A BEAUTIFUL SPEECH

KARMA (Part 4)

How Does Karma Work For One Who Is Realized?

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami showers some light on this.

"After the realization of the Self, Parasiva, the forces of dharma and previous karma still exist, but through the force of the realization of God, much of the impending impact of karma has dwindled, and it is faced differently, treated differently. Prior to the experience of realization, karmas were dealt with in individual increments. After realization, the sum total is seen. The spiritual destiny is realized."

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami writes how clear it all is to the Yogis whose karma that once stood in their way of God realization is removed. Fresh karma is then dissolved immediately. Karma waiting to germinate is roasted in the fire of their tapas.

"One does not have the experience of realizing the Self until all of his karma is in a state of resolve. When this begins to occur in him, he actually sees that man is not man, man is the Self, God, for his karma and the forces of his dharma have begun to become transparent to him. Through the power of his realization, the karma is created and simultaneously dissolved. This occurs for the one who lives in the timeless state of consciousness. If one were to realize the Self each day, he would live his life like writing his karma on the surface of water. The swamis who renounce the world and do tapas are trying to burn the seeds of the karmas that they did not bring with them in this life. They set fire to the whole house. They renounce the world and put restrictions upon themselves that others don’t."

Paramahansa Yogananda says,

"In Nirbikalpa Samadhi the yogi dissolves the last vestiges of his material or earthly karma. Nevertheless, he may still have certain astral and causal karma to work out and therefore takes astral and then causal embodiment on high vibration spheres."

Yogi Ramsuratkumar consoled his disciples when he was about to go into samadhi, saying he could do a better job in the subtle plane.

How Does Karma Work For One Who Is Under The Care Of A Guru?

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami explains that karma is transferable.

"Karma is transferable. One can take on some of the karma of other people, work it out for them and make their burden a little easier for them. The guru guides and also shares a bit of the heavier burdens, if one is fortunate enough to be dedicated enough to have a guru who will lend his powers in this way. But each aspect of the karma, the outgrowth of the dharma, must be passed through by the disciple, creating as little as possible of a similar karma on this tenuous path of the repetition of the cycles of life. The guru may take unto himself, into his nerve system, some of the heavier areas of your karma in the same way your parents performed this function for you perhaps unknowingly."

Paramahansa Yogananda in AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A YOGI, Self Realization Fellowship, 1990, adds that only great gurus can take on their disciples karma.

"By putting on the ailments of others, a yogi can satisfy, for them, the karmic law of cause and effect; its workings may be scientifically manipulated by men of divine wisdom. Only great gurus are able to assume the karma of disciples."

Agathiyar has taken on the karma of his devotees. Paramahansa Yogananda struck the shoulder of a chela with a burning brand only to free him from painful death; thus satisfying the karmic law through slight suffering by fire. Help a hungry man by feeding him and you have brought relief to him. The donor gains merit and is relieved of his karma. Similarly the karma of the one fed is exhausted that very moment too.

Annie Besant and Bhagawan Das in SANATANA DHARMA by the Theosophical Publishing House, 2000 states an exception to this.

"Only a full and clear knowledge of the causes in the past resulting in the suffering of the present could justify refusal to help on karmic grounds."

What Happens When All The Karma Of All Past Lives Is Worked Out?

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami reveals the answer.

"You would truly be an artisan, an absolute expert at working out karma in the mental and spiritual spheres, and could begin to help working out karma for other people."

Annie Besant and Bhagawan Das in SANATANA DHARMA by the Theosophical Publishing House, 2000 write, 

"A man may escape from the wheel of births and deaths, and yet remain manifested so long as Eswara chooses to manifest, by ceasing to create karma and by exhausting what already exists. When all desires hidden in the heart are loosed, then the mortal becomes immortal, then he enjoys Brahman. Whose works are all free from the molding of desire, whose karma is burned up in the fire of wisdom, him the wise have called a sage. Then freedom is achieved, and the man may either remain, as the rishis have remained, to aid in the evolution going on in the Brahmananda or may sink to rest."

If they chose to return to help others work out their karma, Paramahansa Yogananda writes,

"Such voluntary returns are called vyutthana or reversion to earthly life after Maya has ceased to blind. When the yogi has reached his infinite goal, all his actions, miraculous or otherwise, are then performed without karmic involvement. The iron filings of karma are attracted only where a magnet of the personal ego still exists. Their incarnations on this planet are not subject to the rigid restrictions of karma. Sri Yukteswar himself was serving on an illumined astral planet called Hiranyaloka as a savior to help men work out their physical karma. He aids advanced beings to rid themselves of astral karma and thus attain liberation from astral births. Even as in his earthly incarnation he had occasionally assumed the weight of disease to lighten his disciple’s karma, so in the astral world his mission as a savior enabled him to take on certain astral karma of dwellers on Hiranyaloka, and thus hasten their evolution into the higher causal world."

The realized one would be required to go back into the society with a mission to educate and bring more souls into the fold of God. His actions would not create good or bad karma for he would then be carrying out activities that would not enslave him but instead be for the betterment of the people who come into contact with him. He could then choose to leave on his own will when the time was right.

And there are the Siddhas, Rishis and Munis who are on the look out for potential aspirants on this path to realization, spot them and take them into the folds, guide them, take upon themselves the karma of these aspirants and them achieve realization just as they have attained. Such is the grace of the Siddhas that they chose to see into both the past and the future of humans and have them written down so that humanity could learn to rectify its mistakes and make good whatever harm done to others. In simple terms the Siddhas have showed us an escape route to end this cycle of birth.

KARMA (Part 3)

How Does Devotion Help Remove Karma?

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami beautifully explains how Bhakti or devotion eradicates one's karma.

"Bhakti brings grace, and the sustaining grace melts and blends the karmas in the heart. In the heart chakra the karmas are in a molten state. The throat chakra molds the karmas through sadhana, regular religious practices. The third-eye chakra sees the karmas, past, present and future, as a singular oneness. And the crown chakra absorbs, burns clean, enough of the karmas to open the gate, the door of Brahman, revealing the straight path to merging with Siva."

Many of the present day saints have extolled the efficacy of songs of saints of days bygone, that arose out of extreme devotion, in 'melting the heart' as Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami phrases it. The Thiruarutpa of the Siddha Ramalinga Adigal; the Thirumanthiram of the Siddha Thirumular; the Thevaram of the sixty-three Nayanmar; the Thirupugazh of the Siddha Arunagiri; the Agasthiyar Satagam by Kunangkudi Masthan Sahib and the numerous songs by the Siddhas all have helped bring about the right mood whereby even the toughest heart is mellowed down. Only when the heart melts can man see through this veil of Maya or ignorance. Ramalingam mentions seven veils that need to be removed before one enters that state of realization, seeing the Lord in oneself and other beings too.

What Are The Other Means Of Overcoming Karma?

Paramahansa Yogananda in AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A YOGI, Self Realization Fellowship, 1990, conveys his master’s (Sri Yukteswar) message.

"All human ills arise from some transgression of universal law. The scriptures point out that man must satisfy the laws of nature, while not discrediting the divine omnipotence. By a number of means - by prayer, by will power, by yoga meditation, by consultation with saints, by use of astrological bangles - the adverse effects of past wrongs can be minimized or nullified."

