"Every saint has a past;
Every sinner has a future."
Richard Schiffman in his "Sri Ramakrishna – A Prophet for the New Age", Paragon House, 1989, writes about how Ramakrishna handled his disciples. He loved them, and was patient with them as they were all young, and forgiving. He saw in them youthful dedication and energy, earnestness, and sincerity, the very qualities that had fueled his own journey to god.
Writes Schiffman,
Writes Schiffman,
"He wished to nurture and bring to fruition these divine qualities within them. Ramakrishna through the purity of his vision saw through the thin veneer of personality and perceived directly the divine spark yearning for expression deep within these spiritual aspirants."
"Once he had seen that spark nothing that happened could convince him that it wasn't there. Once he had welcomed someone, he could never let them go, whatever came to pass. The contradictions, the shortcomings, the stumblings along the way, the thousand weaknesses that flesh is heir to, didn't matter. Only god mattered - god struggling fitfully within, yearning to be free of the bonds of the flesh."Schiffman continues further.
Each soul was an open book for him, and he knew all of its dark secrets and all of its bright possibilities. Ramakrishna did not measure a man by the same yardstick that the world uses. He saw how the best of men are rifled through with hidden failings, and how even the worst have the bright seed of redemption within them. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Ramakrishna had peered behind the curtain of the puppet theatre and observed the mother at work pulling all the strings that man in his ignorance imagines he holds himself. It was a vision that burnt to ashes any temptation to lay blame to judge or to condemn. The very act of seeing all was the act of forgiving all. Even to speak of forgiveness is too harsh; for in a world where god alone acts, what is there to forgive, and who is there to be forgiven?
But the cosmic vision did not make Ramakrishna indiscriminate in his dealings. The heady transcendence of good and evil, which the seer experiences when he perceives that god himself has manifested as both, did not in any way blunt the masters abilty to distinguish between the two when he returned again to the realm of duality in which his devotees functioned. Indeed he always insisted that of all men the spiritual aspirant has to be the most discriminating in his choice of environment and companions. The good inspire one to pure deeds and exalted thoughts while the bad drag one into the depths of illusion and have to be avoided at all costs. God is in the tiger no doubt. But the man who embraces the tiger on that account will surely come to regret doing so, the master would tell his young devotees.Here are a few words of caution from Ramakrishna. Schiffman writes,
The master taught that those who live without spiritual light completely enslaved to the beast within are to be avoided at all costs by the person who aspires for a higher life. Yes god is in all beings but some had turned their backs so totally on that inner divinity and lived in such a suffocating and loveless darkness of spirit that they were at least for the moment effectively beyond all hope or healing. Ramakrishna would have nothing to do with them.
But if you showed the smallest glimmer of compassion or truthfulness, gentleness or reverence, sincerity or remorse, then a cartload of sins would be forgiven and you are welcomed with open arms. Only the stony coldness of indifference could not be forgiven.Reading Richard Schiffman's account of Ramakrishna, we understand what Agathiyar is doing to us too. Schiffman describes exactly what is happening in our circles too. We have come to learn that Agathiyar sees only our souls and not our character, habit, and faults. He is here to save our soul from returning to the vicious cycle of birth and death again and again. He is here to bring an end to it. Hence he has roped us all in, making the call to all those who might be interested to listen to what he has to say. Many left, some stayed on. Those who left were curious onlookers who became disinterested in working for merits and gains that would go a long way to offset the baggage of karma that we each brought along, but instead came for instant remedies, lucky draws, surprise gifts or gift vouchers. Those who stayed behind were put through numerous tests. Many dropped out. Those who remained behind now came face to face with the toughest question - whether they would want to surrender completely to the will of God. Some said they did, superficially or without understanding the depth of the surrender asked for. Some were still tied down to their responsibilities or entwined in the net of troubles. To them he asks to come another day, giving them time to complete their worldly responsibilities or work on their existing problems. Those who were ready were elevated and tasks with more divine work. Many who heeded and took up Agathiyar's call and faithfully hanged on to him, today stand out as icons and role models for those fresh on the path.
