DEALING WITH THE PRESENT LIFE 3

When I was at the Naval Base in Lumut for some eight years, my colleague Chong Lai Keong would come by and knock on our doors and pull us out of our beds to have a swim at the Teluk Batik beach each evening after work while we would refuse to get out of our cosy and warm beds. I preferred to dip my head into the pages of the many books on spiritualism and religion that I devoured with much haste. I looked deep and search for God in those pages of the books failing to realise God was in nature. But I did not entirely while my day away uselessly. I delved in worship and prayers at dawn and dusk. I was unknowingly laying the foundation for a bigger mission that was brewing in the mind of Agathiyar.

In the years to come, Agathiyar through Tavayogi was to take me on a journey walking through nature. It is said that the trees and plants would stoop to him and reveal their secrets to Agathiyar when he came by. In present times a fallen tree trunk gave way to Dyalen and his team to walk by, as they came down from the Pothigai hills.

WM Paul Young in his novel "The Shack", windblown media, writes on page vii that "Every human being is a story, and when we share the stories of our lives we are talking about Holy Ground where the dust of creation meets with fire that refines, the activity of God in the wonder of our humanity."

He adds on page viii that "I believe that all human beings hear God for themselves, but it is in each person's unique language, often so normal to each of us that we discount it."

It is understandably difficult to be God. Imagine the number of petitions forwarded to him each minute. One might need the rain so that his grain may grow while another wants the sun to shine so that he could harvest his crops. When nature lashes its might some might make losses while others shall gain from another's loss. We should understand that God and nature cannot please everyone every time. 

The Siddha path that was a road less travelled has come into the limelight with the coming of the era of the Siddhas or Siddhar Yuga. It is not like they are only making their appearance and presence known only now. Siddhas have been around since time immemorial. But they have chosen to activate the button that publicises them only now. We are seeing a sudden interest in the Siddhas and their teachings presently.

Just as the stampless letter that carried the following message, received by Mackenzie in the story of "The Shack", 

Mackenzie, It's been a while. I've missed you. I'll be at the shack next weekend if you want to get together", 

I too received a message through the Nadi inviting me to the abodes of his if I was interested. I took up the offer. Tavayogi regarded that journey as a true journey, telling me, "Only now the true journey has begun." He took me to the Konganar caves in Uthiyur, to Kalyana Theertam, the jungles and caves of Kutralam, and the many temples related to the Siddhas. We were one with nature for those amazing few days and nights, staying in the caves and roaming the jungles. Paul Young describes his feelings in the midst of nature through Mackenzie, "He felt so incredibly small." This is exactly what Balamurugan too said to me while he was at Kailash. Paul felt the presence of God most in the woods surrounded by nature and under the night sky and stars. He writes that he could almost hear the song of worship they (nature) sang to their creator. How wonderful. We miss nature, living in the city. The only remaining few pieces of green lung, that is slowly disappearing too, among the concrete jungle of the city is truly so pathetic.

Just like his 6 1/2-year-old daughter pops up a question to Mackenzie, "How come God is so mean?" I questioned God too. If God is supposed to be kind, gentle, caring and full of mercy, why does he punish people? Why does he make them suffer? Why do we need to die? Gaining no convincing answers to these and many other questions, I began to disbelief the existence of God. Then Lord Siva came in a dream and told me to cool it off asking me to keep my questions for another day. That another day came some 14 long years later in the form of the Vasudeva mantra and subsequent worship of Lord Dhakshanamurthy and a Nadi reading that followed a year later. Erai is explaining to us daily in many ways the concept of life and death and other mysteries.

Ruzbeh N Bharucha in his blog and writings sheds some light to several of the mysteries that took place in my travels on the path of the Siddhas and answers the questions that lingered on my mind at https://www.speakingtree.in/blog/the-master-s-grace

Yes, the laws of karma are rigid and the cards are dealt without emotion. What one has sowed, one shall reap. The experience shall be gone through. There is no escaping this fact. And yet throughout the ages, through time, Sages, mystics, Sufis, the Holy Scriptures, all proclaim that The Master is Merciful. On one hand we have the unyielding laws of cause and effect. On the other hand we have the mercy and tenderness of The Master.

Just as Tavayogi took me on a visit to three living Gurus and pointed out their nature to me, Ruzbeh categorizes the Master as:

The Perfect Master, the One who is beyond Maya (the Illusion) and is One with the Creator even while in the body and obviously when beyond. There is no duality between The Perfect Master and The Creator. He/She is beyond karma and all the laws of Creation and the Cosmos. He/She is beyond flaws, limitations, weaknesses, planets, horoscopes, and eventually decides how to live and how to pass over and when to leave the body.

