Many are bent on condemning the world. It is sad that they see everything as bleak and ugly. They miss the moment. There is so much beauty and bliss right here, right under our very nose, (literally speaking as in observing the breath) if only we care to see. Then again people are so rigid in holding on to their thoughts, opinions, and teachings. If only they would open up. Opening up brings beauty and love in; and gratitude and thanks in. The soul grows becoming bliss itself.
In "The Nature of Consciousness", Alan Hugenot touches on the frauds engaged in cold reading and speaks about the genuine personality shifts that take place in a person seen as a medium, things that we are slowly coming to know about too through experience.
From Ram Dass's experience in meeting Neem Karoli Baba who was to become his guru later, we are shown the way a true guru can read from the Akashic records and reveal very private and intimate matters as in his case the passing away of his mother and the nature of her death. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10156586600284485
My guru Supramania Swami of Tiruvannamalai too had me glued to the seat with his reading of the Akashic records and revealing all about me and what was said in a Nadi reading earlier, back then in 2003. Prior to that Agathiyar silenced me by revealing personal matters through a Nadi reading.
Alan Hugenot now believes that consciousness makes the brain and not the other way around as understood earlier. Here in his vide we are told that: Experience is an in-forming of consciousness; That consciousness is everything and everything is consciousness; Everything is caused by a plan; Religion is your relationship with the universe. Any world view you have is a religion. Atheism is a religion too. Religion is what you think about your relationship to the universe; we are having a conscious experience that is real and many more.
It is very obvious from the verses from the song penned by him that Swami Sadhu Om has given his life to Bhagawan Ramana, "என்னினும் என் பொருட்டாய்க் கவலை ஏற்பவன் நீயல்லவோ." We are again reminded of Ramalinga Adigal's similar verses from his Arutpa where he declares that henceforth he will not sulk in misery, and will very well let go after placing the initial effort letting the divine work its way through him in its own good time without pressing it to do its work. We too shall not worry no more, neither will we attempt to slog or work towards it no further. We shall withdraw within and wait for his grace to work its beauty in us.
In a mother’s womb were two babies. One asked the other: “Do you believe in life after delivery?”
The other replied, “Why, of course. There has to be something after delivery. Maybe we are here to prepare ourselves for what we will be later.”
“Nonsense,” said the first. “There is no life after delivery. What kind of life would that be?”
The second said, “I don’t know, but there will be more light than here. Maybe we will walk with our legs and eat from our mouths. Maybe we will have other senses that we can’t understand now.”
The first replied, “That is absurd. Walking is impossible. And eating with our mouths? Ridiculous! The umbilical cord supplies nutrition and everything we need. But the umbilical cord is so short. Life after delivery is to be logically excluded.”
The second insisted, “Well I think there is something and maybe it’s different than it is here. Maybe we won’t need this physical cord anymore.”
The first replied, “Nonsense. And moreover, if there is life, then why has no one ever come back from there?",
saying such it adamantly continued stating that,
"Delivery is the end of life, and in the after-delivery, there is nothing but darkness and silence and oblivion. It takes us nowhere.”
“Well, I don’t know,” said the second, “but certainly we will meet Mother and she will take care of us.”
The first replied “Mother? You actually believe in Mother? That’s laughable. If Mother exists then where is She now?”
The second said, “She is all around us. We are surrounded by her. We are of Her. It is in Her that we live. Without Her, this world would not and could not exist.”
Said the first: “Well I don’t see Her, so it is only logical that She doesn’t exist.”
To which the second replied, “Sometimes, when you’re in silence and you focus and listen, you can perceive Her presence, and you can hear Her loving voice, calling down from above.”
Maybe this was one of the best explanations of the concept of GOD.
In a world where we want concrete evidence and proof for everything said it is only usual for many skeptics to doubt one's experience. But those sincerely and genuinely seeking answers will take from where the master initiates just as a young scientist begins continuing from where his pioneer's left, investigating for himself further.
Take for instance scientist Alan Hugenot expresses his frustrations in trying to convince and make the doctors attending to him and the chief psychiatrist, after he survives a fatal crash, that he had returned to tell the tale of his journey to another plane during those moments that he had lost consciousness going into a coma. He tells us even the Church brushed his claims aside. Alan Hugenot now believes that consciousness makes the brain and not the other way around as understood earlier. He enlightens us on FEAR or False Evidence Appearing Real, something akin to Adi Shankara’s favorite simile, that of the rope mistaken for a snake. On the local front too, it is saddening to learn of a dear friend of mine too has been stamped a lunatic and referred to the psychiatric wards by the doctors, family and friends who did not know how to address the gift of sight that goes beyond our sight.
There is so much we don't know. I was a frog in the well till Agathiyar dropped in a rope asking me to climb up and see his world. He sent Tavayogi who had already been there to take me to these places. I saw many miracles take place. All these made me believe that there was indeed another world out there or to be more specific, they made me see things differently.
Just moments ago, Suren called me from Jakarta where he is doing a short stint working and as usual, casual talk with him always ends with a better understanding of the subjects we discuss, for both of us. As Suren says, the Siddha path is one of exploration where lessons are learned. These then become Gnana or Wisdom for others who came along the path say Ma and Aiya. Just because we have taken a step higher in our understanding, we should not say that the previous thoughts were wrong and those who came along to adopt them later are wrong too. https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/agathiyarvanam/episodes/2019-07-03T09_36_46-07_00
Avvai learned that there was more to life's mysteries from Lord Muruga when he came to teach her a lesson that would soon change her perspective of life. Having traveled far and wide and been tired to the bone, going around preaching about Aram, Dharmam and the values of life, she finally takes refuge for the night at a temple. Lord Muruga took the occasion to manifest in person and perched himself atop a Naval tree. Hearing the grand old lady lament about the delay in gaining Lord Muruga's grace, even after following all his dictates in serving society, he begins to test her further. When he asked if she wanted a "hot" fruit or otherwise, Avvai surprised to hear of one, asks for the former. The Lord in disguise shakes the tree and the fruits drop to the ground. Avvai picks a fruit, and on realizing that it was covered in sand, begins to blow at it. The Lord immediately quips if the fruit was "hot"? Avvai realizes then that although the action (of blowing) is the same, the reasons behind it could vary. She realized that the divine came to break her ego that had fruited, having championed and won over numerous poets at various assemblies.
