GNANAM

While wikipedia.org defines Gnanam as "Knowledge inseparable from the total experience of reality, especially a total or divine reality (Brahman), "Mother" explains it further, sharing her Gnanam.

Gnanam is the wisdom of the wise. Their experience gained on the path towards spiritual attainment becomes the essence and wisdom that is showered and given to seekers. The experience of the Gnanis, Yogis, Rishis, Munis and Siddhas has come to us as wisdom. 

All the research that went towards discovery and understanding of life and its purpose and the various paths leading back to the source, has come to us as Gnanam. Their wisdom went into the scriptures. Their experiments become wisdom for ours. Their trials and errors in perfecting procedures and techniques became wisdom to beginners. 

In simple terms Gnana is the fruit of the guru's experience that the student partakes. All the Anubhuthis, the Tiruarutpa, the Thevaram, and the Siddha songs are experiences of highly evolved souls that becomes Gnanam for us who would chose to venture on the path. 

When I drove Tavayogi to Bukit Rotan, I played the Tiruarutpa in my car. He listened for a while and commented that just by listening to Ramalinga Adigal compositions and songs one could attain Gnanam. 

Immediately after the launch of our "Agathiyar Geetham"  audio CD, a compilation of songs on Agathiyar put together by us at AVM and produced by Raagawave Production, Nadi Nool Aasan Tharanibalan Aiya who was one of many dignitaries who attended the launch, praised our efforts and told us that music was of two kinds. One was meant for the ears, pleasing the listener; the other was food for thought giving Gnanam. Ours was of the second kind, he said. That was the highest compliment one could ever expect for his composition.

An individual's learning is another's Gnanam. The Siddha path is a path of learning. When well traveled it becomes Gnana for a new traveler. Hence the reason why Tavayogi rather than preach to me on the Siddhas and their world, took me along on a journey of discovery, exposing me to their travels, the paths they walked upon, taking me to their abodes, Samadhis and caves, getting me to experience miracles, giving me their Darshan, and creating opportunities to gain Gnanam from the journey, returning wiser and filled with Gnanam.

What we consider as works of Gnanam or wisdom is in actual fact experiences of our saints. Summarized in a statement, the fruits of ones efforts towards spiritual attainment is Gnanam.

From https://www.swami-krishnananda.org/fruit/fruit_08.html we are told that we have not attained the state of understanding needed. 

A cell in the body is seeing the body as if it is outside it. What would be the condition or the experience of a cell in our own body notionally isolating itself from the organism to which it belongs and considering the body as a world outside it?

We think the world is outside of us, though we are a part of the world. We do not feel that we are inseparable from God-being. That knowledge has not come to us. So we have not entered such a height of religious consciousness as to be convinced that we are inseparable from God's existence. But we are convinced enough to feel that God exists. He is, but we have not gone to such an extent to feel that we are inseparable from Him. That is a little higher stage.

The guru keeps us under his watchful eyes but will never interfere. In very rare cases, this journey is sometimes hastened by the divine hand of the guru if there is an urgency and need for it.

After revealing my past lives and karma, Agathiyar said in my very first Nadi reading, I had done much wrong in the past but it was also his doings he told me, removing the guilt and getting me to forgive myself. Besides gaining lessons through our own experiences, we learn from others the do's and dont's. Tavayogi says that the soul cannot be chained by doctrines, ideologies, conditioned and limited by dogmas, do's and dont's, codes and rules, - it has to be set free to learn and experience for itself.

While the physical body is a result of all the elements of nature, the spirit is a spark from the source while the soul that is of subtle matter bridges both the body and the spirit. As Manickavasagar sings in the Sivapuranam, we take numerous births to gather the experience, evolving from the lowest to the highest of creation, Pon Govindasamy in his "Vallalaarum Brahma Gnana Sangamum", Bharath Book Bureau, Chennai, draws our attention to the same.

அணுக்களாகயிருந்த ஆன்மாக்கள், பூதவர்க்கங்களாக உருவெடுத்து பின் தாது வர்க்களாகமாக மாறி, பின் தாவர வர்கத்தையடைந்து, பின் விலங்கு வர்க்கத்தில் புகுந்து, பின் மானிட வர்க்கத்தில் ஜனனம் எடுத்து, இறுதியில் ஜீவன் முக்தர் வர்க்கத்தில் பரிபூரண தசையையடைகின்றன.

In short experience is wisdom. We are allowed to make mistakes, "Mother" says. The mistakes are a lesson for us but becomes Gnanam for others. Others learn from our mistakes. 

As the soul is on a journey of learning and gaining the experiences that it seeked, each birth then is a journey towards Gnanam. The whole purpose of taking birth then is to learn and experience and assimilate all the experiences and attaining Gnanam. Finally we will settle for the road back to our father's kingdom after having exhausted and seen all that needs to be seen. 

All births tuned towards spirituality then are a Gnana Pirappu. Exhausting all our desires or dropping them, placing concerted effort in removing the three impurities - Aanavam, Kanma and Mayai with the aid and guidance of the guru, we become pure in nature and one with Erai. Having come through the cycles of birth and rebirth, we return to our father's kingdom finally in his image and nature.