BRINGING SUBTLE CHANGE

After my last post "A Thank You Note", I received more words of encouragement from the AVM family in the Whats app group. I thank them from the bottom of my hearts.

• Yes Shan aiya. You brought him to the African continent as well ... and the very tip of Africa. You have been his voice and words.

• Shan sir It gives reassurance into bhakti marga and relaxation after reading your blogs. keep up doing wonderful job.

• real eye opener ayya.

• Excellent ayya .... ur a great gift from the sidthars . Not only ur enlighten but ur enlightening others wit ur writing ..

• Yes aiya keep writing. .

• Pls keep your writing Anna. We’re getting new experience in every post/topic.

• Keep on writing sir.

• Well explained about light & sounds and how both works in us. 

To tell you the truth, I was not least into writing. I was an artist back then. I am equally amazed too. I go back and read each post again and again too. I then praise and thank Agathiyar for such great writings. Its all his writings. He moves the pen.

Thank you very much for being with me.

How can I not love Agathiyar? He addressed me the very first time through a Nadi reading. He asked that I come to the worship of Siddhas. That is how my journey started on the path of the Siddhas. He took me by my hand bringing me to associations and societies that carried his name. He introduced me to Supramania Swami and Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal. Tavayogi in turn introduced me to Agathiyar, his abodes and temples. Agathiyar came into my home as a small statue. He has now come into our lives. He resides in our homes and our hearts. He cares, guides and keeps harm away. Even before we arrive at a place he is there to usher us. He keeps watch over us. He heals us. He motivates us. He assures us. 

When I was having pain as a result of sciatica he calmed me saying that he knew I could not withstand pain, hence he has cushioned the intensity of the pain. When my wife and I were doubtful as to whether to pursue a surgery for her, he described the entire process to us exactly as how the doctors had described and gave us assurance that he would be with her throughout the operation. When we were unsure if we should heed the doctors advise to remove her gall bladder, he told us it was fine to do so. When my daughter came down with the dengue fever he came with Thirumular to hike up her platelet level. When my other daughter was feeling down and low in spirit after breaking her tibia and fibula bones in her leg, he assured her he was with her, saw through the whole ordeal, mending and healing it naturally.

So was it with the rests of the AVM family. Agathiyar has worked his way into their hearts and homes too. When Bala Chandran rode his bike into the rear of a lorry that stopped suddenly, Agathiyar was there to catch him. When he slipped on his climb up to Pothigai peak, Agathiyar was there again to hold on to him. When the doctors drew the curtain close and rapidly attended to Master Uva's mother at the intensive care unit, Agathiyar came as a gust of wind and revived her.

Agathiyar was always present to save the day. He was our super hero.

All he asked of us was to worship him. But why does he ask to be worshiped? Why does the divine need to be adored, praised and worshiped?

All the saints have praised the Lord. They have sung pathigams, hymns and songs in praise of Erai. Generations later we still sing their songs of praise too.

When we praise Erai, we are raised to new heights of well being. Positive thoughts flow in and are built and reinforced. Positive energy is created around us. Positive vibrations surround us. They form a force field shielding us from the negative factors. The soul in us grows to engulf us in bliss. The bliss and happiness expands to envelope all those around us passing and showering the expanse of energy to others. The good values in us brushes on to another, and is shed and passed on to the rest of mankind. A change takes place in those we come into contact with too. A domino effect takes place. The magic is passed on to others. The soul gains Atma Balam or spiritual strength, virtues and merits in giving to others, and in sharing. The soul grows manifold. Now fully enriched through the adventure it has had here, the soul upon death lingers around to bring others to an equally enriching state before perishing. The accompanying spirit then returns to its source. 

It is important that we live life to the fullest and in a positive way. If we were to always grumble and find fault in all things, never having a good thing to say about another, being selfish and uncaring except caring for ones own needs, not heeding the plight of others, the soul begins to shrink, the light falters and eventually dies off. No amount of attention and care could revive the soul to it's original state of brightness. 

Living a positive life, the flame that flickers in us is made to grow larger hence consuming all the negative traits in us. The soul is strengthen through devotion. We become that which we praise, worship and adore. Worship Agathiyar and we become him, carrying his traits. Worship Muruga and we become him. Worship the devil and you become one. It all boils down to choices that we make. The choices that we make in our lives determines and brings the corresponding change in us, our thoughts, actions and our surroundings.

