Wednesday, 25 September 2024

BLESSINGS

We always have a habit of seeking blessings from every holy man who comes by. If we procure their blessings, they unknowingly strengthen our egos and weaknesses. Stop seeking blessings if you have many negativities in you for these shall only strengthen your existing nature. No one can burn these with their look or stare. There is no easy way out. You have to work on your negativities first and transform them before seeking blessings from sadhus and holy men. Now I understand why Thavathiru Rengaraja Desigar of Ongarakudil kept silent when I repeatedly called out asking for his blessings. Finally, he turned to me and said that coming there itself was a blessing and shut me up. He made me feel unwanted. I went back disappointed. Agathiyar later told me that I did not know the man well, and to go back to him again. Similarly, he did not know me either. So imagine if I wanted to harm someone and stood before a sage or sadhu for his blessings and he did bless me. Imagine the consequences of his generosity. No wonder Tavayogi told me that a guru would truly test us to the limit or for some 12 years before parting us with his knowledge or with even a blessing for that matter. I never went back to Ongakarakudil. Indeed I went the first time on the compulsion of his devotees in Malaysia. Yogi Ramsuratkumar too refused to bless someone who arrived there after visiting Mata Amritanandamayi Devi Amma but for another reason. He told his aids later that he did not want to disturb the blessings he had received from her earlier. It is said that Saint Avvai too, to our surprise, has said that one should neither condemn anyone nor bless them. 

Rather than seek the blessings of others all life long, it is time we worked on ourselves to reach the state of those whom we cherish, honor, and look up to as gurus. lf most gurus give us their blessings and send us off, Tavayogi had me drop my hold on all things and stripped me naked instead. Agathiyar on his part made me realize my mistakes and weaknesses and had me strengthen my virtues. The entire house was brought down and rebuilt. Only then did the Divine Grace come within. The greatest blessing is that from the Divine. This Grace or Arul does not come without effort. We have to work towards proving ourselves worthy to receive it first and only then does it shower on us. Once it showers, it then pours for days, months, years, and lifetimes. It carries us off in its strong currents.

Swami Muktananda sheds some light in his book "Kundalini - The Secret of Life" published by Siddha Yoga Publication, in 1994. He writes,

"The basis of all disease and pain is the impurities that block the flow of Prana in the Nadis. These blockages are caused by imbalances and disorders in the three bodily humors - wind, bile, and phlegm. She (Kundalini) penetrates all 720 million Nadis, consumes all the old decaying fluids, and then releases vital energy into them all. The Nadis become filled with Prana. It is only after the body has been purified that the Shakti can work with full force."

Swami Kripananda, author of the "Sacred Power (Kundalini)", and "The Guru's Sandals" writing the introduction for Swami Muktananda's "Kundalini - The Secret of Life", states "It is not enough for the guru to awaken Kundalini. The guru also controls and regulates the process helping to remove all the blocks and obstacles in the disciple's path until the disciple attains the ultimate realization of the self. Being one with the inner energy the guru can accomplish this on a subtle level from within." 

He says bit by bit as it moves through the subtle system, blocks are removed, addictions fall away, and one's life is set in order. Ultimately the experience of the self becomes constant. Hence nothing happens overnight. Bit by bit, the Kundalini unfolds and travels within. Because he has merged his individual awareness into the divine, the guru can serve as a pure vessel through which its pure energy flows. It is this transmission of divine energy which awakens and guides the Kundalini. 

When Agathiyar told me there was nothing else to do and that she shall do her work, Swami Muktananda too says the same in his book "Where Are You Going - A Guide to the Spiritual Journey", published by Syda Foundation, 1989, "Kundalini is an all-knowing intelligent force and she knows exactly how to work within the system." He adds "Bliss will throb in every pore of your body. Only the guru can know that delight and taste the elixir that arises in every pore of the body." I am having these experiences. Only he knows what I am going through.

