As the heatwave takes its toll on many in Japan and California, the air conditioners I had installed brought much relief into my home and perhaps saved us from the heatstroke. There was a need to rearrange the household things to minimize energy consumption and maximize its cooling effects. Hence there was a break in blogging the past two weeks. My close associates on this journey Mahindren, Suren, and Malar called or messaged to enquire why there were no new posts. I told them the reason and also indicated that I shall stop writing too. The reason. Much has been said by the Siddhas and passed on through this blog. From passing on teachings they began to initiate their devotees into practices and came around to check in on them. The method has been given in this blog. What has been given to us as methods have since brought results and benefits. These methods brought about several processes. We are currently experiencing the process. The results and benefits cannot be divulged as yet, for it will either bring expectations of a similar experience or bring frustration if one following them doesn't see the results. As Agathiyar said no two experiences shall be the same, one has to see to the end of the process before he can safely divulge these secrets. When Ramalinga Adigal hit the jackpot and attained the ultimate state and chose to divulge its secrets, it was given to us as the Thiruarutpa, a compendium of his experience narrated through some 6,000 songs.
When someone asked me and my wife what we gained from worshipping Siddhas many years back we were baffled. Does one need to gain benefits from worship? Is it a commodity to be bought through the act of worship? Doesn't anyone worship for the love of his deity anymore? Does everything have to have an earning or reward or a carrot hung before the horse cart? Is everything a business deal now?
When someone asked me and my wife what we gained from worshipping Siddhas many years back we were baffled. Does one need to gain benefits from worship? Is it a commodity to be bought through the act of worship? Doesn't anyone worship for the love of his deity anymore? Does everything have to have an earning or reward or a carrot hung before the horse cart? Is everything a business deal now?
Looking through the net and books on Yoga again we are presented with a long list of benefits spelled out, that one shall gain from these practices even before actually going into the practice. Doesn't anyone do Yoga as a daily regime just like drinking and eating, breathing, and sleeping? Have we ever asked what is the benefit of drinking, eating, breathing, and sleeping or opted out not to do it? Watch a child and you shall see him/her perform yoga asanas without being coached. When did we lose it then? Now we have to drag ourselves to do Yoga. We need to be in the company of others to do Yoga.
The Siddhas never told us the benefits either with worship or Yoga until we started to practice them for a period of time. Only then did they come to reveal the state we were in. Only then did we realized the processes that we were going through. Only then did we begin to realize the benefits that came with the practice. Hence we are never frustrated if it takes time or doesn't materialize as said. We shall not look forward to the rewards or benefits instead stay focused on the practice and the process. There is no destination waiting to be reached. Each step brings us to a new place that marks a new spot on the journey. Each moment we arrive at a new destination. Although we are destined by our karma the divine grace can change the path if he chooses to do so. Hence the reason for asking us to take hold of the divine. He knows best for he sees the past, present, and future. We are limited in vision and end up making blunders that we tend to regret later.
If this is true of someone watching over us from a height of several miles, imagine what the divine residing in the skies sees. The divine who resides beyond also resides closer to home, within us too.
Supramania Swami told me that none of our effort in attaining Erai would go to waste. He added that we cannot take anything with us including the tapas or long years of austerities put in. We shall have to leave all behind. Ramalinga Adigal points out to us that our tapas has contributed partly to Tavayogi achieving the state of jothi. This explains why Supramania Swami reminded me to do tavam, telling me "Your tavam will bring advancement to me and my spiritual state." So it looks like it is a two-way process between the guru and disciple, where both tend to gain much. We have been told, taught, and shown to forever be obedient servants to the guru. Agathiyar shot down my wish to take many more births to do service or Seva to him, instead wanted us to attain spiritual wisdom or jnana and become a Siddha like him too.
Agathiyar did not ask himself what he would gain in making Sivalingas out of mud, sand, earth, stone, rock, or granite as he journeyed south. It has come to be worshipped through the ages. He gave mankind something to grab on to and scale the heights in becoming divine. Recently Ramalinga Adigal came to ask us to cool the statue of Agathiyar at AVM once a week telling us that Agathiyar had taken on all our tapas. Ma had come exactly a year back asking us to cool her (Agathiyar) down daily. Siva is cooled continuously at temples. Agathiyar explains the need to cool the deities and in return cool the self, comparing it to nature that comes as rain to cool Mother Earth.
