Temples have a significant role to play in bringing us to the path of virtue and devotion. The fear of God instilled in us as a kid keeps us from doing anything that might anger the gods. Hence we adopt and follow good values in our everyday lives throughout our lives. Connecting with an Ista Devata or a favorite deity brings us to remember and visit the deity often. Devotion and love towards the deity begin to whelm within. But it is not permitted to grow further as we have limited access to these temples as a devotee. There are restricted zones where we are not permitted to enter. We are not allowed to perform libation etc. Hence we watch from afar. The Siddhas broke this hold by paving the way for us to conduct similar pujas in their abodes and homes of others who are directed to perform them. I was one of them to start puja at home.
I was blessed to be called to the path of the Siddhas through my first Nadi reading. Henceforth started my journey of worship to the Siddhas. I had no idea who the Siddhas were and what they looked like. The first time the word Siddha was mentioned to me was by the late Dr.Krishnan back in 1996. Then the calling came to see the Nadi in 2002. Agathiyar revealed my past, present, and future. During the brief ritual and ceremony to thank the Siddhas for revealing by Nadi known as Nadikku Dhanam, I was given a booklet of the names of the Siddhas by the Nadi reader who initiated me into reciting along with him these names. Sivabalan in whose house the Nadi reader stayed passed me Agathiyar's painting. I began the same ritual once back home. The Agathiyar Sanmarga Sangam came to my mind as I had seen Agathiyar's picture on their donation receipts when they collected funds on the streets to feed the poor, hungry, and unfortunate. Seeking to know further, I headed to the establishment in Dengkil. Anbarasan, Jayanthi, and Manivannan were very accommodative and briefed me on their activities and that of their parent body in Ongkarakudil. My wife and I began to frequent their premises, having lunch there, getting updates, and buying books and VCD's of talks by their patron. In one of their publications, I was drawn to a particular prayer. This was a prayer to Agathiyar asking all the Siddhas to bring us over to his abode in the Pothigai Hills. The prayer asked that Agathiyar accept us as his disciple and elevate us too.
அகத்தீசா உனது சீடர்களாகிய ஒன்பது கோடி பேரும் என்னை சூழ்ந்திருந்து நான் விரும்பியதெல்லாம் முடித்து வைப்பதோடு மட்டுமல்லாது உன்னுடைய மலையாகிய பொதிகைக்கு என்னை அழைத்துவர என்னை சீடனாக நீ ஏற்றுக்கொள்ள வேண்டும். நான் உய்வதற்கு அருள் புரிய வேண்டும். உனது அருள் பூரணமாக பெற்றல் வேண்டும்.
I began to adopt this prayer. I saw the efficacy of prayers beginning that day. I realized these prayers have the potential to deliver the asking. I saw its results soon. I was brought to Tavayogi who volunteered to take me to all the sacred abodes of the Siddhas in 2005. Tavayogi would point out to me that the Siddhas were ushering us, showering us with flower petals, and accompanying us. He would point out certain aromas that were in the air. I would look at him like a child with bewildered eyes, yet choosing to believe and move on. Today we realize the truth in his words since we have had these experiences too. I now realize that my daily prayer singing these verses had materialized in bringing me to my guru and having him take me in as his student, and leading me to the abodes of the Siddhas, where the Siddhas showed their presence and accompanied us.
Singing the line "வந்தித்தேன் உந்தன் பாதம் வானமுந் திறந்தாய் போற்றி", from the song
ஐயனே போற்றி போற்றி அருள்பெற்ற தேவே போற்றி
மெய்யனே போற்றி போற்றி மெய்சுடர் அணிந்தாய் போற்றி
கையனே போற்றி போற்றி காசினி முனிவா போற்றி
உய்யனே எனையாட் கொண்ட உந்தியில் உதிக்குந்தேவே
உந்தியிலுதிக்குந்தேவே ஒருபொருள் உகந்தாய் போற்றி
சிந்தையில் நினைந்த போதே திருநாட மிட்டாய் போற்றி
வந்தித்தேன் உந்தன் பாதம் வானமுந் திறந்தாய் போற்றி
அந்தித்தேன் குருவே ஐயா அடியினைப் போற்றி போற்றி,
opened the gates to heaven and the saintly came in droves both at Kallar and AVM.
A year before my first Nadi reading Agathiyar had already started the ball rolling without revealing himself. I had stayed away from all forms of worship be it at home or the temples, stopped my yoga practices, and brought an end to all reading for some 13 years, after Lord Shiva in a dream told me to take a break as I had so many questions and doubts unanswered. Agathiyar had my nephew pass me Lord Vishnu's mantra and Lord Dhakshanamurthi's painting through a network of gurus without revealing that it was from him. I too was told not to question the source by my nephew who was instructed by his Paramaguru coming through a devotee back in 2001.