Ruzbeh Bharucha learns from Bapuji (the reclusive Sage from Ahmedabad) that the soul's journey begins after it has a desire. The individual soul gets separated from the Divine Source the moment a desire takes shape. Many souls followed suit with their endless list of desires. Sankalpas or Intentions and Desires says Ruzbeh lead to the creation of the elements. The body that is made of these elements provides a home for the soul to nestle in helping the soul continue its journey, taking birth in numerous bodies over time and space.
First, it starts with the Divine Elements which manifest Themselves as Subtle Elements which then manifest as Gross Elements. For instance, first comes the thought, which gives rise to intent or feelings or desires, which gets converted into effort, which turns into one's attitude, which comes out into action, which then leads to a pattern of habit and eventually that becomes one's personality.
So then gradually as all elements came into being, the Ātmās began to multiply. What Bapuji wanted to convey was that as souls began to multiply, intentions or desires within them began to grow and slowly the Divine Elements began to get weaker as individual desires began to take control over the soul and as individual desires grew the Divine power started to dwindle and from desires came the need to possess and through the desire to possess everything went wrong.
While Ruzbeh Bharucha shares Bapuji's revelation on the means to bring us back home, by first explaining how we came here and showing us the way back home at https://www.speakingtree.in/allslides/the-ether-element-divine-silence, Elaiyaraja too shares a similar query and questions what is it that he should do to get him back home? He writes about the many probabilities and possibilities that could have caused him to separate from Siva and also tries to figure out the means to return to him.
I was like a kid taken to the circus. I became so excited about seeing and reading the Nadi. I became excited when Agathiyar invited me to his path. I became so excited about traveling to India for the very first time. I became excited after meeting my guru for the very first time. I became excited about having the privilege to be accompanied by my guru to numerous Siddha spots. I shared them when I met others so much that they kept away from me, for I guess I must have bored them with talk about the Siddhas and their miracles. As a result of all these excitements that were going on in my life then, I began writing about these matters and my experiences. I shared them just as a child excitingly shares what he/she sees, hears, does and learns. I shared them on my blog which surprisingly began to have a following. Soon many learned individuals started to comment on my post choosing to contest and differ with me. I had to put up a beware note just above the comment window.
But yet they wrote lengthy notes arguing the subject matter. I had to revert to make the blog private to save my sanity. I obeyed strictly Agathiyar's wishes that I do not engage in debate or argue with others.
When a fellow traveler is excited and amazed at the sheer distance to be covered from India to England and asked Srinivasa Ramanujan if he knew the extent and could imagine the 6,000 miles journey, saying "Well off we go. 6,000 miles! Can you imagine!", the man who knew infinity, the Indian mathematician who breathes mathematics, answers him, "I have known larger numbers." That is the case with me too. I am the man who is excited and awaits with much anticipation, the journey that Agathiyar has in store for me and the rests at ATM. There are many like Ramanujan out there who have seen more and experienced more spiritually. I feel so small compared to those giants in the spiritual sphere. Similarly, there might be great spiritual souls amongst me and also amongst the readers of this blog. Pardon me for my over-enthusiasm. The child in me grew with these experiences. The experience maketh the man. It is their experiences too that is written, sang and delivered by the saints. What is posted is all my experiences. How can others comment on an individual's experience and the opinions derived from these experience? I am not a guru. Neither am I a guide. I too am finding the way back home. I guess the only way back home and I reckon is that we drop our individual desires and take up that of Erai, our creator or the source from where we emerged, and fulfill it.
More AVM family members have shared their activities towards serving both man and creatures.
Rakhi writes from New Delhi, " We have sponsored free buttermilk distribution in Tiruvannamalai.
"Last month anndanam at dwarkadheesh temple dwarka."
"Feeding birds by kids."
Sowmiya from Chennai served an Indian delicacy, the vadai, to the crows taking cue from the famed fable about the crow that stole the granny's vadai only to lose it to the cunning fox that, eyeing the vadai that the crow held in its beak, praise the bird for its singing and made it drop it the moment the crow opened its beak to sing. The vadai that fell was eaten by the fox.
In these times of prolonged draught where water is very scarce in Chennai, out of compassion, Nalini took the liberty to prepare a basin of water for the crows to dip in and cool themselves.
The AVM family members who took cues and imbibed the act of doing charity have since then been doing it in numerous small ways in their own localities or in countries and places which they either visited or were on working stints, individually or with family and friends.
Kugan and Kogie from Johannesburg in South Africa served meals to, in her own words, "Simple hot meal for the street souls on a freezing winter's night. My heart goes out to them. They not only homeless without food but our winters can be bitterly cold sometimes 3, 4 degrees sometimes -4 degrees."
Meanwhile, Rakesh and his team at Theydal Ulla Thennikalai (TUT) based in Chennai fed the hungry in the streets too. Rakesh writes, "We are serving annathanam in each month motcha deepam prayers on ammavasai. We served 100 devotees. we are getting food from catering service with sweet, puliyotharai and curd rice."
Sanjiv and his team from New Delhi fed bananas to the cows in a shelter for abandoned cows on occasion of Amavasya.
Mr and Mrs Sharmanan from AVM who were in India recently served food to the hungry in the streets of Tiruvannamalai.
Shanga Manikam is distributing food to the poor on the streets of Medan, Indonesia tonight.
These children of Agathiyar have continued doing charity on their own in every possible moment available. They have taken the lead in serving others.
Looking back now it has been a long journey for us at Agathiyar Vanam Malaysia (AVM). Agathiyar called me to his path through my very first Nadi reading in 2002 and made arrangements for me to leave for India the following year to carry out the remedies that he stipulated in the reading. Providence, fate and destiny came together and had me meet my very first guru Supramania Swami of Tiruvannamalai during my maiden trip to India that year. Three years later he sent me to a visiting guru Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal of Kallar Ashram. He took me in too. My official journey on the path of the Siddhas began with Tavayogi's entry. He initiated me and my wife. He started me performing the homa while Agathiyar who came to us as a bronze statue started me conduct the ritual of libation. Tavayogi took me to numerous Siddha spots in India and he introduced me to do charity - feeding the unfortunate.
