I received the following mail from a devotee of Agathiyar that brought joy, knowing how the Divine works to assist their devotees as and when they think its appropriate.
Warm greetings from a very cold Johannesburg (South Africa). I hope this email finds you very well.
I wanted to drop you a little note to say that I have been enjoying your writings on saint Ramalinga Adigal immensely. You have written much and shared much regarding the saints work and teachings lately. The divine saint appears to have an amazing way of drawing people towards him.
A few weeks back I attended a pooja at a temple. As we were early we waited patiently in the prayer hall for the prayer to begin. During this time I watched the temple guru with much curiosity as he searched tirelessly in his bag for something. Several minutes later he appeared to have found it. He handed it over to one of the devotees and requested that it be given to everyone present. This increased my curiosity. It happened to be a beautiful picture of Ramalinga Adigal. I accepted the picture and instantly had two thoughts, one - that it was a message and two - that it was a gift. I felt an immediate connection with the picture.
On returning home I placed the picture on my desk until I could find a perfect place for it. That evening when I logged in on my laptop, your site with the Ramalinga Adigal post popped up. Needless to say I began reading with keen interest.
Some time passed before I found the perfect place for the picture. I had to ensure that I had a perfect line of vision of it from where I sat at my desk. This perfect place happened to be on the inside of a book case next to me.
A day later I found myself searching the bottom of the book case (directly below where I had placed the picture of Ramalinga Adigal) for a specific book, unsuccessfully. I checked and re-checked the row of books secretly hoping the book I was seeking would jump out at me. But this was not to be.
Quite by chance I pulled out a book, knowing it was not the book I was seeking, and was preparing to return it to it's place when I noticed that a book had fallen at the back (behind the row of books). I retrieved the book. It was extremely old, tattered and unkempt. I looked at the worn out cover, "Garland of Grace", it read. I opened the book. It opened instantly to the first page which read:
Garland of Grace
Thiru Ramalinga Swamigal
The Embodiment of Mercy
The Apostle of Kindness
I turned to the next page which read "A brief study of Thiru Ramalinga Swamigal and the English renderings of some of his inspired songs (gracious utterings) by Thiru Swami Sivananda Navaler" (A South African Spiritual Leader).
Could this be a co-incidence… or one too many to ignore… I wondered.
As I was in a kneeling position; I slowly rose to my feet, book in hand. I lifted my gaze from the book, to ponder further the possibility of a co-incidence, to find myself looking directly at the picture of Ramalinga Adigal, which I had put up. There was a warm feeling, a personal connection and fine intuition which drew me closer toward the saint.
I could vaguely recall seeing the book previously but I had no knowledge of it's contents. It was one of the books I took from my family home many years ago before we moved out and moved on. It was not the kind of book I would have been interested in back then hence it surprised me that I had taken it. I had no idea that it would someday mean something to me. I had no idea that the saint himself would lead me to it and have me read it.
I have since gone on to read and learn more about the remarkable saint. His biography draws one deeper into his writings. From the little I know of the saint, he has a quiet, yet powerful magnetism which attracts one to journey further into his work. To a open heart his poetry (songs) reveals intense compassion, grace, devotion, love and many other treasured virtues.
Thank you for bringing me closer to the amazing saint.