It is said that men fight over three things: soil, gold, women (மண்ணாசை பொன்னாசை பெண்ணாசை). Many emperors and kings embarked on voyages to conquer lands and expand their kingdoms in the past. They had their men go in search and loot gold and treasures. Countries went to battle with others for oil. We have heard that wars were fought over women though these are still debated.
We learn many countries conquered and plundered India for its riches and wealth both material and spiritual. A summary of Roy Moxham's book, "The Theft of India: The European Conquests of India, 1498-1765", states that,
"In the three centuries that followed Vasco da Gama’s discovery of the sea route from Europe to India, European powers made a beeline for India’s fabled riches, its spices, gold, and gems. Though they ostensibly came for trade and commerce and the thrill of discovering a new land, the lines between exploration and exploitation soon blurred. The "Theft of India" documents the intense rivalry for spoils that played out between the British, the French, the Dutch, and the Portuguese and the impact this had on Indians. It details the political intrigue, the agreements and the betrayals, the oppression, swindling, and greed of these foreign powers as they each tried to strengthen their grip on this vast and ‘exotic’ land."
Watching the documentary "Attack on Pearl Harbor: Minute by Minute", we learn that Japan went to war when talks were seen to have failed with America over oil and "a succession of increasingly restrictive trade restrictions."
All these still continue with much more reasons to start a war and adding to the list. But as much as it hurts to read about them and many having to live in the midst of these horrors, many are there who are sweet and pure to the soul. God shows them to us though they refrain from the limelight. Someone chosen comes along to highlight their plight or reveal their glory. Though many might desire to take up the task the responsibility is given to certain souls to deliver. Equally many others do not even have the notion or idea to give them due recognition as their lives are self-centered.
Man has to leave something behind besides his children. He might leave behind monuments and buildings. He might leave behind his riches that take the shape of foundations that carry on his good work. He might discover things that simplify man's work. He might also do work to uplift the souls. Agathiyar in his 5 tenets to mankind speaks about his role and purpose in taking birth.
Besides giving back to the society we should instill these values in the young too. They then shall carry the legacy and flagship into the future.
I was always interested in reading autobiographies and biographies of those who made a name for themselves. Then there are others who shun the limelight and hid away from society and the public. But the divine brings them or rather pushes them under the floodlight bringing attention to them.
Last night I watched the film based on the life of Nambi Narayanan, "Rocketry: The Nambi Effect." It brought me to tears. I could not imagine the lives of innocent folks could change overnight for the worse and made difficult by certain individuals, society, and people in authority. Knowing that this is possible we shudder in fear as the thought arises that we could be the next victim. But in all their lives the underlying factor that each personality who was harmed carried is trust in God, and the strength to live by their passions and principles. They never gave in to pressure.
Reading the lives of the saints of the bygone era we see the same where they are put under extreme torture and brutality but they sort refuge in God. Buddha too teaches us the importance of seeking refuge not with others but the three Jewels of Buddhism that are the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. As a kid, I used to attend classes and learn the mantras taught at the Wat Phodhiyaram Thai Buddhist Temple, Assam Kumbang, Taiping which was just doors away from our rented home. There is calm and peace in these Buddhist temples, which prompted me to visit one wherever I go. Similarly, the churches and mosques carried an air of calm and peace. I guess calm and peace are at the feet of God. This is the reason many turn to God for solace in troubled times. These religious institutions are a must for society especially in troubled times like now as the world goes through a period of shedding its skin and renewal.
In wanting to bring salvation to us spiritual institutions too sprang up like mushrooms, bringing the teachings of masters and gurus to the common folk.
So we have much choice in picking a tool, method, and way to explore what is right for our souls as no two individuals shall travel the same path.
Geetha Anand, the blog administrator at http://agatthiyarjnanam.blogspot.com/2014/01/agatthiyar-meijnana-kaviyam-1.html, writes,
"Siddha marga is an experiential path, not a dry jnana marga. It is a path where experience and knowledge go together. Experience is always correct. When one tries to verbalize an experience, mistakes and shortcomings occur. These mistakes can be corrected only by re-experiencing the original experience. This is possible only by Divine grace."
Going by the above translation of "Agatthiyar Meijnanam", "When one tries to verbalize an experience, mistakes and shortcomings occur. These mistakes can be corrected only by re-experiencing the original experience. This is possible only by Divine grace", can we deduce that we come back taking births to right the wrong or perfect something in our lives? Does this explain the mystery of a Nadi leaf that the Nadi reader and I flipped through among the many others, that carried all the details in my life except that it stated I had married a woman named Manohari? As my wife's name wasn't that we forego the leave. After two weeks we located mine correct in its entirety. Maybe this particular chap had lived in the past but must have opted out of the blueprint charted for him by marrying someone else then. Now taking a rebirth he is settled back on the track married to his present wife. The statement "These mistakes can be corrected only by re-experiencing the original experience" makes me wonder if we should at all interfere with God's original plan laid out for us. But that is what we do ignoring his desires by placing our individual desires up front and bent on fulfilling them. If we learn to go with the flow as Lao Tzu and the many masters before us have told us, I guess we will stick to God's original plan and end this journey rather fast. I guess this is why Agathiyar on the offset in his 5 tenets tells us to discover our purpose here rather than chart new ones for ourselves.
After I started Siddha worship solo in 2002, my wife and children joined me in 2005, coaxed by Tavayogi upon his arrival on our shores. Agathiyar sent many to my home beginning in 2013 upon his arrival in the form of a bronze statue in 2010. My wife told me recently that we were getting "a high" after years of doing puja and charity. We now know why Agathiyar had us drop both in September of 2019. We are glad that we were tasked to carry out the rituals and charity by both Agathiyar and Tavayogi and never carried out things to our whims and fancy. We came to know that a highly religious devotee who went out to refurbish abandoned temples was killed in a tragic accident. Agathiyar surprised us by revealing in a Nadi reading that he had stepped out of line, though what he did was promising and good. I guess he took on something or shouldered something that was not his purpose in life.