Armed with both tools, I began to walk the path with their guidance. Soon Agathiyar sent Bala Chandran through his Nadi reading to AVM. Bala brought with him his friends and family. The AVM family expanded further with many more sincere seekers coming by and staying back while many more left to never return. Those wonderful souls who stayed back brought honor and greatness to the AVM household. Many from other countries too asked to join us. Today the Siddhas have conferred the name Agathiyar Tapovanam Malaysia (ATM) in recognition of our contributions towards the community and society. Although both my gurus are not physically around we are aware of their presence among us. So are Agathiyar and the Siddhas with us.
Let us step back and watch the years roll by. We see the kids grow up together while the adults have aged too. Many new faces have joined us. We have had many new cute chubby child additions to the AVM family too. How time flies!
Over the years we have come to realize that no amount of narration will bring on the experience one has had. The seeker needs to get on the ground, walk the path, tread the rough terrain, sail through the rapids, wet his feet, fall into the mud, and learn to look out and avoid the potholes.
Following Tavayogi to the numerous Siddha abodes and temples, that was initiated by Agathiyar in my Nadi reading, I had absolutely no fear then. Neither did I have any care in the world. I realized now that the reason was that I had no possession then to be worried about. I had no home to lock up and leave or to return to. I had no dependant that I needed to stop to care for. I had just me. We tracked the Kuttralam jungles and slept in its caves, we hiked the boulders and entered the Uthiyur caves, not knowing what was in store for us. He stepped into cave openings and narrow samadhis not fearing if there were reptiles and animals lurking in the dark. He walked as if one who was possessed, hardly turning back to see if I was following. I had to hasten my steps to keep up with him. Occasionally he would turn back to point out to me that there was the aroma of sandalwood, sacred ash, and benzoin in the air, all indicating the presence of the Siddhas or tell me that the Siddhas were showering flower petals on us, ushering us to their kingdom in the wilderness. We never lost our way, although Tavayogi told me it had been some 10 years since he had been to certain spots.
Rather than have me sit with him and listen to his talks, lectures or theory, he preferred to get me soiled and wet, showing me the practical way that the Siddhas had pursued before. If it was the theory that he had revealed, I would have forgotten them through the years but since he walked with me the practical path, I am able to recall and share the experiences even after many years.
Although they have yet to bring us to the other world or their plane, there had been numerous occasions where the divine has crossed the borders and stepped into ours. On arrival at the famed Tiruvanaikaval temple grounds, I hastened my strides, taking large steps, walking ahead of Jnana Jhotiamma and my family, in a similar frenzy that Tavayogi had when he took me places. Looking for Lord Dhakshanamurthy's sannadhi that had churned the ocean in me making me weep for hours during my first visit some 10 years earlier, finally when I located him, the gates to the dam burst again and I found myself on the ground wailing aloud and kicking my legs. I could feel Jnana Jhotiamma caressing my soles and comforting me as a mother would. Finally when I came out of that state and took a seat at the spot, she told me to give some tips to the priest in attendance. Only then did I realize that there was a young, fair and handsome priest waiting on us at the sannadhi. I took out some Indian currencies from my wallet and walked up to him to place them on the tray that he held in his hands. That is when he whispered, "Did you see?" Immediately my vision went to that of Lord Dhakshanamurthy and back to him. At that split second, I saw Lord Muruga in the priest. He had wrapped a green towel around his waist and stood in the pose of his that we are all too familiar with. I dropped to the ground crying out aloud "Muruga" and began to weep torrentially again. Soon I picked myself up and we all began to move away. The priest was nowhere in sight.
What surprised me was that Lord Muruga chose to give his darshan not at any of his many abodes I have visited but at the abode of Lord Siva at Tiruvanaikkaval, not even at his sannadhi there but specifically at Lord Dhakshanamurthy's sannadhi. This reminds me of the time when he came to Kallar ashram as a youngster in shirt and pants, lamenting about the utter nonsense and state of affairs at several of the Murugan temples that he had been to, uttering things that made no sense amidst talk about these temples. This made Tavayogi sit up straight and take notice of the kid. Once Tavayogi realized that it was Lord Murugan who had come to his ashram, the kid gestured him, Mataji and my brother's family who were visiting into the inner sanctum of the old Kallar Ashram and blessed them by applying the sacred ash before leaving the way he came.
We have learned from experience and our mistakes. We have rectified our approach and the means. Our experience became knowledge to others. Just as the findings and the discoveries of the scientists have created a great impact on our thinking and lifestyles so have the Siddhas dwelt in the study of the body, soul, and spirit, linking it with its source and its creator, have laid out very simple means and ways to attain the state of Erai. What they wish is for us to follow in their footsteps. Not that they want us to leave the family, the community or the society to turn towards a life of solitude but live with the society and take on their teachings.
If earlier we at ATM immediately ask those who brought up their problems to us to see the Nadi, today taking things a little further from what we were taught by Tavayogi, rather than recommend seekers to a Nadi reading on the onset, we send them to do charity. We get them to find out about Agathiyar, the Siddhas and their Nadi first. Only then can they appreciate what is been said in the Nadi. Only then will they understand that a holy man or Muni was addressing them through the Nadi. Otherwise, they end up thinking the reader was cooking up stories, fabricating them from the pieces of information he has gathered from questioning us. They only would see the Siddhas as an astrologer, soothsayer or shaman dishing out remedies, good luck charms, mantras, and yantras, etc.
I do not know where I stand on the rung of the spiritual ladder but I have been started on a journey initiated by Agathiyar that I know nothing about. I just take the lead shown from time to time either through the external forms of communication by the Siddhas like the Nadi and through the spoken word or the unspoken word that guides from within. Along the way they give us assurances that all is well, that we have not erred or deviated. They tell us that it is not a hallucination or something of our doing but all theirs. Their constant guidance keeps the mill spinning, energizing us, boosting us and motivating us to keep walking.
Agathiyar gives assurances that we are on the right track when we see the many compilations of Siddhas hymns and songs that we gathered and used in our home prayers have been adopted in temples and the homes of Agathiyar devotees and where prayers are conducted for the Siddhas. Agathiyar gives us assurances that what is being written in these pages are true perspectives that are based on the experiences of a devotee of his, that Agathiyar personally oversees. As Ramalinga Adigal in his Arutpa says that the words spoken are not his but that of the divine, Agathiyar has time again assured me that these written words are only his and not to dwell in confusion as to whose thoughts they are.
