Many come to the Siddhas for magical potions and remedies that if taken or done would change their lives instantaneously according to their likings. But that is not how it works. So they leave thinking that Agathiyar and the Siddhas have let them down. They equate their hours, days, and years of worship, contributions, and services and place them on the balance asking that they be rewarded accordingly asking that the Siddhas now help them out. It is like trading a commodity. Tavayogi in pointing to the worship of the Siddhas when many turn up wanting to know a reason for their troubles, problems, and sufferings never intended to dish out a magical panacea. Instead one had to place an effort in ridding himself of his past karma that was the reason behind all that took place in the present. To those who go beyond merely doing the remedies and walking away, but instead begin to come to worship these Siddhas and uphold their teachings, the truth is revealed to them. We are told that obstacles and problems won't go away but the Siddhas shall give us the strength to face them.
The devotee who contributed her story in a past post mentioned that "வாழ்க்கை உடனடியாக மாறவில்லை ஆனால் அப்பா இருந்ததால் பாரமாக இல்லை" telling us that her life although did not change immediately after coming to Agathiyar but with Agathiyar at her side, she could shoulder her troubles and problems. She messaged me telling me that she started writing for her own strength. Here is a mature devotee who truly understands the workings of the Siddhas and karma.
There are many instances in the lives of seekers, followers, and believers where Agathiyar has come in many ways to lighten their burden or give them strength to go through these tough times. A seeker was surprised at the speed his mother was attended to at the general hospital though initially, she had to spend hours at the emergency unit. As his mother had complained about discomfort in her chest, she was seen eventually and had to wait for a bed. Once admitted to the wards she was operated on that night and a coronary Stent, (a tiny, expandable metal mesh coil that is put into the newly opened area of the artery to help keep the artery from narrowing or closing again) was placed in her. When we visited her the following morning he seemed surprised that the surgery was done the same day.
When my wife was waiting to be moved to another hospital that does gall bladder surgery, many at the wards told her that they had been waiting for days, between 10 and 23 days, to have the surgery done. I took my wife in the early hours of dawn on a Saturday. On Tuesday the visiting consultant summoned the doctors and asked them why she was still there. With his intervention, she was moved the same day, operated on, and discharged.
My daughter was attended to the same day we went over to the general hospital with a referral letter from a private eye clinic. She had her good eye lasered immediately as a precaution and the other was operated on within days. When she came down with the dengue fever earlier she was warded for a night and discharged the next day. Agathiyar told us in the Nadi that he had come with Tirumular to hike up her platelet count. When I came down with the fever a year later, I had to be warded 4 days since I had fallen several times. The doctors wanted to make sure that I did not succumb to any head injuries or concussions.
When I had my eye checked too after my daughter went through the operation, I was told that I had cataracts in both my eyes. This came as a surprise as I had a good vision though I wore glasses. Contemplating whether I should wait a while as there was no emergency unlike my daughter whose case was classified as an emergency, contemplating whether I should have my cataract removed at the private eye clinic or head for the general hospital later, Agathiyar drove me to have it done and over at the private clinic. By giving me a sudden bout of grittiness in both my eyes he had me go in for the procedure in a couple of days. The irritation went away just as it had come on after I had the first eye done.
My other daughter broke her leg and was in a fiber cast for nine months. But she was saved the ordeal of an operation to place a titanium plate. Instead, her leg healed after receiving the ACP injection.
These are some of the wonders that the Siddhas perform in times of need. They do not remove the problem but give us solutions. They pave the way for all things to go smoothly. They step in when something or a decision is detrimental to our safety or health.
In any treatment, the doctors would perform the procedures and tell us that it was a success. Their mission in saving us ends there. It is then our responsibility to take heed of all the advice given for a speedy recovery and to take the medicines on time or to turn up for any physiotherapy if required. If we fail to do so, we have only us to blame.
Besides this, it also depends on our body's ability to recover. Many miss seeing the marvel of the body in play. We should learn to give our body its due respect. Indeed we miss seeing the everyday marvel but look elsewhere and far for other wonders. Cherish the body. Love it. Take care of it. Indeed the body is the greatest miracle that is in play 24/7. A hale and healthy body allows us to go into meditation with ease. Use it to gain the ultimate body that of the body of Light.
