In BBC's "Australia with Simon Reeve" Simon in covering the story of aborigines, says that they had lost meaning and purpose in life when what was theirs originally is taken away. He says, "There is a huge gulf between the lives of most aboriginal people in this country and others." This vast difference both in the economic status and treatment of tribal natives that equally exists just across the Indian ocean in India too was portrayed in the recent movie "Jai Bhim". Locally we have natives who prefer to keep to themselves hurdled in the thick jungles of Malaysia too seen to be deprived of the economic cake. Going on our rounds to distribute food parcels and groceries from door to door at their new rental homes in several apartments, we saw the plight of ex-estate workers who struggle to survive after they were relocated or asked to leave their haven when the estates changed hands and development took place. In the estates' back then electricity, water, shelter, and schooling were free. Now they have to foot these bills apart from feeding themselves and their children and at times the extended families that lived under one roof. They appreciated our help as they could now channel their meager income, which came from doing manual work, odd jobs, or setting up small stalls to peddle their wares, to pay for the utilities and rental, that takes a huge chunk of their income, as food and groceries were taken care of. Going over to India, I came to meet and interact briefly with the tribal natives when I spent several days with Tavayogi at his old Kallar Ashram in 2005 and 2013. I had the opportunity to serve them food and buy them dresses when I was there. The new ashram though is now some 2 kilometers away and is cut off from the native's settlement, the highlanders continue to entertain the guests performing their traditional dance on the eve of Agathiyar's Jayanthi and annual fest. A YouTuber who is a local highlander has covered extensively the lives of natives in the Nilagiri Hills of Tamilnadu. We get to see a glimpse of Kallar and Thuripaalam or Thuri bridge in passing in his videos.
When did race, language, skin color, etc become a problem with men? When did this division occur? When in times of the silk trade people from different countries could trade and assimilate each other's culture why can't we accept another for being different now? History tells us that traders and merchants from other continents stopped over in the Malay Peninsula back then to trade and many settled to marry the locals. Back then though people held on to their faith and beliefs, culture and tradition, and race and religion, they respected others equally as humans. What went wrong in this short space of time?
Did God intend to create man differently so that he shall have to face discrimination? In Agathiyar's 5 Tenets to mankind, he says that we are obliged on our part to "dutifully aid and help, the ongoing evolution of all co-existing human beings." This aid and help should then extend towards "the ongoing evolution of all co-existing beings and entities, existing upon the lower levels of the evolutionary ladder, dutifully supporting the manifested matrix or prapanjam."
Agathiyar says that man has to first and foremost understand his purpose in taking birth. With his purpose known, he should then come to thank the divine creator or energy that brought forth his birth (through consultation with the lunar forefathers and their angelic hierarchies that co-exist with us down here). He asked that we show appreciation to the divine that gave us an opportunity to take this birth again to come to terms with it and sort out our lives.
Living a purposeful, meaningful, and fruitful life, coupled with a sense of gratefulness will then bring forth the showering of blessings. These blessings and the efforts in carrying out his dictates result in the Atma gaining strength or Atma Balam. He asks that we then thank all the caretakers both seen and unseen, in the present and the past. (Summarized from Vashisht Vaid's post on his blog https://holysageagathiyar.com/ )
Hence besides finding our own purpose in coming here we are to help elevate the lives of fellow humans. It does not stop there. We are to help all of the creation "existing upon the lower levels of the evolutionary ladder".
I guess we revisit life taking birth, again and again, to carry out these tenets. In each life, we would have learned many a thing that could contribute towards enhancing the lives of all of creation in another life or era. Hence we have new findings and discoveries made in each era. As for the saints having walked the path, they travel across time-space to be with us in helping us evolve further. Tavayogi is said to be a very old Atma who tended to livestock and had learned from Agathiyar certain secrets when the Muni came by. Tavayogi in turn came out of retirement for us just to see us board the ship that would carry us back home. We are blessed to make his acquaintance in this birth.
