When we leave everything to the will of God we become its child, just as a child in the care of the parents leaves everything to them. The Prapanjam takes care then. Now I understand how a couple brought food that was steaming hot to the exhausted and hungry Tavayogi during his rounds as a mendicant. Now I understand how the divine came as Ramalinga Adigal's sister bringing food to the exhausted saint. As Bharathi sang, rather than do something that I desired and regret it later, I gain satisfaction in doing his work, when the "I" is dropped and we leave everything to the will of God, the Atma in us takes charge and works towards our betterment and advancement.
தன்செய லெண்ணித் தவிப்பது தீர்ந்திங்கு
நின்செயல் செய்து நிறைவு பெறும்வண்ணம்
நின்னை சரணடைந்தேன், கண்ணம்மா
நின்னை சரணடைந்தேன்
The moment the "I" crops up in any situation the Atma that knows best is shelved to the back of the stage. The "I" becomes the star and ruins the show. If the "I "is subdued the Atma runs the show and stages it well in unison with the divine play or Lila. When we without any knowledge interfere in this play the divine script is altered. The play is ruined.
I saw the movie "Vinodhaya Sitham" last night. What a timely disclosure. Mahin had recommended that I see it. Indeed we could relate to the movie very well. I could relate this movie to the wishes of a devotee who wanted Agathiyar to extend his mother's lifespan - a second time - so that he can do more and all that he had desired for her. We lament that we have so much unfinished business and things to do. Kala or the timekeeper in listening to the plea of the "I" of a very busy family man whom he had picked up after a road accident, decides to let him return. Giving him an extension of 3 months to settle all the outstanding chores, desires, etc, Kala takes a physical form and follows him everywhere he goes. At times he prompts him to consider his decision. At other times he apprehends him. I personally saw myself as the lead character and Agathiyar as Kala. Mahin too did mention the similarity between Agathiyar and Kala where Agathiyar follows us like a shadow and apprehends or instigates us to make the right move at the right moment. Finally at the end of his extended time Kala brings the man with him to heaven. That was a tearful but joyful moment.
As we surrendered to Agathiyar he came to assure us of his continued presence and protection. When we surrender and drive the "I" out, the Atma in us takes charge henceforth. The Atma in turn brings in the Prapanjam to aid us in our daily lives. The Prapanjam heals us. When I hurt my back for the 4th time in 10 years, I told Agathiyar that he should come as the Prapanjam to heal me. I did not want to seek help from anyone no more as I told him that would look bad on him. What if someone was to ridicule me telling me why come to him when I have Agathiyar? So I decided that henceforth I am leaving everything to him. Since I had asked the Prapanjam to heal me, I immediately reached out to the Prapanjam just like how Ramalinga Adigal had taught us earlier and went to bed. At 1am in the morning as I woke up to go to the loo, I realized the pain was gone. I felt better. The extreme and excruciating pain that crippled me earlier was bearable now and I was mobile, free to move, and could drive around. Now I understand why Lord Murugan kept asking us if we had surrendered?
When I surrendered my "I" to Agathiyar he brought the Prapanjam into play. The Prapanjam travels before us and awaits us to carry out the commands of the Atma. Later Agathiyar came and explained the reason it happened. If I thought my sudden move to catch my 1 1/2-year-old second granddaughter from falling off a stool had triggered the pull in my lower back, Agathiyar explained otherwise. He said that I was going through pain and discomfort in the body as a result of the ongoing cleansing process within where toxins were being discharged, expelled, and removed from my body. As these toxins are removed the chakras shall gain purity. Since I had asked that the Prapanjam heal me it did. He said the power of these Prapanjam was immense. He asked me to drop the fear. He was in us as the Atma.
சண்முக, உனக்குக் கழிவுகள் அகன்று வருவதனாலே உடல் உபாதைகள் வரும். கழிவுகள் அகன்று போகவே உனது சக்கரங்கள் தூய்மை பெரும். சக்கரத்தின் சுத்திகரிப்பு நடக்கிறது மகனே. பொறுத்து கொள்வாயாக. இனியும் உன்னிடம் சாக்கு போக்கு சொல்ல எனக்கு விரும்பும் இல்லை. நீ துவந்து உக்காராமல் யாம் பார்த்துளோவோம்.
