When we are young, we carry so many ambitions and get caught up in the rat race trying to amass much wealth at the expanse of our health.
Tomas Laurinavicius shares the story of "The Mexican Fisherman and the American Investment Banker" in his blog at https://tomaslau.com/blog/everything-is-relative.
An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The Mexican replied, “only a little while.”
The American then asked why didn’t he stay out longer and catch more fish?
The Mexican said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs. The American then asked, “but what do you do with the rest of your time?”
The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siestas with my wife, Maria, and stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life.”
The American scoffed. “I have an MBA from Harvard, and can help you,” he said. “You should spend more time fishing, and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats, and eventually, you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middle-man, you could sell directly to the processor, eventually opening up your own cannery. You could control the product, processing, and distribution,” he said. “Of course, you would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles, and eventually to New York City, where you will run your expanding enterprise.”
The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, how long will this all take?” To which the American replied, “Oh, 15 to 20 years or so.”
“But what then?” asked the Mexican.
The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time was right, you would announce an IPO, and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions!”
“Millions – then what?”
The American said, “Then you could retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you could sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siestas with your wife, and stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play guitar with your amigos.”
That was what the Mexican fisherman was currently doing! So why go through the rat race to arrive at the same spot we already are in today?
Similarly, is it with the search for Siddhi and Mukthi or Salvation and Liberation. We go on a "God" hunt as in a manhunt looking for him in the pages of the spiritual texts and books, in the temples, in his abodes and samadhis, in the wild and in nature only to eventually find him residing within us. A head of a movement aligned with Agathiyar boasted that he had been to India some thirty-seven times back then when I patronized his venue to learn about worship to the Siddhas. He has just returned from another trip. I was too naive then to question him back. If he were to say the same now, I would have told him that it was surprising that he had not found God yet given the number of times he had been looking for him. Agathiyar in calling me to India following in the shadows of Tavayogi who returned after his visit to Malaysia in 2005, showed himself in several places as he had promised in the Nadi, and those that he added on surprised me.
Lord Nadarajah's chamber at Egambeshwarar temple in Kanchipuram; Uttamar temple in the outskirts of Trichy; at Thiruvanaikaval temple in Trichy; at Sri Rangam temple in Trichy; the Uchipilaiyar temple in Trichy; at Thiruavinankudi and Palani temple; at Brahmapureeswarar temple in Thirupattur; the Adhi Kumbeswarar at Kumbakonam; the Arulmigu Sri Mayuranathaswami Temple, Mayiladuthurai (Mayavaram); the Arulmigu Koraka Siddhar Jeeva Samadhi Peedham, in Vadakku Poigai Nalloor; the Arulmigu Kasi Vishwanathar Temple, in Thirupattoor; the Arulmigu Swaminatha Swamy Temple in Swamimalai; the Arulmigu Subramania Swamy Temple at Ettugudi; at Tanjai Periya Kovil in Tanjavoor; the Arulmigu Meenakshi Sundareshwarar Temple in Madurai; at Pazhamudircholai Murugan Temple in Madurai; at the Sri Konganar Siddhar Thirukoil in Pon Uthiyur Maalai, Uthiyur; and the Natadreeswarar Temple in Erode were some of the places where magic was created and shown.
And I was only a novice and an apprentice then who had only been to India once before. To date, I have only been to India four times. The first in 2003 was to carry out my remedies stated in my Nadi reading. The second was in 2005 after meeting Tavayogi in Malaysia, he invited me to his ashram. Agathiyar too directed me to stay a few days at his ashram in a subsequent Nadi reading. The third was in 2013 when word went around that Tavayogi was not well. Agathiyar too instructed me to visit him in the Nadi. I left with my family. The final trip was in 2016 to participate in the grand opening of Tavayogi's new Kallar ashram. I left with the AVM family. People asks me seeing many make their way overseas if I was not going since we are free to fly now. Many friends have asked if I was coming over to India. Somehow the excitement in traveling has dwindled down. I prefer to be alone with my thoughts or rather his.
Showing me miracles and proof of his existence in India, he began to show them on our shores too upon my return just as he had promised in the Nadi. As our home puja intensified, soon the Siddhas and the Gods from heaven came down into our humble homes. We could feel their energies first at home and during prayers. Later we felt the same in the temples and sacred places we visited. We could connect with them. And puja was the medium or key or bridge that linked both our worlds. Puja to the Siddhas was the stepping stone to many other wonders on the path.
The magical moments continued back on our shores too. These spontaneous and unintentional cries become quite a regular affair in the places of worship that I visited. I knew then that it was not me but overpowering of these energies that came within at these powerhouses. My body had become receptive to these energies with the years of worship put in. The Sri Jeganathar Sivalayam in Tapah; the Siva Subramaniam Alayam, Kampung Kepayang; the Nattukkottai Chettiar Temple, Penang; and the Sri Mayuranathar Srimath Pamban Swamigal temple, Dengkil were some places where I got connected with these energies.
Then the highlight and pinnacle or grand finale of all these shows of energy and its corresponding vibrations happened in the silent inner caves of the Sri Siva Shanmugar Temple in Sungai Siput. When the priest or Gurukul who had taken us on a tour of the cave stopped at a spot and revealed to me and my family that that was the spot where our Paramaguru Chitramuthu Adigal had meditated for years, I went into a dance and spin, lost my balance and fell on my back in a depression in the ground, missing the boulders by inches. I was laughing as a mad man and calling out the names of the divine. These were spontaneous and not an act put on. I would definately not fall on my own especially into that pit in the midst of boulders. I would have picked a safe spot to fall instead. But I knew that that experience was given by my Paramaguru Chitramuthu Adigal that day. This was the only instance caught on video. One would wonder why no one came to my assistance as I lay in the dark pit. No one came to check me out if I was injured or otherwise. I would understand if my wife and daughter, who was manning the camera, do not step forward, for they have been told on the onset of this divine play in our home and temples not to interfere unless I call or asks for help. I was surprised that the priests and his aid too kept watching without moving a limb. Unless they were the Lord themselves for that particular moment. It was only when I raised my hands to get up that my wife came running to assist.
The divine began to attend our puja sessions often showing themselves and participating or rather hijacking the moment to do their dance and pay homage to Agathiyar who presided at these pujas. The had told me to give them space and leeway to carry out their play many times. We would back away and give them space and a moment of our time. They would dance in joy telling us that they were pleased with the puja. The latest was Lord Shiva dancing his heart out and holding our hands during the recent Sivarathri puja. Worship indeed could bring divinity down from their abodes.
When you are sixty it's another race this time against time to complete what we came for provided we know the reason for our existence. Otherwise, we would just while away time and this precious birth. Knowing our purpose here requires us to be healthy to see through the tasks given. We need to care for the body, mind and soul. If initially I had to take herbal preparations like Agathiyar Kuzhambu that is instrumental in expelling excess of the three Dosas, Vata, Kapha and Pitta in purgation therapy and later all three was expelled on its own at exactly the hours of the day when they are prominent, it all sort of came to settle down now. Visiting Siddha practitioner and head of a Peedham Thiru Arivananthan recently he gave me a clean bill of health. The past three days diluted mucus and phlegm is expelled from the nose and throat just as water runs off the tap. Phlegm is said to be the reason most healthy men and women die. It comes up during the last moments of one's life and blocks the airways suffocating us. The swirling sensation is still there in the crown of my head too.