Wednesday 12 June 2019

DOING HIS WORK

Today the ATM family stands together firmly united in a pledge of allegiance to Agathiyar.
Dear father, today we stand before you not to seek or ask for favours but to remain silent and listen to you speak. Please stand with us in all the endeavours that we undertake in your name. Please open up more doors and opportunities for us to serve you and your creation. We are pleased to do your work. 
Initially, we came to him for favours, asking our desires and wishes to be fulfilled. Then he brought our narrow and selfish thoughts that focused and centred around ourselves and our needs and that of the family, to go beyond to encompass the welfare of strangers and that of others. He opened up compassion in us. Compassion was the fuel that propelled us to serve those beyond the boundary of next of kin and blood relationships. We began to go all the way out to help strangers first in the charity homes followed by helping the homeless on the streets. Soon we began helping poor families whom we adopted and pledged to bring a ray of hope and light into their homes and lives. We have brought cheer into their lives going by the smile and the welcome they extend to us each time we visit them. They need and want this support that we extend to continue. We chose to walk the practical way. Leaving behind the need to know the theory, reasons and benefits derived before engaging in doing good deeds, even before one is started, we went to the ground first and learnt from experience. 

Many devotees and seekers came to Tavayogi and sat with him for hours on hand to debate about all that they had either learnt, read, came to know, came to hear etc from books, news, masters and gurus and many more sources. They came to verify statements and teachings. They came to hear what he thought of others teachings. They came to "vomit" all their knowledge about a particular subject that they had researched on. They asked about Kundalini and the secrets of immortality even before laying the groundwork. They came to get an appraisal for their research work on the Siddhas. They were there at each visit he made, asking the same questions even some five years later. Where are they now? What happened to the hours of upadesa that they received from him? Why have they not worked on it and risen to the call of the Siddhas?

While many came to Tavayogi with questions and he too encouraged them to ask, I never had a question for him. I had dropped all my learning and all my knowing the day Lord Siva came in a dream and asked me to. I came to Tavayogi empty, waiting to be filled. I sat at his feet, silent, waiting to be filled. As fate would have, he filled me with bliss and joy instead of knowledge. He showed me the practical path by getting me to actually perform a yatra with him visiting the abodes of the Siddhas, the jungles, the caves, and the temples. He asked me to only recite the names of the Siddhas at all these places, nothing more. He did not teach the theory or explain the reasons behind his directives or reveal the results that are supposedly derived in doing it. Hence I did not have any expectations at all. I was not disappointed nor frustrated along the way for I did not have a goal to achieve or a milestone to catch up with or a target to shoot. Experience then became a teacher for me. Although I learned much by just watching and observing my gurus, my experience taught me, to heed the guide who resided within me, 24/7. I learned much of what I was not to do too, from observing and seeing the troubles that many brought onto them because of their desires and wants, by way of their frame of mind and thoughts and by way of speech, etc. These were all lessons for me to avoid.

Someone walked up to me recently at an event and began questioning about my writings on this blog that he had been following. To a question, why we did not name the organization after Agathiyar, I replied with another question, was there a need for it? We can never stake claim to Agathiyar. He is for everybody. I told him we never wanted to be communal or identified with a saint or person or race or nation. Here we help people irrespective of their faith, race, religion and beliefs. When we go around helping we never propagate the path, the deity, or promote the organization. Neither do we ask about their faith or religion. We serve on humanitarian grounds. But sadly we have some volunteers who team up with us, asking these questions and we have to shut them up and ask them to tow the line.

Then he asked if my family were all vegetarians. I told him my wife and I were, but my children were not. I told him Agathiyar had not asked my children to stop, to which he answered neither did he ask to start. I told him that he would bring forth the change when we are ready to drop it, not by force. I became a vegetarian overnight for reasons even I do not know. It just happened. When people ask me if I switched because of religious reasons or health reasons, I reply that I do not have a reason. When many come around preaching to people to switch to vegetarian they must also make provisions for these meals to be made easily available. Those who have a heart of compassion and intent to follow in the path of compassion, find it difficult to avail themselves of good vegetarian food. Taking for instance, a ride along the expressway from north to south, how many R & R provides vegetarian food? Take the institutions of learning for that matter, from the nursery to the University. How many of them provide vegetarian meals? Take the cafeteria and canteens in government departments and hospitals. How many provide vegetarian food? It is not enough if we canvas but we have to make vegetarian food available to those to whom we preach.

Then he asked why I made the blog private, when many could have benefitted from it? I told him since Agathiyar had begun to guide us in very specific ways that do not conform to the norms of the general public, I did not want to add on to an already confused and lost society.

Then he went on to ask how Agathiyar comes, referring to my postings. He asked if it could be hallucinations for that matter. I told him to sit in prayer and he shall know. I asked him to gain that experience for himself rather than wanting to know mine. I told him if at all he was interested to know about these experiences to look up Ramalinga Adigal's, Manikavasagar's and the Nayanmar's experiences that are both authentic and much more majestic in nature rather then showing interest in beginners like us.

Not done with combating my postings, finally, he told me that Agathiyar could be passing messages to me through him. Bala Aiya saved the day or rather the night by coming up to us at this juncture and calling it a day, asking us to have our dinner and leave as the temple had to close. Phew! What a relief that was.

I messaged him the following morning at 5.23am.
Hi, as I told u last night, going by your messages, I had a gut feeling that u were not interested in Agathiyar but had a different agenda since day one. First u asked to participate in the puja, then u said u could not make it because your b-i-l was ill which as I said had nothing to do with u. Neither was it a reason to stay away from attending the puja, which u replied as being complicated. Then u switched to wanting to have a chat instead. U proofed me right last night when we met. U bombarded me with questions n started pushing your views n opinions, even challenging those that I held knowing pretty well that we had only met. If your intention is to place me under your  microscope as a case study, pls understand that I do not need to proof anything to u.
My advise to u is to get engaged with Agathiyar first, heed his advise, n see the results for yourself rather than wanting to study another. Scientist of the past experimented on themselves instead of on others. Bhogar too experimented on himself. I hope I managed to talk some sense into u last night, as I consider that there is a reason n a lesson to be learnt through every meeting. I too have more reason to keep my blog private now. I shall remove access to my blog. U can seek to learn elsewhere. Have a nice day.
Your friend understands pretty well the reason we come to spiritualism that is to elevate the soul to the state of bliss n not merely to entertain the games of the mind.
Yes another thing. When u said that Agathiyar could be passing a message through u, let me tell u that he does not talk much like u did. Both Agathiyar n my guru will give only a passing remake that  has depth n makes sense only later.
When I came to the worship of the siddhas, I knew nothing. I looked up the bookstores for any literature on them that I could get my hands on. I needed to know who I was going to pray to. I began worship by placing a painting of Agathiyar at my altar n chanting the names of the siddhas as many before me had done. Then Agathiyar made me learn by observing my gurus supramania swami and tavayogi. As I spent time with them, I saw a few come to supramania swami for their needs asking to chart horoscopes, asking for talisman etc. Many came to tavayogi with lots of questions. I realized that it was not that they did not have the answers but they wanted to show that they were knowledgeable about many spiritual matters. None came to these wonderful masters with the desire and yearning to really wanting to know the means to liberation. 
Both my gurus were saddened by this phenomena. I too was sad for u.
Having written this post I went back to Agathiyar if I should share this conversation that I had with him and the video I had assembled. He gave me the approval, reminding me of Ma's words that what is an experience to me will be gnana to others. Anyway, it is he who orchestrates the show. I surrender to his will. Be prepared for an explosion within you too, any time. https://youtu.be/f0OxkG5xF8Y