If Agathiyar had asked me to build a temple for him in my very first Nadi reading in 2002, Lord Muruga asks me to build a temple for him too through another Nadi reading in 2018. If in the former, I were on cloud seven at having the privilege to build one for Agathiyar, that was shed almost immediately when the young Sivabalan, who brought in the Nadi readers from India, told me Agathiyar had asked 50 others too, my thoughts immediately raced to question in the latter, as to why there was a need for another temple when Lord Muruga had numerous temples to his name. Almost as if reading my mind, Lord Muruga answered in the Nadi that I would do it differently. I did not understand what he meant by "differently" back then. As I did not move, he came after some 18 months, telling me that he had tested me and that my home was his temple.
What did he mean by doing it differently? Looking back now, I have come to realize that Tavayogi, too, had done it all differently. When he initiated the annual puja for Agathiyar to commemorate Agathiyar's Jayanthi in the Tamil month of Margazhi and Ahilyam Natchaktra or star, he lit a huge Yagam or fire pit to please Mother Nature, after she went on a rampage in 2004, bringing on the Tsunami. When others were indifferent to nature's feelings, he took up the initiative to carry out a ritual to please her. He made a difference. Similarly, at the height of the recent Pandemic both Lord Siva and later Prapanjam herself asked that we light the Homam to help heal the world. We sent the word around and sat to do it in our individual homes during the lockdown. We made a difference.
Several years after initiating the Maha Yagam at his ashram grounds, he had family members gather around individual fire pits and carry out the Yagam while he lit the main one. Recently, it dawned on me his reason for allowing them to actively participate, then, after Agathiyar, in coming to heal the wounds of a family that was devoted to him for some 30 years, asked them to place all the hurt and suffering into the burning pit and exhaust them. This is what Tavayogi too did in letting these families feed the flame. It was aptly called Sarva Dosa Nivarana Maha Yagam. Who would provide the venue and the means for commoners like us to participate actively in these sacred rituals that both heal and burn our Karma? Rather than touch on others' Karma directly, he had them pass it on to the Divine to sort them out. He did it differently.
When I invited Tavayogi to my home for the very first time in 2005, I had prepared a chair for him to sit while the rest of us sat on the floor. He immediately arose and sat with us on the floor, too. When many heads of establishments expect devotees to wash their feet and lay the red carpet, he showed us that he was different. He was indeed down to earth and humble to the core.
When I was invited over to his ashram by Tavayogi, and at the same time Agathiyar asked that I spend several days with him, to tell you the truth, it was pretty boring. There was no agenda for the day, no schedule of activities to take up, nor was there a hive of activities and visitors thronging the ashram as seen in other ashrams or monasteries. He kept to himself except for an occasional word or two in passing. Very few visitors dropped by, and the moments were rare and apart. But today I realize that, that is how an ashram should be. If it were to be a hive of activity, how different would that be with our daily chaotic and hectic lifestyle? There was one meditation hall I visited locally, where the rules imposing dos and don'ts covered all four walls. They were more a distraction than a pretty sight. Tavayogi let us be free, instead of imposing tight regimes, discipline, and rules. He did it differently.
When my family and I visited his ashram in 2013, he gave way and had us sing the praises of the Siddhas and other songs, bringing us to actively participate in the daily puja at his old Kallar ashram. When in 2016, he inaugurated his new ashram, he again allowed the ten-member team from AVM to lead the singing of the praises of the Siddhas while the fire pit was lit. I wonder if other heads of similar establishments would give way and allow commoners like us to lead and actively participate in such rituals? He made a difference.
When Tavayogi initiated me to carry out the Homam over the phone and later fine-tuned these rituals when he visited us, in my eagerness to please the Siddhas, I gathered many songs to sing during the puja and a list of some 23 items to shower and drench Agathiyar's Murty or statue during libation or Abhisegam. To our surprise, the Siddhas and the deities coming through devotees in later years shortened the rituals to mere minutes. We followed suit. We brought the difference. When I suggested to two visiting heads of Peedhams to shorten the worship and events in their premises too, they shied away, telling me that it was a long-held tradition initiated by their Gurus and did not want to deviate from the norm or smear it. I knew then that much of what we do is carried out in fear. One needs the courage to break away from the age-old ways and become open to new approaches, adapting to current times. I guess this is what I did in one of my last births as a Nambuthri priest who changed the ways rituals were done and ended up being cursed by the elders who kept the tradition alive. But the Siddhas, too, are known to be game changers, bringing on radical changes. They made the difference, too.
I gather that Lord Muruga wants me to follow in Tavayogi's steps, too, not in attire but in upholding principles, hence telling me that I would do it differently. When many invited Tavayogi to officiate their newfound Peedhams at their premises and homes, even before their feet got wet on the path, I never asked, nor did he suggest I start one. I did not move further after my attempts to install Agathiyar's statue in existing temples met with initial failure. Seeing the troubles that brewed in these establishments, I opted not to engage in building any temple or Peedham. When many jumped at the opportunity to be gifted with a Nadi to read, the gift of healing, and the reward of titles and posts, authority, and attention, I turned them down when Agathiyar made these offers. I am proud that I did not fall for these traps. I made the difference. Tavayogi, too, is not known to have healed others or removed their Karma. He had them tackle it themselves, just showing the way and the means, giving the method and the practice. When there was a visiting guru who touched a seeker, atotal stranger and initiated him, creating chaos and disorder in him for some years, and another knowingly creating it, Tavayogi chose to keep his hands to himself. The only moment he touched me and initiated me was after Agathiyar, in a Nadi reading, told me to see him immediately that night and receive the initiation. He does not throw around initiations to everyone gathered, knowing pretty well its dangers. He often tells me that a guru shall observe his student for 12 years before parting with these initiations.