The earth, sea and river is considered feminine. As to why, Nature is referred to as Mother, Keeley McDonald writes, "Its what feeds us, protects us and nurtures us. This is traditionally seen as a feminine trait."
All men and creatures are brought into this world by way of their mother. Even before a child has the first glance of this world it has lived in a space and world within its mother's womb. Here in this space of solitude a miracle takes place. A life forms. A form takes shape. A body is prepared to come out into the world and live its role. Where then does our journey into this world actually start?
We know when life ends. We know the signs of impending death. But when does life start? Is it when the child breaks out with the first cry as it gasps for air? But then there is already movement in the womb of the mother prior to that miraculous moment known as birth. Traveling even further back there is this sperm that makes a journey competing with others to enter an egg. Moving even further, life starts in the sac or testicles of a male and egg in the female.
Sara Stein brings us to the beginning in her book "The Body Book", Workman Publishing, NY, 1992. She writes,
A body contains tens of trillions of cells, all descended from the one cell that results from the union of an egg and a sperm. The one cell divides, the two it divided into divide again, and the four divide; and so, division by division, the whole human is built. And so we came to be. And so too, she says of our parents and grandparents.
What is this intelligence that oversees our formation and growth, even before we are aware of ourselves? Then when did you become aware of the self in you?
Does life then start with the entry of the soul and spirit into a physical body? Or does these two entities engineer the formation and growth of the physical body?
Does life then start with the entry of the soul and spirit into a physical body? Or does these two entities engineer the formation and growth of the physical body?
A spark from the Holy spirit takes a soul that is prepared to live a life full of desires and wishes, creates and engineers a physical body in the womb and upon taking birth, sustains it till the souls desires die out. If death comes before the soul's desires are exhausted, the spirit takes another soul and the process of rebirth starts again, exhausting the remaining desires. This cycle goes on and on till all desires are exhausted.
We live out our past Karma. When desires are exhausted, action too drops. Likes and dislikes are gone. With good virtues and noble and divine thoughts, one moves in the direction and purpose of living for others. His actions would then be for the good of others and humanity. Karma seizes to attach itself to his new found actions. He is reborn. He lives indefinitely in the physical world. As long as the divine and he wills he stays on to do God's work.
Just as all life is sustained by Mother Earth and her flowing waters, the lady of the house too looks to the needs of her family and keeps the family intact. What then is the role of women who bring new lives into the world, to cherish and love them, in spiritualism?
In the book on Kavyakantha Vasistha Ganapati Muni entitled "Nayana, A Biography of Kavyakantha Vasistha Ganapati Muni (from the original Telugu texts by Gunturu Lakshmikantam), Dr G Krishna mentions that Ganapati Muni had described his wife as a Tapa Sakhi, meaning comrade in Tapas just as Arundhati was the Tapa Sakhi of Vasistha 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 Mantra 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 Gayathri Vidhya, which was considered exclusive to men.
Visalakshi, wife of Ganapati Muni took to the worship of Agni whenever Ganapati Muni was out of station.
“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.”
Looking towards Ramakrishna's life, we are shown that husband and wife can live together as spiritual companions.
(Source: http://www.ramakrishnavivekananda.info/gospel/introduction/relation_with_wife.htm)By his marriage Sri Ramakrishna admitted the great value of marriage in man's spiritual evolution, and by adhering to his monastic vows he demonstrated the imperative necessity of self-control, purity, and continence, in the realization of God. By this unique spiritual relationship with his wife he proved that husband and wife can live together as spiritual companions. Thus his life is a synthesis of the ways of life of the householder and the monk.
Shri Ramkrishna turned his mind to the fulfillment of imparting religious and spiritual teachings to her. About the experience of this period Sarada Devi used to say afterwards: “ I felt as if a vessel full of divine bliss was permanently installed in my heart...I can not adequately describe the heavenly joy which filled my heart...!”(Source: https://www.speakingtree.in/blog/the-story-of-a-holy-wife)
Just like Ganapathi Muni and Ramakrishna, Lahari Mahasaya too was a householder. It is said of him in "The Teaching Style of Lahiri Mahasaya" by Swami Kebalananda that,
Lahiri Mahasaya was no bookish interpreter of the scriptures. Effortlessly he dipped into the ‘divine library.’ Foam of words and spray of thoughts gushed from the fountain of his omniscience. He had the wondrous clavis which unlocked the profound philosophical science embedded ages ago in the Vedas. If asked to explain the different planes of consciousness mentioned in the ancient texts, he would smilingly assent.
“I will undergo those states, and presently tell you what I perceive.” He was thus diametrically unlike the teachers who commit scripture to memory and then give forth unrealized abstractions.
Instead he would ask of his disciples to answer while he guided them subtly.
“Please expound the holy stanzas as the meaning occurs to you.” The taciturn guru often gave this instruction to a near-by disciple. “I will guide your thoughts, that the right interpretation be uttered.” In this way many of Lahiri Mahasaya’s perceptions came to be recorded, with voluminous commentaries by various students.
Lahiri Mahasaya’s wife Ma Kashi Moni shares the moment when she realized her husband as a realized soul.
It was years before I came to realize the divine stature of my husband. One night, in this very room, I had a vivid dream. Glorious angels floated in unimaginable grace above me. So realistic was the sight that I awoke at once; the room was strangely enveloped in dazzling light. My husband, in lotus posture, was levitated in the center of the room, surrounded by angels who were worshiping him with the supplicating dignity of palm-folded hands.
Astonished beyond measure, I was convinced that I was still dreaming.
“Woman,” Lahiri Mahasaya said, “you are not dreaming. Forsake your sleep forever and forever.” As he slowly descended to the floor, I prostrated myself at his feet.