The reason I keep revisiting my life's journey is as we mature spiritually, we come across new happenings, events, experiences, and lessons that seem to change our former understanding such as the time that Agathiyar corrected us on our understanding of the Atma and its relationship to karma. These bring a new perspective to our earlier experiences.
Prof. Brian Cox too "revisits some fundamental questions regarding the many programs he made about the universe and our place within it" previously in BBC's "Brian Cox's Adventures in Space and Time". He says that having had "Remarkable encounters, memorable experiences, and having explained some beautiful facts about how our planet works, now I am taking a new look at those past programs."
When I started the journey on the path of the Siddhas taking up their calling to worship them, I knew nothing about them. All I had was the spoken word of Agathiyar written in the Nadi, that was written out in a book and recorded on a cassette for my reference, a booklet of a compilation of names of the Siddhas to be recited, and a painting of Agathiyar to be placed at my altar and worshipped. The small booklet of names was given by the Nadi reader Senthilkumar while the painting was given by the host Sivabalan in whose home we read the Nadi. Soon gathering more songs of praise to the Siddhas from the numerous books I purchased, the net, and other sources I compiled them into a compendium of songs for the Siddhas. I set about worshipping the Siddhas at home. With the coming of Tavayogi, I began doing rituals. The Homam was lit in my home. With the coming of Agathiyar as a bronze statue, I began the ritual of libation to him as instructed. Abhisegam was done at home. Then Agathiyar decided to send aspirants and seekers to my home. My home became a temple. We got together to do charity too. All that was brought to a halt after 7 years and we were directed to go within and meditate and do yoga. Today as I revisit the journey, I tend to see things in a new light. I understand the journey better. I now know the meaning of things said that were not comprehensible then. I am beginning to understand what I had read earlier. I have begun to reevaluate my prior understanding. The most obvious is the correction by Agathiyar who revealed that contrary to our previous understanding and the common belief that the Atma carried the vasanas and seeds of karma waiting to germinate, the truth was that the Atma does not carry our karma but helps us settle our scores and debts by revealing it and showing us the ways and means and eventually leading us on the path back home. The veil of ignorance is drawn aside and the Atma is revealed. A new awareness comes as we understand karma and its effects and start working on it. Ignorance leaves us. The Atma comes as a teacher. The Atma then begins to work with us in unison. It begins to work on us too. Its goal is to lead us to realize that we were never separate but one with the Prapanjam that is the many forms of the Paramatma. And to think that we went searching elsewhere. The guru is within.
Readers are requested to keep abreast with my writings and hold on to the present views. This is not definite too for with further learning we might address it differently later. Travel with me as we go on an exploration. We shall learn together.
Brian Cox in concluding the program goes to question, "Why do we need exploration - which goes to the very heart of what does it mean to be human?" He quotes TS Elliot, "We shall not cease from exploration, at the end of all our exploring we will arrive where we started and know the place for the first time."
“We shall not cease from explorationAnd the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
Through the unknown, remembered gate
When the last of earth left to discover
Is that which was the beginning;
At the source of the longest river
The voice of the hidden waterfall
And the children in the apple-tree
Not known, because not looked for
But heard, half-heard, in the stillness
Between two waves of the sea.
T.S. Eliot, from “Little Gidding,” Four Quartets (Gardners Books; Main Edition, April 30, 2001) Originally published 1943.”
During the Tang Dynasty, the Chinese Ch’an master Qingyuan Weixin famously wrote:“Before I had studied Ch’an for thirty years, I saw mountains as mountains, and rivers as rivers. When I arrived at a more intimate knowledge, I came to the point where I saw that mountains are not mountains, and rivers are not rivers. But now that I have got its very substance, I am at rest. For it’s just that I see mountains once again as mountains, and rivers once again as rivers.” (Source: https://tricycle.org/magazine/first-there-mountain-then-there-no-mountain/)
"Exploration gives us perspective. And that is what Elliot means. In order to understand your place, In order to comprehend our importance, beauty, and privilege of our position in the universe you have to go away and look at the place from afar. That to me is the true exploration."