It has been years since I took the train. I am on a train penning this post now. Back then it was the steam and diesel train. Now it is an electric train. Additional tracks have been laid. Old sleepers made of timber are replaced with concrete. Stations have been upgraded and renovated. Everything goes through change as man advances with newer scientific discoveries and newer technologies. Similarly, new understandings dawn on us as time passes and we gain new experiences or stand witness to many new things happening around us. The past week returning to visit my aged relatives, I understood that time stood still for them. They were caught in the past. I understood too the reason the elders could not explain the meaning and the significance of many rituals, customs, and traditions to us. But they faithfully carried out what their parents and ancestors did. The wise of the past understanding that it was pretty difficult to break their ignorance and make them understand, gave them directives and instructions instead or ordained them to carry out things adding a dash of spice to bring on the fear factor that they shall face the music or wrath of the divine if they were to stop doing them. I have come to realize that many common folks do not understand the secret of life nor are they interested to know. They do not have any inkling of the mystery of birth and death. So the elders did not explain further but showed by example these rituals. In this age of hunger for knowledge in all fields, these parents are not able to explain the reasons for carrying out many rituals and practices but tell their kin that the elders did it and we just follow. All these folks offered us were their experiences that come with some words of advice. If Ramalinga Adigal comes now I believe many can comprehend his teachings. I think he came too soon when people were not prepared to understand him.
At one time I felt ashamed that I did not know the reasons and inner meaning of the daily rituals we carry out. Neither could the elders explain. I began to look for books and read about them. But they were vague and brief and limited. Back then the internet was in its infant stage and not publicly available. Today we have access to much research material. We have a better understanding. Looking through the net I find tons of theories, philosophies, and texts on rituals, yoga, Siddha medicine, etc. But very few spoke about their direct experiences. The secret of all these practices lies with the Siddhas. And they are willing to reveal provided we are willing to listen. The Siddhas and saints have spoken and written them in the form of prose and songs that are difficult to comprehend by us. In order to understand correctly, we need to call these saints who authored them to reveal the gist of their teachings and practices. Otherwise, it would surely be only our interpretation of their experiences.
We are basically zombies walking this earth and wasting away our lives. Very few question the purpose of life. First, we have to know our past karma and attend to it and then keep our present under check (வினை அறிந்து செயல் படு). Avoid those actions that bring on disastrous results and take on good virtues. This shall pave the way for a good life. Doing charity and dharma shall bring a balance to our karma, hence strengthening the physical body and keeping away diseases and illnesses. Then with the earth element under check, we go on pilgrimages and dip into the holy waters. Visiting the Panchabutha stalam or the 5 temples designated to these elements. This cleanses the physical further. The hormones are regulated. A subtle transformation starts within. Then lighting the yagam or homam and oil lamps burns away the karma further. Having brought a balance to the earth element by balancing the scale of sins (Pabam) and merits (Punyam), having energized the body through the rituals of bathing in the holy waters and lighting the sacrificial fire we bring in the element of air that carries oxygen and prana enhancing its volume and increasing our breathing capacity, in coming to Yoga we connect with the Prana. Finally sitting in meditation we connect to the space, ether, and Vetaveli. The five bhottas attain a purified state, that of completeness or Paripuranam.
Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr. Jeffrey Cheah, a concerned citizen of Malaysia in a piece "Dear Malaysia" on StarOnline writes, "In the words of the late Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu, “There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they are falling in.” How true. Similarly, instead of having us rely on others forever, the Siddhas give us the knowledge to take hold of our lives. So when I was with my relatives, they would ask me to bless them with the sacred ash. This went on for some days. Finally, it occurred to me that rather than give them fish I shall teach them to fish. I had one of them sing the Maha Mantra Arutperunjothi that energizes the water placed before the sick and have them drink it. I had empowered them with the strength and confidence to heal another rather than seeking others to cure us.
There is so much hype in the Siddha circle. People have been told that the Siddhas are known to do siddhis and heal through their medicines and reveal the past, present, and future. There is another sector of seekers who come in search of the art of turning metal into gold. Others came to capture and captivate people with Siddhis. Words like kundalini have become a common day topic and are in general use these days. This is what captures their attention. But nobody speaks about or seeks the ways to retain this body or transmute and transform it into light that the Siddhas spoke about too. I guess it is of no interest to them. Tavayogi in defining the Siddhas did not speak of such siddhis but rather spoke about their success and achievement to change and transform this physical body into that of light. But the truth is that any transformation in us happens deep within us and rarely comes to the forefront. The Siddha only brings these siddhis out when there is a need and not to showcase it publicly.
