T.K Thangarajan, as Tavayogi was known formally, was a successful businessperson managing his cotton industry in Tiruppur in Coimbatore. He was into politics and movies, too.
He became a disciple of Chitramuthu Adigal and came to be known as Thaaiveedu Thangarasan. He was a devout follower of Agathiyar and the Siddhas.
Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal, before becoming a mendicant or Turavi, used to be a well-known orator, often chairing the many talk shows or Pattimandrams that were popular with the public.
The talent he had as a proficient and convincing speaker was put to use and maximized later by Agathiyar, having him take the stage again, but this time to preach and popularize the path of the Siddhas or Siddhar Margam.
In 2004, Tavayogi accompanied a Nadi reader to Malaysia after Agathiyar asked him to shelve his intent to go into Samadhi and instead preach the path to seekers in Malaysia. Eventually, Tavayogi found his way to Lord Perumal’s temple in Puchong, where he gave his first talk in Malaysia.
After meeting a seeker who had a desire to set up a Peedham, Tavayogi traveled again to Malaysia in 2005 at the former's invitation to officiate the opening of an affiliate Peedham in Batu Caves.
I met Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal for the first time at this premise.
Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal’s name was mentioned to me four years before meeting him. Nadi Guru Senthilkumar handed me a leaflet in 2002 appealing for donations from Thaiveedu Thangarasan towards the building of a temple for Agathiyar in Kallar, Tamil Nadu. I had kept that leaflet with me.
Coming across the news of the opening of the Peedham in the Tamil language newspapers, I searched for the leaflet that I had stashed away. I called the number advertised and took it with me to see Tavayogi. He confirmed the leaflet was his.
Tavayogi accepted me as his disciple amongst many others. Thus began another beautiful relationship between a guru and a disciple. Subsequently, Tavayogi invited me over to his ashram at Kallar.
Like my first guru, Supramania Swami of Tiruvannamalai, whom I met on my maiden travels to India in 2003, Tavayogi too waited for me to turn up at his ashram on my second visit to India several months after his departure to Kallar.
Tavayogi had seen the worst of times when his business collapsed as a result of politics in India at that period of time; he had to hit the streets with his family. At 25, he became blind overnight and spent a year in a temple in Methupalaiyam, where the Goddess was known to cure the blind. Frustrated that he did not regain his eyesight, he was on the verge of committing suicide by jumping onto the railway tracks, when a mysterious voice stopped him in his tracks. He formed a determined resolve to believe in Agathiyar and let Agathiyar rule his life as he pleases.
He regained his sight, picked up his life, and went back to his clothing business. He then left it all at 50 to his family and walked away from it all.
His travels through India brought him to the hills of Uthiyore, Kolli, Sathuragiri, and Pothigai. Tavayogi sought out Agathiyar Vanam on the instruction of Agathiyar and finally located it on the 9th km of the Ooty-Mettupalayam trunk route at Kallar. He started an ashram that he named after his guru, the Sri Agathiyar Gnana Peedham Thirukovil.
When I took up his invitation to visit his ashram, I was shown the life of a Siddha. I was taken on early morning walks; we bathed in the nearby stream that had its source in the mineral and herb-rich mountains of Ooty; I was shown how to conduct prayers to the Siddhas; I was allowed to do charity and feed the poor, and was given an initiation.
Tavayogi did not have me sit in front of him and preach to me; instead, I was blessed to be taken on a journey of discovery into the unknown, to Siddha samadhis, caves, and temples in Agasthiyampalli, Tanjore, Chennimalai, Sivanmalai, Uthiyore, Courtalam, and Palani.
I had to observe and learn from him. I was allowed to watch how he lived. I saw the humbleness in him, the kindness in him, and the simplicity with which he lived. He was not stressed out and often asked me to remain so. He must have guessed that I freaked out under stress. He asked me to be very patient when facing difficult times and circumstances. He asked me to be very patient with people, too. He reminded me to remain calm in the face of problems and danger.
He used to sit and entertain all those who came to him. To those who came with problems, he did not delve into the problems, trying to find ways and suggest means to overcome them, but instead asked that they pray to the Siddhas to help clear these problems. He avoided taking on the karma of people.
Tavayogi was not one who easily parts with the intricate workings of the spiritual world. He preaches the basics of the Siddha path to the masses. He once told me I had to wait 12 years before he would part with this knowledge.
When Tavayogi visited Malaysia again in 2007, he taught me Asanas and Pranayam techniques, which Agathiyar tells me in the Nadi are to be treasured, cherished, and put into practice. He showed me how to perform rituals like Abhisegam, ablution or libation of the idol of Agathiyar's statue, and lighting the sacrificial fire or Homam.
Tavayogi has helped set up several movements propagating Agathiyar and the Siddha teachings in Malaysia.
He was the patron for the first and second World Conference of Siddha Philosophy held in Kuala Lumpur and Chennai, respectively.
He is the author of several books.
The Jeeva Nadi in his possession, after his Samadhi, is being read currently on Wednesdays and Saturdays by Mataji Sarojini Ammaiayar at his Kallar ashram.
Mataji Sarojini Ammaiyaar continues to conduct the Yagam in conjunction with Agathiyar’s Jayanthi and Guru Puja annually.