Then you have The Master, somebody who takes you towards The Light and helps you to move out of darkness but need not be a Perfect Master. A co-traveler who has the ability to guide fellow travelers on the path and He/She may have His/Her own demons to deal with, flaws and limitations to work through, but is filled with selfless love and has the Divine Spark burning bright but eventually is not beyond karma and still grappling with duality. This Master is more like a dervish, a friend of God or one who is seeped into Divinity.

We are blessed to have Agathiyar. He brought us to his path, gave us the tools to work on developing our souls, to gain Atma Balam and set us to do his tasks. He through my nephew delivered the Vasudeva mantra that does many things in one. This mantra is mentioned in an extract from the English translation of the book "Kriya Yoga Vijnan - The Science of Kriya Yoga", the original by Saint Lahari Mahasaya. Lahari Mahasaya has named this sadhana Omkar Kriya. This is essentially a pranayama and the basis is the Vasudeva mantra. The sastras have propounded that the Vasudeva mantra is an omniscient mantra. When a sadhaka starts comprehending his awareness as one with the mantra then he becomes omniscient himself. Then his attainment shall be - I am this omniscient Vasudeva. In the Gita it is stated in the very last of all births, the man of wisdom worships me, realizing that all is Vasudeva. Rare indeed is the soul. Then do namaskar to thyself.

In "The Hidden Mysteries of Kundalini" written by R Venu Gopalan, the author explains that as the Vishnu Granti adds obstructions for the sadhaka keeping one under the wraps of attachment, bondage, leading to the process of selfishness and supra ego, the recitation and chanting of this mantra balances the Vishnu Granti. This is the maha mantra of Lord Krishna. Its further benefits are: The nadis of the heart chakra are cleansed. It balances the heart chakra. Continuous practice of this meditation on this mantra helps in purification of the thinking process. It also helps in dissolving all the past karmic deeds for a better future. 

In a book on Saint Dhruva, it is mentioned that this mantra was given to Dhruva by Saint Naradar who initiated Dhruva into the mysteries of yoga and meditation leading to samadhi. Naradar taught Dhruva the practice of pranayama by inhaling, exhaling, and holding the breath. He taught Dhruva to overcome thought fluctuations with the help of breath control. Naradar also taught Dhruva to meditate on Vishnu in the sanctuary of his heart repeating the Lord’s name mentally and offer prayers and worship. He advised Dhruva to go to Madhuvana for tapas because it was a sacred place where vibrations prevailed, which would help him in his sadhana and Samadhi.

A year later he makes provision for me to see the Nadi for the very first time. In it he reveals the reasons for taking birth, speaking about karma that attaches to us. He reveals that although I had engaged in Yoga, meditation and prayers, I could not receive the full benefits assured through these practices due to my karma standing in my way. Hence the reason for me to carry out remedies or parikaram first. As I took to India to carry out these remedies he introduces me to Supramania Swami of Tiruvannamalai who initiates me on the Siva mantra and chanting of Yogi Ramsuratkumar's name and prayers. He then sends Tavayogi to Malaysia where I meet him and both my wife and I get initiated into the mantra of Agathiyar and prayers to the Siddhas. Agathiyar through Tavayogi starts me on performing the ritual of lighting the sacrificial fire or Homam. Later Agathiyar tells me that the practice of lighting the homam helps negate the effects of an individual's karma. Later on, he tells us that the practice saves the prapanjam too. Tavayogi explains that the Yagna he lights helps reduce the force and effects of natural calamities, appeasing Mother Nature. Then the Siddhas ask us to light up the Aganda Deepam saying that although the natural calamities will continue, our prayers will help reduce its intensity. Ma has asked us to bath her daily too saying that she needs to be kept cool. More mantras came our way too. We were totally absorbed in rituals given by the Siddhas. But there was a purpose in every single thing we did. We did their asking.

As Ruzbeh says,

".. the Perfect Master, like our Baba Sai, who can stand between us and our own karma and work things out in the best way S(H)e feels is right and appropriate for the wellbeing of the disciple and devotee",

we are indeed blessed to have all these Masters look upon us and guide and show us a way out of our karma.

Ruzbeh reveals other subtle matters clearing the air and drawing the curtain of ignorance and illusion aside. He tells us that besides all these rituals, the Homam and chanting, dreams too are a way of spending or exhausting our karma without the need to physically go through the sufferings. As karma initiates a set or package of sufferings and miseries that one has to go through indefinitely, Ruzbeh explains how dreams can substitute the anguish and pain of a real event.