Agathiyar told me several changes had taken place in me over the span of these 20 years that I never knew or felt in me. If he had not mentioned them in my regular Nadi readings I would not know of these changes. They were so subtle in nature that I did not feel nor realize and others were not aware of them too. But he cannot possibly be wrong, can he? In asking that I share my experiences that are taking place, recently I have to mention the internal journey that took great leaps over the past months after the dam was opened and the flood waters began to surge upstream just as our external journey that went on for years.
These revelations from my Nadi reading would show that it was a gentle and slow process and nothing drastic happens overnight. I am the same person today as I was 20 years ago. People ask me since I turned vegetarian 24 years ago if I am sattvic in nature. No, I still throw tantrums. Another asked what we gain in worshipping the Siddhas just as we ask of any material investment. People fail to understand what the Siddhas expect from us. They want us to rise to their state. But we stand before them asking for perishable things and non-permanent possessions.
The Siddhas promise the following, many that are unimaginable to us and that rarely we seek.
13.10.2007 உண்டாகும் குண்டலினி சக்தி உனக்கு உயர்வதைக் கண்டு நாங்கள் வியந்தோம் அப்பா. Though I began to read the Nadi in 2002 this was the very first mention of Kundalini.
18.5.2008 ஒப்பிலா உடல் சூடும் தியானத்தால் உனக்குச் சோர்வு வந்திடும் இக்கணம் தன்னில். தான் நீயும் குளிர்ச்சி தரும் பண்டம் தவறாது ஏற்றிட வேண்டும் அப்பா. நிலைத்துத் தான் அங்கத் திடம் ஓங்கச் சிறப்பாக வாரம் ஓர் நாள் மட்டும் செயற்கை உணவு மட்டும் ஏற்கா. மட்டிலா செய், கரி, குரு நாள் தன்னில் மகத்தான மருத்துவத்தின் உணவும் ஏற்பாய் கட்டளைதான் உப்பு, புலி, காரம், இனிப்பும் கண்டிப்பாய் ஆகாது ஏற்க வேண்டாம். பதஞ்சலியின் யோக சூட்சம இதுதான் மைந்தா. வளமிருக்கும் வர்ணமும், ஆதாரமும் சித்தி கொண்டதோர் குண்டலினி ஓங்கும் பாரு. The many practices taught and shown and put into practice shall bring on excessive heat within. Hence the need to take sattvic food that cools the body. This is the second instance he spoke about the Kundalini.
30.9.2008 நேர்மையான தவத்தாலே நெற்றிக் கண் ஒளியும், ஒளி அதுவும் உனக்குமே வெளிப்பட்டது இப்போ. கண்ணியமாய் வாசிதனை வசப்படுத்திக் கணக்காகப் புசிக்கச் சிறப்பு தானே. சிறப்புயெலாம் வாசியிலே அடங்கி இருக்கு. சித்தர் எல்லாம் வாசி வழி தேர்ச்சி கண்டார். சிறப்புமிக்க மூத்தோனும் புத்தனும் தான் சிறப்பான வாசிக்கே அதிபதி ஆவார். ஆனதொரு வாசி தன்னை அடக்கினாலே ஆயுளோடு மரணம் இல்லா பெரு வாழ்வு உண்டு. தவசியெல்லாம் வாசியாலே தவமும் பெற்றார். தான் அடைந்த உண்மையெல்லாம் உனக்கு உரைத்தோம். He asks that we observe the breath telling us that Lord Vinayagar and Gautama Buddha excelled in this art. They remind us that they are sharing what they themselves had practiced and achieved.
8.12.2008 வாசி பயிற்சியாலே சுழி திறந்து உச்சியும் திறக்கக் கண்டாய். ஏழுதிரை தன்னை நீக்கி வழுவாது சோதிதனை கான வைப்போம். வையகத்தில் பூர்த்தி நிலை அடையச் செய்வோம். சொரூப நிலை யாவும் பெற வழியும் செய்வோம். Taking on the breath we shall see the veil of ignorance drawn aside to reveal the Jothi.
27.8.2009 வெற்றி நிலை மிகுந்து காணத் தவ சூச்சமம் தான் விவரிப்பேன். இரு மண்டலம் செய்வாய் நன்றாய். நெறி உடனே தினம் காலை மாலையும் தான் நாசியின் மேல் கீழ் சக்கரம் நோக்கி நோக்கியே தவம் பயிற்சி சில நாழிகை மட்டும் நாசியினுள் நீண்டவாறு வாசியை இழுத்து விட்டுப் பக்குவமாய் பயிற்சியும் செய்து வரப் பலப்படும் ஞான நிலை பலவாறாக. பலவாறு தெளிவு திடம் சிந்தை கீர்த்தி பிரபஞ்சம் வசிய நிலை திண்ணம். உலகினிலே நாங்கள் செய்த பயிற்சிதான் உவந்து சொன்னோம் உனக்குமே சூச்சம். He gives further practice and again mentions that the Siddhas did all these.
26.12.2009 ஞானத்தின் திறவுகோல் திறந்த பிள்ளை. உச்சியும் திறந்த பிள்ளை. முக்கண்ணும் பிரகாசிக்கும். தர வேண்டும் போக்கிடங்கள் என்று நினைத்தோம். தவறாது யோகி வழி உனக்குக் கிட்டும். He says that Tavayogi shall grant us the rest.
But none of what was told happened in a drastic manner or captured the attention of others. Neither was I aware of them. Life went on as usual. I guess since I had a job and a family they did not want to disrupt my life in any manner. Hence when some are able to describe in detail the changes within them, I for one have seen only those that I had shared in this blog earlier.
Guruswamy Sethuraman, a leading numerologist, and son of Pandit Sethuraman writes about Rabindranath Tagore at https://www.quora.com/
Rabindranath Tagore has shared his spiritual awakening experience in the most beautiful manner. The following event happened in his life. It is worth noting. He wrote prayers about God in the Gitanjali, for which he received the Nobel prize and became famous the world over.
But there lived an old man near his house who began to harass him constantly. Wherever he met Rabindranath, he would hold on to him and ask, ”Please tell me truly: have you known God?” The old man was obstinate and Rabindranath, being an honest person, could not tell a lie. The old man looked so straight and deep into the eyes of Rabindranath that his hands and legs used to tremble.
Here was the winner of the Nobel prize. Wherever he went he was much honored by the people. People used to say, ”Here is a living example of one whom the Upanishads call a Maharishi.” Yet here he was, being troubled by an old man from his neighborhood. And the harassment was not for just one day or one morning or evening, but continued every day, because the old man, having nothing to do, spent all his time sitting on a chair near the door of his house so Rabindranath found it difficult to avoid him.
Rabindranath has written in his diary that he found it very difficult to leave the house: ”Before going out, I would inquire whether the old man was sitting there or not. Otherwise, he would grab hold of me and ask, ’Have you seen God? Have you known him?’ I used to tremble on hearing these questions because I know nothing about him. On hearing my answer the old man would laugh loudly and heartily. His laughing in that way spoiled my sleep, it began to haunt me; I began to be afraid of that old man.
Once I thought, ’I really created trouble for myself writing this Gitanjali.’ I thought, ’That old man must have had some glimpse of God, otherwise he could not haunt me so.’” From his eyes, it appeared he knew something because Rabindranath could not get away with it by staring at him and repeating one or two lines of the Gitanjali in answer to his question.
Thus years passed, and the old man continued his haunting. Rabindranath has said: ”A great load was removed from my mind on the day on which I could tell him, ’I have known God.’”
