Gnanam or divine wisdom can dawn in any place and at any time. It can happen in the thick of the forest, in the concrete jungle, or in the marketplace. It can come on while immersed in the joy of being one with nature, taking in its sights and sound, smell and touch, and being a part of it. It can happen while lying on the lap of the wife too. It can be in the midst of play with our kids. It can happen while sitting alone. It can come in the face of danger. It can come after months of suffering in pain. It can come in captivity. Something around us could trigger experiences that make a dawning arise within us or isolation and deep thought draws it from within us.
Similarly, the divine energies can traverse and pass within and through us at similar moments. Agathiyar asks that I share these transformations and transitions with my readers. Just days ago with a cup of hot coffee in my hands, and listening to songs of Lord Shiva played I watched the morning sky change from pajamas into its working attire as the sun came up. I sensed within me waves of rejoicing and bliss right to the core. Listening to cinema songs do the same too, electrifying the whole body. Just eating my meals sends thrills and energy surges right to the cells and elementals. Smells and the touch of things have never been the same since the divine made some adjustments to the body. All these senses are heightened and at their peak these days. It is a whole new experience when all our senses perform at their peak. Bliss prevails even without the need to sit in worship and prayer. It comes on in torrents and at any time. Imagine how it shall be when it goes beyond its limits as with the saints?
What is this state that I am currently in I ask myself? How did I happen to arrive here? It is the outcome and result of the many hours of quality time allocated for the worship of the Siddhas. Why worship the Siddhas some might ask? Strangers who come before Tavayogi seeking answers to their problems, sufferings, pain, and agony are told the reason for it - Vinai, which translates into past deeds that come to fruition in the present, some that reward us while others torture us. For those seeking to know a solution, he asks them to worship the Siddhas, telling them that they shall see positive results in their lives.
As for me, Agathiyar asked me to worship the Siddhas in my first Nadi reading where I was shown subsequently the method and approach as the Nadi reader carried out the thanksgiving ritual for the Siddhas in documenting my life and revealing it. I picked up from there and carried out daily worship of the Siddhas by reciting their names. I began to search for more information on them. My journey to knowing the Siddhas officially started when I was guided by two wonderful gurus in physical form, and through subsequent Nadi readings until the Siddhas themselves came through devotees and filled the gap created by the demise of my gurus and the coming of the pandemic that ended the Nadi readings.
In coming to the path of the Siddhas, we are told about karma that reveals our past life experiences which determine our present life and where it is headed. They speak about our past, present, and future. They enlighten us on the ways and means to counter the harmful effects of our past deeds. Once the score is settled, the way is paved for us to receive the grace of the divine. Hence the Siddhas are stars in the night sky who guide us through the calm waters and become buoys and beacons of light that guide us from running aground as the weather worsens and as we ride the rough seas. They keep tabs on all our doings, advising and either initiating us or stopping our actions if it was detrimental to us.
If Agathiyar who gave us the five tenets through the Tamil Sangam clarified man's general purpose in coming here, the individual Nadi reading shall lay out our specific purpose once we deal with our karma. In worshipping the Siddhas they might erase our entire fate and rewrite a new destiny too. Once life is lived accordingly to the karma earned or its effects cushioned by carrying remedies or is erased in its entirety by the merciful hands of the Siddhas the stage is set for man who is now a better person to embark on helping others reach the goal too. The guru who comes along for some might give us a new purpose in life. He takes his first step to attaining the state of a Jeevanmukta.
The Paramatma which takes a form and life as a Jeevatma, in coming within and working its way to the state of a Jeevanmukta, sees the world through his eyes. But the thing is that the Jeevatma is shrouded in a thin veil that blurs its vision. It lives in a state of ignorance. This "I" sees and understands the world and all happenings in poor sight. As long as the "I" lives his true Jeeva(Atma) hides behind the veil. When man sheds his "I" the veil drops. His home which was previously a store of thoughts and learning is cleared and emptied for the divine to occupy now. The divine then walks in and occupies this space. The divine begins to walk and speaks through him.
One who pursues the path of the Siddhas adhering to their teachings and practices, soon sees himself attain the state of a Jeevanmukta, one who has attained salvation while living in flesh and blood. He now carries out the tasks assigned by the divine leaving behind his personal likes and dislikes, wishes, and desires. The ordinary man who was subjected to the effects of his karma, the tattvas or elements, the planetary progressions, and movements, has an umbrella over him that shields him from the adverse effects of the aforementioned. Karma as a result does not attach to his actions as it is the divine will that he carries out. Rid of karma and Maayai or delusion, he shines as a light to others. A Jeevanmukta works towards bringing enlightenment to others. His energies are passed on to those who come upon him or brush by him. He becomes a guide for others. He becomes a Upaguru. Others tend to follow his ways. He becomes a beacon himself. He becomes the candle that lights up other candles.