Beginning my worship to Lord Dhakshanamurthi brought me to meet my gurus as told to my nephew. The following year Agathiyar revealed himself as my guru in the Nadi reading. The year after he showed me to my first guru in physical form, Supramania Swami of Tiruvannamalai. Before meeting him at Tiruvannamalai Agathiyar "cleansed me" I suppose drenching me in tears at Lord Dhakshanamurthi's sannadhi at Tiruvanaikaval temple. As the priest from Uttamar temple who volunteered to bring us there, the local priest in his nineties whom he called over to perform the arathi, the caretaker of the temple, my driver, and I gathered at his sannadhi I broke down. I got down on the floor crying for no reason. Nobody stopped me from crying. In fact, the priest asked that I be left to cry. Today I have come to understand that our Atmas had connected.
The following year in 2005 Agathiyar showed me to Tavayogi who was visiting Malaysia. Coming under his tutelage, my family and I visited him in India in 2013. Prior to arriving at his ashram Agathiyar showered his energy again at Lord Dhakshanamurthi's sannadhi at Tiruvanaikaval temple, followed by gifting me Lord Murugan's darshan. As my family, Jnana Jothiamma, Dr. Ram and I assembled at his sannadhi, I hit the floor crying my heart out again. Jnana Jhotiamma tried to pacify me. A young priest came along in a timely manner and opened the grilled gate to the sannadhi and went about casually performing the arathi. Jnana Jhotiamma prompted me to leave some money on his tray as he finished showing the arati or camphor flame. As I walked up to him, he suddenly asked me "Did you see?" "பார்த்தாயா?" Immediately my glance went to Lord Dhakshanamurthi and back to the priest. I saw the priest take the posture of Lord Murugan in the form of Lord Dhandapani of Palani. I fell at his feet immediately and began to cry out again. As I rose I realized the priest had stepped aside. Lord Murugan had stood before me.
On my third visit in 2016, I was wondering what he was going to show us this time around since I was with the AVM family then. We all took a seat and Bala began to lead us with the Siddhar Potri or recitation of the names of the Siddhas. A few minutes into chanting the names, an elderly priest, looking small and fragile came along in a timely manner and opened the grilled gate to the sannadhi, and went about casually performing the arathi. It was as if history was repeating itself. I signaled to Bala trying to tell him that it was happening again. Seeing my signal Bala stopped chanting momentarily. The priest turned around and asked him to continue. He stood aside and listened intently to our recitation of the names of the Siddhas. As if he knew that the potri was coming to an end he shows the arathi again. He blesses us before leaving. The priest had no reason to be there but he turned up! I was mesmerized and in a state of bliss at seeing this miracle happen again. So were the children.
Sitting at Lord Dhakshanamurthi's sannadhi at the Arulmigu Sri Mayuranathaswami Temple, Mayiladuthurai (Mayavaram) the AVM family began lighting the lamps and reciting the Siddhar Potri. This was one spot so energized that we all could feel the Siddhas presence. The floor was shaking under me and so was my body. I was rooted to the ground. We just could not move away from the spot and continued sitting in “their” presence for a very long time, imbibing the energy radiated.
Moving on to the Tanjai Big temple, I spent some time at Lord Dhakshanamurthi's sannadhi before the others joined. I felt the Pranavam AUM resonate within these granite walls as I recited it compared to my earlier visit. I guess I was not receptive to these energies on my earlier visit in 2003.
Worshipping the painting of Lord Dhakshanamurthi passed on by my nephew had started a series of divine events wherever he stood in the temples we visited. This I began to realize only now as I began to see a pattern take shape.
As I continued with my home puja to the Siddhas I looked for more songs to include in my puja. That is when I came across Saint Nakkirar's "Vinayagar Thiruagaval". I adopted a paragraph from this long song to include in my daily prayers. In this portion of the song, Nakkirar seeks the grace of Lord Ganapathy asking to create the avenue and a special moment to be with the Guru, a moment of sitting in silence with the Guru, merging in thought with him, asking that even the thought of the guru as being separate be dropped, and become identified with the Guru, to be one with the Guru. Nakkirar's prayer became my prayer too since that day. It has become the prayer of many who frequented AVM too.