I am humbled by the grace of Agathiyar in working through me and the rest at ATM, carrying out his dictates from time to time. As a devotee of Agathiyar shared a dream she had after Tavayogi passed away, where Tavayogi with several others clad in white, was seated in a boat that was oared by Lord Shiva himself, traveling across the waters towards the other bank where there was a hill and a hype of activities with Siddhas, Rishis, Munis and saints going about their daily chores, chanting, conducting prayers and rituals, lighting sacrificial fires etc, we too have boarded a vessel and taken a seat. The divine is tending to the oars and is doing the navigation. We are enjoying the view, taking in the air and are very much at peace. Thank you very much Agatheesa for all you have given us.
He had only one dream - to build a temple for Agathiyar and preach about the Siddhas. Both of these were fulfilled.
Come 3rd July it will be a year now since Tavayogi Thangarasan passed away. He was laid in samadhi in the grounds of his new Kallar ashram. Work on erecting a granite enclosure above the samadhi is on the way and scheduled to be completed in time for the Annual Agathiyar Jayanthi and Guru Puja this year.
Ruzbeh Bharucha who met Bapuji (the reclusive Sage from Ahmedabad), shares Bapuji's revelation on the means to bring us home, by first explaining how we came here and showing us the way back home at https://www.speakingtree.in/allslides/the-ether-element-divine-silence.
One must understand that when an individual soul moves forth from The Divine Source, the individual soul is first filled or made up of only one element which is the element of Divinity or Prime Ether.
.. thus the invisible element of Space or Ether, is the first Element that was created by The Boss Man and thus is the closest to represent His or Her Form and Individuality and thus Divine Ether is considered to be the closest to Godhood, which an individual, in the body or soul, can ever get to.
Initially, how were the Elements created? They were created because of Sañkalps (intentions and desires) which had begun to germinate. As Sañkalps started, first came Paṛam Ākash or Divine Ether from which came Paṛam Vāyu or Divine Wind or Air from which came Paṛam Agni or Divine Fire. (For the record, now we have just Ether, Air, Fire, being a part of the five-elemental world, ‘Divine’ or Paṛam, is no longer present in the Elements.)
Water and Fire are both in the Air Element which in turn is present in the Element of Ether or Space. Mother Earth is the combination of All Elements. So then gradually as all elements came into being, the Ātmās began to multiply. What Bapuji wanted to convey was that as souls began to multiply, intentions or desires within them began to grow and slowly the Divine Elements began to get weaker as individual desires began to take control over the soul and as individual desires grew the Divine power started to dwindle and from desires came the need to possess and through the desire to possess everything went wrong.
First, it starts with the Divine Elements which manifest Themselves as Subtle Elements which then manifest as Gross Elements. For instance, first comes the thought, which gives rise to intent or feelings or desires, which gets converted into effort, which turns into one's attitude, which comes out into action, which then leads to a pattern of habit and eventually that becomes one's personality.
Now we cannot change the Five Elements in the Cosmos. What we can do is strengthen the one element, which fortunately is the most pivotal element, the element of Ether, Space, Void, Silence...The Element of Divinity.
Once you are in tune with Divine Silence, all knowledge, power, radiance, goodness, the very essence of Oneness begins to fill the individual and it is through Divine Silence that the Masters know the past, present and the future. "This happens once and only comes through The One. The divinity of the Ultimate Father and Mother comes through the way S(H)e imparts Knowledge. S(H)e gives us the Knowledge of the New World. We have come from Amar Lok or from immortality to Mrutyu Lok, which is the land of death. How was the world created? Where are the Deities? How was our soul created? All these answers one can get via dhyān or meditation." Informed Bapuji. I believe that the one who goes deep within, meditates, becomes one with his or her breath, merges with his or her breath, thus becoming one with the Source and through the Source, the individual taps into the universal grid of Knowledge.
Look everywhere and most people have become spiritual shoppers when the answer truly just lies in going within. Focusing on the breath or one’s Master, and becoming one with the Breath and Master is the only way out. The more silent you become within, you once again start moving closer and closer towards The Absolute One, which means that first you slowly start consolidating yourself into Divine Ether as our First Element of individuality was only Divine Ether or Divine Silence. When you bring forth Divine Silence within, we start moving towards our Source and eventually become one with The Source.
In short, by doing work that is designated by Erai rather than be driven by our worldly desires, we can go home.
Although the search has got to come to an end sometime, learning does not stop. The spiritual lessons gained from another's experience builds faith, motivates and keeps us going and does teach us to show caution, and tread carefully. Although we cannot expect the same experiences nor the results, the lessons learned will add to our knowledge of the subject at hand giving insights to the mysterious.
Having explored the healing therapies of different traditions he became adept at it bringing people to see him as a guru who had some kind of spiritual powers. Fearing that he would lose sight of his aim in attaining enlightenment, he decided to refrain from healing others, "I didn’t want to be distracted from my lofty goal, and I slowly distanced myself from my image as a healer."
Moving deeper into his goal of attaining enlightenment, he began to have spiritual experiences.
It was during this time I started having fantastic spiritual experiences. Sometimes I felt so ecstatic that every cell in my body would explode with bliss. I felt that I was floating in an infinite ocean of ecstasy. I was absorbed in these expanded rapturous states of being for hours. A sense of immense sacredness and divinity infused my entire consciousness.
During these states, my body sometimes used to go in spontaneous states of yoga. Sometimes my body would become so flexible that I could bend spontaneously into difficult yoga postures. Many of these postures were completely unknown to me but the body automatically aligned itself to certain ancient forms.
Another curious thing happened with my breathing; I experienced spontaneous Pranayama and kumbhka (Ancient yogic breathing patterns and techniques). It is a cessation of breath, which leads to higher states of consciousness. I experienced both the outer and the inner cessation of breath. After I took a deep breath in, my breath used to stop for around a minute to minute and a half. During this time the mind felt utterly still and pure. After the inner cession, I would exhale, wherein my breath used to again stop for approximately a minute.
One day in a small town in the Himalayas, he begins to witness his consciousness when his consciousness shifts to envelop all there was.
