Reading the opening page of Ruzbeh N Bharucha's book, "The Fakir - The Journey Continues" we see the immense love of Saibaba of Shirdi towards a couple. Looking into their past, present, and future, Baba prays that at least this time around they make it through what life has in store for them. Baba knew that they had wanted and desired this life at the onset of setting out "once again on the journey of life. They were "Old souls in new bodies". They "Along with their guides and masters had drawn the blueprint of this incarnation and it was decided and agreed by all that they would go through trying experiences."
Neale Donald Walsch in his children's parable titled "The Little Soul and the Sun", adapted from his book 1 in the series, "Conversation with God (CWG)" writes of a young soul who knew he was light but wanted to experience it. So, he is given a choice to pick a desired act that he would like to do, from a list of many, once he is on earth. He chooses the act of forgiving. Another soul immediately steps up to join the soul in fulfilling its wish by being the perpetrator so that the young soul can then forgive him. They both come down to earth to live out their desire.
As Neale wrote, knowing who we are was not enough; we needed to become "it". This desire triggers a chain of events, a learning process takes place, and several experiences are recorded, whereby the soul becomes enriched through these experiences. We, being light in essence, for want of experiencing it, had darkness and all opposites created for us. As all the souls are perfect, many wanted and volunteered to come down to help us gain the experience. Thus, we had all known each other earlier. We had planned to be together here. Those who needed a particular experience chose to come early while others remained behind to join later.
I had read somewhere that the Rishis at times help us decide or rather kick us to earth if we tend to take too much time in deciding the next course in taking a birth. Betty J Eadie in her book "Embraced by the Light" says our guardian angels come along with us creating opportunities for us to learn and progress spiritually. There is a reason why we are here now this instant. We are here now for our individual spiritual development and also collectively contribute to the well-being and awakening of others. God will shape our purpose says Betty. We don't need to know our purpose in its entirety. Just working on the task given to us from moment to moment is sufficient in justifying and fulfilling God's wishes. Even the best-laid plan of ours is considered meager with God's plan. Mother Goddess coming to us said that the path of the Siddhas was all about learning from experiences. Agathiyar in revealing certain horrific doings of mine told me that he had initiated them wanting to give me those experiences too.
If Agathiyar had told us that karma is not attached to the soul or rather the soul does not carry karma Lord Murugan says that it only carries the experiences. Ruzbeh surprises us in his book mentioning the couple, "They were old souls but the one lesson that they needed to learn, experience and overcome was to face financial strife with the composure of a sage. If they succeeded, then they could move on to a higher level of spiritual growth and would have no need to come back to planet Earth to work out their remaining karmas. They could work those out in the spirit world itself." This was news to us who never knew that karma continued even in the realm of the spirit. I guess this is what Bhagawan Nithyananda and Yogi Ramsuratkumar meant when they told their followers that they could do more work in the subtle realm. Tavayogi was an old soul that lived in the times of Agathiyar, but he came to us with a mission to bring us back on the path of the Siddhas. Even after his Samadhi he is still working on us according to Dhanvantri.
Betty who came back from a near-death experience reveals the secrets of heaven in her book "The Awakening Heart - My Continuing Journey to Love", a Pocket Star Book, 1996. She says while some souls respond to God's call, volunteering and choosing to listen and accept his will before coming to earth, others receive a calling after they arrive, when their hearts open to God, through intense sufferings or through miracles, and eventually they become vessels of God themselves. She adds that whatever we become of here is meaningless unless it has brought benefit to others. In serving others we grow spiritually. Anita Moorjani too was given an option either to stay or return to her physical body that was ridden with cancer. When she understood the magnificence of her true self, and that her body would heal rapidly if she opted to come back, she survived to tell the tale as did Betty. http://anitamoorjani.com/about-anita/near-death-experience-description/
TD Jakes in his book "Destiny" asks us to find out our purpose in life and step into it. He says of himself, "... I have lived a life that I was drawn to. I have been pulled to a call that has drawn me from the mundane acquisition of life mementos to the far more rewarding task of doing something with my life that only I could uniquely accomplish." How wonderful.