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami says,

"Planetary changes activate new karmas and close off some of the karmas previously activated. The magnetic pulls and the lack of magnetism are what jyotisha (Vedic astrology) is telling us is happening at every point in time. These karmas then wait in abeyance, accumulating new energy from current actions, to be reactivated at some later time. These karmic packets become more refined, life after life, through sadhana. All of this is summed up by one word, evolution. The sum total of all karmas, including the journey through consciousness required to resolve them, is called samsara."

This explains the reason behind the various beneficial and adverse effects encountered and endured by people during the transit of planets as charted in astrological charts. On 19.6.2014 Guru or Jupiter will be moving and as a result bring a myriad of changes to individuals life for a year according to their charts. Similarly people have feared the planet Sani or Saturn who tends to stay longer for a period of 7 1/2 years. As Satguru says "Planetary changes activate new karmas and close off some of the karmas previously activated", here we are given an opportunity to exhaust our past karmas and to either work on more recent ones or move on with a clean slate. The ever compassionate Siddhas by giving us the science of jyotisha, have enabled us to be forewarned about matters and thus take the necessary steps to avoid or overcome them.

Ram Das in PATH TO GOD - Living The Bhagavad Gita, Harmony Books, 2004, shows a way through.

"If we want to get done with it all, its clear that the first step in the process is to stop creating new waves. We’re never going to be finished if we keep making new waves for ourselves everyday. Once we’re acting purely out of dharma and not out of any desire, we’re no longer making waves. When you've totally surrendered to your dharma, when you’re no longer trying for anything, that’s your way through."

Dr Hiroshi Motoyama in KARMA AND REINCARNATION, Piatkus, 1992 suggests,

"Dissolving karma through learning detachment – non-action within action i.e. acting out the unfolding of one’s day to day life continuously but without attachment to the results of the action."

Eknath Easwaran in DIALOGUE WITH DEATH - A Journey Through Consciousness, Jaico Publishing House, 2002, advises,

"If we can learn not to act on a samskara by severing the connection between stimulus and response, that particular chain of karma will no longer have a hold on us. Past and future are both contained in every present moment. Whatever we are today is the result of what we have thought, spoken, and done in all the present moments before now - just as what we shall be tomorrow is the result of what we think, say, and do today."

Eknath Easwaran says if man learns to say no to his/her samskaras, the decisions will definitely be different. Every time a samskara prompts him to action he should make use of this opportunity to manage not to make the mistake of participating; then the chain can be broken. Easwaran drives the point that the responsibility for both present and future is squarely in man’s own hands.

Similarly both Agathiyar and Tavayogi have told me to be indifferent and to not to respond, retaliate or entertain adverse stimulus on many occasions.

Just as Lao Tze asked that we go with the flow, Annie Besant and Bhagawan Das in SANATANA DHARMA by the Theosophical Publishing House, 2000, write,

"A man who knows the law of nature utilizes those whose forces are going his way and neutralize those which oppose. The laws of nature state conditions under which certain results follow. According to the results desired conditions may be arranged, and, given the conditions, the results will invariably follow. Hence the law of nature does not compel any special action, but only renders all actions possible."

To substantiate this fact, an excerpt from Sogyal Rinpoche's THE TIBETAN BOOK OF LIVING AND DYING, HarperSanFrancisco, 1993,

"Karma, then, is not fatalistic or predetermined. Karma means our ability to create and to change. It is creative because we can determine how and why we act. We can change. The future is in our hands, and in the hands of our heart. As everything is impermanent, fluid, and interdependent, how we act and think inevitably change the future. We must realize that every moment in our life, every joy and every sorrow, can be traced to some source within us. There is no one “out there” making it all happen. We make it happen or not happen according to the actions we perform, the attitudes we hold and the thoughts we think. Therefore, by gaining conscious control of our thoughts and attitudes by right action, we can control the flow of karma."

Lama Surya Das in AWAKENING THE BUDDHA WITHIN - Tibetan Wisdom For The Western World‖, Bantam Books, 1997, says,

"Every moment we are presented with the possibility of changing the future. By thorough understanding of karmic causation and skillful means we can become free. We change, and our future changes too. This is the truth. This is karma. We are responsible; the lever of our destiny remains in our hands."

Annie Besant and Bhagawan Das in SANATANA DHARMA by the Theosophical Publishing House, 2000 explains further.

"The main thing to see in karma is not a destiny imposed from without, but a self-made destiny, imposed from within, and therefore a destiny that is continually being remade by its maker."

Dr. Hiroshi Motoyama in KARMA AND REINCARNATION, Piatkus, 1992 examines karma further.

"Karma is basically a result of the spiritual ignorance of the self that mistakenly believes it is an independent entity. As long as the self functions in this state of ignorance it is imprisoned in a continuous process of death and reincarnation within the dimensions of reality that are governed by the law of cause and effect."

Paramahansa Yogananda in the BHAGAVAD GITA, Yogada Satsanga Society of India, 2002 says.

"Man has the divine gift of free choice, which he can use properly or improperly, to his benefit or harm. Animals, not subject to individual karma, are under the sway of group or mass karma. An animal’s life is predestined; man’s is not."

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami,

"We bring just a certain portion of our karmas to live through in this life, called prarabdha karmas. Karmas left to be worked out in another life are in seed stage, inactive. So, here we are, with our two suitcases of karma, and the idea is to go through life and come out the other end without the suitcases. Unless we have dharma, which we are committed to and live fully, which has the restraints, we would fill up the suitcases again."

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami in MERGING WITH SIVA – Hinduism’s Contemporary Metaphysics, Himalayan Academy, 2005 says,

"There are thousands of things vibrating in the muladhara chakra, and from those memory patterns they are going to bounce up into view one after another, especially if we gain more Prana by breathing and eating correctly. When meditation begins, more karma is released from the first chakra (muladhara chakra). Our individual karma is intensified as the ingrained memory patterns that were established long ago accumulate and are faced, one after another, after another, after another. In our first four or five years of striving on the path we face the karmic patterns that we would never have faced in this life had we not consciously sought enlightenment. Experiences come faster, closer together. So much happens in the short span of a few months or even a few days, catalyzed by the new energies released in meditation and by our efforts to purify mind and body, it might have taken us two or three lifetimes to face them all. They would not have come up before then, because nothing would have stimulated them."

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami cheers us up by asking us to "Carry your karma cheerfully". The Swami metes out three ways that one can handle karma.

1. The first approach,

"Then begin the tedious task of unwinding these multitudinous patterns through performing daily sadhana. Each next step will become quite obvious to you as you begin to find that you are the writer of your own destiny, the master of your ship through life, and the freedom of your soul is but yours to claim through your accomplishments of your yoga."

2. The second approach,

"The second way to face karma is in deep sleep and meditation. Seeds of karma that have not even expressed themselves can be traced in deep meditation by one who has many years of experience in the within. Having pinpointed the un-manifested karmic seed, the jnani can either dissolve it in intense light or inwardly live through the reaction of his past action."

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami continues,

"If his meditation is successful, he will be able to throw out the vibrating experiences or desires which are consuming the mind. In doing this, in traveling past the world of desire, he breaks the wheel of karma which binds him to the specific reaction which must follow every action. That experience will never have to happen on the physical plane, for its vibrating power has already been absorbed in his nerve system."

