In the past four lessons, we have stepped from Sariyai into Kriyai and moved into Yogam and Gnanam. This is the gist of the Siddha teachings packed into four lessons. Learning Sariyai by following our parents who learned it from their parents, we moved to carry out Kriyai with the coming of the guru who learned it from his lineage of gurus and paramagurus. The gurus then shifted our gaze within by bringing us to Yogam having us observe our body and breath. Finally, the gurus have us observe our Atma. What a well-planned and systematically laid-out journey of self-discovery it has been.
The Siddhas work towards bringing the seeker to dock at a place as a follower and then become rooted as a devotee, uplifting him eventually to the status of a guru. But many drop off midway as the heat builds up or when the lure of the outside world is too strong or when they are dumped with too many responsibilities that rob their attention away. Only some sustain the course of pressure. Even the great saints had to go through torture and hardship created by the envious and vicious elements in their circle and society. The saints at the peak of their spiritual careers we put to torment and mental anguish. But they took it in their pace seeing it as god's play. God too showed his miracles through them. Eventually, all the saints came out of their troubles, shining in society, respected, and worshipped.
Ramalinga Adigal had to face numerous tests and hardships from his enemies. Seeking to know the art of making gold and returning disappointed, some instigated others to harass him and lodged reports with the authorities that he was hoarding gold. When he sang that the dead could be revived, the villagers were instigated by his enemies to dump the bodies of dead relatives and carcasses of animals in his court at Vadalur and challenged him to bring them back alive, not accepting that those were the words of God. When he pointed out the false believes and practices to his followers, spiritual giants of his time confronted him accusing him of poisoning the minds of the common man. Ramalinga Adigal had Arumuga Navalar who was poisoned by heads of other missions to bring him to court. Day by day people harassed him. He told God that he had failed to bring the change as desired by God. He decided to leave. He brought out and placed the lighted lamp that he had worshipped all these while in his room at Sitthivalaga Thirumaligai, asking his followers to worship the light as God. After two months, on 30 January 1874, he began to write the last song for his Thiruarutpa. (Based on "Arutperunjothi Gnana Siddhar", by B.Kamalakkannan, Vanathi Pathippakam, Chennai, 2008.)
Thirunavukarasar or commonly called Appar saw his fair share of torture in the hands of the king whose mind was poisoned by others. Appar was poisoned, dropped into the sea, and tortured in numerous other ways by the King's men, after believers of a faith Appar was aligned with prior to returning to the worship of Siva, poisoned the King's mind. First, he was poisoned but with the grace of Lord Shiva the poison turned into nectar. Next, the king’s mahouts were ordered to kill him using the royal elephant, but the elephant obediently circumambulated him. In the third and the last attempt, Appar was tied to a rock and thrown into the sea but the rock started floating and brought him back to the shore at Cuddalore. (Source: https://www.dharisanam.com/pages/thirunavukkarasar-appar)
Abhirami pattar who was at the peak of his blissful state had the king intrude into his sacred space, asking him to clear the temple grounds as the king was arriving to pray, was tortured too. He was put to test when the King's men lowered him into the flames, etc. Pattinathar was accused of stealing the jewelry that adorned the neck of the deity which now was adorned by him as a result of robbers in wanting to relieve themselves of the evidence threw it into a dark shrine in which Pattinathar was in deep meditation. Tavayogi too had to go through his fair share of troubles that were initiated by some of his dissatisfied disciples.
The committee of a temple for a guru split after volunteers came into the picture. Another group that carried out puja and charity with the advent of some volunteers split up too. AVM was spared the agony of a split when someone poisoned the mind of another. Agathiyar dissolved the group before the poison could spread and kill it. In a timely manner, he had us all go within foreseeing the coming of the pandemic. I guess no one is spared. Bhagawan Ramana was beaten up when robbers entered to loot his ashram. If the saints received the blows without complaining commoners like us turn to the deities for protection. Hence mantras and kavasams or songs that stood as shields were given to us by the saints of the past. Many can vouch for the efficacy of prayers, singing the kavasams, and reciting the mantras. In the wake of the pandemic, Lord Shiva told us to recite the Mrityunjaya mantra and Dhanvanthri mantra to remove fear and safeguard us. Jnana Jothiamma was told in the Nadi by Agathiyar to chant this mantra to remove the fear of the unseen.
