We have been told of God's five job scopes namely Creation (Padaithal), Sustenance (Kaathal), Dissolution (Azhital), Veiling (Maraithal) and Grace (Arulal). Swami Kripananda wrote in the introduction to Swami Muktananda's "Kundalini - The Secret of Life", SYDA Foundation, 1994, the following.
According to Shaivite texts the Supreme Reality performs 5 cosmic functions: creation, maintenance, and dissolution of the universe, concealment of the true nature of this world, and the bestowal of grace, through which human beings are enabled to realize the truth about themselves and the universe. Shaivism describes the guru as the embodiment of God's fifth cosmic function that of grace bestowal. The human guru is in short a vehicle for this fifth cosmic process, the descent of grace. Because he has merged his individual awareness into the divine, the guru can serve as a pure vessel through which its pure energy flows.
Everything external is an extension of what was seen felt and experience within. Having an inspiration, one comes to create or discover things anew. By bringing God within him, a saint or guru is then inspired to build a temple for him as Supramania Swami wanted and Agathiyar used Tavayogi for the purpose. Bringing God within, a Samaritan goes out to help another out of kindness and compassion. Having had a vision of some kind, a saint paints a picture of his vision of God, hence the reason we have so many forms given to the formless.
Tavayogi once autographed his book "Andamum Pindamum" for me, writing the following words: "Aandavan Uraikindra Edam Thangal Ullam, Athuve Payanathin Thodakkamum, Mudivum" that when translated would mean, "God resides in your heart, That is the starting point of the journey, and the end too." Manikavasagar sings in his "Sivapuranam", "Avan Arulaale Avan Thaal Vanangi" that goes to say that even coming to worship him is not possible without his grace. So I have come to realize that we cannot force our ideas, faith, belief, opinions, on others till God himself chooses to grant them his grace. Like the phrase goes "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink", we can only lead him to the house of prayer but we cannot make him pray. God has to initiate the thought in him to bring his hands together in prayer.
If before coming to God we are self-centered, seeing him as an entity apart from us and beyond our reaches, once we get to know him intimately, he draws upon us the realization that we are one. From Dvaita we move on to Advaitha. Rabindranath Tagore is quoted in Henry Wei's book "The Guiding Light of Lao Tzu, Synergy Books International, as having said, "In the region of nature which is the region of diversity we grow by acquisition; in the spiritual world which is the region of unity we grow by losing ourselves by uniting."
Hence one has to go through the purgative process to lose oneself. What remains behind than is the shine and luminosity of the divine spark that we have always unknowingly carried with us. As we drop all the veils or draw all the curtains aside, one by one, the effulgence in us is seen through as demonstrated symbolically by Ramalinga Adigal at his Satya Gnana Sabai. All we need to do is to drop everything. Then life becomes pretty simple. Although it is simple to say, in truth it is not as simple as it sounds. As we add value add-ons at fast-food chains, we keep on adding to our desires. Desires are always regarded as harmful to the soul, says Henry Wei, because they spoil the inner unity and harmony. Lao Tzu says "Reduce and reduce" referring to the purgative process.
Henry Wei tells us the story derived from Chuang Tzu regarding Yen Hui and his master Confucius.
When Confucius enquires of his student as to how he was doing, Yen Hui replied, "I am getting on."
"How so?" asked the master. His student replied "I have got rid of charity and duty."
"Very good" acknowledged the master but quickly added that "But not quite perfect."
Meeting again after some time, the student answers a similar question from Confucious, saying "I got rid of ceremonious and music" to which Confucious says "Very good but still not quite perfect."
On another day the student replies that "I can forget myself while sitting." This time Confucious asked "What do you mean?" Yen Hui replied "I have freed myself from my body. I have discarded my reasoning powers. By thus getting rid of my body and my mind, I have become one with the Infinite."
Confucious immediately tells his student that he wished to be allowed to follow in his steps. Yen Hui emptied himself of himself which is the height of purgation necessary for mystic attainment of Tao or ultimate reality writes Henry Wei.
The purgative process concerns the discipline of the senses, heart, and mind. The body often reflects the inner workings of the mind states Henry.
By inculcating moderation and contentment one does not pursue the desires of his heart irrationally or by stabbing another or robbing another of his prize. He stays away from competition for fame and power and other pursuits too. When the conditions are favorable for him to take the leap he is ready to do so, for he is then well equipped to take the jump.
For those who have tried and lost hope be it in attaining material things or spiritual advancement, all the disappointments and failures that come to stay with us, become our experience, making us stronger and more prepared. As Lao Tzu says, "Misfortune is what fortune leans on; fortune is where misfortune conceals itself; who can know the ultimate result?" even if it does not materialize in the present moment or present life as least we are prepared when his grace unfolds before us and we would have all the qualifications to be picked.
A man who is secure is dead to life while a man troubled is alive. Mencius tells us that with suffering, hunger, poverty, and difficulty, his mind is stimulated, his nature toughed and his inadequacies are filled up, making him stronger.
Lao Tzu tells us to have a balanced attitude towards either prosperity or adverity and preserve a calm mind in dealing with worldly affairs. "People who understand and respect this truth will not succumb to depression when adversity frowns nor become wild with excitement when prosperity smiles. A calm and detached attitude towards the vicissitudes of life will prepare one for mystic meditation" says Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu, writes Henry Wei.
Chuang Tzu asks us to "imitate the sage who considers life a fleeting dream and death a rest; who do not scheme nor strive nor calculate and who sleep without dreams and wakes up without worries; with his spirit ever pure and his soul always alert," writes Henry Wei further.