Betty in revealing the secrets and mysteries of life in her book "Embraced by the Light", understood the earth to be a place where we schooled. If Betty says that we are here to school, Neale Donald Walsch in his "Conversation with God" to "Awaken the Species" says that we are already well equipped with sufficient knowledge and have only to apply it here, giving life a purpose and making it holy.
Betty has several pieces of advice for us too. She reminds us that in praying for someone on his deathbed one should ask for God's will to be done, rather than insist on our desire, otherwise we could end up frustrating and or delaying the transition that the person was undertaking. Avoid a conflict from arising at these times. It would help to just let the soul go. She adds that God who is fully able to see the past and future knows best. The outcome is always perfect although we see it otherwise. When my eldest brother was dragging his leg deciding whether we should bring our mother home from the hospital due to her ripe old age of 96, all they would do was keep her under surveillance and even after my other brother who was a medical assistant saw her vital signs going down suggested that we bring her back home, Agathiyar came and asked that he delay no further or hinder our mother's next birth that was awaiting her. Agathiyar told my wife that no one stop her mother's journey to the next world when the time comes.
Just as my late father who used to ask something over and over again was once told by Lord Murugan that once was enough, Betty says that there was no need to repeat a prayer or request. With a single prayer said, then comes faith and lots of patience. Pray for whatever you desire and let go. Let God do his will. If and when his will becomes ours too, we see the prayer answered. Rather than have everyone stand by the bedside of a loving one awaiting some news or development, would not it be better to let the medical professionals do their work, while we return home and start a homam or prayer seeking God's grace as Betty says asking for God's will to be done, rather than insist on our desire, and end up frustrating and or delaying the transition that the person was undertaking.
When news of Supramania Swami's demise in 2007 in Tiruvannamalai reached our ears, I called up Tavayogi and asked him as the sole disciple of his what I was to do? Tavayogi replied "Do nothing. Just pray that his soul is placed in a high place." When news of Tavayogi's demise reached our ears later in 2018, I could take it calmly just as the cook in the movie "Pearl Harbor" tells the captain that he had trained them well. Later Agathiyar tells me that Supramania Swami had attained Samadhi and was laid to rest in the ideal place on the path of Girivalam. Dhanvantri coming to us told us that Tavayogi was in the form of light guiding us further.
When a famed Nadi reader of Chennai passed away many years ago, Agathiyar gave explicit orders to the family not to mourn his death for the soul was meditating in the Pothigai hills. This was news to us who never knew that tavam or austerities continued even in the realm of the soul.
If some souls need to leave the body to enter the next phase of their journey or continue their next journey in another birth, some others request that God take them away. When a man fell ill and was bedridden for five years, a relative couple never gave up on him and his family. They would refer to the Nadi on their behalf and go do the remedies too. But sadly, the relative passed away. All the other relatives came down hard on this couple venting their anger and frustration on them and Agathiyar for not saving the man. They saw all the efforts of this couple as a waste of time, money, and energy. There is never a Nadi reading for a dead man. But Agathiyar made an exception in this case. He called the couple in for a reading after the man died. Agathiyar asked the couple, "What am I supposed to do? I had repeatedly told you to remind him (the man) to lift his spirits up and to fight and never give up. You too did as told and carried out all the remedies I gave. But that soul asked me to take him back as he could not bring himself to see his family continue to suffer further in taking care of him. You are asking me to keep him alive while he has given up on life and decided that he wants to leave. Tell me now to whom I shall listen to?" The couple understood the deep message that Agathiyar put forth for their understanding, bringing clarity to the whole episode. The relatives though only saw the gross and physical, Agathiyar listened to the crying soul and relieved him.