When the Chakras of the sense organs are purified the physical senses become sharpened and refined. Swami Muktananda writes further,

"On her journey to the Sahasrara, Kundalini passes through all the sense organs, purifying them and investing them with new powers. As Kundalini rises to the ocular center, she purifies the eyes. As the Kundalini purifies the sense of touch, one begins to feel thrilled of love through every pore and hair of the body. One becomes immersed in the joy of touch. When Kundalini reaches the center of smell it purifies that, and one comes into direct contact with the essence of smell. When the Shakti moves to the auditory center, she purifies this too. When a shower of nectar is released and begins to fall dropping onto the root of the tongue, the taste buds become extremely refined. Even the simplest food is relished."

This knowledge (of the Kundalini) was so well hidden, in fact, that when Swami Muktananda received Kundalini awakening from his own master Bhagawan Nityananda and began experiencing its effects, he had no idea what was happening to him." So did I not know what was taking place within too, until Agathiyar came along to reveal and explain later. Agathiyar told me that the energies activated in 2010, having stagnated for a while at Manipuraka, and that were released after the 22nd, and 23rd August 2022 episodes, would do their work and that there was nothing that I needed to do further. Just as Tavayogi told me our efforts are only until we reach Svadhistana and the guru shall lead us on from there, all my efforts ended that day. Read about these occurrences at Siddha Heartbeat: A NEW JOURNEY (agathiyarvanam.blogspot.com)

As their grace deepened, a slight throb was felt at the spot on the head at exactly the anterior fontanel or the soft spot located in newborns. This throb nudges me to take notice of it and become aware. Agathiyar told me each shall realize his center சுழிமுனை (Suzhimunai). "Know the spot where energy and vibration or உணர்வு comes within, it to be your Suzhimunai,"  he says. One who arrives at his center becomes total adds Agathiyar. He calls this the state of பரிபூரணம் (Paripuranam). 

After having these experiences, Agathiyar asked that I write about them so that readers would know what to expect walking the path of internal transformation towards the goal of attaining Jothi. As both my gurus Supramania Swami and Tavayogi say whether we attain the state is immaterial for now. At least we are working towards it. We shall come back again if we fail in this life. 

Swami Muktananda mentions in his book ‘Secret of the Siddhas’, Siddha Yoga Publication, 1980, that his master gave him one word that completely transformed him. Muktananda says, 

"That word (Guru Om), which I receive after so many years, spread through my body from head to toe like wildfire carried by the wind. It produced in me both inner heat and the coolness of joy. Before meeting my guru I had practiced many different kinds of yoga, but it was I who had practiced them. However, that word activated a spontaneous yoga within me. I was filled with amazement. After the awakening of the Shakti, this process of yogic movements began to take place within my entire body. The pulsation of his ecstasy pervades my entire body like the movement of the wind. The Kriyas were his, the yoga was his, and meditation took place because of him. The final message that I received was from him. The power of his word permeates each of my blood cells; the fluids of my entire body are his. That is why I am joyful. Gurudev entered me and replaced all my bodily fluids with his. He evicted me and took up residence in me. He annihilated my ego. By making my individuality his, he became me. This is the guru’s compassion. Only when I lost myself in the ecstasy of Bhagawan Nithyananda did I realize who he was.

I have on numerous occasions lost myself having immersed in the bliss and ecstasy in the Divine presence when I visited temples and conducted puja in my home and that of others. I wonder if others understood, for seeing the videos of these moments most of them had a blank look on their faces. As Swami Muktananda says "Only the guru can know that delight and taste the elixir that arises in every pore of the body" and as Ramalinga Adigal says "Only the Lord knows what I am going through", indeed one has to experience and savor this ambrosia to know. 




When I had my first taste of this ambrosia flowing within as I used to complete my solo puja in my home and stepped out, I would tell my wife if only I could transfer the feeling to her by touch... As this feeling expanded I wished to touch the lives of others too bringing them to the worship of the Siddhas. I guess that is when Agathiyar in 2013 brought many youths over to experience the join too. It is now their turn to share the bliss with others who come their way too. Thus Mahindren has willingly taken it up hosting the first puja gathering the kids together at his home which has now become AVM too.