If Agathiyar had me unknowingly meet my first guru Supramania Swami on the pretext of having my daughter's horoscope drawn up, he had me unknowingly stand before Thangarasan, waiting to verify a document. The name Thangarasan was mentioned to me via a leaflet given to me by Sentilkumar after he had read my Nadi for the very first time in 2002. I had kept the leaflet with me. So in 2005, when I saw adverts mentioning Thangarasan was in Malaysia to officiate an Agathiyar Peedham, I called up the number advertised to make an appointment to see him. I soon found myself standing at the door to his local affiliate in Batu Caves. He ushered me into the adjacent room and we both sat on the carpeted floor of the meditation hall. I took out the leaflet and asked him to verify if the name listed on it Thai Veedu Thangarasan MA was his. He told me it was him. He spoke about the leaflet sourcing donations towards building a temple for Agathiyar in Kallar. He went on to speak about the activities at his present ashram. As I told him Agathiyar had asks that I come to their path, before we parted, he told me that he would initiate me that evening. By evening a bond was cemented between the Guru and his disciple, with him initiating me and my wife.
As Tavayogi had invited me over to his ashram, Agathiyar worked on this invitation and expeditated my travel to India for the second time, within a month of Tavayogi returning home. I soon saw myself now standing at the door to his ashram in Kallar. He ushered me with open arms. My yearning to meet Agathiyar and know his teachings began immediately as we journeyed to the samadhis, caves, and temples acquainted with Agathiyar and the Siddhas. These included Agathiyar’s temple at the Agneepureeswarar temple in Agasthiyampalli; Karuvurar’s temple at the Breehadeshwarar temple in Tanjore; Punakeeswarar’s samadhi at Chennimalai, Kovai; Sivavakiyar’s samadhi inside the temple at Sivanmalai, Kovai; Konganar’s cave at the hills of Uthiyore in Kanganam, Kovai; Agathiyar’s cave in the hills of Courtalam; Ramalinga Adigal’s cave and Dhakshanamurthi’s cave also in the hills of Courtalam; Agathiyar’s temple at Kutraleshwarar temple in Courtalam; Agathiyar’s temple at the Agathiyar’s Fall in the Pothigai hills, and Bhogar’s samadhi at Palani. I was shown the life of a Siddha; I was taken on early morning walks; we bathe in the nearby stream that had its source in the mineral and herb-rich mountains of Ooty; I was shown how to conduct prayers to the Siddhas; I was given an opportunity to do charity and feed the poor, and was given another initiation.
The morning after my arrival, as he invited me on his morning walk, he turned to me to say that Agathiyar came the night before. I was stunned and remained quiet. He continued. Agathiyar had asked him what he was going to give me. Tavayogi in his usual manner put the question back to him. Agathiyar replied that he will let him know. The conversation ended there.
As Tavayogi had invited me over to his ashram, Agathiyar worked on this invitation and expeditated my travel to India for the second time, within a month of Tavayogi returning home. I soon saw myself now standing at the door to his ashram in Kallar. He ushered me with open arms. My yearning to meet Agathiyar and know his teachings began immediately as we journeyed to the samadhis, caves, and temples acquainted with Agathiyar and the Siddhas. These included Agathiyar’s temple at the Agneepureeswarar temple in Agasthiyampalli; Karuvurar’s temple at the Breehadeshwarar temple in Tanjore; Punakeeswarar’s samadhi at Chennimalai, Kovai; Sivavakiyar’s samadhi inside the temple at Sivanmalai, Kovai; Konganar’s cave at the hills of Uthiyore in Kanganam, Kovai; Agathiyar’s cave in the hills of Courtalam; Ramalinga Adigal’s cave and Dhakshanamurthi’s cave also in the hills of Courtalam; Agathiyar’s temple at Kutraleshwarar temple in Courtalam; Agathiyar’s temple at the Agathiyar’s Fall in the Pothigai hills, and Bhogar’s samadhi at Palani. I was shown the life of a Siddha; I was taken on early morning walks; we bathe in the nearby stream that had its source in the mineral and herb-rich mountains of Ooty; I was shown how to conduct prayers to the Siddhas; I was given an opportunity to do charity and feed the poor, and was given another initiation.