மோனா ஞான முழுதும் அளித்து
சிற்பரிப் பூரண சிவத்தைக் காண
நற்சிவ நிட்கள நாட்டமுந் தந்து
குருவுஞ் சீடனுங் கூடிக் கலந்து
இருவரும் ஒரு தனியிடந் தனிற் சேர்ந்து
தானந்தமாகித் தற்பர வெளியில்
ஆனந்த போத அறிவைக் கலந்து
ஈசனிைணயடியிருத்தி
மனத்தே நீயே நானாய்
நானே நீயாய்க்
காயா புரியைக் கனவெனவுணா்ந்து
எல்லாமுன் செயலென்ேற உணர
நல்லா உன்னருள் நாட்டந் தருவாய்
காரண குருவே கற்பகத் களிேற
வாரணமுகத்து வள்ளலே போற்றி
This was the opening song in our puja at AVM henceforth. Singing this song for years now we see it has born fruit. Agathiyar has come to sit at AVM as Lord Dhakshanamurthi conferring the Gnanam in silence. He is slowly bringing us face to face with the source, the Paripurana Sivam that is complete in itself. He has us read up on the 96 tattvas, and understand the Atma. He has us drop our individual aspirations, ambitions, wishes, and desires and surrender the Self and give in to the divine's desires. The guru and student get to sit in a lone space, the Para Veli, at AVM, that has come to be known as Gnana Kottam, locked in blissful knowledge. As we surrender to the Holy Feet of Siva, in these silent moments with the Silent Guru, Lord Dhakshanamurthi passes on the Divine Wisdom in silence. We have come to understand that He is us and we are Him and that the body is just but a sandcastle that is washed away by the next tide that comes in. Like Nakkirar we invoked Lord Ganapathy to bring us to the realization that all is His doing. We plead to him to bring forth the yearning for his Grace in us, as it does not come on its own from what we understand from Manickavasagar who sang that it is only with his grace that we get to worship His Holy Feet. This song that we adopted and sang had materialized into a form and became a reality.
Having taken and adopted the numerous songs of saints and Siddhas in our prayer and having seen its results, we were given the rare opportunity to pen the lyrics for an audio Cd released jointly by Raagawave Production titled "Agathiyar Geetham" in honor of Agathiyar, an idea mooted by our guru Tavayogi and taken up by the producer of the album Gowri Arumugam. We took inspiration for the lyrics from the many Siddha songs and biographies of Agathiyar, the teachings or upadesam from our gurus, and our own experiences walking and living the path. The song "Ariya Payanam" beautifully translates our journey into words.
பாராட்டு பாடல் (அறியா பயணம்)
அனு பல்லவி
அறியா பயணம் தொடர்ந்தோமே
நாம் இங்கே
அழியா நிலை பெற்றோமே
மௌன ஞானம் நீயும் அளிக்க
கருணை விழி நீ திறக்க
என்ன தவமோ என்ன வரமோ
உனது பதம் சரண் அடைய
ஈசா அகத்தீசா தரிசனம் நீ தந்தாய்
பல்லவி
போற்றிட போற்றிட துன்பங்கள் விழகிட
போற்றிட போற்றிட நோய் விலக
போற்றிட போற்றிட துயர் மறைய
அருள் பொழிவாய் குருவே
தந்தன தந்தன கவசமாய் நின்றிட
தந்தன தந்தன திரைவிலக
தந்தன தந்தன ஞானத்தை பெற
ஒளியாய் மாறினோம்
அறியா பயணம் தொடர்ந்தோமே
நாம் இங்கே
அழியா நிலை பெற்றோமே
அறியா பயணம் தொடர்ந்தோமே
நாம் இங்கே
அழியா நிலை பெற்றோமே
சரணம் 1
குரு நான் என்று அறிமுகம் செய்தவர்
ஊழ்வினையை அறிய செய்தாய்
யாகம் அதில் சுடர் ஒளியாய்
வினையாவும் நீயே ஏற்றாய்
ஞானம் அது வழங்கிட வந்தவர்
ஞான கோட்டம் வந்தமர்ந்தாய்
அன்னம் இட அமுத சுரபியாய்
பசியாவும் தீர்த்தாய்
இவ் வாழ்வின் பயன் கண்டோம்
இனி ஏது துயரம் அப்பா
உந்தன் நாமம் இங்கு சொல்ல சொல்ல
மனம் சாந்தம் நிரம்பி இங்கு வழியுதே
அட உன்மேலே ஆசை அப்பா
என் மெய் எல்லாம் குளிர்ந்ததப்பா
மதி நிறைந்து ஒளிர்ந்ததப்பா
