I have been watching several Hindi Short Films on LionsgatePlay. There were some wonderful stories told that brought laughs and tears too to my eyes. Life is all about telling stories, right. Children wait eagerly for their parents to return from work to tell their stories. They wait eagerly to tell their stories to their Grandma and Grandpa. They start their story from the moment we arrive at their door or they arrive at ours. Their stories follow us to the bathroom and they continue the story while waiting for us to come out. Similarly, we adults can't wait to share the days happening with a loved one. Collegemates share their stories. Officemates too have stories to share with their colleagues. Then there are the books we read and the movies we watch that add to the story bank. By the end of our lives, we would have gathered a substantial amount of stories to pass on to the next generation.
This has been going on since time immemorial. We have the Puranas and Itihasas that gave us the great Epics. We have stories carved into stone and walls of caves. Now we have good stories and also trash on the net too. If those days, before we ventured to do something we were asked to get some advice from the elders, since they have lived longer and have seen much by way of experiences, I believe these days their advice would not suit current times. They lived in a different era. Technology and information have changed tremendously over the past several years where history is rewritten based on new archeological findings, the programming language has evolved, space travel is possible, and we might in the future inhabit another planet. Just following the methods of illumination shows how we have evolved through the ages.
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| https://uslhs.org/lighthouse-lamps-through-time |
When man discovered means and ways to illuminate his world, the saints speak of ways to illuminate the Self. They speak of the eternal Light or Arul Oli. If the former is a step forward and a major leap for science in the discovery of new means to illuminate their lives, the latter is a rediscovery of ancient sciences that illuminate the Self. The Avir Oli that Nakkirar spoke about which K. Kothandapani Pillai in his Foreword to "An Introduction to the Philosophy of Ramalinga Swami" by Dr.C.Srinivasan, says may mean the light that unfolded in all distant ages was most probably rediscovered and named Arutperunjothi by Ramalinga Adigal. Both were worshipped as eternal light or Arul Oli. The saints in going within went back to discovering and came face to face and merged in what was inherent in us all the time. It is just that it has been veiled. The splendor of this light shines when the veils are drawn aside.
I used to ask myself why are we asked to light an oil lamp and worship that which was never lasting or eternal. The burning of and sustaining the flame depends on so many factors. The flame and its lifespan depend on the vessel, the wick, the ghee or oil in it, and of course the match that ignites it. If one of these is missing we cannot light the lamp to illuminate the room nor worship it. Today I understand that what we were told is to light the eternal fire within us. But sadly we keep lighting the external flame rather than the eternal. Another question that came to mind was if the light was the fire? We worship the fire from the Yagams and Homams looking out for signs of deities in it. If so we could also worship the fire that keeps us warm at night and in winter, the fire that keeps wild animals in the woods away and that cooks our food while sitting around campfires. We could also worship the fire from the stove, the fire that engulfs homes, and the forest fires. We could also worship the fire at pyres and garbage dumps. But the fire is just one taatva among several others that sustains creation. Tavayogi took me into my prayer room and closed the door behind us. As the curtain was drawn shut what was visible was the burning lamp and the ambient lighting that was evenly distributed and illuminated the entire room. He pointed to the ambient lighting all around us and said that this was the Jothi that was much spoken about and that was worshipped and not the fire or flame of the lamp per se. That explained my query. If initially, we kept carrying out rituals at home including the above-mentioned lighting of oil lamps and lighting the homam and abhisheka or libation too, Tavayogi, the Siddhas, and the deities came to fine-tune and enhance the methods later. They asked us to kindle the oil lamp to burn big and bright as in the Aganda Deepam. Later in preparing us to go within, they told us to fan the Jothi or flame within each of us teaching us Vaasi or breathing practice that brought tremendous Prana within, and showed us the means to reach out to the Prapanjam and helped us with it.
If we have heard that many sought after Mukti and Siddhi, Samadhi and merging with God, K. Kothandapani Pillai points out that both Nakkirar and Ramalinga Adigal had sought to merge with the world instead. He wrote, "The concluding portion of this ancient poem of Nakirar mentions the greatest blessing, which God can bestow on the aspirant and the state of his soul. The poem does not state that the greatest blessing God could bestow on the devotee is to make him one with himself i.e., to unite with the Lord in an inseparable union which almost every system of Indian Philosophy except atheistic ones aspire for.
இருள் நிற முந் நீர் வளை இய உலகத்து ஒரு நீயாகி தோன்ற விழுமிய பெறல் அரும் பரிசில் நல் குமதி
It is strange that this poem asserts the greatest and unattainable reward, which the Lord can bestow, is to make the devotee one with the whole world. The last utterance of the Ramalinga Swami, before he vanished, "I am now in this body? Hereafter we will be in all the bodies (of the world)" was more or less to the same effect."
In the verse, உயிரெலாம் ஒரு நீதி திருநடம் புரியும் ஒரு திரு பொது என அறிந்தேன் we suddenly recall the conversation between God and Atom in an earlier post.
God: You see Atom, every act of hatred and violence you committed against another, you were committing against yourself and every act of love and hand of kindness, you also extended unto yourself
Atom: God, why do all this?
God: Someday, long from now, you will become like me. You will mature to become what I am
Atom: I’m a god?
God: No, not yet. You see, I was once where you stand right now. It is not until you have lived every human life inside of your universe that I may take you from this place. Once you have walked in the shoes of every race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and loving and hateful person, it is only then that you will understand how precious life truly is"
(Awessum Frankie's transcript)
"To walk in the shoes of every race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and loving and hateful person," would take numerous births. The saints found a way to fast-track the walk. By merging and in unison with the whole of creation or Prapanjam they were in all the bodies.
I just finished watching the movie "The Finest Hours". The Coast Guard sends out a small boat that goes out to the sea in bad weather to save the crew of a tanker split into two by the bashing of the rough seas. In the end scene the townfolks on the lights of their cars to help bring in the boat that lost its compass back to the pier.
Makes me wonder how light comes to us in many forms and in many situations as a savior. Survivors who had close call with death, are said to see a light at the end of the tunnel. We are asked to light candles and oil lamps in our worship of the divine. The divine too is often said to be in the form of Light. Even if we have perfect vision we are only blind as a bat if there is no light. If sight and vision are dependent on light waves, hearing is dependent on sound waves. We are told that first there was a sound followed by the light and all of Prapanjam later. We are told also that all sounds come from things that vibrate. Can we then safely deduce that vibration is the cause of all existence?
Tavayogi quotes Supramaniar Gnanam 32, in his book "Andamum Pindamum" where it is revealed that in the beginning there was a sound that triggered a vibration and was felt in the Paraparam. This first vibration created from the first sound was known as Akaaram. The vibratory waves that prolonged and sustained this first sound came to be called Ukaaram. Maakaaram was the resulting vibration that contained these vibratory sounds. The three came together as "that", which was to become the source of all creation, known as AUM.
From https://www.ananda.org/yogapedia/aum/ we learn the same that "AUM is the vibration by which the Supreme Spirit brings all things into manifestation." Agathiyar says he is the vibration. Tavayogi says Agathiyar came to him as light. He also says that the Siddhas are in the form of light. Dhanvanthri told us that Tavayogi too has become light and shall guide us further. Then Agathiyar tells us that he is the Prapanjam. Ramalinga Adigal comes to help us connect with the Prapanjam. We are glad Agathiyar and Ramalinga Adigal have led us on the right track. Everything moves me these days. Movies, songs, stories, sights, sounds, touch, taste. I could go on. I feel connected to them. What is going on here I wonder?