Swami Chinmayananda Saraswati had asked sadhakas to maintain a spiritual diary. And so when I went on my maiden pilgrimage to India, I took notes and later posted my journey on my website indianheartbeat. Since then I had kept an account of things of interest that took place while tracking this path. As memory fails us, these accounts that have graced the pages of this blog have been a tool to jolt my memory to the events of days past.
The Siddha path is a practical path, one of observation and learning lessons from the numerous experiences that we gather as we live life adhering to the teachings and findings of the Siddhas. You can only safely claim that you are on the path if you take up and adopt practices that the Siddhas themselves did. Otherwise, it would merely be the worship of the Siddhas like the rest of the deities.
The idea here is to start with their worship and become one of them. By their grace one day we shall be honored the stature of a Siddha too having lived a life of a Siddha. Agathiyar laments that man has not been keeping with the ways of the Siddhas or adopting the Siddhar Vazhkai Neri Muraigal. His wish is for all to become Siddhas. Ramalinga Adigal in several of his songs lays claim to having become a Siddha.
By bringing us to him he provided for a Nadi reading, explaining the reason we were born. This birth is a result of past karma, he announced. To set things right here and now he sets us on carrying out agamas or rituals and charity. For many these acts of agamas and charities ends here, having fulfilled the directives mentioned in the Nadi. They wait for some good or change to happen. But we chose to continue the agamas and charity beyond these remedies and made it a part of our living. As we are creating fresh new karma daily knowingly and unknowingly, we took to offset the effects of our actions by continuing these puja, rituals, and charity.
When we were ready we were introduced to the concept of gurus or godmen, apostles, messengers of God. The guru came along to initiate numerous other practices. Agathiyar, Supramania Swami and Tavayogi added on certain rituals to the existing, including idol worship, performing libation or abhisegam to it and homa or lighting the sacred sacrificial fire. Besides gaining personal satisfaction in conducting these pujas, these activities served to contribute towards the wellness of the prapanjam.
The gurus took us on an adventure each varied and mysterious. From Supramania Swami we learned intense Bhakti or devotion to the guru; we saw one-pointedness and living in the present moment even while observing rituals, and we saw love in all its magnitude. From Tavayogi we learned about the Siddhas; traveled to their abodes; made the acts of puja and charity as life-long ventures, acquainting them to the breath that keeps us alive; learned to face adversaries, to our surprise, in the spiritual path hence making us stronger. From Agathiyar we would learn to live like him. He has shared with us his knowledge and practices etc with the hope that we too shall become a Siddha one day. He, in turn, made us share, besides food, this knowledge, and practices with others, for its only in sharing that we grow. Agathiyar came as a role model to shape and mold us. Whether we succeed in emulating him is to be seen and endorsed by him.
The songs of praise of the Siddhas that we took up and recited and sang today bring meaning in our lives as we are beginning to see their references shape our lives too. We can connect with them seeing similar results take place.
நிறைந்த இன்பம் தந்திடும் பூசை
அறமோடு அகிலம் காக்கும் பூசை
நன்றான புண்ணியங்கள் காக்கும் பூசை
நர்கதியும் பலர் அடைய செய்யும் பூசை
எண்ணாத சக்தியெல்லாம் தந்திடும் பூசை
ஏகாந்த நிலை அடையவைக்கும் பூசை
வையகத்தில் மாந்தரின் அகத்தின் ஜோதியை வளமாக்கும் பூசை
ஐயத்தை நீக்கிடும் பூசை
ஆண்டவனை அடையச்செய்யும் பூசை
சேய்க்கும் மாந்தர்க்கு வழி வகுக்கும் பூசை
குடும்ப வளம் தந்திடும் பூசை
வளத்திற்கும் அருளுக்கும் பொருளுக்கும் வழி வகுக்கும் பூசை
அகிலத்தில் நிலை பெற்று வாழ வாழ்வளிக்கும் பூசை
புண்ணியங்கள் கிட்டும் பூசை
பூர்வமும் போக்கிடும் பூசை
எவையெல்லாம் வேண்டினும் தந்திடும் பூசை
தர்மம் தவ சிந்தை தந்திடும் பூசை
தரித்திரம் போக்கி உயர்வு தரும் பூசை
ஆண்டவனே உருக வைக்கும் பூசை
அறிவிழந்தோன் அறிவாளி ஆகும் பூசை
ஒப்பிலாத மகத்துவம் கொண்ட பூசை
ஒப்பில்லா மாற்றங்கள் மகத்துவமும் உயர்நிலை வழங்கும் பூசை
சிக்கல் இல்லா வெற்றிகளும் தேடித்தரும் பூசை
சிறப்பு தரும் யாவர்க்கும் நலமேதரும் பூசை
அற்புதங்கள் ஆனந்தம் நிலைக்க செய்யும் பூசை
சாப பாவ விமோச்சனம் தரும் பூசை
ரோக அகங்கார துர் விமோச்சனம் தரும் பூசை
ஆனந்த ஜோதி மிகுந்து அருள்ஜோதி காணே செய்யும் சத்குரு அகத்தியன் பாத பூசை