நீயே பரமானந்தம்
போற்றிட போற்றிட துன்பங்கள் விழகிட
போற்றிட போற்றிட நோய் விலக
போற்றிட போற்றிட துயர் மறைய
அருள் பொழிவாய் குருவே
தந்தன தந்தன கவசமாய் நின்றிட
தந்தன தந்தன திரைவிலக
தந்தன தந்தன ஞானத்தை பெற
ஒளியாய் மாறினோம்
சரணம் 2
ஓர் மகனாய் உன்னிடம் வந்தேன்
சாலோக்கிய நிலை அறிந்தேன்
சரியை பின் கிரியை உணர்ந்தேன்
சாமீப்பியமாக நின்றாய்
யோகத்தால் அமுதம் பரவிட
சாரூப்பிய படி அடைந்தேன்
ஞானத்தின் கதவு திறந்திட இனி
சாயுச்சியம் எந்நாளோ
இந்நிலையை நான் அடைய
சற்குருவாய் வந்தாய் அப்பா
உன்தன் அழகை இங்கு ரசிக்க ரசிக்க
மனம் பரவசமாகி மகிழுதே
அட உன்மேலே ஆசை அப்பா
என் மெய் எல்லாம் குளிர்ந்ததப்பா
மதி நிறைந்து ஒளிர்ந்ததப்பா
நீயே பரமானந்தம்
போற்றிட போற்றிட துன்பங்கள் விழகிட
போற்றிட போற்றிட நோய் விலக
போற்றிட போற்றிட துயர் மறைய
அருள் பொழிவாய் குருவே
தந்தன தந்தன கவசமாய் நின்றிட
தந்தன தந்தன திரைவிலக
தந்தன தந்தன ஞானத்தை பெற
ஒளியாய் மாறினோம்
அறியா பயணம் தொடர்ந்தோமே
நாம் இங்கே
அழியா நிலை பெற்றோமே
மௌன ஞானம் நீயும் அளிக்க
கருணை விழி நீ திறக்க
என்ன தவமோ என்ன வரமோ
உனது பதம் சரண் அடைய
ஈசா அகத்தீசா தரிசனம் நீ தந்தாய்
போற்றிட போற்றிட துன்பங்கள் விழகிட
போற்றிட போற்றிட நோய் விலக
போற்றிட போற்றிட துயர் மறைய
அருள் பொழிவாய் குருவே
தந்தன தந்தன கவசமாய் நின்றிட
தந்தன தந்தன திரைவிலக
தந்தன தந்தன ஞானத்தை பெற
ஒளியாய் மாறினோம்
The song goes as follows,
We started on an unchartered adventure that promised the state of immortality,
You opened your eyes to gift us Mouna Gnanam or Gnanam in silence,
Was it because of our Tapas or was it your Grace or was it that we had surrendered that all this was possible?
Esa (Lord Dhakshanamurthi) Agatheesa you gave us your darshan,
Praises to you brought deliverance from sufferings,
Praises to you brought deliverance from illnesses,
Praises to you brought deliverance from miseries,
Grant your grace My Guru,
Thanthana Thanthana come as a shield,
Thanthana Thanthana draw the veil (of ignorance),
Thanthana Thanthana we shall receive Gnanam (Divine Wisdom),
And shall become Oli (Light),
You introduced yourself as our guru,
You made us aware of karma,
You came as the Fire of Sacrifice (Yagam),
And engulfed all our karma,
You came to grant us Gnanam,
And settled at Gnana Kottam,
You started Amudha Surabhi,
To feed the hungry,
We have seen the purpose of this life,
There shall be no further worries,
In speaking your name,
Peace begets us and overflows,
We are madly in love with you,
My body chills,
My brain is enlightened,
You are Paramanantham,
I came as a son to you, thence
I learned to live in your world (Salokyam),
When I took up Sariyai and Kriyai,
You stood beside me (Sameepyam),
In coming to Yoga you filled us with ambrosia,
We took your form (Saaroopyam),
With the opening of the door to Gnanam,
When shall we attain oneness with you (Saayuchyam)?
You were the reason for me to attain these states,
As I adore your beauty,
I am filled with joy and bliss.
This song describes the four stages we traveled to arrive at our destination. Agathiyar slowly weaned us out of Sariyai and Kriyai and brought us to Yogam and Gnanam.
The songs gifted by the saints are not mere songs but potent mantras that can bring about what is asked for. We are grateful to them for leaving behind these treasures and not copyrighting them or limiting their usage. Imagine if the saints and sages had done so we would not have access to use and sing these songs and would have lost our way back to God's kingdom.