A wonderful compendium of songs that protect us from harm was published as "Kavasa Kottu" (கவசக்கொத்து) by Sri CN. Nachiappan, 1977. It included Vinayagar Kavasam, Siva Kavasam, Thiruneeru Pathigam, Sakti Kavasam, the Kandhar Sasthi Kavasam that number 6, Idumban Kavasam, Kadamban Kavasam, Skanda Guru Kavasam, Kandhar Kavasam, Karthigai Kavasam, Kumarastavam, Pagaikadithal, Shanmuga Kavasam, Sri Deva Senapathy Kavasam, Aiyappan Kavasam, Sri Hari Kavasam, Sri Krishna Kavasam, Sani Bhagawan Kavasam, Sri Hanumath Kavasam, and Sri Anjaneya Kavasam among many others.
The famed literary work Kandhar Sasti Kavasam was written by Baladevarayan Swamigal, a devout devotee of Lord Muruga. While the administrator of kaumarapayanam.blogspot writes in his post that not much is known about Baladevarayan Swamigal's birth and his parents, but based on the words used and the way the Kandhar Sasti Kavasam was written, it can be safely assumed that the hymns were written some 250 years back during the Pandya rule, in CN Nachiappan’s introduction to Baladevarayan Swamigal in his compilation of KAVASA KOTTHU, he mentions that Swamigal was born to Veerasamy Pillai and his wife after many years at Vallur in Thondainaadu.
Devarayan engaged in a business in Bangalore while merely twenty. When Thirisirapuram Mahavidvan Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai arrived in Bangalore, Devarayan invited him over to his house. Devarayan took the opportunity to learn the intricacies of the Tamil language from Meenashshi Sundaram Pillai and even ventured to learn to write prose. Under the tutelage of Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai, Devarayan wrote two books "Kusaylo Baakiyaanam" and "Sootha Sangetai." Before Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai took leave, Devarasan thanked him and rewarded him by showering him with wealth and honor.
Once Baladevarayan Swamigal had an ailment of the stomach and was undergoing extreme pain. Even after taking all kinds of treatment, the pain would not go away. Giving up all hope of recovering he headed for the shores of Thiruchendur to take his own life. At the moment of his arrival at Thiruchendur the Kandhar Sasti Vizha had just begun. Watching the festivities he had a change of heart and decided to postpone the thought of ending his life. He started on the Sasti Virutham or fast. After having a dip in the sea, he sat to meditate at the Mandapam or hall. Lord Muruga gave him darshan and gave him the Gnana or wisdom to sing Kandhar Sasti Kavasam. He began his first verse with "Sastiyai Noke Saravana Bavanaar". He wrote and sang the Kavasam first at Thiruchendur, and over the next five days he ventured to the rests of Lord Muruga’s abodes - Thiruparangkundram, Palani, Swamimalai, Thirutani, and Palamuthircholai and wrote and sang further songs, all of these which was later compiled as the Kandhar Sasti Kavasam. At the end of this venture, he realized his stomach ailment had disappeared. He realized then that the ailment was only a reason for him to begin authoring the Kadhar Sasti Kavasam.
CN Nachiappan writes that Devarayan came to Thiruchendur with the hope that Lord Muruga might heal his ailment. While at Thiruchendur his pain was relieved slowly and he began singing the Kavasam as a thanksgiving to the Lord. Devarayan took on the garb of a mendicant and wished to be called Devaraya Swamigal, henceforth, at Thiruchendur.
Appavu who later took on the name of Paamban Swamigal was born between 1850 and 1852 at Paamban to Saatappa Pillai and Sengamala Ammaal. He started schooling in 1866 in a missionary school in Rameshwaram. Each time he was faced with danger Lord Murugan saved Appavu. Once when he was either five or six years old Lord Muruga held on to his hands and saved him from drowning in a pond. He used to sing Baladevarayan Swamigal’s Kandhar Sasti Kavasam and later wished he could write similar hymns on Lord Muruga himself. Appavu at a very tender age of 13 began to compose and sing songs on Lord Muruga. His first composition was entitled Gangaiyai Sadaiyil Paritthu. True to his first composition, henceforth Tamil devotional hymns continuously flowed like Mother Ganga. He composed one song each day and compiled the first 100 songs in the first 100 days. He was summoned and received upadesa from Sethumathava Aiyar Swamigal who chanced to see this compilation of his. Pressured by his upadesa guru he submitted to marry Kaalimuthammaal in 1878.
