Srinatha Raghavan wrote,
The Siddha walks the path all alone,
Without worrying about anything,
For he knows nothing is his own,
And all His Guru knows!
He walks the path not for Himself,
But for his Guru who has bade him to do so,
He knows not where the path leads,
Or what the next turn holds.
All he knows is that his Guru wanted him to walk,
So he bravely walks forward in faith and fortitude,
He expects to find nothing or receive anything,
Even if the Universe unravels its deepest secrets,
He will not care to accept it without his Guru's consent.
For him his Guru is the beginning and the end,
The words of the Guru are eternal laws to abide,
In the end even if God appears to him in all his glory,
He will respectfully turn his face away in all humility,
For He knows God, to be His Guru alone.
The path of the Siddha,
Is a path of extreme self-surrender,
It requires no self-effort whatsoever,
And that makes it the most difficult to tread.
How true!
This path is not a standard path but one geared differently for each and every individual who has to have a calling, based on a previously established relationship with a Siddha that might go beyond many births. As Srinatha quoted his master, "Only through the countless merits accrued in countless lives, can you ever cross paths with a Siddha Guru!", sadly it is rather an unavailable option in the lives of many.
Tavayogi told me in the face, "You are living in Maya. You think I have something hidden within this ochre cloth. I have nothing to offer. What is in me is also within you. Bring that out." I am reminded again, least I forget, by Srinatha's post, when he quoted his Master, "Never go behind someone, who promises you Enlightenment; because no one can give you something, that already belongs to you..."
When Agathiyar scanned through my past birth and revealed my karma, he addressed it giving solutions by way of performing prayers and atonements or parikaram. I took heed of his words and started working on it. After performing them, hence removing the veil, I met my very first Guru Supramania Swami of Thiruvannamalai, someone I went searching for based on the Nadi. I returned satisfied and fulfilled at having kept to Agathiyar's bidding.
Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal was in Malaysia and received me and my family with open arms, bringing us officially into the fold of Agathiyar and onto the Siddha path. Tavayogi was sent by Agathiyar, I am told, again in the Nadi. I followed in his tracks and while in India with him, am blessed with an extraordinary adventure with the Siddhas. I returned again satisfied and fulfilled, this time, blessed to be shown the other world, a world running parallel to ours - a mystical world.
Again Agathiyar asked me over to several sacred spots of Siddhas in India, but I turned it down for I was contended. I had already had a strong grip and hold of him. He need not show nor shower more miracles anymore. I was a true believer!
He listened to my objection and never brought up the subject anymore. Instead I asked him if at all he were to give me anything for that matter, he could always give it in the comfort of my home. He listened and came in the form of a bronze statue on the pretext of going elsewhere but has since then remained with us as a family.
The story of Swami Janananda shared by Srinatha brings joy.
There was an aged Monk who loved the Master with all his heart. He would come all the way from Mangalore, to visit the Master in Ganeshpuri, braving all odds of the travel. The Master would welcome him like a Mother would a prodigal child. The Monk although older than Baba, would press Baba's leg, who would look silently into empty space.
Once while he was pressing Baba's legs, Baba looked unto him suddenly and exclaimed,"Swami, why come here, when I can come there and be with you forever!"
These words sent a wave of thrill in the Swami's entire being and his old eyes lit up like a child. Baba smiled looking at the old Monk and said, "No need to come here now. Go and install an image of me at your place in Kanhangad and I will grace Seekers through that for ages to come."
Swami Janananda was sad and happy at the same time, for he wouldn't get to meet the Master in flesh and blood, but was happy, because of the Master's promise to exist always in the Spirit.
Those words still ring true even today, long after both the Master and the Disciple have shed their bodies. The Temple today bears witness to many miracles of faith, as the spirit of Baba Nityananda still continues to live through the statue, that Swami Janananda lovingly built, as an ode to his beloved Master.