One can go through the anguish and very often The Master helps in finishing off with one’s particular set of karmas through the dream state. Let us say we have to experience an accident. Isn’t an accident in a dream state as real as the one in the physical world? I remember waking up actually shaking and not being able to feel my body for a while as I had dreamt I was in a horrific car crash and it took me some time even after I woke up with a shudder, that it was all in the dream state. Thus, may be, who knows, I was spared a major accident in our world but as had to go through the experience, relived it in my astral or dream world.

Ruzbeh shares a common belief that was held by his grandma,

When I was young my maternal grandmother would often tell me that, ‘You had a dream where you cried a lot, that’s good beta, instead of crying in this so called real world, Baba took care of an unpleasant experience and pain in the dream world’.

Then we are told the story of Yogi Ramaiah who was bedridden for six long years, cast in plaster and immobilised. Just as he was to leave for the USA to further his studies, Ramaiah contracted bone tuberculosis which disrupted his plans. The disease took its toll on him and he was immobilized for 6 long years. During that period, his wife and servants cared for him at San Thome in Madras. But Ramaiah used this time to his advantage by reading a lot. During these years, Prasanananda Guru aided him in meditation while Omkara Swami shared with Ramaiah his knowledge of yoga. Ramaiah also published his first book based on Omkara Swami’s life, "A Blissful Saint." In 1952, he had a visit from Mauna Swami too, a disciple of Shirdi Sai Baba. Shortly afterwards, Ramaiah had a vision of Shirdi Sai Baba himself. Ramaiah asked Baba if he was his Guru. Baba replied, "No, but I will reveal to you who your guru is", and Ramaiah was shown his guru Babaji.

One day Ramaiah succumbed to the pain and misery that he was undergoing and decided to end his life. He held his breath, not letting it go. Suddenly he heard Babaji's voice. Babaji told him, "Do not take your life! Give it to me!" Surprised and taken aback by the divine intervention, Ramaiah surrendered himself to Babaji. The next day, upon awakening, Ramaiah felt that he was healed. Summoning the doctors, Ramaiah was given a clean bill and certified fit. To everyone's astonishment, Ramaiah had indeed healed completely. Very soon Ramaiah regained the use of both his legs. Shortly in another vision, Ramaiah saw Babaji limping. He questioned Babaji as to why he limped. To Ramaiah's surprise, Babaji replied that he was taking on Ramaiah's illness (bone tuberculosis)!

So too Ruzbeh narrates a similar incident.

... the other day while walking on a narrow road, this man on the scooter going straight like how all civic minded motorists ought to, suddenly veered and came head on at me, till in the end realized what he was doing and he skidded the scooter to his left and fell but didn’t get hurt as he was carrying a huge bag behind him which hit the ground first. I helped the chap up and he profusely apologized saying that he had no idea why he accelerated the scooter on to us. Minutes later I got a call from home that our Sai Baba of Shirdi’s statue had got badly burnt, with what appeared like wound marks on His feet and hands. This is another way the Master sometimes takes upon Himself the karma of His demented disciples.

When Tavayogi succumb to pain and suffering before he left his mortal body many questioned me how is it that a guru of his stature was suffering too. I replied that he had taken on him my karma, my family and others too. When he was knocked down by a bus while riding a motor some years back, I confronted Agathiyar saying that it was not fair of him not to protect his disciple. When I asked Tavayogi why it had to happen, he replied cooly that it was his karma. He added that he had to take on the karma of all who came to him for a solution to their problems too.

Ruzbeh says that "They are so merciful that our Masters seek no credit for the innumerable times when They have protected us from our own karma, our own stupidities and that of the world."

Just as Agathiyar listed out the benefits of Puja to me, and Lord Muruga wants me to start going within, to sit in solitude and silence, Ruzbeh explains at length about the benefit of meditation and going into silence as told to him by Baba Sai. Meditation is a way to,

... bathe the mind, heart, body and aura in the cool river of Oneness. Meditation or going within is the most subtle and sublime form of karmic cleansing. It is one of the fastest ways through which the Master helps in clearing the karmic backlog. We have karmic cleansing done via prayers and the dream state, but through meditation, we can actually have the power of cleaning our own slate and realizing our true self. Apart from healing the body, calming the heart thereby clearing the fog from the mind, through meditation one can attune oneself to the grid of Ancient Knowledge and realize our true identity and Oneness with The Great Spirit and while on this silent journey, most important of all, we clear all our karmic sludge.

Finally, Ruzbeh adds,

Sages brought down the Ancient Wisdom only through meditation. All the divine and mystical powers attained were via this silent method of going within. The greatest of discoveries, the most inspirational art and all the beauty that has been created by mankind, has come about, through this silent communication with The Creator.