DHARMAM

Much is said about compassion these days. What is compassion? How does compassion come about in one? What is the difference between someone compassionate and one who is not?

The dictionary defines compassion as "sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others." According to the definition one who is concerned and sympathetic to another's problem is compassionate. Otherwise he isn't. 

But even before compassion arises, one needs to be empathetic first - showing an ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

But even before empathy arises, one needs to listen to another who wishes to share his sorrows with us.

In this world that is seemingly spinning fast, where before we even realize a day seems to end and another begins; where a son or a daughter cannot spare some quality time or care for their parents and aged relatives and are forced to send them to old folks homes; where working parents arrive home to see their baby and toddler already tucked up in bed by the baby sitter or nanny and already fast asleep, how can we expect people to share some of their time for others?

Rushing through work to meet datelines; speeding on the highways to keep an appointment; making the beeline for discounts at stores; making haste to carry out the errands; we can never seem to find time to lend our ears to others.

While walking the streets we are either too engrossed in our phone to glance what or who goes by us. Walking along the pavement, we either look away or walk right by indifferently when we see someone begging.

We are angry that he is begging. Why can't he find himself a job we ask? We deduce that he is lazy to work.

Let us place ourselves in their shoes.

Would we bring ourselves to live on the streets, becoming a victim of circumstances, in the face of huge debts, upon losing a job, or when driven out of the house? Would we make the choice to leave the house to sleep on the pavement? 

All things went wrong for them. Fate dealt a severe blow in their lives. It is a surprise that they still survive, having gone through many ordeals. They do not have a choice. They have lost control of their lives.

Isn't it our obligation to help one who has tried but failed to take control of his life? 

What do we do in the face of troubles? Having invested and given our best efforts in our ventures, and when everything crumbles, and we fail, we bring ourselves, sometimes for the very first time, to stand before a granite statue, asking it to help us out. Isn't that absurd? Then when God does not turn an eye on us, clearing our self made problems, we scorn him for being blind.

Exhausted and stressed out we finally look for a Godman and make our way to his abode and seek solution and solace for all our self made problems. The irony is that the Godman has all the time to lend his ears, listen and advise us on our problems.

We expect God to show compassion and mercy on us when times are tough. We seek a quick remedy from gurus, shamans and others when all hell breaks lose.

Would not it be better to lay the groundwork now: getting to at least know our creator now, contributing to others, so that whatever merits we gain through the means of worship and helping others, comes to our aid in times of our struggle and suffering?

The sun will not shine forever in our lives. There will be rainy days. There will also be stormy days. Age will catch up with us. Illnesses and disease will pay us a visit. Death will come knocking on our door.

In the face of trouble and when the ride gets tough, our merits and prayers will ensure we get the right counseling and treatment, and meet the right persons who can bring relieve to us. If God favors he might give us an extension in life. He might breath into us his breath. It is said that we each come with a certain number of breathes which upon having expired or used up, we return to ash. With God showing compassion on us we might get a bonus or extension to live longer. 

In our times of extreme need when our life is a mess, we expect God to show mercy and compassion. But when times are well, and in our arrogance and due to ignorance we never seem to show mercy and compassion to others. 

It is time we gathered some merits for the rainy day. Next time you walk along the streets, consider helping the unfortunate. If you do not have time to even stop to look at him, contribute towards a body that helps out these unfortunate souls. We will never know what is in store for us. We might end up in one of these places.

The act of dharmam or giving can come in many forms. Bringing ourselves to form a habit of giving, although difficult initially, for we are used to hoarding all kinds of things, brings joy eventually. 

Ramalinga Adigal who came to be known as Vallalar was an epitome of compassion. His name has become synonymous with the word compassion. In his "Introduction to the Philosophy of Ramalinga Swami" by Dr.C.Srinivasan, he writes of Adigal's approach to spirituality, 

The basic approach of the Swami to spirituality was not laid in any remote spiritual conduct or practice or in any mystic yoga modes but lay in the active universal love and compassion for all creatures of the world, men, beasts, birds and all that had life.

