PURSUING DHARMA

Someone who has continuously trekked the Transhimalaya range to Kailash cautioned a friend about helping the unfortunate at the PPR housing scheme citing that she was also staying in one of those units. An individual who took upon himself to expose the wrongdoings of masters and gurus also hits out at those doing charity. Similarly in our efforts to help feed the hungry some are of the opinion that we are encouraging laziness in them, making them dependant on handouts.

Shall we then just turn a blind eye towards the sufferings of others? Should we then regard the sufferings of the poor and unfortunate as their karma that they have to live with? Can we place the label "results of past karma" on them and walk away? Imagine if the doctor were to turn us away. Imagine if the fireman refuses to fight the fire that has engulfed our homes. What if tomorrow the stars are not in our favour and we end up on the same streets sitting beside them and begging for a meal? How can we bring ourselves to tell them in the face that it was all due to their past karma when we too carry loads of karma? The Siddhas can talk about it for they are above and beyond the limitations of body and mind, fate and destiny etc. The saints endure the sufferings of the physical body as they regard it as Kayapuri that is a dream, and as they want to transcend the limitations of the body, they live out their karma without seeking remedies or manipulating them, bringing an end to their cycle of birth and death. The common folk seek to change their fate, replacing misery and suffering with pleasure and joy. If the saint has gone beyond the dualities the common man has preferences. This is where the Siddhas seeing the sufferings of the common man, out of compassion for them seeked Erai to bend the rules. Knowing that everything we go through is directly or indirectly related to our past actions and merits gained, the Siddhas were granted the gift of looking into our past and recommend remedies to offset our karma or effects that generated as a result of past causes. Hence began the practice of Nadi reading for the common man.

We then turn back to our gurus for answers. When I was asked to come to the Siddha path by Agathiyar in the Nadi, I went around to several organizations that were aligned with the Siddha tradition and teachings. I learnt from one that was affiliated with Thavathiru Rengaraja Desigar of Ongarakudil that their prime mission was to feed the hungry. Later I followed his talks on video and read his books. He encouraged all his followers to feed besides reciting the names of the Siddhas. Then when I met Tavayogi who was in Malaysia to officiate a branch of his Agathiyar Gnana Peedham in Batu Caves, after the formalities he showed me photos of the activities conducted at his Kallar ashram. It included feeding the native children residing around his ashram. When Agathiyar called me in for further Aasi Nadi readings, he spoke about feeding. Avvai has mentioned that charity and tapas are the keys to open the doors to the heavenly kingdom.

A story is told of a devotee carrying a bunch of bananas to be offered to the deity at the local temple when he was met by a hungry man. Out of compassion, he gave him a couple of bananas. Soon he was addressed by the deity telling him that he had eaten bananas that he brought. The man was surprised to learn that the deity came in the form of the hungry man. 

Ram Dass of "Love Serve Remember Foundation" shares his guru Neem Karoli Baba (Maharajji) words, "God comes to the hungry in the form of food." he shared another beautiful statement from his Guru, that summarizes the benefits gained in feeding people - "When I asked my guru to raise my kundalini, he said, "feed people."

Ram Dass in his PATHS TO GOD - Living the Bhagavadgita, published by Harmony Books, New York, refers to the Bhagavadgita where there is a need to view actions as a sacrifice or offering which Ram Dass says is the central component of the Bhagavadgita. Ram Dass too ask us to look around for opportunities to serve as an offering to God. Hence we need to retrain ourselves to accept every act or deed as an exercise in karma yoga.

Ram Dass writes further that every act we do creates vasanas, life vasanas, subtle thought-forms, based on the desires connected with the act. When the physical body dies these subtle life waves continue determining the next round of birth. This is karma. It keeps going life after life until they are spent or exhausted. Ram Dass says the game is only over when there is no more individual desire, and no more separation. He says all of life is a predetermined karmic package that expresses the karmic law. Its a perfect law that keeps unfolding, he adds.

Ram Dass beautifully says that even the choices we make arise 'out of a long chain of prior events that absolutely predetermined' our decisions. To illustrate this he writes about an incident that happened with his guru, Maharajji. Going back to India a second time, in 1971, he went looking for Maharajji again but did not find him in the usual spots. Spending some time at a meditation retreat in Bodh Gaya, he resumed his search for Maharajji. Teaming up with a lady and a bus-full of passengers she brought along, all 35 including the driver headed for Delhi. Nearing Allahabad, one of the people on board insisted they stop over. But it meant further delay in reaching Delhi and they were all hungry and tired. So they all turned to Ram Dass to make a decision. After wrestling with the thought Ram Dass gave the green light. The Kumbha Mela having taken place a few weeks ago, and the Mela having ended, there were only a handful of people around on the Mela grounds. The person who asked that they stop over, directed the bus to a Hanuman temple. That is when someone in the bus spotted Maharajji with his devotee Dada. Maharajji, after the pranams by pilgrims, asked the entire entourage to follow him to his devotee's house. Dada's wife greeted them saying dinner was almost ready. She mentioned that they had been cooking all day in anticipation of Ram Dass and his entourage's arrival, surprising them by mentioning that Maharajji had told her 35 people shall arrive. Ram Dass at this juncture puts a question to us, "Now who do you suppose it was who thought he was sitting on the bus, deciding whether to visit the Mela grounds? Long before I made my decision it was already decided - Maharajji knew all about it that morning! I played my part. I "decided" to go to the Mela grounds. But my decision was inevitable."

