Many come to the path of the Siddhas out of curiosity. Some stay. Some leave. Of those who stay some see it as an extension of temple worship, exploring this time the many abodes and shrines and Samadhis of the Siddhas. Though initially, it might seem to some as a substitute for temple worship, in reality, the Siddha path is one of traveling within to explore the many untold mysteries. Very few stay till the end to explore this unknown and uncharted world and its terrain. While some are trapped in Sariyai for life, others keep doing Kriyai all their lives. If Sariyai disciplines us, through rigid do's and don'ts, Kriyai brings us to focus on rituals. It is only after coming to Yogam that spontaneous meditation sets in. In observing Sariyai or Taatamaargam, we live in the world of Siva as his servants. In carrying out Kriyai or Sarputramaargam, we, as children of his, take up the rituals of worship to Siva. Coming to Yogam or Sagamaargam, we become a companion to him, attaining the form of Siva. We step into Jnana or Sanmaargam finally. These four Neri or Maargam or path or ways bring their own state of Mukti or spiritual liberation (Moksha or Nirvana). Sariyai or Taatamaargam brings us to Salopam or the rare gift of living in the world of the God; Kriyai or Sarputramaargam brings us to the state of Sameepam or the great honor of living close to God; Yogam or Sagamaargam brings us to the state of Sarupam or the exalted state of taking the form of God; Jnana or Sanmaargam brings us to Sayujyam or the ultimate state of merging with God.
Sariyai is a good start, living in his world and taking care of temples and altars at home. By performing Kriyai, it takes us a long way, connecting us to him personally. By taking up Yoga, it enhances the true home and abode of him that is within us, making it suitable for him to reside. Gaining Jnana brings the understanding that we were never separate in the first place.
Ramalinga Adigal divides each stage into four further stages. There is Sariyai in Sariyai, Kriyai in Sariyai, Yogam in Sariyai, and Jnana in Sariyai. Similarly, it goes for the other stages too: Sariyai in Kriyai, Kriyai in Kriyai, Yogam in Kriyai, Jnana in Kriyai; Sariyai in Yogam, Kriyai in Yogam, Yogam in Yogam, and Jnana in Yogam; and Sariyai in Jnana, Kriyai in Jnana, Yogam in Jnana, and finally Jnana in Jnana.
I thought that I had failed Agathiyar, who had high hopes for me to bring this path to the youths of present times. It was time for the Agathiyar Vanam Malaysia (AVM) family members to carry out Kriyai in their own small ways in their homes on the advent of the pandemic in 2019. On Tuesday, 30 July 2019, I put up a notice and brought the shutters down on AVM and its charity arm, Amudha Surabhi (AS). I carried a post, "SAYONARA".
As I have written in my last post Agathiyar has revealed the way and showed us the escape route from the cycle of birth and death. The truth has been revealed. The theory is over. He is asking us to move on to practice what he has preached all these while, now. Or you can take it the other way too, after putting into practice all his tiny bits of advice, he has revealed the theory behind it. For those yet to come on board it is now up to them to place the effort and comply with the 5 tenets of life. For the others, I pray that we can all continue with the task. Now he is moving us to another platform from the physical to that of the soul that takes place within. He shall guide further from within each one of us, individually, customized, and just made for each. So it is time to say Sayonara for this group AVM too. Let us meet up sometime in the future and exchange notes on how we are faring in our spiritual journey. Thank you very much for being with us all this while.
Passing the baton to Mahindren in 2024 to bring this path to the kids now, except for his siblings and my family, as he too, saw no response from the other parents, he too dissolved the New AVM group shortly after. I realized that Mahindren and I had fared well in comparison after hearing a young man who took up the helm and post of a temple secretary some twenty years back lament on his position and state of affairs too. He said that he had to run the management of the temple alone, although there was a committee. A patron and head of an ashram in India told me the same that she had to run around sourcing funds for the temple, although there were temple trustees in place. He voiced out his sadness that, although there were some 150 families living in the vicinity of his temple, no one turned out to pray. Those who come are from afar. This was a similar complaint from the head of a Brindavanam setting smack in the middle of an Indian community in another state. There, they prefer to go to the temple rather than pray at the guru Peedham. People prefer to pay, pray, and move on rather than serve the temple or Peedham in many ways. Sariyai by the people and for the people is rare these days, with the gardeners, cooks, watchmen, and priests coming under the payroll and having to be paid a salary, lamented a Peedham head to me. People do not come to Kriyai, preferring to engage the temple priests for their religious needs during all their auspicious and inauspicious events. Yoga is a choice that a select few venture to come to, and those who stay on and practice are few. Jnana is rare. It has been replaced by people vomiting bookish knowledge. But although this is indeed a sad state of things, I am assured from all directions these days that all is well and fine and right. A neighbor of mine, Selvarani, amazed me when she could take everything as Jesus's doing and grace. Postponements, disappointments, pain, and suffering were all seen as positive by her. Mrs Kogie Pillai wrote me the piece about "Sowing the Seeds" that we had spoken about earlier, some time ago.