As I looked within, I could feel my consciousness slowly expanding beyond my body. To my utter amazement, my consciousness expanded and slowly embraced the lake and the mountain ranges. As I looked at the clouds, I could see them become one with me. I was suddenly everywhere. The entire space was myself and everything under the sky was me. Every point of space contained me, reflected my consciousness, which was mine, but was also universal. The entire creation melted into a luminous wave of consciousness. I was free from the bondage of individuality, from being a mere speck. I was the totality, but it was not me as a person. There was identity, but it was universal, all embracing. It was at this moment that the teachings of Nisargadatta, J Krishnamurthi, Advaita, Zen and Buddhism all unfolded and I realized what they were trying to point at. For years I had read them, contemplated their teachings, but now, at this moment, I was living them.
He says, "The spiritual awakening experience caused a permanent shift in my understanding. More than ever before, I wanted enlightenment. Enlightenment. This one word brought untold grief and suffering to me for the next few years." Wanting to make it his permanent state of being, he sought many masters but to no avail. They could not help him.
I wasted years pleasing Gurus, hoping they would somehow help me in integrating and making this state permanent, that their grace would bestow enlightenment, the ultimate cessation of being. I knew if I witnessed my consciousness a little longer, meditated a little more, I would finally go beyond the veil of illusion and find my own true self. The more I chased enlightenment, the more miserable I became.
He thrived on thinking, "Till you reached perfection, everything else was an illusion. Either you were Enlightened and perfect, or you were still in duality, in illusion. It was a black and white situation, either you attained it, or you were imperfect." His world slowly fell apart.
Then it struck me. I was looking for a perfect enlightened state in the future, a state which someone else had experienced. I had been caught in endless becoming, the desire to find a perfect state of being which I had read in books. And I had totally forgotten about what I had – the infinite bliss and peace which I had always experienced, the state of beyond mind and consciousness, the state of pure awareness.
At that moment, an intense joy overwhelmed me, shaking the very core of my being. The vast treasure of awakening had always been with me but my spiritual greed of becoming more, of wanting it to be permanent had made me blind to it. It was like having billions of dollars, and still being miserable because you are not as rich as Bill Gates. That day, I stopped becoming. I stopped seeking. I stopped being a miserable seeker. I had finally arrived.
Having drawn the curtain that was veiling him aside, he was truly awakened to the reality that day. He shares his moments after the awakening.
It took some years for this final shift to be totally integrated. Life has become immensely beautiful living in present conscious awareness. Stillness has become the background for all activities. Spontaneous states of bliss and ecstasy arise, carrying me to the infinite shore of immense joy. There is a sacred wonderment when beholding nature and life in all its diversity. There is a shining darkness, an unfathomable silence, space which is empty, yet full. I call it what is, the sense of presence.
And I would like everyone to experience these amazing higher states of consciousness at least once in their life time. Even the sun pales in front of the immensity of consciousness.
We are again reminded of Ramalinga Adigal's verses from his Arutpa that very well ask us to let go after placing the initial effort. Let us let the divine work its way through us in its own good time without pressing it to do its work. We will not worry no more, neither will we attempt to slog or work towards it no further. We shall withdraw within and wait for his grace to work its beauty in us.
More messages of thanks and gratefulness to Agathiyar kept coming.
No words can talk the heart Agathiyar appa. I really never did anything, I was numb, lot of negative thoughts, confused. U came forward and took over me, guiding me in a unexpected direction. Every second of my life I owe u lots of love. Ur my king. Its a beautiful feeling to b under ur vision.
Thanking for giving ATM Family. Each n every moment in my life turning as miracle with the blessings of Agathiyar only. What I have in my life is coming from agathiyar blessings only. One & only agathiyar. Thanks.
நன்றி நவிலவோ நா இல்லையே..! நின்னடியே தொழுது நீங்காது நிற்போமே..!! நுண்ணிய எம் பழவினைகள் நூறாயிரம் தாம் உண்டு.. நெற்றி கொண்ட நேத்திரத்தால் நொடிப்பொழுதும் எமை நோக்கி கண்ணாக காப்பதற்கு நன்றி நவிலவோ நா இல்லையே...!!
Thank you Agathiar appa for coming into my life. Im indebted for everything.
To those who came to us asking questions first before wanting to step in, I figured that they wanted assurances and expected to learn about the results in coming to devote themselves to the Siddhas. Walking the Siddha path is an adventure in discovery. Nobody can tell us what is in store. Even the most experienced would still be amazed to see the Siddha's approach in elevating the other souls. There is no formula here. A prescription is only prepared the moment you knock the door and step inside. Then you are given the magical pill that transforms your life. You then step out as Shanmugam Avadaiyappa but your perspective of life changes. You see the world anew. You become amazed at Erai's creation. You begin to see things you never saw before, although right under your nose or before you. For Erai is a state. Each has to reach and pass through the numerous states on the path towards the state of Erai or Erai Nilai. No amount of describing these moments will make anyone understand.
When I came out of prayers one day a long time ago I felt so blissful. I looked towards my wife and told her if only I could transfer that feeling by touch to another.... Today we at ATM hold hands and share the bliss among all present.
Although it is never possible to bring these state into words, ecstasy is described as an intense pleasure; A state of emotion so intense that a person is carried beyond rational thought and self-control like a mad prophet in an ecstasy; A trance, frenzy, or rapture associated with mystic or prophetic exaltation. Bliss is described as perfect happiness.
Bliss – a state of consciousness – direct connection with the divine. The experience of creation – running through, and available to us.
Ecstasy – a state of consciousness – the trance of navigation. Expanded to see the whole picture, the many ways, where paths lead and end. To navigate to the underworld and back. A whole new perspective on being human.
From what we understand from Rick Ellis, while the experience of creation is seen internally, made available to the individual and running through him bringing about a state of bliss, he then steps out beyond borders to gain insight of the very creation taking place around him, now seen externally, bringing him into a state of ecstasy. From bliss that is internal and personal, we are taken to the next level of ecstasy that goes beyond borders. Sitting long hours in a cave atop mount Arunachala, after having the darshan of Ramana Maharishi and feeling thrills of ecstasy in his presence, Ramdas dived into deep meditation. He held undisturbed communion with Lord Rama. When Ramdas came out of his state of bliss and moved into a state of ecstasy, he saw all as Ram and ran to hug the first tree he saw and the first man he met.
In his early autobiography IN QUEST OF GOD published by Anandaashram, Ramdas describes how he attained the divine vision through the grace of the Maharishi. Ramdas addressed Ramana on his first visit to the Maharishi,
“Maharaj here stands before thee a humble slave. Have pity on him. His only prayer to thee is to give him thy blessing.”
