If Paramahansa Yogananda introduced to me the existence of Godmen through his autobiography, "An Autobiography of A Yogi", Supramania Swami of Tiruvannamalai introduced me to his lineage of gurus and their worship that included Pundi Mahan, Yogi Ramsuratkumar, Kollimalai Siddhar, Sri Santhanatha Swamigal and his own father Jayaram Pillai. If I went looking for my guru Supramania Swami on the pretext of charting my second daughter's horoscope, a leaflet carrying Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal of Kallar Ashram name given to me three years earlier at my very first Nadi reading, brought me to meet him on our shores in 2005. He showed me another facet of Agathiyar that of Erai or God. Agathiyar walked across into our homes from the realm of the Siddhas when the rituals associated with Siddha worship shown by Tavayogi that we carried out bridged both heaven and earth. After the initial reading of the Kaanda Nadi that was supposedly written ages ago, Agathiyar came through the Aasi Kaandam that carried his blessings and teachings. Interspersed with these regular Aasi readings he spoke through the Jeeva Nadi occasionally which is delivered in real time too. He stood as the unseen guru beside my gurus in the physical form, Supramania Swami and Tavayogi. Besides these forms of communication, he began to speak through devotees delivering advice, and practices, and also carrying out healing. Telling us that he would not come during the recent Guru Purnima he did come eventually for us to carry out our 60th Wedding and to heal a child who was a victim of a freak bike mishap. That is the soul of Agathiyar. Compassionate and loving, kind and gentle, but stern and truthful. These are the many facets of Agathiyar.
Now that we are bound for the Unitive Way that comes at the tail end of the Journey, it is interesting to learn what those who have previously traveled this phase have to say. Asking Agathiyar to guide us further on this as he had done all these years shifting us through the earlier phases, he replied that it shall all dawn from within in good time.
The Journey on the Unitive Way is where we see results. The transformation takes place rapidly without our doing. The Divine gifts us a body that can sustain his majestic presence. He personally sees through the necessary transformation to become him. Ramalinga Adigal affirms that the most impure body will become a body pure and imperishable.
"The material body constituted of impure elements is transformed into a “Body of Pure Light” that emits a golden brightness. Then the Divinity descends and settles in the disciple's Heart, who becomes entirely filled by Him. Captivated by the "Ardent Fire" of the Divine Essence, the disciple stops thinking, feeling, acting, and even existing. He has become pure Love and Compassion, and this is what he spills on all the beings." (Source: http://www.ramalinga.com)
One crosses "the threshold of the Unitive Way where God with name and form will disappear and ultimately the worshiper and the worshiped, the seeker and the sought, the soul and the Godhead, will merge into each other. Our Swaamikal is now ready for the highest of all possible acts of grace, the crowning glory of the long years of thavam. The conferment of the Effulgence of Grace. The Lord, out of His munificent grace, bestowed on our Swaamikal the very power by which He exercised sovereignty over all the worlds. That power is the Great Effulgence of Grace." (Source: G.Vanmikanathan in his "Pathway to God Trod by Saint Ramalingar", Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay.)
"Divine Grace is a manifestation of the cosmic free will in operation. It can alter the course of events in a mysterious manner through its own unknown laws, which are superior to all natural laws and can modify the latter by interaction. It is the most powerful force in the universe. It descends and acts only when it is invoked by total self-surrender. It acts from within because God resides in the Heart of all beings. Its whisper can be heard only in a mind purified by self-surrender and prayer. It is a descent of God into the soul’s zone of awareness. It is a visitation of force unexpected and unpredictable. It is a voice spoken out of cosmic silence - It is ‘Cosmic Will which can perform authentic miracles under its own laws". (Source: Paul Brunton, ‘Divine Grace Through Total Self-Surrender’ by D.C. Desai)
"Discrimination of the Real from the unreal is the keynote of the journey on the Purgative Way; the travel from darkness to Light is the journey on the Illuminative Way; the resurrection from death to a life of deathlessness, to Amritvam, is the journey on the Unitive Way." (Source: "Makers of Indian Literature - Ramalingar" by G.Vanmikanathan, published by Sahitya Akademi.)
Tavayogi had already spoken to me on many matters pertinent to this journey casually as we walked together or sat together. However, I did not understand nor could I relate them to the inner journeys that he actually meant. Today after staying on the path for some 22 years it all dawns on me. His messages get across now as we experience what he went through, saw, and felt. So too did Agathiyar have me deliver a message to all those gathered last Guru Purnima. It was the Journey both external and internal simplified in simple terms for us to understand and follow. He had me write it down a few days earlier exactly as his words came to me and read it out on Guru Purnima.
