FROM CHAOS TO PEACE

I have spoken to others about it and written about it in this blog too. It is about whether to involve ourselves, how far one should involve, and when we should know to back off from attending to the affairs of others and the world. Since we are not alone, as we are a family, a community, a society, and a nation of people, what happens around us affects us too. Similarly, what we do affects others too.

We might not be able to stop wars far away. But when things happen before our very eyes, or right under our nose, how can we shut or close our eyes and be indifferent to it? 

We learn from the movie "Karuppu," where, when a devotee asks the village deity Karuppu, who had taken a form, why he kept away and was not answering the prayers of devotees till then, he replies that "That is the reason you (we) are placed on the face of the earth." We are apostles and messengers, and represent them in flesh and form. The Gods expect us to do something.

Tom Jones sings, "What good am I?" asking,

What good am I - if I'm like all the rest
If I just turn away - when I see how you're dressed
If I shut myself off - so I can't hear you cry
What good am I?

What good am I - if I know and don't do
If I see and don't say - if I look straight through you
If I turn a deaf ear - to the thundering sky
What good am I?

What good am I - while you softly weep
And I hear in my head - what you say in your sleep
And I freeze in the moment - like the rest who don't try
What good am I?

What good am I then - to others and me
If I've had every chance - and yet still fail to see
With my hands tied must I - not wonder within
Who tied them and why - and where must I have been?

What good am I if I say foolish things
And I laugh in the face - of what sorrow brings
And I just turn my back - while you silently die
What good am I?

(Source:  https://genius.com/Tom-jones-what-good-am-i-lyrics)

Then we have Mother Teresa recite the peace prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi, which was written some 400 -500 years ago, at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, wondering if, "When Saint Francis of Assisi composed the prayer, they had the same difficulties as we have today because it is very fitting for us also."

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

(Source: https://www.cathedralstm.org/)

Such lovely verses. 

But on the other hand, the saints tell us that it is all fine and that it is all happening as it should. One can counter this by saying it is fine that you sit in your ashram amidst your followers, out of harm's way, dishing out philosophical thoughts and speeches while many go hungry and suffer out there. But both Bhagawan Ramana and Yogi Ramsuratkumar were beaten up too, and they took on the blows willingly. They even pardoned their attackers. That is why they are saints.

Sadhu Om has penned so many songs, brought to life by Sriram Parthasarathy on YouTube, that tend to console us and have us leave things as they are. The Beatles too have written and sung the song, "Let It Be". 

When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be

Whisper words of wisdom, let it be
And when the broken-hearted people living in the world agree
There will be an answer, let it be
For though they may be parted, there is still a chance that they will see
There will be an answer, let it be

And when the night is cloudy, there is still a light that shines on me
Shinin' until tomorrow, let it be
I wake up to the sound of music, Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be

Source: Musixmatch, Songwriters: Paul McCartney / John Lennon

Bhagawan Ramana even told Sadhu Om, not once but thrice, to do what he came to do and nothing more. I, too, in recent times, have had this told to me by so many sources and from so many sides, reminding me to do what I came for. Here is where we need to know our purpose in coming here, just as Agathiyar stated it as the very first criterion of his five Tenets to mankind during the Sangam age.

I had begun to ask myself, after Agathiyar, in calling me to the path in 2002, and sing the praises of the Siddhas, and after sending me to meet Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal in 2005, who initiated me to carry out rituals to the Siddhas, and passed me the treasure that is Yoga Asanas and Pranayama in 2007, had me commission his bronze statue in 2010, and after sending youths over to my home to watch and participate in our home Puja in 2013 that later we brought into the homes of others and into the corridors of the temples in 2016, and after having us take up doing charity first to the old, aged, disabled adults and the abandoned children, and bringing us to feed the homeless, and finally helping the poor and unfortune, why he had us end it all in 2019? If he had the others go their way, he had me go within, imprisoning me within the four walls of his prayer room. He had me go within, which I have to say does not come easy to me until this day. Today I fully understand that he had kept me out of harm's way as the planet Saturn began to cast its shadow over me from 2020 to this day. Agathiyar came as the savior.

If I had thought all this while that each of us has a certain specific purpose in coming here, Lena Wendth tells us that "When I discovered Eckhart Tolle, he speaks about two purposes: an outer purpose and an inner one. And suddenly life made sense." 

Going by Eckhart Tolle, we read at https://eckharttolle.com/outer-and-inner-purpose/

If you look within rather than only without, however, you discover that you have an inner and an outer purpose, and since you are a microcosmic reflection of the macrocosm, it follows that the universe too has an inner and outer purpose inseparable from yours. The outer purpose of the universe is to create form and experience the interaction of forms—the play, the dream, the drama, or whatever you choose to call it. Its inner purpose is to awaken to its formless essence. 