I started the journey with the calling from Agathiyar to come to the path of the worship of the Siddhas in 2002. But it was no different or alien to what I had been following all this while. If prior to this I had frequented the temples and worshipped the whole pantheon of Hindu Gods and Goddesses, both at the temple and in our homes, after coming to the path, my worship did not change drastically; neither did I abandon all the Gods for the Siddhas. Agathiyar asked that I include the Siddhas too in our prayers. I was given a painting of Agathiyar to start worshipping by Sivabalan who brought in the Nadi reader, after Agathiyar told me to worship him too in my very first Nadi reading. The Nadi guru Sentilkumar on his part, gave me a small booklet that carried a compilation of the names of the Siddhas and he started me off with puja to the Siddhas as I returned another day to conduct a puja for the Nadi or Nadikku Dhanam, paying homage to the Siddhas and their Nadi that was instrumental in revealing my past, present, and future. Following that initiation into Siddhar Puja, I continued reciting these names at home.
With the coming of Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal into my life in 2005, I was asked to conduct the homa which I did with guidance from him. When Agathiyar came as a bronze statue I was asked to perform libation to him or Abhisegam too. If prior to this we were mere spectators at temples and our homes, watching or engaging the priests to conduct and perform these and other rites on our behalf, now we took to devotion and prayers and performing and conducting these rites for our betterment by ourselves. The divine took notice as we took heed of the numerous instructions given by both Agathiyar and our gurus. We began to bridge the gap between the divine and us. From a servant or follower of the Hindu faith as in Sariyai, we moved to perform the rituals entering the next stage of Kriyai. Together with prayers and puja we were instructed to carry out charity too covering Karma Yoga too. Then he brought us to understand and perform Yoga asanas and Pranayama bringing us within the reach of the path of Yoga, sending masters, gurus and exponents of these arts at the right time or when we were ready for it. Today as we stand at the threshold of Jnana, the divine and the Siddhas have asked us to minimize our time and resources in worship and in carrying out the rituals and drop all that we learned, emptying our self to receive Jnana that is bestowed by the divine once we surrender our body, mind, and soul to the divine spirit that lives in us as a tiny spark. With the coming of Jnana this spark shall glow and shine and burn with the luminosity similar to that of Erai. We await with open hands for Agathiyar and the Siddhas to bring us to the state of a Jnani and cut the cycle of birth and death.
Along the way, we learned many valuable lessons that cannot be found in books on what to do and what not to do too.
Agathiyar and the worship of the Siddhas encompass all forms of worship and include the myriad of deities, gods and goddesses. We are told not to alienate other faiths, beliefs or worship and rituals. If some norm or practice by others does not conform to the Siddha teachings, Agathiyar has told us to let it be. He never corrects nor does he meddle in others business. Stating several instances of nonconformity or falsehood, he goes on to let it be. So does he expect us too. He has asked us to stay focused on the job on hand given and tasked by him periodically. He came on sternly and with a strong-worded reminder to some devotees to mind their work on hand and not engage in debate, or be disillusioned by what was going on elsewhere.
He has asked us not to question further telling us that during our course of life and the experience it has to offer, we shall learn and receive the answers to all our queries in good time through these experiences.
Prior to this Ma, knowing that we were faithful to the Siddha path, came and told us that the path of the Siddha or Siddha Neri was one of learning or padippinai. Our individual experiences will become another's Jnana. We are told in the scriptures that we are souls seeking experiences in this world. Carrying desires, we take birth at the right time and venue conducive to the germination of these vasanas or seeds of desire that we carry. We take the DNA, body and gender and find ourselves being born in a family, race, and nation that man has labeled and identified. We go through life and its pleasures and its disappointments, trying to figure it out. When the thought arises as to what our purpose is in coming to take this birth, we then venture to know its secrets. These secrets were revealed to us by the grace of Agathiyar and the Siddhas and that of our gurus in physical form and the divine.
Agathiyar reveals to us that the Siddha path is not akin to that of devotion or bakthi where crowds amass in hundreds and thousands. His path will shrink in numbers leaving only those who can take the heat to carry on his noble teachings.
He initiates many things and finally comes to break all forms of attachments towards it. For instance he brought me to worship him, the Siddhas, Ganapathy and Lord Siva. Later his guru Lord Muruga budged in into our lives quite unexpectedly. Agathiyar led us to worship Ma as Vaallai too. Even before he came through the Nadi reading to start us on his path and journey, he had directed me to chant the nama japa of Lord Vishnu and worship Lord Dhakshanamurthy. He shared his moola mantra "Aum Shrim Aum Sadguru Pathame...." to chant and share it with others too. He brought us to chant the Arutperunjhoti mantra too. He brought us to perform libation for him, carry out the homa at our homes and in selected temples. Then he asked that it be reduced in scale or given a rest. From all external forms of worship, we began to move inward and within. But he allowed us to go back to doing rituals if it necessitated as the Siddhas themselves went back to the drawing board performing a Yagna in response to our plea that Tavayogi should survive his ordeal. They saved his life then.
