ARRIVING HOME FINALLY

If the songs and writings of saints before Ramalinga Adigal spoke and described the forms and manifestation of Erai in detail, Ramalinga Adigal spoke and sang about his relationship with Erai and his experiences in bonding with Erai and cementing the relationship and the subsequent states of bliss derived. His songs that were later compiled as the Thiruarutpa are sort of an autobiography of the saint. When one reads the songs one would realize the amount of gratitude Adigal had poured forth. I have compiled in "Anandha Kalippu", selected hymns that flowered from Ramalinga Adigal's heart and soul in those intimate moments of realization of joy and bliss on attaining and gaining the Lord's grace. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uaJSlbQ3-XDxbB13wJ9mAsA6lilwWqE_/view?usp=sharing

G.Valmikanathan in his book ‘Makers of Indian Literature - Ramalingam’, published by Sahitya Akademi (e-book at http://www.vallalar.org) traces Ramalinga Adigal’s brilliant journey on the pathway to God dividing it into three major portions beginning with the purgative way, the illuminative way, and finally the unitive way. 

He describes the first part of the saint's life as that of the Journey on the purgative way, where he embarks on the Journey, worshiping Lord Murugan in Chennai and Thirutani, Lord Siva and Vadivudai Ambigai in Otriyore, and Lord Nadarajah in Chidambaram, purging himself of all desires and attachments, of all imperfections. This is where householders will find it a difficult task having to balance the family, career, social responsibilities and the craving for the divine. We are often told to live like a drop of water on a lotus leaf. Progress on this part of the path is solely dependent on our efforts. Here is where we tend to slack, lag behind or totally give up for lack of discipline and true yearning. Here lie all the veils that are often spoken of. This is the first two stages, the Muladhara and Svathisthana, spoken of by Tavayogi where our effort is required to progress further.

This is followed by that of the Journey on the illuminative way, in which one gains illumination, knowledge, and gnosis. Tavayogi tells us that from here on the Siddhas will pick us up and lead us on. This can come through a guru or direct from Erai. The knowledge or arivu to differentiate right from wrong, to see the world and its happenings from a different perspective, and the dawn of Jnana that follows where nothing is learned but all is perceived. Arriving at this part of the path, our efforts seize and we are totally dependent on Erai's grace to move further. 

The Journey on the unitive way is where we see results. The transformation takes place rapidly without our doing. Erai gifts us a body that can sustain his majestic presence. Erai personally sees through the necessary transformation to become him. Here "the pilgrim marches on with buoyant and joyous steps, filled with hope and freed from doubt or misconception. The journey is characterized by a sense of urgency. The pilgrim, in this part of his journey, begins to walk fast, then breaks into a loping trot, finally, gallops on with increasing tempo towards the beckoning smile and the outstretched arms, and is soon locked in an eternal embrace with the beloved, the eternal being, the Godhead, the ground of all being." The journey on the unitive way is composed of several experiences of recollection, quietness and contemplation, ecstasy and rapture among others.

Valmikanathan compares the experiences, the pain endured and the joy bestowed in each of these ways. 

Of these three sections of the pathway, the first is painful and dolorous, the second a strange mixture of sorrow and joy, the joy increasing in intensity as ignorance is slowly replaced by illumination, and the last section of sheer delight, of mounting bliss.

Later when he resided in Vadalur, he started the following establishments; the Sanmarga Sangam; the Sathya Dharma Salai where he fed the poor; envisioned and built the Sathya Gnana Sabai where he worshiped god in the form of LIGHT and called Him Arutperunjyothi. He finally settled in Sithivalagam in Mettukupam where he merged with Arutperunjyothi Aandavar.

The website, http://www.ramalinga.com, sheds more light on the LIGHT.

He (Ramalinga Adigal) described a “Principle of Light” that is the unique one capable of producing this first transformation. This Principle has two important aspects: Compassion toward all the beings (paropakaram) and devotional Meditation (satvicharam). According to Ramalinga, the first of these aspects was the most important; if is acquired, the Grace will come easily. Hence the reason we are asked to be compassionate. By showing compassion to another, the grace of Erai is acquired easily, bringing us to the illuminative way instantly.

Likewise, he (Ramalinga Adigal) taught that it was necessary to develop another aspect of the Principle of Light: the ardent Devotion to God. Ramalinga Adigal now arms us with yet another tool. Besides compassion, he brings us to devotion to Erai. Agathiyar, Avvai and many others before him too have mentioned these two effective tools to earn the grace of Erai.

அரியது கேட்கின் வரிவடி வேலோய்

மக்கள் யாக்கையிற் பிறத்தலும் அரிதே,

மக்கள் யாக்கையிற் பிறந்த காலையும்

மூங்கையும் செவிடும் கூனும் குருடும்

பேடும் நீங்கிப் பிறத்தலும் அரிதே,

பேடு நீங்கி பிறந்த காலையும்

ஞானமும் கல்வியும் நன்குறல் அரிதே,

ஞானமும் கல்வியும் நன்குறும் ஆயினும்

தானமும் தவமும் தரித்தலும் அரிதே,

தானமும் தவமும் தரித்தார்க் கல்லது

வானவர் நாடு வழி திறவாதே. - ஔவையார்

What is the key to devotion then? Ramalinga Adigal shows us the way. The key is having constant thought on God, begging for his Grace. In one of his songs Ramalinga Adigal expresses that it is necessary to think incessantly on God until be melted with the Divine Love. Then the crying happens unexpectedly and praises are sung to God, being produced in the disciple a smooth internal Heat. When this universal Love and this sacred Heat is realized, body and soul are prepared for the descent of the Grace in the shape of Light. We can experience similar exalted states of devotion through the numerous heart-melting compositions of Manikavasagar in his Thiruvasagam too.

From http://www.ramalinga.com, a detailed explanation is given on what happens during the stage of a union between God and man.

When this happens, the material body constituted of impure elements is transformed into a “Body of Pure Light” that emits a golden brightness. Ramalinga affirms that, following the Divine Path of Truth and Purity, the most impure body will become a body pure and imperishable. Then the Divinity descends and settles in disciple's Heart, who becomes entirely filled by Him. Captivated by the "Ardent Fire" of the Divine Essence, the disciple stops thinking, feeling, acting and even existing. He has become pure LOVE and COMPASSION, and this is what he spills on all the beings. This Secret, which has been hidden and now is divulged according to the explicit wish of Ramalinga, points the disciple’s Heart as the End of the Path showed by Him.

This is exactly what Tavayogi wrote when I asked him to autograph my copy of his book "Andamum Pindamum" - "Aandavan Uraigindra Edam Thangal Ullam, Athuve Payanathin Thodakkamum, Mudivum" when translated means, "Erai lives in your heart, from where the journey starts and ends too" - pointing to the disciple’s Heart as the Beginning and End of the Path shown by Him.

A similar process is described by Brian Luke Seaward, in "Quiet Mind, Fearless Heart- The Taoist Path Through Stress and Spirituality" published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey, 2005.

Says Teilhard de Chardin,

Brian describes what he calls ‘seasons of the soul’ as follows:

We begin the centering process (autumn), where we leave the known of the external world and enter the unknown depths of the mind.

Next comes the emptying process (winter), a time of clearing and a cleansing of thoughts and feelings that no longer serve us: this may involve some grieving.

As spring follows winter, so the grounding process follows the emptying process, a period in which new insights is gained to improve our quality of life.

The fourth season is the connecting process (summer), where we come back home to share the wisdom we have learned and to celebrate the sacred connectedness of life.

The path of human experience would be mighty crowded if everyone embarked at the same time. Therefore, it makes sense that not only is there numerous paths, but we each move at a pace that is conducive for our own soul growth process.

G.Vanmikanathan in his "Pathway to God Trod by Saint Ramalingar", Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay, clarifies further the path and the process the saint went through. Vanmikanathan traces Ramalinga Adigal's journey and spiritual evolution based on Ooran Adigal's publication of the "Thiruarutpa." Ramalinga Adigal begins with the worship of Lord Murugan. Vanmikanathan writes, "He is initiated by Murukan Himself into the methods of His worship." 

Oh Guru Who came into my mind and bestowed the perception that through ritualistic worship of Pathi (God) and similar good rites the creative instrument of understanding called the mind will be rid of impure concepts and stand established in pure contemplation and, thereby, the state of true union with Pathi with result; that, thereupon, buddhi, the power of ratiocination, freed from (the triad of) bonds will merge in the mind, and that, forthwith, the state of absence of incoming and outgoing will be gained in the shape of unwavering real gnosis.

The saint extols the need to begin "ritualistic worship of God" through idol worship, "and similar good rites" that included lighting the sacred fire, seeing God as Dvaita, outside of us first. Agathiyar too brought us to see him in the granite statue of his at Agasthiyampalli first before bringing me to commission and worship an exact replica of him at this temple in my home in the form of a bronze statue.  

The period between 1823 and 1835, i.e., from the date of birth to the 12th year of our Swaamikal has been classified as the period of Kandhakottam, .. which has as its theme-shrine the temple of Murukan in Kandhakottam which goes today by the name of Kandhaswaami koil. And several other prayers rise up from the depths of our Swaamikal’s heart, prayers which you and I and all the world may adopt as our daily petitions to God, our Light in the darkness of doubt and despair, our Saviour from the six serpents of lust, anger, greed, infatuation, obstinacy and pride, and a seventh serpent, rarely spoken of by others, but given by our Swaamikal a prominent place in the evils that stand in the way of an aspirant for the grace of God, the serpent of killing of living beings. 

