Sometime back, a devotee who frequented our home Puja asked why we need to praise the Siddhas? He was not an atheist or new to Puja. He used to sing songs from the Thevaram before the deities in the temple in the estate where he grew up. I answered him just as I had answered the reader of this blog who came up to me and asked about the conversations with Agathiyar, if it was all a hallucination. I had told him to carry out all that I did and find out for himself. Similarly, I told this devotee the same and let him find out for himself.
So why conduct Puja then?
Agathiyar, in my very first Nadi reading, asked me to come to the worship of the Siddhas. In almost all the readings, Agathiyar and the Siddhas have been reminding me of the importance, significance, and benefit of conducting and performing Puja or prayers. Similarly, in 1996, Dr Krishnan, a friend, Siddha practitioner, and astrologer, pointed out the importance of prayers to me. He made a Yantra and gave me a mantra of Agathiyar as tools, besides the booklet of hymns and Siddha names, Sidhar Potri, and a painting of Agathiyar, which I received after my very first Nadi reading in 2002 from Nadi reader Sentilkumar and Sivabalan, who brought him to Malaysia, respectively.
Hence, it is no surprise that we took it up too. Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal has a mantra, confirming the importance of Puja, போற்றினால் உனது வினை அகலுமப்பா போற்றினால் பூரணமும் கூடப் பேசும்.
Many come to the Siddha path thinking it is an alternative worship to that conducted in temples traditionally, where, in the former, we seek out temples on certain days and other auspicious days and line up to see the deity and return home, in the latter, many seek out centers and organizations, sit in on the event of the day and return home.
The Siddhas envision the day when each household shall conduct a Puja, be it that of a Siddha Puja or to the deities. If we are to host the Siddha puja, we have to dirty our hands, dust and clean our homes, prepare the venue for the arrival of devotees and guests, usher them in and keep them comfortable, entertain them, and above all, invite the Siddhas too. The approach to the Siddha Puja is one of hands-on. If there is a priest to carry out rituals in the temples, in Siddha puja, the host and the invitees carry out the rituals. Unlike the rigidly outlined rituals in temples, here we are given full freedom to experiment and grow. When Agathiyar came as the bronze statue, he told me to carry out libation or Abhisegam to him using nine items, without listing them in the Nadi. I consulted Mataji from Kallar Ashram, who forwarded to me, more than I bargained for, a list containing 23 items. I could now choose and pick. These days, when the Siddhas themselves come to conduct these Puja, they tell us beforehand what is to be done or stop us at the moment, ending the ritual where it stands.
Siddha Puja is the starting ground. This is the first step to much bigger things. Looking back now, and after 24 years of worship to the Siddhas, we have come to see its results just as Agathiyar had defined to me in a Nadi reading on 12.7.2010. Although we are told not to seek the results of our actions, but to focus on the task at hand, Agathiyar lists out the merits gained by worshiping the Siddhas for us to know and appreciate.
- Many in this world utter my name Agathiyar.
- Prayers done truthfully to Siddhas shall gain many benefits.
- Prayers shall bring much joy.
- Prayers done moderately but splendidly and honestly shall help protect the world.
- Prayers done with fellow devotees will bring many benefits.
- Many shall rise in stature and power.
- Prayers will lead to a state of bliss.
- Prayers done on full moon days shall strengthen the Jothi within.
- Prayers will help remove doubts.
- Through prayers, one shall attain godhead. Strength, grace, and wealth shall be gained.
- Stay on this path of devotion, and the family bond shall be strengthened.
- All that is asked for shall be gained.
- Prayers shall lead to meditation and charitable thoughts.
- All ills shall be removed.
- God shall listen to prayers.
- Idiots shall become geniuses.
- The benefits attained from prayers are indescribable.
- For many changes shall take place.
பூசையின் பலன்: நிகண்டு நாடியில் இருந்து அகத்திய மா முனிவர் அருளிய ஆசி சுக்கமம் 12.7.2010
உண்மையும் உத்தமமும் நிறைந்த பூசைநிறைந்த இன்பம் தந்திடுமே மகத்துவப் பூசை
நிதானமானதொரு அற்புத பூசை
அறமுடனே அகிலம் காக்கும் பூசை
அருளான மாந்தரோடு செய்வாய் நன்றாய்
நன்றான புண்ணியங்கள் காக்கும் பூசை
நற்கதியும் பலர் அடைய செய்யும் பூசை
எண்ணாத சக்தி எல்லாம் தந்திடும் பூசை
எகாந்த நிலை அடைய வைக்கும் பூசை
வையகத்தின் மாந்தரின் அகத்தின் ஜோதி
வலமாக்கும் முழுமதி பூசை அப்பா
ஐயத்தை நீக்கிடும் பூசைதானே
ஆண்டவனை அடைய செய்யும் வழியும் இதுவே
வழி வகுக்கும் சேய்க்கும் மாந்தற்கும் தான்
வளத்திற்கும் அருளுக்கும் பொருளுக்கும்
அழியாத மார்கத்தில் இருந்த வண்ணம்
அகிலத்தில் நிலை பெற்று வாழ் வழிக்கும் பூசை
பூசையால் புண்ணியங்கள் கிட்டும் பூசை
பூர்வமும் போக்கிடும் பூசை அப்பா
இசையுடனே குடும்பவளம் தந்திடும் பூசை
எவை எல்லாம் வேண்டினும் தந்திடும் பூசை
தந்திடுமே தர்மம் தவ சிந்தை தரித்திரியம் போக்கும் பூசை யாகும்
அந்தமும் ஆதியும் இல்லா அகிலமதில் உயர்வு தரும் பூசை அப்பா
அப்பனே ஆண்டவனே உருகும் பூசை
அறிவிழந்தோன் அறிவாளி ஆக்கும் பூசை
ஒப்பில்லா மகத்துவம் கொண்ட பூசை
உயர்வோடு நீ எடுத்து செய்வாய் அப்பா
ஒப்பில்லா மாற்றங்கள் மகத்துவமும்
உயர் நிலை பூசையாலே இருக்குதப்பா
Preparing us at Agathiyar Vanam Malaysia (AVM), for his arrival, both as a bronze statue and in the subtle form, in 2010, he told me that my soul shall take residence in his statue while he comes in me during the duration of the Puja. In asking us to chant his name 100,000 times, he said that we shall give life to an otherwise metal bronze statue.
