Speaking to a pharmacist friend and devotee we agreed that it seems odd that whatever is aged and traditional has come to be swept under the carpet and substituted by scientific findings that deliver proof, verification, and certification of test results, having these practices go through various stages of tests in the laboratory and on test subjects. The irony is that traditional medicine for instance has withstood time and has been dispensed for ages by traditional practitioners to hundreds, in their villages and has seen the test of time and seen positive results. So why do they need further certification from external bodies? We are made to understand toxicity-related issues and major safety concerns have to be addressed. We can understand the concern.
"The use of herbal medicinal products and supplements has increased tremendously over the past three decades with not less than 80% of people worldwide relying on them for some part of primary healthcare. Although therapies involving these agents have shown promising potential with the efficacy of a good number of herbal products clearly established, many of them remain untested, and their use is either poorly monitored or not even monitored at all. The consequence of this is an inadequate knowledge of their mode of action, potential adverse reactions, contraindications, and interactions with existing orthodox pharmaceuticals and functional foods to promote both the safe and rational use of these agents. Since safety continues to be a major issue with the use of herbal remedies, it becomes imperative, therefore, that relevant regulatory authorities put in place appropriate measures to protect public health by ensuring that all herbal medicines are safe and of suitable quality." (Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/)
From https://www.bbc.co.uk/, we learn that there are three main stages of testing new drugs.
"The drugs are tested using computer models and skin cells grown using human stem cells in the laboratory. This allows the efficacy and possible side effects to be tested. Many substances fail this first test of a preclinical drug trial because they damage cells or do not seem to work. Drugs that pass the first stage are tested on animals in the second part of a preclinical drug trial. A typical test involves giving a known amount of the substance to the animals and then monitoring them carefully for any side effects. Drugs that have passed animal tests are used in human clinical trials. They are tested on healthy volunteers to check that they are safe. The substances are then tested on people with the illness to ensure that they are safe and that they work. Low drug doses are used initially, and if this is safe the dosage increases until the optimum dosage is identified."
A cardiologist friend in India shared the following some time back.
"(W)holistic medicine is the answer to health issues of the people. Allopathy reveals the effects of a particular treatment, both good and bad. We mostly know what to expect. Other systems refrain from revealing the same. I am open to using other systems. My good friend is a homeopath and we use his services often. I have found profound effects on skin and joint problems. I only wish the practitioners of other systems don't have a prejudice against allopathy, and join hands for the common good."
Cyndi Dale writes in her book, "New Chakras Healing - The Revolutionary 32 Center Energy System", Llewellyn Publications, 2003,
"A physician will try his best to save a life but will tell us too that drugs only work sometimes, tests only reveal so much, and treatments only help some people. Even spiritualists will warn that faith can only take you so far."
Both the physician and the spiritualists will eventually tell us to pray for a miracle to happen. Albert Einstein says "There are only two ways to live your life: as though nothing is a miracle, or as though everything is a miracle." Miracles are everywhere. Miracles are taking place every moment. Just as the flowers open up with the sun, and its honey entices and invites the bees and birds, just as hot air rises and cools and condenses into clouds, leading to precipitation and rain, just looking around us we see magic each moment. It is just that a veil screens it from our sight. Removing that veil exposes us to these miracles and their workings. It is just whether we want to see it. Ask and it shall be shown.
Similarly, we are all Buddhas and enlightened. So why do we need certification from others and external bodies? One simply knows when he has arrived there. The changes become obvious too. A psychologist walked up to me at a temple fest and asked me if my conversations with Agathiyar were a hallucination after following this blog. Why do we not realize that we are each Buddhas? The reason is that we are covered in, call it veils, sheets, sheaths, curtains, and layers, that prevent us from looking within and seeing our true selves. There is no other way to know the true self but to live, engage, and interact with the exterior world, initially. As what is external is easily drawn aside and brought down, but how do we draw these obstructions that are within aside? Here comes the guru, the one who has been there and has the key, the solution, and the answers. He shows us the paths, means, and methods that are needed and are in place to make the dive within. He makes us realize our true selves. It needs a guru to point it out or show us. When Tavayogi led me on a journey he told me "Only now the true journey begins my son". Though I could not comprehend what he meant, I followed him. We visited temples, jungles, and caves. Agathiyar as promised in my Nadi reading showed me numerous miracles. He showed me the magic in the air and in the stone that was already there but that we failed to see earlier. Tavayogi pointed to the sky and told me that the Siddhas were showering flower petals on us and ushering us into the jungles and hills. He told me that Agathiyar was opening his eyes and looking at us in his aged and worn-out granite statue from the era of King Kuberan at his shrine at the Agasthiyampalli temple. Having shown us all things external, only later did he bring us on an internal journey where the magic unfolded within.
Just as Tavayogi pointed out the miracles that are already all out there, Agathiyar has been pointing out the changes that are taking place within me. Then he has me land on reading books and materials that further clarify the changes and have me share it with my readers. They show us that it is possible to extend our life span by taking in Prana that comes with the air we breathe in, which in turn fuels the fire that arises from the austerities, tapas, and chanting to bring on an internal transformation that is both chemical and electrical revealing the results externally too. He pointed out to the tingling sensation in the crown of my head telling me it was all progressing fine. The Siddhas are showing us that it is possible to reverse aging. Agathiyar pointed out to my hair which was turning black. Coming back from my eye doctor yesterday he was overjoyed to see both my eyes and my daughter faring well. He told me that I did not need the glasses that were prescribed after my cataract surgery anymore. As for my daughter who had surgery for Retina Detachment all was well he added.
Science is now beginning to prove our age-old practices as having substance. The documentary "The Field" is one show that speaks about mass prayers or Koothu Prathanai, the Aura and healing that comes with chanting, the magical power of sound and water, and all other elements. It is all about energies and vibrations as science has come to acknowledge too in this documentary.
My cardiologist friend who receives messages from his guru Krishnaveni Amma of Kalyana Theertam shared her message back then regarding the bodily changes one undergoes in having taken up tapas or austerities and shared his own experiences too that did not strike me back then. But as I go through the internal changes it makes pretty good sense now and explains the arrival of Vaalai now just in time to give me a hand to move on to the next phase.
"மண் (காயம்); விண் (ஆகாயம்) இடையில் இருந்து, விந்துவாகி (நீர்), ப்ராணன் (வாயு) பெற்று, சாதனை செய்து, தவக்கனலால் (நெருப்பு) பாழடைந்து (முப்பாழ் நாடி - சுழுமுனை) தேக சம்பத்தை விட்டு, அகாய நிலை அடைய வேண்டும். இதற்கு சுத்த மாயையும் வாலையும் துணை வந்து சலனமற்ற முழு பொருள் ஆன உன்மை நிலையில் சேர்ப்பார்கள். இந்த பாதையே சித்த நெரி."
And it all started with the coming of the guru to enlighten and guide us to the Light. Tavayogi summarized the Siddha path and gave us the gist and cream of it year in and year out in his talk during the annual Jayanthi celebrations at his Kallar Ashram. I wonder how many understood? I too have only begun to understand the truth that he kept on revealing to the masses taking the stage. I guess only experience will trigger us to recognize the messages that the gurus pass on to us.