When the guru showers his grace, all our efforts pay off. We see instant and spontaneous results. The process of spiritual purification begins even before we venture to purify the body - we need to burn our past karma first. This is done by doing remedies; making pilgrimages to the holy sites; doing charity; bathing in sacred waters; trekking the hills and jungles, or living out the karma. This is for those in Sariyai. For those who follow a guru or the path of the Siddhas, they are taught to light up individual homams where their karma is sacrificed and burnt in this fire of sacrifice. This is the way of Kriyai. For those in Yogam they shall burn their karma through intense austerities and meditation.
Having dealt with the karma that gave us form, thought, and drives us into action, with a renewed purpose we move on to renew our body. This is aided by the consumption of herbs that the Siddhas send along as we make headway and progress. I am fortunate to have great souls help me collect these herbs prepared timely by Siddha practitioner Arivan and bring them over. Taking Agathiyar Kuzhambu, a purgative for instance brings the three dosas to a balanced state besides ridding the body of toxins and impurities accumulated over the years. Taking the herbs Karisalai and Kapha Sura Kudineer, it expells the phlegm that lodges in the throat causing death in an otherwise healthy person. Then Agathiyar brings us to strengthen our Soul Power or Atma balam through nurturing high virtues, doing good deeds, and engaging in worship which enriches the Self with positive vibes. "Purification of both the physical and the subtle body and removing the past Karma samskaras or impressions" paves the way for the divine to come and reside now within us. All the external worship that was focused in bridging the two realms of God and Man that saw God manifest as miracles and in other ways soon turns into inner worship, turning the sight and the spotlight on the Self or Atma.
The site http://www.thekundaliniyoga.org/siddha_yoga/experiences_stages_of_siddha_yoga.aspx gives a detailed account of the changes that take place within the sadhaka that we too can relate to.
The site http://www.thekundaliniyoga.org/siddha_yoga/experiences_stages_of_siddha_yoga.aspx gives a detailed account of the changes that take place within the sadhaka that we too can relate to.
"Depending on the accumulated impressions of his past Karma impressions and the diligence with which he practices meditation (Sadhana) he will likely have amazing spiritual experiences on his way to Self Realization. Throughout this journey, although the Siddha Guru will always be there for specific guidance, the initiate will be guided automatically by his own awakened Kundalini energy (kundalini is an intelligent cosmic energy that knows about the Siddha yoga sadhak more then the sadhak), especially during the conduct of his siddha sadhan. Consistent and diligent practice of meditation will gradually result in the opening and cleansing of the spiritual pathways (Nadis) needed for the Kundalini to eventually find its way to the Sahastrara Chakra (spiritual center in the brain) resulting in the Siddha yoga aspirant’s awareness merging with the Chaitanya, i.e. the siddha sadhak achieving Self-Realization, and eventually, liberation."
We are told that "The initiate experiences only those activities/feelings/sensations that are uniquely essential to his spiritual progress and they are different for each Sadhaka."
"While no two initiations will have the same set of spiritual experiences on the road to Self Realization, most aspirants will go through four stages. While each stage has unique characteristics that define it, the transitions between consecutive stages are not distinct or abrupt, with one stage gradually blending into the next one."
The author defines four stages in this quest.
1) Initial Stage of Siddha yoga (Arambha-avastha)
"He will feel Prana in everything he touches with his skin. He will get a whiff of Prana in everything he smells with his nose. He will sense Prana in everything he tastes with his tongue. And he will hear the sound of Prana in everything he hears with his ears. In other words, he will begin to sense the entire material universe as manifestations of Prana Shakti."
In short, his senses are enhanced. He takes on a Suddha Deham, dropping the impurities that accompanied his former Asuddha Deham.
2) Second Stage of Siddha yoga (Ghata-avastha)
"In this second stage of Siddha yoga, which usually overlaps with the first, the aspirant gradually begins to lose interest in material desires and begins to develop a sense of detachment from worldly attractions. This does not mean that he has to, or will, give up on material things (Samsaric). He may continue to live in the material world if he so chooses, but he will begin to develop a sense of non-attachment to material things."
"While the First Stage results in the aspirant feeling Prana within himself, the Second Stage leads the aspirant to sense Prana in everything. It is at this stage that he truly experiences the all-pervading universality of the Divine."
"By this time, many of the physical experiences will have been diminished and the aspirant will find himself sensing Prana within and outside himself, not just during Sadhan but at all times."
3) Third Stage of Siddha yoga (Parichaya-avastha)
"His perspective of the universe changes to where he constantly sees the universe as nothing but a manifestation of Prana. He sees that oneness in everyone and everything."
This is what Ramalinga Adigal meant when he told me I shall come to know if the Prana dwells, lives, and travels in me or if I live in the Prana. In other words, its akin to what Agathiyar told us that he was the prapanjam and the prapanjam was in him.
"At this stage not only does the aspirant experience the universality of Prana but he is also able to begin to exert control over it. He develops an ability to exhaust all the accumulated Karma of his previous lives without having the necessity to be reborn again and again. As a result he reaches the status of Siddha which enables him to gain extraordinary powers (Siddhis) including the ability to awaken the dormant Kundalini Shakti in others. He achieves his goal of Self-Realization, and having done so, can choose to continue to live in this world as long as he desires or to liberate himself from it at will. He is no longer an “aspirant” but is now a true “Yogi”. Some yogis choose to dwell in this state for extended periods with the goal of helping others achieve Self-Realization. Others move on to the next stage of Liberation (Mukti)."
4) Fourth Stage of Siddha yoga (Nishpatti-avastha)
"This is the forth and the final stage of siddha yoga, where the siddha yogi, having achieved Self-Realization liberates himself from the cycle of birth and death. He achieves a state of bliss (Samadhi) where he is completely beyond the physical confines of this universe. He feels neither hunger nor thirst, nor heat nor cold. His Awareness no longer dwells in the material, but constantly resides in Prana. When he chooses to depart from his body he does not need to be reborn and his Awareness stays merged with the Chaitanya forever."
"He rests in his own essential nature – Self (the Atma-swaroop)"
Could we sum this up as gaining the Pranava Deham?