"Who is Agathiyan? You are. I am. True. We all are Agathiyan. The Jothi or flame in us is Agathiyan. He resides as the fire, flame, heat, and warmth in us. He is Esan. He is the Esan who resides within. Why is it that we do not realize nor feel him? It is because we have not attained the state of preparedness or readiness to realize him. Once our soul attains this state, we shall begin to realize him. How can we attain this state of preparedness? First, we have to travel this path. We need to travel to the places and abodes of the Siddhas, witness their miracles, enter the states of bliss, and bring back these feelings and work on them, nurturing them. The Siddha shall come down. When we follow their directives they shall walk with us holding our hands. This travel then shall not be that of an external but of an internal journey. Yoga is the key to this travel within. From Sariyai arriving at Kriyai, now they shall teach Yogam. The journey within shall begin. You shall witness happenings. You shall see many things. It would be puzzling to you. It would be new to you too. Continuing this internal journey, you shall arrive at each Chakra and eventually see the cosmic dance of Thillai in Sahasrara. A 1000-petaled flower will keep on opening up continuously. Arutjothi will come to reside here. Then its effulgence enters within, and just as how the Kundalini upon awakening traverses each Chakra purifying them, this effulgence brings on the shine and luminosity in them. Jothi Darisanam takes place where one sees the light or effulgence. The body takes on the same. Vibrations begin to emit within and around us and are felt by those tuned to receive and feel around us. They shall follow you. You become a Jeeva Mukta, having attained Mukti while living in the flesh. Henceforth you are no different from Agathiyan and Agathiyan is no different from you. You are me and I am you."
யார் அகத்தியன்? நீ அகத்தியன். நான் அகத்தியன். உண்மை. நாம் எல்லோரும் அகத்தியன். நம் உள் உள்ள ஜோதி அகத்தியன். அவர் அகத்துள் உறையும் தீ அகத்தியன். அவர் ஈசன். அவர் அகத்துள் உறையும் ஈசன். ஏன் நாம் அவரை உணர்வதில்லை? ஏன் நாம் இதனை உணர்வதில்லை? நாம் பக்குவம் அடையவில்லை. நாம் ஆத்மா பக்குவம் அடைந்தால் நாம் இதனை உணர்வோம். நாம் எப்படி பக்குவம் அடைவது? முதலில் இந்த பாதையில் பயணிக்க வேண்டும். சித்தர்கள் வாசம் செய்யும் இடங்களுக்குச் சென்று, பல அற்புதங்களைக் கண்டு மகிழ்ந்து, உணர்ந்து, பின்னர் அவ் உணர்வுடன் இல்லம் திரும்பி, அவர்களை நினைத்து நினைத்து உருகிப் பூஜிக்க வேண்டும். சித்தன் இறங்கி வருவான். பின் அவன் கட்டளைக்கு ஏற்ப நடந்து வந்தால் விரைவில் அவன் உங்கள் கரங்களை பிடித்து கொண்டு பயணிப்பான். இப் பயணம் வெளி பயணம் அன்று உள் பயணம் ஆகும். உள் பயணத்திற்குத் திறவுகோல் யோகம். சரியையிலிருந்து கிரியைக்கு வந்த பின்னர் இப்போது யோகம் பயிற்றுவிப்பான். அப்போது உள் பயணம் ஏற்படும். பல நிகழ்வினை காண்பீர். பலதும் உணர்வீர். புதிராகவும் இருக்கும். புதியதுவாகவும் இருக்கும். இவ் உள் பயணதைத் தொடர்ந்து வந்தால் ஒவ்வொரு சக்கரமாகச் சென்று அடைந்து பின் இறுதியில் சஹஸ்ராரவில் தில்லை நடனத்தைக் காணலாம். எந் நேரமும் அங்கு ஆயிரம் தாழ் மலர் ஒன்று விரிந்து கொண்டே செல்லும். அருட்சோதி அங்கு வந்து உறையும். பின் அதன் பிரகாசம் உள் சென்று எப்படி குண்டலினி ஒவ்வொரு சக்கரமாக மேலே சென்றதோ சென்று கழிவுகளை விளக்கி தூய்மை செய்ததுவோ அதுபோல் அருட்சோதி கீழ்ச்சென்று ஒவ்வொரு சக்கரமும் பிரகாசிக்கச் செய்யும். ஜோதி தரிசனம் கிட்டும். உடல் ஜோதி பிழம்பாக திகழும். உடல் பிரகாசிக்கும். உடலில் இருந்து அதிர்வுகள் நீண்டு உங்களைச் சூழ்ந்து மற்றவர்களைத் தாக்கும். பலர் இதனை உணரக் கூடும். பக்குவம் அடைந்தவர்கள் புரிந்து கொண்டு பின் தொடர்வார். அப்போது நீ ஜீவ முக்தன் ஆகிவிடுவாய். உனது ஜீவன் முக்தி அடைந்து விட்டது. பின் நீ வேறு அகத்தியன் வேறு அல்ல. நீயே நானாய் நானே நீயாய் திகழ்வோம்.