Gurus are known to tell us that it is difficult to achieve what they had done. Its all a secret they tell us keeping us at a safe distance from the pot of honey. They intentionally or unintentionally drive away seekers through such secrecy. They chose to divulge their secrets only to those who stay behind, at times after 12 long years. Moving away from teaching the masses they identify a candidate or several who have the potential to lead and become gurus themselves. Agathiyar and Ramalinga Adigal, identified two such candidates and passed on the role of a guru recently, Mahindren from Agathiyar Vanam Malaysia (AVM) and Mr. and Mrs. Sri Krishna from Agathiyar Universal Mission (AUM). They pass on the practice and get them to coach seekers whom they send to them too. They have been tasked to groom new seekers into the practice of Yoga besides upholding puja and charity. Having done so they do not want us to stagnate and remain a teacher forever. The responsibility is shifted to another who comes along and is identified by them, while the former goes deeper within. Similarly, it is with charity. They stop us and pass on the responsibility to others to continue. This is how the tradition of Siddhas lives. It doesn't end with the demise or the absence of the guru but we see the seed continue to sprout under the shadows and watchful eyes of the guru in subtle form. When the seedling is capable of journeying on its own, it is transplanted onto another field to grace and beautify the field with its teachings and its presence.
"I wish you could see what I can see. Sometimes you have to be really high to understand how small you are. I am coming home now."These were the words that Felix Baumgartner uttered just before he took his first step and dived from a height of 24.2 miles creating a new space jump world record in 2012.
Supramania Swami told me that none of our effort in attaining Erai would go to waste. He added that we cannot take anything with us including the tapas or long years of austerities put in. We shall have to leave all behind. Ramalinga Adigal points out to us that our tapas has contributed partly to Tavayogi achieving the state of jothi. This explains why Supramania Swami reminded me to do tavam, telling me "Your tavam will bring advancement to me and my spiritual state." So it looks like it is a two-way process between the guru and disciple, where both tend to gain much. We have been told, taught, and shown to forever be obedient servants to the guru. Agathiyar shot down my wish to take many more births to do service or Seva to him, instead wanted us to attain spiritual wisdom or jnana and become a Siddha like him too.
Agathiyar did not ask himself what he would gain in making Sivalingas out of mud, sand, earth, stone, rock, or granite as he journeyed south. It has come to be worshipped through the ages. He gave mankind something to grab on to and scale the heights in becoming divine. Recently Ramalinga Adigal came to ask us to cool the statue of Agathiyar at AVM once a week telling us that Agathiyar had taken on all our tapas. Ma had come exactly a year back asking us to cool her (Agathiyar) down daily. Siva is cooled continuously at temples. Agathiyar explains the need to cool the deities and in return cool the self, comparing it to nature that comes as rain to cool Mother Earth.
Gurus are known to tell us that it is difficult to achieve what they had done. Its all a secret they tell us keeping us at a safe distance from the pot of honey. They intentionally or unintentionally drive away seekers through such secrecy. They chose to divulge their secrets only to those who stay behind, at times after 12 long years. Moving away from teaching the masses they identify a candidate or several who have the potential to lead and become gurus themselves. Agathiyar and Ramalinga Adigal, identified two such candidates and passed on the role of a guru recently, Mahindren from Agathiyar Vanam Malaysia (AVM) and Mr. and Mrs. Sri Krishna from Agathiyar Universal Mission (AUM). They pass on the practice and get them to coach seekers whom they send to them too. They have been tasked to groom new seekers into the practice of Yoga besides upholding puja and charity. Having done so they do not want us to stagnate and remain a teacher forever. The responsibility is shifted to another who comes along and is identified by them, while the former goes deeper within. Similarly, it is with charity. They stop us and pass on the responsibility to others to continue. This is how the tradition of Siddhas lives. It doesn't end with the demise or the absence of the guru but we see the seed continue to sprout under the shadows and watchful eyes of the guru in subtle form. When the seedling is capable of journeying on its own, it is transplanted onto another field to grace and beautify the field with its teachings and its presence.