The morning after my arrival, as he invited me on his morning walk, he turned to me to say that Agathiyar came the night before. I was stunned and remained quiet. He continued. Agathiyar had asked him what he was going to give me. Tavayogi in his usual manner put the question back to him. Agathiyar replied that he will let him know. The conversation ended there.
Tavayogi did not have me sit in front of him and preach to me; rather I had to observe and learn from him. I was given an opportunity to watch how he lived. I saw the humbleness in him; the kindness in him; and the simplicity with which he lived. He was not stressed out and often asked me to remain so. He must have guessed that I freaked out under stress. He asked me to be very patient when facing difficult times and circumstances. He asked me to be very patient with people too. He reminded me to remain calm in the face of problems and danger.
He used to sit and entertain all those who came to him. To those who came with problems he did not duel into the problems trying to find ways and suggests means to overcome it but instead asked that they pray to the Siddhas to help clear these problems. He avoided taking on the karma of people. Tavayogi was not one who easily parts with the intricate workings of the spiritual world. He preaches the basics of the Siddha path to the masses. He once told me I had to wait 12 years before he would part with this knowledge.
When Tavayogi visited Malaysia again, he fine-tuned the ritual of lighting the sacrificial fire or homa that he had initiated I do in my home. He taught me Pranayama and Asanas, which Agathiyar tells me in the Nadi, is to be treasured, cherished and put into practice. I did as told with sincerity and discipline. My yearning to know the man and his teachings was fulfilled with the coming of Tavayogi into my life.
On my visit to Kallar again in 2013 with my family, he engaged Silambarasan, Prabakaran, and Karthick to accompany us up the Kallar hill behind his ashram. He had installed a granite statue of Agathiyar in the woods. It was the spot where Agathiyar came to him in the form of light. My question as to how Agathiyar came to him in 2005 was answered.
In recent years Agathiyar came in the form of the Jeeva Nadi and addressed those who sought to read the Nadi at Kallar ashram. These days in the absence of Tavayogi, his faithful disciple turned patron of Kallar Ashram, Mataji Sarojini Ammaiyar reads it.
Agathiyar after inviting me to his path, brought two wonderful gurus into my life. Now armed with a double-barrelled gun, I took on my spiritual journey. Supramania Swami lighted the spark of devotion to the Guru or Guru Bhakti while Tavayogi brought me on a journey following the Siddha path. Agathiyar guided me by continually giving me messages through his Aasi Nadi readings whenever he had something to tell me, besides my interaction with and communication, and guidance from my two gurus. If our source of guidance was his Nadi readings and my Gurus and the Upagurus he sent, these days he comes through devotees to guide and apprehend us, if need be, directly. To each one he puts a question "What do you want?" As I am asked to sit with him to note the conversation he has with others, although I dread to invade into the privacy of others, I cannot but observe that they all ask for their immediate problems or illness to end. I realized that as Tavayogi once said, no one asks for Jnana. Everyone who came for a reading or to meet him, wanted solutions to their daily affairs that Tavayogi says can be solved with a little bit of thinking or by using their common sense or Arivu. So when it came to my turn and he asks what I wanted, I did not have anything personal to asks of him. I recalled all the blessings he has given me. And so I told him that I wished to be born again and again and serve him in all those births. He then asks me if that is what I wanted? I started to think if I had asked the right thing. He reminded me of Tavayogi. When I told Tavayogi that I had a desire to see Agathiyar and Ramalinga Adigal, he told me they will come easily and went on to question me if that is what I wanted? Do all these Siddhas share the same genes and DNA and come with the same script, I asked myself? I shared this message with a close buddy, over the phone, telling him that we should henceforth ask for Gnana, that which Tavayogi lamented people fail to ask. So when Agathiyar came another day, he told me that I had asked for Gnana. Now how did he know about my conversation with my buddy our the phone? He went on to explain about Gnana and the means to attain it.
Yogi Ramsuratkumar says wonderfully of the guru and his pivotal role in reversing the disciple's life.