If in the past he went to the homes of devotees where they were given the privilege to carry out libation and light the homa with their family and friends, he soon directed us to stop that too.
He brought us to team up and serve the poor and unfortunate too. This noble deed is being carried on to this day, with his encouragement, surveillance, and supervision.
I think we have broken the code to the formula as to how the Siddhas go about bringing us out of the turmoil of planetary life to move into their realm of peace and quiet and bliss. With a calling, they awake us from our deep slumber. They put us on rigid regimes and practices to discipline us. They ask us to replace our personal likes and desires for the yearning and desire to know God. We take on the worship of Siva for instance. Then having traveled the journey with Siva, we are reminded that we need to drop even our love and hold on him to go further. They get us to drop our attachment to forms and names that were the very tools we needed initially at the start of the journey.
The aim of life is to attain a divine life and state. But to achieve that one has to cross numerous hurdles. This is where we need the hand of the Siddhas and the divine himself to guide, and lead us back home. To travel this road desire or yearning for the divine comes as a sandal to protect our sole (and soul too) from harm's way, from being hurt while trending the path of thorns and sharp stones that is ignorance, arrogance, and ego. Upon arriving at the destination the sandals is discarded and burnt to ashes for we then stand on firm solid and safe ground where petals are showered all the way to God's chamber. The desire for God too is dropped or is lost as we merge into him to become one with him and become him.
Pambatti sings,
அசையென்னும் செருப்பின் மேல் அடியை வைத்தே
ஆங்கார முட்காட்டை அறவே மிதித்தே
ஆசையெனும் துர்க்குணத்தில் கனல் கொள்ளுதிக்
காலாகாலம் கடந்தோமென்று ஆடாய் பாம்பே
while Tirumular sings the following,
வாசியு மூசியும் பேசி வகையினால்
பேசி யிருந்து பிதற்றிப் பயனில்லை
ஆசையும் அன்பும் அறுமின் அறுத்தபின்
ஈசன் இருந்த இடம் எளி தாமே
ஆசை யாருமின்கள் ஆசை யாருமின்கள்
ஈசனோ டாயினும் ஆசை யாருமின்கள்
ஆசைப் படப்பட ஆய்வருந் துன்பங்கள்
ஆசை விடவிட ஆனந்த மாகுமே
Following in their footsteps, I decided to close the Whatsapp groups that were initiated and started many years back. It is akin to that of the Buddhist monks painstakingly creating the divine mandala, only to destroy it after they worship it.
It is also akin to that of the Japanese Pufferfish, using its fin draws beautiful ornate circles, on the sea bed to attract, court and engage passing females. Once the female accepts the courtship, it moves in (into the design) to inspect the masterpiece, lays its eggs, and the male fertilizes it. The female leaves, leaving the male to guard the eggs. The male then destroys his lovely creation.
My farewell message in the Amudha Surabhi group has come to reflect these too.
With the coming of Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal into my life in 2005, I was asked to conduct the homa which I did with guidance from him. When Agathiyar came as a bronze statue I was asked to perform libation to him or Abhisegam too. If prior to this we were mere spectators at temples and our homes, watching or engaging the priests to conduct and perform these and other rites on our behalf, now we took to devotion and prayers and performing and conducting these rites for our betterment by ourselves. The divine took notice as we took heed of the numerous instructions given by both Agathiyar and our gurus. We began to bridge the gap between the divine and us. From a servant or follower of the Hindu faith as in Sariyai, we moved to perform the rituals entering the next stage of Kriyai. Together with prayers and puja we were instructed to carry out charity too covering Karma Yoga too. Then he brought us to understand and perform Yoga asanas and Pranayama bringing us within the reach of the path of Yoga, sending masters, gurus and exponents of these arts at the right time or when we were ready for it. Today as we stand at the threshold of Jnana, the divine and the Siddhas have asked us to minimize our time and resources in worship and in carrying out the rituals and drop all that we learned, emptying our self to receive Jnana that is bestowed by the divine once we surrender our body, mind, and soul to the divine spirit that lives in us as a tiny spark. With the coming of Jnana this spark shall glow and shine and burn with the luminosity similar to that of Erai. We await with open hands for Agathiyar and the Siddhas to bring us to the state of a Jnani and cut the cycle of birth and death.
