Yu Dan writes in her "Confucius from the Heart", Pan Books, that the sages' language and actions really are just simple, so simple just like something that might happen in our neighborhood or home. "It makes us feel that sages are not so far removed from us." When Tavayogi and Mataji were in town in 2016 to attend my daughter's wedding, we made arrangements for the AVM members to invite them over and preside over the Siddha puja conducted by the devotees in their homes. Only a handful took up this rare privilege and offer. Agathiyar after these series of home puja forbade me from moving him elsewhere.
When the puja was held at AVM, among several other venues that were the homes of other devotees too, as Mataji recited the names of the Siddhas while we fed the sacred fire or homam she could feel the ground shake below here. As she looked around to see some sort of reaction in the face of others, none exhibited a sense of surprise, astonishment, or bewilderment. The next day she shared this extraordinary phenomenon asking if I or the others had felt it. None of us gathered then had realized this extraordinary phenomenon take place. The following day, Agathiyar in the Jeeva Nadi reading read by Tavayogi confirmed Mataji's solo experience and explained that the Siddhas had come down and sat with us during the puja. Their very presence and cumulative energies had caused a tremor right under our feet. The miracle was only felt by Mataji so that she could share the news that the Siddhas were present among us. Similarly in 2018, when we held a meeting of the committee members of Persatuan Teman Setia (PTS) at AVM, Agathiyar came and sat among us and conducted the meeting to our surprise.
True to Yu Dan's words the Siddhas have come to sit among us and speak to us just as an elder would, sharing their wisdom and advice so that we too could lead a life just as they did. The most compassionate Siddhas who are the epitome of God in his fifth nature, that of showering grace or Arulal, walk and live among us.
We can associate the above miraculous events with a wonderful piece of writing by Swami Sivananda from his "Gospel of Lord Krishna" shared by a reader. This work of the Swami is posted at http://varma-bharathamuthishtathajagratha.blogspot.com/2018/09/gospel-of-lord-krishna-sri-swami.html?spref=pi too.
When the puja was held at AVM, among several other venues that were the homes of other devotees too, as Mataji recited the names of the Siddhas while we fed the sacred fire or homam she could feel the ground shake below here. As she looked around to see some sort of reaction in the face of others, none exhibited a sense of surprise, astonishment, or bewilderment. The next day she shared this extraordinary phenomenon asking if I or the others had felt it. None of us gathered then had realized this extraordinary phenomenon take place. The following day, Agathiyar in the Jeeva Nadi reading read by Tavayogi confirmed Mataji's solo experience and explained that the Siddhas had come down and sat with us during the puja. Their very presence and cumulative energies had caused a tremor right under our feet. The miracle was only felt by Mataji so that she could share the news that the Siddhas were present among us. Similarly in 2018, when we held a meeting of the committee members of Persatuan Teman Setia (PTS) at AVM, Agathiyar came and sat among us and conducted the meeting to our surprise.
True to Yu Dan's words the Siddhas have come to sit among us and speak to us just as an elder would, sharing their wisdom and advice so that we too could lead a life just as they did. The most compassionate Siddhas who are the epitome of God in his fifth nature, that of showering grace or Arulal, walk and live among us.
We can associate the above miraculous events with a wonderful piece of writing by Swami Sivananda from his "Gospel of Lord Krishna" shared by a reader. This work of the Swami is posted at http://varma-bharathamuthishtathajagratha.blogspot.com/2018/09/gospel-of-lord-krishna-sri-swami.html?spref=pi too.
God is not a cruel monarch or just a benevolent deity sitting on a golden throne in a far-away city depending for his knowledge of your actions on agents and spies. He is the indweller of everyone. He is the witness of your thoughts. People around you watch your actions and hear your words; God watches not only your actions, but the motives that prompt them; He hears not only your words but also the whisper of your heart’s intentions.
Initially, we were shown God in the pictures, statues and in the temples, by our parents. This was Sariyai. Coming to Kriyai, our gurus tell us that God is in each one of us and asks that we serve them.
The doctrine of the immanence of God exposes, too, the hypocrite who pretends to worship God in a shrine, ignoring the Lord walking bare-bodied on the road with a begging bowl in hand, who is writhing in pain, groaning under subjection and groping in the darkness of ignorance - the disguises assumed by Him to test your sincerity and to give you a chance to worship Him truly and to attain Him here and now. Look up, and see your Lord watching you through the eyes of everyone you meet. Have you got the sincerity to recognise Him? Then you are fit to realise God and your own Immortality.
Soon the gurus pointed to the skies and nature around us telling us that God was all around us.
He is here, near you.
Coming to Yogam, the gurus tell us that God resides inside the recesses of the heart or cave. Stepping into Gnanam the Siddhas tell us that they only see our soul or Atma.
Bliss awaits those who have come this far.
Supreme Bliss is the prize that awaits one who, understanding the evanescence of the world, applies himself to Nama-Smarana, Japa, Kirtan selfless service, renunciation and meditation, in short, to the life divine. For, if you find that a tree is full of mango-fruits, you need not dig up the earth to see if the tree has sprung up from mango seed or from any other. "Know him by the fruits."
And the journey starts from right below our feet from and with ethics.
Here is the touch-stone of true Wisdom - Ethics. Here is the easiest way of distinguishing the real flower from the paper-flower: fragrance! Ethics is the fragrance of wisdom.
Tiruvalluvar, Avvai, Patanjali, Svatmarama, Buddha, and Confucius among many others have reminded us of the need to be ethical in all our ventures. They have given us guidelines on how we are supposed to live this life in their works.
- Tiruvalluvar gave us the "Tirukkural".
- Avvai gave us the "Avvai Paadal", "Muthurai", that she has 30 advises, and another 40 in "Nalvazhi"; "Aatthi Chudi" which has 109 advises for us; and "Kondrai Venthan", having 91 advises for us.
- Patanjali gave us the "Yoga Sutras" laying out eight stages of individual development in his Yoga sutras: Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi.
- Svatmarama gave us the "Hatha Yoga Pradipika".
- Agathiyar through his "Agasthiyar Gnanam" spells out the attributes that one should seek and become.
- Ramalinga Adigal lists Indriya Ozhukkam, Karma Ozhukkam, Jiva Ozhukkam, and Anma Ozhukkam.
- The first two deal with restraint and self-control of the senses and the mind respectively. Jiva Ozhukkam is the discipline that teaches one to treat all human beings as equal and feel the presence of oneself in all human beings, not affected by the various distinctions as social, national, linguistic, caste, religion.
This touches on the soul where no differences exist, exactly the reason Agathiyar tells us that he only sees the soul.
- Anma Ozhukkam is a further development of the previous stage wherein the soul looks upon all living beings alike feeling great compassion for all these beings, considering the ‘anma’ as the ‘sabhai’ or dwelling and the ‘inner light’ as a god or its resident. (Source: The preface to Ramalinga Adigal's "Manumurai Kanda Vasakam", the original in Tamil by Thavathiru Rengaraja Desiga Swamigal and translated into English by R.G.Rajaram)
- Confucius speaks about junzi that appears more often than any other word in his "The Analects of Confucius" says Yu Dan. Here Confucius describes junzi as the ideal person that all of us have the potential to be. The word refers to personal integrity. Yu Dan writes that Confucius's ideas helped shape junzi throughout the generations.