AGATHIYAR'S GIFT

What is the origin of Agathiyar?

Many pandits and learned historians, researchers and academians have attempted to gather and bring together the many bits of information spread out in numerous works of the Siddhas and their songs, telling us that there was more than one Agathiyar and debating amongst them on the number. It was a completely confusing jargon of information laid before us.

Off course to know more about Agathiyar we have to look up to the person who introduced us to his worship for answers and clues. We sit in with others and watch and listen Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal of Kallar Ashram hoping for him to fill us in on the subject and give us the details. But he did not. Rather than fill us with words, he took us to the ground to "experience" Agathiyar. Indeed we have come to realize today that Agathiyar can only be "experienced" and not seen or known.

Agathiyar himself has evaded from answering this question telling us as the elders tell us too, not to delve into questions, probe or investigate the beginning and end of things, be it the creation or a person. But out of compassion for us, Agathiyar answered Jnana Jhothiamma and Suren's question on his origin in a Nadi reading some years back. While he did mention that Aadhi Sivan was the beginning and is in the form of the Jhoti and in all of us including him to the former, Agathiyar told the Nadi reader not to elaborate on his revelation for the later but to deliver the revelation as is. 

How did the worship of Agathiyar origin or begin? 

Dr VN Jayapalan narrates a story that was told during his meditation in an audio CD "Agathiyar Thiruvilaiyadal" that the temple of Agathiyar in Agasthiyampalli in Vedaranyam was the first temple built in this Kali Yuga for Agathiyar by an Asura King Kuberan as a way to show his gratefulness to Agathiyar for quelling his hunger and relieving him of his karma through food and the chant of Agathiyar's name by a stranger.

The story goes,

The first civilization at the beginning of the age of Kali or Kali Yuga started in a part of the world which was to become Kubera Nadu, with the birth of a child who would later become its king. The Asuras were glad that one from their clan was chosen to take birth and lead the nation and celebrated the occasion. The child was born with Asuric nature (evil tendencies). He was blessed and groomed by the leader of the Asuras, Sukracharya. The kingdom was blessed with riches. There were temples and places of worship and the main deity was their Guru Sukracharya. Only his name was chanted and heard in this kingdom. Those who defied the rule were put to death.

But evil took shape in this nation and as a consequence, the people had to face 12 years of drought and famine. Then a man riddled with leprosy appears one day at the doorstep to the king's palace asking to see the king. The admiral meets him and tries to shoo him away but the old man is adamant that he meet the king and convey his message personally. He is lead to the king. The old man offers food to the king. The king ridicules him and drives him away. But the man before leaving, invites the king to his humble hut at the outskirts of the kingdom, in the event there arises a need for food.

The king develops hunger pangs that no amount of food could satisfy. His guru Sukracharya then directs his disciple, the king to the old man. Only the old man can satisfy his hunger, he is told by his guru. Meanwhile, the citizens of that kingdom arrived at the old man's hut to partake the food that was served by him. The only condition he laid was that they chant the name of Agathiyar. For each chant, they were given a morsel of food.

News reaches the king and he decides to go in disguise and see for himself. He sees his subjects now chanting Agathiyar's name and not that of Sukracharya. As he sits amongst his subjects and watches the first Kutu Prathanai or joint prayers ever conducted, he takes on the dreaded disease, leprosy. The old man turns into a normal being, hale and healthy. The old man now hale and healthy feeds the hideous king. The king sings the praise of Agathiyar. The disease together with his karma leaves the body of the king and stands affront in an Asuric form. The king is surprised to learn that he had carried that much karma with him which was now mocking him in the Asuric form. The king becomes divine by merely chanting Agathiyar's name.

To show his gratitude the king builds the very first temple for Agathiyar in his kingdom, Kubera Naadu which later was Vada Naadu and in present times, Vedaranyam. This temple at Agasthiyampalli, Vedaranyam which houses a granite statue of Agathiyar is the first temple for Agathiyar built in this Kali Yuga. Agathiyar granted moksha to the Asura king who became divine.

In 2005 as I sat with Tavayogi at this temple Agathiyar opened his eye to look at us as promised in my Nadi reading. Many years on in 2013 as my family and I sat with Jnana Jhotiamma at our home AVM, Agathiyar opened both his eyes in the bronze statue of his.

Over the years, a devotee of Agathiyar settled at this temple and cared for Agathiyar. The then Chozha king a staunch devotee of Lord Shiva tried to oust the Agathiyar's devotee from the temple after having debated on who was more superior: Lord Shiva or Agathiyar. To prove to the king that they were one, Lord Shiva and Agathiyar appeared together to the Chozha king at this temple of Agathiyar.

In present times we were told of Agathiyar coming with his Guru Lord Murugan and blessing us at a small temple in Sime Darby Estate, Carey Island, Selangor, Malaysia (Coordinate: 2.8880459, 101.3974356) built-in 1938 that houses sannadhis for both masters. A devotee who was saddened that he could not see the libation and prayers at these chambers of the deities as he had volunteered to take up the task of ringing the temple bell, was given darshan of Lord Murugan right before him in the open.

Dr Nanjan of Ooty who accompanied Tavayogi to Malaysia many years ago told me his experience of having a darshan of Agathiyar at a home. A veterinarian doctor by profession he had visited a couple who were staunch devotees of Agathiyar. Upon requesting to see and worship Agathiyar he was led into the prayer room of the couple. Upon opening the door, the Dr saw Agathiyar arise from a reclining pose like that of Lord Vishnu, straighten and tie his long tresses and leave the spot!

An Australian lady of Chinese origin who was in Malaysia for an official visit was picked up by a devotee who drove the Grab taxi, made acquaintance with her over the days she was in Malaysia and brought her to ATM. She came out in tears telling us that she saw Agathiyar standing ceiling height.

Jnana Jhothiamma was witness to the presence of the Siddhas when she visited us in 2013 and again in 2014. I have heard of stories of miracles and visitations of the divine in various form and energies but never envisioned that we too would be blessed to witness them.

How did I come to Agathiyar or rather how did he come to us?

The first time I heard the Nadi mentioned was in 1996 when Dr. Krishnan revealed the existence of these palm leaves, well guarded and kept within the circle of its trained Nadi readers. Here was a mysterious tool and medium through which it was said that the Siddhas spoke. I went for a reading after a colleague informed me of his experience in having seen the Nadi a couple of years back, back then in 2002. I was introduced to Agathiyar for the very first time. Agathiyar addressed me and spoke about me. He spoke about personal things that I was not privy to till then; that I did not know and that both amazed and shocked me. This is how I came to Agathiyar. This is how Agathiyar came to me too.

The ATM family members too have shared the very first moments when they came to know and worship Agathiyar.

I came to Agathiyar without any knowledge of him. After 17 years I still don't know him. I have not seen him. I do not know if he is tall or short fair or dark. I do not know his story. But I do sense his presence around and within. I have heard him speak through the Nadi. I have heard him speak through another. He has spoken through me. A psychiatrist doctor who read my blog was keen to place me under his microscope, asked if I could be hallucinating. I told him to come my way, do all that I did and find out the answers for himself, personally, rather than studying another.

As Agathiyar tells us not to differentiate the Gods and the Siddhas, but instead to see them all as Light, hence I dressed and worshiped him as Ganapathy on Chaturthi many years ago after which he called me up and expressed his happiness and said that that was the truth too endorsing what I did as right. Then someone seeing our prayers on Youtube chose to disagree and wrote in.

I just wanted to comment on your new Video. You show pictures of Aghastiyar worshipped as Ganesha. Ganesha and Aghastiyar are different living entities. The Mayavada theory that all is one and you can worship in whatever way you like is wrong as will be proved from the Vedas and Vaishnava Acharyas.

And he went one to refer to the scriptures defending his statement. I then made this blog private, for I understood that whatever Agathiyar was to reveal to us henceforth was not for public consumption but specifically tailored for us. To avoid any further confusion or provide an avenue for debate and argument, I decided to share them with fellow devotees who followed the blog without fail. Agathiyar has told us countless times to avoid going loggerheads with others over issues of opinion, and asked to gather experiences first and then go back to the scriptures for verification. Sometimes scriptures fail us but not our "experiences".

Although he was there all the while we only caught sight of him after he brought down his grace upon us as Manikavasagar sings in the Sivapuranam, 

சிவன் அவன் என்சிந்தையுள் நின்ற அதனால் அவன் அருளாலே அவன்தாள் வணங்கிச் சிந்தை மகிழச் சிவ புராணம் தன்னை முந்தை வினைமுழுதும் ஓய உரைப்பன் யான்.