Then comes the reconciliation of outer and inner purpose: to bring that essence—consciousness—into the world of form and thereby transform the world. The ultimate purpose of that transformation goes far beyond anything the human mind can imagine or comprehend. And yet, on this planet at this time, that transformation is the task allotted to us. That is the reconciliation of outer and inner purpose, the reconciliation of the world and God.

I have come to understand my role and purpose better, thanks to Lena Wendth and Eckhart Tolle. My purpose as a Catalytic Spiritual Teacher was revealed through a reading of the "Spiritual Numerology of Moses," or better known as the "Soul Contract Reading," some time back, which meant that I had to prepare myself to fit the role and to come out of my cocoon and take up my purpose as revealed. Agathiyar came to endorse the reading later, asking me how he was to depend on one person to do his work. He had to raise everyone equally to come to the state where they carry out his work, exactly what was said by Karuppu in the movie.

A Spiritual Catalyst is like a Guru; that's all.  

He "precipitates, triggering, sparking, bringing on a major change abruptly, or initiating an event to cause it to happen suddenly, unexpectedly, or sooner than anticipated." That's all. Spiritual Catalysts do not aim to become leaders to their disciples as much as they wish to cause their disciples to question and find answers within themselves." 

(Source: https://tealswan.com/resource)

I think I fit into these shoes perfectly, for many have likened me to a beacon. A beacon gives out light to make others aware of the rocks and dangers out at sea, as "in a lighthouse or other signal for guiding ships, and as a radio transmitter emitting signals to guide aircraft, or a signal fire commonly on a hill, tower, or pole, or a source of light or inspiration to others." (Source: https://tealswan.com/resource)

I guess he is like the monsoon that comes and goes. He does not have a following nor an Ashram or temple where people converge till the end. I just needed to show them to the door, give them the tools, and back off. That was all I had to do. Agathiyar, who surprised me by asking if he should make me a guru some time back, immediately retracted his offer and instead offered something else that only time will tell. 

Lena Wendth says, "I used to ask, 'What do I want from life? Now I'm learning to ask life, ' What do you want from me?" I have no idea where life would take me next. And to be honest, I have no problem with that because for years I thought finding my purpose would finally bring me peace. Today I deeply believe that practicing peace is my deepest purpose. And maybe if I keep returning there again and again, my outer purpose will quietly keep finding me too."

Mahindren, who came around some moments ago, said the same as a parting statement: what is left for us to do is to change our standpoint, view, and perspective; accept and adapt. Indeed, this is what "God" says in the movie "Charukeshi": that reaching the beach at Kanyakumari, one thinks that since he has reached the sea, that is the end of the journey. But if one were to turn around and look, he sees the whole Indian subcontinent ahead of him. He quips that it is a matter of perspective. 

In moving from chaos to acceptance and peace, Google says, "Moving from chaos to peace requires shifting your mindset, accepting what you cannot change, and building daily mental discipline. Peace is not the absence of trouble, but an inner calm while facing it."

I understand why Agathiyar asked me to bear the noise from the neighbors back then. I understand why, when it pained me to see many leave the path, he consoled me that nothing is gained in forcefully bringing them to it and that they shall return in good time.

Then, watching Ram Dass speak, I understood it further.

Every time I would get caught in something, I got caught in anger about somebody being adharmic, meaning doing something that isn't in the spirit. Okay? Somebody rips somebody off or something like that. And I'd get angry. Maharaj, he would get so frustrated with me, and he'd say to me, "Don't you see it's all perfect?" And here was the paradox that all he was telling me to do was to recognize the perfection of it all and, at the same moment, work full-time to relieve the suffering of it. And that literally is the paradox that a spiritual person lives in the world with, which you could put another way: that the higher consciousness is tuned to God, to the law, to the way of things, to the perfection of the unfolding of the living spirit in form.

He adds that 

The ability to see the perfection of the universe, including the suffering, that God didn't make a mistake. That's all perfect. And at the same moment, to do everything in your power to be an instrument of that which relieves suffering just because that's the part you play in the whole dance. Not because it's better or worse. You're just playing that part in the whole structure of the game. That's the thy will. You surrender. Because once you are aware of these higher planes, you cannot do things which create more suffering.

Just as Lena Wendth initially thought and came to believe she was here to change the world, and that something changed all that, I too had come to accept that I am not here to change the world, but I can surely change the moment and what happens before me. It might go a long way in bringing peace to a soul somewhere out there, just as the ripples spread far and wide.

If I were surprised to hear Dr Krishnan, upon reading my birth chart in 1996, tell me that I shall write, and I did, compiling my travels and pilgrimage to India on my maiden journey in 2002, and sharing them on my earlier websites and later, through this blog, in 2013, Agathiyar in 2022 asked that I stop writing about him and the masters but instead share what was taking place within me. Recently, he told me his transmissions would cease, and henceforth it would be solely my writings. I guess this is one of them, voicing my concern and confusion too. It is only from confusion that clarity is eventually found. It is only when the sea is churned that the Amrita or Ambrosia is made available to us. I shall continue to write till the last drop of ink, or rather, the last drop of blood.