The spiritual path is of a two fold nature; one is where as Annie Besant says, the aspirants put themselves through strict regime and austerities, "bringing under their control these normally automatic physical processes" and "imposing on themselves a long and painful discipline to set themselves free from the prison-house of the physical body."
P.Karthigayan explains further, that these men seek spiritual immortality, engaging in Yoga (Meditation), disassociating with worldly affairs, preserving the soul and spirit but neglecting the body, and abandoning it voluntarily finally.
The Siddhas though, seek to work with the body, towards preserving the body, soul and spirit, while working towards gaining physical immortality. This is attained by means of Karpam or taking elixirs, says P.Karthigayan. They took measures in preventing death, hence living forever. Thus they broke the cycle of birth and death. The body was reinstated through a process of inner transformation that moved towards immortality.
The body is the tool or an instrument to receive Erai's grace, blessings and Gnanam. It has to be fit to pursue the journey with Agathiyar. One has to be fit to track into the jungles, hills and caves; and to enter the secretive and secluded inner circle of the Siddhas. One has to be fit to conduct rituals. One has to be fit to do Yoga. One also has to be fit to sit to meditate.
Annie Besant says, "..inasmuch as the body is an instrument we have to use, a certain treatment of the body is necessary so that we may turn our footsteps in the direction of the Path. The body alone will never take us to the heights we aspire to, yet to neglect it will make it impossible for us to attempt those heights at all. ... The body needs to be refined, to be improved, to be moulded into such a form and made of such constituents as may best fit it to be the instrument on the physical plane for man's highest purposes."
She says the body needs to be purified and re-trained and adds that the body can be tuned fairly easily.
Annie Besant writes, "the purification of the dense body then, consists in a process of deliberate selection of the particles permitted to compose it; the man will take into it the way of food the purest constituents he can obtain, rejecting the impure and the gross." For those intending to do so, she allays the fears and regret at having sent in gross impure food, telling us that, ".. by natural change the particles built into it in the days of his careless living will gradually pass away, at least within seven years - although the process may be considerably hastened."
Jnana Jhothiamma went through a similar purification process guided by the Siddhas. Her body had to purge itself of all the particles that built up as a result of meat consumed over the years before she turned vegetarian. She had to go through a grueling cleansing process where for instance she vomited 32 times in a day. She told me one had to shed seven layers of skin too. She told me that I would not possibly endure the process.
One wonders if this is the reason the saints went into hiding some as many as twelve years before reappearing in society, having undergone a massive transformation. It is said that their bodies would undergo severe changes and would be hideous to look at during this period of transformation, thus to avoid being ridiculed by society they stayed away.
Annie Besant writes further, ".. in deciding to purify his body, he will begin at once to select the materials from which the new body is to be built," Hence the question of diet will present itself. He will start "excluding food that will build into his body particles which are impure and polluting."
She cautious us if we want to engage in yoga with an impure diet and body, "You must begin to purify the body before you attempt to practice any yoga worthy of the name. For real yoga is as dangerous to an impure and undisciplined body as a match to a cask of gunpowder."
As for the choice of diet, she aptly puts it when she suggest we show who is master, saying, "You do not intend your life's purpose to be thwarted by the mere instrument that is yours to use. Make the change and as you get rid of the particles that crave these impurities; you will feel your body altering its habits and revolting against the very smell of the things that it used to enjoy." She says, "The more we refine the body the more acute do the physical senses become."
Moving on to the spirit, the spirit lives in the body and rules over the soul in it. The soul moves the body into doing things while the spirit watches over them. The spirit oversees both, giving timely reminders if the soul side steps.
P.Karthigayan says the body is animated by 96 principles: 60 formulates the body while the other 36 the soul. He adds that the soul or inner body or உற்றுடம்பு thrives in the body for certain years, continues existing after death of the physical body for some more years before it dies or perishes. Physical death then is for the body and not the soul.
The soul of our dear ones and gurus linger around us ever protecting us from harm's way. They communicate with their lineage if necessary. Tavayogi who went into samadhi has made contact with us, is with us and continues to guide us. Both Bhagawan Nithyananda of Ganeshpuri and Yogi Ramsuratkumar of Thiruvannamalai told their followers that they could do a better job in the subtle form compared to the limitations of the physical form. They promised to continue to guide them too. Supramania Swami had a visitation from his Guru Yogi Ramsuratkumar after the Yogi came knocking his door one night, handing him a physical copy of his picture after his samadhi in 2001. The Yogi came again to chant with Supramania Swami and me in 2005.
P.Kathigayan says that the soul has the tendency to grow. This explains the story of how Sambandhar resurrected a child who was bitten by a snake and cremated seven years earlier. When she came back she was twelve! Similarly Sundarar resurrected a boy who was swallowed and digested by a crocodile several years earlier. He came back compensating the missing years!
