If Christy Beam wrote in her memoir, "Miracles from Heaven", "Standing in the light of all he's given us, in the light of all that's happened I can't not tell you our story", Neale Donald Walsch writes about his conversation with God that "I could have kept this latest dialogue private but everything within me shouted, don't you dare." He felt that he should share keeping a promise to God. Agathiyar too has kept me going by sharing his messages that come in multiple ways with those who chose to believe, read and continue reading this blog. The orthodox might tell us not to share our spiritual experiences, but what use would it be if I too kept it under wraps and bring it to my grave? Geetha Anand tells me that she was "privileged to be Agatthiyar Aiya's tool" when I told her that she was a catalyst and had kindled interest among seekers in Spain and Brazil to take up the path of the Siddhas after reading her numerous translations of the Siddha text.
"The Meijnana kaviyam that Amma initiated me to translate has opened the doors for so many souls with genuine thirst. Ashram Vettaveli in Spain brought out the publication... I was blessed to work on two more compositions, Saumya Sagaram (500 out of 1200 songs), Agatthiyar Antharangadeeksha vidhi. They have published these also. Agatthiyar has brought a big interest in Brazil. Around 50 students are learning about Tamil Siddhas, Agatthiyar and his compositions with Sri Sakti Sumanan.
When God works through man, he then has access to all the wisdom, information, tools, and method. As Neale says "As we are one with God we do have the ability to create alternate endings to any story", mankind working in unison with the divine forces can bring forth a favorable outcome. The pandemic is a classic example, where the the scientists, the frontliners, right to the public worked towards a favorable solution.
So it seems like we can indeed select the end to our story as we do in the Role Playing Games. Indeed life is a role-playing game too for us. Imagine the different number of roles we play each day. Imagine the different number of face masks we adorn each moment. Imagine the different number of tools we pick for our task. I do not remember my beginning. What I remember is the few years of life on this planet. Even those memories fade with time. I definitely cannot know the future. What I only have on hand to work with is the present. In making the present pleasant I guess the future will take care of itself as Tavayogi points out.
I use to tell Agathiyar "நீங்க இருக்கீங்க, ஆனால் அப்ப அப்ப கண்டுக்காம இருக்கீங்க". He is here with us but most of the time he looks the other way. Imagine if he was to monitor us 24/7 or breathe down our neck, we would be so tense that we shall ask him to leave, right? He only comes to the aid of those who have truly given up or in other words totally surrendered. Until we give up and surrender he only looks on for we are still in control of the steering or holding on to the mouse. It is only when we leave the scene that he moves in to do his magic. I remember the music director for our album "Agathiyar Geetham", Jey Raggaveindra telling me the story of how Agathiyar through his son completed the missing pieces to one of the songs from the album after in frustration he left to take a short break. Apparently, he took back this piece to his home to work on it further rather than try to finish it at his studio. In his absence, his 2-year-old son came down and fiddled with the piece and bravo what do you know! He completed the missing pieces that Jey was looking for!
Karma only has a hold as long as we believe we are in charge. Karma erodes the moment we accept that it's all God's doing and surrender to him. In acceptance, we surrender. Acceptance ends all suffering. Acceptance makes us accommodate everything. Acceptance makes us humble and lose our ego. By letting go a whole new set of experiences is given anew. A new dawn and an awakening then takes place. In "Conversation with God Book 4 - "Awaken the Species" Neale writes that God tells him that "Even when faced with death, accepting death removes the fear of it for death too is an ongoing evolutionary process." To the woman who came to Buddha to ask him to revive her child Buddha taught her that death cannot be evaded by asking her to seek alms from only homes that have never seen death take place. She found none.
When the Siddhas speak of karma both personal and collective; when they share their grieving, watching man deviates from the path of righteousness, bringing about his downfall, and bringing onto him untold miseries; they use a chosen few as a tool to forewarn humanity before they throw in the towel and let natures law take its cause. The pandemic that we lived through if it was a result of collective karma, a price we paid for our negligence and arrogance, going by a Nadi reading shared with me in July, the most compassionate Siddhas did not let us down but told us that they are watching it closely doing their best to help contain it in the ways they know.
After 10 years since his last conversation and book, Neale sat down to bring the train of dialogue he had with God in CWG Book 4. As Neale shares his sadness as to what was going around, telling God that "it feels like we're becoming less civil, less tolerant, less capable of controlling our indulgences, .." rolling out the current state of affairs, God asked him to pass on His third and final invitation, assuring him that there is nothing to worry about if he does what he was inwardly called to do. God gives him hope that we can actually "change things rather dramatically and tells him and reminds us too that this is both the perfect time to begin making these alterations and the perfect time for advancement. Our mission now is to awaken the species." But before that, we need to be awakened first. As God told Neale that "the fastest way to awaken more quickly was to be the cause of someone else's awakening", Agathiyar told us among the list of merits that come down to us as a result of our actions which were the worship of God and serving the guru; and performing charity and feeding the hungry; the most appreciated of the deeds was to spread the words and messages of the masters. We can revel in joy at having performed rituals to the command of our gurus; at having performed charity to the needy, feeding them and appeasing their hunger; and in bringing together devotees and those seeking to come to the fold of the Siddhas through these events. We are glad and proud that we have done our share, a small part towards the upliftment of humanity and all of God's creation. Everything is done for the growth of the spirit and soul. When people asked Yogi Ramsuratkumar why India had so many beggars the Yogi simply answered that India needed beggars. Do not despise them. They are placed there for our benefit. They provide us an avenue, allowing us opportunities to serve them. We gain these much-needed experiences that build on compassion in us. If only we could add love as an ingredient in all our dealings we have served and lived well, completing our purpose for taking birth.