Along the way, we learned many valuable lessons that cannot be found in books on what to do and what not to do too.
Agathiyar and the worship of the Siddhas encompass all forms of worship and include the myriad of deities, gods and goddesses. We are told not to alienate other faiths, beliefs or worship and rituals. If some norm or practice by others does not conform to the Siddha teachings, Agathiyar has told us to let it be. He never corrects nor does he meddle in others business. Stating several instances of nonconformity or falsehood, he goes on to let it be. So does he expect us too. He has asked us to stay focused on the job on hand given and tasked by him periodically. He came on sternly and with a strong-worded reminder to some devotees to mind their work on hand and not engage in debate, or be disillusioned by what was going on elsewhere.
He has asked us not to question further telling us that during our course of life and the experience it has to offer, we shall learn and receive the answers to all our queries in good time through these experiences.
Prior to this Ma, knowing that we were faithful to the Siddha path, came and told us that the path of the Siddha or Siddha Neri was one of learning or padippinai. Our individual experiences will become another's Jnana. We are told in the scriptures that we are souls seeking experiences in this world. Carrying desires, we take birth at the right time and venue conducive to the germination of these vasanas or seeds of desire that we carry. We take the DNA, body and gender and find ourselves being born in a family, race, and nation that man has labeled and identified. We go through life and its pleasures and its disappointments, trying to figure it out. When the thought arises as to what our purpose is in coming to take this birth, we then venture to know its secrets. These secrets were revealed to us by the grace of Agathiyar and the Siddhas and that of our gurus in physical form and the divine.
Agathiyar reveals to us that the Siddha path is not akin to that of devotion or bakthi where crowds amass in hundreds and thousands. His path will shrink in numbers leaving only those who can take the heat to carry on his noble teachings.
He initiates many things and finally comes to break all forms of attachments towards it. For instance he brought me to worship him, the Siddhas, Ganapathy and Lord Siva. Later his guru Lord Muruga budged in into our lives quite unexpectedly. Agathiyar led us to worship Ma as Vaallai too. Even before he came through the Nadi reading to start us on his path and journey, he had directed me to chant the nama japa of Lord Vishnu and worship Lord Dhakshanamurthy. He shared his moola mantra "Aum Shrim Aum Sadguru Pathame...." to chant and share it with others too. He brought us to chant the Arutperunjhoti mantra too. He brought us to perform libation for him, carry out the homa at our homes and in selected temples. Then he asked that it be reduced in scale or given a rest. From all external forms of worship, we began to move inward and within. But he allowed us to go back to doing rituals if it necessitated as the Siddhas themselves went back to the drawing board performing a Yagna in response to our plea that Tavayogi should survive his ordeal. They saved his life then.
If in the past he went to the homes of devotees where they were given the privilege to carry out libation and light the homa with their family and friends, he soon directed us to stop that too.
He brought us to team up and serve the poor and unfortunate too. This noble deed is being carried on to this day, with his encouragement, surveillance, and supervision.
I think we have broken the code to the formula as to how the Siddhas go about bringing us out of the turmoil of planetary life to move into their realm of peace and quiet and bliss. With a calling, they awake us from our deep slumber. They put us on rigid regimes and practices to discipline us. They ask us to replace our personal likes and desires for the yearning and desire to know God. We take on the worship of Siva for instance. Then having traveled the journey with Siva, we are reminded that we need to drop even our love and hold on him to go further. They get us to drop our attachment to forms and names that were the very tools we needed initially at the start of the journey.
The aim of life is to attain a divine life and state. But to achieve that one has to cross numerous hurdles. This is where we need the hand of the Siddhas and the divine himself to guide, and lead us back home. To travel this road desire or yearning for the divine comes as a sandal to protect our sole (and soul too) from harm's way, from being hurt while trending the path of thorns and sharp stones that is ignorance, arrogance, and ego. Upon arriving at the destination the sandals is discarded and burnt to ashes for we then stand on firm solid and safe ground where petals are showered all the way to God's chamber. The desire for God too is dropped or is lost as we merge into him to become one with him and become him.