3. The third approach,

"A third way that past actions is re-enacted is through the actual intense reactionary experience and working with you, conquering inner desires and emotions. When something happens to you that you put into motion in a past life or earlier in this life, sit down and think it over. Do not strike out. Do not react. Work it out inside yourself. Take the experience within, into the pure energies of the spine and transmute that energy back into its primal source. In doing so, what happens? You change its consistency. It no longer has magnetic power, and awareness flows away from that memory pattern forever. You could remember the experience, but your perspective would be totally detached and objective. This is the most common way karma is resolved, in day-to-day experiences. The full force of the karmic experience comes, but because of his present goodness and previous blessings earned through control of his intellect, he receives the experience as a minor wound. This seed karma is worked through within himself in this way."

This is what saints have been doing. When the Siddha Pattinathar was accused of stealing jewels belonging to a temple, the local king had him tied to a post and whipped him. The Siddha took it on him without protest. He accepted it as Gods will. When Yogi Ramsuratkumar was set upon by mischief makers and beaten up, he accepted it as God’s will. His constant advice was to remain satisfied with whatever situation one found oneself in, realizing that it was part of the Divine will. He used to say, "In truth, there is only one will at work and that is Father’s will. It is therefore perfect, good for the individual, humanity and the cosmos."

Similarly when thieves broke into Bhagawan Ramana Maharishi’s ashram and beat him up he received the blows without defending himself. Tavayogi has reminded me not to oppose happenings but to submit to it. Annie Besant and Bhagawan Das describe this quietude on one’s part as merely choices to let past choices have their way, and to go in accordance with them. He simply chooses to do nothing. Again Lao Tzu too has reminded us to go with the flow.

From Henry Wei in the GUIDING LIGHT OF LAO TZU, Synergy Books International,

"So much emphasis does Lao Tzu lay on the most important doctrine in regard to spiritual cultivation known as Wu Wei or non-action which is in the sense of non-interference, that is to say, non-interference with the trend of nature or the flow of Tao."

The Tibetans accept karma as a natural and just process. Karma inspires them to be responsible in whatever they do says Sogyal Rinpoche.

Sogyal Rinpoche beautifully concludes that,

"Karma, then, is our best spiritual teacher. We spiritually learn and grow as our actions return to us to be resolved and dissolved."

KARMA (Part 2)

Karma

The subject of karma has been extensively researched and written by many outstanding saints and authors.

"What you are is what you have been, what you will be is what you do now" goes the saying of the Buddha.

"If you want to know your past life, look into your present condition; if you want to know your future life, look at your present actions" says Padmasambhava.

Annie Besant and Bhagawan Das in SANATANA DHARMA by the Theosophical Publishing House, 2000 write,

"Karma literally means action, but as every action is triple in its nature, belonging partly to the past, partly to the present and partly to the future, it has come to mean the sequence of events, the law of causes and effects, the succession in which each effect follows its own cause. What is called the consequence of an action is really not a separate thing but is a part of the action, and cannot be divided from it. Nothing occurs which is not linked to the past and to the future."

Eknath Easwaran in DIALOGUE WITH DEATH - A Journey Through Consciousness, Jaico Publishing House, 2002, says,

Hindu and Buddhist mystics would go so far as to say that we have come into this life expressly to fulfill our unfulfilled desires, which as unconscious drives or samskaras shape everything we do. The slightest thought has consequences, as does the slightest act. Over the years it is the sum of all these consequences, large and small, that shapes our lives. Nothing that he says, thinks or does is without consequences. Thoughts are the very source of our karma, for from our thoughts flows everything: words, actions, desires, decisions, and destiny."

Eknath Easwaran goes further to remind us that "Karma is not imposed by some cosmic lawgiver outside us."

Swami Rajarshi Muni in YOGA – The Ultimate Attainment, Jaico Publishing House, 2004, explains karma.

"During each earthly existence, a soul creates innumerable karmas in the form of thoughts, words, and actions. These karmas leave behind corresponding subliminal impressions that are carried forward with the subtle body from one life to the next. When these latent impressions become activated at opportune moments in the present life, or in a future life, they awaken into desires, which then amass volitional energy sufficient to lead the soul to perform new karmas. Thus the karmas of the present life lead to the karmas of future lives. They establish a continuous and unending chain of causes and effects."

Ram Das in PATH TO GOD - Living The Bhagavadgita, Harmony Books, 2004, says it beautifully,

"Every act we do creates vasana, life waves, based on the desires connected with the act. Even when we die, they continue; the physical body dies, and what remains are those subtle life waves, those mental tendencies that function like a kind of psychic DNA code to determine your next round."

Ram Das extols his guru in the way his guru could see the whole pattern of life evolving.

"Since I could only see the stage that I was in at the moment, I always caught up in reaching for this or grabbing for that or pushing away the other thing. But Maharajji could see the whole pattern evolving. When you’re at that stage, you see in advance the direction the karmic waves are taking, and you know exactly why it’s all happening the way it is."

Paramahansa Yogananda in his AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A YOGI, Self Realization Fellowship, 1990, writes,

"The effort is part of the karma, as much as the goodness or badness: karma is not a finished thing awaiting us, but a constant becoming, in which the future is not only shaped by the past but is modified by the present."

Sogyal Rinpoche in his book THE TIBETAN BOOK OF LIVING AND DYING, HarperSanFrancisco, 1993, mentions,

"Usually we forget what we do, and it is only long afterward that the results catch up with us. By then we are unable to connect them with their causes. The results of our actions are often delayed, even into future lifetimes; we cannot pin down one cause, because any event can be an extremely complicated mixture of many karmas ripening together."

Ramalinga Adigal in his ―MANUMURAI KANDA VASAGAM mentions the probabilities for one’s rebirth. It is an eye opener and quite frightening too.

Did I create fear in others?

Did I hurt my loved ones?

Did I summon and tarnish others,

Did I stop others from making donations?

Did I smear my friends?

Did I sabotage friendships?

Did I speak gossip that lead to families being destroyed,

Did I refused to help one in need,

Did I increase taxes and rob others,

Did I make the poor suffer?

Did I act unjustly?

Did I stop the means of income of others?

Did I entice others and cheat them,

Did I rip work but refused to pay accordingly,

Did I adulterate rice with pebbles?

Did I ignore the hungry?

Did I refrain from feeding the poor?

Did I exposed those that had taken refuge with me,

Did I aid those who committed murder?

Did I scout and spy on behalf of thieves,

Did I snatch properties belonging to others and lied to them?

Did I sleep with those who had lost their virginity?

Did I abuse virgins who I had a responsibility to protect?

Did I rape those who already had had a husband?

Did I lock up birds in their cages?

Did I not feed the calves?

Did I build up this body by consuming meat?

Did I poison drinking water?

Did I fell trees that gave us shade?

Did I destroy others out of revenge?

Did I demolish public halls?

Did I not listen to my parents?

Did I not greet my guru?

Did I not give my guru his dues, for his sustenance?

Did I envy the learned?

Did I find mistakes in the writings of the wise?

Did I offend devotees of Siva?

Did I offend the yogis?