All saints and mystics have always been at war with their mind and heart. For these are in love with worldly pleasures and are at cross purposes with the mystics who wish to proceed to the Godhead, the Ground of all being. Raamalinga Swaamikal too has several decads addressed to his heart or mind.

In the second and last lap of the Purgative Way, our Swaamikal goes from Thirutthanikai Hill to Thiruvottriyoor, from Murukan the Son to Civan the Father, from childhood to adolescence and youth.

Ramalinga Adigal begins to yearn for the union with the Lord. "He is eager for the mystic union which is the goal of bridal mysticism." The first lap of his journey on the Purgative Way comes to a close.

From the 41st decad onwards, we see a remarkable change in the spirit which pervades the poems. A note of hope, of cheerfulness, of intimacy, of rejoicing, of exultation replaces the note of despondency and despair which marked the decads so far. In this span of about fifteen years, what was unrelieved misery had become metamorphosed into joy. This is not the effect of the passage of time which dulls the edge of misery, but a genuine change in the outlook on what seemed like misery. This is the result of the affinity - a spiritual rapport between Raamalinga Swaamikal and the Godhead, which has grown stronger and stronger with the years, a rapport that has grown into the relationship of bride and bridegroom.

Our Swaamikal has left the Purgative Way and has entered the Illuminative Way. The emphasis has changed. It is no more on his foibles, failings and faults. The Swaamikal shifts the blame from himself to the Lord Whom he accuses of delaying the bestowal of grace. Our Swaamikal celebrates his entry into the Illuminative Way by the one hundred and one stanzas of this decad in praise of the Divine Mother (the "Vadivudai Maanikka Maalai").

Our Swaamikal will very soon be leaving the Illuminative Way and will be crossing the threshold of the Unitive Way where God with name and form will disappear and where ultimately the worshiper and the worshiped, the seeker and the sought, the soul and the Godhead, will merge into each other.

In preparation for that day, in eager anticipation of that day, our Swaamikal gratefully recalls to mind all the pilgrimage centres with temples where Lord Civan abides in name and form, and, in a sense, takes leave of them. This is the significance of "Vinnappa Kalivenpaa", our Swaamikal calls on the Lord abiding in 279 pilgrimage centres and makes a petition to Him.

The saints of Tamilnaadu in the past, Maanikkavaachakar and all the 63 saints in the Calendar, all of them made one and the same petition, the petition for freedom from the bonds of death and birth. It is not strange, therefore, that our Swaamikal, who is a scion of the unbroken line of the saints down the ages, makes the same petition.

On this note of heart-rendering cry for the grace of God ("Thiruvarul Muraiyeedu"), our Swaamikal leaves the Illuminative Way and steps on the threshold of the Unitive Way. While this happens on the spiritual journey towards the Godhead, the mundane sojourn in Madras ends with hem and our Swaamikal sets out in his 35th year to Thillai.

On his way to Thillai, he visits various celebrated shrines of Lord Civan, such as Pullizukkuveloor, present-day Vaitheeswarankoil, Thiruvaaroor, Thirukkannamangai, Pazhamalai, present-day Viruddhachalam, Thiruvathikai Veerttanam, Thiruvannamalai and arrives at Karunkuzhi, a village about three miles from Vadaloor where he will remain for the next nine years of his life. 

Already our Swaamikal has begun to experience the early fruits of the union with the Godhead. He describes one of them in 100 stanzas of the second decad of the Fifth Book. All the stanzas describe in growing amazement only one item of experience. Lord Civan walked on His holy rosy delicate feet all the way and, seeking the door of the house where our Swaamikal was staying, opened the door, hailed him and placed in his hands something accompanied by loving and reassuring words. While all the 100 stanzas describe the same incident, the description of the feet and the expressions of amazement and gratefulness vary from stanza to stanza. Nowhere, however, in any of the one hundred stanzas is there any clue to show us what was the object which the Lord placed in our Swaamikal’s hands. Whatever it was, the incident made such a great impact on the mind of our Swaamikal that he sang no less than one hundred stanzas to record that incident. 

I too was puzzled just as Vanmikanathan was, trying to figure out what the Lord had delivered to Ramalinga Adigal, each night. But I came to know that he received two laddu, a sweet to us, but metaphorically it meant Gnana.

For the first time in his life, our Swaamikal declares that he is freed from misery. Secondly, he states that he has received a great boon. Thirdly, he, declares that he has reached a great state of grace. 

But with his entry on to the Unitive Way proper, he has lifted his foot from the mire of worldly life and has set both feet firmly and untraceable on the highway which is the Unitive Way, the royal road to union with the Godhead.

With the 24th decad of the Sixth Book (with which ends our Swaamikal’s journey on the First Stage of the Unitive Way) cease all self-accusations, self-denigration, weeping and wailing. Even petitions cease. The later decads are sheer paeans of praise of the Lord.

In the last song ("Thiruchchitrambala Theivamani Maalai") we see the budding of the concept of Arut-Perum-Jothi, the Great Effulgence of Grace, for the first time in our Swaamikal’s spiritual life. It is true that this phrase occurs here only with reference to the sun and the moon. Nevertheless, this is the first gleam of the concept of the rare great effulgence which will burst forth in a paean of praise of 1596 lines when our Swaamikal steps on to the last lap of the journey on the Unitive Way.

Our Swaamikal is now ready for the highest of all possible acts of grace, the crowning glory of the long years of thavam. The conferment of the Effulgence of Grace. The Lord, out of His munificent grace, bestowed on our Swaamikal the very power by which He Himself exercised sovereignty over all the worlds. That power is the Great Effulgence of Grace.

Two important claims are made by our Swaamikal in this decad. He claims that God conferred on him the power to raise the dead. Saint Thirugnaanasambandhar, Saint Thirunaavukkarasar and Saint Sundarar, all three of them have raised the dead not merely from their graves but from their very ashes. Moreover, they raised such dead not immediately after death but after the lapse of quite a long time, and in one cue several years.

The other is, "... is that of being given by the Lord the power to exercise the five functions of creation, sustenance, destruction, concealing, and bestowing mukthi." 

This state is achieved not by one's efforts but by the grace of the Lord who speaks, first verbally then silently. 

After having gained all the Siddhis and attained the highest possible state, a man of such stature, Ramalinga Adigal chose to stay away from the limelight but the Lord acts otherwise. The Swaamikal was modesty incarnate. He did not like the limelight before which he was exposed to the world. He (God) spoke to Raamalinga Swaamikal who was the chosen Son of God in the nineteenth century to establish a universal brotherhood of man freed of all shackling fetters of castes and creeds, of rich and poor, of black or white, a universal brotherhood born of a sense of oneness in the eyes of God and based on compassion, on compassion alone.

The Son of Man has become the Son of God, and he who was unknown and who did not want to be known was dragged much against his will to discharge his preordained mission on earth, to commence his ministry on earth, in order to establish the Pure Universal True Path to God, a path, a religion, based on compassion towards all creatures on earth, a religion based on intense and one-pointed love of God, a religion freed from the stifling influences of caste, country, race, language, conflicting creeds, petty cruel gods and inhuman sacrifices, freed from the dialectics of learned scriptures.

THE SIDDHA TEACHINGS GO ABROAD

Ramón Ruedas Gómez writes of his life's experience and how he came to the Siddhas in https://ashramvettavelieningles.wordpress.com

My pursuit began at an early age, when I was sixteen years old, in Mexico City. I encountered the spirituality for the first time through the Yoga practice at the first Yoga Institute established in that city. From that moment on, I met my guru Juan Víctor Mejías, the then director of the Universal Great Brotherhood. I lived in an ashram in Venezuela and my guru sent me to Spain in 1973 with the mission to establish some centers of Yoga. My quest has always been constant and continuous, teaching Yoga and establishing several centers throughout Spain.

I established El Molino in the year 1993 as a school for personal inner growth and for many years I worked there with Leonard Orr, founder of Rebirthing. I also worked on several paths: Shamanism, Buddhism, the Kabala, some training in Africa. I was trained on Holotropic breathwork by Stanislav Grof. I did some works with Melquisedec and was trained in Tantra Yoga by Ronald Fusch.

The above works have only a supplementary character as I have always been devoted to the training of Yoga teachers, because the main support for my spiritual practice has been and is the Yoga. My work has been invariably focused on the threefold goal of making Yoga known, training Yoga teachers and practicing Yoga as the axis… of my life.

As of 1999 I began to contact the tradition of the Siddha yogis and it was from that point on when my life gave a dramatic twist as far as my spiritual search is concerned; from that moment on I have devoted myself to the investigation and the practice of this tradition. Nowadays my mission is to divulge this millenary tradition that has remained hidden through thousands of years. For this purpose I have founded the first ashram where it can be practiced and taught. It is my belief that this tradition is the most comprehensive and profound one for the full spiritual evolution of the human being. 

The goal of my spiritual pursuit has always been the achievement or realization of the Samadhi or Jiva Mukti, and the tradition of the Tamil Siddhas shows the right and proven path to reach it.

Raquel Castillo Prieto having studied and having taught the tertiary system of education and "the educational systems of non-directive and active pedagogies" to children, realized that "although keeping intact the joy of the inner Self they do not show the path to the discovery of the Self as a certain state of consciousness", then moved on to pursue Yoga mentioning the reasons.

I felt that something was missing, that the Transcendent aspect of the individual was not taken into consideration by those types of education. And I might say that this is the end of a kind of first part of my life, being the next one my meeting with Yoga. The Self is something more than that psychophysical identity; it is a state of consciousness free from all desire and this is what the Vasi Yoga works on.