Worship in a way brings us to focus on good thoughts and indulge in good deeds. The bliss that is derived in worship sinks deep into the soul and into the level of the cells of the physical body too. This revitalizes and heals the body. Subtle changes take place within and without. Every cell is made divine. Every thought that flows is divine. Man is raised then to the next state that of ma manithan, a divine man and even a Mahan or God man. From there the divine brings him to even further and higher states of being. As divinity settles in him the soul reflects the corresponding change in the various states and grows as well. One is blessed to achieve these states in one birth; otherwise he comes back to continue from where he left off. Association with the good forces hastens this progress. Association with negative talk and thoughts pulls us deeper into the pit of darkness. The most compassionate Agathiyar has let down a rope for us to hold on and raise ourselves up, saving us from falling further into the whirlpool of confusion and suffering due to ignorance and bad association.

Devoted to him, slowly he brings us to take notice, to see and ponder on the fate of fellow beings. From self centeredness he brings us to open our eyes to the plight of others. The thought sets in whether it is sufficient that he takes care of us and our needs alone. What about the friends and all those we know? Should not he take care of them too. What about the rest of humanity? Watching the newsreels and documentaries we are brought to the stark reality that takes place out there in other regions and countries. War, famine, poverty, natural calamities has driven people away from their homes to seek shelter in refugee camps and makeshift tents with infants, children and the elderly, slowly dying out of hunger, illness, malnutrition and lack of medical attention. Who is to pray for them? Our hearts condemn these atrocities on fellow beings and opens up to the casualties of these terror. Today we at AVM pray for all of humanity, that the good Lord should shelter and care for them too. Agathiyar brought us to perform the homam. Along the way he reveals the reason for asking us to do it. Our prayers would help evade natural calamities from taking place, lessening its severity and intensity. On a personal level it removes ones karma promising a better future.

Agathiyar brought us to do charity, giving unconditionally to those who are deprived of the basics. Hence Amudha Surabhi (AS), and Thondu Seivom (TS) came to be and merged to become Persatuan Teman Setia (PTS). We provide food, groceries, clothing, and fees towards education to the less fortunate.

It was good to see Gunalan taking up this noble service in his area sending some stuffs for the kids in Klang Utama. If everyone can take care of a soul in his neighbourhood, we can cover a large area. It can be as simple as what I do. Giving rice packets to the drain sweepers and garbage collectors. They do not earn much but do a lot of work. Anyway we need them and their services. Imagine if they do not take the trash away or clear the drains. That's a great way of showing our gratitude. These are people who come by our house daily. We do not even need to go hunt for the poor. Let us widen our scope of giving to everyone who deserves rather than limit it to the homeless and at shelters. Besides the scheduled delivery of these stuffs to the unfortunate, giving through these charitable arms, we should cultivate the thought to spontaneously give when someone in need comes by. This is dayavu, karunai, or compassion that comes from the heart. The eyes see, the heart melts and the hand reaches into our pockets to give.

From praying for personal gain Agathiyar slowly opened our eyes to pray for the welfare of all. As he says the rituals we conduct goes beyond personal gains and envelopes and reaches the prapanjam, bringing benefit to all of creation, healing it too. The smart alec will question how this is all possible. We chose not to question but follow our gurus dictates. He sees the past, present and future. We know for sure that all that he tells us to do will have a positive result and effect and end for the good of his creation. Just as we do not directly see the process whereby water from the sea returns as rain showers, we believe the tiny little things we do goes a long way in bringing changes in very subtle ways.

Recently Lord Muruga has expressed the need to take extreme care of the body and stay alive to attain Gnana. The body is needed to achieve all the glorious and exalted states that is promised by the Siddhas.

The Siddhas gave equal importance to the body, soul and spirit. There was a need to keep the body healthy and strong for the divine to reside in it. A spark from the divine took a soul and entered the fetus. The soul determined the direction, form and gender the physical body would take, so as to attain the experience that it needed to gain in that particular birth. The soul absorbs all possible experiences and leaves the body when the body attains old age, or perishes due to illness, due to accidental death, or death in other forms. 

For a Siddha, he brings about a change in his body through various means hence keeping death away. The soul of a Siddha lives in his body for ages as he brings the spirit to dwell within and in each cell in his physical body. The physical body that houses the soul also houses the spirit. The soul takes on the image and nature of the spirit. The spark from the spirit that came to reside within, takes the form of the deity worshiped.

For a common man when the physical body reaches its expiry date the soul prepares to leave. The body drops dead. The soul spends some time in another plane before making its way back to the kingdom of the spirit. 

When the spark from the spirit is ready for another adventure it takes on a soul which prepares an appropriate body for it to undergo all the experience it as targeted for itself, once again.