Did I prevent the public from conducting their prayers by shutting the doors to the temples?

Did I smear the name of the Lord?

What sin did I do, I do not know,

the siddha questions himself?

Categories Of Karma

Just as Annie Besant and Bhagawan Das mentioned that karma was action and that every action is triple in its nature, three distinguished categories of karma are revealed by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami.

Ancient yogis, in psychically studying the timeline of cause and effect, assigned three categories to karma.

1. The first is sanchita (samcita), the sum total of past karma yet to be resolved.2. The second category is prarabdha, that portion of sanchita karma being experienced in the present life.3. Kriyamana, the third type, is karma you are presently creating.

Annie Besant and Bhagawan Das in SANATANA DHARMA by the Theosophical Publishing House, 2000 define and expand further these three types of karma. They name Kriyamana as Vartamana.

1. Samcita is the accumulated karma of the past, and is partly seen in the character of the man, in his powers, weaknesses and capacities. That which was in the olden time produced in many births. Mans tendencies come from this.2. Prarabdha is that which is ripe for reaping and which cannot be avoided; it is only exhausted by being experienced. From the midst of the samcitas is selected a portion, and, at the time of the beginning of the body, time energizes this. That, which has begun, is actually bearing fruit.3. Vartamana (Kriyamana) is that which is now being created. That karma which is being done. The actual, that which is now being made for the future, or the coming karma.

Can We Bring An End To Karma?

William Hart in the ART OF LIVING – Vipassana Meditation, Vipassana Research Institute, 2005 assures us that there is an escape route. He says there is a portion of karma that we can take into our hands and hence redesign our lives.

All beings own their deeds, inherit their deeds, originate from their deeds, and are tied to their deeds; their deeds are their refuge. As their deeds are base or noble, so will be their lives. We can each become master of our fate by becoming master of our actions. Each of us has the means to end the suffering in our actions.

1. Samcita karma gathered and collected can be reduced, changed or entirely wiped out.2. Prarabdha karma which is actually bearing fruit this moment cannot be changed. You have to endure it.3. Vartamana (Kriyamana) is in your hands. You can redesign your future.

So How Can We Work Out Karma?

Having understood karma and its domino effects one is required to tread carefully so as not to incur more negative karma but instead increase the positive karma. It is of utmost importance that man stays clear of these negative activities. Man has to refrain from performing even the positive karma eventually for that too would result in being born again to enjoy the fruits of his good action. Does that mean that he would have to even forego doing good that results in good karma and having to take birth again in order to reap the benefits of the good done in the past life? So does that mean to end this circle of birth one would have to do nothing? Will doing nothing be another solution to overcome this birth? 

There are options available according to the temperament and needs of an individual. When man does nothing he does not tread on others feet, he does not mess up others life, he does not change things and create happenings and he does not resists changes. He does not actively participate in the happenings around him but instead will be just watching. This applies to mendicants, monks and saints.

For those like us who are engaged in daily activity, activity is allowed and in fact encouraged provided he does not expect gains and is not attached to its results. He actively participates in the happenings around him but is not attached to the results of these activities.

The most compassionate Siddhas have been guiding us through time through many modes; in moments of meditation as with Tavayogi and Thavathiru Rengara Desigar; with their direct darshans or visions as with Jnana Jyothi Amma; through dreams as Agathiyar promised in Bala Chandran's Nadi revelation; through objects or items that belong to the Siddhas as Agathiyar mentioned in Surendaran Selvaratnam's Jeeva Nadi or pass on messages through the medium of the Nadi as in my case.

Tavayogi was asked to set up an ashram and to conduct yagams besides feeding the poor and preaching about the Siddhas and their path; Thavathiru Rengaraja Desigar runs a mission that feeds thousands daily; Jnana Jyothi Amma was asked to feed the poor kids which she does every pornami or full moon at Kallar; Bala has been dishing out portraits of Siddhas to the joy of the Siddhas; Suren has interviewed gurus and devotees on this path and lastly I was asked to install a statue of Agathiyar and to perform prayers, libation and homam. Initially I did not understand the purpose of doing these actions but later I came to realize the subtle meanings of performing these rituals and providing these services. In conducting the yagam and homam, Agathiyar says one does it for the benefit of mankind on the whole which also encompasses the individual. In feeding the poor and unfortunate, their hunger is alleviated and at the same time the karma of the donor reduced. From Agathiyar's revelation to Dr V.M.Jayapalan, we understand that besides the karma of the donor reduced by this compassionate act, the karma of those who partake the food is also removed.

True to the words of the Siddha Avvai, man needs to perform penances, charity and tapas to end this circle of birth. He needs to cleanse all karma through prayers. The sidhas give assurance that karma shall be cleansed by prayers. The karma shall be burnt away by the very fire of meditation, say the Siddhas. "Seeds of past karma cannot germinate if they are roasted in the fires of divine wisdom" says Paramahansa Yogananda. Just as Paramahansa Yogananda advocates prayer, Tavayogi too says that prayers help. Astrologer and siddha practitioner Dr. Krishnan advocates the effectiveness of prayers too. Agathiyar in the Nadi says prayers definitely help overcome karma. Prayer and devotion helps expel karma.

KARMA (Part 1)

If one were to follow the episodes posted by Velayudham Karthikeyan on his blog Sitthan Arul, we will realize that at the end of each episode there is a teaching or moral behind the happenings and it is closely linked to one's doings and actions, and ultimately ties with one's Karma.

Karma is the machinery that moves the world and all of creation. The world is a playhouse or a stage and we are all dolls or puppets, driven by karma. But there is a way out. The ever compassionate Siddhas show the way and means to overcome one's karma and put an end to the circle of birth and rebirth, that results from karma.

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami clearly spells out Karma, its origin, its effects and recommendations to reduce, nay to absolutely rid of karma in his book MERGING WITH SIVA – Hinduism’s Contemporary Meta Physics, Himalayan Academy, 2005,  

"Every action, every effect, in the universe has been preceded by a specific cause or set of causes. That cause is in itself an effect of prior causes. The law of karma is the law of cause and effect, or action and reaction. When we cause a traumatic disruption within ourselves or within others, the action is imprinted in the memory patterns of the muladhara chakra. The seed has been planted and will remain vibrating in the depths of the mind even though consciously forgotten. We carry it over from life to life, from birth to birth until one day it blossoms into the fruit of our action - reaction. Since we have forgotten our past life and are only left with the pranic reverberations deep in the memory cells, we don’t know the causes. In fact, there seems to be no cause for many of the things that happen to us in life, no reason or justification. This can be frustrating. However, that is karma, and it is generally written off by saying, "That’s karma. It is an effect to a previous cause."

We sometimes cannot understand why certain events are taking place and they seem to be beyond our control. It is frustrating indeed as the Swami says. This is where the Siddhas come to our aid. As we do not have the ability or capacity to recollect our past, they help us by revealing them to us through the Nadi. 

The Siddhas are gifted with the Siddhis to look into the past, the present and the future. Tavayogi tells me he had seen his past through meditation. For those who are not into meditation the past can be known by reading his/her Nadi. Siddhas maintain records of events, happenings and participants in the Nadi as revealed in the Jeeva Nadi to the Jeeva Nadi Guru of Chennai.