He was there all the years ensuring the breath went in and out at the precise timing without fail all our lives. But since we were ignorant of his presence through our breath, moving in and out of his abode and temple that is our body and the cave in the inner chambers of our hearts, that he made his residence, which was why he had to shake us up from deep slumber and remind us that it was time we took notice of him. He came to have us stop our search for the impermanent and begin looking for something that would last forever. For a start, he came as the Nadi that shook the ground and our senses; then as the physical gurus who did not mince their words, shaping us into ideal candidates to do their work; then as a bronze statue that stood still and silent, and so we thought, until Agathiyar began to open his eyes and speak; then coming in and through his devotees, giving insights into their world and mysteries; soon he came as the poor and hungry, and gave us an opportunity to serve him, and followed by coming as nature, animals, and plants to serve us in return. 

He showed us the reason we had taken birth. Birth is a result of past karma he said. He showed us the means to shed the hold of our karma both past and present and come out if it and keep our distance from it respectively. As Mike and Sully try to find Boo’s door to get her home in the Disney cartoon "Monsters, Inc", so did Agathiyar show us the many doors and the many possibilities behind it and out there that could have kept us going on the beaten track as countless other souls have. He also showed us the door to a jam-packed journey of mystery and awe every moment. He did not compel us to choose but left it to us. He gave us total freedom to open the door of our choice. Whether we wanted to stay around awhile or to linger around longer taking in the beauty and pleasures that this world had to offer or to place blinders or blinkers over the face and keep right on track taking the path shown to us, was at our discretion and dispensation. When tiredness and hunger overcame us he came with hope and food. When lost on the track he sent his guides. When overcome with fear he stood beside keeping us company. When sleep overcame us he stood guard and worked on us subtly. He waited patiently for our hearts of stone to melt in love for him and to yearn to return to him. 

How did Agathiyar come to be worship?

When I was asked to come to his path and the worship of Agathiyar I was immediately given a painting of his and a tiny book of a compilation of the names of the Siddhas. Determined to find out everything and anything about him, and if possible to locate and find him, I set out knocking on doors to several movements and establishments carrying the name of Agathiyar. The search disappointed me. No one could show me Agathiyar or show me to Agathiyar. All they could show me were various paintings, as the one I had already received, of how "he might have looked, each claiming that that was how he looked." Everyone was engaged in reciting the Siddha names too. Some we engaged in feeding the hungry and helping the unfortunate through donations collected from the public. Many conducted courses and classes and held satsangs that neither impressed me nor made me stay or brought me or drove me to revisit them. I then stepped into every book shop hoping to gather this information from the pages of the books. But I did not go far in this area too, for the books carried songs upon songs of the Siddhas in ancient Tamil that was difficult to read much less comprehend. I looked up the net too. There was a lack of material in English and I realized that I had to fill this gap, at least to translate, compile and keep as notes for my reference. My first stint was that of compiling all the songs of praise to Siddhas that I came across scattered in the numerous books I had. This came to be a massive compendium of Songs of Praises to the Siddhas. But naturally, you could not sing all these lovely songs in one sitting or with a tight time schedule. So taking the interest of those on the run and busy, I came up with a modest compilation that only took 24 minutes or one Nazhigai to recite. I took to the net to publish them. Seeing my yearning to approach and know him Agathiyar then began to give me life experiences rather than book-based.

After reading my first Nadi he put me to test to see if I believed him and whatever he had said in the Nadi. He sends me off to carry out prayers and remedies in numerous temples both in Malaysia and India. After three years, in 2005, he called me over to India again urgently to show himself to me out of grace. He created many miracles bringing me to a state of awe and amazement initially and bringing me to a state of bliss finally. Coming to the Siddha path we came to know that the other Siddhas looked up to Agathiyar as their guru, role model, and comrade. Through Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal, Agathiyar made me realize that he could come in many forms: as Agathiyar himself; as Siva; as Light and as the breath. Later through the deities who came upon his devotees, we were told that he was Ma, breaking the arrogance of many who held on to the form that he is seen in all the paintings. In the Nadi we were told that he was Lord Muruga. Then Agathiyar comes to tell us himself that he is the Prapanjam, the Matrix and that he would take whatever form we chose to see him.

