We cannot possibly dream of having coffee with the President, Prime Minister or Governor, but might have an opportunity to dine with their officials or staff. Similarly, the Siddhas have come to dine with us and pass our message, wants, asking, etc to the divine. For this purpose, we are told that each of us has a guardian angel accompanying us from birth till death. But we are not aware of their presence most of the time. Recognizing them and allowing them some space in our lives brings hastened progress and results in our purpose and spiritual venture. Hence the reason to have a myriad of Gods and Goddesses, deities, guardians, angels and souls to look over our shoulders.
From http://www.chinawhisper.com/top-10-most-well-known-chinese-gods-and-goddesses/ we come to understand them from the perspectives of the Chinese.
Peter Wang writes that "China is an ancient country full of mysteries in which many Chinese deities and immortals can be found. The ancient Chinese believed in these gods, goddesses, magical beings, dragons, and ghosts and prayed to them for help" and goes on to list the 10 most famous gods and goddesses in Chinese mythology with their images.
Briefly, we quote him,
Peter Wang writes that "China is an ancient country full of mysteries in which many Chinese deities and immortals can be found. The ancient Chinese believed in these gods, goddesses, magical beings, dragons, and ghosts and prayed to them for help" and goes on to list the 10 most famous gods and goddesses in Chinese mythology with their images.
Briefly, we quote him,
- Jade Emperor is considered the highest deity ruling the universe in the Chinese world. In Chinese mythological stories, he controls all gods from the Buddhist and Taoist and other religions.
- Wangmu Niangniang is the highest goddess and is the wife of the Jade Emperor in Taoism. She commands all female gods and is also a god of happiness and longevity and has magic pills which can make people live forever.
- Nuwa is a Chinese goddess who created human beings. It was said she molded yellow mud into a figure like her, which was then alive and became the first human being. We believe that "Brahma has the creator of the universe. While Brahma himself is the creator of the universe, he evolved from the lotus flower in the navel of Vishnu." (Source:https://www.ancienthistorylists.com/india-history/top-10-hindu-gods-praised-hindus-around-world/)
- Guanyin is the Chinese “Goddess of Mercy”. She is considered to always help the distressed and hungry and gives comfort and aid wherever it is needed.
- Yan Wang is a Chinese king of death who commands all the gods of the underworld. He has a filing book which records the life and death of every person. He gives appropriate punishment according to the conduct of each’s acts during his lifetime.
- Dragon King is the king of the sea. He rules his own royal court and commands all creatures in the water. The Dragon King also controls the rain and winds and can bring rainfall to the earth. In our circles, Indra is considered "the king of heaven and the leader of the Devas. He is the god of rain." (Source:https://www.ancienthistorylists.com/india-history/top-10-hindu-gods-praised-hindus-around-world/)
- Nezha is a great teen deity in Chinese mythology. In Journey to the West, Nezha was a general of heaven. In our circle, a comparison is seen with Kumara. "One of the major objectives of his birth was to kill the demon Tarkasur. Because of this, he was raised by the Kirtikas, far away from his parents to protect him from Tarkasur’s attempts to kill him. After achieving his powers, Kumar was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Devas in the battle against Tarkasur. Due to his courage and skill, Kumar was offered the position of the king of heaven, but he turned this down as he considered his role as the commander-in-chief to be more important." (Source:https://www.ancienthistorylists.com/india-history/top-10-hindu-gods-praised-hindus-around-world/)
- The Eight Immortals are a group of legendary immortals in Chinese mythology. Each Immortal has his/her own power tool to bestow life or destroy evil. In our circle, Hanuman is one of the eight immortals known as the Astachiranjiwi. (Source:https://www.ancienthistorylists.com/india-history/top-10-hindu-gods-praised-hindus-around-world/)
- Caishen is god in charge of wealth in Chinese mythology.
- Chang’e is the Chinese goddess of the Moon. During the traditional Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, Chinese people usually offer mooncakes and stare at the moon in hopes of seeing her.
We see similarities in the world's religions too.
What brought fear and terror to me as a kid and that made me watch only from a safe distance soon became somewhat friendly when the forces came over a sibling. Soon they left him too. Watching them come to hear and listen out to the troubles of their devotees, I realized that they meant no harm but wanted to expedite the wants of their worshippers. Lately, we too have been having encounters with the divine forces. We are beginning to see how Agathiyar and his forces come to the call these days. They listen and execute the soul's wishes and at times our individual wants too. And it all started with worship to them. Diligently following their commands, and having satisfied them, they have left their abodes in the heavens to be with us.
