There is a reason the path is called Siddhar Neri. Here we are molded into becoming a Siddha. There is the mold into which we have to fit. What are the aspects of a Siddha then? There is no one mold into which everybody fits. It varies from person to person. The Siddhas in coming to a young devotee, each, carry their own individuality. Agathiyar is supposed to be stern while Pambatti is jovial. Both Lord Muruga and Ramalinga Adigal I know are fast and furious while Agathiyar is composed. But there is an underlying quality amongst all of them. They give back to society what they have learned and achieved in their lifetimes.
And so Tavayogi was sent to our shores to preach the path to the masses and mold only a handful. I was one of the lucky wants to be molded. Seeing the tall and majestic-looking bespectacled and bearded man for the very first I could see his humbleness. He held a Master's degree in Arts and was a one-time businessman spinning cotton attires in his hometown of Tiruppur. He was a chairperson of Pattimandrams. He walked with his head held high not one of snobbishness but one appropriate to the standing of Agathiyar.
I frequented the place he had stayed in during his visit to Malaysia in 2005 almost every day, leaving straight from my office to see him. I never had any questions for him. I used to sit and watch the drama unfold as seekers, devotees, and people from all walks of life came by to pay their respects to him and engaged in lengthy discussions. I absorbed all that went on. Seeing many invite him over to their homes which he obliged, I extended an invitation to him too. He came. I was overjoyed at having a holy man step into my home for the very first time in history or rather (my)story. He thrashed that joy that day. But I am grateful he did for that was the start of how he began to mold me. I was confused and sad not knowing what I had done wrong, but it was a lesson not to fall for any holy person that he taught me that day. He told me that he was not holy and not to fall prey to the attire but instead pointed me to the feet of Agathiyar and asked that I hold on to him. No holy man would drive us away but he did. But yet I stuck to him as Agathiyar had pointed him out to me as a true guru for me. Today even after his samadhi he comes to us through devotees to continue the teaching.
I soon followed a month after he left for his ashram accepting his invitation and following Agathiyar's directive to spend a few days at his ashram. Here too he educated me on letting go of my hold on all the tiny possessions I had on me and my thoughts. He emptied me before he brought me to witness the lifestyle he had been through during his days on wanderings telling me that the true journey had only started. He revamped me, upgraded me, and let go of me to explore further the path. He stood aside as I was given total freedom to do as I pleased, to modify, to initiate anew, bringing the worship and acts of dharma to others too. Agathiyar Vanam Malaysia (AVM) flourished with the entry of youngsters eager to know the path shown to AVM in 2013 and reached its zenith in 2019. Just as Agathiyar and Tavayogi gave me tools these devotees were given the tools too, to continue and pursue the path in their own time.
Slowly both Agathiyar and Tavayogi shaped me and others to fit the mold. It was not an easy task for both parties. But they made it so accessible and brought the severity of pain and torture to the minimum so that our pampered body could take the heat. They worked on the life-giver that was our breath having us practice Pranayama and other Vaasi techniques. Traversing each chakra and taking on an internal journey the fire of our tapas burned down the dwelling and rebuilt itself anew. By this time the karma acquired through our life and former lives lost its hold on us by having taken the course of worship, conducting rituals, doing charity and feeding, and stepping into Yoga. What was in store and awaited us further was Gnanam which only dawns on one when we pursue the journey further to reach the zenith or the crown and look back at the experiences and the truth behind all these practices.
Reaching the crown chakra, and engaging with the Prapanjam that is likened to suckling our Mother's breast, the effulgence comes within to ignite all the chakras that await its homecoming. The chakras light up as we light up our homes during Karthigai Deepam. Next in line will be the rare state of becoming light. Further transformations are mentioned by Ramalinga Adigal which is still vague to our understanding for now. As always the Siddhas do not give out handouts or manuals but want us to reach each state and experience first before coming to confirm these experiences and explain further.