When I met Yoga everything took a radical turn and I could perceive with crystalline clarity that Yoga was my spiritual path; that it had always been next to me but I had never made the decision to embark on it. I began my practices guided by a teacher of Yoga who was a friend of mine, but soon I knew that this was not the kind of Yoga I was looking for. Then I read the book by Yogananda and it awakened in me the feeling that it represented something similar to what I was looking for. I continued my tireless pursuit and got acquainted with Babaji’s Kriya Yoga; and thus I arrived at the Vasi Yoga (the Yoga of the Siddhas) which I knew thanks to Ramón Ruedas (the person who brought it to Europe).

A good teacher, master or guru would not shove his doctrines on his student, but slowly allow him to grow at his own pace, without assigning a deadline. He would let the soul-flower bloom in its own time. He cognizes the ability of his student to shoulder the great responsibilities that come with the teachings and the power that grace bestows on him. Similarly, Raquel Castillo Prieto writes of a good system.

It keeps lit the flame of the search for what we are because the self of the individual is protected and respected from the very beginning; the goal is to identify where the children interests and also their needs are and the teacher accompanies them throughout their development, the target being the autonomy of the individual from the outset. But all this sowing is aimed at the physical, emotional, mental, cognitive development and its target is the external world. They also work with the identification of the needs and wishes of the person.

The recent Tamil movie Raatchasi depicts exactly this, how a dedicated teacher with a vision brings new, fresh and holistic thoughts and ideas, improvises the otherwise barren education system that is in place, amidst much retaliation and rejection from certain quarters who had to gain from the present system. 

Raquel Castillo Prieto continues,

The Siddha yogis - who are the fathers of the Yoga, demonstrated and proved the way in which it was possible to reach our essence; all of them got enlightened, i.e. they attained this state of Absolute Bliss on a permanent basis and many of them wrote down their experiences and the manner to arrive at such liberation in the form of verse. Summing up, this is to what I am devoted at Vettaveli - to show the path of the Siddhas to those souls dwelling in children bodies. As Siddhas say, any knowledge that does not help the man to know and free himself is a false knowledge. The education ought to contain in itself something more than a kind of knowledge centered exclusively in the functioning of the external world.

My function is exactly to convey to the families, boys and girls the instruments used by the Siddhas to attain a state of Pure Consciousness so that the individuals are enabled to evolve from the very beginning, without being forced to wait until becoming adults to approach the inner Self.

The last third of my life is inscribed in the tradition of the Siddha Yoga where doubts do not exist and everything is only certainty. I am one more worker within this tradition and the story of the rest of my life will be written with such a tradition as the basis.

Indeed a true and dedicated teacher. Over the last weekend we had Acharya Gurudasan who flew from Bangalore to initiate students into Kriya Yoga in Malaysia spend some time at ATM in Satsang. 

I and others at ATM were blessed to pick up the finer points of Yoga and fine-tune our practice when he agreed to sacrifice his time and effort during his working stint in Malaysia some time back. He left his mark behind in uplifting us as a upaguru would, before continuing his career in Bangalore.

PAINFUL LESSONS & BLISSFUL ONES TOO ON THE PATH

The material form is taken to accommodate the soul and help it live out its desires and realize the experiences that come with it. Having had prior experiences in numerous fields, wanting to further gain more diversified experiences in new areas, we come back again and again with desires to be born to selected parents. Yes, we chose the parents and the family into which we want to be born. Agathiyar revealed that my children desired to be born to us. Similarly, Muthukumar Swamigal of Kuttralam reveals the same too that children pick their parents. https://www.facebook.com/100018258314430/videos/424443728174234/

But all these is erased the moment we take our first breathe as we come into the world. We are told that Lord Brahma updates or refreshes our memories on the life and task ahead of us prompting the newborns to smile, giggle, laugh and cry. We as souls have agreed on the deal. Later Brahma refreshes us too. Then as we come upon sorrow and suffering in our lives later in life, we ask ourselves, "Why us?", when we have made a deal earlier. But surprisingly no one questions, "Why us?" when we revel in joy and happiness.

People want fun and fair in all things. They would rather be spectators than movers. They would rather choose to follow than lead. They want to be religious and spiritual and to be associated with an organization or group. They want to be identified with a guru or a path. But how many of us are really serious about wanting God? Yes we want him in our life as a surety or security to fall in times of need but at other times we go about chasing our dreams, the paper chase, then the multi-figure salary, the comfort and pleasure of a home, then a bigger home, a car, then a bigger car, a career and a big fat salary, a wife, a husband, children, respect in the community and society etc. The chase never ends. 

When we are confronted with a tragedy or a piece of bad news, our initial reaction would be a state of shock. Then we question why me or our dear ones? We had not done anyone any harm. Then we rush to Erai to help and save the situation. We rope in relatives and friends in prayer knowing that prayers have the potential to heal, cure and reverse conditions. Most of all we need to give hope to the soul that is suffering. In the event, the soul gives up the battle then it is all lost. The remedies, the prayers, and the asking only are effective provided the soul fights until the end. These are the times when we need to learn to remain composed. Here is a moment or an event that truly test our patience and our faith on Erai, the guru, and their agents the medical profession. We need to learn not to get excited or saddened, something that the gurus and the wise carry with them. But it is difficult when it takes place to us or our dear ones.

One day we will chance upon a wise man, their talks or writings, their autobiography or biographies, or the Nadi that will shower answers as to why we are suffering. But many do not realize the reasons till their last days. The first signs of realization and the first accounts of these self-realizations have to take place here itself. When we realize that we are not here to live our desires but to fulfill those of the divine, then the search stops. Acceptance to everything, be it sad or happy sets in. We shall then understand that it's all God's play and we are reliving the character we had agreed upon. We have a deal with him and we need to honor it. But once here we ask that it be changed which is against our soul's wishes and the natural law that is already in place and motion. By this action, we will disrupt the flow of play, disrupt the act.

With each day and each meeting with another, we come to understand things better and become wiser. Over the weekend speaking to Acharya Gurudasan, whom we lovingly address as Master Gowri, who had come over to Malaysia to conduct and initiate members into Kriya Yoga, took some time off to be with us at ATM. Listening to us and how we are evolving along the spiritual ladder, from Sariyai, Kriyai, Yogam, and Jnana, he observed that he was moving in retrograde. He started with Jnana, observing the teachings of Ramana Maharishi, and chanced to pick up Kriya Yoga while on a working stint in Canada, learning from the very best, Marshall Govindan himself. He tells me he has this gut feeling that he might have to take up rituals too. This made us think about the nature of the four stages of Sariyai, Kriyai, Yogam, and Jnanam. Once thought of a progressive journey taking a step each time to another higher level, as in climbing the ladder, today we tend to believe that these stages could be a cycle rather than steps of a ladder as we envisioned earlier. This means we can join the journey anywhere along the path but we will have to fulfill all the other three stages later contrary to our earlier belief that all had to start with Sariyai as the stepping stone. As Ramalinga Adigal divides each stage into a further four. There is Sariyai in Sariyai, Kriyai in Sariyai, Yogam in Sariyai and Jnana in Sariyai. Similarly, does it go for the other three stages too. Sariyai in Kriyai, Kriyai in Kriyai, Yogam in Kriyai, Jnana in Kriyai and so one. Master Gowri too believes its a combination of each differing only in proportion. I learned something from his experience that day. So we might have a reason as to why we had come together in Satsang.

Sivabalan brought me down to earth. As I was feeling elated at thinking that I was the special and selected one to build a temple for Agathiyar as the Nadi reading unfolded before me during my very first contact with the Siddhas and their Nadi, as my feet lost touch with the ground and I was floating on cloud nine, Sivabalan had to chose that moment to remind me not to be too happy as Agathiyar had mentioned that task to 49 people before me. I was the 50th. So it turned out that I was not special after all. But Sivabalan continues as if to apply a balm to soothe the disappointment he saw in me. He told me to do it if I had the time and resources to do it as the others never took up the task. I scouted around existing premises to see if I could have Agathiyar's statue installed as building a new one out of scratch was not feasible. But none of the temple committees were accommodative.

I dropped the idea only to by mooted again by my very first guru Supramania Swami who wanted us to fulfill his 40-year desire to build a temple for Lord Muruga. As initial work on the grounds began a Siddha chooses to pick that moment to stop his plans asking him why he was stepping back into Bhakti by going ahead with the construction. My guru dropped the idea that day. Then Tavayogi begins to build a temple/ashram complex. We chip in. But I had to get the question off my chest. I asked him, since day one he had advocated that we step out of Bhakti into the path of Jnana, now why did he who after wandering the length and breadth of the Indian subcontinent and who wanted to go into samadhi, chose to engage in building this costly and vast complex. He told me it was not for him but for the people. Today Agathiyar tells us that indeed it was Agathiyar's wish to see the complex built and that Tavayogi was only a tool.

I had put to rest the thought of building a temple on my own as indicated in my very first Nadi reading since I thought that I had fulfilled their wishes through my engagement in helping my gurus see their desires fulfilled. But the divine did not let go of it. Sometime in 2018, Lord Muruga brings up the subject this time asking for a temple to be built for him. As I sat at the Nadi reading asking why would he want another temple when there were temples already in existence and many that have been buried, abandoned and was unkept with many more mushrooming each day, he replies that he was aware of this as if reading my silent thought. But he tells me that I shall depict him differently. I return home thinking how am I to show him differently? Was it in his form? Was it in the design and structure of the temple complex? Was it to be in the rituals and prayers for him? Today I realize, looking back at how our perception of Erai has changed over time and with experience and better understanding and how the elaborate rituals have come to be simplified and at having eventually brought us to the door of going within the self, maybe this is how he wanted him to be shown?