Lay aside all the rational, logical thoughts and reasoning that come in the way preventing us from extending our arms to provide aid and do charity, says Agathiyar. By the simple act of feeding the unfortunate, the act itself trains us to see the spirit and soul that resides in the hungry and the poor. These people could be angels waiting to help us expedite the washing away of our karma. Know that he who comes to us for help or assistance, food or drink, or asking for other forms of aid neither with bonds attached nor a deal, could in fact be an angel seeking to help us rid or lessen our baggage of karma. Doing charity elevates us and elevates the other too. Showing kindness brings joy to both. Feeding another brings immense joy to both too. Bring the ecstasy of god into you. Touch all those who come into your lives with love. Be the light for those who live in the dark. Be the eyes of those who have lost their sight. Be the limp for those who have lost it.
If consciousness creates our experiences, collective consciousness creates the environment and the resulting experience for us. Thoughts are powerful indeed. And collective thoughts and prayers do deliver, doing wonders. When we come together and pray for a better world, a good leader arises to fulfill our wishes. An avatar might arise too. The collective yearning of souls seeking the teachings of the Siddhas brings forth a guru. Tavayogi desired to spread the teachings of the Siddhas. The Siddhas then came to his aid, providing the fertile ground, and prepared the seekers and aspirants on this path ahead so that he could sow the seed of knowledge in them. When we come together and put forth a righteous desire, consciousness moves accordingly and delivers our wish. Just as we have asked for the desired change to happen, similarly, if injustice or atrocities take place, we have allowed it to happen too. We have to remind ourselves that it is we who allow a saint or demon to materialize.
Life is just a process do not get caught up in the process but move on. Everybody is here to bring us an experience be it bitter or sweet. Here then is an opportunity for us to bring out the noble attitudes in us, like giving, sharing, showing kindness, being creative, gentle, patient, helpful, friendly, considerate, forgiving, compassionate, and loving. Just as the young soul sought to experience forgiving, many opportunities are created every moment of our lives so that we can bring out these values and experience the joy derived thereafter. During the course of cruising through life and what it has to offer, it would be desirable to see even the opponent as an angel, for it could be an angel come down to give us an experience, though bitter, and see how we would handle the situation. As Neale wrote in his "Conversations with God", learn to heal the hurt of others; quell the anxieties of the fearful; meet the needs of the impoverished; celebrate the magnificence of the accomplished, and see the vision of god in all. Eventually when we are spiritually matured and when we learn to see all things as unreal, an illusion or maya there would be no real suffering or real pain. That was what Agathiyar told me when he brushed aside the physical agony and intense pain that ran through my body, that had crippled me, limiting my movements and affecting the mobility that I went through for 2 1/2 years back then in 2011. When we come to know the impermanence of life and nature we come to a total understanding of all that is going on around us. Nature teaches us the impermanence of things if only we chose to look around. Everything is changing each instant, each moment, and each second. The path is also the destination, evolving and changing moment to moment. It is akin to carrying a mat rolled up and laying it along as we take each step. It is not something laid out in advance for us to walk on. It is we who determine our experiences. It is we who attract the company. Since it is we who asked for it, we are given the tools and company to experience it. Prapanjam comes to our aid and reveals itself, reveals its workings. Realize that the moment is pretty alive and full of joy and discovery.
We cannot certainly run away from illness but we sure can have the spirit in us heal us besides the medical attention given and the prayers put forward. God would not intervene in our lives unless we sent out an SOS, a prayer, or asked him for assistance. This healing begins with bringing the spirit of god within through constant prayers and service. In a classic case among many, Agathiyar saved a devotee from death by giving him his breath, bringing him out of his coma, and doing a wonder miracle where new arteries developed avoiding the need for further surgery. All he asked was that devotees gather and pray for the soul, which they did. Prayers and service then serve as a balm to the spirit and body. Agathiyar too mentions that the spirit has to be strengthened; we need to achieve Atma Balam.
The spirit having gods essence in it and being the medium that communicates with god takes charge of the mind and body. Having god come unto us, he then fulfills all our righteous desires too. The divine then works through us. He equips and prepares us to do his job. His knowledge pours into us so as to enable us to carry out his will. As an extension of this, we begin to see the light in god; we begin to see the light in us and we begin to see the light in others too. We begin to realize that all paths are precious and important. They are there and serve those who come along. As Betty says, very special people were placed all over the earth in all faiths so that they may touch the lives of others too, we need to join this category.