It is a test for us. In fact, all the saint's words are a challenge and a test for us, to see if we engage and follow and can stay on track. They never talk about the results but only speak about the way. The results will unfold as we take each step. Agathiyar too never spoke of the results but instead set us working on ourselves by walking the path he showed neither explaining in detail or at length nor did he draw up the blueprint and show the passage to us. He worked on us as we would place puzzle pieces together. Today we are beginning to see the complete picture. As Tavayogi always says, it is interesting to see what else he has in store for us.
Tavayogi once autographed his book "Andamum Pindamum" for me, writing the following words: "Aandavan Uraikindra Edam Thangal Ullam, Athuve Payanathin Thodakkamum, Mudivum" that when translated would mean, "God resides in your heart, That is the starting point of the journey, and the end too." Manikavasagar sings in his "Sivapuranam", "Avan Arulaale Avan Thaal Vanangi" that goes to say that even coming to worship him is not possible without his grace. So I have come to realize that we cannot force our ideas, faith, belief, opinions, on others till God himself chooses to grant them his grace. Like the phrase goes "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink", we can only lead him to the house of prayer but we cannot make him pray. God has to initiate the thought in him to bring his hands together in prayer.
If before coming to God we are self-centered, seeing him as an entity apart from us and beyond our reaches, once we get to know him intimately, he draws upon us the realization that we are one. From Dvaita we move on to Advaitha. Rabindranath Tagore is quoted in Henry Wei's book "The Guiding Light of Lao Tzu, Synergy Books International, as having said, "In the region of nature which is the region of diversity we grow by acquisition; in the spiritual world which is the region of unity we grow by losing ourselves by uniting."
Hence one has to go through the purgative process to lose oneself. What remains behind than is the shine and luminosity of the divine spark that we have always unknowingly carried with us. As we drop all the veils or draw all the curtains aside, one by one, the effulgence in us is seen through as demonstrated symbolically by Ramalinga Adigal at his Satya Gnana Sabai. All we need to do is to drop everything. Then life becomes pretty simple. Although it is simple to say, in truth it is not as simple as it sounds. As we add value add-ons at fast-food chains, we keep on adding to our desires. Desires are always regarded as harmful to the soul, says Henry Wei, because they spoil the inner unity and harmony. Lao Tzu says "Reduce and reduce" referring to the purgative process.
Henry Wei tells us the story derived from Chuang Tzu regarding Yen Hui and his master Confucius.
When Confucius enquires of his student as to how he was doing, Yen Hui replied, "I am getting on."
"How so?" asked the master. His student replied "I have got rid of charity and duty."
"Very good" acknowledged the master but quickly added that "But not quite perfect."
Meeting again after some time, the student answers a similar question from Confucious, saying "I got rid of ceremonious and music" to which Confucious says "Very good but still not quite perfect."
On another day the student replies that "I can forget myself while sitting." This time Confucious asked "What do you mean?" Yen Hui replied "I have freed myself from my body. I have discarded my reasoning powers. By thus getting rid of my body and my mind, I have become one with the Infinite."
Confucious immediately tells his student that he wished to be allowed to follow in his steps. Yen Hui emptied himself of himself which is the height of purgation necessary for mystic attainment of Tao or ultimate reality writes Henry Wei.
The purgative process concerns the discipline of the senses, heart, and mind. The body often reflects the inner workings of the mind states Henry.
"The process involves tremendous sacrifice from the worldly standpoint not only the abandonment of one's habitual way of life but also the termination of many human ties. Lao Tzu did not expect people to detach themselves completely from outward activities and to live aloof from the busy world."But if one has gradually shed his hold on all things tempting, having exhausted all his desires to own and taste the pleasures of worldly life, he would eventually stand at the threshold of readiness to drop everything for the sake of God as did the many saints. But till then, Lao Tzu and the Siddhas guide us to practice self-discipline in all things done, gradually building and bringing us to a mental state of readiness to drop everything, in case we are willing to step out of the role played in life's stage and take on their new role on God's stage.
By inculcating moderation and contentment one does not pursue the desires of his heart irrationally or by stabbing another or robbing another of his prize. He stays away from competition for fame and power and other pursuits too. When the conditions are favorable for him to take the leap he is ready to do so, for he is then well equipped to take the jump.
For those who have tried and lost hope be it in attaining material things or spiritual advancement, all the disappointments and failures that come to stay with us, become our experience, making us stronger and more prepared. As Lao Tzu says, "Misfortune is what fortune leans on; fortune is where misfortune conceals itself; who can know the ultimate result?" even if it does not materialize in the present moment or present life as least we are prepared when his grace unfolds before us and we would have all the qualifications to be picked.
A man who is secure is dead to life while a man troubled is alive. Mencius tells us that with suffering, hunger, poverty, and difficulty, his mind is stimulated, his nature toughed and his inadequacies are filled up, making him stronger.
Lao Tzu tells us to have a balanced attitude towards either prosperity or adverity and preserve a calm mind in dealing with worldly affairs. "People who understand and respect this truth will not succumb to depression when adversity frowns nor become wild with excitement when prosperity smiles. A calm and detached attitude towards the vicissitudes of life will prepare one for mystic meditation" says Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu, writes Henry Wei.
Chuang Tzu asks us to "imitate the sage who considers life a fleeting dream and death a rest; who do not scheme nor strive nor calculate and who sleep without dreams and wakes up without worries; with his spirit ever pure and his soul always alert," writes Henry Wei further.
It is a test for us. In fact, all the saint's words are a challenge and a test for us, to see if we engage and follow and can stay on track. They never talk about the results but only speak about the way. The results will unfold as we take each step. Agathiyar too never spoke of the results but instead set us working on ourselves by walking the path he showed neither explaining in detail or at length nor did he draw up the blueprint and show the passage to us. He worked on us as we would place puzzle pieces together. Today we are beginning to see the complete picture. As Tavayogi always says, it is interesting to see what else he has in store for us.