Man has a tendency and is known to manipulate things, even in spiritual matters. So, how much of what we know and follow is true? This is the reason Tavayogi asks us to question, even if it comes from the Siddha's mouth. Agathiyar too tells us to sieve through carefully all the input that comes our way and know what the play of Maya is, and to be aware and stay away, even in the Siddha path. Agathiyar also tells us to read the original text and not translations by others. He says the Siddha would come within us and enlighten us further on whatever sacred text we read. Furthermore, the Siddhas are known to hide the truth through Paripasai, which needs to be decoded and not read and understood at face value. I guess there was a reason the Siddhas hid the truth lest it land in the hands of frauds who could manipulate the innocent. They would rather destroy it than have a crook lay his hands on them.
Then many claim to be Siddhas too. In a recent podcast I came across, a young lad tells of his torment under a person claiming to be a priest and claiming that Siddhas speak to and through him, who took control of his family, and had them do remedies and rituals, and went to the extent of threatening and instilling fear in them if they failed to do it for some good three years. I fear that viewers watching this podcast would form a negative opinion and shy away from Siddhas. It is very damaging to the very Siddha institution itself. Another who claims to be a Siddha, speaking about his feats, laments about the equally troubling times he had whilst in the midst of building his temple. Tavayogi, too, had his fair share of troubles back at his old ashram and later, when nearing the completion of his new ashram, but he never spoke about it to others.
Then there was another coverage of the head of an ashram, whom we knew and kept in contact with, who was portrayed as fearful, when in truth he was the most humble and gentle being I had ever seen. Tavayogi, too, was portrayed somewhat differently by a network channel that interviewed him.
All this is not washing dirty linen in public, but to bring awareness to the state of affairs. This is how man manipulates the facts. It is said that when one takes a step into spiritualism, Maya comes to confront and divert them. Manickavasagar sings of 6 Kodi Maya Saktis (60 million illusory powers) that come into play.
But all is not lost as we battle Maya. It is said that holding the feet of the divine guru, Maya, that is also the work of the divine that controls material reality, ultimately dissolves, allowing the devotee to realize the ultimate truth. When my brother-in-law, who envisioned and built the Jegathguru Sri Raghavendra Swamigal Miruthiga Brindavanam in Ipoh, Perak, was worried sick as to what would happen to this temple when he was pretty much sick, Sri Raghavendra came through a devotee and pacified him, asking him not to worry about the temple but to worry about his health, for his true abode was not the temple but his heart. Just as an athlete is tested to see if he is fit to participate in a tournament, the divine tests us before accepting us into his fold. See it all as a test of our wits.