The night Buddha attained enlightenment, he went through several stages of awakening. One of it was where he had the recollection of his previous lives. Sogyal Rinpoche in his book THE TIBETAN BOOK OF LIVING AND DYING, HarperSanFrancisco, 1993, quotes Buddha’s the Middle Length Sayings originally quoted in H.W.Schumann's The Historical Buddha, London, Arkana, 1989. The author narrates Buddha’s experienced. 

"I remembered many, many former existences I had passed through: (he mentions a hundred thousand - Editor) in various world-periods. I knew everything about these various births: where they had taken place, what my name had been, which family I had been born into, and what I had done. I lived through again the good and bad fortune of each life and my death in each life, and came to life again and again. In this way I recalled innumerable previous existences with their exact characteristic features and circumstances. This knowledge I gained in the first watch of the night." 

In the second watch of the night, Buddha gained knowledge of karma. 

"With the heavenly eye, purified and beyond the range of human vision, I saw how beings vanish and come to be again. I saw high and low, brilliant and insignificant, and how each obtained according to his karma a favorable or painful rebirth." 

This is what the Siddhas reveal too in one's very first Nadi reading, where he is told about his past birth and subsequently his past karma. For one to realize God without any hindrance he has to first know his karma. Only when the karma is reduced can man approach God. It is an important aspect in the spiritual path.

Paramahansa Yogananda says it beautifully, "Knowledge of the law of karma encourages the earnest seeker to find the way of final escape from its bonds."

A lot of importance is given to karma by these Siddhas. One's karma is revealed by the Siddhas through the Nadi readings. When one reads the Nadi for the first time, the Siddhas reveal the past birth and the past karma. The idea in revealing this information is to enable him to perform Parikarams or atonement so as to lessen the effects of karma. He is required to perform appeasement and atonement for his wrong doing to other beings and creatures.

Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal says if there is karma then there is birth. Karma is the cause of birth. Birth is a result of past karma. If karma (both good and bad) is erased there is no reason to take birth again. Man needs to live his life, distinguishing between the good and bad karma, which takes shape as a result of links with the past births. This birth is a result of past actions. Confusion and suspicion too is a result of past karmas and it does not make advancement in spiritual practices possible, says Agathiyar.

The idea in taking birth is to gain sufficient experience over several births and eventually head back towards the abode of God. Man needs to evolve. That is the reason he is born again and again. He comes here to gain experience, know the right from the wrong, bring about changes in him, his family, his friends and the world around him. Knowing what he did in the past (past karma) is of utmost important. It allows him to change his ways so that he does not make the same mistakes again.

Man has to arrests his thoughts. These thoughts attract similar thoughts which creates a scenario and brings personalities into play. The thoughts being very powerful, lead to actions. He then gains an experience from his actions. When thoughts subside, there is no need for new situations to arise. What he has on his hands is to face the outcome of earlier thoughts that have taken shape and was now his karma. If he faces the situation calmly, taking it upon himself, without resisting, he then has exhausted that particular karma. No fresh karma means no reason to take birth.

AGATHIYAR REVEALS THE ORIGINS OF THE NADI

Velayudham Karthikeyan has posted yet another amazing revelation of Agathiyar to the Jeeva Nadi Guru of Chennai in his post on Sitthan Arul. Among the many interesting things Agathiyar revealed about Sathuragiri, Agathiyar mentions how the Siddhas noted every happening. Here is a translation of the said post. 

There is a building known as Yezhuthaani Mandapam and another for Bhogar. There are Siddhas meditating in these places. The Siddhas took note of yesterday's Yagam in the palm leaves or Nadi. (The Yagam was initiated by Agathiyar and the 18 Siddhas, participated by 50 selected devotees, and witnessed by the Gods and Devas). 

The Siddhas noted all the details about that event, including the details and particulars of the individuals who climbed the hills to be at the venue indicated by Agathiyar, and listed the names of all those who were blessed to get Shiva's darshan. "Times might go by, but those Nadi leaves will be available to Agathiyan", he says. "Agathiyar shall read it then", he continues. Agathiyar  indicates the particular pages where these names are inscribed - 16 to 32 he says. He adds that all these people who the Siddhas have taken note and recorded in their Nadi, are blessed ones. 

Finally Agathiyar adds that he has the Siddhas on his side and that this was the Siddhargal Kaalam or Time of Emergence of the Siddhas or the Dawn of the Age of Siddhas!

Saravanan Palanisamy has beautifully depicted the above episode in this drawing for Sitthan Arul 

SANI BHAGAWAN'S JAYANTHI

28 May 2014 is Sani Bhagawan's Jayanthi. The day is supposedly auspicious to Sani Bhagawan for various reasons.

The first time I meet Dr Krishnan, a Siddha practitioner and astrologer, who later became a friend, in 1996, he mentioned that I was coming to the end of the 7 1/2 years period of Sani and the effects of Saturn or Sani was phasing off. He said usually people are afraid of Sani and its effects, but Dr Krishnan holds the opinion that one has to welcome him and it is good to go through this period since Sani provides a way and means, creates the situations, scenario and events for us to reduce or entirely wipe out our Karma. This was the time that I lost my father too (1991). But as, Dr Krishnan mentioned, this period would be good to make investments in properties, I did buy a house and changed my aging car for a better one.  

Similarly Dr V.M.Jayapalan of Bangalore says the same thing about Sani Bhagawan in his audio CD titled AGATHIYAR THIRUVILAIYAADAL. The dear Dr has graciously given his consent to use his speeches.

Learn more at http://www.drikpanchang.com/festivals/shani-jayanti/shani-jayanti-date-time.html, and http://blog.onlineprasad.com/108-names-of-shani-dev/

DISCIPLESHIP TO TAVAYOGI

I had posted the following some time back,

Tavayogi did not have me sit in front of him and preach to me; rather I had to observe and learn from him. I was given an opportunity to watch how he lived. I saw the humbleness in him; the kindness in him; and the simplicity with which he lived. He was not stressed out and often asked me to remain so. He must have guessed that I freaked out under stress. He asked me to be very patient when facing difficult times and circumstances. He asked me to be very patient with people. He reminded me to remain calm in the face of problems and danger. 

He used to sit and entertain all those who came to him. To those who came with problems he did not duel into the problems trying to find ways and suggests means to overcome it but instead asked that they pray to the Siddhas to help clear these problems. He avoided taking on the Karma of people. 

Tavayogi was not one who easily parts with the intricate workings of the spiritual world although he preaches the basics of the Siddha path to the masses. He once told me I had to wait twelve years before he would part with this knowledge. His ever-faithful aid and disciple Mataji Sarojini Ammal too is waiting patiently for the day where he would reveal this knowledge.

After 10 years of associating with Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal I can safely say I have slowly began to understand what he meant in his rare and limited conversations with me. Yes, we hardly discussed any matter. If we did talk, he would do the talking and I used to listen. Occasionally he would say a thing or two. Then silence will prevail. Now I realize that verbal conversation is of little purpose in the presence of a saint.  Much is discerned in silence. From the verbal and external one has to move into the silence and internal. 

Lord Murugan told Saint Arunagiri to abstain from speaking and remain silent, and he did remain silent for 12 years. 