Ram Dass in "Paths to God", Harmony Books, 2004, tells us another similar story. A woman whose son was bitten by a cobra begged Shirdi Sai Baba to give some sacred ash to save him. Baba did not. When a devotee begged him on her behalf, Sai replied "Don't get involved in this. Her son's soul has already entered another body in which he can do especially good work, work that he could not do in this one. If I draw him back into this body the new one, he has entered will have to die for this one to live. I might do it for your sake, but have you considered the consequences. Have you any idea of the responsibility and are you prepared to assume it?" The devotee was only seeing the mother's grief. Baba saw the bigger picture.
When a devotee stood before Bhogar enquiring about her sibling, Bhogar came on sternly telling her that he shall not lift even a finger in bringing him out of his sufferings. He has to go through it, although Bhogar assured her that he shall be safe. On the other hand, Agathiyar manipulated the fate of a newborn, fated to take another birth elsewhere just for the sake of his devotee, even as Goddess Ma came to remind Agathiyar of the consequences of his action and asked that he think twice and reconfirm his instruction to her asking that the child live. Agathiyar held to his asking and told her to go ahead. The child was saved.
Neale says "As we are one with God we do have the ability to create alternate endings to any story", mankind working in unison with the divine forces can bring forth a favorable outcome. Ruzbeh in his blog and writings at https://www.speakingtree.in/blog/the-master-s-grace reveals, "Yes, the laws of karma are rigid and the cards are dealt without emotion. What one has sowed, one shall reap. The experience shall be gone through. There is no escaping this fact. And yet throughout the ages, through time, Sages, mystics, Sufis, and the Holy Scriptures, all proclaim that The Master is Merciful. On one hand, we have the unyielding laws of cause and effect. On the other hand, we have the mercy and tenderness of The Master."
If we understand that our past karma determines the next birth, desires and wants to experience lead the soul to take birth too. I guess this answers my previous question as to what was the very first karma I did, that necessitated a birth and subsequently many more births until the present. It all began with a desire just as desire took hold of Adam and Eve in the story of humanity. I was told in the Nadi readings of mine, my wife's, and my children that we had lived together in the past and desired to come back again in the present. At times it could be the desire of another soul to have us around when it comes back again. The souls comply with its wishes and are reborn though there was no necessity to do so. Our elders always believed that a deceased family member would be reborn within the family circle.
Going for our morning walk in the park this morning with my wife, I saw three adults hug a tree and remain in this position for some time. I had seen many following Energy Bagua hugging trees on my previous walks in the park. I knew that they were connecting with the tree and nature. What I did not expect was at that very instance I got connected with the tree and nature too without holding on to the gross. I could feel the energy that was prevalent around us enter my body and bring on momentary bliss. I guess I could connect with the Prapanjam now. A toddler needs to get used to their body, exploring himself, and the senses. Similarly, he explores the world around him. I am like a child exploring its senses now.
Watching the documentaries that bring the wonders of the world is a much-needed tonic and relief from the many disheartening news we see aired in the news, that of war, politics, pandemics, tragedy, etc. Watching the documentary series, "Secrets of the Enchanted Forest" aired on the channel, "Love Nature", we see the intelligence in nature that is veiled from us by layer and layer of pretention. Children do not exhibit pretention as they are pure to the core and speak their minds. We are told that "All life is connected to the forests on this planet. Right now, they need all the help they can get to keep thriving under immense pressure."
"Trees are primates' grocery store." Not only does the forest provide food but also medicinal herbs. "As much as a quarter of all western medicines are derived from rainforest plants."
"The Asian elephants have spent their entire life mapping and memorizing the forest. They are the unofficial custodians of these forests. No one knows more about how the forest works. They shape the entire forest. These forest gardeners of nature's gardens create the forest landscape. They help spread the seeds through their dung."
No wonder Bagheera the panther tells Mowgli to bow to the passing herd of elephants in the movie "Jungle Book".