Similarly Srinivasan writes of the ancients who "found that active universal compassion and active help for all the creatures of the world in distress had the greatest ethical and spiritual value."

If my parents brought me to the worship of deities both at home and in the temples, Agathiyar brought me to the worship of the Siddhas. Visiting temples, we are accustomed to doing archanai or invoking the deity to bring upon us His guidance and blessings. The dakshana or honorarium given to the temple priest serves as a tip and the small token collected for carrying out this ritual goes into the coffers of the temple to help upkeep and maintain the temple and the regular pujas.

Agathiyar brought me to two wonderful gurus, Supramania Swami of Tiruvannamalai and Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal of Kallar Ashram, who brought me to the worship of their gurus, Yogi Ramsuratkumar and Agathiyar respectively.

Tavayogi then brought me to perform the Homa which Agathiyar explained was done for the good of prapanjam, all of creation. From doing an archanai for individual and personal gain, we were brought to conduct and perform this fire ceremony for the good of others. Family and friends gathered to carry out this ritual for the good and betterment of humanity, to eradicate diseases, and to heal the earth and its inhabitants. Holding this ritual of feeding the sacrificial fire and its accompanying prayer for Mother Nature and its inhabitants, brought us to appreciate the very ground we stood on; for all that Mother Nature provided; and appease her so that she does not retaliate and lash out her terrible rage and anger. This ritual, besides connecting us with the earth and the ground we stood on, made us reach out and pray for the well being of all of humanity, and the rest of Erai's creation. 

Besides serving as an expression of thanks to God for this beautiful gift of life, body, and health and reaching out and connecting with other beings, animals, trees and plants in these realm, the simple act of performing the Yagna, serves as an expression of gratefulness to the Rishis for the heritage and legacy passed to us through the scriptures and as an expression of thanks to our ancestors or Pitru and lineage.

If Tavayogi instructed us to do the Homa following in his footsteps, as is done at his Kallar Ashram, Agathiyar throws in one more task. We were asked to do libation or abhisegam for him. This ritual cools down the deity of our choice, again indirectly cooling done Mother Nature.

As is mentioned in the "Sivagnana Siddhiyar Supakkam" and "Sivagnana Siddhiyar", performing Yagna and Abhisegam was the duty of the son. Professor Anil Kumar on his webpage www.saiwisdom.com explains that there are three aspects to every spiritual activity: the ritual aspect of it or Karma, its inner significance or Jnana and the third, devotion or Bhakti which forms the link between the two. We become vessels for a superior act of pleasing Nature fulfilling our karma. In order to experience joy and bliss in this activity the inner significance of the ritual or Jnana has to be understood. The element of devotion or Bhakti "with sincerity, with steadfastness, with determination, with all its purity and with all the austerities that must go into it" is then the vital link between the vessel and the knowledge. The end result is a spiritual activity that serves to thank and show gratitude to Nature and its creator. 

Bringing me to visit his ashram Tavayogi showed me the joy that is derived in feeding another. I saw the broad smile and satisfaction in the faces of all those we served a simple meal that day at Kallar Ashram. It was a first for me in reaching out and feeding someone not of kin. It brought a sense of worth and a meaning to life. 

Ramalinga Adigal specifically built the Dharma Salai to serve as a dining area and a kitchen that fed the residents of Vadalur. Thavathiru Rengaraja Desigar too advocated two simple acts or approaches that can bring one closer to Erai: Feeding or Annadhanam and praising the Siddhas by way of conducting the Siddha Puja. He had a spark from the fire from Vadalur brought over to Ongarakudil. He initiated many to take up feeding the people, an act that we too have taken on. Persatuan Teman Setia and Pothihai Tharmanyana Chakkram carry out this noble task in the wake of the realization that the act of feeding or Annadhanam is a highly praised act equating it to giving life to another. 