“All your tapas and efforts would make you reach Guru’s Feet. Thereafter you need not bother about your spiritual growth. The Guru will take care of you. The Guru will see that you reach God. Even if you want to escape from the Guru, the Guru will not leave you. Like a frog in the mouth of a King Cobra, the disciple cannot escape from Guru. The only thing the disciple should do is remember the Guru and the Guru Mantra all the time. That is sufficient. Do not try to practice any method to reach God. Remember your Guru. That’s enough. Once you reach your Guru your sadhana efforts end here. Listen to your Guru and have faith in our Guru. Your Guru would take the responsibility of you and take you where you ought to reach. After reaching Guru’s feet, you need not worry about your spiritual growth. Just remember my Name. That is enough.” - Yogi
“The King Bee would bring any potential worm to its nest and would sting all the time till it becomes another King Bee. Likewise a Guru also works on his disciples till the disciples get the state of the Guru. The process is painful but there is no escape.” – Yogi
“The place where a Master dwells becomes an ashram but no ashram can produce a Master.” - YogiSuch meaningful words. We are experiencing them day by day. Agathiyar these days is preparing us to go within. Several weeks ago we were given the Agathiyar Kuzhambu prepared by Siddha practitioner Arivan Aiya to consume that Agathiyar says helped regulate the three dosas, Vata, Kapha, and Pitta. Several days ago he places me in isolation and gets me to carry out a daily cleansing regime. He asked that I resume several of the Pranayama techniques that Tavayogi had taught me and that I had practiced earlier, which were put to rests when I succumbed to extreme lower back pain. In 2011 Agathiyar told me to stop all forms of practice, when I suffered extreme pain in my lower back for some 2 1/2 years. Agathiyar came through the Nadi and advised me on caring for my back, recommending specific herbs to be taken. When the pain recurred in 2016, Tavayogi passed me a herbal preparation to soothe the pain. When it still persists as we moved on to the following year, Dhavanthiri came through a devotee and applied the sacred ash and advised on other measures to be taken. Finally, in 2018, Lord Muruga came through a devotee and the Nadi simultaneously to heal my back for good with his peacock feathers and the chanting of the Arutperunjhoti mantra.
Starting me back on Tavayogi's pranayama and techniques to go within, he came back to check on me if I was doing it. When I told him I was finding difficulty in going in, in calming my mind, he then asks if I was taking the magic portion that cleanses the body. To that, I answered that it was a bitter pill to swallow, he strictly told me to do it, no more giving excuses. I kept quiet and am following to this day. I am now seeing its effects. I am grateful to him for being lenient in many matters and stern in others. If it will do us good, he wants it to be carried out, otherwise, he leaves us to decide or follow. If it serves humanity he puts his foot down firmly and expects us to toe the line.
Before coming to Agathiyar, when I was engaged in ferocious devotion, doing puja at dawn and dusk and entering into discussions about all things read, the scorecard did not tally as I observed the supposedly compassionate God did not show mercy on his subjects. I was confused to the end that Lord Siva had to come in a dream and asks me to quit asking questions, or rather keep it for a later date. It was 14 years later that I resumed all the things that I had dropped following his advice. After coming to Agathiyar I had the answers. He spoke about karma. Ruzbeh N Bharucha in his blog sums it all up at https://www.speakingtree.in/blog/the-master-s-grace
Yes, the laws of karma are rigid and the cards are dealt without emotion. What one has sowed, one shall reap. The experience shall be gone through. There is no escaping this fact. And yet throughout the ages, through time, Sages, mystics, Sufis, the Holy Scriptures, all proclaim that The Master is Merciful. On one hand we have the unyielding laws of cause and effect. On the other hand we have the mercy and tenderness of The Master.
When I put forward my wish to him that he should take care of the prapanjam or matrix and all live on it, Agathiyar told us that all of prapanjam or the matrix moves accordingly to karma and the effort placed to battle it. Likewise, everything is in a fluid state, that continually deforms (flows) under applied shear stress or external force, flowing along well until it faces an obstruction when it finds another path. If we can adapt the properties of fluids such as not resisting permanent deformation, resisting only relative rates of deformation in a dissipative, frictional manner, and the ability to flow (also described as the ability to take on the shape of the container)1 all shall be well. Nature teaches us well if only we take some time to observe it. But humans tend to resist everything. So a concerted effort is needed to undo his doings. As Lao Tzu says "Go with the flow" I have to keep reminding myself to refrain from resisting too. God help me.
1. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluid