In the movie, "Thalaivi" which portrays the life story of a former chief minister of Tamil Nadu, a trainee doctor who is assigned to administer and take care of her after her accident, asks permission to leave she is told, "Give me the injection and go." She replies with respect that "An overdose of steroids will create problems in your spinal cord and there will be complications and you shall gain weight. It could be life-threatening."
"Do as you are told," says the minister. "Don't lecture me on its side effects. You are just a trainee doctor. Why are you bothered anyway with what happens to me? What do you care what happens to me?"
When she is asked why she cares so much whether she lives or not, the trainee doctor replies that she should live, and should live long to continue her service to the people of the state. "You got to stay alive. You got to stay alive for us."
The young doctor replies politely that "Your victory becomes every woman's victory. You saved millions of children of Tamil Nadu from hunger and gave them an education. I am one of them. My education and my life, everything is your gift. I remember even today the day your car stopped at the railway gate. You asked "Didn't you go to school" and I replied that "If I go to school I will starve to death. By selling peanuts I can at least make some money."
The trainee doctor says that "You got to stay alive. You got to stay alive for us". She asks the minister to sleep for at least an hour and takes leave.
I was moved to watch this scene days ago although I had seen the movie several times.
Agathiyar too slogs to keep us alive although we have thrown caution to the wind and are set to destroy this body that houses the divine by our ways and desires and in seeking pleasures of the senses. He wants to keep us alive to do his work. Thus with a healthy body, the Siddhas through us then work towards carrying out the given mission for the spiritual advancement and good of humanity.
In helping me overcome the fear of death recently, he had my body paralyzed from the neck below momentarily. It felt like dead wood. I was asking if this is how the body becomes upon death. Death is another doorway to another journey says Agathiyar. One who faces death boldly is indeed a Siddha he says. மரணபயம் வேண்டாம். மரணம் ஒன்றும் அல்ல. மற்றொரு பயணத்தின் கதவு. எவன் ஒருவன் மரணத்தை அன்போடு வரவேற்கின்றானோ அவன் சித்தன் ஆகின்றான்.
Agathiyar says that he has much for me to do hence I need to stay hale and healthy. For now, he wants me to continue writing. He wants me to write about the internal changes taking place instead of writing about his fame. He asks me to experience it first and he shall clarify later. There is nothing beyond gaining these experiences he says.
உன்னில் இருந்து நான் காரியங்கள் செய்வதற்கு இன்னும் நிறைய இருக்கிறது. எனது பெருமை போதும். இனி உன் எழுத்துக்கள் உடல் மாற்றங்கள் உடல் அனுபவம் பற்றியதாக இருக்கட்டும். ஜோதியினை வழிபட்டால் அதில் இணைய வேண்டும் என்றால் உடலில் எவ்வித மாற்றங்கள் ஏற்படும் என்று உன் வாசகர்களுக்குத் தெரிய படுத்து. அனுபவமே உனக்கு அறிவு. அனுபவத்தைத் தாண்டி ஒன்றுமே இல்லை. உனது அனுபவம் எனது அறிவு. நீ அனுபவம் கொண்டுவா, பின்னர் உரைக்கிறேன்.
Indeed we understand now why Ramalinga Adigal put down his experiences in words so that others can compare notes and verify the sanctity of their experiences too. For instance, in his song கண்புருவப் பூட்டு, he says that the Devas and Trinity speak about him.
"சிற்சபையும் பொற்சபையும் சொந்தமென தாச்சுதேவர்களும் மூவர்களும் பேசுவதென் பேச்சு
இற்சமய வாழ்வில்எனக் கென்னைஇனி ஏச்சு
என்பிறப்புத் துன்பமெலாம் இன்றோடே போச்சு."
Lord Muruga too when he came to heal me in 2018 told me not to invite death. When a sudden sneeze that came on as I was crossing the street one day in 2016, brought back the pain I suffered in 2010, 2011, and 2012 in the lower back and my legs, Lord Muruga reminded me through a Nadi reading for a friend, "Do not invite Death!" Although his words were harsh I knew he meant well and out of concern for me. He told me not to invite Yama, the Lord of Death, willingly. I took it as a reminder to care for the body well and to live life to the fullest. He recommended a Siddha medicine to take internally and an ointment for external use in his Nadi. Agathiyar on his part suggested another five. I was blessed to have Siddha practitioner and guru of Arulguru Aghathiyar Arulsithar Peedam in Bandar Botanic, Klang, prepare these in the strictest manner and according to the Siddha text and have Suren delivered to me during that period of my immobility and forced solitude.
Lord Muruga stresses the need to maintain the physical body and extend its battery life by connecting with the life force and charging it frequently. Hence the need to do rituals, tapas, Yogasanas, and meditation arises, which energizes the body which then heals from within and is kept in top form to perform the work of the Siddhas.
The Siddhas have given us all the means and mechanisms to live longer and keep Yama at bay. Their priority was to upkeep, maintain and sustain the body, in the peak of health; to ensure only enriching experiences were recorded onto the soul; eventually, merge the spirit within with the source. They remind us of how sacred this birth is and that given a wonderful body that performs with exact precision, we ought not to bring it to fall in disgrace succumbing to illness and disease.