நீயும் பிரபஞ்சத்தை அழைத்துச் சுத்தம் செய்யச் சொன்னாய். இந்தப் பிரபஞ்ச சக்தி என்னில் அடங்காதவை. அவைகளை நீ உணரும் தருவாயில் இருக்கிறாய். எஞ்சி இருக்கும் அச்சத்தை நிறுத்தி விடு. உன்னில் யாமே இருக்கிறோம்.
Agathiyar hinted that we shall gain knowledge about the Atma henceforth since we had covered the teachings on the Udal and Uyir earlier. When Agathiyar asked that I teach others about the Atma, I asked him if I was qualified for it? When I had struggled to learn about the Udal, Uyir, and Atma, he gave us the revelation through his memo. I guess that was sufficient knowledge for a start. He asked that I bring the seeking that I had about the Atma to others too. True when I threw the question "What is the difference between soul n spirit, uyir n atma, aavi as in udal porul aavi?" it had started an inquiry in several others too.
உடலையும் உயிரையும் கற்பதை தாண்டி ஆன்மஞானமே உனக்குப் போதிக்கப்படும். இனி இங்கு ஆத்ம ஞானம் மட்டுமே நடக்கும். பின்னிருப்போர் உந்தி தள்ளிக் கொண்டுவா. மாதத்திற்கு ஒரு முறை எமது பக்தர்களுக்கு அழைப்பிடு. ஆன்மஞானத்தை அறிய விரும்புவோருக்கு கற்பித்து வா. உன்னில் இருக்கும் ஆன்மாவின் தேடலை மற்றவர்களுக்கும் வரச்செய். அவர் அவர் எண்ணம்போல் உமது போதனை அவர்களை அடையும். போதிப்பது மட்டுமே உனது கடமை பலன் அவர்களுடையது.
Agathiyar surprised us when he said that he wanted to meet his children. It is exactly two years now since he dissolved the WhatsApp group AVM and Amudha Surabhi. It was about the same time several weeks before Deepavali of 2019 that he had me push the button and destroy everything that we had painstakingly developed over time beginning from 2013 when the young seekers came into the fold. He had us drop all the rituals that began as early as 2002 too except to hold his Vizha or fest once a year. We understood why he did that as he had to teach us about the dangers of attachment. Asking to see them now, he laments that his devotees have a passion for him alone and not towards the practice he had given. But the most compassionate father did not let that come in between his relationship with his children. He was ready to see them again despite their reluctance to follow the practices. They shall eventually come around to do it he added.
எமது மக்களை யாம் விரைவில் காண விரும்புகிறேன். அழைய்யப்ப. என்மீது ஆசை கொண்டு மக்கள் தயங்கி இருக்கிறார்கள். நீ அழைத்தவண்ணம் விரைந்து வருவார்கள். ஆனால் அவர்கள் என்மீது மட்டுமே ஆசை கொண்டு இருப்பதுதான் எமக்கு வருத்தம். நான் கூறிய பயிற்சிகளைச் செய்யாமல் இருப்பதுதான் எனது வருத்தம். பரவாயில்லை. காலம் கனியும்போது அவர்கள் வருவார்கள்.
Agathiyar is progressively trying to bring us from Sariyai and Kriyai into Yogam and Gnanam. But most seekers settle and prefer to remain as devotees forever. Indeed they still see him as a Siddha and God and do not want to become a Siddha themselves. They come to him when in fear or in trouble or when they suffer or are in misery. Hearing out Agathiyar they leave to continue their previous lifestyle. They turn up when trouble boils over again. I have seen my fair share of such seekers. Very few stand by Agathiyar.
Anantha Nageswaran in his blog https://jeevatma.wordpress.com/, speaks about "Maslow’s hierarchy". Referring to the same song of Bharathi he writes,
What Bharati does here is to show us ‘Maslow’s hierarchy of our prayers to divinity. First, we pray out of greed. Then, we pray out of fear. Then, we realize that it is all our ego that leads to both greed and fear and prayers to fulfill one and alleviate another. We realize the futility of thinking that it is our action. Then, we realize that we do HER bidding; we go with the flow. Then, there is no suffering; sorrow; weariness, and defeat; Then, we practice love and morality and spread both; Then, Devi it is up to you to entrench the good and extinguish the bad because I just do not know what is good and what is bad; Implicit is the message in these last lines: ‘I surrender to THEE’. So, the song is the evolution of our prayers – or how they ought to evolve.
