I am glad that my effort, after my first Nadi reading on 14.12.2002, to seek a spot and space to build a shrine for Agathiyar and install his statue in the existing temples, failed. For one, currently, we see a hive of activity in verifying if existing temples are legally built or otherwise. Many have been asked to move out for encroaching on others' land, or to enable expansion and development to take place. If I had been given the green light to install Agathiyar, in my state of joy, I would not have questioned the legality of these temples and spent money and time on it only to have it demolished later or moved to another site if the temple was seen to be squatting on someone's land or there was a plan for future expansion of public amenities.
Another reason I am glad it did not take off is that I would have been stuck to his image and have others believe too that Agathiyar had a form, as depicted in the statue. Today, we know and accept Agathiyar as the Prapanjam beyond form and name. Many cannot bring themselves to understand this concept and truth. It is sad that some are so caught up in forms and names and cannot see beyond these. When I dressed up Agathiyar's statue at my home as Lord Ganapathy, and Agathiyar came in the Nadi later on 17 October 2010, telling me that it was the truth and that I had understood it well, someone wrote in a lengthy explanation saying that they were distinct, apart and different. In 2016, when the AVM family and I visited India, I found that a granite statue of Lord Ganapathy was placed at Agathiyar's shrine at the Sri Agathiyar Kumbamunivar Sannadhi in Kumbakonam, which was a popular destination for Agathiyar devotees, confirming what Agathiyar had told me earlier. On 7 September 2024, being Vinayagar Chaturthi, I took my grandchildren over to the temple in their locality. The kids asked to light the ghee lamps. When I asked my three-year-old grandson to sing, he sang the "Happy Birthday" song and "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" nursery rhymes before Lord Ganapathy, screaming his heart out. I let him be. Since we told him it was Lord Ganapathy's birthday, I guess he thought it was appropriate to wish him by singing him the Birthday Song.
Whatever we know today came through the Rishis who had direct experiences,
"Srutis have been variously described as a revelation through Anubhava (direct experience), or of primordial origins realized by ancient Rishis." (https://en.wikipedia.org/).
What remained later was that which is remembered or Smrti. Though it originated from these Rishis, much has either been hidden, gone missing, destroyed, changed, adulterated, or manipulated over time by individuals or parties who had a hidden agenda. From once having direct access to these scriptures, man's ability to perceive, hear, and tap into these scriptures was lost over time. Yogi Ramsuratkumar says that the airways are congested, hence preventing us from tuning in to the messages of the divine.
"In the old days, the scriptures were in the air, and all you had to do was be silent, and you could tune in to the scriptures and hear them. He could feel it, he could live it. But now there is electromagnetic interference from the TVs, from the radios, from the short waves, the cell phones, from all the static we’re putting in the air electronically, and it’s interfering with the scriptures – it’s a big impediment. Your satellites are interfering with this beggar’s work.”
He adds that Dharma is falling apart because people can no longer hear the scriptures when they are quiet. (Source: "Meetings With Yogi Ramsuratkumar" by Will Zulkowsky.)
Though the days of directly experiencing the scriptures might be a thing of the past, we are told that this is the Era of Siddhas, where a direct experience of another kind is a possibility in present times, similar to the good old days. My mother used to tell us that the Gods walked the earth in the past. Ramalinga Adigal, who built the Sathya Gnana Sabai in Vadalur, is said to have erected it on the command of Lord Siva, who wanted the heavenly beings to be schooled here. But it was shelved for reasons only known to them. So are the Gods making a comeback? The Siddhas have made themselves available and accessible to us directly for now. They are here to keep their promise to elevate mankind from sinking deeper into Maya. Hence, the possible reason that the Yogi has mentioned, "Kaliyuga has gone. Now it is the God Yuga. This beggar can see God everywhere and not Kali anywhere.”
As only the direct experience or Anubhava can possibly be retained in the Self and lead one to achieve greater heights in spirituality, the Siddhas had us go to the ground and work ourselves up the spiritual ladder, rung by rung. Taking it up from Sariyai, which was introduced by our parents, with the arrival of the guru in physical form, they brought us to Kriyai. The guru had us come together in Puja and charity, and gave us the confidence to march ahead, bringing both to the masses. From our homes, having us expand our Homam that was done on a small scale to doing large-scale Yagam at temples, he brought us into the public eye and into the limelight. Having had these experiences, gained from external activities, he then brought us to observe our body and mind through Yoga. Thus, the experiences came from within now. These direct experiences gained over time have etched and left their mark on us and can never be forgotten easily. So too does Agathiyar want it not to be forgotten and hence to be documented in the pages of this blog.
When something happens within us, the next thing we do is ask around or look up if someone has had the same experience, and we compare notes. If initially we sought answers to all our random questions regarding religion, myths, legends, etc, now it is to know what "the hack" was happening within. Unfortunately, there are no reliable references to refer to and rely on. This is where a guru can come in handy, as he has been through these experiences. What do we do in the absence of a guru, then? We are lost. We are desperate to seek answers. It is all customized for each individual.
One might cry out aloud that he was suffering, having no food and that he was going hungry, had no roof above his head, and had no job, while another in a similar situation might be sitting quietly, accepting his fate and in bliss. If the former is a normal human being, the latter is tagged a Gnani. It is all a matter of experience, perspective, and acceptance.
Hence, we understand why Agathiyar, who brought us together to carry out rituals and charity, has us travel solo and alone the path of Yoga, for each shall gain its benefit accordingly, according to the time and effort he or she places to keep up with the regime, lessons, and practice given. Many have come by or written to me about these mysterious and incomprehensible experiences taking place within them. How can I help them when I too am having them? I await Agathiyar to enlighten me and then share it in this blog as he wants me to.