There is intelligence behind everything. This intelligence submits itself to god. Having taken a material body that is constantly in conflict with the spirit, the purpose now is to find harmony between the two. A strong spirit keeps both the body and mind under surveillance and control. The spirit in turn is governed by love. If only we could add love as an ingredient in all our dealings we have served and lived well, completing our purpose for taking birth.
Nobody can fathom or understand the play of god. But there is a reason for everything to take place. Acceptance is the key to surfing and sailing through this life. See everything that takes place positively. Each experience bitter or otherwise helps us grow spiritually. The soul that separated itself from its source, in need and in search of experiences, came down to earth. This is something we wanted in the past. While we came to learn new things, we also came to apply what we had learned earlier. Rather than cry out that we cannot take it any longer in the face of trial and tribulation and extreme tests, convert that sorrow into something productive, something useful, that would be of help or use to another. This would be our greatest triumph.
It seems like in addressing these calamities, the Siddhas only reveal a solution that saves our skins and not the world at large. Why are they indifferent to the happenings going around us, we might ask? Or are they concerned and working on it without our knowledge? When the tsunami of 2004 hit the shores of many nations and excessive rainfall did much damage in Ooty, Tavayogi took to modify the annual Yagam he had been carrying in conjunction with the Annual Jayanthi of Agathiyar at Kallar Ashram before 2004, expanding its purpose to include Sarva Dosa Nivaarana Maha Yagam. He had me carry out a smaller version of the Yagam, the Homam in my home on the same day and time taking into consideration the time difference between India and Malaysia. Agathiyar in wanting me to carry on the Homam that was initiated by Tavayogi at my home changed my perspective of the ritual. He told me that I was not doing it for myself but for the good of the world (உலக ஷேமம்). Only then could I accept and continue the tasks given. That was a purpose given to me too I understood later. When we have governments, NGOs, charitable organizations, and concerned citizens going to the ground to alleviate the sufferings of people, we do hear about saints in deep meditation praying for the well-being of society, mankind, and the world without moving a finger or moving places.
Why is it that it is only now that we can associate with the dialogues, conversations, songs, or pleadings of the saints asking for forgiveness and salvation? It is because we got connected with them and their work. If previously they were just devotional songs to us, with the experience we see a similarity in our lives. God's message out of compassion, is always not for their individual self but for all of humanity. Their compassion towards all beings goes beyond words. Ramalinga Adigal's compassion went beyond the human race, the animal kingdom reaching the plant kingdom as he was saddened to see the plants wilt.
One who misuses his freedom and choices given and ends up harming others himself ends up having to be removed from society and put away, caged, or jailed. Imagine then what they are missing.
Simon Reeve visits inmates convicted when they were juveniles, some as young as 16, serving life sentences at a maximum-security prison in his show on "BBC Earth - North America with Simon Reeve." The prison authorities devise and initiate a mobile platform that gave the inmates everything that they have missed out on by putting them in virtual reality to simulate life situations on the outside. A convict talks about the benefit of the program, telling Simon that "I haven't seen the inside of a restaurant for so long. ... supermarket ... there are so many choices .. kind of overwhelming outside the prison walls. I have the chance to see myself in a virtual setting." "The program," says Simon, "prepares these convicts for a life on the outside that will make it possible for them someday to step out of the gate." I was reminded again to be grateful for being a free person. We ought to be grateful at this juncture that we are at liberty to travel free and far although the Covid pandemic has come to hinder much of our movement.
What is the price or value of freedom? We shall never know until... we lose it. The prisoner of war shall know its value. One counting his days to the gallows will know. We have taken freedom for granted. Treasure your freedom. The pandemic has to a large extent curtailed this freedom. The past year of restricted movement has placed a massive amount of stress on many. Being a pensioner, I too can feel the heat of seeing family, friends, and others battle with their lives, fearing for their lives, having lost income and jobs, and having to stomach more losses in many more ways. Pollution in major cities, and the pandemic that has forced us to wear facial masks outdoors remind us to cherish the gift of air. Similarly, life-sustaining waterways are equally polluted these days. Many have only a vague memory of the richness and goodness of clean healthy air and water that prevailed once upon a time. Clean air and water are a thing of the past.
Just as the heroes come to our aid in time of need in the comics and movies, we have real-life heroes doing their share and giving back to the community.
The StarMetro carried a story of a young 27-year-old individual who turned a capsule hotel into the Care Shelter Kuala Lumpur. "Adzarul Buqary Abu Bakar says the shelter gave the homeless an alternative place to stay compared to the ones run by the government authorities." It is great to know that the CIMB Foundation has come forward to fund its monthly expenses.
Sahaana Sankar writes on Hand in Hand India at https://www.ourbetterworld.org/, which "focuses on poverty alleviation through an integrated approach." They too start them young. "In line with this, we work with school children to train their mindsets towards sustainable decisions, keeping in mind their impact on the environment."
Just like them, there are many other individuals doing their small part to alleviate the sufferings of others as also organizations and societies that have a further reach and resources. Let us do our part in this major plan and play of his.