We have accumulated and gathered so much trash in us over the years that it has influenced our thoughts and thinking. It clouds us from making wise decisions. That's were we tend to err. We tend to accumulate more karma through our actions too. When action, thought and speech subside, no new karma is accumulated. We need only undergo or face the results of our actions conducted in the past which will eventually burnt out or exhaust itself, with God's grace.

A man who reflects on his past in the present moment and counters it, need not face it after death. We need to exhaust our karma in this very birth so that there is no necessity to take another birth. That's the reason when one goes for a Nadi reading the Siddhas immediately talk about our past actions and recommend ways to exhaust or remove them. We then start off with a clean chapter. With God's grace, we then embark on a new journey, as a new man, a journey not of our choice but that of the Lord. 

AGATHIYAR COMES TO BALA CHANDRAN'S AID

Bala Chandran just posted this beautiful drawing that he had done on FB

Bala Chandran from Malaysia, having seen the Kaanda Nadi some time back, was so convinced by the Nadi revelation by Agathiyar for him, that he started introducing his friends and family to the Nadi Guru Ramesh.  He has brought 87 people to seek their Nadi and has another 20 in waiting for an appointment.

He became very much interested in the Siddhas. He then seek knowledge on the Siddhas. His seeking took him to Kallar Ashram. There he received the blessing of Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal, the patron founder of the Sri Agathiyar Sri Thava Murugar Gnana Peedham in Kallar. 

Agathiyar in Bala's Nadi reading had advised him to carry out atonement in Malaysia and India. During his maiden trip to India, he followed Suren Selvaratnam and they both spent much time at Kallar helping out with the preparations for the two day celebrations in conjunction with Agathiyar's Jayanthi and Guru Puja. After the festivities were over, both Bala and Suren visited Kalyana Theertam before Bala left for Malaysia, while Suren stayed back at Kallar for a few more days.

Meanwhile Suren left for Kallar again for a Jeeva Nadi reading while he was posted in Bangkok.

In their next visit to Kallar which coincided with the Chitra Pornami Festival and Siddhar Vizha, both Bala and Suren participated in the festivities. Bala had made prior arrangements to complete his atonement, as advised by Agathiyar in the Kaanda Nadi, this time around. Just before he started his pilgrimage, he was blessed to have the Jeeva Nadi read by Tavayogi. Agathiyar blessed Bala and informed him that Pulastya would accompany him henceforth. Bala successfully completed his atonement and returned to Kallar for another few days before returning to Malaysia.

Back home Agathiyar spoke about both Bala's and Suren's pilgrimage to India in their respective Nadi's. 

Last Saturday Bala met with an accident and fell off his bike. Bala immediately got up with slight bruises although his bike needed some repairs. The next day, Agathiyar summoned him for a reading where he says that he (Agathiyar) had come to his aid and cushioned his fall and saved him from a major disaster!

Agathiyar also spoke about Bala's recent tour and mentions that he had accepted the atonement carried out at all the temples. Here Agathiyar tells us that our very thought and presence at these temples is sufficient to remove our past Karma because Bala had mentioned to me that he was saddened that although he was present at several temples but he could not carry out certain rituals as instructed by Agathiyar due to reasons beyond his control. This too reminds me of another incident where a lady was told to feed birds and monkeys as part of her atonement. She chose to do it at Batu Caves where one can easily spot birds and monkeys. She picked up grains and bananas to feed the birds and monkeys respectively and headed for Batu Caves. She feed the birds to her hearts content. But to her disappointment not one monkey was in sight, even after having climbed the 272 steps up and into the caves and down again. She returned home disappointed. Many months later she went for another Nadi reading and was told by Agathiyar that her atonement had been accepted!

Bala had very much wanted to visit Agathiyar's temple at Agasthiyampalli in Vedaranyam during his last visit but due to time constraints had to put it off. But the ever compassionate Agathiyar reveals in the Nadi that he had come his way (Bala) from Agasthiyampalli to bless him.  

Agathiyar also spoke about Kallar ashram, Tavayogi and the Jeeva Nadi. Its truly amazing, the Siddhas and their compassion towards us is beyond words.

IN MEMORY OF SIVABALAN

Just as I was about to add the final touches and post the news about how Agathiyar came to Bala Chandran's aid, I received a message from a friend informing me of the demise of another good friend. I had to put Bala's post on hold.

My friend, was a very young man full of energy. He was humble to the core. A good soul. When the authorities picked up the owner of a children's home for wrong doing, the children were left on their own, unattended for days. My friend went to the children's aid. Slowly, after having to convince his family, he made the collective decision, to have the children brought over to his home and cared for them. Later with eight of his friends, they decided to rent a premise for this purpose. What started with a handful of children became 40 in numbers. He has 2 kids on his own. That great soul has left behind 42 kids to mourn his death.

I came to know him when my colleague Muralitharan Saminathan introduced him to me in 2002, as the person who brought in Nadi readers from India. I had an appointment to read my Nadi. Sentilkumar from Avinashi read my Kaanda Nadi for the very first time under the watchful eyes of my friend. It was a beautiful reading. At the end of the reading, my friend gave me a poster of Agathiyar to be worshiped while Sentilkumar handed me a book on hymns for Siddhas, SIDHAR POTRI THOGUPPU.

In the reading Agathiyar had told me to donate towards the building of temples and also asked that a temple be built for him. I was happy thinking that I had been given a rare honor. But my friend revealed and reminded me not to float on cloud nine and brought me back to reality. He told me Agathiyar had mentioned this particular requests of his, that is to build his temple, to close to 50 people before me, and added that none took up Agathiyar's wish. My friend requested me to do it. He is a reason behind the emergence of Agathiyar Vanam too.

He too wanted to build a temple for Agathiyar but did not materialize. He had often told me he wanted to visit Agathiyar at Agathiyar Vanam and pay his respects. That too did not materialize. 

I am forever grateful to him for helping me start on the Path of the Siddhas. My condolences to his family and friends.   

JYOTHIYUL JYOTHIYUL JYOTHI

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PERFORMING THE YAGAM OR FIRE RITUAL (Continued)

This and the following depiction of the events narrated in Sitthan Arul were drawn by Saravanan Palanisamy

In Velayudham Karthikeyan's last post on Sitthan Arul on 15.5.2014, originally in Tamil that has been translated for the benefit of non-Tamil readers,

In today's post at Sitthan Arul, Agathiyar reveals an amazing happening during a Yagam. Agathiyar instructs the Jeeva Nadi Guru of Chennai that a Yagam be conducted in Sathuragiri under his (Agathiyar) supervision. Agathiyar indicates the day and time and the materials to be placed in the fire pit. Agathiyar also handpicks certain individuals for the task. 

To ensure their safe journey to and fro from Sathuragiri, Agathiyar arranges for Sattaimuni and Ramadevar to accompany these devotees.

Upon successfully conducting the Yagam and returning home Agathiyar mentions in the Jeeva Nadi that Siddha Ramadevar and Sattaimuni accompanied the entourage of 50 people to Sathuragiri on the command of Agathiyar. Agathiyar was himself surprised to find Lord Brahma appear to initiate the Fire ritual with the famous sloga SUKLAM BARATARAM of Lord Vinayagar. Agathiyar says all the 18 Siddhas participated in the Yagam. Another surprise was in store, says Agathiyar, when Lord Vinayagar himself appeared and blessed all those present. Lord Murugan too was present at the Yagam, reveals Agathiyar in the Nadi. The Devas too witnessed the Yagam.