The spirit lingers with us while the soul leaves the body during sleep. It is interesting to note that one's chanting of mantras and pranayama continues beyond the state of wake and into sleep. It is equally interesting to note that one's tapas continue as a soul upon leaving the body.
The soul that retains all our attributes and learning, absorbing everything as a sponge would, leaves the dead body, lingers around for some time and dies or perishes after a certain time. The spirit then takes another body and unites with a new soul.
Now going within into our body that is known as the Annamaya kosam, we meet the other layers or sheaths beginning with the Pranamaya kosam. Traveling further in we meet the Manomaya kosam, and going further within we meet the Vijnanamaya kosam before finally encountering the Anadhamaya kosam.
Annamaya kosam is the material outermost vessel that is the physical body composed of physical matter, the outermost layer that is visible, that we can touch and feel. Problems with the body are dealt by seeking medication and surgery. The medicine that the doctor administers, works its way into the patient. While treatment and medicine is administered, the body could either accept or reject it. As for surgery, and as the saying goes, "the doctor stitches, god heals", after the surgeon performs surgery on a patient, the healing takes place on its own accord from within oneself. The body with all these assistance, miraculously works to rejuvenate itself back to its old self. What a wonderful and miraculous tool the body is. If all his attempts fail in reviving the patient, the doctor calls us to pray for a miracle to save the patient. We then seek the help of the Divine.
When Tavayogi taught some friends and me both Yogasanam and Pranayama and when I diligently doing it, I could experience the prana travel within, expanding tremendously, on the verge of exploding. This is the Pranamaya Kosam that exists within us as a second layer after the physical body.
Manomaya Kosam, the third layer travels afar without the need of us moving physically. I can be at my home and yet travel to Paris through my thoughts and visualize myself taking a Gondola ride, gracefully gliding through those dreamy waterways and return home in seconds. I can be engaged in a conversation with someone else and at the same time access the person, think of a reply, relate the conversation to something else, etc all at the same time as we hold the conversation.
Vijnanamaya kosam, the next layer is where one encounters wonders upon wonders, and and divine experiences, including miracles. When Tavayogi took me into the jungles, hills and caves, he would keep pointing out to me the presence of the Siddhas through the cool breeze that blew as in the wonderful scent and aroma that was in the air and the light showers that came down on us. He would point up to the sky and tell me the Siddhas were showering flowers on us. Initially I never felt, never could take in the aroma, and never could see these wonders. Later while sitting at Agathiyar's sannadhi at Agasthiyampalli, crying my heart out begging Agathiyar to open his eyes in his granite statue as he has promised in the Nadi, a breeze blew cooling my back in that hot summer day. Still I could not equate this with their presence then. When I came out of his tiny temple, disappointed that Agathiyar did not show me the said miracle, I found Tavayogi already standing outside in the hot sun. He motioned me towards him asking me to stand at the exact spot he stood. He told me to watch Agathiyar open and close his eyes in his granite statue. I peered into the darkness of the inner sanctum. I could not make him out much less see his eyes open and shut. Both of us returned indoors disappointed. Then as I got to sit down in my earlier spot, Tavayogi asked me to go sit in the inner sanctum. Fearing that it would be wrong and inappropriate of me to enter the sacred chamber, I chose to sit on the trestle between the inner and outer chambers. That is when I saw his left eye in his granite statue open. The moment I turned to Tavayogi he hushed me away from the place saying that they would only show for a moment. As I turned to see Agathiyar while making my way out, he gave me a wide grin and kept looking at me with the left eye open.
Traveling to our next stop at Papanasam, Agathiyar again surprised me with another miracle here at his sannadhi, although he did not mention that this would take place, as he did for Agasthiyampalli. He opened both his eyes blinking at me. This time around it was not something sculptured in granite but two real human eyes. Today I understand that seeing these and other miracles is taking a trip within into the Vijnanamaya kosam.
Anandamaya kosam is the innermost layer where one touches the divine, encountering bliss. The energy in this realm moves us. By tapping this energy we could use it to solve and heal ourselves efficiently. Gnana arises here. Karma resides here. While we go to the Nadi reader to now our past, Tavayogi knew his past while sitting in meditation reaching our to this zone. Dwelling into this layer will reveal reasons for one's unidentified illnesses, diseases and discomforts too.
Its interesting to note that all the names for these layers end in Maya. When I was in pain close to 2 1/2 years in 2011 due to sciatica, Agathiyar brushed it off as Maya. This time suffering for the same reason, Lord Muruga says he came to play his leela.
How do we explain all these? We have to go a long way in understanding the play of the Divine.
Source of reference:
P.Karthigayan's "History of Medical and Spiritual Sciences of Siddhas of Tamil Nadu", Notion Press, 2016.
Nithyananda's "Dyanam Oru Marunthaga", Vijaya Pathippagam, 2005.
Annie Besant's "Man and His Bodies", The Theosophical Publishing House. 2000.