I looked up the theory by Abraham Maslow and found it to be interesting and pertaining to what we observe around us currently. https://www.thoughtco.com/maslows-hierarchy-of-needs-4582571. He says man has several needs: physiological needs, need and assurance of safety, need for love, esteem, and self-actualization. Of the above five, physiological needs and safety is the topmost priority in man.
If someone is lacking in more than one need, they’re likely to try to meet these physiological needs first. For example, if someone is extremely hungry, it’s hard to focus on anything else besides food. Another example of a physiological need would be the need for adequate sleep.
From his immediate self and life, his wings branch out now. Man needs to feel loved and accepted.
This need includes both romantic relationships as well as ties to friends and family members. It also includes our need to feel that we belong to a social group.
Man generally needs esteem and needs to be valued.
The first involves feeling self-confidence and feeling good about oneself. The second component involves feeling valued by others; that is, feeling that our achievements and contributions have been recognized by other people. When people’s esteem needs are met, they feel confident and see their contributions and achievements as valuable and important.
Finally, he wants to live his fullest.
In this theory, higher needs in the hierarchy begin to emerge when people feel they have sufficiently satisfied the previous need. According to Maslow, when a lower need is met, the next need on the hierarchy becomes our focus of attention.
Self-actualization refers to feeling fulfilled, or feeling that we are living up to our potential. Essentially, self-actualization means feeling that we are doing what we believe we are meant to do. According to Maslow, achieving self-actualization is relatively rare,..
Maslow pointed out that one behavior might meet two or more needs. For example, sharing a meal with someone meets the physiological need for food, but it might also meet the need of belonging. Similarly, working as a paid caregiver would provide someone with income (which allows them to pay for food and shelter), but can also provide them a sense of social connection and fulfillment.
Psychologists Carol Ryff and Burton Singer drew on Maslow’s theories when developing their theory of eudaimonic well-being. According to Ryff and Singer, eudaimonic well-being refers to feeling purpose and meaning—which is similar to Maslow’s idea of self-actualization.
Here we recall Agathiyar's 5 tenets for man that similarly runs parallel to Maslow's theory.
In this journey, we rarely come across seekers and devotees who come to Agathiyar just for his sake. These few love Agathiyar so much. Moments ago I was speaking to a devotee. The couple continues to perform abhisegam and puja to Agathiyar and Lord Murugan in the form of bronze statues in their home on full moon days. She shares the view that Agathiyar goes ahead of us and mends the problem before it even becomes one. Indeed when my neighbor passed me the letters that he had helped pick up from my mailbox and kept with him in my absence, I asked my second daughter if I should open the one from her university. On reading its content I became worried for she had missed the date that she was called to update her status. The snail mail indeed was slow. The letter dated 6 September was stamped and posted only on the 23rd. In my absence, my neighbor kept it with him and passed it to me yesterday. I stood before Agathiyar asking him to look into the matter. I was relieved when my daughter told me she had already replied to an email carrying the same content earlier. Mahin said the same too. Agathiyar settles all there is in our daily lives so that we could focus on his work. Indeed as long as we are going to work tirelessly on our needs, he shall step back and only watch.
Agathiyar gave us a reminder to buck up, to catch up with time that was moving fast. He gives us the motivation to keep moving. Agathiyar gave us the boost that we all needed through his memo. He says time and tide do not wait for a man. Make a decision on time and stick to it. Walk the journey you decided. Our decision is that of the Atma. That decision belongs to the Atma. That Atma belongs to him. He asked that we fear not and walk his path. When we were in charge we had to face the consequences of our thoughts and actions. But after surrendering to him, it is his thoughts and actions that we bring to life. Hence he takes responsibility for them relieving us of the guilt and blame.
காலம் உங்களை நிறுத்தி விடாது. புரண்டு ஓடும் காலத்தில் நிலையாய் ஒரு முடிவினை எடுத்து அதன் பின் செல்லுங்கள். உங்களுடைய முடிவு உங்களின் ஆன்மாவையே சார்ந்தது. அந்த ஆன்மா என்னையே சார்ந்தது. யாருக்கும் எவருக்கும் பயமின்றி என் வழியில் வாருங்கள்.