Ram Dass continues beautifully when he says, "This present moment is the sum of all that past karma. All those life waves, flowing and flowing, just to bring me to this place, to this moment.... Ram Dass puts a question to us, "So if it's already written in stone, can a guru change your karma?" One day Maharajji acted out of the norm by gobbling eight oranges that Ram Dass placed before him. Usually, he distributes them to all those around him. A disciple states that the guru was taking on his karma. That reasoning could not set into Ram Dass then. Hindus choose to believe that 'the guru can free the disciple by taking on his karma in some way or other.' Ram Dass says his guru could see the whole pattern evolving. "If you are standing outside of time, it is possible to see the whole course of those life waves - past, present and future. When you are at that stage you see in advance the direction the karmic waves are taking, and you know exactly why its all happening the way it is."

Ram Dass in his "Paths to God - Living the Bhagavadgita", Harmony Books, 2004, gives us a clear understanding of this phenomena and karma. He says, free will and destiny exist simultaneously but on different planes. Now we are getting there. Things are beginning to fall into place. The picture is getting clearer and the confusion leaves. He says there is a plane of reality where we are the free agent, free to decide and do all things. On another plane from a "different perceptual vantage point" we realize that our thought forms are conditioned. I realize that this two planes intermingle. He adds, "The choices arose out of a long chain of prior events that absolutely predetermined your decisions. I say, "I have free will" - that's my karma talking!" Ram Dass very clearly puts it that whatever thoughts that we allow to arise are our karma. Hence let's spiritualize our thoughts. By positive thoughts and positive action, we are making our destiny; renewing, modifying and enhancing our fate.

Finally, Agathiyar tells us if we are to sit and talk or study about the pros and cons of feeding the poor and hungry we would never come to do it. He asks us to go to the ground and begin providing for them first and to decide whether to continue or not later. If we realize that it is wasteful he won't mind us stop doing the charitable act. Hence this is how we have tackled this matter till this day. We found and came to realize that it was wasteful to feed the homeless currently. A man who rushed to gather used clothes for himself that we distributed on the streets was seen still seen shirtless the next time we went to the streets. One would expect him to wear the clothes that we handed out, right? As there were many established soup kitchens doing regular feedings on the streets and many other NGOs who came to feed occasionally, we moved on to focus on providing meals to the poor in their own homes. They look forward and appreciate the aid. Here we see results compared to the streets. In the streets, we do not see any progress in their lives. We only manage to sustain them for another day by feeding them a meal. In the homes of the poor, we see their lives and standard of living improve. When we aid them by buying them the basic groceries each month the money usually spent on groceries can be put to other good use.

It is said that the human birth is the rarest of births. The world's population to date is 7.7 billion. Among these staggering figure, many go without food for days on end. It is our social responsibility to take care of the hungry just as we have a responsibility to bring food to the dining table at home. When some are reluctant and even object or prevent others from extending a helping hand to the needy, I was shown another face of compassion yet through a Lady at the PPR flats. We saw her the first time when she was introduced by another recipient of our aid at the feeding session held at the nearby temple. She had walked the distance to the temple to meet us ignoring her legs that had swollen up. She asked for aid. We passed her the last remaining pack of milk powder as we had distributed the groceries to the flat dwellers just minutes before. Soon we began to include her in the list of recipients of groceries and cooked food. Just days earlier as I stood at her door to deliver the meals, there were many kids at her home. She told me as it was the school holidays, relatives had come to stay. She who was hoping for someone to provide a meal for her two grandchildren and herself now had to provide for her guests too. Then she shocked me when she told me she had brought an old man from the streets to live with her! The old man who was not a blood relative but whom she used to meet while doing her daily chores had been asking her to take him into her house. I felt so small that day compared to this lady - Kausalya. She told us her only reason to continue living was the hope and the food that we gave her.

By setting aside our differences and taking the initiative and effort whether rain or shine we can bring both cheer and food to the unfortunate. Let us continue feeding.

For those who have received food, charity, kindness, joy, Erai's grace and wealth, it is time to give back.