Failing to move and work on his request, he sends Agathiyar knowing pretty well I shall listen to him. Agathiyar comes through an elder telling me my present home was not suitable and could not possibly accommodate the number of devotees that he was to send over in the years to come. I tell myself, "Oh God, not again!" He asked me directly to my face if I would not do it. I remain silent not committing to the cause. After a brief moment of silence, he tells me that he would do it for me stating that we would move in 18 months. I thank him and waited. I never moved since he told me he would do it. A couple of days ago, he calls me for a Nadi reading after a long absence, telling me that I shall stay put and so shall they. We are not moving!

Today I understand that the Nadi and the predictions of the Siddhas are not carved in stone. These are only some of the many possibilities out there, the many routes, paths and ways one could travel,  that is highlighted to us as prophecy. It could happen if we desired to follow their wishes and put in the effort. It could happen if we went with our own desires and the Siddhas seeing through our thoughts, shall then please and grant us whatever we ask for, even if it was going to hurt us both emotionally and financially. Aside from the loses we tend to gain through the experience making us wiser in our future decisions, undertakings, and wishes.

Tavayogi too brought me down to earth, crashing and hitting my face so hard that it hurt much. The day I invited him to my humble home in 2005, I was extremely happy and on cloud nine till he pricked the cloud and I fell flat and hard on my face to the ground. Ouch! It hurt indeed. As I was sending him back to the Peedham in Batu Caves where he was putting up, I began to thank him for accepting my invitation to step into the home of this vermin. He cut me off immediately telling me to wake up from my illusion reminding me that he was no saint but only an ordinary man. He told me to hold on to "That" which was in all of us. I held on to Agathiyar from that day forth. I am forever indebted to Tavayogi for breaking the spell that many masters hold over their devotees. He allowed us to experience, and grow. He did not define the borders. He nurtured us well but never dictated us. He did not create a clone of his in us but dropped the seed and nurtured it well, stepping away when it was necessary for us to take flight. He never described what we were to experience on the path for that would have brought expectations to us and disappointments when we do not see the mentioned results. He left us to explore by ourselves but was there to take hold of us when we slipped and fell.

Coming to the path and worship of the Siddhas, we suddenly were in the limelight with people seeking us for advice besides paying respect to Agathiyar in our home. As was usual to people, we took to advice and point them to the resources available. But that led to trouble for us as we were taken accountable to their wrong understanding of the advice given and their subsequent wrong moves. I went back to Tavayogi. He asked me over the phone why I had to interfere. He told me to point to Agathiyar and stand back and watch. I got a tight slap that day from my guru for going beyond my jurisdiction. I learned my lesson that day never to interfere.

We have been trashed just way too many times. Just as Tavayogi asked "Why interfere in others problems", Agathiyar slammed a group for the infighting. He slammed another group for the same reasons. He told another not to judge others. He told yet another not to analyze others' actions. He tells us sternly to focus on what we came to do. He tells us to not to try to reason out things for he knows what is best for each and everyone soul. He only sees the soul. His actions are based solely on the merits and demerits of the soul. He has shut us up for good. He wants us to work on ourselves instead of spying and brooding on the motives and activities of others. He has told us very sternly, not to ridicule the Nadi or face the consequences. He has told us to appreciate the task on hand that has been given to us upon our asking and to carry it out to the best of our ability. In short, he says do not ask for something if you cannot deliver or shoulder it. He has taken us to task for paying lip service to his asking that we surrender totally to him.

Getting severe beatings from Agathiyar, Tavayogi and other upagurus I am more collected these days. I attend to the Siddhas desires. We realize now that although coming to the Siddha path for many might be out of curiosity but as far as they are concerned they are serious about making us into a man fit to receive their grace. They break us into pieces first before bringing these broken pieces together to form an extremely beautiful piece of art. I remember bringing my colleague over to a medicine man or bomoh patah as known locally, one who specializes in mending broken bones, in the early '80s. He had taken a fall and dislocated his shoulder and fractured his lower arm after having slipped over the soupy water as we were washing the home that he was to move into. The bomoh after removing the plaster cast that the hospital had placed in place, examined the extent of damage and while asking several questions, to everyone's shock, and to my friend's surprise he shoved the dislocated arm back into its socket with a swift but painful move, for my friend did cry out in pain. He then began trashing his lower arm with a wooden mallet that he picked up in his hands suddenly, even before my friend could recover from his earlier state of shock and pain. He literally broke an otherwise clean fracture into remnants and minute pieces before bandaging the lower arm with a concoction of herbs and plants. My friend recovered fast.

Over the years, the divine comes into the home and the self and into others, asking us to give way and space for them to work on their devotees, asking us to stand aside and just watch. They tell us that they have taken over the body and the venue temporarily to see to their workings and that it would not harm us in any way, without any replications. First, we are asked to surrender or saranagathi so that the divine can start working on us, the body and the soul, our thoughts and actions and our karma. Then we live life and move to the tune of the divine. All things fall into place. We begin to see the difference and appreciate the help from the divine. We become grateful. Then everything good that comes our way is submitted to him as an offering or samarpanam. The many mantras that we have received during initiation and that we picked up later from other upagurus, books, televison and other media, all drop off on their own accord as the divine moves within. This body becomes divinized and becomes God's kingdom.

We are here to temporarily occupy a home and carry out his task. We forget that we are here to do God's work instead we chase after our heart's desires, captivated by the pleasures and sights of the world around us. Turning to God telling him that henceforth I shall follow your will, I shall have no desire or wish of my own, we then take a step towards a new journey, a journey that is mapped by him. He erases the routes mapped and designated earlier for the soul, overriding the soul's individual desires and brings new possibilities in our lives, by charting a new path and new experiences. 

Ramalinga Adigal stands before the divine asking the divine to command his next task for the day upon awakening in his Tirupalli Yezhuchi. We, on the other hand, have so many plans laid out for tomorrow that upon awakening we rush to carry them out. Bala Chandran too was asked to pray for the well being of all of God's creation henceforth dropping individual asking in a recent Nadi reading. Tavayogi started us on the homa or burning the sacrificial fire to please Nature that was wreaking havoc. Soon he turned to include prayers, that served to work on the well being of all, which accompanied the Homa. We followed suit. Later Agathiyar endorses these rituals as having great impact of caring and healing the Prapanjam or Matrix and also clearing one's baggage and the backlog of karma. We were happy to be a part of his task force. Yes, today we have taken a new role that of his task force, that of his Avengers. We carry out every dictate of us for his mission is to tend to the plight of all and uplift the souls that are yearning to go back to him. We are proud to be part of his team.

Thanos, a genocidal warlord from Titan, who believed its massive population would inevitably use up the universe's entire supply of resources and condemn it, desired to bring stability to the universe. To complete this goal, Thanos set about tracking down the Infinity Stones, as the combined might could wipe out half the universe. Thanos forged alliances with Loki and Ronan the Accuser in order to track down some of the Stones: However, both alliances cost Thanos much of his resources, including the Mind Stone and the loyalty of his daughters, Gamora and Nebula. Fed up with all of his subordinates continued failures, Thanos forced Eitri to create the Infinity Gauntlet for him, while Thanos had opted to seek out the location of the six Infinity Stones himself. (Source:https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Thanos) 

Thanos took things in his own hands. Although a work of fiction in the comicdom, we see similarities in reality too.

Many a man has shaped the fate and future of the earth too, some positively while others had brought much destruction and sufferings. Going through history we see much atrocities done by a single man/woman or individual who commanded much respect and devotion from his/her aids and followers out of love for his/her ideology or out of fear and terror. Then we had the good guys who combatted them and brought some order and peace to the world. We had good men and women who were inspired to bring new discoveries into the open. This has been going on since time immemorial.

Looking back into time, have we ever wondered if maybe we were also a part of all these, had a hand in it or maybe were the prime movers, provided we believed in rebirths. Maybe I had caused a war to happen back then. Or maybe a riot in the streets as an apple throw away with disregard could cause in the movie Police Academy. If that is the case then why am I here? Maybe I have to attend to the wounded now. Maybe its repayment time. Maybe it is time I right the wrong that I did earlier. So we might have a reason as to why we are born again.

When we go for a Nadi reading, Agathiyar while describing our lives journey, he subtly reveals the soul's reading too. But we never realize these subtle messages till later when we are wiser, after coming to be hit by the truck, caught in the storm and rough seas of samsara, after having gone into oblivion and hibernation and to return wiser from these experiences. For instance, when he tells someone that the person would expose the fake gurus tearing their mask apart, Agathiyar is speaking about one of many possibilities that are available that he could choose to take up. The choice is still his. The seeker still decides whether he wants to take the bait. He had come to gain specific experiences through the effects of his action. He learns from this experience that results from the task he chooses to do. All the other souls who would fall for his tyranny and are exposed by him might have wanted an experience too. So it was all agreed upon some time in the past on the soul level. What we see is it materializing in front of our eyes. But learning from direct experience would have knocked some sense to a wise man that he should refrain from causing harm and hurt to others, be they the good guys or bad. The best option for him would be to go back and ask Agathiyar if it was proper for him to do so. Agathiyar would have told him to "Let it be! I shall take care of the matter. You attend to your life and family." He might have led us to do something more productive and pleasant.

