In revisiting the documentary series "Inner Worlds, Outer Worlds - Part 1 - Akasha" we are told that "The ancient Vedic teachers taught Nada Brahma, the universe is vibration. The word Nada means sound or vibration. The vibratory field is at the root of all true spiritual experiences and scientific investigations. It is the same field of energy that saints, Buddhas, yogis, mystics, priests, shamans, and seers have observed by looking within themselves. It has been called Akasha, the Primordial Om, .. and a thousand other names throughout history...... In the ancient traditions of the East, it has been understood for thousands of years that all is vibration....You never see anything in its totality because it is made up of layer upon layer of vibration and it is constantly changing, exchanging information with Akasha.... everything is connected to the one vibratory source. ..."
"Like the ancient yogis, Tesla used the term Akasha to describe the etheric feel that extends throughout all things...." As Tesla described it as the etheric feel so did Agathiyar. Agathiyar told us the same too that he was this very vibration in all of creation. Agathiyar often asked us what we felt as we went along doing puja, charity, meditation, etc. The feeling that comes on in us is he, he said. The vibration that is felt in these moments is he, he said. But just as we are told that "everything appears to be made of vibration, but there is no "thing" being vibrated. It is as if there has been an invisible dancer, a shadow dancing hidden in the ballet of the universe. All the other dancers have always danced around this hidden dancer. We have observed the choreography of the dance but until now we could not see that dancer... ", the invisible dancer or vibration would then be "the origin of all repetition, pattern, and form", "the divine animating principle pervading the universe" and "that out of which the unmanifest becomes manifest." This would be Shiva's dance.
"In Kaballah or Jewish Mysticism, they talk about the divine name of God. The name that cannot be spoken. It cannot be spoken because it is a vibration that is everywhere. It is all words, all matter." I guess this is what we mean by "Suyam" as in Suyambu Lingam and Suyam Jothi, that which evolves or originates on its own.
We are told of "The timeless world of waves and the solid world of things... We are creating the illusion of solidity, of things by labeling, by naming. The philosopher Kierkegaard says that "If you name me you negate me. By giving me a name, a label, you negate all the other things I could possibly be. You lock the particle into being a thing by pinning it down and naming it, but at the same time, you are creating it, defining it to exist... With the creation of things comes time, which is what creates the illusion of solidity."
I guess this is how the sages of the past gave form and name to energies they saw to give an idea and bring the common folk to understand the mystic world that they saw, better. As man then could think less but could follow easily, it became the norm in worship till these days.
Is this the reason after revealing himself as the Prapanjam Agathiyar chose to move his statue from my home to that of another devotee? He was now formless and nameless to us now.
In "Inner Worlds, Outer Worlds - Part 2 - The Spiral", we read a quote from Albert Einstein.
"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom the emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand wrapped in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed." I am glad I am "alive" to the wonders around me.
"Inner Worlds, Outer Worlds - Part 3 - The Serpent and the Lotus" we are told that "If you stare at the abyss long enough eventually you shall find the abyss stare back at you." For one who has failed miserably in meditating, Agathiyar helped us out here. The guru is always present to lift us when our efforts fail, to lift our spirits when we are down, and to wake us up when we have "overslept".
Watching Part 4 of "Inner Worlds, Outer Worlds - Beyond Thinking", we realize that if we could accept thoughts as one of the senses too, we can easily shut them out just as we shut out our other senses. As we are told that we have elevated the thoughts to such a degree it has taken control of us. As thoughts lead to action, in going within, the thoughts subside or are arrested the moment they arise since we are not action bound in these moments.
We are told that in the heart is the union of Siva and Sakthi. Lord Muruga came to instruct us to open up our hearts and soul and to surrender. We were told by Ramalinga Adigal to open our souls and hearts, உங்கள் ஆத்மவை திறந்து வையுங்கள், உங்கள் இதயத்தைத் திறந்து வையுங்கள். Bhagawan Ramana said that "Through meditation, you can learn to find the Self in the cave of this Heart." In Christian spirituality, we are told that "The Heart is a sanctuary of silence." Tavayogi told us that the journey begins and ends with the heart. Bliss arises from the heart. Compassion arises from the heart too.
Nithyanandam Swamigal questions his disciples about who is the guru. He says that he is only a guru if our hearts accept him as one and listen to him. But most of the time, our hearts take the upper hand and dictate our lives. The Manam presides over everything.
What is the point in vomiting others' theories? We must learn to drop all our learnings. Only when the vessel is empty can the Siddhas fill it with their stuff and teachings. When they come to reside in our hearts they teach us from within. Divine knowledge dawns then.
Hence we see the saints tame their hearts. When we open our hearts to the Siddhas, they step into our lives. What is generally accepted as fate can then be changed with the coming of Siddhas into our lives. The key word here is surrender. We have to let go of the reins. Only with surrender and acceptance, can they then bring on the desired changes in our lives easily.