Ramana turned to look at Ramdas and nodded his head. A thrill of inexpressible joy coursed through Ramdas, his whole body quivering like a leaf in the breeze.
Swami Ramdas in VISION, the monthly journal of Anandaashram comments further about his state,
Ramdas went to Ramana in a state of complete obliviousness of the world. He felt thrills of ecstasy in his presence. The Maharishi made the awakening permanent in Ramdas.
In 1947 with a burning desire to realize his innate divinity, Ramsuratkumar set off in search of a master. The search for his spiritual father brought him first to Sri Aurobindo and later to Ramana. Truman Caylor Wadlington in his book YOGI RAMSURATKUMAR - THE GODCHILD OF TIRUVANNAMALAI writes,
Meeting the Maharishi’s (Ramana) gaze he went into a visual rapport with him and completely lost himself in the timeless wonder of that Godly soul. He felt as though he existed during that short while not as his solitary physical body but something far greater, far more glorious and vast. His innermost being underwent a spiritual transfiguration.
After spending three days with Ramana, he moved on to Swami Ramdas. Truman Caylor Wadlington writes,
“However, unlike his meetings with Ramana and Aurobindo he felt no attraction to Ramdas.”
Ramsuratkumar could not bring himself to accept Ramdas’s life of luxury. He returned to his home in Kashi. Ramsuratkumar visited Ramdas repeatedly but he felt the same way towards Ramdas each time he was with Ramdas. Even after several earlier visits to Swami Ramdas, Ramdas did not inspire the Yogi. The Yogi has this to say about his guru.
"Papa (Ramdas) did not allow this beggar to understand Him. The time was not ripe. This beggar had to wait till Papa Himself revealed His Divinity to this beggar, to make this beggar understand that Papa was his Father." – Yogi
Here is a lesson for us to learn too - do not judge the guru. Many turn up at a guru's ashram or abode and begin to study the man rather than his teachings and messages. Eventually, they leave seeing the lifestyle led by the guru, that does not conform to their image of a guru. Some delve into the running of the ashram and administrative and financial matters and seeing flaws leave with disgust, talking ill of the establishment and the guru. But the truth of the matter is either we are not destined to learn from a particular guru or we have gathered too much trash in us that needed to be sorted out and thrown before the initiation begins. Here we now understand why Tavayogi insisted that a student needed to wait some 12 years before he can receive the guru's teaching.
When finally the Yogi accepted and surrendered to Ramdas, surprisingly Ramdas was not willing and did not receive him well. Parthasarathy writes further,
Systematically Swami Ramdas and Mataji Krishnabai made Ram Surat Kunwar behave like a mad man and made the world believe that he had become mad. They drove him out of the ashram forcibly so that he would remember them constantly. They used harsh language whenever he was before them among the crowd of the devotees. By doing so Swami Ramdas and Mataji Krishnabai removed his ego totally. But it took a very long time. In the process, the pain, the sufferings he experienced were acute.
Ram Surat Kunwar again asked Swami Ramdas to allow him and his family to live in the ashram. He said,
“Papa, I have come here with the great faith that you would allow me with my family to live here. I am not able to work anywhere since the initiation. If you drive me away, where shall I go and how can I live?”
Papa vehemently answered,
“Go and beg. You cannot live in the ashram. There are enough people in the ashram to work. Remember, under a big tree, another big tree cannot grow. Only thorny bushes and grass alone will grow.”
Ram Surat Kunwar shocked on listening to the words of his Master exclaimed,
“Papa, should I beg for my food? Am I a beggar, Papa?”
Papa, without answering, went inside. From that day Ram Surat Kunwar called himself a beggar. His Guru, His Master, His God asked him to beg and so he became a “beggar.”
When Ramana followed by Aurobindo, passed away, Ramsuratkumar thought that he should open himself to the remaining sole savior Ramdas. In 1952, he arrived again at Ramdas’s ashrams; only this time Ramdas turned out to be an entirely different person. Truman writes,
It is interesting to note that when he arrived the third time the holy man was actually awaiting his arrival in expectation and greeted him just as a father would have received his own son.
Ma Devaki writes in YOGI RAMSURATKUMAR -THE DIVINE BEGGAR, published by Yogi Ramsuratkumar Ashram, Tiruvannamalai, July 2008,
According to Sri Yogiji, the four years of tutelage under Sri Aurobindo and Maharishi Ramana were a period of ceaseless transformation of the human into the divine - a period of construction of all that was conducive, destruction of all that was dross and sublimation of all into greater and greater awakening. His days see-sawed between heights of ecstasy and depths of gloom.
When finally the Yogi came to Ramdas,
He was already a ripe fruit needing but a gentle tap from the Siddha of Kerala (Ramdas) for final consummation with God. Now a divine madness, bordering sometimes on the vestiges of insanity, gripped him uncontrollably. Yogi Ramsuratkumar laughed and wept, sang and danced and yet other times sat still as a stone or rolled on the ground, ecstatically overwhelmed by beatific surges of divine consciousness.
For many years Ramdas had secretly worked on the disciple to accustom his body gradually to higher rates of vibration. Then Ramdas initiated him into the repetition of the Ram Mantra. What was to transpire immediately was a vivification of the centers or Chakras of the inner man, a radical elimination of all impurities and a sudden influx of energy directed through the master and accompanied by a release of latent spiritual fire within the disciple. The initiation would throw him into the cosmic dimensions of the divine mind and open doors to fields of activity and realms of consciousness hitherto unknown to him.
When the initiation was complete Swami Ramdas remained silent for a moment and then said, “Go and repeat this mantra day and night all the twenty four hours.”
S. Parthasarathy has given a very elaborate account of Yogi’s life in his book, BIOGRAPHY OF YOGI RAMSURATKUMAR - THE GODCHILD OF TIRUVANNAMALAI (AMARAKAVIYAM). Without adopting any rituals and not leaning on any traditional conditioned customs of the religion, Ram Surat Kunwar (the Yogi’s original name) braved his path with the pure faith upon his Guru and reached the other shore safely. Parthasarathy writes,
In later years Yogi Ramsuratkumar said “Nobody can love this beggar like my Father Swami Ramdas and nobody can torture this beggar like my Father Swami Ramdas. My Father killed this beggar because He loved this beggar. This beggar died at the holy lotus feet of my father Swami Ramdas in the year 1952. After that my Father alone exists and not this beggar. This name Yogi Ramsuratkumar is not this beggar’s name; it is the name of my Father. Father would always shower his grace on the people who remember this name.