People come to gurus and establishments with many ideas having learned and seen from others. They sometimes put forward these to others, hoping to see some change as seen elsewhere. So did I step into several movements started and running under Agathiyar's name. I stayed for a while, I watched and I did propose new ways and ideas. But as these thoughts of mine did not sink into them, I withdrew and began my solo journey, starting to do things my way through my home puja, experimenting on myself. I did not for one moment despise or talk ill of these establishments and their gurus just because they could not conform to my needs or ideas. Why should they listen in the very first place? They are not bonded to follow. Just because my ideas were not accepted I should not show them in a bad light. We have to learn to move on or if we really wanted to see some change start on our own and bring these ideas that arose from the many shortcomings over the hill into our own establishment. That is precisely what I did rather than be like a door to door salesman selling his wares, going from one establishment to another to try and infiltrate and bring total chaos and collapse to what was already good and working for them. The mistake we all make is that we have defined religion, spiritualism and the gurus and how one should run their missions. We go seeking door to door, ashram to ashram, guru to guru to see if any of these falls into our mold and mode of thinking. If they qualify to our needs we sign-on. We will never grow spiritually if we have placed the limits or boundaries of how we want to see spiritualism. As Tavayogi says we should be free to explore. We cannot be chained to ideas and thoughts. Coming to the Siddhas, believe me, they shall break every perception, thought and belief that we have held dear and close to our chest this far. They will strip you naked and have the world look at you. Similarly, they will strip you naked and have you look at the world differently. You have to be prepared to relearn everything again, their way.

There will never be an end to the investigation. Rather than investigate every technique, way, method, the guru, the institution etc would not it be better to start the practice and apprenticeship first and learn for ourself. If it disappoints us, learn to move on for there are always greener pastures but never belittle the establishment and the people behind it. Take it that it was all a learning process, an experience to add on, making us wiser to make better choices in the future.

And so it was to be that we too began to bring extensive changes in our outlook of things and modes of worship. Soon Agathiyar endorsed them accepting them, giving me more leeway to bring changes, modify and at times turn down their proposals too. But the Siddhas went along with me or so I thought. As our bond slowly evolved from that of a devotee and his deity to that of a servant and the lord to that of son and father and evolved to that of a companion they tell me it was they who were driving these ideas through me using me as a tool. They tell me they wanted change. I do not know as yet what changes they are expecting us to carry out further. But we at AVM and later ATM have moved away from the norm and implemented many changes and modified and simplified the rituals and means and ways etc. I suppose this is what was meant by the changes that they seek and spoke about. Lord Muruga came along asking me to build a temple for him. When I questioned myself why the necessity for another temple, he tells me that I shall show him differently. I suppose watching us bring changes in our ways of worship, the divine has come along with this proposal. But how am I to show him differently I wonder? As it is I had borne the heavy curses of my priestly superiors when I changed the very forms of the orthodox and age-old tradition and rituals in my last birth and hence came to be reborn again, am I to continue further in breaking traditions? Bharathi did and earned the curse of his fellow community.

I believe now that we cannot move mountains to realize our visions. I need to start my search within - going solo. Today I understand why there are so many establishments in the name of Agathiyar. So many temples and ashrams have mushroomed in the past. I used to wonder why there was a need for so many temples, so many centers? Can't they all work together, in unison? Can't they all come together for a greater purpose and common cause? It does not happen, I realized soon. We have seen establishments break away and split each going their own way to start on on their own. I did not dock myself to any particular center or guru. I did not desire to start a peedham for Agathiyar even when many trailed behind Tavayogi asking him to officiate centers in their homes and other venues with just a handful of seekers. Neither did Tavayogi moot the idea or suggest that I start one. Agathiyar sent me two gurus and cut me off from all others. The divine has given leeway for his devotees to worship him as they chose. That's why we have survived this long. 

Just as a thought arises before the action is executed all ideas, inspirations, even rituals arise within before it is brought out. We only execute what has been programmed by our own desires and karma. But by taking the Holy feet of Erai, rather than clean and repair, defrag or optimize, he wipes out the harddisk and reformats it, and installs a new version of the software, his software.

We realize these days that Agathiyar says what we want to hear. Going to a Nadi reading with expectations Agathiyar says exactly what we are expecting to hear. The answers that we want are only relayed back to us by Agathiyar through this medium. This comes to show that the answers are already within us only waiting to be tapped or waiting to rise to the surface. Sitting quietly shall bring all emotions and thoughts to settle and bring us to see clearly through the web of noise and activities that we have generated all around us for far too long. The divine grants the wishes that we silently hold in the deepest corners of this space in the inner chamber of our hearts. But knowing the divine it shall erase even all these desires that we once held and fill that space with his desires. Then all that we wanted and asked for all these years, even if it were to be laid before us to take, we shall not touch them. We shall skip them and move on to fulfill his desires. Only then can we qualify to be mentioned as their children, children of God.

I received a very timely and related question as I was penning this post several days ago.

Sir..your recent writings suggest that it is the time for us to meditate more..to go within with a thread of breath.... does it also suggest that we should curtail rituals or chanting and or rather focus equally on going within.

I replied,

"It will happen on its own ma. One will lead to another. Go with the flow. You will know when the transition will come or takes place. As for us even the song or chant just stops. We go into silent mode. The awareness goes to the breath. It all is as if happening by itself. Look out for the signs. These days the mantras that we were initiated into and given, that we picked up, that we put in hours chanting, it has all come to die a natural death. The mantra that was verbal and audible has gone silent too."

Agathiyar endorsed this too in the recent reading assuring us that what we decided and how we dropped many of the rituals to go within was truly his will and wish and that all was well. He has asked us to thrive to attain the state of a Jeevan Mukta, that was shared in the last post.

We see the evolution of living things around us. We see ourselves evolve too. For evolution to take place one has to accept the change that comes with it. We only see this evolution take place all around but do not realize that our souls too have evolved learning from experience we go through day to day. But for the divine, they are more concerned with the soul's evolution. Hence they only see and talk about the soul and its advancement in gaining strength and freedom or Atma Balam and Atma Vidutalai. 

The Siddhas have access to the knowledge about souls. They can peer into the realm of the souls, peer into the past and future and trace the involvement and evolvement of each individual soul. If the souls in the plant kingdom are compartmentalized into blocks or groupings, those of man and animals are rather individual. We are here to work on the soul and not merely to appease the needs of the body and wants and desires. Having come to work on the soul the soul shall work on the body in an appropriate manner bringing marvelous changes within so that the soul and as a result the body too, gains in strength and its luminosity. The soul shines in all its brightness on earth as God watches its luminance from his abode both within and without, in the inner chambers of the heart and the heavens.

We have been given a very simple way to reach the abode of Erai but we chose to take up the hard way. Going by the lives of the past saints they took up worship and devotion as tools to reach the destination. Working on this they reached a state where they were in constant communication with Erai. They came out to preach the good word of the lord and began to meet the public at temples. They never shunned worship at the temples. Blessed were those who could meet these great saints at the temples. Blessed are we to step into these age-old temples where these saints placed their feet. Visit the abodes of Lord Muruga and you can be sure that Arunagiri and Pamban were there. Step into the temples of Goddess Ma and you can be assured that many saints had worshipped her there too. Step into the temples of Lord Siva and you can be sure that the Nayanmars were there once upon a time. Enter the Vishnu temples and you are walking the pavement were the Alwars had walked. Next time you visit ancient and old temples research to see who had been there. Take in their presence. Get connected with them.

We have come here to experience different aspects of life. As a soul that took up a body, we experience joy, pain, sorrow, etc and come to a realization eventually that all these do not matter nor does it affect the soul. Just as King Janaka realized finally and went about carrying out his kingly responsibilities towards his nation and people, we too need to go about life without getting attached to the results. As Swami Kriyananda wrote at https://www.ananda.org/blog/kriyananda-jivan-yogananda/ as to how he changed his perspective and thinking of his involvement in matters of the world, hence dropping the thought of he being a doer but rather part of the act and stage, so too shall we adopt his tip to shed our ego.

As you attempt to do so, you will find that the ego keeps trying to insert itself into the picture saying, “Well what about me? I had some role to play in this.” The more you think that way, the more it binds you.

Years ago at Ananda Village, I was walking in a part of the property called Ayodhya where a number of people lived. I saw trailers with lights shining and the thought arose in my mind, “Once this was all darkness, and now there are lights. I’m the one who did this.”

Then I asked myself, “Do I like this thought?” No, I didn’t like it because it was limiting. Why bring “me” into it at all? Why think, “I did this”? I found that I was much freer if I thought,

“It was done.”

As AR Rahman always gives credit to the Almighty, let us see ourselves as a tool of the divine. It is one sure way to prevent our ego from being inflated further.  So we might have a reason to come by meeting or knowing other divine souls doing God's work on the face of this earth without any expectation, or publicity. Look out for them.

MOVING ON TO BIGGER THINGS

Coming to the path of the Siddhas, beginning with the chanting of the names of the Siddhas; coming to know the Siddhas through taking a journey to their abodes, caves, temples, samadhis and ashrams; engaging in rituals to invoke them and finally bringing them into our presence; taking up the 5 tenets of life as revealed by Agathiyar at the Tamil Sangam, that is knowing one's purpose in taking this birth; devotion to Erai; respect to parents, ancestors and deities; serving fellow humans through charity and acts of dharma; and caring for other living beings and plants, Agathiyar brings us to worship Light. He explains through a Nadi reading for Jnana Jhothiamma the concept, giving us a better understanding.

In "An Introduction to the Philosophy of Ramalinga Swami" by Dr C Srinivasan, published by Ilakkia Nilayam, Tiruchi, 1968 we learn that the state of Guru Sakiram or Shiva Sakiram, where perceiving God in the form of light, the soul is saturated with compassion and love.