Today Agathiyar who brought us to the worship of the Siddhas; who asked us to visit the temples of all the other deities too; who brought us to carry out charity; who brought us to idol worship and doing rituals; chose to bring to our attention the 5 tenets he had spoken about at the Tamil Sangam way back then, bringing our journey to a close.

To understand our purpose in taking birth and with this purpose known then, we shall come to thank the divine creator or energy that brought forth this birth through consultation with the lunar forefathers and their angelic hierarchies that co-exist with us down here. With the constant showering of his blessings that come to us by way of living a purposeful, meaningful and fruitful life, the soul grows in strength, luminance, and intensity gaining Atma Balam. Showing appreciation to the divine that gave us an opportunity to take birth again to sort out our lives, we then thank all the caretakers both seen and unseen, in the present and the past, on this earth and in other realms. With all their blessings and grace showered on us, there is an obligation on our part then to "dutifully aid and help, the ongoing evolution of all co-existing human beings." The final task is to extend this aid and help, towards "the ongoing evolution of all co-existing beings and entities, existing upon the lower levels of the evolutionary ladder, dutifully supporting the manifested matrix or prapanjam."

There is nothing much left to be said. It has all being said. Agathiyar has not left any stone unturned in revealing the reason and purpose for which we are here. He has clearly stated in simple terms and given us the simple means to fulfill our purpose and return. We are grateful to him for he had already started us working on these 5 tenets much earlier even without announcing it then. I only came to learn about these tenets when I went back to Vashisht Vaid's blog https://holysageagathiyar.com that I had bookmarked many years ago only to read it recently. For those yet to carry out these tenets, now is a good time to put into practice what we have been told. For those who never came to worship the Siddhas get a picture or idol of a Siddha and begin chanting their names. For those who are into it take up the mantras and practices given sincerely. For those who have been initiated into this and other practices continue to do it with determination and discipline - vairagya. Enough of reading. It is not sufficient to only read and hear things spiritual and devotional to satisfy the appetite of the yearning. One needs to engage directly in the methods. For those already practicing open your hearts and mind and let in the divine to take charge. You shall then see the divine work in you and through you.

As is usual for Tavayogi to answer a question with another, when I told him my desire to see two divine persons, Agathiyar and Ramalinga Adigal, he replied that "They will come but is that what you want?" As Tavayogi implied to my desire to see Agathiyar and Ramalinga Adigal, that it is not important if we saw him or not but we should ask for something lasting, Agathiyar has given me "that" something, the "experience", that is lasting as mentioned by Tavayogi as a birthday gift as I come one cycle completing 60 and stepping on to 61 years of age this Sunday. This is the greatest gift of all.

Agathiyar had promised and was willing to gift me many things as I went on this journey. Some I accepted while I rejected many others thinking that it would be bothersome and eventually invite trouble. He has hinted about gifting a Nadi that I would use for myself and for others. I turned it down. I feared that both devotees of his and troublemakers will make their way to my home and stand in line to have a reading. He had asked me to build a temple/center to accommodate the crowd that he was to send over. I and my wife did not favor it. He has since dropped the thought too. I had been asked to go over to several other places of interest to seekers on the path, abodes, and caves of the Siddhas. But I told him I had him and was not going places. He dropped the topic. When the Siddhas came to heal several people at our home, my wife and I asked them to stop for we did not like the idea of opening up our private home to the public who would stand at our door after hearing the word go out that healing was done. They stopped and so we thought they did. But Agathiyar and Lord Muruga told us that they were only using the body and the home as a tool or medium and avenue respectively for their purpose wanting to rid the problems of many. They told us to step aside and watch. They told us to accept all that was to take place for it was part of the process, a play of Siddhis. When we allowed it, all hell broke loose, or should I say the heaven's gates opened. My wife would jokingly say that they have opened up the drawbridge to heaven and opened up a portal.

I feared most that by accepting the gifts that the Siddhas showered on aspirants along the way, we would get caught in their trap and stagnate there, enjoying the power and authority that came with these tools and Siddhis. We would not progress further as we are either caught forever in servicing the gifts or we would fall for the rewards that came along with it. I am truly grateful to the divine to give me the courage and the thoughts to make wise decisions along the way. I figured that by turning down the gifts the divine would have nothing else to give but himself! That is my birthday gift this year!