It is said that the greatest service after that towards our parents is towards the unfortunate in society. Usually, this is in the form of cash or kind and in feeding and providing groceries and items of clothing. For those in the shadow of their gurus, service towards the gurus is seen to be an outstanding act. Above all these is speaking of the greatness of the gurus.
But the true guru would not want this. He would instead like to see his student become one at par with him. If a student qualifies and reaches this state the guru would have him sent away just like Guhai Namasivayar sent away Guru Namasivayar seeing his rise into becoming a Gnani. He would never settle for his student to forever remain a servant of his, serving him for eternity. He would like to see his student fit into his shoes. Hence begins a lineage. If we leave behind children a guru leaves behind his teachings that take the shape of his disciple. Rather than leave behind quotes, words, text, or books, he would leave behind a student who has applied his teachings in life and breathes his teachings. He sleeps soundly knowing that his teachings are in good hands and shall live on even after his departure.
And so Agathiyar made me a guru several days ago to three new students whom he sent over to AVM. This caught me by surprise. When I was an apprentice under Tavayogi, I was blessed to learn Pranayama and Asanas from him. When I came to know Acharya Gurudasan of Bangalore who went by the name Gowri Varadhan then, I requested him to teach us Kriya Yoga which he did over a period of time. Then there was a time he asked me why I did not teach the practice I had learned from Tavayogi to others. I replied that Tavayogi taught me and several others that day in 2007 so that we would put it into practice and reap its benefits. He did not ask me to teach others. But he did ask me to speak about the Siddhas even when I was a new kid on the block just having known him for a year or so. He cornered me at an opening of a new branch of his Agathiyar Gnana Peedham in a house in Banting. I only knew what is available about the Siddhas in the public domain. I never had any personal experience or encounters with them. The only person I knew then who was on the path was Tavayogi. After saying a few words about him I cleverly switched to singing the Mahamantra Arutperunjothi. I was saved by the mantra that day. Then Agathiyar came along and took a liking to my writing and asked me to continue writing this blog. Then there was a time when Agathiyar had me stop writing about him and told me to write instead about the internal changes that were going on within me since the pandemic. It was during the endemic phase when some AVM family members began to show up at AVM again that he had me teach the Asanas and Pranayama I learned from Tavayogi to Mahindren. Mahindren in turn was asked to teach his comrades. So when these three youths turned up at AVM over the weekend Agathiyar asked me to teach them Vaasi techniques.
When he appointed me to the chair, I told him it was a big responsibility. He quipped that it was given since I could never sit still and was doing something all the time. That brought laughter to those gathered then. He added that I had asked for it. I was surprised again. I never asked for it nor had I wished for the post of a guru. So how is it that he says I had asked for it? When he asked me to build a temple for him back then in 2002 through my very first Nadi reading, yes I was elated and my ego grew immediately thinking that I was the selected one to take on such a massive task. But just as Tavayogi would kill my enthusiasm and joy in years to come, Sivabalan who brought in the Nadi readers and was accompanying me throughout the reading told me not to get excited for Agathiyar had mentioned this to fifty others. The bubble burst and I landed on my face. But asked me to go ahead if I had the resources and know-how telling me that none of the fifty seekers did it. So I set about looking for a spot to house Agathiyar's statue in existing temples but none of the committees were Siddha-friendly. They refused to give permission. I dropped the idea that was mooted by Agathiyar. In 2009 Agathiyar tells me that since I had wished to build his temple he had asked of Thiru Sundara Arumugam to provide a space in the temple hall that he was building for Saint Raghavendra in Ipoh. I commissioned Agathiyar's statue from Swamimalai just as Agathiyar directed. Agathiyar arrived in 2010 and was in transit in my home until the temple complex was ready. But at the eleventh hour, Agathiyar decided to stay put at Agathiyar Vanam Malaysia (AVM). He decided to move to Agathiyar Universal Mission (AUM) alias Pothihai Tharmma Chakra (PTC) just several days ago.
Who can possibly fathom the lila or play of the Siddhas?