It experiences divine life or Uyir Anubhavam; attains purity of the body that leads to a golden body or Sudha Degam. The extent of this achievement though is dependent on the grace of Arutperunjhoti. 

Experiencing Uyir Anubavam in a Sudha Degam, where transformation to a pure body takes place, love incarnates. The universality of love in all fellow beings arises. Oneness in life is achieved. He/she sees the divine in all life forms. They see the smallness of oneself and the greatness of God. They experience the spontaneous flow of God in them. They see divinity in all creatures. They see God in the form they are ready to receive. They enjoy supreme grace or Arul Anubhavam.

The "I", is lost, revealing the Atma or soul that becomes the watcher without registering the sights, sound, and thoughts. The fruition of this state is gaining of Atma Anubhavam. (ஆன்ம அனுபவம் தியானம் சித்தியானதன் அடையாளம்).

From Atma Anubhavam we move on to Atma Tarisanam or self-realization or Para Turiyam or Supra-mental perfection, where we taste God; and the glory of Arutperunjhoti. The soul is charged with divine grace. They realize the greatness of God's grace and their smallness. 

Pursuing further only the experience of Brahmam exists. This is Samadhi. 

But saints like Ramalinga Adigal do not settle for Samadhi but aspire to come back and serve. Rather than lose oneself in Samadhi, rather than dissolving in Brahmam, rather than sitting lifeless, they choose to come back to serve others with compassion in what is called the Sahaja Samadhi, something that Tavayogi told me he shall attain. This is karma yoga. 

Similarly further to the worship of the Light, Agathiyar brings us to achieve the state of a Jeevan Mukta. This is his desire and wish for us too. Yogananda is said to have mentioned this too, "We should consider it our duty in this life to become at least a Jeevan Mukta, a soul free while still living in a body."

We have seen in a couple of post before how King Janaka stood out as a Jeevan Mukta even while ruling his kingdom. After coming by the Siddhas and listening to their song, the Siddha Geeta, King Janaka went into deep contemplation thinking about the impermanence of life and how small a soul he was and how minute his lifespan was compared to the vastness of the universe out there and its age. 

Brooding long about life, Janaka realizes, "All my dangers and calamities are the net, woven by the hundreds of threads of my own desires and ambitions." 

Caught in this net, he says he had enough of this weaving, and enough of this bondage. 

"Let me take resolve to rest in my inner chamber. Now I have at last been awakened by this high souled Siddhas. From now on I shall heed my soul, follow the Atma, which is the only sure means to attain freedom and supreme bliss. Let me sit alone and withdrawn. I shall win quietude in my own soul and find all my peace and contentment therein." 

How did he manage to keep afloat and apart from attachment to the lure of the senses, power, and authority?

Just as he resolves to withdraw within, his minister came to announce he had an appointment with some dignitaries. Janaka pondered for a while. At that moment, he realizes that the soul neither can benefit from action nor beget harm by inaction as it is pure and immortal. 

Janaka decides then that life has to go on but without attachment. He has to do what he has to do without attachment. 

He then decides, "Let me rise up. Let the body pursue whatever it has been used to. To restrain it all of a sudden will be wrong and damaging. If the mind remains desireless the results of actions done by the body and its limbs will be taintless." 

He leaves to meet them.

Having reflected thus at length Janaka attended to all his duties and work relating to his kingdom. He was neither over concerned nor worried. He was dwelling cheerfully in the present accepting whatever that came to him as an event or duty. From then on Janaka became a Jeevan Mukta.

To a Jeevan Mukta what was of interest earlier would not interest him no more. It dies a slow death without having to struggle to shut it out. Hence no effort is required to fight off these thoughts that try their best to capture one's attention. Just sitting quietly the mind moves into the state of Dhyana and loses its hold on all things concrete. Bringing this mind that complains of all things to a divine silence is the objective. Within this silence, the divine guides further, just as it guides us through his many messengers and tools externally. When the center of ego is lost he shall come back from this state to walk on the face of the earth as a Jeevan Mukta.

Knowing that it’s very difficult to get rid of the thought that “I’m me”, Swami Kriyananda at https://www.ananda.org/blog/kriyananda-jivan-yogananda/ gives us a tip to shed our ego.

As you attempt to do so, you will find that the ego keeps trying to insert itself into the picture saying, “Well what about me? I had some role to play in this.”

The more you think that way, the more it binds you.

Years ago at Ananda Village, I was walking in a part of the property called Ayodhya where a number of people lived. I saw trailers with lights shining and the thought arose in my mind,

“Once this was all darkness, and now there are lights. I’m the one who did this.”

Then I asked myself, “Do I like this thought?” No, I didn’t like it because it was limiting. Why bring “me” into it at all? Why think, “I did this”? I found that I was much freer if I thought, “It was done.”

Swami Saravanananda has given a beautiful English translation of the "Arutperunjhoti Agaval", the Ramalinga Mission, Madras, a masterpiece of praise and revelation on the Almighty in 1596 lines, penned by Ramalinga Adigal. Swami Saravanananda starts his preface with a strong statement, ‘Infinite god in finite man’. He says while "man considered himself as a separate entity from God and as possessing a mortal body subject to decay and wealth" all this while, Ramalinga Adigal proved otherwise that "this view of meeting with death is a mistaken one and that God himself has manifested as each one of us and that we are eternal … he manifests as human beings."

We are all God, although limited in many aspects and limited by the concept of having a body. Break that concept, we merge with the universal aspects of God.

Realizing that he (Ramalingam) is not separate from other beings and the divine effulgence, he led an inner life with the result that his thoughts, speech and actions were all filled with divine compassion. When such a life and activity of divine compassion luxuriate, there begin to grow the inner lower siddhis ... If we pray with singleness of purpose, the veils of ignorance will be rent asunder and the inner ever growing radiance will be perceived by us.

He (Ramalingam) has asserted in those poems (the Thiru Arutpa), that the lord manifests himself in our foreheads as his own reflection in order to make us lead divine immortal lives. Our ancients gained all siddhis by concentrating their mind on the space between the eyebrows (the shrine of the lord of the boundless benevolent jothi).

Ramalinga Adigal just like the other Siddhas before him has given much importance to this human body. 

Whatever polar forces are found in the cosmos, can also be found in the human body. This shows that the human body is the temple and abode of the boundless benevolent jothi and also that of the dynamic polar forces. Therefore this body has to be first purified of all its dross and veils and made a fit receptacle to receive the divine radiance.

With the aid of this radiance, the illusory human body can be transformed into a pure body (sudha degam) followed by the body of sound (pranava degam) and finally into a Gnostic body (gnana degam). This body alone is considered as the proper vehicle for the attainment of mukti.

Jivatma or the individual soul has five places of residence in the human body. The Paramatma or universal soul that abides in the head above the trinity (Brahma, Vishnu, and Rudra), never meets with dead. The Jivatma, at the throat, alone is liable to death (and rebirth). The Paramatma always stays alone. The Jivatma resides in the midst of the subtle faculties such as the mind. Man by losing his physical frame, has forfeited the experience of Sachidananda.

Swami Saravanananda adds that one is not assured that he might obtain another human birth. He says further that leading a life based on the exterior ephemeral state is no life at all; it is mere existence. 

The aim of human life is to realize and gain the divine felicity in this world itself while there is yet time. Those who have attained the acme of creation, the human birth, must hasten to understand and achieve while there is yet time, the delightful bliss of the soul. 

Swami Saravanananda says just as physical space is beginningless and is filled completely with physical atoms - seven types of ordinary and extraordinary atoms which can again be classified into three groups (effectual, effectual‐causal, causal), in a similar manner the cosmic space is beginningless and is full of atoms of souls called Atmas of three types (immature, transitional, mature). Agathiyar in a revelation says he was born of an atom. While the reason for the threefold differentiation of atoms in physical space is due to the presence of air in it, similarly the reason for the threefold differentiation in Atmas in the cosmic space is due to the presence of dynamic compassion. 

Due to the differences in the levels of will, wisdom and action (karma) that are found in the cosmic space, Atmas have come to possess threefold bodies (karmic, pranava, gnana). 

Both Agathiyar and Supramania Swami brought me to devotion for a start. Swami Saravanananda describes "devotion as the thawing and melting of the mind (intellect). Love means the thawing and melting of the soul (heart). He (God) is realized progressively by the seeker according to his capability."

Compassion sets in. Ramalingam was compassionate. Saravanananda refers to this attribute of Ramalingam.

Divine compassion is the natural expression of the lord; compassion to all beings (Jeeva karunya ‐ the spiritual thawing and melting of beings towards the less fortunate ones which lead to Jeeva karunya) is the natural expression of human beings. Those perfected beings who have realized completely and enjoyed such an expression and pleasure are called as Jeevan Muktas. Alleviating hunger and preventing murder are the most important aspects of Jeeva karunya. The aspirant pours out his soul to the Lord and prays fervently to mitigate their sufferings (other beings). Slowly, his body through the intensity of concentration of the mind begins to generate the flame of tapas, known as psychic heat. 

Swami Saravanananda quotes Ramalingam on the process towards the illumination of the soul. 

We have to remove the blackish green veil that covers our soul. This veil can be removed only through the extreme heat of devotion and meditation. The extreme heat generated in the body produces smoke at first; this smoke gathers up in volume and escapes through Brahma Randhra at the junction of the parietal bones of the skull.

Slowly the quantity of psychic heat is increased due to intense meditation and concentration on the universal effulgence. Psychic smoke clears off and enhanced illumination results. The more refined the body and mind, the more divine illumination (tejas, aura or nimbus) manifests in it.