Beyond the body's ability to heal rest his divine hand that is often seen in play. How do we gain the grace of the Siddhas then? Prayer is the stepping stone - the first milestone of this journey. Swami Satprakashananda in his "Meditation - Its Process, Practice & Culmination", Sri Ramakrishna Math, Madras, says "After praying for individual needs, he slowly evolves to include a prayer for others too. From secular interests, his prayer moves to seek spiritual values. Chanting the glory of God and devotional songs arouses devotional feeling within. In the beginning, a seeker of God may use many words in his prayer, but as his understanding becomes clearer, as his spiritual feelings deepen and his faith becomes intense, he realizes that all that he needs is devotion to God. The prayers become shorter, the devotee does not use too many words. He recognizes at the same time that without the purification of the heart devotion does not grow within, that all he needs is God's mercy, so he prays to God just for the purification of the heart. With the purification of the mind and the development of devotion within, he steps ahead now, he prays to God just for his grace and love for him within."
It was wonderful when I realized how God has come down to our ranks while elevating us to his ranks. The God who we feared and respected; whom we understood to have his residence behind the high walls of the temple; who was said to be only available to us during particular hours of the day became available to us 24/ 7 once we started home puja. With continuous puja a bridge was laid across between both worlds. The Gods and Goddesses and Siddhas and Rishis and saints and gurus walked across the bridge entering our homes through vertical columns of light that served that were portals while other divine beings walked into our homes through the doorways. They became easily accessible to us without the need for middlemen to usher them or speak to them on our behalf. Rather than have us adore and worship them forever they came often to guide us to take up their teachings and practices that had turned them from man to divine. Rather than forever see them as God and we as devotees they suggested we transform into them too.
So when Agathiyar came to stay in my home, I actually thought that I should create a space in my home conducive for him to meditate and went ahead to rearrange my prayer room. As he had asked us to stop rituals and puja and move within, since there would not be any libation, homa, etc I placed him on a pedestal over which I placed the deerskin that Supramania Swami sat on which he later gifted me. I sat beside him on another low bench made from the trunk of a jack fruit tree that was gifted by the couple the Krishna. He came to tell me that all the rearrangement that he had me done was to create a conducive environment for me to meditate and not for him. Indeed how stupid could I be? The Mahamuni had already achieved the highest state. He does not need all this comfort. It is we who have to sit and bring ourselves to his rank.
Old age brings us to live in the moment, literally taking one step at a time. Hence the reason why all systems begin to slow down naturally. But the Siddhas never did give in to old age, working on ways and means to retain the physical body in top form. They also discovered that the soul that took up residence in the body needed to be retained in the vessel and together with the spirit of Erai, could live forever, defeating death and ending the cycle of death and rebirth. Understanding this, they found a way to remain mortal.
Initially, regarding the body as an impermanent shelter, Manickavasagar saw the divine in it later. The body that exhibited emotions and sufferings and took on pain now takes on bliss. Manikavasagar upon meeting Erai and attaining bliss could not live another moment separate from Erai. The saints had spent their life with the divine yearning to forever be in their midst and could never bear to be separated. Not knowing the means to permanently unite with Erai, Manickavasagar laments, "I tried to severe this body that has sinned, by all possible means and failed. Neither does the soul free itself on its own. I cannot live another moment without you." He then comes to a sudden realization that this body was not his to take. He begins to plead for Paramukthi, gaining Siddhi with the body intact. He prays that Erai takes him to his abode with the physical body intact. He brings Erai within so that the physical body does not perish and merges with Tillai Ambalar still retaining his body. How lovely.
Most of us who have taken another birth to live out our desires are ignorant of the gift of this birth and the miracle that is the body and do not have the slightest thought of taking care of it. Besides the ravages of time that the body goes through, we push it to its maximum limits, exhausting it, stressing it, exposing it to the dangers of illness, disease, and inviting premature death. The Siddhas who knew the secret to extend their lifespan took measures and extreme care to upkeep their body. They knew of anti-aging therapy, the ancient rejuvenation practice of Kaya Kalpa. Through the secret science of immortality, they keep their body intact without having it go through the process of aging. They attain immortality with the physical body still intact. They live forever as Chiranjeevi.