When others use this friendship for their advantage in seeking rewards and siddhis, we chose not to ask for anything perishable. When the eight siddhis are there for our picking, we refrained from wanting them, instead, we are asking for an everlasting bond between the divine and us. When the Siddha's Nadi was waiting to be dropped in our hands, we chose to hear him speak to us directly without having to read or have another read and translate their words. When others crave to lead missions, establishments, societies, etc we shunned from these offers and gifts knowing pretty well that with these come power, authority and responsibility that bring on its fair share of troubles, corruption, and inflation of the ego. Having refused to accept them, Agathiyar reveals to us today that it was all laid before us to test how far-reaching were our desires and to ascertain the level of determination to stay on the path of righteousness and seek further the greater frontiers, rather than settle for these goodies. Just when we thought that we have passed the test, Agathiyar tells us that there is more test to come our way. Looks like traveling the path of the Siddhas, one has to continuously be on the lookout for both the obstacles and the goodies laid along the path.
I suppose the wishes of Agathiyar is to see us germinate, bloom and develop into one of their kind, internally, rather than putting on the garb of a Siddha, heading an organization and performing Siddhis for all to see. Suren, Mahin, and Malar understood where we are headed with Suren putting it into words wonderfully.
What brought fear and terror to me as a kid and that made me watch only from a safe distance soon became somewhat friendly when the forces came over a sibling. Soon they left him too. Watching them come to hear and listen out to the troubles of their devotees, I realized that they meant no harm but wanted to expedite the wants of their worshippers. Lately, we too have been having encounters with the divine forces. We are beginning to see how Agathiyar and his forces come to the call these days. They listen and execute the soul's wishes and at times our individual wants too. And it all started with worship to them. Diligently following their commands, and having satisfied them, they have left their abodes in the heavens to be with us.
When others use this friendship for their advantage in seeking rewards and siddhis, we chose not to ask for anything perishable. When the eight siddhis are there for our picking, we refrained from wanting them, instead, we are asking for an everlasting bond between the divine and us. When the Siddha's Nadi was waiting to be dropped in our hands, we chose to hear him speak to us directly without having to read or have another read and translate their words. When others crave to lead missions, establishments, societies, etc we shunned from these offers and gifts knowing pretty well that with these come power, authority and responsibility that bring on its fair share of troubles, corruption, and inflation of the ego. Having refused to accept them, Agathiyar reveals to us today that it was all laid before us to test how far-reaching were our desires and to ascertain the level of determination to stay on the path of righteousness and seek further the greater frontiers, rather than settle for these goodies. Just when we thought that we have passed the test, Agathiyar tells us that there is more test to come our way. Looks like traveling the path of the Siddhas, one has to continuously be on the lookout for both the obstacles and the goodies laid along the path.
I suppose the wishes of Agathiyar is to see us germinate, bloom and develop into one of their kind, internally, rather than putting on the garb of a Siddha, heading an organization and performing Siddhis for all to see. Suren, Mahin, and Malar understood where we are headed with Suren putting it into words wonderfully.
Agathiyar is so humble and with full compassion . The person who gave Lord Rama with mantra can also guide humans like us. That shows his humilty and compassion towards mankind and how much he can bring down himself just for our sake. Agathiyar who has been here for 4 yuga, never ever brushed off anyone who is new to this path. He has been always motivating to make sure we can also experience God one day. Not once he has pin pointed on how much difference lies between him and us. He has only mentioned how much we have progressed. Like how parents who will clap hands for their infants for simple efforts and achievement, thats how Agathiyar is guiding and motivating us from behind even though our achivement might not be as big as him and that also due to his blessings. That shows his humility. Whatever he have asked his devotees to do is for the betterment of the devotees and not for any of his personal gains.
In case a communication need to be set between us and him for a favor, wouldn't be begging to him is a better way to approach him rather then complaining or demanding to him. What rights could we have to complain or demand when he we are the one who is indebted to him.
We always seek him with many wishes. Why not one day, one of our wish to him is to become like him, humble as him, compassionate as him, inteligent as him. Whenever Agathiyar has something to say to his devotees he always wish and shows his gratitude to the lord or to his guru first. The way Agathiyar handles his disciples and devotees and how much respect he has for the lords and his guru are so captivating that he can be a good role model for anyone.
As a guru he has done his part. As a devotee, its our part to talk about his contributions and greatness rather then saying how much he has said and praise about us. The first person who we should say all that is to he himself and hopefuly he will be happy that we have have been always grateful to him.
Agathiyar has always praised us and his disciples but never has he praised himself nor has he told us what hurdles and effort he took to fulfill our wishes.
The way he manage all his devotess, the respect he has for the lords and gurus, the way he explain about something on a different tone, on a difference level of depth which suits the people who listens it. He knows that we are in maya and wordly affairs but he still open his eyes and guide us in this worldly affairs.I remember having read someone mention that never do anything that your guru disapproves. What a sound message this is. By taking heed of this simple instruction we shall stay away from all troubles. Beyond this, we then take on the character of our guru and not take on his role or garb. In instances where we cannot bring ourselves to break a behavior that began as a habit and soon formed our character, chiseled into the rock for good, we turn to the guru to accept our faults and weaknesses as guna or character and pardon us, just as the many saints have begged of him.