnanam. When we worship them our thoughts begin to align anew following their lives and achievements. We become their very nature. We speak and breathe them. Our lives take a new direction. The divine moves the chess pieces henceforth. Nothing moves us or bothers us as we know who is in charge. We settle to do whatever obligations we have and the remaining responsibilities without attachment. Going through life and responsibilities we are constantly engaged in the thought of the divine. Humane work and that of the divine's take precedence. When our reason to come is exhausted there is then a new reason to stay. Many a saint have been jolted from their dream and this world of dream in this manner. They then take up the cause of the divine dropping their own desires. The vasanas die on their own. Karma ends. The cycle of birth and death ends with it. They became Jeevanmuktas.
This would then become the "golden" age. We cannot change the world at large but we can surely change ourselves. Nothing is more satisfying than doing his work. But to reach that state one has to start small. He has to decorate and pray to him first. We bathe him, feed him and sing to him. Love for him generates within and does wonder. When he begins to shower his love in return, nothing can hold us back. We take the jump. We yearn to meet him. Speak to him. Have him around. He comes as a father, mother, guru, guide, friend, companion, lover, and even servant.
Watching the above video on Neem Karoli Baba, we come to know of how a devotee took up the word of Baba and returned to accomplish what was given as a task to her. So have many taken up the directives of their teachers, masters, and gurus. There are those who in wanting to give back took up certain tasks on their own too. As we watch the video further, we wonder why would Baba want to build not one but several temples? When Tavayogi told us to come to the path of Gnana from Bakthi, I questioned his motive in building a temple. He replied that it was not for him but for the people.
J. Krishnamurthy drops a bombshell. He says if you seek you will find what you have projected in your mind. He asks that we stop seeking. This very seeking itself I believe is a vasana nested deep within us that prompts us to move. A desire waiting to germinate. That vasana ingrained in him to build a temple most likely carried over from a past birth to this birth and carried further in his heart for another 40 years almost saw his dream come true for Supramania Swami. When at the threshold of seeing it become a reality his lifelong dream was trashed by a Siddha who came by and asked Supramania Swami why he was going back to devotion or bakti when he was a gnani.
If the thought that is projected moves us into action then if we could brush away these thoughts what is there to do but to sit still? Void of thoughts now the divine begins to fill us with his thoughts. While our thoughts are self-centered and work towards our wellbeing, the divine's thoughts envelop all of his creation. He then works for humanity at large without even engaging directly with them. They work on us from afar. We understand now why Bhagawan Nithyananda and Yogi Ramsuratkumar told their disciples on their deathbed that they could do more in a subtle form. Dhanvantri told us that Tavayogi was working on us even after his demise. Their work goes beyond time and space.