Agathiyar guided us through his Aasi Nadi which came to be read regularly. He had other Siddhas speak on Yoga too. Patanjali corrected our existing menu and changed it to one of satvic in nature. Fast forward to 2000, Dhanvanthri, Bhogar, Tirumular, and Ramalinga Adigal; Supramania Swami and his guru Yogi Ramsuratkumar; Tavayogi, Lord Siva, Lord Murugan; Mother and Aiya in their many manifestations and Rama and Anjaneya too blessed us coming through devotees. The blockages that are a result of our previous lifestyles result in its imbalances and disorders in the body. The imbalance in the 3 dosas of bodily humor namely Vatam or wind, Pittam or bile, and Kapam or phlegm necessitates the need for Deha Suddhi. Agathiyar gave us his Agathiyar Kuzhambu to consume for this purpose. He shows me to Siddha practitioner or Siddha Vaidyar Arivan of the Arulguru Agathiyar Arulsidhar Peedam, also known as Agathiyar Yoga Herbs Centre (officially registered as the Agathiyar Arul Shakti Peedham). Vaidyar Arivan prepared the Agathiyar Kuzhambu which contains 11 ingredients that are mentioned in the Siddha formulary of India - part -1, that when combined act as a purgative. Besides being a purgative it is said to cure many diseases too. He passed me other herbs too that he deemed fit for me to take that served as Kaya Karpam to strengthen the body. That purgative brought out all the trash and garbage I had carried in my system for the past sixty years. That did an excellent job of cleaning the house or so I thought. Agathiyar tells me that though it helped bring balance to the three dosas there were still impurities in my system that had to be cleared. He had me prepare a magic potion and take it daily. It had a tenth of the effect of his Agathiyar Kuzhambu but was effective enough in daily cleansing. Agathiyar came regularly to check on us if we are following his dictates. So when he asked if I was following the Vaasi or breathing techniques he had told me to carry out, I lamented that the mind would not settle. He then asks if I was taking the concoction that he had asked me to prepare and take daily. I then told him it was too bitter a pill to swallow to which he commanded me to take it. He added that the impurities or Kalivu in the body need to be rid of for the mind to settle in contemplation and meditation.
With the prana that is ingested in larger volumes through the practice of pranayama; and having the nadis purified by the practice of Nadi Suddhi; and by consuming Agathiyar Kuzhambu that brought on Dega Suddhi, next came the spontaneous purification of the lower chakras. It broke my back so to say. I couldn't move momentarily after coughing out phlegm during my morning shower one morning in 2011. A nerve pain tugged at my lower back right down my right leg to the toes causing excruciating pain and bringing me to my knees. It was several minutes before I could drag myself to the bed. This pain in my lower back became worse. First, I could not walk long distances. Then I could not sit long. Finally, the pain woke me up from sleep. After going through the painful experience for some 3 years, finally Agathiyar came to explain why I was going through the agony. The 3 dosas had gone haywire resulting from energy awakenings in the Muladhara chakra, a result of my yogic practice and tapas. He asks to stop all my yoga practice immediately. He gave me herbs to consume and ointments to apply to bring me relief. Finally, he relieved my pain through physiotherapy at the government clinic. It went away for good or so I thought. In 2018 I was crippled again by it as a sneeze came on as I was crossing the street. Lord Murugan brought relief attending to me by stroking me with his peacock feathers and explaining what was being done in the Nadi reading concurrently. When the energies could not be contained any further both in me and the home, Agathiyar asked me to tone down on our worship in September 2019. Slowly we began to reduce the duration and scale of our worship. We only retained the ritual of bathing him with water daily to cool him done as his energy expanse was beyond proportion in his statue. Similarly, he asked to halt the charity too as we had brought a balance to the scale of merits. We were asked to resume our Yoga practices instead. Experience has taught us that Yoga has to be dealt with in a careful manner and with the guidance of a Siddha. In the event something goes wrong they are on hand to bring us relief or to correct us. Pandit Gopi Krishna who "had aroused the Kundalini, speaks about the result of that "sudden outburst one day after putting in years of meditation" and his "first encounter with the serpent energy, the physic energy in his life" where "he had his first glimpse into the superconscious state and saw fabulous Kundalini in action." Reading his account of Kundalini gives us shivers.