Sometimes, living our life purpose and executing the tasks associated with it can become a little blurry. We may have spent much of our life fulfilling a role in a corporate or similar environment characteristic perhaps of self-imposed high standards, lofty expectations, driven by results, immense motivation, sincere commitment, unwavering determination and more. These personal standards and traits can sometimes unintentionally be expected of others as well and more importantly they can filter into our spiritual roles. Spiritual roles however tend to be designed and structured somewhat differently from corporate roles, particularly around job specifications, performance management and measurement.
Although there may be some similarities between the two roles the spiritual one is distinct for it’s unique, individualised path aligned to the personal journey of each person. The manager navigating the spiritual team is also on his/her personal journey hence he/she is only required to perform their specified task and move on. Members of the team accept responsibility for their tasks and are accountable for their performance. It is pretty much a transformational, self-managing system.
There are however some spiritual pathways where the leader walks the path and members follow. The leader navigates, guides and steers based on his personal experiences, acquired knowledge, wisdom and spiritual accomplishments. The leader leads and members follow hence members inevitably traverse the journey of their leader as opposed to their own. There is no judgement in this if one is fully aware of their choice and is happy in pursuing it.
The siddha path however offers the opportunity to learn from experiences of others, translate it into personal knowledge, formulate wisdom and use discernment in discovering the self and one’s purpose. It encourages spiritual independence, self-management and the pursuit of bespoke relevant outcomes to advance one’s unique journey. To this end the spiritual leader will disseminate various different seeds and continue with his/her own journey. Each individual will respond to the seed/s that resonate with them.
Therefore in my novice opinion your concern relative to failing in carrying out your tasks and in meeting siddha expectations and the sense of disappointment in not seeing growth and advancement in many individuals is unnecessarily self-punitive. The task was to sow the seeds, which was accomplished. One cannot make them germinate. Each individual will respond to the seed relevant to their unique journey and the time taken for each seed to germinate will vary. For example apple seeds take 2-3 weeks to germinate and 2 to 8 years to bear fruit, mango seeds typically germinate within 1 to 3 weeks and can take 5-8 years to bear fruit , cocoa seeds take 12 to 18 months to germinate and 3-5 years to produce beans and the buccaneer palm can take 18 months to germinate and reportedly decades to reach maturity.
The spiritual journey is incredibly arduous, often soul stretching, mind bending and life wrenching hence one may come to the fold, fall off the spiritual wagon, leave to re-learn lessons, acquire more knowledge, shed baggage, encounter more challenges, take time out to heal or seek to understand themself or life better. This takes time. It takes as long as it takes and differs from person to person. Their seed germinates and grows only when they are ready. It cannot be hurried. When they return to the spiritual path they are more inclined to stay, grow and thrive.
Disappointment relative to not seeing them grow and germinate before your eyes stems from measuring growth within our linear time frame. There is only the present, no past, no future. Your task was done, seeds were sown and they will germinate, we just don’t know when. Regardless, at some point you will see the fruits of your labour from wherever you are and hopefully you will ready for a bountiful harvest, owed to you.
Frank Alexander, in his book "In the Hours of Meditation", Advaita Ashrama, Calcutta, 1993, writes,
"Having done thy task, stand aside. Work to thine utmost, and then to thine utmost be resigned. Know that wherever there is worry and expectations in work, there is also the blindest form of attachment."
When I thanked a reader, telling him that his email came in a timely manner as an assurance for me to continue writing, he messaged me yesterday, "It was truly a fantastic decision, and it will be helpful for beginner seekers," and commented on a recent post.
Saint Ramanuja who defying his guru, Gosthipurna to share a secret mantra teaches is really shows his compassionate action for universal good is a higher duty than blind obedience. By publicly proclaiming the mantra for all to hear, he demonstrated that true spirituality isn't about hoarding sacred knowledge for personal salvation, but about selflessly working for the liberation of others, regardless of their status. Finally, you are doing it for the liberation of others.