Lord Muruga came to cure his daughter with the sacred vibhuti. Similarly, his wife cured him by applying the vibhuthi. After completing a pilgrimage Paamban Swamigal arrived at Kanchi. Lord Muruga gave him his darshan. Returning home he wrote the Shanmuga Kavasam and Panchamirtha Vannam in 1891. Lord Muruga appeared to his wife and disclosed to her that whenever and wherever these songs were sung, he would appear to bless these souls.
At Piraban Valasai he dug a square hole in the premises of a graveyard and started meditating in it beginning on 17 March 1894. On the 7th day (on 23 March 1894) of tavam or austerity, Lord Muruga appeared to him with Agathiyar and Arunagirinathar. On the 35th day (20 April 1894), he ended his tavam on the instructions of Lord Muruga. That day was Chitirai Pornami. A year from this episode Paamban Swamigal took up monkhood. He moved to Chennai in 1895 from Paamban. In Chennai, he gave upadesa to aspiring devotees. After a year he came to Kuyavan Petai in Thirupuliyur, near Chidambaram where he wrote the Paripooranaananda Botham and Tagaraalaya Ragasiyam in 1896. After visiting Kumbakonam, he was directed by Lord Muruga to return to Chennai.
In 1897 he wrote the 1100 hymns titled Thirupa. In 1902 he made a pilgrimage to Kaasi. Lord Muruga as usual saved him from further danger while on his pilgrimage. Returning from his pilgrimage he continued his literary works in Chennai. Like Ramalinga Adigal, in Chidambaram, he got himself involved in spearheading the Saivite cause and as a result, was summoned numerous times to the courts. The result of this seven-year struggle between 1904 and 1911, saw him defeat his opponents, and his next literary work the Saiva Samaya Sarabam saw the light of the day. Back in Chennai, he composed the Kumaarastavam, Srimath Kumara Swaamiyam, and Sivagnana Deepam in 1918, 1921, and 1922 respectively.
Now I understand how the negative forces sabotage the work of god and his apostles. Agathiyar surprised me in the Nadi when he said that he came to my home in the form of a bronze statue eventually breaking through the hurdles placed by "many". Tavayogi in asking me to fetch water from the nearby waterfall and stream when we were asked to conduct the Siddhar puja at the Taneermalai temple in Taiping by Agathiyar who conveyed the requests of Tavayogi's guru Chitramuthu Adigal in a Nadi reading, surprised me when he cautioned me that evil energies will obstruct the puja. We read that in the times of yore Asuras and evil energies disturbed the Rishis from carrying out the Yagna and they had to seek divine help by reaching out to God. King Rama stood by at these rituals as the sages went on carrying out their obligations to humanity.
On 27 December 1923, Paamban Swamigal sustained a fracture when a horse cart ran over his left leg. He was admitted to the general hospital. The doctors told him that his bones would not mend. On 28 December 1923, his devotees Sinnasamy Jhotidar, Sivasankara Tambiran, and Gnana Sekara Mudaliar started reciting his Shanmuga Kavasam in the hope that he recovers. On the 11th day (7 January 1924), Lord Muruga appeared to him. His fractured leg healed. On the 15th day, he was fully recovered. Fully recovered, he went to Coimbatore and the Nilgiris in 1926. Later he moved to Bangalore on 29 May 1928. Here a light engulfed him and entered his mouth to reach his heart. On another occasion, four torches lit on their own when the electricity was cut. He returned to Chennai shortly on 17 July 1928. He asked his devotees to purchase a plot of land in Thiruvaanmiyur with whatever income he made through his literary works and many publications. On 30 May 1929 at 7.15 am he locked his breadth within to merge with the Lord. (Source: Source: http://kaumarapayanam.blogspot.ru/2014/02/blog-post_9.html;
CN Nachiappan’s compilation of KAVASA KOTTHU; Paamban Srimath Kumara Gurudaasa Swamigal Aruliya Paadalgal, Nithya Paaraayana Thiraththu, Pini Neekkum Perumarunthu, published by the Sri Mayuranaathar Aalayam, Malaysia; Paamban Srimath Kumara Gurudaasa Swamigal Charitthiram, published by V. Thirugnanam, Madurai.)