Just as the Paintress in the game "Clair Obscur Expedition 33" erases and wipes out all those born in a particular year, Lord Siva wiped out all my reading and learning on religion, the Agamas, tradition, and customs. He left me empty for some 13 years before he fed me with ever-fresh learnings from the Siddhas. Coming to the fold of the Siddhas, he fills me with rituals, practices, and techniques, brings me to do charity, and then, after some 18 years, wipes it all away, and has me leave my association with other fellow seekers on the path too. He wiped off all my association with relatives, schoolmates, collegemates, officemates, neighbors, friends, and society, leaving behind only a handful I meet daily.
Just as the signs of impending danger or disease are there, the lessons were shrouded all over and often repeatedly told to us, but we fail to grasp them. It takes time and maturity that comes with age to bring our attention and understanding towards them. But it is often too late, unless we make a concerted effort to change overnight. I am no saint, yet he took me in under his wings and groomed me to become one of his kind, not a clone, but a unique person. Agathiyar had me go on a pilgrimage, which is part of Sariyai, after revealing about Karma to soften its hold on us, not magically but with and by the trouble we take to see it through. He had me carry out rituals that are a part of Kriyai to further burn the remaining in the external fire. He had me exhaust the last remnants of Karma in the internal fire of Yoga. Stepping into Gnanam after having accumulated the lessons learned and experiences gained, he removed the remaining ignorance in me. Asking me not to take the blame entirely for all my past acts, he revealed that he had pushed me into those situations and moments, prompting me to err and sin for the sake of wanting those experiences, too, telling me I needed to know, feel, and learn both the good and bad. There was no right and wrong in his view. It was all an experience to be acquired and move on. That is the love and compassion of Agathiyar, a man who became godly, or rather God, coming to us, to help us shed the hold of Maya and revealing his true form.
Just as Buddha said, we replace a thousand thoughts with one and let it go, too, initially, we drop our desires and wishes, replace them with those of Agathiyar's and the guru, and eventually, even that has to drop too as we settle in the Self that is awareness and existence.