Life might go on as usual for many looking after family and their career, with an occasional visit to the temples. Once we step onto the Siddha path, the need is there to work on these souls too. Just as criminals are rehabilitated, and just as the field is weeded and prepared to be sowed with good seeds, man needs to be prepared for the spiritually uplifting journey and a higher purpose in life. Pon Govindasamy reveals to us the divine's plan in his book "Vallalaarum Brahma Gnana Sangamum", Bharath Book Bureau, Chennai. He states that it is the mission of the divine to save the souls that are riddled, locked, chained, and tied down to the three Malam namely Aanavam, Kanmam, and Maayai, and bring them back to their state of purity. They shall evolve further as they drop their hold on each of these Malams. This task is given to the Vignanakalar or the Siddhas and the Maha Rishis who had defeated Maayai and Kanmam but are restrained by Aanavam.
The Siddhas are forever willing to guide man back to Erai's abode. That was the wish they put forward to Erai. From Velayutham Karthikeyan's posting in his blog Siththan Arul at http://siththanarul.blogspot.com we understand the compassion of the Siddhas towards humanity. Karthiyen’s blog entry brings us back to time immemorial when the Siddhas, being compassionate and kind, put forward to the Almighty, who they prefer to call Erai, their wish to guide and save humanity. The Siddhas had wished that whoever seeks them out for solutions to their problems and surrenders to them, shall be pardoned for his past deeds, however bad and evil they may be. The Siddhas asked that man shall not be put through trial and tribulations and made to face the consequences of his actions but instead be saved. Erai granted the Siddhas their wish. After the audience with Erai, the next instant the Siddhas wrote down; the reasons for each individual’s sufferings; listed out solutions and remedies; wrote down ways and means to overcome or end the seeker's problems, sins, diseases, illnesses, and sufferings. They wrote them in Tamil prose on dried palm leaves. These writings came to be known as the Nadi. Hence the Nadi came to be written for every individual. Simply said coming to the worship of Siddhas helps to break the chain of karma. The Gnana Thiravukol or key to Gnanam is provided by the Siddhas. Agathiyar confirms that his job is to identify and prepare the candidate and bring him to Lord Shiva eventually. Though the Siddhas are waiting to help mankind, Karthikeyan adds that one has to seek out the Siddhas to solve his problems.
God comes as Shiva to the Piralayaakalar who in dropping Maayai, evolved into Rishis. Veeraswamy Krishnaraj in his comprehension of Arulnandi Shivachariyar’s "Shivagnana Siddhiyar" enlightens us further. "To Pralayakalar with Anava and Kanma Malams, Lord Shiva appears as a divine God."
The Piralayaakalar in turn educates the Sakalar. "Lord Shiva appears to Sakalar with Anava, Kanma, and Mayai Malams as a Satguru." To the common man or Sakalar who is seen to have the potential to receive their teachings and evolve into a Jeevanmukta, God comes as a Satguru with a human form and name. God as Satguru comes when he is ready to accept His teachings. God as Satguru prepares him to undertake the mystical journey. The candidate gets exposure to the path and is shown the means and ways, given practices and methods. The lineage of gurus before one's personal guru comes to guide him too accordingly. Upagurus come by to lead him further. Having complied with the basic requirements they take joy in having prepared him. He is then given the freedom to venture on his own. He finds his true self, nature, and center. He lives in society unattached and as a Jeevanmukta. He makes quick progress by remaining indifferent to all that happens around him and becomes a Rishi and a saint called Piralayaakalar. Finally, he takes the big step to becoming a Maha Rishi who is known as Vignanakalar.
Veeraswamy explains the state of a Vignanakalar.
"Vijnanakalar - the highest class of souls among the three mentioned in "Shivagnana Siddhiyar" with only one impurity known as Anava Malam, do not need an external Guru to instruct them. Lord Shiva by remaining inside them as the inner guide rids them of the Anava Malam, bringing the merits and demerits to a resolution and conferring spiritual knowledge or divine grace known as Saktinipata, the descent of Sakti into the soul. Vijnanakalar receives Gnana from Lord Shiva himself as the incorporeal inner guide."
Gordon Matthews explains this concept in his translation of Meykanda Devar’s "Shivagnana Botham".
"By reason of the soul’s virtue in previous births, God, who has been immanent in the soul, making it known, now vouchsafing to take the form of a Guru, initiates the soul in the Saiva mysteries. The primal one himself teaches these souls as a Guru: for in the form of consciousness, he is in union (with him). When because of the soul’s meritorious practices the primal one enlightens the soul as a Guru… When God comes as a Guru and teaches the soul, the soul is made to see that the world of experience, evolved from Maya, is non-real. It ceases then to identify itself with the non-real and to depend upon it; and in so doing it discovers its oneness with God."
Pon Govindasamy reveals that in each Kalpa, the seven landmasses under seven Manus appear and disappear one after the other. When the third land mass Kumari Kandam appeared, God sent Agathiyar, one of the seven Rishis, as its protector. Agathiyar then a Rishi and a Piralayaakalar, learned the sciences from God who came as Lord Murugan and imparted true knowledge at Pothigai. Agathiyar mastered the five aspects of God which are creation, sustenance, destruction, veiling, and blessing, and also achieved all eight siddhis. He then stood as a Vignanakalar, appearing as true knowledge or an epitome of Gnanam. He stood as Lord Dhakshanamurthi.