When my niece asked me if she could have a young man she knew over at AVM to meet me as they had spoken much about the Siddhas previously, I said yes. When he came over I asked him to sit and meditate first which he did. When he ended his session, I asked him how long he has been on the path. He told me that his parents were on it for some time now. When I enquired what his parents did, whether they did Siddha Puja, Homam, and other rituals, whether they did Asana and Pranayama practices, etc, he stunned me by giving the reply that they read a lot. I hit the roof. Mere reading books on Siddhas does not qualify you to go around telling others that you are on the Siddha path. Similarly just going on pilgrimages and traveling to the places or abodes of the Siddhas to add to the number, of places visited and the number of times, does not make you a Siddha. Taking the stage or going on social media to talk about the Siddhas does not qualify one to be a Siddha. It is not about gathering around at the center or listening to another speak for hours on end about the Siddha or continually bombarding him with questions or sitting in on Satsang sessions. It is not enough to adorn the garb of a Siddha and claim oneself as following his path. It is not enough to allocate a particular time of the day or on particular days of the week and run wild the rest of the day and week. All these do not automatically elevate us into a Siddha.
Agathiyar says one has to follow the Siddha Neri to its core. Goddess Ma told us that the Siddha path is all about learning lessons - not by attending classes or by correspondence but by going through the many experiences that we gain from events, tragedies, sufferings, exposure, relationships, etc that come by in our lives. All these maketh us into a man. Otherwise, we would just be around to eat and sleep. A man is only complete and considered wise if he has stories to tell, not that are borrowed but his own story. It is no point speaking about his guru and his experience if we do not have a story to tell about us, about how in coming to him our life changed, about how he molded us into what we are today.
What then makes a Siddha? Adorning their teachings and living the life of a Siddha. Breathing the essence of the teachings of the Siddhas.
But would not that be difficult to adhere to in this age? Yes. But the most compassionate Siddhas have simplified the worship, practice, methods, techniques, and their ways so that we too could hop on it. Just as a master says he can be a guru but if the student doesn't listen and follow, it is pointless. It is pointless to stop at numerous stations to collect initiations and move on like we collect prizes and trophies and awards in our lives to showcase our talents and achievements and showing around images taken with the gurus. Rather than going around the globe, and showing off his spiritual endeavors, one can go far by just staying at the feet of the guru, and dedicating his life to his guru, his teachings, and the path. Similarly rather than being proud of the statistics as in viewership, and numbers as in the followers, the guru has to mold and make another into his image and a guru too.