Pambatti sings,
அசையென்னும் செருப்பின் மேல் அடியை வைத்தே
ஆங்கார முட்காட்டை அறவே மிதித்தே
ஆசையெனும் துர்க்குணத்தில் கனல் கொள்ளுதிக்
காலாகாலம் கடந்தோமென்று ஆடாய் பாம்பே
while Tirumular sings the following,
வாசியு மூசியும் பேசி வகையினால்
பேசி யிருந்து பிதற்றிப் பயனில்லை
ஆசையும் அன்பும் அறுமின் அறுத்தபின்
ஈசன் இருந்த இடம் எளி தாமே
ஆசை யாருமின்கள் ஆசை யாருமின்கள்
ஈசனோ டாயினும் ஆசை யாருமின்கள்
ஆசைப் படப்பட ஆய்வருந் துன்பங்கள்
ஆசை விடவிட ஆனந்த மாகுமே
Following in their footsteps, I decided to close the Whatsapp groups that were initiated and started many years back. It is akin to that of the Buddhist monks painstakingly creating the divine mandala, only to destroy it after they worship it.
It is also akin to that of the Japanese Pufferfish, using its fin draws beautiful ornate circles, on the sea bed to attract, court and engage passing females. Once the female accepts the courtship, it moves in (into the design) to inspect the masterpiece, lays its eggs, and the male fertilizes it. The female leaves, leaving the male to guard the eggs. The male then destroys his lovely creation.
My farewell message in the Amudha Surabhi group has come to reflect these too.
Agathiyar took time to spelled out the ways and means of saving our souls. Agathiyar surprises us with the message and assurance that all of us shall eventually reach the state of Jeevan Mukti. But we need to come out of Maya first. If all this while we have been working on the body that is only a sheath or covering, adorning it with cosmetics, clothing and ornaments, bathing it, feeding it, and praising the self and each other and inflating the ego, now he wants us to work on the soul. He wants us to take responsibility for our actions, and change accordingly, only then the soul comes out of Maya. The soul needs to grief over the sufferings of others. Then compassion begins to well in us. It's only when the soul feels the pain of another that it shall come to and remain on the path of the Siddhas. We need to work on this.
Bringing us to understand our role and true purpose in taking this birth, Agathiyar slowly brought us to understand the soul within and work on it too. We understood the soul to be the bridge that connected the body with the spirit. He brought us to strengthen the soul or gain Atma Balam by using the body as a tool. If initially we were told to gather merits or points by carrying out acts of dharma and service, leading to an accumulation of good karma that can be used to offset and balance those wrongs done intentionally or otherwise, slowly he brought us to realize that beyond and above collecting Bonus Link points that can be exchanged for gifts later on, these acts of charity serve the very purpose of dissolving the stone-hearted who never gave a second glance or look at the plight of the poor and hungry. If through worship the soul cried for the grace of the divine, his blessings, or arul and darshan or vision, now by doing charity, his soul now griefs for the pain and sufferings of the a small section of society who are exposed to continuous suffering and misery. Then his glance falls on the sufferings and pain of animals too. Ramalinga Adigal went a step ahead and it pained him to see the plants and crops wither. Compassion arises in the hearts. Only when the soul griefs for the sufferings of others shall one come out of Maya says Agathiyar. The day we win over Maya and its grip and hold on us, is the day we could possibly come to the fold of the Siddhas. The day compassion arises in us is the day we gain access to the Siddhas.
Hence the Siddha Margam is not for the masses as seen in Bakti and the temples, says Agathiyar strongly. It is definitely not for window shoppers and spectators. It is not for people who come to fulfill their material desires. I pointed out the need to serve through my blog writings revealing the reasons as told by Agathiyar. I have begged, pleaded and came out harsh on those who chose to watch rather then help. Yet I could not melt those hearts. I could not trigger the compassion in them. My charm did not work on them. I dropped many from the group for their indifference to the plight of the poor and to my requests.
I have failed in trying to bring more people to do service to our fellow mankind. My next course of action would be that of Ramalinga Adigal's too, "Vanthen Kadai Virithen. Vanguvaar Illai. Selgindren. I came with my wares. Sadly there was no buyer. I shall leave." As Ramalinga Adigal locked the doors to Satya Nyana Sabai, I shall bring the shutters down on Amudha Surabhi. We are moving to Siddhivalagam.