We have often seen movies where several people narrate their version of a single incident or event. The courts put us on the stand to hear our version of a happening. The many videos on social media are about each person's opinion, perspective and admission. Life then is made up of all these stories. So too is it in the spiritual world. Me and my wife made a mistake of listening to one party and not call the other in the days of admitting strangers sent over by Agathiyar to our home. Others who came never gave us the complete picture but chose self-censorship and gave us bits of the puzzle. One has to have a clear picture to actually come up with a solution to resolve something. When Lord Murugan called my wife, me and my daughter up and asked us what we knew about Gnanam, I must have spoken a lot for he told me "See, your experiences has made you speak a lot." Though I only repeated what Agathiyar had briefly told us about Gnanam earlier, if initially I felt guilty for showing off, later, in a world devoid of listeners, I felt I should give myself a pat on the back for actually having listened and repeated whatever he said. Lord Murugan too told me it was not wrong.
If our body is packed with 96 Tatwas, the tiny brain of us is stuffed with so much learning and knowledge that we vomit out at the very first instance or opportunity given. We have deduced that speaking a lot is a sign of being knowledgeable. We prefer to take up the stage and seek attention. In staging a show or his leela Lord Murugan had us witness this. He had someone who took the stage in public forums speak. She spoke repeating the routine stuff. Then he asked the host to speak. They had nothing to say although they had seen and experience much firsthand. I understood Lord Murugan's play.
Lord Muruga surprised the host asking if they would part with Agathiyar's statue. As they chose to remain silent, he knew that they were still attached to the form and the name. What surprised me was Agathiyar on his part, some moments before had told all those gathered to let go the attachment they had on all depictions of him, and the many forms man has given him. He asked them to begin to see and worship him in their heart's chamber.
Later Lord Murugan came at AVM and told us it was all his play so that we could learn a thing or two. It was a learning for each one of us present then. Then I realized that for one who is a public figure he becomes public property. Just as many worship and adore and take them as a role model others scrutinized and follow their every move. That is a price we pay. We have to be on guard if we chose to take the stage. Lord Murugan explained in detail what Gnanam was later.
When many masters and gurus are known to give lengthy discourses, Lord Dakshinamoorthy was silent and spoke through this silence. Bhagawan Ramana is said to have enlighten many by merely sitting in his presence. Me and my wife too have been asked to adopt a day's silence once a week. Why do we observe a minute of silence for the deceased? It is in silence that we connect with other souls and God. For one who does not have any idea of a subject he comes to know it through Satsang or reading. But for one who is trending the path his experiences become his teacher. He could off course sought the experiences of others speaking to them or reading books to verify what he was experiencing. But Gnanam as Agathiyar says varies from person to person. No two experiences are the same he says. Even the experiences one has in Sariyai, Kriyai and Yogam vary. It is dependent on many things, his upbringing, his faith, his beliefs, his perspective, his learning, his practice, his experiences, the lessons he learned, etc. Swami Vivekananda says knowledge is interpreted according to the belief and education of the person.
Where do these stories bring us to? A realization of many facts, ideals, aspirations, etc. One then tends to trend the path that a particular story takes. This blog too is a compendium of stories of many who are walking a chosen path. We might meet each other once we arrive at our destination. Swami Vivekananda gives us hope and inspiration when he wrote, "The very fact that one man reached that state proves that it is possible for every man to do so." He too says that experience is the only teacher. So, what is stopping us?