We have read that in ancient times people sought after Soma, a drink that supposedly brought instant immortality. Stephanie W. Jamison and Joel P. Brereton translate the Rigveda (8.48.3): We have drunk the soma; we have become immortal; we have gone to the light; we have found the gods. What can hostility do to us now, and what the malice of a mortal, o immortal one? (Source: Wikipedia)
In the movie "Lucy", we see Lucy who is tricked into becoming a drug mule caught and kicked in the stomach, breaking the bag of drugs that in order to transport the drug, was forcibly sewn into her abdomen, releasing it into her system. She begins to acquire "enhanced physical and mental capabilities." (Source: Wikipedia)
Watching the movie "Limitless" we see how Eddie Morra who is lost for ideas to write, is seen able to recall perfectly and access knowledge at an incredible speed, after taking a substance to improve cognitive functions. He begins to tidy up his room and keeps it clean. He has a haircut and changes his earlier 'man living on the street' look to that of a neat and polished writer. As he sits to write again at his laptop, the words shower on him. This is how I see words appear as I hastily try to capture them lest they disappear. I am becoming more particular about sorting and organizing things too giving them a due place in my space. But I am not on any drug or medication. Why and how is this happening? Yogi Ramsuratkumar is said to have moved a teacup to its original place when a guest moved it when they were served tea by his aid.
If drugs are seen to stimulate certain faculties, the body naturally has the ability to perform superhuman feats. With the rise of the sleeping serpent tremendous abilities come to the forefront, we are told. But the Siddhas and saints never did exercise or show off these powers. This would tend to distract them from their goal of returning to the source or Samadhi. All the gifts that come their way in traveling the path would only be an obstacle to one determined to return home. Good sense or Arivu should prevail at these times. One should learn to say no and move on. I have been tested many times unknowingly. Only after some time does Agathiyar reveal it was a test of our commitment to the path and the goal. I am glad that I managed to sail through unscathed. The reason I was saved was that I heeded all their advice, and directives.
I am indebted to the Siddhas who looked over my shoulder till now. I cannot imagine where I would be if not for their timely intervention and manner and hand in saving me. So what do we do in return? Abide by their rules. In "Abide as the Self" the opening statement goes as follows "Whatever the means adopted, you must at last return to the Self." Bhagawan Ramana calls the source the Self. He then puts forth the question, "Why not abide as the Self here and now?" We are told "You are the Self. You are already That." We are told that a state free of thoughts is our true nature.
Bhagawan surprises us with these words from the book "Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi". He says "Silence is ever speaking. It is a perennial flow of language that is interrupted by speaking. These words that I am speaking obstruct the mute language. Silence is the eternal flow of language, obstructed by words."
In "Inner Worlds, Outer Worlds - Part 1 - Akasha" we are told that "Einstein was the first scientist to realize that what we think of as empty space is not nothing, it has properties, and intrinsic to the nature of space is nearly unfathomable amounts of energy. The renowned physicist Richard Feynman once said there is enough energy in a single cubic meter of space to boil all the oceans in the world. Advanced meditators know that in the stillness lies the greatest power."
I never saw silence from this perspective. When we thought that silence is the absence of noise, Ramana tells us it is a state of stillness and inner peace. No wonder Agathiyar and Ramalinga Adigal have continuously harped on it and had us sit still, observe the breath, and still the mind.
A true guru would not become enlightened and leave others in the dungeon. "In the Buddhist tradition, the Bodhisattva is the person with an awakened Buddha nature. A Bodhisattva vows to help to awaken every being in the universe, realizing that there is only one consciousness. To awaken one's true self one must awaken all beings." Agathiyar too put forth the same that we "dutifully aid and help, the ongoing evolution of all co-existing human beings" as the fourth tenet and "extend this aid and help, towards "the ongoing evolution of all co-existing beings and entities, existing upon the lower levels of the evolutionary ladder, dutifully supporting the manifested matrix or prapanjam" as the final among five tenets in the Tamil Sangam that serve as the core purpose of human birth. This comes after man has learned and understood his purpose in taking birth. With his purpose known, he thanks the divine creator or energy that brought forth his birth (through consultation with the lunar forefathers and their angelic hierarchies that co-exist with us down here) and thanks all the caretakers both seen and unseen, in the present and the past.
Hence we see the awakened ones trying hard to awaken the others. Agathiyar and Ramalinga Adigal have tried hard to awaken us from our deep slumber. They have tried to bring us out of our state of ignorance. They have roped me in too. But how can one ignorant and in the dark like me bring others to light? It would be like the blind leading the blind. I shall have to turn down their offer to the post of a guru. As a seeker is about to arrive at AVM in an hour's time at 4pm Saturday (this post was drafted on Thursday) for her initiation into the path as instructed by Agathiyar that she seek initiation from me in her latest Nadi reading, I shall have to back off. Let the initiation come from Agathiyar and Ramalinga Adigal himself.