Then speaking about the merits of Annadhanam, Tavayogi extols the greater merits accumulated by the act of feeding a mendicant or turavi, reading from the the "Ribhu Gita", the sixth section of the Sanskrit work known as Siva Rahasya. It is the teachings of Lord Siva in Mount Kailas to His devotee Ribhu.

வரமான ஞானிக்கு மகிழ்வினோடே வளமான போசனமே அளிப்பதாலுந்திரமான ஞானிக்குத் தேவையான திரவியமே சிரட்தையோடு கொடுப்பதாலும் பரமான ஞானிக்கு பக்தியோடே பலவிதமாம் பணிவிடையே சேய்தவாறு அரிதான மோட்ச சுகம் எளிதேயாக அடைந்திடலாம் அணுவும் இதில் ஐயமில்லை  

And from "Agathiyar Tathuvam 500",

தானென்ற ஞானிக்கோர் பிடிதான் பிச்சை 

தணளித்தோர் தங்களுக்குப் பலத்தைக் கேளு 

கோனென்ற அகரமொரு நூறு கோடி 

கோபுரந்தான் கோடி செய்த பலத்துக் கொக்கும் 

ஊனென்ற நால் வேதம் சாங்கமாக 

ஓதியதோர் வேதியர்கள் கோடி பேர்க்கும் 

தேனென்ற அன்னமிட்ட பலத்துக்கும் அதிகம் 

சித்தாந்தம் வேதாந்தம் செப்பும் பாரே 

He then leads us to gain merits further by going further in identifying a genuine Gnani and serving and worshiping him, as revealed in another song from "Agathiyar Tathuvam 500".

இறை ஞானி தனைப் புசித்தெழுந்து பணிந் தேற்றி இவன் சரணந் தன் சிரசில் அணிந்து கொண்டு அறையவன்தன் பாதத்தை நேத்திரத்தில் வைத்து அவன் பாத துளியினைச் சரீரமெல்லா அணிந்து உறை கெந்த புட்பமொடு தீப தூபம் உபசாரஞ் செய்துமவன் சேட முண்ண மறையிருளுங் கடுவிருளில் பருதி வருவது போல் மல நீங்கி அவனெஞ்சில் சிவனுதையமாகும்   

He showed us Agathiyar and the rest of the Siddhas. A living guru might have flaws but not a Gnani who has achieved deathlessness and attained a body of light. Agathiyar says even if Erai was to take a physical body, he shall carry some flaws in him. Even if Erai were to come as an Avatar to personally to do his work, the factor that initiates him taking a physical body is either karma that needs to be exhausted or desires that needs to be fulfilled plus a little bit of ego that he brings along for that ties him to the body and the earth. For this reason although Agathiyar pointed me to several others, I took the stand not to take another guru in the physical form, insisting that Agathiyar be my guru, now and forever. 

If making payments upon having prayers or puja done for our family and us by the priest at the temple is a forced form of contribution or dharmam to our temples and society; the Homa or its bigger sister the Yagna or Yagam that we sit to perform and execute is a priviledge and an act of dharnam that reaches out to all of prapanjam. The act of performing libation or abhisegam is a dharmam towards Mother Earth for carrying us in her belly, whom biologist Thomas Lewis in his book, "The Lives of a Cell", describes has having "given birth to millions of different species, including the human species".

If the act of feeding the common folk is equated to giving life to another, feeding a hermit brings the rare state of moksha easily. When a true Gnani is fed, the veils of ignorance and illusion drops and Shivan beholds.

Tavayogi showed me a true Gnani, Agathiyar. I kept faithful to Agathiyar, worshiping him, speaking about him, and writing about him. Recently Agathiyar revealed that the one act that excels all other supreme acts of dharmam is to stay faithful and show the path of the Guru to others. This act of dharmam will bring salvation to many in this birth and the births to come.