Again Srinatha's quote from his Master, brings joy to us for it is an affirmation that we are on the right track. The Master would say, "There were two close disciples of the Master and both were so way different from each other. One wanted everything from the Master and He got it; while the other wanted nothing, so the Master gave him nothing, but all of himself."
When I approached Thavathiru Rengaraja Desigar for a blessing, he remained quiet. Nadaraja, the manager at Ongkarakudil then in 2003, motioned me to speak louder. He had already forewarned me that Swami was losing both his hearing and eyesight. So I spoke out, even louder. Yet there was no response. So I practically shouted asking him to bless me. He answered that coming to Ongarakudil was itself a blessing. I could not understand then but over the years it all comes to light, as Srinatha mentions his Master's words of sublime truth, "Only through the countless merits accrued in countless lives, can you ever cross paths with a Siddha Guru!",
Although I was blessed to be around Tavayogi many a times, I did not have any question to ask. He did most of the talking, which he rarely did too. I listened and watched a lot. I was always amused to see the barrage of questions mission-gunned towards Tavayogi at the earliest opportunity available. Tavayogi would entertain them too for hours on end. After five years he comes back and the same crowd gathers and puts forth the same questions. Tavayogi holds the same Satsang, saying the same things. I was expecting more from him, something new, that could bring us to the next level. But I return disappointed each time. Then I questioned him, "Why do you repeat the same thing again and again on each of your visits?" He immediately looked into my face and asked, "Are you following what I have given? I can only go on to the next level if you put into practice what was taught!" This answer I knew pretty well was not meant for me for we both knew that I will put into effect any practise nor instruction without question - the only exception being asking to put a stop to the call to all the pilgrimage spots, and instead bless me at my home. That answer was for the masses who gather when he was around and disappeared the moment he left only to gather momentum again when he returns. But the recent visit by Tavayogi and Mataji Sarojini Ammaiyar is most likely the most memorable and fulfilling visit to India and Singapore, I belief.
Srinatha posted his Master's voice pertaining to this mode of questioning and the Master's reaction to it.
The Master would seldom answer the Questions posed by his Disciples. He would simply look away or postpone giving the answer. When someone asked as why doesn't he answer the questions, he would smile and answer, "The Question must consume the Questioner and only then the answer can redeem them..." He would laugh and add, "Many want to know, but only a few really know, what to do, after they come to know!"
Just as the Master replied "I can, but the question is, can you take it?" to someone who asked, "Can you give me what you have?" and in Srinatha's words, that "straight forward reply stirred something deep in the Cynic, who would become a great Master himself in the later years", the questioner should be prepared to bring about an immediate change in his outlook, thinking, and way of life. Only then is the question justified to be answered. There is a saying that do not share your problems and sorrows to another unless you are sure he can do something about it.
Much later when someone asked, what had really transpired on that fateful encounter, the one time Cynic said, "My Ego was broken right within me and I realized that I was nothing, not even near to what I had thought myself to be..."
Srinatha's next post is pretty true too. Agathiyar, Tavayogi and Supramania Swami too lament when people come to them for reasons other than asking for Jnana.
Whoever came to the Master,
Would seek something or the other in return for their Devotion,
The Master too would oblige and fulfil all their wishes,
Some would come for amassing more wealth,
While others would come wanting good health,
There would be those who would come,
So to redeem messed up Court cases,
And also those who wanted to find some great treasure,
The Master would bless them to achieve fulfilment,
But He would often silently lament to himself,
"All come wanting to receive what they want,
Is there but anyone who will receive what I want to give?"
The Master's wish was fulfilled,
When came a young man who loved the Master,
So much that he did not seek anything in return,
All he did was love and love even more so much that,
The Master himself asked the man one day,
"Swami what is it you seek from me?"
The young Swami with eyes flowing with tears said,
"Nothing!"
This heartfelt statement stirred something very deep,That is indeed an ideal disciple!
In the heart of the Master that,
He gave the Swami the Highest blessings one could ever get,
The Master said, "From now on YOU are ME and I am YOU!"
Ah! The Disciple became the Master and the Master became a Disciple...