Agathiyar finally reveals that this particular Yagam was started some 3247 years ago by Siddha Kagabujandar.

Velayudham Karthikeyan has continued his post on the Yagam conducted by Agathiyar at Sathuragiri. Agathiyar talks about the significance of Sathuragiri too.

After that particular Yagam conducted some 3247 years ago at Sathuragiri by Kagabujandar, Agathiyar too conducted the same Yagam some 1857 years ago. All the Munis, Lord Shiva, Lord Brahma, and Lord Vishnu participated. 727 years ago when a similar Yagam was conducted, Lord Shiva, Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu did not participate. The Siddhas conducted the Yagam. All the Devas and Asuras were present too. After all these years this rare Yagam was now been conducted by these devotees summoned by Agathiyar to Sathuragiri, under the governance and supervision of Agathiyar.

Agathiyar mentions that Bhogar and Sattaimuni too had apart to play. Sattaimuni had hugged and ushered the devotees personally, the very moment they arrived at Sathuragiri unaware to these devotees. Agathiyar reminds us that they were fortunate and it was an honor that a Siddha was on hand to greet and lead them and cared for their safety. These were events not visible to the public, adds Agathiyar.

The ever compassionate Agathiyar, called these devotees over to Sathuragiri for the sole purpose of removing their Karma (Dosa) gathered over the past three births, and wrongs done knowingly or unknowingly in recent times.

Those who have gained Agnidevan's blessings are rid of ill effects (Thetthu) and no sins (Pavam) shall befall them for the next 12 years. Agathiyar most graciously reveals that he shall conduct another Yagam witnessed by Lord Brahma for those who were invited but missed out, in the near future. 

For those devotees who appreciated this Yagam, Agathiyar promised to gift them by indicating the Taila Kinaru or Oil Well, where just a drop of that oil smeared on the body shall gift the person to live 400 years.

Agathiyar reveals that Bhogar came running asking if he could assist in the Yagam. Agathiyar asked that Bhogar bless all those who came at the instruction of Agathiyar to Sathuragiri with a good life. 

Agathiyar reveals another surprise. Lord Shiva had appeared in his Vishwarupa form in the early morning hours. Agathiyar reminds us that Sathuragiri was the place where Lord Shiva had taken that majestic form to destroy the Arakkar through the means of his third eye. This episode happened some 4,000 years ago at Sathuragiri. Hence from that moment on these Arakkar did not move into Sathuragiri again. Agathiyar adds that these Arakkar are present in all the hills. These Arakkar will try their level best to distract and divert the attention of aspirants and those on the spiritual path. But Agathiyar says let it be, the Arakkar are carrying out their job. He says their nuisance at Sathuragiri ended 3247 years ago (After that particular Yagam conducted some 3247 years ago at Sathuragiri by Kagabujandar).

INVITATION TO THE PATH OF THE SIDDHAS

This is said to be the Gnana Siddhar Kaalam or the Age of the Siddhas. I am glad my family and I have stumbled on this path. I am glad we have managed to hold on this long. I am waiting for the Siddhas to unfold more about the past as well as the future. In all the 49 Nadi readings that I have had to date, Agathiyar has constantly been reminding me to conduct prayers. He says the libation, the fire rituals and prayers we conduct is done for the benefit of humanity itself and thus exalts the position and reasons for engaging in these rituals. Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigalaar runs a mission for the sole purpose of propagating the message of the Siddhas to all.

I have had the opportunity to meet and learn from Tavayogi. Prayers to Siddhas are very simple in nature. One only needs to chant the names of the numerous Siddhas, Rishis and Munis. This is the Maha Mantra itself, says Agathiyar. As one progresses he is given other mantras too according to his temperament and sincerity. He is also given certain rituals to follow. He is asked to carry out certain practices diligently. Slowly and surely the Siddhas guide the aspirant on this path.

The other thing that the Siddhas stressed is to do charity, especially to feed the poor and unfortunate. All this while we were told to do charity which will remove our Karma, but Agathiyar in his revelation to Dr VM Jayapalan goes further to reveal that the Karma of the ones fed will also by removed simultaneously. I have come to realize the magnitude of the benefits gained by performing this act known as Annadanam. Ramalinga Adigal had specifically built the Sathya Dharma Salai in Vadalur where he could carry out this act of feeding people. This is been done till the present day. Thavathiru Rengaraja Desigar has followed in Ramalinga Adigal's footsteps carrying out this generous act in a large scale at his Agathiyar Sanmarga Sangam at Ongkarakudil.

Lets walk the path of the Siddhas. Lets bring our children into it. Lets bring them while they are still young. Lets bring our family and friends too on this beautiful journey.

Guide to Conduct Sidha Puja in 24 Minutes at http://www.scribd.com/doc/149170004/24-Nimida-Sidhar-Pusai-in-Tamil-With-English-Transliteration

24 Nimida Sidhar Pusai in Tamil With English Transliteration by Shanmugam Avadaiyappa

GNANA SIDDHAR KAALAM - The Coming of the Siddhas

Lately we have been hearing saints and gurus mention that this is the Gnana Siddhar Kaalam, that it is the Age of the Siddhas. Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal of the Sri Agathiyar Gnana Peedham at Kallar used to mention this each time he took the stage to give a speech. Mataji Sarojini Ammaiyaar too has emulated him. Agathiyar in the Nadi revelation for my wife has mentioned the same. Suddenly we see an urgency arise for the Siddhas to group together potential candidates to fulfill various and myriad task set out for them. 

Tavayogi had set out to perform and conduct Yagams or the fire ritual some years back and is still continuing them. What started as an annual affair in conjunction with Agathiyar Jayanthi and Guru Puja, initially with 5 pits and expanding to 108 pits, later became a monthly event during the full moon days too.

The Sarva Dosa Nivarana Maha Yagam held at Kallar

Thavathiru Rengaraja Desigar of Ongarakudil on his part has been feeding the masses with donations and contributions from the public from all around the world. It is an extensive and gigantic task that the Swami has undertaken successfully all these years.

Annadhanam at Ongarakudil

Both Tavayogi and Rengaraja Desigar have been receiving directions from Agathiyar and the Siddhas. Lately Agathiyar too has instructed certain individuals to perform certain task. S.Bakthavatchalam had been instructed  through the Nadi reading, to conduct prayers in conjunction with Agathiyars Guru Puja annually since 17.01.2008 at the Sri Sakthi Karpaga Vinayagar Temple in Brickfields, Malaysia. Agathiyar has also revealed his Moola Mantra to individuals including me through the Nadi, to be propagated and made known to the public.

Many institutions have sprang up to spread the words of the Siddhas. Tavayogi himself had officiated many branches of the Gnana Peedham in Malaysia. One of these, the Malaysian Sri Agasthiyar Gnana Peedham holds the annual Siddhar Neri Vaalviyal Karuttharangam in conjunction with Chtra Pournami. The same organisation was responsible to spearhead the First World Conference on Siddha Philosophy in Malaysia and which was subsequently held over the years in different venues in Malaysia and India. We see a revival of missions affiliated to the Siddhas among our midst.