Advanced works on Tantra yoga and the verses of Siddhas insist that the human brain contains amrita in a solid state. They say that by properly conducting the subtle fire principle or kundalini found in the sushumna nadi into the brain, the solid Amrita is made to melt; the melted Amrita descends down to pervade all the cells of the body and as a result the body attains immortality.

He writes further, 

As he advances in endeavor, the sanmargi is guided step by step in overcoming the principles of impure maya. His body begins to cast off veil after veil of ignorance and emit radiation.

He quotes Agaval (verses 1449‐ 1473) on this transformation that took place in Ramalingam, 

"The skin has become supple; nerves function intermittently; bones have become soft and the tendons have lost their grip over the muscles; blood has congealed and semen has condensed into a solid ball; petals of the brain blossom and elixir fills up the body system; face glows and breath becomes peaceful; hairs rise on end and tears well up; mouth utters the name of the lord and the sound of OM pours into the ears; body becomes cooled and hands rise up in salutations; mind ripens and melts and wisdom fills up the mental frame; the ever pervading feeling has come to stay; egoism vanishes and the soul attains bliss; impurities get destroyed and purity alone remains; illusory tendency vanishes and a longing for god’s grace swells up…’’

‘Thus the process of transmutation being completed and perfected, the aspirant becomes the possessor of a golden body. This body with shrunken skin has become ever youthful’, an affirmation made by Ramalingam himself. ‘It has shaken off sleep, hunger, thirst, diseases from the system. It has been filled with divine light; it has developed immunity from all kinds of destructive forces.’ 

Swami Saravanananda explains further, 

At whatever age the aspirant gains illumination or the effulgence enters in him or emanates from within, some remarkable changes take place in the body frame. The divine light seems to change the very structure of the DNA’s and RNA’s in each and every cell of the body, with the result, that they seem to function in the opposite direction.

He says the whole body of Ramalingam was soaked with divine bliss and every cell of his body began to enjoy the felicity. It is said that each cell of the body possesses partial consciousness and rudiments of intelligence. The divine light that passes into the cell makes them fully awakened into perfect or near-perfect intelligence. The result is the perfect immortal physical body. Ramalingam compares the process of illumination of the cells with marriage with the compassionate celestial lady. 

Swami Saravanananda hails Ramalingam and the Thiru Arutpa, ‘By his own self will, the Lord has expressed in the human body and come to exist as such. This is the theme and inner light of Thiru Arutpa. Arutperunjothi Agaval is the essence of Arutpa.’

A perfect culmination of the merger of both matter and spirit, body and Light, man and divine, in this birth and in this plane itself has taken place. But yet he remains behind to carry on his tasks, preferring to remain inconspicuous. He is a Jeevan Mukta.

https://www.ananda.org describes a Jeevan Mukta as,

• One who is inwardly free while living in this world.
• The Jeeva Mukta has dissolved his limited ego in infinite consciousness and no longer accrues new karma. 
• The reality of the Jeevan Mukta is only God.
• A “fully victorious saint,” the soul has attained nirbikalpa samadhi, or final victory over self-identity and separation from the infinite soul.
• Having been released from worldy desires, he may live in the physical body while being free in spirit.
• He is no longer drawn by delusion. 
• The Jeevan Mukta becomes a Siddha (“perfected being”) or Param Mukta (supremely free soul) after working out all past karma. Basically, the only difference between a Jeevan Mukta and a Param Mukta, one who is completely freed of all karma, past, and present (fully liberated), is that God can exert much more power through a Param Mukta.
• He may reincarnate as an Avatar (descended being) purely for the welfare of humanity. An avatar is someone who has achieved full liberation and returns to the world for the sake of suffering humanity.
• He has achieved the rare state of kaivalya moksha, or full liberation from the material plane of existence. 
• Ultimately, however, he merges with Satchidanandam (ever-existing, ever-conscious, ever-new bliss) as the infinite soul.

It is interesting to note that each Jeevan Mukta, according to the divine will, must free at least six disciples for final liberation.

From https://en.wikipedia.org, we learn,

A Jeevan Mukta is also called atma-jnani (self-realized) because they are the knowers of their true self (Atman) and the universal self hence also called as Brahma-Jnani. They have negated the karma to zero, to reach the state of Jivan-Mukta. After gaining enlightenment, they retained their body, to disseminate the Jnana to masses. At the end of their lives, Jeevan Muktas destroy remaining karmas and attains Param Mukti (final liberation) and becomes Param Mukta. After leaving the body, they attained the Param Mukti. 

When a Jivanmukti gives his insight to others and teach them about his realisation of the true nature of the ultimate reality (Brahman) and self (Atman) and takes the role of a guru to show the path of Moksha to others, then that jivanmukta is called as Avadhuta and some Avadhutas also achieves the title of Paramhamsa. 

Swami Kriyananda at https://www.ananda.org/blog/kriyananda-jivan-yogananda/ has another tip for us towards becoming a Jeevan Mukta.

You will become a jivan mukta when you have given up desires and attachments. It’s that simple. When you can say, “Divine Mother I only want you. I have no desires,” you will break through the ice of delusion.

We gather further tips from Adi Shankara at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jivanmukta

Adi Shankara explains that nothing can induce one to act who has no desire of his own to satisfy. The supreme limit of vairagya (detachment), is the non-springing of vasanas.

We perform acts only because there are inherent dormant desires in us. Others around us and the circumstances are only catalyst for an event to take place.

Patanjali says, in a sutra as translated by Swami Vishnu-Devananda in his "Meditation and Mantras", Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt Ltd, Delhi, Om Lotus Publications, 1978, that "Liberation (or mukti) takes place when the mind has the same purity as Purusha itself."

This post is dedicated to Malarvathy who asked for post last evening, in the absence of any the past several days. 

CHASING THE BREATH

Although initially the physical body is required to house and carry the soul, with one's yearning, effort, and the divine's grace, the soul grows and begins to bring change in the very body that it dwells in. While we prepare the ground the soul prepares the body for divine's entry. "A human body is capable of divinizing its owner if properly employed in spiritual endeavors," says Swami Rajarshi Muni in his "Yoga, the Ultimate Attainment", Jaico Publishing House, 1995. He adds, "Therefore a human can be said to be potentially divine, provided the individual strives intelligently and sincerely for the final goal of life, God-realization."

While the Brahman is the source of the atman, the atman when embodied in the cosmos comes to be known as jivatma, so too the breath that was a part of the cosmos became compartmentalized when it entered a body. It leaves the body momentarily to touch its home ground and return again to leave again once more. Upon death, it goes out of the body and enters its true home or merges back into its source. Ramalinga Adigal intentionally left the world to enter the source avoiding death that results in rebirth. Just as he "disappeared" to reappear several times before finally stepping into the source never to return, our breath momentarily merges with its source as it leaves and comes to be identified with the body and self as it enters it again, repeatedly.

When we seek reasons for our sufferings the Siddhas look into our past lives and reveal to us the cause and reasons for it. Similarly, for one who seeks to know the reason to take birth, having lived a life as many do only to realize that that is not his true purpose and that there ought to be something greater in life, he comes to those who have had a glimpse of this purpose. Swami Rajarshi Muni explains our purpose clearly. He explains that,

Through the limiting powers of Brahman's illusion, the bound soul succumbs to Nescience. It then loses awareness of its oneness with Brahman and becomes entangled in the material trappings of Prakriti. Its encasement in the three layers of microcosm creates within it a desire to live and cling to its enveloping bodies. Then because of its ego principle and a lack of discriminative knowledge, it takes the unreal to be real. Thus due to its conditioned consciousness, an embodied soul helplessly comes into being again and again trapped within the cycle of births and death. 

Nobody could have explained it better. Having known our purpose in coming here which is also the first tenet of Agathiyar's revelation on human existence, we can then dive straight into what we came for instead of browsing and surfing around aimlessly for aeons. We were blessed to come to Agathiyar who immediately rolled out the masterplan and showed us his mission and our tasks. He mapped out the route, kept us on track and warned us of the possible dangers, often leaving a gift or treasure along the route as a token and to boost our spirits.

He threw the dice while we walked the distance. When we landed at the bottom of a ladder, we moved up to the top of the ladder speedily. But there were times too where we landed on the head of a snake and had to go down to the bottom of the snake. Ramalinga Adigal too warns of such times as an aspirant ascends the spiritual ladder he would occasionally slip down to having to start again from where he landed. For instance, reaching "Parasorpanam, supra-mental dream, places the aspirant in the dream of enjoying the Grace of the Lord.  This feeling of ecstasy leads him to the next stage of Parasuzhuti, supramental unknowing where the majority of the shackles are removed by the Grace of the Lord. This stage may either lead him to the next higher stage of Parathuriyam, supra-mental perfection where he visualizes the sparks of the Divine Grace or as in certain cases may revert him back to Parasakram where he will be searching for something which he has tentatively lost."

I suppose too that this is where we have slacked and fell umpteen times. For we are told that even standing at the doorway to the abode of the divine if one is not careful he might fall through the trapdoor or slip and fall. We are told that walking this path is akin to walking the razor's edge. Then we start the cycle again.

I think we have had enough of going through this cycle, don't you? But as Supramania Swami says we shall keep shining the lamp and as Tavayogi says we shall keep coming back to perfect it, Agathiyar has promised that he would be there for us in all our births. We feel reassured. When Agathiyar reveals to my children that my younger daughter desired to live out another life and asked that both I and my wife accompany her and both my children wanted to be born again having us as parents, we felt elated. Then it is true that Agathiyar told me it was only because of my daughter that I came to his path. The story of the soul and its travels is pretty amazing as expounded by Agathiyar in the many revelations through the Nadi. 