In WAVES OF LOVE published by Yogi Ramsuratkumar Bhavan Mauritius, 2009, the yogi is quoted,
“Swami (Ramdas) has killed this beggar, but life has come. Millions and millions of salutations at the lotus feet of my Master, Swami Ramdas! He has initiated this beggar in Ram Nam and has asked to chant it all the twenty-four hours. This beggar began to do it and in the space of a week, this beggar has this madness. The same madness still continues.”
Truman writes,
In the course of only seven days and seven nights the yogi made the great exodus from the kingdom of man to the kingdom of God. The latent forces released within him combined with the power of the master whipped him out of bondage into limitless freedom and from the mists of human intelligence into the luminous consciousness of the divine mind.
Ramsuratkumar left the home of his master for Tiruvannamalai but only arrived at Tiruvannamalai after seven long years having wandered the length and breadth of India.
As we are often reminded, at https://amarastrand.com we see a similar reminder, "Attachment to phenomena, spiritual or otherwise, will impede our unfolding. Let it pass through you…it is a force that is tuning your various bodies to be able to transmit and hold a very clear and powerful frequency or energy signature." I too fought the "force", not wanting it to take control of me and my life, and for various other reasons too. Today I have given in for I realize even "me and my life" does not belong to "me." Lord Muruga had to come through the Nadi to ask me to step aside and watch. My wife too has been asked to just watch the unfoldment take place. If that is his wish we shall then comply.
"There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is." - Albert Einstein.
How do you see life then? I choose to see everything as a miracle. What about you?
Creation is a miracle. Birth is a miracle. Life itself is a miracle. Every single moment a miracle takes place, some that is visible and audible while many miracles go unnoticed. We are so engrossed in our chase for things that bring pleasure to our five senses that we forget to feed the soul. Even then we are selective with the pleasures that we seek. When was the last time you looked at the sky? When was the last time you spoke to a bird? When was the last time you stood mesmerized at watching the flower bloom?
The divine providence has created the space for us to work out our desires to our heart's content. He has given us a limited time that is running out fast, to fulfill our wishes. Yet we have forgotten to thank Erai for our very existence. We have forgotten to thank him in many ways for the many things he has provided for.
When I opened up an avenue for the ATM family to come together to thank him I was amazed at the quick response. Many opened their hearts to relay their thanks to Agathiyar this day.
Thank you for being with me all these years. Thank you for being with me in times of joy. Thank you for being with me in my times of pain.
Thank you for choosing me to be your devotee appa. Thank you for being with us all the times.
My thank note will be too long when I come to say thanks. Since He is the 1 who guide me throughout the journey of this soul started. He never failed to bring me to close with him as much I am now. I have done so many mistakes but yet he corrected me all the time and proved me his is ultimate God father. I’m really thankful to him for the help he did to me, the strength he given to me, the beautiful Gurus he given to me and healthy life n family n so on.
Deeply indebted to Agasthi appa and Irai... Thank you is small word.
Thank you for Everything Appa.
He is the one that guiding from unknown times of birth till now..thank you.
Thank you for my wonderful spritual journey and giving me an opportunity to serve other souls in your mission. My heart burst with profound love for you appa.
Nandri Appa.
Thank You Agathiar Ji for being with me and my family, for being present always whether I realised it or not, for bringing me in your fold from one corner of the country to another. Thanks for making m a better human being than I was.
Thank you APPA for loving me more than anyone and even when I never loved myself..thank you APPA for forgiving me and still giving a chance to correct my past birth sins, with the boundless love ..thank you appa for your compassion and guidance..I owe you everything , though I don't posses anything of myself.
Thank you for each and everything You gave me Appa .. Om Sivaya Agatheesaaya Nama.
Thank you APPA for the past, present and future..
Father, thank you for each and everything that happened in my life but I am so much moved whenever I think about the occasions you blocked the situations(when I was a non believer or a total skeptic) where I were to do some non righteous or god defying acts(many times miraculously). Thanks appa for all the kripa, with which now I'm able to think about you..only your kripa..
Without him I am nothing. I can't find the words to thank him. He is everything in my life. Blessed to be under his shelter. Still I have to come out from me to reach his feet.
Appa thank you for each and everthing that happened in my life the thanks not enough to say hw gratitude i am to u aggathiar appa we love u so much pa.
Thank you Appa for your immeasurable grace, unconditional love and compassion for me ,my loved ones and our ATM family.
I really need to thank our father Agasthya daily. We love him for his immeasurable grace and guidance...though it is difficult to express our love and gratitude to the one who cares and loves us more than our ownsleves. By bringing in the divine people and guidance and inspiration from around the Globe. He is there in our pain and pleasure holding our hands and wants us to merge with divine. I am grateful and will always be.
I know that we are all grateful to him. But we need to tell it openly and frequently. It would be best if we could thank him daily. It is not that he needs to be told how grateful we are but showing gratitude to him does marvelous things within us. For one the ego diminishes and love blossoms. A study shows the following result: "Counting your blessings increases your emotional health."
Researchers had one group of students write each day about things they were grateful for, a second about things they were angry about, and a third about random topics like the color of their shoes. The ones who wrote about things they were grateful for were the happiest! Even more interesting is that those who wrote about the things they were grateful for were less likely to be sick.
Did you notice the blue sky? The beautiful clouds? The mountains in the background? There are so many beautiful things to be grateful for, and as we practice being grateful we will notice them more and more.
On the contrary,
"When people are not grateful they tend to complain, and that isn’t good for anyone. Some people have a hard time being grateful for what they have."
(Source: "Why?: Powerful Answers and Practical Reasons for Living", published by Deseret Book.)
Hence the reason we listed the things we are thankful and grateful for.
The saints who were grateful to Erai expressed their feelings through the songs of devotion that we have come to be familiar with. Although we do not have the divine knowledge or jnanam to come out with such songs we can always adopt and sing theirs. By singing these songs their experience becomes our experience too.
A friend once asked angrily why we need to praise Erai? Do they expect us to worship and praise them?