The narrator goes on to say how all the animals that reside in the forest are partners in crime in assisting a fig tree to gain the throne and reign way up in the skies. She describes the crime scene beautifully. A species of monkey that eats a fig climbs way up a majestic tree and lays its poo in the cracks of its branches. The fig tree takes a firm grip and hold and soon brings the host tree to its knees and reigns king. All the animals remain silent as they too have a piece of the cake, the tasty fig.
Just like elephants, we are told that it has come to the knowledge of scientists now that trees too do have memories. For instance, they know when to shed their leaves and sink into a silent slumber before the cold sets in. To know and understand our world we need to see nature, the trees, animals, reptiles, and insects.
In "Planet Earth III - Humans" rather than point fingers and complain, a farm in a warehouse in Los Angeles has created a food revolution. They are growing vegetables vertically in a controlled environment, hence shedding the need to clear forests and fell trees to create more land for farming and agriculture. They are "giving back the land to nature, giving the natural world a chance to bounce back."
Moving to the other end of the globe, in another documentary, as they are left with only 34 hours and 18 minutes of daylight on the last day before darkness envelops the town for the next 65 days, the locals in a tiny town in Alaska flee for the south by flight before the final sunset, escaping the 65 days of darkness. The long, bitter, and dark winter is said to contribute to depression and many suicide attempts. It is time we appreciate sunlight. It is time we appreciate nature. It is time we appreciated the breath. All these constitute worship too.
Betty who came back to reveal much wrote that "when the heavens scrolled back", she "saw the earth and its billions of people on it." She saw how the angels stood by to assist each and every individual irrespective of their status. The only ingredient needed was "faith." Betty reminds us not to forget to thank them when they have granted our wishes. She says it beautifully, "In humility, we must ask and in gratitude, we must receive." Prayers bring God to us. With constant prayers, we will come to know that he lives among us. Baba was concerned whether the couple would "go through the experience calmly and united or would the hard times once again manage to destroy their love and togetherness and make them live the rest of their lives like strangers." Such is the love and concern of gurus towards us. I too have seen Agathiyar's love and concern for us often reprimanding us only to save us from falling into deeper pits. It is out of care that at times they seem and sound stern. But deep within it is pure unadulterated love towards all souls.
After 10 years since his last conversation and book, Neale sat down to bring the train of dialogue he had with God in CWG Book 4. As Neale shares his sadness as to what was going around, telling God that "it feels like we're becoming less civil, less tolerant, less capable of controlling our indulgences, ..." rolling out the current state of affairs, God asked him to pass on His third and final invitation, assuring him that there is nothing to worry about if he does what he was inwardly called to do. God gives him hope that we can actually "change things rather dramatically and tells him and reminds us too that this is both the perfect time to begin making these alterations and the perfect time for advancement. Our mission now is to awaken the species." But before that, we need to be awakened first.
We understood from Agathiyar that each of us was brought together again for a purpose. We have been told that we are here for an experience, gaining which we return to God's kingdom. Just as Neale says life needs to have a purpose, Agathiyar has slowly revealed the reasons for taking birth, giving it a purpose too. As God told Neale that "the fastest way to awaken more quickly was to be the cause of someone else's awakening", Agathiyar told us among the merits gained from our actions as the worship of God, serving the guru; performing charity and feeding the hungry, the most appreciated of the deeds was to spread the words and messages of the masters. We can revel in joy at having performed rituals to the command of our gurus; at having performed charity to the needy, feeding them and appeasing their hunger, and in finally bringing together devotees and those seeking to come to the fold of the Siddhas through these events. We are glad and proud that we have done our share, a small part towards the upliftment of humanity and all of God's creation. Everything is done for the growth of the spirit and soul. Even the beggars are placed there for our benefit said Yogi Ramsuratkumar when he was asked why India had so many beggars. The Yogi simply answered that India needed beggars. Do not despise them. They provide us an avenue, allowing us opportunities to serve them. We gain these much-needed experiences that build on our compassion. If only we could add love as an ingredient in all our dealings we have served and lived well, completing our purpose for taking birth.