There was a time I was crazy over Tamil movies. I used to read about them from film magazines like "The Indian Movie News" a bilingual magazine published in Singapore and "Pesum Padam", a Tamil language magazine, that came from India. The former was a reason I furthered my proficiency in reading the language after having picked it up from the "Pupils Own Language (POL)" classes held at the school. My cousin Indra and many other teachers including V. Raman and Arasu taught me at school back in the sixties and seventies. I take a moment to thank them all. I was so into the movies and songs back then during my school days that my family would ask me for a review before deciding to watch it in the theaters. Then the shift began towards reading books on religion and customs wanting to understand the reasons for having to follow so many practices. I had a great company to discuss these matters with seniors like Kandaih, Sethuraman, Sivaraman and others when I started my career in the construction industry back then in the eighties. In the nineties the shift was towards spiritual books that was initiated by the book "An Autobiography of a Yogi" by Paramhansa Yogananda presented to me by Segaran from my office who ended his bachelor days and his career by enrolling as a monk in Yogananda ashram in Ranchi, India. Coming to the Siddha path brought me to read much on the Siddhas and their sciences like medicine, astrology, and Yoga. When I read the Nadi, I followed what was told. When I met my gurus, I followed what was told. I used to put into practice all that I read. It was an inherent habit of mine. Today I see its results for the many experiences gained from these reading and practicing what was read has given me dividends and bonuses. Experience makes the man. If after coming to know about the existence of karma and how it shapes a person, I saw his karma personify before me, these days I see his experiences stand before me personifying him, his beliefs, his character, his speech and manner, likes and dislikes, his vision etc.
If our parents only provided the genes and the gross matter to come together and take up a form in the womb, it was the divine magic that made us into what we are today. Though we can acclaim success and achievements in many fields the root of it all is the divine hand that moves all things.
Just as my interest switched accordingly over time, the Siddhas too have ben engaging us in reading and giving us tasks to enrich our knowledge and experience while here. I am indebted to them too. Since one person cannot probably have all the experiences, they created opportunities for us to engage with others and learn a thing or two from their life's experiences too.
Everything and everybody have a role to play in this world. So do we. Knowing our purpose here could bring us back on track and hasten and drive us to accomplish what we came for.