It is said that a guru comes along when we are ready. But at times he comes ahead of his time if there is a need. A story is told by Dharmalinga Swamigal of Kollimalai who moved to Tiruvannamalai later, in an audio of his, of a potential, soon-to-be disciple, identified and approached by a Siddha asking if he was ready to leave all behind and follow him. But the young man was so engrossed in the worldly things that attracted him much and he could not bring himself to sever his attachment to it. The Siddha left to come again later. If earlier he had given the reason that his mother wished to see him married, now the married man told the Siddha that his mother wanted to see her grandchild. The Siddha left. The Siddha came again to the man in his mid-life. The man told the Siddha that he had a responsibility to get his child married off. The Siddha left to return many years later. This time before the man could give more reasons not to follow him, the Siddha asked for some fresh coconut to quench his thirst. When the man was up the tree the Siddha shouted out "Stop!", and asked him whether he was holding on to the branch or the branch was holding on to him? Immediately the man realized the truth of the statement and how foolishly he had held on to the material world. He left with the Siddha that instant.

Just as the Siddha comes by to remind us of our responsibility to their cause too, and lead us on various practices, techniques, mantras, meditation etc, the Siddhas could come along in many forms to stop, halt or divert us to another platform as they see deemed fit for our soul to progress. Supramania Swami who had just begun on the groundwork to start a temple was stopped by a stranger questioning him why he took a step back into Bhakti? If Tavayogi started me on a wonderful practice based on a beautiful combination of asanas and pranayama, praised by Agathiyar as a treasure and equating it to a treasure-house, Agathiyar came later to stop me from furthering the practice. When it was seen and deemed to have served its purpose, in opening the chakras and energizing them he made known that further practice would only accentuate the results bringing discomfort and pain. The masters come along to break our dependence on things. They come along to break a routine for spiritual evolvement means moving on to new frontiers. Hence the need to move away from tried methods and procedures that were initiated in the very first place, even by the Siddhas.

A story is told in "I Am That", Syda Foundation, 1978 by Swami Muktananda of how Ashtavakra helped King Janaka drop a practice. Janaka who was initiated into the mantra Japa or repetition of a mantra used to practice it on a nearby riverbank daily. As Ashtavakra came along one day, he could not help but notice the king chant the mantra at the top of his voice. Ashtavakra was asking himself the reason for King Janaka to carry on the practice as he was known as "a Videhi Janaka, the one who had gone beyond body consciousness. Although he ruled his kingdom he did so from the state beyond identification with the body. So Ashtavakra wondered why Janaka was repeating the mantra in this manner. Ashtavakra watched Janaka for a while, wondering how he should instruct him."

He sat beside the king with his water bowl and yoga danda and began to chant loudly, "This is my water bowl, this is my yoga danda", repeating it loudly to the annoyance of the king. The king chanted his mantra even louder. Now Ashtavakra raised his voice further. After a while, the king opened his eyes and looked towards Ashtavakra asking him angrily what he was doing? Ashtavakra asked him in return, "What are you doing?" The king replied that he was repeating a mantra. Ashtavakra said he was repeating a mantra too. The king apprehended him asking, "Are you mad. Who told you the bowl and yoga danda were not yours? Why do you need to keep shouting that it belongs to you? Ashtavakra replied to the king, "It seems to me that you are the one who lacks understanding. Who told you that you are not That? Why do you have to go on shouting that you are That?

When Agathiyar says that we have been initiated at birth we understand it to be the breath and prana that supports the whole universe, comes within us for the very first time carrying his seed, his mantra. Later a physical guru ignites it in us, followed by other gurus and upagurus who nurture it. As we begin to move into watching the breath, the following advice from Patanjali might clarify our intention and method in going within.

Meditation does not mean holding a certain object in the mind. Meditation should happen very naturally. It should be completely spontaneous. This space that you attain when the prana goes out and dissolves and when the apana comes in and dissolves, this space where there is no thought, no object, is true meditation. It is natural meditation, the higest meditation.

We now understand pretty well that everything else is an attempt at meditating.

Jnaneshwar Maharaj says of this space, "Once a person is established there, meditation goes on continually, whatever he is doing."

As a kid, I used to go to the theatres early to catch a glimpse of the trailers of the upcoming movies, those coming soon and next change. So let us take a peek at what is instore next if we manage to excel this stage.

Reading "I Am That", we come to understand the nature of the dormant power or energy within us. We are told that the dormant inner kundalini, once activated it begins to unfold its beauty. Until it awakens it is all purely our effort, putting in hours of sadhana. Upon awakening "naturally", yoga takes place according to the inspiration of God. It goes on spontaneously, rising, traveling, traversing and moving within the body, akin to pent up energy that has been unleashed. But its effects are not standard. Neither are they uniform. They need not apply to all. It varies from person to person depending on their temperament and nature, fitness and readiness in their existing state of body and mind. It does create havoc in many.

Once harnessed and subdued, by the divine hands working in liaison with it, it does many wonders we are told. It purifies the fluids in the body; It strengthens the body; Meditation occurs naturally; Knowledge arises on its own; The inner world is revealed as seeing pictures within, seeing the entire universe within; Traveling to different inner worlds; Clairaudience happens; New colors from the spectrum are seen; Scintillating inner lights are seen; Divine sound and music is heard; the senses are enhanced; subtle flavors not of this world are tasted; celestial fragrances abound and yoga postures and pranayama take place spontaneously.

Pandit Gopi Krishna who had the first-hand experience in this energy having activated spontaneously without his knowing, in his book "Kundalini - Path to Higher Consciousness", Orient Paperbacks, 1976,  reminds us that raising the Kundalini is not for the faint-hearted.

Considering the colossal nature of the physical and mental metamorphosis that has to be effected as a prelude to spiritual unfoldment, I do not wonder at the accompanying trials and tribulations since the mystic state represents the last and most arduous lap of the journey which began with man's ascent from dust, it terminates with his tasting, after suffering and travail the incomparable bliss of unembodied existence, not after death but within his span of life on earth.

Studying the yoga systems he says,

Living bodies owe their existence to prana, an extremely subtle immaterial substance pervading the universe which is the cause of all organic phenomena controlling the organisms by means of the nervous system and the brain, manifesting itself as the vital energy.

The existence of a subtle life element prana, the cosmic life energy and its subtle biological conductor in the body which pervades each cell of every tissue and fluid, that sustains the activity of the brain and nervous system. The prana has a biological component in the brain, an extremely fine biochemical essence of a highly delicate and volatile nature extracted by the nerves, generating subtle radiation.

He adds,

Normally the work of extraction of prana to feed the brain is done by a limited group of nerves, but with the awakening of Kundalini, other and more extensive groups of nerves are stirred to activity, leading to the transmission of an enormous and enhanced supply of a more concentrated form of pranic radiation into the brain drawn, from a vastly increased area of the body.

The Pandit clarifies that oxygen is not prana but rather a vehicle for prana to travel and transverse throughout the body. The air we breathe is permeated with prana and this vital current flows through us along with the air we breath. Breath and prana are not identical. Prana utilizes oxygen as the main vehicle for its activity.

Prana is an inseparable part of the cosmic energy or Shakti. Shakti, when applied to inorganic matter, is a force and when to the organic plane is life. In yoga parlance, prana is life and life is prana. Life and vitality in the sense used here do not mean soul or the spark of the divine in man. Prana is merely the life energy by which divinity brings into existence the organic kingdom and acts on the organic structure as it creates and acts on the universe by means of physical energy.

He says the earth has its own supply of prana, pervading every atom and molecule. Similarly, the sun constantly sends out "an enormous supply of pranic radiation on earth." The moon too is a big supplier of prana for the earth, and so are all the other planets and stars, all inexhaustible stores of prana.

Walking barefoot and grounding oneself with Mother Earth, gives abundance prana. Moving into the sunshine provides additional prana. Taking long dips in rivers, lakes, seas and other sources of water, even in our bathtubs and during showers, increases prana. Rapidly inhaling and exhaling brings more prana within that can be felt expanding to the verge of the body bursting and rupturing. Sitting in front of an open fire provides more prana. A walk in the open through the woods or green meadows energizes us thanks to the prana.

Pandit Gopi Krishna who "had aroused this physic energy in his life" speaks about the result of that sudden outburst one day after putting in years of meditation, his first encounter with the serpent energy where "he had his first glimpse into the superconscious state and saw fabulous Kundalini in action."

He felt himself slipping out of the body.

I felt the point of consciousness that was myself growing wider and wider, spreading outward while the body, appeared to have receded into the distance. I became all consciousness. I was no longer myself or to be more accurate no longer as I knew myself to be a small point of awareness confined in a body, but instead was a vast circle of consciousness in which the body was but a point.

He explains,

There had been an expansion of my own self, my own consciousness and the transformation had been brought about by the vital current that had started from below the spine and found access to my brain through the backbone.

He states that the ancients considered Kundalini as "the queen of the nervous system, controlling all the thousand of nadis or nerves in the body and for the same reason have designated her as Adhara Shakti on which depends the existence of the body and the universe, microcosm, and macrocosm."

The journey and travel of this energy culminate in "Divine Effulgence."

But it all has to start somewhere. Since the breath helps unite us with the self from which we have become separated, now we understand the reason why we are continuously reminded to go within for we are told that there is much bliss within compared to what the world and mankind have to offer. If earlier we seeked darshan of the Lord externally, as we move up on the spiritual ladder, the focus is turned within and tuned in on the breath. With darshan of the breath comes darshan of the Lord and the Light.