It was the beginning of the rainy season, and the first downpours were leaving puddles everywhere. Reservoirs and small pits on the roadsides filled with water. Frogs were croaking. It was morning and Rabindranath was tempted out by these changes in nature – the croaking of the frogs, the confused din of the falling rain, the new fragrance of the earth. He saw the old man was not in his usual seat. Perhaps he was not up yet. Rabindranath ran out of his house. The sun was rising over the sea. He stopped at the seashore. The sun was shimmering on the water. He looked at the sun and its reflection, and then began to return to his home. The sun was reflected in each puddle, in each small pond, in every dirty ditch on the roadside. It was shining all around – in dirty puddles, on the sea, in clean small streams, on every side. Seeing all this, some music, some unknown, indefinable sound within began to play in Rabindranath’s heart. As he returned, he was dancing. He was dancing because he saw that the reflection of the sun was never tarnished. He was dancing because he saw that the sun’s reflection was as fresh and clean in the dirty, muddy water as it was in the cleanest water. Reflection can never be dirty. How can it be dirty? Only water can be muddy and dirty. But the sun that looks into it, whose reflection appears in it, is not dirty. It is absolutely fresh and clean. No water can spoil it. This was a tremendous, revolutionary experience for him. It meant that God, who is even within the worst of men, cannot be made dirty. The reflection of God in the most sinful person is as pure as it is in the most pious person. So he was returning dancing. A door had opened within.
That old man was sitting near his door. This was the first time he was not afraid of the old man, and for the first time the old man said, ”It is all right, it seems you have known him.” And the old man approached Rabindranath and embraced him and said, ”Your ecstasy, your dancing today, tells me that you have known him. Now I can honor you!” Then for three days, Rabindranath remained in a state of ecstasy – in a state of madness. The members of the family were afraid to see this. Only the old man often used to come and tell them, "Be glad! Be joyful!” and began to inform the neighbors that he knew God. But the people in the house were very much afraid because Rabindranath was behaving in a very strange way. If he saw a pillar he would embrace it. If a cow passed by on the road he would embrace her, too. If he saw a tree he would embrace it. The people in the house thought he had lost his mind: ”He has gone mad!” But the old man continued to say, ”Don’t worry. He was mad until now, and now he is fine. Now he has begun to see, in all existence, that without which the song he was singing all this time was useless. It was only rhyme, a poor excuse for poetry. Only now, real music is born in his life.”
Rabindranath has written: ”I could, by and by, control myself and bring my ecstasy under control, with great effort. Otherwise, I yearned to embrace everybody and everything I met. Until now I was yearning and praying, ’Oh God, where is your door?’ Now God was my door, and now wherever I looked I saw his door. Up until now I was searching for him and asking, ’Where are you hiding?’ But now I was amazed because he was there already in me; there was nothing else but him.”
He who sees his presence in all existence or sees the entire existence in himself is truly a wise man, and such a person is beyond attachment and grief. Remember, there is neither happiness nor unhappiness in his life, there is only ecstasy. The purity of existence dances in his life. He is life itself, dancing and singing the praise of existence. His life itself is music; and all that brings grief, all that binds, all that becomes an attachment, all that seems to bring happiness today but is the cause of unhappiness tomorrow – all these have no place in his life. He is now a mirror. Thus lives a learned man, like a mirror in the world. He is pleased with whatever comes before him. He is happy if he sees a flower and becomes its reflection, throws its reflection back, and sees godliness in it. If there is no one in front of him – when all is empty – he sees godliness in emptiness. The very emptiness is godliness. Then he dances in that emptiness and is in ecstasy even in emptiness.
When many on the spiritual path see the body as filth and dirt Agathiyar asks us to take care of it for it is a tool to achieve deathlessness. Walk tall and with pride that we are his children he often says. This is the path designed for us in this birth, in this era. Listening to Sivavakiyar's verse,
அண்டவாச லாயிரம்ப்ர சண்டவா சலாயிரம்
ஆறிரண்டு நூறுகோடி யானவாச லாயிரம்
இந்தவாச லேழைவாச லேகபோக மானவாசல்
எம்பிரா னிருக்கும்வாச லியாவர்காண வல்லரே
brought me to envision life as walking down a street full of doors. Just as in Disney's "Monsters, Inc", we stop at each doorway and look in. If we are captivated by what we see we disappear into it only to reemerge quickly or after a long time or never come out. If we come out we step into another door to explore if it interests us or move on along the alley. This is what we have been doing all life long. But there is a door that once we enter we shall never come out forever. So we keep entering all the doors until one day life turns sour and meaningless and we look for the door that can bring permanent joy and bliss and not temporary pleasures. That is the door to God's kingdom. There is a door in us where God comes and goes. But before that, we have to open other doors and let him go within. Then that door is shown to us and is opened by their grace. Then God shall be a permanent resident.