When a friend and devotee of Agathiyar was on the verge of burning himself serving the unfortunate, I told him that he should instead light another candle rather than exhaust himself. When we try to achieve something solely we will burn ourselves out just as a candle does. If we light several other candles around us, the work we do shall be carried on by others instead of dying with us. Watching the movie "99 Songs" last night, I came across a similar metaphor.
உள்ளே இருக்கிற வெளிச்சத்தை வெளி கொண்டு வரணும். அனைந்து பொய் கிடக்கிறது விளக்குகளை அந்த வெளிச்சத்தை பகிர்ந்துக்கணும். வெளிச்சம் ஒன்று தான் பகிர்ந்துக்கிறபோது பாதி ஆகாமல் இரட்டிப்பாகும்.
What a wonderful reminder. We are told that we need to bring out the light in us and light up those lamps that have died down. It is only light that when shared doesn't split into halves but multiplies. Indeed when we share money or food, we will be left with a smaller portion or amount. But when we share the light its intensity does not diminish in us. Such is the sacrifice of the Siddhas too.
They are continually reminding us to buck up. They are not satisfied until we take up the call. When we take a step they then work their best on us. They begin to mold us into their form, into becoming another Siddha. At times they let us off the hook for some time to attend to the matters of the world. They let us settle our karma so that we do not take it with us into the future. Once it is out of the way and exhausted by experiencing it, they come to take a stake of us and lead us on their path further.
The movie goes on to say, the path of truth would most definitely be tough. But that path will surely bring us to our goal.
உண்மையுடடைய பாதை கடுமையாகத் தான் இருக்கும். ஆனால் அது தான் நாம் நினைக்கிற இலக்குக்கு நம்மைக் கொண்டு சேரும்.
Tavayogi told me after we got to know each other that he had to rough it out after coming to the path. But he was amazed that Agathiyar had made it simple and easy for us to reach the path. Just days ago he told another devotee the same.
நான் காடு மலை திரிந்து அலைந்து பெற்றதெல்லாம் உங்களுக்குப் போராடாமல் கிடைத்து விட்டது எனக்கு மகிழ்ச்சி அம்மா.
Indeed when many scouted and searched for years and finally came to settle on this path, the path practically opened up before us, just as my granddaughter, when she rushed into the room told me that she had dropped from the sky when I asked her whenceforth she came.
The movie reminds us to persistently and with determination walk the path though be it rough terrain. We are told that one who upholds the truth does not need another birth.
எவ்வளவு கஷ்டமான பயணமாக இருந்தாலும் அதில் தீவரமாக, உறுதியாக இருந்து முடிக்கணும். உண்மையாக வாழ்பவர்களுக்கு இன்னொரு பிறவி என்பது தேவை படாது.
Lord Muruga, Agathiyar, Ramalinga Adigal, and Tavayogi are bent on making us Siddhas too. We realized this when they started pushing us continuously. Lord Muruga came to ask us to surrender, asking repeatedly if we had. They prepared our body to take on the next phase. They cleansed and cleared the body expelling the impurities (சுத்திகரிப்பு). They worked on our body giving us Yoga Asanas to keep fit and in shape. They have us work on our breath giving us Pranayama. They gave us numerous practices and came to remind us to carry them out. They asked that we do it before them. They came again to give further practice. Such is their concern and compassion to see that we make it to their state.
Agathiyar asked us to drop Sariyai and Kriyai that were introduced by our parents and the Siddhas themselves respectively. He told us to move on to Yoga and Gnana. If Agathiyar connected us with the breath Ramalinga Adigal connected us with the Prapanjam and Arutperunjothi.
But sadly many are lost in Maya or illusion. The world out there seems to be more exciting and appealing. Its grip and hold on these devotees is so tight that they find it so difficult to let go of the position, fame, and honor that comes with it. Just as smoking and drinking and drugs keep us addicted, the recognition the world around us has to offer to us and the pleasures of the senses keep us bound and tied to it. Yet Tavayogi and the Siddhas try to help us break our hold on them and move up to greater heights. They come to ask that we drop our petty concerns, desires, and wishes and aim for higher things in life as in the bliss that comes with these higher journeys. In Tavayogi's words, it is moving from Citinbam to Perinbam.
தேடலை உன்னுள் செலுத்து. எல்லாவித காரியங்களிலும் இருந்து விடு பெற்று கொண்டு மௌனத்தில் ஆழ்ந்து போங்கள். .... அதைத்தான் அப்பா அனுபவிக்க சொன்னேன.
If Agathiyar and Ramalinga Adigal had guided us in the absence of Tavayogi in the physical form after his demise in 2018, Tavayogi has come to guide us again in the subtle form. He took an oath to turn us into Siddhas. He invites us to join him in his present state as a Siddha. But the effort has to come from us. Then they shall shower their grace. He gives a metaphor that of a boat and the need to place the oar in the waters and row in a specific way to reach the destination. If we are afraid to place the oar into the waters, the journey shall never begin and we shall never see the other bank or shore.
உன்னை யாம் சித்தனாய் காண விரும்புகிறோம். என்னோடு என் சீடனாய் சித்த நிலை அடைந்துவிடப்பா. கண்டிப்பாக சித்த ஜனங்களாய் மாற்றி விடுவேன். அதர்க்கு முயற்சி நீங்கள் செய்ய வேண்டும். அவ்வாறு இருக்க அருள் அதற்கு நான் தருவேன். வாழ்கை என்பது படகு. துடுப்பாய் நீங்கள் சரிவரச் செலுத்தினால் ஓடத்தை அடைவீர்கள். துடுப்பை போடுவதற்கு பயந்தால் கரை சேரமாட்டீர்கள்.
Here we see how the most compassionate guru strives to work on his disciples to bring them to the state of a Siddha too. How can we repay their kindness? When they are putting so much effort to uplift us, should we not place an equal effort. Sadly they need to come repeatedly to remind us to place the effort. To those who hesitate or their attention diverted, Tavayogi asks them why did they come to the path?
நீ சித்த மார்க்கத்திற்கு எதுக்கு வந்தாய்?
When many tell him that they seek Moksha, Deathlessness, and an end to birth, it is obvious that they do not know what they are asking for. For one who seeks these, Ramalinga Adigal is exemplary of how one should conduct himself and work towards these goals. Are we doing it too? For those unaware of the ways to reach these goals the songs of the saints and Siddhas give us an idea and the Siddhas give us the ways and means. They stay and coach us till we achieve the grades. Though we stand before them with all our flaws and hesitate and are unwilling to give ourselves completely to the cause, the Siddhas never desert us. They may step back to let fate take its course momentarily but are quick to come to redeem us at the right moment. Meanwhile just as we have to run round the field to shed some weight before we are selected into the uniform units or forces, before boarding the tiny vessel that is going to sail us to the other bank, we have to exhaust the remaining karma that stands in our way.