Agathiyar has gone IT savvy too through the numerous blogs and websites. Sites like Sitthan Arul by Velayudham Karthikeyan need special mention for promoting Agathiyar, the Siddhas and their Jeeva Nadi. 

Agathiyar has delivered his Jeeva Nadi too to certain individuals including Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal, thus availing a way to reduce the miseries and sufferings of the public.

Then Agathiyar chooses to show his presence through miracles in the midst of his devotees. One exceptional miracle was the 'light' that followed Jnana Jyothi Amma at Kalyana Theertam; the other would be the mystical 1 1/2 feet, one-faced Rudraksham weighing 7 kg that was mysteriously delivered to Tavayogi at his ashram which is now worshipped as a Shivalingam; and Agathiyar opening his eyes during libation to his bronze statue in Malaysia.

The Mystical Rudraksham

The Rudraksham now worshiped as a Shivalingam

Agathiyar opens his eyes

Tavayogi too initiated me to carrying out the Homam, a smaller scale of the Yagam in my home. I strongly belief that Agathiyar is bringing more individuals into his fold for a majestic mission yet to be revealed.

WHAT CAN I DO FOR MY GURU?

We have always waited for the day when we could repay our parents for all the trouble they took in raising us up, right? We waited to complete our education, to land a job, to receive our first ever payment and to hand it over to our parents.

Our parents are always concerned about us. Even today my mother's prayer would be for the Lord to take care of all her children and grandchildren. She never asked anything for herself. 

Next came my wife. She took very good care of me and the children without even failing a day in carrying out her numerous humongous chores. Besides taking care of us, she also takes care of the needs of Agathiyar too who is in our home in the form of a bronze statue. She too never asked for anything in return.

Next along the way I met my Guru. I had always wanted to repay my Guru for all his kindness and guidance. When Supramania Swami mooted the idea of building a temple, I took up the offer seeing it as a way to repay him. 

Next when I met Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigalaar and Mataji Sarojini Ammaiyaar, I had asked them on numerous occasions what they wanted. They did not want anything neither. When I was with my family in his Kallar Ashram last October, he invited us to sing the hymns in praise of the Siddhas, which we took upon ourselves as a privilege and honor. At the end of the prayers, Tavayogi blessed us with a statement, that he had a worry all these years and that now it has gone knowing that the seed he had planted in Malaysia has grown and bloomed!

What can I do for my Guru? This was my prayer to Agathiyar too, how am I going to repay him and in what form?

Just moments ago I saw a video where a student asked her Guru, "What is the best thing you could do for your Guru?" and her guru replies, so beautifully, giving an example, of a gardener and his garden, "What would the gardener want except for the garden to bloom?"

The gardener has toiled the land and planted the seeds, watering it daily till the day comes where he stands back and looks at his garden which is in full bloom with joy and excitement. I realized today that that is exactly what the Guru wants of his students too. I realized too that that was what Tavayogi had stated that day in Kallar.

Agathiyar in the numerous Nadi readings has always been acknowledging all the prayers, libation or abhisegam and homam or fire rituals that we had been performing without fail. He is happy watching us do it with deep faith, belief and devotion. He sits majestically high upon his Lotus Simmasanam or throne and watches over us performing the rituals.

We can only thank him for now for all the blessings that had come our way. AUM AGATHEESAYA NAMA.

THE WIFE - A TAPA SAKHI

For two consecutive days, we held prayers. On Wednesday 14th 2014, we held full moon prayers and the next day, on Thursday 15th 2014, we held the usual Guru Naal or weekly Guru Puja. Besides that we used to offer prayers during new moon days and other auspicious days too. My wife starts a day earlier, prior to the prayers, cleaning up the home, the puja or prayer room and the altar and assembles all items for the puja. On the day of puja she gathers all the fresh stuffs used for the homam or fire ritual and libation or abhisegam. During puja she feeds the flame and does the libation while I sing the hymns. Then she cleans up for the day. Our children join us when they are around. Occasionally other devotees, including Bala Chandran and Surendaran Selvaratnam, drop by to participate in the puja too. We never missed a day of prayer accept on the day my daughter was discharged from the General Hospital which was in the evening. When we are out of station, we carry on the prayers wherever we are, minus the homam and libation. When I was in India on two occasions, my family continued the rituals. This is how it has been since 2002 till the present day. 

I am extremely gifted and blessed to have a wife who tirelessly takes upon herself this benevolent and major task besides looking after the affairs of the home, children and me. Agathiyar who had been watching and following us, surprised us, including the Nadi Guru Ramesh when finally he came out to complement my wife for her good deeds. What surprised us was she had a Nadi reading and the very first one, minus having to give an impression of her thumb print! Generally if one was to see the Nadi for the very first time he would have to provide a print of his or her thumbprint. Only then can the Nadi reader proceed to locate the individuals Nadi. This applies to the Kaanda Nadi. In my wife's case there was, mysteriously, an exception.

The said miracle happened when I was called over, as usual, for another reading, among the numerous readings I have had, by Nadi Guru Ramesh. He went into the adjacent room to pick up the Nadi, but came back with a big surprised look on his face. He told me that the days reading was for my wife and not me. We were both astonished. The most compassionate Agathiyar begins to talk about my wife. He narrates how she has diligently and faithfully been carrying out all the preparations for the prayers, and had conducted the prayers with full devotion. Agathiyar was full of praise and appraisal for her. I was delighted to hear Agathiyar personally acknowledge all the good work and effort she had put in. 

I eagerly took back the rewarding good news to my wife and played back the cassette to her. She was speechless and close to tears. I told her she deserves all the credit. Agathiyar knows who was doing all the job, right. Agathiyar too knew the amount of devotion and faith she had on him. That is the reason he complemented her. It is simply amazing.

In the book on Kavyakantha Vasistha Ganapati Muni entitled 'NAYANA, A BIOGRAPHY OF KAVYAKANTHA VASISHTHA GANAPATI MUNI' by Dr G Krishna from the original Telugu texts by Gunturu Lakshmikantam, the author says Ganapati Muni had described his wife as a Tapa Sakhi meaning comrade in Tapas just as Arundhati was the Tapa Sakhi of Vasista and so were the wives of many of the Rishis.

'They never considered their wives as hindrances to Tapas.'

Ganapati Muni advised that women should not be barred from any spiritual or religious chores when it was prevalent at that time that women were not considered fit to worship Agni, study the Vedas and recite Vedic mantras and were denied the benefits of Upayana.

Ganapati Muni himself used to initiate women into Mantra Japa. Many were the women who were initiated into Gayatri Vidya which was considered to be exclusive to men. Visalakshi, wife of Ganapati Muni took to the worship of Agni whenever Ganapati Muni was out of town.

'Visalakshi paid equal attention to house-keeping and Mantra Upasana.'

'Ganapati did not share the belief that a woman was the source of sin and Maya. The study of scriptures had convinced him that the ancient Rishis had practiced austerity and attained self realization without giving up family life and responsibilities.'

'Women were not treated as objects of pleasure by our ancient Rishis. They were as qualified as men to discharge spiritual responsibilities. The ancient Rishis by their exemplary behavior became spiritual preceptors to their wives and helped to establish a well ordered society.'