I was surprised when Agathiyar asks me to come to his path, the path of the Siddhas in my very first Nadi reading. When many go seeking the numerous paths out there to see which is most adaptive to their preconceived ideas of Erai, Agathiyar had already chosen a path for me. I was surprised when he asked me to worship Lord Ganapathy, Lord Siva, the Siddhas and himself. Now I guess my friends query is answered. Yes Erai asked to be worshipped. Agathiyar even sent me to meet my very first guru Supramania Swami of Tiruvannamalai and had me meet my second guru Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal of Kallar in Malaysia. Agathiyar paved the way for me to journey on the path shown by him by showing me first the many miracles that the Siddhas were capable of. He then gave me techniques to put into practice through the Nadi and Tavayogi. He brought me and others to do charity. He brought us to perform rituals personally without the need for mediums in our own homes. Now, why did he have us do all these? What is it in it for him? What has he to gain from our devotion towards him? No, they do not expect anything from us. What can we possibly give them? The garland? The flower that is strung to make the garland was given by him. Lighting the camphor? That too was given by him. The silk cloth that adorns his form? There is nothing that was created by us that we can give back to him except the soul that came from him too. He is asking for what is rightfully his. Now, why are we reluctant to give what is due to him?
I am reminded of Manikavasagars verses in the Lord's Sivapuranam that states it is only by his grace that I have come to worship him.
சிவன் அவன் என்சிந்தையுள் நின்ற அதனால்
அவன் அருளாலே அவன்தாள் வணங்கிச்
சிந்தை மகிழச் சிவ புராணம் தன்னை
முந்தை வினைமுழுதும் ஓய உரைப்பன் யான். — 20
By praising and giving thanks certain subtle changes take place within us too, besides the obvious joy and ecstasy that is seen visibly. The soul that is not seen by the naked eyes rejoices in celebration of every moment it is with Erai. The soul expands tremendously gaining Atma Balam in his presence. The tiny spark of his spirit that is in us and that we carry through each birth expands to engulf and envelop our soul in effulgence.
Sadly devotion was seen as a business by him. He wanted to know what he gained from trading with Erai, what he would receive through showing his love for him and expressing gratitude to him. I guess everything is a deal for him. There was another lady who questioned my wife what we gained by worshipping Agathiyar the very first time she set foot at ATM. There is no way I can show them what we have gained from the worship of the Divine. Each has to walk the path, experience the terrain, seek shelter from the weather, go hungry for days, withstand the scorching heat and the freezing nights, to know the journey as Tavayogi and many others went through or gain it the easy way we did - the way of devotion or bhakti - as Tavayogi pointed out.
When I came to the path it was shrouded in mystery. Many kept it a secret close to their heart. But some chose to reveal and share. Ramalinga Adigal was one. Slowly I could see that I was experiencing things mentioned in his Arutpa. I could relate to the verses in his Tiruarutpa. His experience became mine too. This was confirmed in the Nadi by Agathiyar and the Siddhas in various instances. I was elated to know that the divine chose to elevate this miserable soul to his side. And to think that it all started with me heeding the words of Agathiyar and starting the home puja.
Although Erai is beyond form, for our purpose we chose to see Erai with form. The masters and gurus then depicted Erai with a form that they either saw or that came to them. These then took visual forms as in a painting or an idol. The form is then justified with inner meanings and rituals or ways to worship drawn up. Then the cloning and duplicating began with slight variations until someone else had another entirely new vision. The moment he takes a form that is similar to the human form there is a need to see his daily needs are met with just as we attend to our guest. Hence the rituals of inviting the deity, washing the feet, quenching their thirst, giving a bath, dressing them up in clean fresh cloth or attire, serving food to appease their hunger and putting them to bed and waking them up the next morning are required. This is exactly what is being done in the temples too, where a specific time is allocated for their visit and the public too comes to receive their darshan and blessings. Although we know that Erai cannot be limited to time and space, our ancestors have derived a way to bring the divine within the reach of the commoner through these means.
Siva Sri AP Muthukumara Sivachariar, a disciple of Chitramuthu Adigal and contemporary of Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal has listed the SOP involved in invoking the deities both at home in his book "Illa Vazhipaadu" and in the temples through his audio cassette "Temple Worship." His books and talks served as a guide for me too when I started daily home puja and temple worship in the eighties.
He went on to rebuild the Sri Maha Maariamman temple with intent to correct certain major flaws in the earlier temple but the divine providence brought him a better offer. The new temple today stands out at a new site, as the only granite structured temple at Bukit Rotan, a technique used and in the likes of the famed Breehadeshwar temple Tanjavur, the old temple giving way to road extensions.
Generally, seekers come to the master hoping that they will take notice of them and their knowledge in the scriptures, hoping to rub shoulders and have a seat beside the master. If the master invites you to have a seat beside him it is only to break you and your ego. Then the guru would put him to test, emptying him of all the knowledge accumulated over the years. The guru will fill him not with his knowledge or experience but will help the seeker build his own experience. Agathiyar came to us easily as vouched by Tavayogi. Tavayogi did mention that he had to leave his family, go in search of the divine, roam the streets, stay hungry for days, rush to look for shelter when it rains and finally gets to know him, while Agathiyar easily moved into our homes and our hearts.
When Agathiyar ask me to switch the lamp that I kept lit at home to one of clay, from the original brass kamatchi lamp, I could not comprehend the philosophy behind the need to worship a clay lamp, although Agathiyar stated it very briefly. Today I have come to realize its inner meaning: that the body is the clay that the lamp is made of; the soul is the oil or ghee that fills the vessel, and the wick is the thought of attaining a light body or merging with the source. As Tavyogi says we become the thought, we prepare the body or the clay lamp, making it fit to receive the soul or the oil, over the years. We work on the soul, gaining strength or Atma Balam, by taking in all of lifes experience. Then we wait for the master, guru or the divine to light the lamp of effulgence or jnana in us. The divine lights up the Jhoti in us, not unlike we striking a match to light it.
Both Agathiyar, through the Nadi, and Tavayogi, by showing us, gave us several techniques of breathing or pranayana and asanas or postures to help bring the body, mind and soul to a top form for the entry of the divine spark from whom we got separated. Having left his abode originally, the reunion takes place here where the divine spark merges within with the spark that we carried all along having worked on intensifying it through the numerous births. Simply said, the divine sent us off on a journal of gaining experience, to endure a period of separation and promised to come to meet us when the time was right to redeem us back to his kingdom.