Swami Rajarshi Muni in speaking about the very basic alternate nostril breathing says, "This is considered a powerful exercise in creating pranaprabalya, or the strengthening of prana, as well as the purification of the nadis. The more pranayama is done, the more prana is stored in the kanda.… prana travels through the subtle body by means of subtle channels known as Ida and pingala. These subtle channels, like the gross air passage, have their upper ends at the openings of the left and right nostrils. However, they do not end up in the lungs like the respiratory system of the gross body. Instead, they run down to a bulbous subtle structure (kanda) situated about three inches below the navel of the gross body."
Though I had carried the above excerpt in my blog on Saturday, 8 September 2018, I never understood the essence of the matter until my recent experience. The Kanda is exactly where I sensed the tug of a nerve several days ago before there was a spinning sensation in my abdomen that brought on nausea and a chill and coldness both in the abdomen and throughout my entire body making it go numb to the fingers tips. After this "explosion of energy", I saw calmness and peace come over me and I could actually sit and try to meditate. It was a blissful state. The breath I believe has begun to settle on its own. I guess the secret is in the simplicity of life or the practice and not in the jargon of words or elaborate practices put together by man for a fee. Sriinaath Raghavan who is known to give us gems writes on our foolishness in not recognizing the gem before us and instead take long unfruitful journeys in searching for one elsewhere.
There was an ardent practitioner of Kriya Yoga who would go to the Mountains often to meditate. On one such trip, he unexpectedly happened to meet the Eternal Yogi, called Babaji. He fell at Babaji's feet, and told the great Saint, how he always wished to see him and receive Deeksha. The Saint however kept silent and listened with a patient ear, because all of them who happened to meet, more or less tell the same thing. After the Seeker finished talking, Babaji asked him to follow through a dense jungle, winding their way across many slopes, till they finally reached a cave, where the Saint lived. They sat inside and Babaji offered the Seeker a drink of something plain like water, but one that refreshed him to the core. Then the Seeker settling himself down asked, "Can you initiate me into the practice of Kriya Yoga?
Babaji gently nodded his head in approval and imparted the highest wisdom of Kriya to the Seeker. The Seeker after receiving the teachings felt uncommonly dejected and turning towards the Master complained, "Master this was not how it was mentioned on the website, it was far more complex with a lot of Mudras and Bandhas?
Babaji once again nodded his head gently and vanished from sight. It is said that this Seeker still roams the Mountains in search of Babaji, who is yet to confirm which one is right, He the Master of the Kriya or the Website. Alas! No matter what, we can never look beyond the book because we are hooked.
Prem Niranjana too shared Odhara Moon's post, a wonderful piece that puts us to shame.
"SEARCH FOR A MASTER"
A man went in search of a Master. He was ready to go around the world, but he was determined to find the Master, the true Master, the Perfect Master. Outside his village, he met an old man, a nice fellow sitting under a tree. He asked the old man, "Have you ever heard in your long life ... look like a wanderer ..."
He said, "Yes, I am a wanderer. I wandered all over the earth."
The man said, "That is the right kind of person. Can you suggest to me where I should go? I want to be a disciple of a Perfect Master."
The old man suggested a few addresses to him, and the young man thanked him and went on.
After thirty years of wandering around the earth and finding nobody who was exactly fulfilling his expectations, he came back dejected, and depressed. The moment he was entering his village he saw the old man who had become very old now, sitting under a tree. And suddenly he recognized that he is the Master! He fell at his feet and said, "Why didn't you say it to me, that you are the Master?"
The old man said, "But that was not the time for you. You could not recognize me. You needed some experience. Wandering around the earth has given you a certain maturity, a certain understanding. Now you see. Last time you had met me, but you had not seen me. You had missed. You were asking me about some Master. That was enough proof that you could not smell the fragrance. You were utterly blind; hence I gave you some bogus addresses so you could go. But even to be with the wrong people is good, because that is ... how one learns. For thirty years I have been waiting for you here. I have not left this tree."
In fact, the young man, who was not young anymore, looked at the tree and was even more surprised. Because in his dreams, in his visions he was always seeing that tree and there was always a feeling that he would find the Master sitting under this tree. Last time he had not seen the tree at all. The tree was there, the Master was there, Everything was ready ... but he was not ready."