“Master,” I cried, “again and again I bow before you! Will you pardon me for having considered you as my husband? I die with shame to realize that I have remained asleep in ignorance by the side of one who is divinely awakened. From this night, you are no longer my husband, but my guru. Will you accept my insignificant self as your disciple?”
The master touched me gently. “Sacred soul, arise. You are accepted.”
He motioned toward the angels. “Please bow in turn to each of these holy saints.”
When I had finished my humble genuflections, the angelic voices sounded together, like a chorus from an ancient scripture.
“Consort of the Divine One, thou art blessed. We salute thee.” They bowed at my feet and lo! their refulgent forms vanished. The room darkened.
My guru asked me to receive initiation into Kriya Yoga.
“Of course,” I responded. “I am sorry not to have had its blessing earlier in my life.”
“The time was not ripe.” Lahiri Mahasaya smiled consolingly. “Much of your karma I have silently helped you to work out. Now you are willing and ready.”
He touched my forehead. Masses of whirling light appeared; the radiance gradually formed itself into the opal-blue spiritual eye, ringed in gold and centered with a white pentagonal star.
“Penetrate your consciousness through the star into the kingdom of the Infinite.” My guru’s voice had a new note, soft like distant music.
Vision after vision broke as oceanic surf on the shores of my soul. The panoramic spheres finally melted in a sea of bliss. I lost myself in ever-surging blessedness. When I returned hours later to awareness of this world, the master gave me the technique of Kriya Yoga.
From that night on, Lahiri Mahasaya never slept in my room again. Nor, thereafter, did he ever sleep. He remained in the front room downstairs, in the company of his disciples both by day and by night.
I will confess a sin which I committed against my guru-husband. Some months after my initiation, I began to feel forlorn and neglected. One morning Lahiri Mahasaya entered this little room to fetch an article; I quickly followed him. Overcome by violent delusion, I addressed him scathingly.
“You spend all your time with the disciples. What about your responsibilities for your wife and children? I regret that you do not interest yourself in providing more money for the family.”
The master glanced at me for a moment, then lo! he was gone. Awed and frightened, I heard a voice resounding from every part of the room:
“It is all nothing, don’t you see? How could a nothing like me produce riches for you?”
“Guruji,” I cried, “I implore pardon a million times! My sinful eyes can see you no more; please appear in your sacred form.”
“I am here.” This reply came from above me.
I looked up and saw the master materialize in the air, his head touching the ceiling. His eyes were like blinding flames. Beside myself with fear, I lay sobbing at his feet after he had quietly descended to the floor.
“Woman,” he said, “seek divine wealth, not the paltry tinsel of earth. After acquiring inward treasure, you will find that outward supply is always forthcoming.” He added, “One of my spiritual sons will make provision for you.”
My guru’s words naturally came true; a disciple did leave a considerable sum for our family.(Source: https://www.lahiri-mahasaya.org)
When members of the AVM family seeked the blessings of "Aiya" before embarking on a pilgrimage of temples in India, performing remedies for some, before making our way to Kallar Ashram to participate in the Guru Puja of 2016, they were told to look out for Agathiyar who would be present at the places we go to. During that journey we could not ignore that there was always a lady who either blessed us, gave us prasad, kept us company, or accompanied us in prayer.
At Sri Rangam an old lady looked towards the sky and raised her hands bringing down the blessings from heaven to earth and on us the moment we took notice of her and offered our pranams. She accepted a token of contribution collected from everyone from the AVM family back home, that Bala Chandran carried with him, as directed by "Aiya". We were asked to be alert and identify and know that it would be Agathiyar who accepted our token.
At Thiruvanaikaval temple as I hurried looking for my favourite spot that of Lord Dhaksanamurthy, a lady came up to me from nowhere, placed prasad in my hands and moved on without a word.
At Palani while Bala Chandran, Sahalini and Malarvathy climbed the stairs of Palani on their knees, a lady clad in a green saree carrying a young male child who had just shaved his head, accompanied us all the way up to the temple. It surprised us that she stopped each time we stopped too and continued the climb when these three children were ready to resume the climb. There was no reason for her to follow us for it would only delay her climb up the stairs, but yet she did.
Still at Palani, as we walked into Bhogar's sannadhi, we see a lady clad in green among the rest of us gathered to pay our respects to the Siddha and receive the Vibhuti Prasad from the priest. She caught our attention because she was chanting Bhuvaneshwari's song aloud. After the arati by the priest she left the room with the rest of us. Since Bala Chandran wanted to recite the Siddhas' names, we came back to the corridor before Bhogar's sannadhi again and took our seat. And she came in with us! She took her seat beside Bala Chandran. As it was closing time a couple of priest kept signalling us from the entrance/exit door, asking us to hurry up and wind up the recitation. Bala pleaded for a few more moments through hand gesture as he began to double the tempo of his chant. As we all tried our best to keep up with the amazing speed at which Bala ran through the recitation, the lady in green kept telling him not to stop but continue the chant. As we came to the end of the recitation of the names of Siddhas, she got up immediately and walked briskly into Bhogar's samadhi room. We followed her. She applied the kumkum on our foreheads and rushed out of the room as she had earlier. Amazing!
At Pazhamudircholai Murugan Temple, an elderly lady again in green, blessed our congregation from AVM.
As we stood on the river banks of Kaveri waiting for the priest to come by and take us to the Nattadresswarar Temple in the middle of Kaveri, just as our congregation stepped into the coracle, the village folk gathered to tag along. Among them was a lady in green who followed us to and fro.
On returning home, the AVM family approached "Aiya" again to ask if he had accepted our worship and if he was pleased with us, Aiya confirmed that the monetary token was received by Agathiyar himself. Then he threw in a surprise on the gender of Agathiyar!