He tells us to cherish the human birth given. He goes on to tell us that we were not given this birth to live a mundane human life. We can only rid the karma that we had gathered throughout the numerous births by taking a human birth. We can never be assured that we shall take another human birth. Hence having taken one we are asked to fulfill its purpose that of achieving Atma Vidutalai or release.
மனித பிறவி என்பது அபூர்வமானது. அது கிடைத்தது உங்களின் மனித வாழ்க்கையை வாழ்வதற்கு அல்ல. கோடானகோடி பிறவியில் நீங்கள் செய்த கர்மவினை மனிதபிறவி எடுக்கும்போது மட்டுமே கழிக்க முடியும். இப்பிறவியில் மனிதானாய் பிறந்தவன் மற்றொரு பிறவியில் மனிதனாய் பிறப்பான் என்பது ஊர்ஜிதமல்ல. எடுத்தபோதே அதனை நிறைவேற்றிக்கொள்ளுங்கள். ஆன்ம விடுதலை நோக்கிச் செல்லுங்கள்.
Tavayogi always laments that people stand before him telling him that they were going through undue suffering. Upon hearing them out, he turns to me and tells me that these are not sufferings but mere problems. Problems can be solved by putting your mind to it. Use the Arivu he says. Agathiyar too says the same. To those who have given up on life, Agathiyar reminds them of the invincible strength of man. That strength Agathiyar says is the Arivu. The ability to think clearly can bring down walls. Never submit to failure. At times I ask myself if Agathiyar had walked the ground and the rounds as Tavayogi seeing the similarity in thought and their messages.
ஈசனால் படைக்கப் பட்ட மனிதனுக்கு ஆற்றலாய் அறிவு இருக்கிறது. யாம் அதை எப்போதுமே ஆற்றல் என்று கூறுவோம். மனிதனின் ஆற்றலைக் கொண்டு எதையும் சாதிக்கலாம். துவண்டு பொய் அமர வேண்டாம். இவ்விடத்தில் ஒரு முடிவு செய்து விட்டால் அதனோடு பயனின்கள். தளர்ந்த்தால் குழப்பம் மட்டுமே மிஞ்சும்.
In closing, he asked that we carry out the Yoga practices. யோக பயற்சியினை மேற்கொண்டு வாருங்கள்.
Mahakavi Bharathiyar too expounds the same faith and surrender that is needed if the divine is to help us. As long as we are in charge the divine will remain as a painting and picture, and a statue. When we move away, when we move the "I" to allow the divine in we shall see it do wonders that the "I" possibly could not do.
நின்னை சரணடைந்தேன், கண்ணம்மா, நின்னை சரணடைந்தேன்
நின்னை சரணடைந்தேன், கண்ணம்மா, நின்னை சரணடைந்தேன்
பொன்னை, உயர்வை, புகழை விரும்பிடும்
என்னை கவலைகள் தின்ன தகாதென்று
நின்னை சரணடைந்தேன், கண்ணம்மா, நின்னை சரணடைந்தேன்
மிடிமையும் அச்சமும் மேவி என் நெஞ்சில்
குடிமை புகுந்தன, கொன்றவை போக்கென்று
நின்னை சரணடைந்தேன், கண்ணம்மா, நின்னை சரணடைந்தேன்
தன் செயல் எண்ணித் தவிப்பது தீர்ந்திங்கு
நின் செயல் செய்து நிறைவு பெறும் வண்ணம்
நின்னை சரணடைந்தேன், கண்ணம்மா, நின்னை சரணடைந்தேன்
துன்பம் இனி இல்லை, சோர்வில்லை
சோர்வில்லை, தோற்ப்பில்லை
நல்லது தீயது நாமறியோம்
நாமறியோம், நாமறியோம்
அன்பு நெறியில் அறங்கள் வளர்த்திட
நல்லது நாட்டுக, தீமையை ஓட்டுக
நின்னை சரணடைந்தேன், கண்ணம்மா, நின்னை சரணடைந்தேன்
நின்னை சரணடைந்தேன், கண்ணம்மா, நின்னை சரணடைந்தேன்