When we placed Agathiyar's statue on a palanquin and began to bring him around the Mayuranathar temple complex in Dengkil back then, what seemed manageable became back-breaking for the AVM ushers who carried Agathiyar.
When the devotee Dyalen volunteered to carry Agathiyar's statue into the condo of another devotee, he was all smiles as it seemed an easy and light task. But after the Puja was over, and when he had to bring Agathiyar back into the car at the car park, he was struggling to do so.
Days after we conducted a Puja at AVM in the presence of Tavayogi and Mataji in 2016, Agathiyar disclosed that the Siddhas were present at the Puja in a Jeeva Nadi reading read by Tavayogi for a devotee. This was only sensed by Mataji, who felt the ground shake.
Agathiyar, in his Jeeva Nadi reading revealed at Kallar Ashram after the 12th Annual celebrations, which was held on 8 January 2015, revealed that the 18 Siddhas were present amidst the smoke from the Yagam that gathered in the Ashram grounds. Their presence came as the sweet aroma and breeze that enveloped the entire place. Agathiyar added that the 18 Siddhas showered flowers onto all those present.
In calling me to their worship in a Nadi reading in 2002, and taking it up, bringing my family too, chanting and calling out their names, singing their praises at our home Puja, we caught their attention. The bridge was drawn down for the Siddhas to come from their plane or realm into our homes. Agathiyar then introduced me to a guru in the physical form on the path of the Siddhas. Tavayogi of Kallar Ashram introduced me to carrying out the Homam, a smaller version of the Yagam or Yagna, in my home. Although initially I was reluctant, telling him that it was the domain of the temple priests, he convinced me to do it, allaying any fear and inadequacy that I had. Later, Agathiyar in the Nadi tells me that I was not doing it for me but for the good and well-being of this world or Ulaga Saymum. At the peak of the pandemic, Lord Siva came through a memo taken down by a devotee, asking me to get devotees to conduct a Homam in their individual homes due to the lockdown to subdue the terror and danger lurking in the air and assist Prapanjam in her healing. Fearing a revival, Prapanjam came through another devotee with a similar message later, asking her to pass it to me.
Now that the home has physically been cleansed, and the venue has been prepared for the arrival of devotees and guests, and above all, the Siddhas, the very space where all this is happening now is cleansed too, besides attending to the continued sustenance, survival, and the needs of Prapanjam with the ritual of Homam. We grab their attention, and at the same time, the bridge is then drawn down by calling out their names. Having the Siddhas as guests in our homes, cooling the Siddhas and deities with the ritual of libation, and in serving them food and delicacies, a bond is formed where they are obliged and are on hand to listen to and attend to our needs. If initially the tendency is to add to these rituals as it brings on a sense of joy, in the words of my wife, making us "high," eventually the Siddhas themselves have us drop many rituals or shorten their duration, by coming to show and tell. At times, they change our well-laid-out plans and hijack the Puja. Knowing this, these days we only draft one, knowing that they will come to amend and change it anyway.
The Siddhas do not sit on a throne, watch and enjoy the proceedings during a Siddha Puja, but instead sit among us. They give us a helping hand, so that when we lift and carry things, we don't feel the weight. They dine with us. If they are not with us, they are watching from their realm. Agathiyar once said that just as we speak about them, they too speak about us. This is the bond that one creates in coming to carry out Puja. This bond would eventually open up a membership in their club or Tirukootam, which one has to aspire for, says Agathiyar.
Our prayer has always been what Tavayogi has taught us to ask.
If our choices so far have determined our path and the results, in surrendering our free will, henceforth they begin to determine what is right for us, or rather, reveal our true purpose in coming here. The Siddha comes to claim his throne and rightful place in the inner chambers of our hearts and mind as the long-lost buddy, the JeevAtma that went into self-exile after our Ego invaded and took over the fortress. The Final Destiny comes into play. We are no more ourselves. We who were a part of Him are now whole again. We become One with Him. We become Yegan.